Rewards of the Worthy Must Go

Agrippa_Invisus

Long ago I posted a thread that had a great deal of life regarding the Rewards of the Worthy system.

This system now, as then, needs to be abolished in its current form. It needs to either be reworked or replaced entirely. Currently it is more of a hassle to the players than a reward and the sets of gear being distributed by it are suboptimal and poorly designed for most modern PVP builds. I am going to go through each of the overall problems with Rewards of the Worthy (RotW from this point forward) and what I propose as the best solution.

Let's start from the top:

1) Rewards of the Worthy cause database bloat for the game. Numerous emails sit for weeks before they're disposed of by the PVP players, often waiting until they're just about to expire. This is due to the colossal chore of getting rid of them out of the mail archive of each player. I, myself, have spent over an hour clearing mails before. I know other players who've spent even longer. These RotW loot boxes that are mailed out don't present the player with something they're anticipating, but a piece from a set that they almost certainly don't want and can't use, so these mails sit and rot, eating up database storage space.

2) RotW boxes provide out of date, unwanted gear. The rewards for PVP just aren't particularly interesting, usable, or good. This leads players to be less likely to PVP for the rewards. The gear provided from Battlegrounds rewards is more likely to be a useful set than anything from Cyrodiil's RotW system. I have not equipped for use any of the current sets in the RotW rotation. It was better when the sets that are currently sold by the Town Vendors were available through RotW, but the current selection of sets are truly awful and poorly thought out. Lack of decent rewards leads to a lower PVP player base.

3) Limited edition event boxes show a better alternative, leading to disappointment later. Pelinal's boxes, while still not great in format (being mailed to us, which is just not a great way to deliver these) illustrate to the players that far better, obviously more thought out alternatives are available to Zenimax to send to us as rewards. Maybe they don't have any gear sets in them, but Coldfire siege, camps, alchemy mats, Telvar stones, and motifs are far more fun and diverse rewards than the current RotW boxes which are just a piece of gear, maybe a soul stone, and maybe a transmute stone geode. The "fun" factor of opening the Pelinal's boxes is far higher.

I feel these are pretty strong points that point to the RotW being incredibly outdated, boring, and in needing of revision.

What do I suggest as a replacement?

Give us a PVP token for every RotW box we would have earned. A token, 210 gold pieces as per original mails, maybe a geode, maybe a keep recall stone. Create a new vendor near the Golden that accepts these tokens and fill the vendor with special goodies -- Bags of crafting materials like from the conquest daily mission, Coldfire Siege, Camps, Telvar bags, Motifs, and house furniture. Maybe even pets or costumes with unique color choices on them. Maybe even a mount that's super expensive, but is something we can work towards.
You can even add endeavors to earn X or Y amount of these new PVP tokens in a day or a week.

Give players a reason to want to PVP. Take out the database bloat, the hassle, and the unfun nature of the RotW boxes.

Thank you,

jaws343

Hours? It takes like 30 seconds to clear mail at the end of a play session.

CSose

jaws343 wrote: »

Hours? It takes like 30 seconds to clear mail at the end of a play session.

The problem really isn't the time to open all the boxes, it's that what's in them is worthless.

A vendor that would let the PvP players buy useful items like crafting materials, coldfire or anything that sells in guild stores is a really good idea that I'm sure pretty much every primarily PvP player would agree with.

This is a great suggestion OP.

jaws343

CSose wrote: »

jaws343 wrote: »

Hours? It takes like 30 seconds to clear mail at the end of a play session.

The problem really isn't the time to open all the boxes, it's that what's in them is worthless.

A vendor that would let the PvP players buy useful items like crafting materials, coldfire or anything that sells in guild stores is a really good idea that I'm sure pretty much every primarily PvP player would agree with.

This is a great suggestion OP.

I don't necessarily disagree that the rewards should be updated. In fact, I think just moving the Pelinal Box rewards over would be a great move. But if it is taking hours to open them as the OP suggests, that sounds like user issues more than design issues.

NordSwordnBoard

I agree, at the very least consolidate them. I would take less total rewards, if they came every 100 or 200k AP.

JobooAGS

just open them, grab the transmutes, vendor and decon the rest, free gold/mats

Greasytengu

Id like to add one little thing to your suggestion: Make the RotW token actually be a currency. Dont have it sit in your inventory or bank taking up space, tuck it into the currency menu with Gold, AP, Tel var, ect.

tinythinker

Regardless of how long it takes people to clear their inbox and resulting inventory bloat, the rewards are not too fun.

Decon and vendoring them is an indication of that. Part of that "not fun" is based on not needing or wanting a particular one of the sets offered. That is somewhat relative, as those who don't play as often and want one of those pieces for use or for adding to their collection of item sets.

Improving those sets and adding more variety to reward boxes is a good start. Making the boxes more valuable and giving them less often is also an option. A new currency and vendor could work but involves more development resources. Good conversation to have.

Alucardo

Nice idea. Let's do it. Just cleaned my inventory out last night and I'm already up to 63 mails again. I don't have a lot of space on my characters, so I have to open a few, vendor all the crap, open more mail, vendor the crap, and so on. It's a chore to say the least, when it's supposed to be a "reward".

Brrrofski

I don't know why ZOS haven't changed the sets we get.

Firstly, why can't it be any Cyro set?

But if not can we update the current ones please? It must have been almost two years with the same three sets now surely. It stink of laziness to be honest.

the1andonlyskwex

All they need to do is update the gear rewards annually (preferably with stuff that's actually competitive in PvP) and add some sort of grindy token system for accessing old sets (or just sell random crates of old set pieces for AP).

tinythinker

the1andonlyskwex wrote: »

All they need to do is update the gear rewards annually (preferably with stuff that's actually competitive in PvP) and add some sort of grindy token system for accessing old sets (or just sell random crates of old set pieces for AP).

nice

DrSlaughtr

I just wish you got a guaranteed geode from every RotW rather than just on the first and a slim chance on the rest.

NordSwordnBoard

TheEndBringer wrote: »

I just wish you got a guaranteed geode from every RotW rather than just on the first and a slim chance on the rest.

Right. It's not a Skinner's box anymore, it has to be MYM to get any excitement over what's in random RotW mail. Consolidate 10:1 and give a guaranteed 10 geode every time. Instead of 10 RotW mail you would get one with a 10 Geode and a random chance at Gladiator's Proof or Lancer lead. Instead of 10 mails with 200 gold, One mail with 2000 gold.

If generation of rewards is any tax on the server at all, I'd agree with OP - a token system for simplicity and let the RnG take place back at the base with a vendor on the players terms.

Imagine how this could stimulate interest in PvP. What if new players get positive responses from vet players about what they get for rewards instead of an eye roll?

JayKwellen

Anything. Please.

I get a few hundred thousand worth of those useless boxes every [snip] night. I see them and don't think "I wonder what I got!" [snip] Instead I only think "great, now I have to clear all this trash out of my mail".

In their current form they're not a 'reward', they're a punishment.

[snipped for language]

Thraben

jaws343 wrote: »

Hours? It takes like 30 seconds to clear mail at the end of a play session.

I spend at least 5 minutes every day destroying Rewards of the Worthy. 15 minutes if I would actually open and deconstruct them instead of just deleting them.

It is a daily horror for any normal PvP player to see a full mailbox again.

Alucardo

Thraben wrote: »

jaws343 wrote: »

Hours? It takes like 30 seconds to clear mail at the end of a play session.

I spend at least 5 minutes every day destroying Rewards of the Worthy. 15 minutes if I would actually open and deconstruct them instead of just deleting them.

It is a daily horror for any normal PvP player to see a full mailbox again.

I open them in front of a merchant and just vendor them. May's well make a little gold.. it all adds up I guess. Still, it does take a good 10 minutes or so. I usually have a backlog of mail, so when I get rid of a few, a bunch more come flooding through.

Ackwalan

People act like they are getting 100 an hour. You get 1 reward every 20K AP. Outside events, earning 200K AP is a good night, that's 10 rewards. I understand there will people some people that will now try to boost about how much AP they get. They will even show pics of 50 unopened mail, but like I said, outside of events 200K in a night is a good night.

Reverb

I agree with Agrippa (not for the first or probably the last time). I’ll add that the Zeni devs acknowledged a few years ago that rotw mail was litter, and reduced the frequency of them. Then a few months later they increased the AP gain rate so people were able to rank up more quickly. This effectively put the rotw mail volume back to what it was before they changed it.

Even worse though is the mail from BG. Every single BG is 2-3 mails. Why does Zeni insist on burying pvp players in garbage mails?

Scamandros

The best change to rewards of the worthy was when they introduced auto deletion of mail after a period of time.

I am perhaps the worthiest of all but even I do not appreciate this amount of adoration

DrSlaughtr

Geeze people. You open them before logging off. You get free stuff for basically nothing. You break down or sell the gear for mats or gold. No one forcing you to let them pile up for a week.

Joy_Division

TheEndBringer wrote: »

Geeze people. You open them before logging off. You get free stuff for basically nothing. You break down or sell the gear for mats or gold. No one forcing you to let them pile up for a week.

What you are describing is an annoyance. And I agree not a big deal.

What the OP is getting at and the bigger issue at hand is the reason why many of us see "rewards" of the worthy as a chore, an annoyance, etc., is the fact that ZOS is so apathetic to Cyrodiil and PvP in general, they can't even be bothered to update a system that was put in place 4-5 years ago. They can;t even be bothered to hire a PvP developer that might be able to think of some creative and interesting ways to motivate / reward people who find their primary enjoyment in PvP. For this, I don;t care how short some people take to clean out their mailbox, ZOS's overall approach, or more accurately lack of approach, to PvP and the rewards associated is 100% unacceptable and I will not be giving them any passes for what might seem a trivial matter.

Sephyr

Reverb wrote: »

I agree with Agrippa (not for the first or probably the last time). I’ll add that the Zeni devs acknowledged a few years ago that rotw mail was litter, and reduced the frequency of them. Then a few months later they increased the AP gain rate so people were able to rank up more quickly. This effectively put the rotw mail volume back to what it was before they changed it.

Even worse though is the mail from BG. Every single BG is 2-3 mails. Why does Zeni insist on burying pvp players in garbage mails?

I'm almost afraid to open some of them because someone from there may be trying to reach me about my car's extended warranty.

Like STUGA.

Zama666

I need transmute stones....

Amerises

TheEndBringer wrote: »

I just wish you got a guaranteed geode from every RotW rather than just on the first and a slim chance on the rest.

This. I think a 1-2-3 geode win would be cool. 1st gets 3, 2nd 2, last 1. Or even a 0-1-2.

CSose

We should still get rewards, they just desperately need to update them so they have some measurable value.

DrSlaughtr

ZOS really drags it's heels on QoL improvements. Giving a guaranteed geode doesn't make the game easier. It just makes it a little more convenient, and that's not a bad thing.

SkaraMinoc

Rewards of the Worthy are very annoying. The only thing worthwhile are the transmute crystals and I'm already at the 1000 limit.

If I could opt-out of receiving Rewards of the Worthy, I would.

Greasytengu

SkaraMinoc wrote: »

Rewards of the Worthy are very annoying. The only thing worthwhile are the transmute crystals and I'm already at the 1000 limit.

If I could opt-out of receiving Rewards of the Worthy, I would.

if you are bogged down on crystals and have no need for them, make some low level weapons, transmute them to nirnhoned, then deconstruct them for that sweet nirncrux.

DrSlaughtr

Greasytengu wrote: »

SkaraMinoc wrote: »

Rewards of the Worthy are very annoying. The only thing worthwhile are the transmute crystals and I'm already at the 1000 limit.

If I could opt-out of receiving Rewards of the Worthy, I would.

if you are bogged down on crystals and have no need for them, make some low level weapons, transmute them to nirnhoned, then deconstruct them for that sweet nirncrux.

^^^

alberichtano

We can make it simple. If you don't want them, send them to me and I will dispose of them for you!! O:)