Are you happy with how the Hollowjack motif is given out this year?

Cryowynd

While I have the full motif on my crafter, I find this to be a worrisome change. Right now, Hollowjack motif chapters, and by association the 2 event achievements that require it (Happy Work For Hollowjack, An Unsparing Harvest), are completely locked behind event tickets (28, assuming they are a guaranteed drop and only one per bag). While buying from guild stores is an option, the prices have skyrocketed, and the motifs will eventually run out, since any new pages received from the Witches Grab Bag are bound. Pair that with the fact that in order to be able to buy the new limited time house with gold you need to have the achievement completed, it makes the whole thing feel shady and anti-consumer, especially to newer players. While I think the Grab Bag is a good idea for inconsequential previous event collectibles and helps debloat the drop pool, I think it should under no circumstances be required in order to complete the event's achievements, and that this is a dangerous precedent to set for future events to come.
edit: Turns out house isn't new.

Khaleesi8688

No

New players are now required to choose if they want to work toward the mount or the motif set. It's pretty ridiculous.

MadameStrange

No

This is my first Witches Festival event in ESO and I've been enjoying it.

My only concern is in regard to the Hollowjack pages for the achievement. If the pages aren't dropping in world aside from random grab bags, then I guess I may have to wait till next year to be able to unlock the house.

I've heard players mention how cheap the pages used to be but alas the event and rarity has caused the pages to skyrocket in price, thus driving up the cost of the event house to costing much more than it's achievement price.

I'm still going to play the event through and perhaps I'll be able to pick up enough pages here and there before it's over, but it could be an unrealistic achievement.

VaranisArano

Achievements shouldn't be tied to event tickets.

Motifs also shouldn't be tied to event tickets. Style pages are one thing, but motif knowledge counts towards your master writ chance.

LadyNalcarya

No

I have this achievement on pretty much every character, but I feel like it's very unfair for the new players, they basically have to choose between indrik and achievements. There's no reason to make a dirt cheap motif nearly unobtainable all of a sudden.

doomette

No

I have three characters who know the motif, but I also recognize there are new players, and players new to certain platforms. If they’re going to keep this change, they should definitely remove the achievement requirement for the house as well as remove the chance for master writs to require it. This is just excessively punishing to new players.

oregonrob

To keep things from getting stale, it is not a bad idea to take a given motif out of circulation for a while. Alternating Hollowjack with Dremora motifs at the Witches Festival is one approach. Having said that, the Witches grab bag approach, appears to be a test for how to potentially do crown crates in the future. It will be interesting to see how that plays out.

The Hollowjack is one of the more popular motifs given how many people use parts of it in their ensemble and I can see how new players were disappointed. Perhaps if the Witches Festival goes to alternating Hollowjack and Dremora motifs, the one that is not being offered that work, could drop in a book form for hard challenges.

Sylvermynx

Other (Please elaborate)

It's one of the ugliest motifs in the game; I didn't even use the pages I got the last two years. So I just don't care about it. Though if they change the method fine, I won't care about it then either.

kringled_1

No

I understand the problem with the cluttered drop tables they are trying to fix, but I think the grab bag is only suitable for the masks and old mementos. The motif is too many parts, and basically unattainable at this point without a large expense of either crowns or gold. I don't think we necessarily need to have it drop quite as much as in past years, but they went too far.

Prof_Bawbag

No

ZoS don't do happy mediums. They have previous with this. It's either flood the market or hide it behind what essentially will become a paywall should you want the entire motif. Not content with that, they pollute the pool with junk mementoes. Insane you can't even trade the pages that do drop. that would have been sufficient because no one would have bought the bags who didn't need to.

I can only recall one thing they have been level handed with, the worm cult motif. That's done properly. First year it was dropping like candy, next year the drop rate was nerf'd so it wasn't flooding the place. And folk could still pick it up at reasonable prices.

UnkindnessOfRavens

No

It's a very poorly thought-out implementation. I have a new alt that I was really wanting to get the Sun's Dusk Reaper title for, but likely won't since I doubt I'll get all the motif styles from the tickets. The main reason for that is that it's NOT a guaranteed drop as I am also getting Skeletal Marionette parts (despite having already gotten the memento last year!). So with 10 SMPs and 14 motifs, that'd require up to 48 event tickets. So now I have to but tickets to get the achievement? No, thanks.

That and the low drop rate for the witch writs (for me, at least) has really soured me on this event, which, IMO, should be about the best one of the year...

nukk3r

No opinion

Khaleesi8688 wrote: »

New players are now required to choose if they want to work toward the mount or the motif set. It's pretty ridiculous.

New players can buy it in guild stores.

LadyNalcarya

No

nukk3r wrote: »

Khaleesi8688 wrote: »

New players are now required to choose if they want to work toward the mount or the motif set. It's pretty ridiculous.

New players can buy it in guild stores.

No way a new player can buy it for 90k per piece... especially after those remaining pieces will disappear from stores.

nukk3r

No opinion

LadyNalcarya wrote: »

nukk3r wrote: »

Khaleesi8688 wrote: »

New players are now required to choose if they want to work toward the mount or the motif set. It's pretty ridiculous.

New players can buy it in guild stores.

No way a new player can buy it for 90k per piece... especially after those remaining pieces will disappear from stores.

Just checked TTC, and holy crap. It was under 1k a piece for eternity. Ok, I take that back.

UnkindnessOfRavens

No

nukk3r wrote: »

New players can buy it in guild stores.

LOL. Have you seen the prices? If you can even find them...

Linaleah

No

tiny goblin in me is gleefully rubbing hands together over potential profits. but in all fairness, this is a horrible change. while the motifs did drop way too often and at the expense of other rewards - not having them drop from skulls at all, adds undue hardship to new players.

either they need to start dropping from skulls again, or they need to remove it from meta achievement.

Starlock

Other (Please elaborate)

I mean, the entire point of them developing the event ticket system was to monetize it. They will monetize whatever they can get away with in this game.

Remember when there was huge backlash against putting a motif (Pynadonean) in gamble crates and ZoS was forced to back off and add it to fishing holes in Summerset? Remember when they did a bait and switch by adding "weapon styles" into gamble crates instead two crate seasons later, which is really not that different than adding a motif into gamble crates? Remember when they did it again this season with separate "style pages" (aka, motif chapters) for the Eccentric Experimenter look on top of offering "weapon styles" (aka, motif chapters) for special weapon appearances?

Yeah. This is what ZoS does. Nobody should be surprised by this if they've been paying attention to the trends. This is hardly the most egregious thing we've seen, though. Cutting down the event loot pool was a good decision, but the way the did it was not.

Gylzyn

No

No, not happy. It is the fact that Hollowjack is tied to the achievement that is frustrating. I only started playing last Christmas so this is my first Witches' Festival. Getting achievements is part of the fun of playing ESO for me (regardless of whether this gives a title, dye, house or other reward). I have also opened 60-odd Plunder Skulls so far and not a single Hollowjack Motif from them so I am not convinced that they are dropping from them. The achievement test says "...occasionally found in Witches Grab Bags purchased from the Impressario.." but no reference to Plunder Skulls despite what the website says.

I had already decided that I didn't want another Indrik (I am bored with them after three so goodness knows how some other players must feel) but this must be especially frustrating for players that would like both the achievement (and therefore Hollowjack motifs) and also the Indrik stuff.

Radiance

No

BRING BACC HOLLOW JACKSON!!!
https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/550137/bring-bacc-hollow-jackson#latest

CaffeinatedMayhem

Other (Please elaborate)

I was going to finish Hollowjack on a few alts, but probably won't now, as I can't afford to buy tickets. I was under the impression the motif pages would still drop, but with a lower chance. Welp.

And yes, it's ridiculous to lock new players out of an achivement with a pay wall. Not to mention and achievement that would let them buy a house with gold.

SickleCider

No

No, not happy at all. The achievement requirements should have been adjusted. I told some friends how easy it is to get the Coven Cottage, and now it's unrealistic for them.

Prof_Bawbag

No

nukk3r wrote: »

Khaleesi8688 wrote: »

New players are now required to choose if they want to work toward the mount or the motif set. It's pretty ridiculous.

New players can buy it in guild stores.

Aye, new players have 60k per page to spend on the motif. It would be zero issue if things like the chest etc weren't listed for 100k+. You gonna fund those new players?

This is nothing more than ZoS monetizing event tickets. May not currently affect you, but it soon will. It's what they do. drip, drip, drip until most decent things are hidden behind paywalls. This time out, it's only affecting new players, next time who knows. Look how the CC's have evolved.

Khaleesi8688

No

nukk3r wrote: »

Khaleesi8688 wrote: »

New players are now required to choose if they want to work toward the mount or the motif set. It's pretty ridiculous.

New players can buy it in guild stores.

New players aren't going to have massive amounts of gold to spend on the few motifs remaining in guild stores. The ones from the grab bags are bound so there is now no source for tradeable hollowjack motifs.

gatekeeper13

No

Funny how some agree with the way Hollowjack is given out this time. Guess they will be happy too if every other event achievement gets locked behind event tickets.

Was lucky to have completed the style in my main toon last year, where Hollowjack dropped like in skulls too but now I know I aint getting in my magsorc or any other alt.

If ZOS expects me to pay money for.... event tickets, they aint getting a penny from me.

WeerW3ir

I think i cannot imagine a world where Everyone would be totaly satisfied... Cuz this just proves it

Wolfpaw

Other (Please elaborate)

Not happy or unhappy about it, it's best to change your mindset on walls like this.

ZOS already made ESO b2p, $ubscription, dlc$, xpac$, cash $hop, & gamble crate$...after all those ways to get you to open your wallet they do lil stuff like this, & I immediately file it away like it doesn't exist.

starkerealm

I'm happy with most of the seasonal items being taken out of rotation and put into the ticket boxes. The wrinkle is that, as others have pointed out, the motif is needed for the Sun's Dusk Reaper title, so now we have an achievement that points you towards the crown store.

Prof_Bawbag

No

WeerW3ir wrote: »

I think i cannot imagine a world where Everyone would be totaly satisfied... Cuz this just proves it

Or ... wait for it ... Are you ready? They could have done what they did with the Worm Cult motif and toned it down. No one is complaining about the Worm Cult motif drop rate. Like no one. It's called a happy medium. Take that one example out of the equation, ZoS simply don't do happy mediums. You see it with gear too. OP? Lets gut it. Something dropping too often? Lets hide it behind a paywall for new players hoping to get in on some of the action.

So many things they could have done, yet they chose to bind the motifs to the character, not even the account. Had they made them tradable like every other in game motif is/was, the market wouldn't be flooded and those needing the pages (new commers that haven't got the gold the scalpers are asking for) would have been able to trade what they needed. No market would have been flooded. But ZoS knew this. What you're seeing now is the ticket event evolving into something you yourself will probably take issue with in a year or 2. Like, everything behind rng bags none of which can be traded. With little or no hope of completing collection unless you pay 250 crns per ticket.

spartaxoxo

No

Oh man I didn't realize these were valuable now. Gonna toss them in the guild store and make my money.

Unfortunate that they changed things this way though. Hope they reconsider for future events, pretty unfair to new players. The grab bags should have been avaiable for coins at the event assistant.

Morimizo

No

I detest any item being bound; players should be in complete command of the economy, earning gold from the spoils of whatever content they like to play, and buying from others from whatever content they choose not to participate directly.

spartaxoxo

No

Morimizo wrote: »

I detest any item being bound; players should be in complete command of the economy, earning gold from the spoils of whatever content they like to play, and buying from others from whatever content they choose not to participate directly.

I would uninstall immediately if nothing was bound tbh. I've played games where the market was allowed to impact raids, and they were extremely insular, pay to win, and toxic. People paying like a thousand bucks to do content and a clear line in game play between people rich irl and poor. I am not doing that again. Some things belong on the market and some don't.