How to fix Assistants in 5 easy steps!

Gidorick · April 2016

Step 1: Offer, for a limited time, a full refund to anyone who purchased the Merchant or Banker Assistant.
Step 2: Remove the 5000 Crown Merchant and Banker Assistant from the Crown Store.
Step 3: Add consumable Merchant and Banker Summoning Stones/Whistles/Scrolls... whatever, to the Crown Store for 500 Crowns for a pack of 4. These Merchants do not follow you, and disappear once the "Summoner" gets far enough away.
Step 4: Add to the ESO+ membership a re-useable Stone/Whistle/Scroll ... whatever that has a cool-down of 24, 48, or 72 hours. There would be one for each assistant.
Step 5: Sell additional "skins" for the Merchant and Banker for 500 Crowns each. The skin is chosen by equipping the skin in the Collections tabs.

The idea to make them consumable is to prevent the devaluation of towns. By making these items consumable players will always have the choice between using/buying a consumable and visiting town. Sometimes you will use the consumable, sometimes you will visit the town. It's convenience if you want it without being detrimental to the existing in-game constructs.

These ideas are pretty much taken straight from my Beast Merchant concept that I posted a year ago. Check it out in the Spoiler.

http://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/149698/summonable-beast-merchants-and-banker-concept/p1

Gidorick wrote: »

The idea of beast merchants isn't anything new to the Elder Scrolls. Morrowind has both the Mudcrab Merchant and the Creeper. The Crown Store could sell items that would allow players to summon these beast merchants while out and about.

Each item should be a one time use consumable item that should be sold through the Crown Store and obtainable once through in-game questing. The player could even be required to complete the quests before they can buy the Summoning Items from the Crown Store.

Mudbrab Merchant Bait: One time use. Players pull out some crumbs, scatter them on the ground and the Mudcrab crawls out of the ground, ready to buy, sell, or repair!

Creeper Effigy: One time use. Players pull out a little scamp effigy and burn it. The Creeper merchant appears out of thin air through a puff of smoke, ready to buy or launder your stolen items.

Goblin Banker Coin: One time use. Players pull out a coin purse, retrieves one gold coin and toss it into the air in front of them. A well dressed Goblin (well, for a goblin anyway) riding a Bristleback trots up. Behind the Goblin, on the back of the boar, is a lockbox while various bags and satchels hang down its side. The Goblin is there for you to access your personal bank only.

NOTE: I find it funny that when I was looking for "Goblin Banker" images I discovered there are goblin bankers in WoW. I don't think this means ESO can't have a goblin banker also.

These would be very useful items that many players would be grateful to be able to have with them.

Bramble · April 2016

I don't like the price point, at all, but I dislike impermanent, use-once items, and lengthy cooldowns, even more. If I ever want to purchase these at a future date during a sale or fit of whimsy, I want them to come at a snap of impulsive fingers and never, ever be a consumable item that goes *poof* when used.

Skins for them are a nifty idea, though. Are we able to rename the merchants? Would need to be able to rename them appropriately for skins to work best.

KingDuncanVII · April 2016

Step One is very unlikely to happen with anything in the Crown Store.

Step Two's Crown Price is just too high in my opinion. It should be around 2,000. The way it is now is basically saying these merchants are worth more than our expansions.

Step Three, I disagree with. Consumables are unnecessary.

Step Four, ESO+ members should get access to these merchants for free (I am not an ESO+ Subscriber but those who pay monthly should get it for free, IMO). I am, however, an active Crown Store customer and still think it's fair that I have to pay for that really convenient feature.

Step Five, skins would be nice but unnecessary.

Buffler · April 2016

Step 1) Go to wayshrine

Step 2) go to bank

Step 3) go to merchant

Thats how i solved the issue

MornaBaine · April 2016

They just need to half the price. Seriously. When they do, I'll buy the merchant. The banker does not offer enough utility to be worthwhile at all. But I DO love the idea of being able to reskin them and rename them. I kinda reallly want a smooth talking khajiit to hang out with. Totally wouldn't name him Puss-N-Boots. Really. >.>

Artheiron · April 2016

omg players trying to fix a game that designed to suck the money out of you. Give up already!

Gidorick · April 2016

Artheiron wrote: »

omg players trying to fix a game that designed to suck the money out of you. Give up already!

Oh this would still suck the money out of you... it would just do so more slowly and over a longer period of time.

JKorr · April 2016

MornaBaine wrote: »

They just need to half the price. Seriously. When they do, I'll buy the merchant. The banker does not offer enough utility to be worthwhile at all. But I DO love the idea of being able to reskin them and rename them. I kinda reallly want a smooth talking khajiit to hang out with. Totally wouldn't name him Puss-N-Boots. Really. >.>

The banker offers access to your personal bank.

The merchant buys stuff. Only non-stolen stuff. Doesn't repair, doesn't sell.

I'm not really seeing the greater utility. Its all personal opinion of whether an item is worth what they are charging, of course.

Ourorboros · April 2016

If zos really wanted to sell a butt load of these, they should make the vendor able to act as a quest board and available in Cyrodiil. Bet they would go for more than 5k.

Korah_Eaglecry · April 2016

They arent going to do anything with the assistants except maybe lower the price. At this point no one knows how many people bought into it and we dont know what ZOS end goals were for sales. We dont know if they hit them, if they surpassed them or they fell short.

I can tell you that no matter how much people complain on these forums. Its far too late for them to turn this ship around. Its in the store, people have spent the money on it. And any sort of changes would hurt them financially. Not just in the aspect of returning peoples money but taking away these items, that for all we know some may very well might like the way they are, who are we to decide for them? It might be time to step back and ask yourself if youre doing this for all the right reasons if youre willing to short change an unknown number of players for YOUR interests.

And if the financial fiasco caused by what you propose isnt enough. The financial cost of going back and committing Developer time to addressing these Assistants to your specifications to attempt to repackage and resell them could be a gamble ZOS has no interest taking. Especially since very few people on these forums have made any sort of hint that theyd prefer what it is youre suggesting.

None of this is easy for ZOS. Its only easy for you to log on to these forums and suggest they do this. All we can hope for at this point is that ZOS fell far short of their goal and will have to rethink their approach to Assistants in the future.