Explorers Pack in Crown Store - say it ain't so!

LordSkyKnight · March 2015

Slippery slope here we come! If anything they should just include it with the subscription. Funny how many of you would just buy it in the cash shop (cackles).

Laerania_ESO · March 2015

if they put a pre-order perk in the store nothing stops them to sell, for example, those loyalty rewards. Let's see who will pre-order and pay full price for their next product.

People who think this is about explorer's pack exclusivity <lol>. You really think that most people give a rat if you can select any race on any alliance? #facepalm.

LtCrunch · March 2015

Laerania_ESO wrote: »

if they put a pre-order perk in the store nothing stops them to sell, for example, those loyalty rewards. Let's see who will pre-order and pay full price for their next product.

People who think this is about explorer's pack exclusivity <lol>. You really think that most people give a rat if you can select any race on any alliance? #facepalm.

Yes, actually. It was a point of lots of criticism prior to the game's release. Though once they announced the Imperial Race was behind a paywall it kind of fell to the wayside. Both points of discussion really rubbed a lot of long time TES fans the wrong way.

Thymos · March 2015

The explorers pack being sold is one of the best steps they could take. I am tired of trying to get people to play on a common faction, but they are new to the game and want to play a Nord or an Elf. This will eliminate that issue, and I we will see people actually play on the faction they really want to with the character they really want to make.

Amarinth · March 2015

I personally don't see the problem with them selling a bundle that includes the "any race, any faction" perk on the Crown Store.

Explorer Pack codes have been widely available online post-launch for next to nothing ($1-3 on average), so if it's a matter of exclusivity, I'm afraid that ship sailed away a long time ago. When sold through the Crown Store at least the money will go directly to Zenimax rather than to some shady key reseller.

Also as someone mentioned the more players that have access to any race on any faction, the better the class & role balance is likely to be across all factions, since fewer players will be pigeonholed into a specific faction for an optimal race / class combination.

AlnilamE · March 2015

Laerania_ESO wrote: »

if they put a pre-order perk in the store nothing stops them to sell, for example, those loyalty rewards. Let's see who will pre-order and pay full price for their next product.

People who think this is about explorer's pack exclusivity <lol>. You really think that most people give a rat if you can select any race on any alliance? #facepalm.

Yes. That was one of the incentives for me to pre-order. I never got the IE because I never play as an Imperial. Oddly enough, 50% of my characters are in their proper alliances.

But I don't have a problem with people being able to buy this option from the Crown Store.

LordSkyKnight wrote: »

Slippery slope here we come! If anything they should just include it with the subscription. Funny how many of you would just buy it in the cash shop (cackles).

The problem with that is, what happens to the out-of-alliance character if yous top subscribing?

Laerania_ESO · March 2015

Brandalf wrote: »

Laerania_ESO wrote: »

if they put a pre-order perk in the store nothing stops them to sell, for example, those loyalty rewards. Let's see who will pre-order and pay full price for their next product.

People who think this is about explorer's pack exclusivity <lol>. You really think that most people give a rat if you can select any race on any alliance? #facepalm.

Yes, actually. It was a point of lots of criticism prior to the game's release. Though once they announced the Imperial Race was behind a paywall it kind of fell to the wayside. Both points of discussion really rubbed a lot of long time TES fans the wrong way.

I'm not talking about whether it's right or not to have paywalls, but the blatant attempt of some forum users to attribute a selfish attitude to people who disagree.

I couldn't care less for the explorer pack, in fact I'm against the exclusivity, what worry me is ZOS telling the truth and keeping its word.

Iago · March 2015

I don't really care if the explorers pack is available in crown store. True it was a preorder bonus implying that they had no intentions of making it available later, but I will not be surprised when it hits because as much as I love the justice system update the companies I cannot give the companies word on anything very much credence. It's best to to wait and see what they do, because their mess ups are inevitable 1.6 proves that they re capable of some pretty cool things.

Gidorick · March 2015

dwemer_paleologist wrote: »

tallenn wrote: »

dwemer_paleologist wrote: »

tallenn wrote: »

Mpcolson wrote: »

Brandalf wrote: »

Mpcolson wrote: »

The Digital Imperial Edition has been available for $20 bucks in the Bethesda Store since launch. That gave you the Any Race any Alliance ability.

The Explorers pack that had all the maps and a couple other pets was said to not ever be for sale after launch.

The graphic you post does have any information as to what is in that Adventurer Bundle... but really?? Does anyone really care if you can buy a pack that provides all the maps?? I only ever looked for the one in Audrion and Khenarthi's Roost. After that I just didn't see the rewards being worth the effort.

This is much ado about nothing....

Imperial Edition does not give you any race in any faction. It gives you the Imperial race in any faction.

That's funny because I bought the Digital Imperial Edition as a pre-order before Beta... My game has always had the Any Race and Any Alliance feature. With the Imperial Horse and the Imperial Race. It had a couple of mud crabs pets.

All the maps and a couple other pets were the Explorer's Pack which was included for the $79.99.

They didn't offer the Explorers Pack add on after launch.

The bolded part is why. Any race/any alliance was a pre-order perk, not an IE perk. If you pre-ordered the IE, then obviously you got perks from both, as did I. However someone that pre-ordered the regular edition does not have access to Imperial race, and someone that bought the IE at or after release does not get any race in any faction, only Imperial in any faction.

wut?
ok i am obviously confused now, what is it thats being offered then?

Well, we don't really know. This is currently all speculation. I (and others) were just pointing out how certain perks were gotten because of pre-order, and other perks were because of having the Imperial Edition, specifically that any race in any alliance was a pre-order perk, not an Imperial edition perk.

We won't know what is ACTUALLY in the crown store until it opens, or ZOS make an official statement detailing what's in it.

well thats fair, and thank you for the answer, i do agree with it.
but my problem is like i said earlier that if my friend wants to play an orc and i want to play a dark elf then we should be able to play together. and i welcome it

look, the ship has sailed about them trying to make us feel special for being in at the very start and opening crowd and paying 1 year of sub and helping out in the beta and basicly pioneers to eso and setting 1st foot on tamriel soil in eso.
that ship has sailed, they obviously dont see us as special and the rewards are no longer special.
now if they wish to create something new for us old timer customers then that would be awesome and i welcome it with open arms and even a smile
but ...

This is why I suggested it be behind the subscription, to maintain a semblance of exclusivity.... oh well.

http://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/151782/put-the-imperial-edition-and-explorers-pack-benefits-behind-the-subscription/p1

ZOS can still change this. There's time! But, they won't.

folklore · March 2015

While I'm a bit sad that they went back on their word with it being a pre-order incentive... I think it's a good idea to make this available to everyone. Pretty sure most people I know have purchased it... and plenty of other up and coming players will look into purchasing it, as well.

It's definitely worth the buy and I'd rather see everyone happy. Even though they talked about the races breaking up and forming these alliances ... I kind of feel like I'm fighting for my own reasons in game now.. despite my race not matching the alliance.

havgin · March 2015

so I just started the game and I was wondering about this explorer's pack. I picked up the game from a wally mart discount bin for $3, came with a kinda neat looking cloth map and the explorers pack. anyways are the maps/bags something that spawns for every new toon? and are the maps treasure level fixed or does it roll based on current level?

Lionxoft · March 2015

If I remember correctly @ZOS_GinaBruno confirmed that the Any race any alliance perk would not be offered again. Was that another lie? I'll have to check the ESO Live episodes but I can't remember which one it was stated. I'll come back to this.

I'm not really sure why I preordered the game anymore since basically all the exclusives have been rehashed and are readily available. Kinda not exclusive :P

eventHandler · March 2015

Since they are letting people buy the "pre-order exclusive" explorer's pack (calling it something else doesn't change it), I wish they'd let us buy the "exclusive" pig and the "pre-order exclusive" steam dog.

Arunei · March 2015

Xjcon wrote: »

I don't see a problem. I got lucky when I bought my game, I got the explorers pack for 20$ at my local game stop, it was in august 2014 mind you. Anyone who purchases the game should have the chance to buy this and why not the crown store.

Uh, I don't think you got the EP, I think you got the IE. The EP was free with a pre-order, the IE was 20 bucks more. If you DID pay 20 bucks for the EP, then I'm sorry to say you were far from lucky.

Anyways, I'm pretty happy if they're offering the EP in the Crown Store. Why should anyone be upset? So other people can get the pet and maps, big deal. It's nothing that affects the rest of us in any way. The only thing that does affect us is the "Any Race Any Alliance" perk, which only affects us if we have friends or family that want to play in the same faction as us but want to be one of the races in the other factions. So basically it's an affect that's actually positive.

Amsel_McKay · March 2015

eventHandler wrote: »

Since they are letting people buy the "pre-order exclusive" explorer's pack (calling it something else doesn't change it), I wish they'd let us buy the "exclusive" pig and the "pre-order exclusive" steam dog.

Yeah! This is a kick in the teeth to have a "pre-order exclusive" that anyone can have.. but i understand the money grab.

Danikat · March 2015

The explorer's pack was never actually exclusive to people who pre-ordered.

I bought the game a month ago from a high-rated Amazon seller, it was sold as a new, sealed copy and what I got was a sealed box...with the Explorer's pack code inside.

I assume it was simply a matter of that specific copy happening to be left over from pre-release, but it does still mean that it's possible to get it without pre-ordering or going through dodgy gold selling websites.

Edit: Also it's been showing up in the collections screen in-game as 'Purchased in Crown Store' since the 1.6 update, I just assumed everyone knew and that's why no one talked about it.

Varicite · March 2015

I tried to tell everyone that the Explorer's Pack would be on the Crown store during 1.6 beta, but was told that I was basically delusional and that ZOS wasn't some "comically evil company", etc etc.

I even took screenshots on PTS and posted them on the forums and was still called a fool.

Irony.

starkerealm · March 2015

Bloodystab wrote: »

Bag are P2W items

*snorts*

The bags are treasure maps. The payout from them is two blue items. At low levels it's impressive, but basically vendor trash after you've played for a little while.

Lionxoft · March 2015

I would love to know what the original version of this edited FAQ/Knowledge Base article states... Maybe some damage control?

WHY CAN'T I PLAY ANY RACE IN ANY ALLIANCE?
Updated 03/16/2015 11:19 AM Published 03/12/2013 08:29 PM

https://help.elderscrollsonline.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1299/~/why-cant-i-play-any-race-in-any-alliance?

After checking the cache it seems it was updated in August as well. I can't see beyond that date however. It wouldn't surprise me if they changed the verbiage to CYA.

starkerealm · March 2015

AaronMB wrote: »

When ZO$ puts SO gear and the like in the Crown Store, I'll put on my water wings and jump ship... but until then, I won't worry about those "little things" (e.g. that are not directly P2W items) they put into the store. A pet and maps to some treasure chests that give you some gold and a few green or blue items (that will be sold to the vendor or deconstructed) is not at all game breaking.

The Crown Store is not going away and ZO$ will use it to make whatever money they can. In my opinion, then, we ought to be strategically supportive of certain things in attempt to keep 'other' things out of the store.

Assuming those are the same treasure map packs it's two blues reliably. If you're just starting out, it looks really cool and amazing. For someone who's been with the game for any length of time, it's vendor trash or decon fodder. Nice, but nothing that would qualify as Pay to Win.

Varicite · March 2015

starkerealm wrote: »

AaronMB wrote: »

When ZO$ puts SO gear and the like in the Crown Store, I'll put on my water wings and jump ship... but until then, I won't worry about those "little things" (e.g. that are not directly P2W items) they put into the store. A pet and maps to some treasure chests that give you some gold and a few green or blue items (that will be sold to the vendor or deconstructed) is not at all game breaking.

The Crown Store is not going away and ZO$ will use it to make whatever money they can. In my opinion, then, we ought to be strategically supportive of certain things in attempt to keep 'other' things out of the store.

Assuming those are the same treasure map packs it's two blues reliably. If you're just starting out, it looks really cool and amazing. For someone who's been with the game for any length of time, it's vendor trash or decon fodder. Nice, but nothing that would qualify as Pay to Win.

I agree that it isn't Pay to Win, but as I said before when we were debating whether or not they'd put the Explorer's Pack on the Crown store, it most definitely hurts their already ailing credibility toward their community.

Unfortunately, ZOS saying one thing and doing another completely is pretty much par for the course. At this point, I'm genuinely more shocked when they actually follow through on things.

Whisper292 · March 2015

You're raising a stink in advance, just in case. Dude, really?

Bookwyrm · March 2015

Whisper292 wrote: »

You're raising a stink in advance, just in case. Dude, really?

If this is in reference to the original poster, this pack is in the crown shop now, and it does include the any race any alliance perk.

It's not something I'll lose my head over, but I'm not particularly pleased with the idea. That said, it's not at all unexpected.

theweakminded · March 2015

Do the pre-order codes still work? I have an unused copy of the game with that code in it...

starkerealm · March 2015

theweakminded wrote: »

Do the pre-order codes still work? I have an unused copy of the game with that code in it...

There's a post from someone else saying the code was throwing an error as of last week, so... maybe not. But, if you've got a valid preorder code file a claim with CS to get it activated.

WhiskyBob · March 2015

1,500 crowns for Explorers Pack? WHAT A RIP OFF hahahaha.

You could get Explorers Pack extension key for 1$, thats how much I paid for mine.

While Imperial is 2,100 crowns. This is genious.

Lionxoft · March 2015

theweakminded wrote: »

Do the pre-order codes still work? I have an unused copy of the game with that code in it...

Yes or at least they did about a month ago. I'm not sure at this point if anything has changed but I doubt they could bar older codes from activating.

Tabbycat · March 2015

I would imagine this is being offered so that players who are wanting their friends and family to join don't have to worry about said friends and family having to choose a race they don't like just to be able to play with them.

Now if your girlfriend wants to play ESO and refused to do so before because she didn't like any of the races in the Alliance you were playing in and you didn't want to play in another alliance because you feel loyal to the one you chose, she can play the race she wanted and be in your Alliance so you can play together.

And that's really the whole point of an MMO isn't it?

Shehriazad · March 2015

Like I said before...the key was always available for 2-3$/€ at key sites.

In addition to that...Zenimax did not break ANY promises.

If they promised to never release the explorer pack for TESO...then they actually didn't.

What they release is the Adventurer pack for TESO: TU.

This may be shady...but you got nothing on them...their game, their rules.

starkerealm · March 2015

Lionxoft wrote: »

theweakminded wrote: »

Do the pre-order codes still work? I have an unused copy of the game with that code in it...

Yes or at least they did about a month ago. I'm not sure at this point if anything has changed but I doubt they could bar older codes from activating.

They certainly could. Particularly if the Explorer Pack card game with an expiration date on it (I bought digitally so I never checked). But the question is, "did they?"