Imperial City treasure chests?

amapola76

So here's a thing that confuses me: at least six times over the weekend, I would be in Imperial City, and I would be just starting to pick a lock on a treasure chest when someone would come up behind me and sneak attack me. Which, fine, fair game. I would totally understand if someone were trying to kill me so they could get the contents of the chest. It's not something I would personally do, but it would be entirely logical in my view to compete over a resource.

However, in every single one of these cases, the person killing me completely ignored the chest that was blatantly right there. There was a seventh situation where the person killed me and then took the contents of the chest themselves, which again, completely makes sense to me. But the rest of them, half of the time ran off straight away, and the other half of the time, they teabagged me and/or danced around the corpse for a couple of minutes and then ran off. (I always wait to release, because often someone will come along and resurrect you. Also, if you don't release right away, often the player will finish killing what you started killing and accomplish your quest objectives for you. Sometimes you can even come back and loot what they finished killing, as long as you got in a blow first.)

So this is not a complaint, I guess I'm just curious? I mean, yes, obviously there are trolls in IC, nothing new there. But even if you wanted to troll other players, wouldn't you at least be a self-interested troll, and get what you could out of the situation? They could have either opened the chests themselves after I died, or even if they didn't care about the other contents of the chest, they could have waited for me to open it before killing me so they could obtain more tel var from me when I died (I generally have none, or only what I've earned while working on that quest). But instead they opted to get nothing.

In almost all of these situations, I was able to run straight back, or someone resurrected me, and the chest was still just sitting right there so I was able to open it. So all the person did was waste a couple of minutes of my time. I suppose the most charitable explanation would be that they were being nice and letting me come back for the chest, but I highly doubt that. Can people who are able to interact in the same instance not always see the same chests? That seems unlikely to me, but maybe?

Again, certainly not a complaint, I just find it really odd.

Linaleah

people are not there for stuff. they are there specifically to gank players. it makes sense to them, because chest was not the goal, killing you while you are distracted, so cannot fight back as well - that was the goal. that's why they ignored the chests. chests are pointless to them, thinking that they made someone feel bad by ganking them? that's their jollies.

amapola76

Linaleah wrote: »

people are not there for stuff. they are there specifically to gank players. it makes sense to them, because chest was not the goal, killing you while you are distracted, so cannot fight back as well - that was the goal. that's why they ignored the chests. chests are pointless to them, thinking that they made someone feel bad by ganking them? that's their jollies.

Yeah, I guess that's it. I mean I understand that's the main fun for some players; I guess I just can't get into that mindset at all, because I figure even if it were fun for me to gank other players, I would still want to get everything else I could out of the situation at the same time. At the very least the extra tel var and the gold, even if you find the gear meaningless.

Linaleah

amapola76 wrote: »

Linaleah wrote: »

people are not there for stuff. they are there specifically to gank players. it makes sense to them, because chest was not the goal, killing you while you are distracted, so cannot fight back as well - that was the goal. that's why they ignored the chests. chests are pointless to them, thinking that they made someone feel bad by ganking them? that's their jollies.

Yeah, I guess that's it. I mean I understand that's the main fun for some players; I guess I just can't get into that mindset at all, because I figure even if it were fun for me to gank other players, I would still want to get everything else I could out of the situation at the same time. At the very least the extra tel var and the gold, even if you find the gear meaningless.

I mean... i try to loot everything myself, but I also don't see the fun in ganking. only thing I can think of... they don't want to make themselves vulnerable to other gankers for even a second. when you are going for the chest, even if you are breaking in, those few seconds, you are incapacitated. that's why they are ganking you at that moment. and I would imagine that's why they do not loot the chests themselves.

albesca

Maybe those gankers just use chests as bait, so they leave them intact to lure other unsuspecting players

amapola76

albesca wrote: »

Maybe those gankers just use chests as bait, so they leave them intact to lure other unsuspecting players

Ah, that's a good point. I could see that happening.

Girl_Number8

If the chests are in a very open area, it makes you a really nice target....And if they’re solo it would make them a nice target.

The chests worth getting are the event chests. Of course those, require you or your group, killing quite a few players to take it all.

Best to think of yourself as the treasure chest in a sense....

Veinblood1965

If I was a pvper I'd gank you also sadly to say. I'd ignore the chest so I wouldn't be the next sheep in line. Sucks yes, I looted a chest or two this event and was wary each time.

kringled_1

Chests in IC are pretty low value anyways. I ignore them entirely in the upper city. Too much risk for too little reward. If I'm gonna get ganked, I'd rather it be while taking on a topside boss.

Reverb

They are camping the chest specifically to kill people who try and open it. They aren’t “running away” they are going back into stealth to kill whoever comes to rez you or open the chest.

PSA - if you know, or even suspect, that your body is being camped by a ganker please don’t lay there hoping for a rez. You are being used as bait to kill your allies.

PizzaCat82

There's nothing good in chests that most gankers don't already have.

Motifs? Meh. Only found in higher level chests.
Set pieces? Not in most chests.
Just a bunch of junk and some telvar.

Now the guy going for chests? Tons of Telvar most likely, and free at that, plus AP.

So its much more appealing to go for players than chests.. or even boss monsters.

VaranisArano

Sure, my PVP raid is joking when we say that there's a ganker crouched near every cornflower in Cyrodiil. That being said, gankers have a better chance of success when they target unaware or distracted players. Setting up near a desirable object like a chest or node increases their chance of getting good targets.

I take three approaches to chests in IC:
1. Skip them entirely during events. Seriously, it's a trap.
2. Use stealth and be ready to escape.
3. Use detect pots and show that I'm ready to fight. By that, I mean that I'm openly buffing up before I stop to pick the chest so I'm obviously not an easy target and I waste no time if I'm jumped by a ganker.

General advice that's useful no matter what approach: Use Force Lock and Auto Loot to minimize your time stuck in the lockpicking animation and looting screens so you are better able to react to a sudden attack.

amapola76

PizzaCat82 wrote: »

Now the guy going for chests? Tons of Telvar most likely, and free at that.

Lol, not from me. I'm constantly running back to the bank to deposit TV. The most anyone has gotten from me, in this event or for many years now, is maybe 10 TV at a time. Usually it's more like 0-2. It's not that I'm even saving it up for anything; I don't want or need it, I'll just be damned if I'm going to let gankers get anything more from me than I can help.

That being said, the posts here have been... enlightening. A good reminder of why I don't spend much time in IC, but definitely enlightening.

starkerealm

Girl_Number8 wrote: »

If the chests are in a very open area, it makes you a really nice target....And if they’re solo it would make them a nice target.

The chests worth getting are the event chests. Of course those, require you or your group, killing quite a few players to take it all.

Best to think of yourself as the treasure chest in a sense....

Yeah, this is the big thing. Chests, particularly ones out in the open, are a huge risk in the IC. Even if you think the chest is partially concealed, it still has a glow, and that means you're exposing yourself. I usually do pick chests in the IC when I find them, but it is a very pronounced risk/reward choice.

amm7sb14_ESO

I've had this happen to me as well, except even when I did go back to the chest there was nobody there to gank me, so I was still able to get the loot.

CaffeinatedMayhem

Reverb wrote: »

They are camping the chest specifically to kill people who try and open it. They aren’t “running away” they are going back into stealth to kill whoever comes to rez you or open the chest.

PSA - if you know, or even suspect, that your body is being camped by a ganker please don’t lay there hoping for a rez. You are being used as bait to kill your allies.

Adding to this - if I see a body laying in front of a chest, I assume you are working with the ganker and I will not rez you. But I will take the chest, after pulling shimmering shield. This is why you Warden in IC.

Girl_Number8

starkerealm wrote: »

Girl_Number8 wrote: »

If the chests are in a very open area, it makes you a really nice target....And if they’re solo it would make them a nice target.

The chests worth getting are the event chests. Of course those, require you or your group, killing quite a few players to take it all.

Best to think of yourself as the treasure chest in a sense....

Yeah, this is the big thing. Chests, particularly ones out in the open, are a huge risk in the IC. Even if you think the chest is partially concealed, it still has a glow, and that means you're exposing yourself. I usually do pick chests in the IC when I find them, but it is a very pronounced risk/reward choice.

Myself I look for the chests that have been killing a lot of players and adds.... They always have more tel. Especially the glowing ones 😆

If I am on a stamblade I never camp. Simply because it is not worth my time. I am there to get tel and have good 1(duo) v Xs fights.

I mean, when I see someone silly enough to open a chest in plain view, yeapers I drop em. Though I don’t camp places, that’s for guttersnipes....

Wandering_Immigrant

They don't loot the chest because they don't want to be the next person in line to be killed. Chests in IC generally aren't worth the risk. I have gotten motifs out of them I think, but most IC chests are simple and usually the only things worthwhile in them are a tiny amount of Tell Var and maybe a key fragment. Neither is worth getting killed over.

They're not still there to attack you again when you run back because they weren't camping the chest in the first place. There's tons of chests in IC no one is going just pick one at random to sit on in the off chance someone comes around to open it. They saw you running around and followed you. You became an easy mark when you went for a chest so they attacked. Who knows how long they might've been following you.

As someone who mostly plays a perma-crouched speedy stamblade in IC I follow people around all the time. Sometimes I'll attack other times I'm just people watching.

I open chests all the time but I don't bother with the chests out in the open during high pop. For the interior ones, I'll often lay down caltrops along the path from the chest to the doorway. Or at the top of the stairs for ones on the second level. It doesn't guarantee safety but it is a deterrent. And buff before opening. And be aware of your position so that if you do get time to react you don't waste it by panic-rolling into a corner and getting yourself stuck.

whitecrow

Can't remember ever getting ganked for a chest, even in the city. I mean it's possible it's happened at one point but usually I have no trouble.