Ancient Sandstone - lack of new sources

Marcusorion1

The new Fargrave Structural pieces require various amounts of Ancient Sandstone ( 6-16 per item ). Trouble is , why do we not receive any as loot in the reward boxs ? Generally , daily tasks in other zones will include ( or have a strong chance to include 1 or more ) the crafting materials for that zone, be it for style or furniture item pieces.

Ancient sandstone is a possible drop from various Craglorn sources due to it's use in Ra Gada styles - but that seems to be it - and it not a guaranteed drop from anywhere. Possibly getting one ( 1 !! ) from a world or delve boss in Craglorn is simply not an acceptable supply source given the increased demands for the item. Last evening 3 Wb's, an anomaly and a delve boss netted 3 ancient sandstone for myself and zero for my team mate.

We have been over this before multiple times from Summerset on - furniture materials as loot is an inadequate supply vs demand. Zos has adjusted the reward box rates to match this - once it has been pointed out by players on more than one occasion. Why this issue is repeated almost every time is a separate discussion.

Please provide sources for Ancient Sandstone from the daily task reward boxes and from drops within the zone in which the need for them is created - it is only logical

Northwold

I can't believe they've done this again, and with such high requirements. It looks geared to encouraging crown store use.

anadandy

I've always hated the artificial scarcity nonsense of furnishing style mats. Let them drop from anything in their respective zones, make it a super low drop rate if they have to be "hard to get" But honesty, grinding dailies on multiple characters every day so I can make one chair is terrible design.

Necrotech_Master

i think ive gotten more ancient sandstone deconning drops from craglorn that are in this style than ive gotten from anything else lol (since you have a chance to get the style mat from the associated style of the item on decon)

this is one reason ive never gotten into housing, all of the furnishings are insanely expensive to make (but i have a good gold income from selling many of these mats i never use lol)

Wolf_Eye

I remember getting this style stone (as well as a few gear pieces in this style) from Psijic portals. As those share nodes with runestones, I'm wondering if this will encourage people to pick up runestone nodes more often as they farm Crag for Nirn...

SeaGtGruff

I liked it when new style mats for DLCs and chapters dropped in common resource nodes; for me, it makes farming nodes in those zones more interesting and rewarding.

Arunei

@ZOS_Kevin
Is there any way to pass on to the devs the question of why they keep doing this? Why Motif and certain furnishing mats are so rare and required in such high numbers for numerous furnishing plans? And is there any way to ask them to please stop? Either make these things drop more or make them LESS required, or preferably both. It shouldn't feel like every aspect of the game is pushing us towards the Crown Store to circumvent frustrating things like this.

Northwold

Arunei wrote: »

@ZOS_Kevin
Is there any way to pass on to the devs the question of why they keep doing this? Why Motif and certain furnishing mats are so rare and required in such high numbers for numerous furnishing plans? And is there any way to ask them to please stop? Either make these things drop more or make them LESS required, or preferably both. It shouldn't feel like every aspect of the game is pushing us towards the Crown Store to circumvent frustrating things like this.

Indeed. The wizard needs to stay behind his curtain for decency's sake.

RisenEclipse

I would imagine it is so that people are still inclined to buy the furniture from the store, rather then make it. The scarcity of the materials to craft leads to more people just wanting to buy it, then go through the hassle.

FluffWit

Honestly I don't think it's some big conspiracy to push crown store furniture, I think they're just doing a bad job of deciding what should be needed to craft this stuff because the de isions are made by people who don't play the game.

They though Ancient Sandstone sounded cool and went with that with no clue how you actually attain it.

tonyblack

Ancient Sandstone drop consistently from treasure chests and deconstruction of the sets. So farming chests is fastest way.

Kiralyn2000

It's especially annoying when we're talking about structural pieces, that you're likely to want to make a lot of to build things.
(I haven't looked at the Fargrave stuff yet, I'm thinking about that Blackwood castle parts that I'd been thinking of building with in the Deadlands house plot. But the amount of mats I'd need is prohibitive.)

freespirit

Kiralyn2000 wrote: »

It's especially annoying when we're talking about structural pieces, that you're likely to want to make a lot of to build things.
(I haven't looked at the Fargrave stuff yet, I'm thinking about that Blackwood castle parts that I'd been thinking of building with in the Deadlands house plot. But the amount of mats I'd need is prohibitive.)

The Leyawiin castle structural pieces aren't actually too bad, they use furn mats, fairly common normal mats and 1 or 2 Ivory Brigade Clasp which are fairly easy to get.

The new Fargrave pieces use large numbers of ancient sandstone, similarily the Deadlands pieces with daedra hearts(although they are fairly easy to get) and the one that has annoyed me for EVER the items that require 16 x dwemer frame, farming dwemer scraps to make ONE frame is soul destroying!!

I want to spend time in my homes building not running around trying to find multiple ancient sandstone just to craft ONE item! I have a craft bag and until recently I had just ignored the ancient sandstone but it turns out over many years of constant play I have only collected just over 200, that's not going to last very long at all! ☹

Marcusorion1

tonyblack wrote: »

Ancient Sandstone drop consistently from treasure chests and deconstruction of the sets. So farming chests is fastest way.

Good info, but which zone are these treasure chests in ? I ran around Craglorn, opened 6 and only found 1 ancient sandstone in the only Master chest I stumbled across,

And which armour sets ?

Necrotech_Master

Marcusorion1 wrote: »

tonyblack wrote: »

Ancient Sandstone drop consistently from treasure chests and deconstruction of the sets. So farming chests is fastest way.

Good info, but which zone are these treasure chests in ? I ran around Craglorn, opened 6 and only found 1 ancient sandstone in the only Master chest I stumbled across,

And which armour sets ?

i think every set that drops in craglorn is in ra gada style, which is the style can yield ancient sandstone on deconstruction

the ancient sandstone from the chests/psijic portals is pretty random, but the gear is plentiful

kringled_1

A fair chunk of the gear from the Craglorn trials is also in Ra Gada (some sets are in yokudan instead)

SeaGtGruff

I think they've been trying to make the game more challenging in some respects, such as finding tapestry leads in Blackwood when they don't have any tell-tale glow or sparkle to them.

The problem is, there's a really fine line between things that are fun because they're so challenging versus things that are very frustrating because they seem to be deliberately super rare or extremely difficult to find.

Kisakee

Looks like you never grinded Skyreach Caverns for XP or Fighters Guild, i got over 1500 from there over time. Can recommend.

Northwold

"I think they've been trying to make the game more challenging in some respects, such as finding tapestry leads in Blackwood when they don't have any tell-tale glow or sparkle to them.

" The problem is, there's a really fine line between things that are fun because they're so challenging versus things that are very frustrating because they seem to be deliberately super rare or extremely difficult to find."

Yes when I heard they were trying to make things more challenging I'd assumed they had in mind the monsters, not building a bookcase!

Marcusorion1

Kisakee wrote: »

Looks like you never grinded Skyreach Caverns for XP or Fighters Guild, i got over 1500 from there over time. Can recommend.

You are correct, I have not done much grinding there at all ( far, far back on Craglorn release, and a little since then ) and I guess ancient sandstone wasn't on my radar. I did have a small pile in the craft bag, I assumed collected over the years from HRC. Making a half dozen of the new structures depleted that quickly and is what started me on my quest for more.

Thanks for the info, I shall try that. My main is all skilled up on crafting/decon but did not get any from the common overland drop sets ( air/fire ) but will look at the Skyreach results.

WhiteCoatSyndrome

freespirit wrote: »

The new Fargrave pieces use large numbers of ancient sandstone, similarily the Deadlands pieces with daedra hearts(although they are fairly easy to get) and the one that has annoyed me for EVER the items that require 16 x dwemer frame, farming dwemer scraps to make ONE frame is soul destroying!!

Farm Darkshade Caverns. I got two complete frames deconning stuff today after running Pledges.

Marcusorion1

Scrounged up 5 more ancient sandstone in Craglorn from intermediate and master chests and anomaly/group delve bosses.

Still begs the question : why is this furniture mat not available from the zone that sources the structural "recipes" that require significant amounts of them?

alberichtano

Marcusorion1 wrote: »

Scrounged up 5 more ancient sandstone in Craglorn from intermediate and master chests and anomaly/group delve bosses.

Still begs the question : why is this furniture mat not available from the zone that sources the structural "recipes" that require significant amounts of them?

I think the answer is just the dull reality of the fact that there are no nodes in Fargrave. And in the Deadlands, they drop Deadlands materials.

Which, to me, would be an excuse to expand on the Fargrave area. Would love to explore the dunes outside the city proper.

Marcusorion1

As I run through the city of Fargrave, each footfall kicking up little clouds of sand, I seek refuge from the sun against a wall carved from solid stone in the welcoming shade cast by the giant ancient bones that surround me and ponder " Where can I possibly find some ancient sandstone ? Why did I think I ever think it would be around here? "

@ZOS_Kevin

SidraWillowsky

Necrotech_Master wrote: »

Marcusorion1 wrote: »

tonyblack wrote: »

Ancient Sandstone drop consistently from treasure chests and deconstruction of the sets. So farming chests is fastest way.

Good info, but which zone are these treasure chests in ? I ran around Craglorn, opened 6 and only found 1 ancient sandstone in the only Master chest I stumbled across,

And which armour sets ?

i think every set that drops in craglorn is in ra gada style, which is the style can yield ancient sandstone on deconstruction

the ancient sandstone from the chests/psijic portals is pretty random, but the gear is plentiful

They're all Yokudan, not Ra Gada. AFAIK, there are existing sets that come in the Ra Gada style (it's like the Sapiarch style and culanda lacquer). Deconning Crag sets won't get you Sandstone, you'll get Ferrous Salts. I checked the Crag trials and arena sets as well- no go on those either.

I have about 700 in my craft bag and have no idea where they came from-- I guess treasure chests/Psijic portals in Crag and Skyreach? Though, based on drop sources, I'm not sure why it would drop plentifully in Skyreach, since it doesn't seem to drop from mobs.

robpr

World "bosses" and celestial rifts chests in Craglorn also can drop them

kringled_1

SidraWillowsky wrote: »

Necrotech_Master wrote: »

Marcusorion1 wrote: »

tonyblack wrote: »

Ancient Sandstone drop consistently from treasure chests and deconstruction of the sets. So farming chests is fastest way.

Good info, but which zone are these treasure chests in ? I ran around Craglorn, opened 6 and only found 1 ancient sandstone in the only Master chest I stumbled across,

And which armour sets ?

i think every set that drops in craglorn is in ra gada style, which is the style can yield ancient sandstone on deconstruction

the ancient sandstone from the chests/psijic portals is pretty random, but the gear is plentiful

They're all Yokudan, not Ra Gada. AFAIK, there are existing sets that come in the Ra Gada style (it's like the Sapiarch style and culanda lacquer). Deconning Crag sets won't get you Sandstone, you'll get Ferrous Salts. I checked the Crag trials and arena sets as well- no go on those either.

I have about 700 in my craft bag and have no idea where they came from-- I guess treasure chests/Psijic portals in Crag and Skyreach? Though, based on drop sources, I'm not sure why it would drop plentifully in Skyreach, since it doesn't seem to drop from mobs.

Hmm, you're right and I misremembered the trials sets,so I'm not sure where exactly my (also fairly large) supply of ancient sandstone came from either. Maybe chests in the crag trials drop it often?

Kiralyn2000

SeaGtGruff wrote: »

I think they've been trying to make the game more challenging in some respects, such as finding tapestry leads in Blackwood when they don't have any tell-tale glow or sparkle to them.

The problem is, there's a really fine line between things that are fun because they're so challenging versus things that are very frustrating because they seem to be deliberately super rare or extremely difficult to find.

Massive grinding for a crafting material, isn't "challenge". It's just tediousness.

xaraan

The punishment for the housing community drives me batty with this game.

ZoS really needs to take a better look at mats for furnishing vs the rest of the game, both in use and availability. I guess they want to "encourage" people to just buy it through the crown store section, but feels pretty scummy.

ectoplasmicninja

I was completely unaware that Ancient Sandstone was suddenly in demand until I read this post so I promptly listed 400 in my trading guild and made bank. Thanks for the heads up! Kinda wish they'd give us new uses for other old materials now.

neverwalk

use crown mimic stones