How do you feel about Crown Store costs?

Runefang · July 2016

I feel it's fine. Ultimately ESO is a business as well as a game and there are plenty of people whose livelihoods depending on it continuing. So if the store is profitable at current prices, cool.

If people are paying those crazy (to me) prices for stuff that doesn't matter well then more power to ZOS. It keeps the business, and therefore the game, going without me having to spend anything more than my ESO+ sub on it.

I understand the frustration that people have at being priced out of the market but again its just a business, they need to maximise profit. There are ways they can mitigate the frustration though, bring back old CS stuff and sell at a reduced price or something like that.

darkside0071 · July 2016

I wish we had crown login rewards lol, i think some things in the store cost a lot but it's okay i guess.

Grymmoire · July 2016

Well, just my opinion, but since there really is no true "scarcity" when speaking about digitally created resources (just induced scarcity by limited time offers), I do think pricing could be more reasonable. Mind you, this come from a retiree on a fixed income\budget here.

I have always crafted and sold my items in MMOs more cheaply than competitors, since I feel that bulk sales at a lower price not only sells faster, but sells more in quantity; that has been my experience to date.

I would like to see:

Mounts - 1500-2000 crowns
Pets - 750 crowns
Motifs - 1500 crowns (since one still needs the style mats or purchase mimics)
DLCs - 2000 -2500 crowns
Costumes - 1000 crowns
Housing - Depends upon whether there will be multiple selections of sizes, but no more than 2500 crowns seems reasonable.

Since we players have no way of knowing item sales numbers, it is hard to evaluate whether prices are really "fair", however, intuitively it would seem lower prices could induce a higher sales volume overall (or possibly not, only Zen knows and they aren't telling eh?)

Deathgiggle · July 2016

It depends on your financial situation as to if the prices are fine with you. That will vary greatly from individual to individual. My brother for example spends about $300-400 a month on 2 of the games he plays. I spent about $900 last year on Wizard101 and another Facebook game I play. neither of us thought anything about it and we don't think anything is overpriced. Of course me, my brother and both of our wives are all professionals and so this amount of money is not really a concern.
If gaming is your hobby, then you will ultimately spend money on, like everything else in life. If your a teenager living at home or a college student then I can understand that the crown store would be expensive to you. I grew up gaming with my first system being the Commodore 64, then the Atari and finally I found Zelda on the original Nintendo! Once I found Zelda I was hooked for life. Now at 41 years old I'm still playing games

Arcaver · July 2016

I think it's all overpriced if the stuff isn't account bound. It's stupid to have something be 5000 crowns and it only be tied to one character. Not only that, but there's ZERO information on what you'll actually need for crafting the new motifs. I made the mistake of buying Dwemer and Ancient Elf, just to learn that I can't craft it because the style stones I need are at a veteran levels. Makes no sense for me to get it at level 15 like I did. Then to lose it because I deleted the character is even more frustrating. Especially since it doesn't say anywhere in the crown store what is and what isn't account bound. I want to get the Mercenary Motif, but I've already heard how the style stones are only from doing dungeons. So that's out, because I'm already waiting 6 hours for a group and never actually doing a dungeon.

khele23eb17_ESO · July 2016

Deathgiggle wrote: »

It depends on your financial situation as to if the prices are fine with you. That will vary greatly from individual to individual. My brother for example spends about $300-400 a month on 2 of the games he plays. I spent about $900 last year on Wizard101 and another Facebook game I play. neither of us thought anything about it and we don't think anything is overpriced. Of course me, my brother and both of our wives are all professionals and so this amount of money is not really a concern.
If gaming is your hobby, then you will ultimately spend money on, like everything else in life. If your a teenager living at home or a college student then I can understand that the crown store would be expensive to you. I grew up gaming with my first system being the Commodore 64, then the Atari and finally I found Zelda on the original Nintendo! Once I found Zelda I was hooked for life. Now at 41 years old I'm still playing games

It doesnt just depend on your financial situation. It also depends where you live. $900 is the average monthly salary in my country with 2/3 of people earning less than that - the median being about $700. And the 'fun' thing - everything gaming / electronics related is more expensive than in the US due to taxes and customs fees. So you may be in a relatively comfortable financial situation and still not be fine with spending a 10th of your monthly income on some digital items in a video game.

Agalloch · July 2016

I wish they could add a conversion system like Guild Wars 2 have . https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Currency_exchange

Lord_Eomer · July 2016

I have only bought additional Characters slot since last 3 month's.

Not bothering anymore high priced costumes or motif or usless mounts.

Garldeen · July 2016

Personally, I'm happy enough with the DLC cost in the crown store. Paid £10 for TG the day it came out and still not finished all of it, nowhere near getting heists working well either so I have a good many weeks left of game play. Got DB yesterday, again for about £12 (Grrr the drop in exchange rate), I suspect that will last me many months too.

In terms of £/hr I think the DLC is very good value. Other stuff in the crown store, however, I wouldn't touch. £30 plus for a different colour mount or a costume is too high a price and is bordering on exploitation of gamers who like to collect everything. In terms of man hours/selling point the costumes and mounts are very very expensive.

When we consider how many man-hours DLC take to make and they sell for 1500 crowns then we compare with how many man hours a reskinned horse takes and then sells at 4,000. hmm I'm in the wrong business

menedhyn · July 2016

Do you think these prices are too steep?
On balance, yes I do think they are too steep (for me).

5,000 crowns is about £20 or thereabouts in my world. I can do a lot with £20, plus I like to think (and have to think) carefully what I spend my disposable income on. For me to justify that sort of money it would have to be a motif that I really, really liked and one that I thought could add something pretty special to the characters I play. Unfortunately, very few of the armour motifs appeal to me, and the three in question here don't grab me because i'm really not into the super-shiny, high-fantasy look. So, whilst I think the prices are too steep, i'm not angry or frustrated by it. I don't think I have missed out on anything so far. Plus, I like the idea of finding motifs in game through a combination of exploration, perseverance and patience.

By comparison, i'm very happy to spend £20 on three books at my local bookshop given the value and importance I place on them.

What would you expect to receive for 5000 crowns?
Based on the answer above, I expect something that I consider to be value for money. That might depend on what the content is. I'll be more likely to see some of the crowns used for, say, a DLC based in Elsweyr given my fondness for all things Khajiiti than I would revisiting Skyrim. Things which improved the role-playing experience are more likely to get my interest. There is no mandatory 'must have' list in my head that would form a £20 purchase.

Should only Motifs be that price?
No would be the short answer. Again, it all depends what the item is, how valuable it is to me and therefore whether I think it is affordable.

Should ZoS refrain from retiring items?
No real strong feelings either way. I haven't seen anything that has been retired and made me feel like I have missed out. I can live without missed items.

Would you like to see more bundles (Mount and Pet)?
Bundles that we could pick and choose from? Possibly. Pre-bundled combinations of mounts and pets or other Crown Store stuff is less likely to appeal. I think mounts are an interesting idea, and clearly well-liked given how many people I see using them, but I wouldn't want one as I have no need for one. I have a couple of pets (a cat and the new honey badger), one or two costumes and... that's about all.

NewBlacksmurf · July 2016

Arcaver wrote: »

I think it's all overpriced if the stuff isn't account bound. It's stupid to have something be 5000 crowns and it only be tied to one character. Not only that, but there's ZERO information on what you'll actually need for crafting the new motifs. I made the mistake of buying Dwemer and Ancient Elf, just to learn that I can't craft it because the style stones I need are at a veteran levels. Makes no sense for me to get it at level 15 like I did. Then to lose it because I deleted the character is even more frustrating. Especially since it doesn't say anywhere in the crown store what is and what isn't account bound. I want to get the Mercenary Motif, but I've already heard how the style stones are only from doing dungeons. So that's out, because I'm already waiting 6 hours for a group and never actually doing a dungeon.

Completely

Korah_Eaglecry · July 2016

I mean, no matter what we say about it here on these forums the only thing that matters to ZOS about the store is their metrics. If things are selling, who cares about the minority making a fuss over the prices on the forums?

Every time a new item or mount comes out youll see the front page here blanketed with "Thats too expensive" posts. And yet in game those items will flood your screen. So if I was ZOS Id take posts about the Crown Stores cost with a grain of salt because obviously the only ones here complaining are either not going to buy it and want to get in on the complain train before it leaves station or were never going to part with that kind of money anyway. The vocal few that they might pay attention to are those that did spend the money but werent impressed. As that could be a potential loss of a followup customer.

MaKTaiL · July 2016

I've only used my crowns to buy the DLCs. I took advantage of the Crown Pack discounts and stock up a bit. I still have 3500 left and I'll be saving it for Vvadernfell (not really fond of paying for dungeons I won't be able to play).

Robbmrp · July 2016

For the Alliance Crown Motifs they should have them closer to 2500-3000 per book with a group package for maybe 6-7k. They would sell a lot more of these and would be a better value. When crowns aren't on sale a 5500 pack can run $40 US which is just too much for a style that not a lot of people want. Ever since they came out, I think I've crafted maybe 50 pieces max in all 3 styles combined.

One thing Zenimax could try also to get more sales on these is release them in the crown store at the same time as the DLC releases. More people may be opted to use Crowns for them instead of game gold. This far out from the DLC, any serious crafter is already going to know these motifs. I think it took me 3 weeks max to get EVERY motif from the Thieves DLC and 2 weeks for the DB one from their releases.

shadowwraith666 · July 2016

motifs that are over 1K are way overpriced, considering that it's per character and not per account as it is with costumes and mounts.

SerDinadan · July 2016

Having played Black Desert Online where the costumes cost $25-$30, I think the crown store prices are fine.

Saoirse_Siobhan · July 2016

I just don't see how they can justify selling Costumes or Mounts for more than a DLC. The price for the Dro-m'Athra was was ludicrous, yes it was pretty and glowing and had a cool summon animation, which should have made it 2500 crowns, more expensive than regular mounts, but not so expensive that people can't afford it. Also most costumes I find way too expensive, with the costume packs you got 3 for 700 crowns, but now it's 1000 crowns for only one!!! I could see the Alliance hero going for 1000, but weren't they more like 2000? I can't remember.

newtinmpls · July 2016

Typhoios wrote: »

I just wish it was still a sub based game and we had no crownstore. The prices are high. They should have bundled the Alliance motifs if they were going to charge that much.

Me too.

That being said I buy what I 1-want AND 2-am comfortable paying for.

Divinius · July 2016

I haven't ever really complained about crown store prices. Sure some of the items are stupidly high-priced for what they are, but none of them are Pay-to-Win so there's no obligation to buy them, so it doesn't really matter. If ZOS can make enough money off the people willing to shell out that kind of cash for cosmetic items, then let them.

As for specific items:

I don't have a problem with the cost of the banker or merchant, and I don't even have a problem with the fact that the crown store versions of those NPCs don't have the standard features. However, I do have a problem with how they are marketed. It's very "bait-and-switch" given that they lack the features of the standard NPCs of the same name. They should have been re-named appropriately. For example, the "Merchant" isn't a merchant at all. The only function she has is liquidating un-needed items. They should have called her the "Liquidator" or something.

The Motif prices are also insane, but again, it doesn't matter, since they can be obtained in-game. They could price them at 100,000 crowns for all I care. I'd never pay real money something I can easily get in-game with gold.

Molag_Crow · July 2016

Crown Store items are overpriced these days, yes... I won't be buying anything apart from Polymorphs and the odd costume/hat. ^^ I even had to buy more crowns the other day despite being subbed... 1500 crowns a month isn't enough. It just isn't.

khele23eb17_ESO · July 2016

SerDinadan wrote: »

Having played Black Desert Online where the costumes cost $25-$30, I think the crown store prices are fine.

Changing your situation from terrible to bad might be an improvement but its still not fine.

bebynnag · July 2016

when a mount or a motif cost more than the DLC something's not right.... and the DLC id fairly priced!

E-Zekiel · July 2016

The motifs that are over 1500 are grossly overpriced. 3000, 5000? Jaysus. For the shiny new/particularly awesome ones I could see 2000, but $30 and $50 are a little redonkulous.

helediron · July 2016

The new alliance motifs are of poor quality. They deform female characters. The heavy/medium/light items do not match at all together. Nothing justifies their pricing and i recommend NOT to buy them.

imredneckson · July 2016

Cazzy wrote: »

I just want to say that I'd like this to be a mature and friendly discussion. Please try to be respectful in your responses and constructive. Thank you

Today the 3 Alliance Motifs were added to the Crown Store at 5000 crowns each. To buy all three would require purchasing the 5500 Crown Pack coming to £71 or roughly $85 (correct me if I'm wrong!). Besides the motifs we have seen individual costumes and mounts being sold for a higher price.

With ESO+ you get 1500 Crowns per month, which was great at the beginning. Now, even if you save your crowns you'd need to save for some time before you could buy all the latest high-cost items. Sadly, ZoS retires a lot of these items before we can save up so we reach for the credit card or simply go without.

Do you think these prices are too steep?
What would you expect to receive for 5000 crowns?
Should only Motifs be that price?
Should ZoS refrain from retiring items?
Would you like to see more bundles (Mount and Pet)?

Again, please share your thoughts but do so maturely and constructively or you won't get cake

That ZO$ overprices everything now a days. Back when the CS was new they sold 3 costumes for 1k-1.5k. Now it's 1 costume for the price of a mount ( a bit over the price of my nightmare horse but not as much as the domathra senche ). Still ZO$ doesn't care, after all that's the reason why they add cool new items to the CS and put a limited time on them so that you have to pay. That way ZO$ gets the money you use for the sub and from you paying to get the crowns needed to buy the item before it times out.

Edit: Also I hate the fact that I can't use the costumes that I have already paid for on the NA Mega Server and be able to wear them on the EU Mega Server ( same with the CP I have worked hard to get ). I guess it's just another way ZO$ tries to get more money out of us.

Kaspy · July 2016

Most items are way overprized when you have to actually buy crowns for them but they don't feel overprized at all when you have a bunch of 'free' crowns from subbing. At least that's pretty much how it works for me: before I subbed I only bought things like DLC's & Imperial update. Now that I sub I am much more liberal about spending my free crowns on stuff I don't need. Which might be the reason that keeps the prices high as ZOS cannot really tell either which items bought from the crown store were purchased with which crowns. ZOS might be just selling extremely expensive items without actually getting any money for it.

Father_X_Zombie · July 2016

Charging that much for a motif that I can just buy with in game money is so stupid. 2000 crowns would be fine with me, but for a full motif book but 5k crowns? Wtf?! Are they trying to make money or not? No one will buy this!

The costumes went from 750 for 3 costumes to 1000 for only 1 costume, wtf!?

And I'll buy eso+ when they take a break from keeping the crown store stocked with overpriced vanity and cosmetic items and actually fix the game!

Snowstrider · July 2016

Too expensive.

Gamertaglemieux · July 2016

Majority of the Crown Store is incredibly overpriced.

I do love playing ESO (and The Division and Destiny and Neverwinter all on Xbox) and would gladly purchase Crown Store items but those prices. Whew! Very steep.

Even have 27,000 in Crowns too spend but don't due to those steep prices. Mounts are like $20-$25. C'mon really now. Ridiculous!

notimetocare · July 2016

Stuff should cost more. They need to make money and people don't want to sub.