While I know we won't get a response, I do think some of the frustration from players would be calmed by an answer, even an answer we do not want to hear.

e.g. "Producing and testing this mount had some challenges we were not expecting, so it spent longer in development than we expected... We knew this would be a highly sought after mount and we didn't want everyone to be riding deer, so we have priced it highly to deter sales and make this mount rare in-game... Our target market for this mount is subscribers who can end up with more crowns than they could spend, but we also put it in crown store so that non-subscribers can benefit... The cost of this mount reflects a change in our business plan, as the game has not been as successful as we once hoped we must now save up enough capital to keep the game running when we transition to a free to play model."

Much of the players reaction is due to not understanding why ZOS made this choice (a choice that negatively impacts on us players). If we understood the reasoning behind these prices ZOS would have more goodwill from the playerbase, and the future of ESO depends on the playerbase.

I was specifically waiting on the elk mount. I was gonna buy it when my sub renews next week and I thought, for sure, that that'd be enough crowns (I have 1,800 right now so that'd bump me to what, 3,300?) - holy crap was I wrong. I never expected something this mundane to be MORE than the swanky Dro-mathra Senche I bought way back with its particle effects and custom animations.

Now they're selling a mundane, no added frills, half-assed incomplete (because no mount upgrades like every other mount), piece of GARBAGE for a LIMITED TIME for MORE than something that added far more value. In my mind I defended the crates, but I cannot possibly defend this crap.

Unless they at a BARE MINIMUM add some visual mount upgrades I'm not even going to begin CONTEMPLATING it now.

And I REALLY wanted it. But after I saw that the Sun's Dusk Winter hood couldn't be dyed like its in-game non-premium counterparts, I'm done with letting this garbage slide.

Palidon wrote: »

Folks just don't buy the Elk. The price is way too high. No sense complaining about it, ZOS is not going to drop the price.

Actually there is EVERY SENSE in complaining because that is what you are supposed to do. We are all consumers and consumers have rights.

If everyone in the world had said and done nothing when something bad happened we'd all be wearing swashtikas and saluting the fuhrer right now.. So engage your brain and understand that when someone does something unreasonable to you it is not correct to put your head in the sand and let it pass.because hey nothing wasa going to fix it...And instead realise it is correct to stand up and say "hold on..this isn't right, I expect better especially when your taking my money".

I am so glad right now I got my credit card stolen before I purchased crowns. I wanted to buy the 50$ pack of crowns so I could buy the elk and use the extra stuff to try the crown crates, but forget it XD I'm not putting 45$ on one mount no matter how cute and desirable it is. ZOS needs to stop and start thinking about their crown store model. If the point is to drain dry the longtime fans, then they're doing it right. Anyway, everytime something is crazily priced like this I quit the game. The first 25$ mount made me quit. Then 25$ mounts became normal, I even eneded up buying one. But 45$? I don't think I'll recuperate from this shock. This game and this system is broken if the company needs to charge that much. Or there aren't really 7 million people playing, because then they wouldn't need to charge items at such exorbitant prices.

spiffy_jim wrote: »

It would have generated some 'good will' for them after they dropped the ball with the Crown Crates. The fact that they could have released a mount that was at the top of everyone's 'would buy' list and had it available in the Store instead of forcing people to buy it through crates.

Instead, they price it like they're saying to us:

"See! The Crown Crates are a better deal! For the same price as the Elk, you could could get Crown Crates and you'd also get all that other stuff (you don't want) in them."

I honestly got more out of spending the same amount of crowns on crates instead of spending it on one deer. (Maybe if I get some holiday money, I'll get the elk, but only if.)

They decided very long ago that they would keep DLCs at a fair price and cash in the cosmetic stuff. Which, by the way, I am totally okay with (as long as it is a honest practice and not RNG boxes).

Now, I believe they are seeing just how high they can go with the prices. Just how much bull people will take before the sales drop too much. Since, you know, the people buying the crates proved that they are willing to put a lot of money in the game and to take A LOT of bull. Perfect costumers, I suppose.

Perhaps the Elk will pull a Zombie Horse and come back next year for a lower price. It still doesn't make up for the lack of visual upgrades, in my opinion. But it can happen.

Honestly, personal opinion here; the marketing director is seeing how far prices can be pushed, along with a little "clown crates are cheaper and you get a chance to get a chance to maybe get the blessing of the rng gremlins and get a limited special themed mount" carrot on a stick thrown in.

A lot of people apparently bought clown crates. I've seen some atronach mounts in the game. I haven't heard or seen legions of happy customers singing the praises of the clown crates and how wonderful they are though. A lucky few who did get the exact reward they wanted in less than 32k crowns were happy about the mounts, but not the trade-in rate for duplicates/consumables. The ones who spent a lot of money and didn't get what they wanted, or enough gems to buy what they wanted also let other potential buyers know about their experience. It might not have been the huge success the marketing person was expecting.

I would have bought the elk if it had been priced like the dro'mathra senche. Whether you like the effects included with it or not, there was more work done with that one than a different color skin on an existing mount that could be a small justification for the higher price. The elk seems to be a horse in an elk suit, with the same horse animations, and not the same functionality as almost all the other mounts as far as customizing the look goes.

Jim_Pipp wrote: »

Much of the players reaction is due to not understanding why ZOS made this choice (a choice that negatively impacts on us players). If we understood the reasoning behind these prices ZOS would have more goodwill from the playerbase, and the future of ESO depends on the playerbase.

We know perfectly well why it's priced as it is.

Players have been asking for years for this mount. After it was datamined and the later officially announced, players were all "Oh yes, finally! I want this."

So ZOS knew they could get away with slapping an outrageous price tag on it. It's that simple.

The solution is just as simple. Players need to NEVER express even the tiniest bit of interest in anything which will or might end up in the crown store for fear of every such expression of interest bumping the price up.

Ohhh man, I can't wait for the reskinned black version of the Great Elk to go up at 5000 crowns! And then the sparkly green version for 6500!

/s

the most i expected this mount to go for was 4k crowns but 4500? cmon zos...stop trying to milk us....most of use spend at least 40-80$ a month on this game anyway...thats just an insult. might as well have slapped a 5k price tag on it if your going to charge that much.

What makes you all think they actually want to sell a lot of them? Maybe they are already planning to stick these in the next season of crown crates in the previous limited edition items tier so you can feel like you're getting a bargain instead of getting ripped off when you "win" one. I would assume the pricing on this item has been calculated for some purpose, and it isn't random.

I am really curious as to how many people actually bought this thing. Yeah sure a lot of people wanted it, were begging for it, but I'm also sure a lot of people had a similar reaction to me when seeing the ridonculous price tag : LOL NOPE!

Another name for the Elk Mount is RIp Off. But if you were dumb enough to purchase one then you only have yourself to blame.