ZOS - please don't make ESO turn into ArcheAge

SwampRaider · April 2018

What I mean by that, is the increasingly alarming way the crown store is turning into a very obvious pay for convenience and pay to catch up and pay for necessity model.

In ArcheAge a lot of the store items were needed to stay competitive if you wanted to be something. They weren't exactly pay to win, but they were "pay to win faster".

With these large in-game advertisements for the store itself, really ruins my immersion and it is very annoying to see how companies blatantly pushing players to buy things. ( I hope an add-on can fix this)

Seeing that a cool looking Motif is only available through Crown crates is even more disturbing.

I quit ESO to play ArcheAge because I had high hopes for a sandbox future but I was disappointed when I learned that people were spending buying items from the store to be able to get to the top of the ladder faster. My guild leader herself, spent $15,000 to become one of the most tankiest PVP years I've known it any game.

So coming from a game like ArcheAge and the trying to escape it by subbing back and to ESO, I now find myself worried that the zos marketing team is coming dangerously close to ruining an amazing game.

I really hope that during this pts testing the developers really listened to the players about how pushy you guys are making the crown store.

If you really want to be like ArcheAge, why don't you create an item that people can buy with real money that they can sell for gold in the guild store that people can consume for crowns( ArcheAge had an item called Apex that you could buy with real money and sell to people on the auction house for gold they could consume it for store gems)

I really care about this game in this community and I really don't want to see the marketing team take it down to the level that Trion took ArcheAge to.

Please, let's have a good discussion about this. I am enjoying the beauty of Summerset, and look forward to testing out more, but as a veteran ArcheAge player I just couldn't stand idly by to see crowns ruin this game.

Anotherone773 · April 2018

They likely set it up that way so that you test crown store items as well. I am sure a lot of people would get so wrapped up in playing through the chapter that they ignore the crown store items. So they remind you of the new items available in the crown store so you can test those items as well. That way they can fix any issues along with the chapter issues before release.

That would be the logical reason anyway.

Nerftheforums · April 2018

I don't see the problem as long as the items in the crown store are purely cosmetic/have utilities such as the riding lessons. They are not game breaking for other players, they just add something to the purchaser, so no problem. The dude looks super cool with the new crown costume/motif? Good for him, I have some extra 20 euros to spend on whatever. It is cool at a point I need it? Cool, gonna spend the money on it and be just like him. Moreover, with the introduction of the outfit system, I really see no issue on how the crown store is structured now.

Dasovaruilos · April 2018

I also don't see this as such a big issue. I do not like Apex mounts not being buyable with gems and don't like Motifs on Crates, but those don't affect game play.

The "pay for convenience" / "pay to catch up" is something that is essential in a MMO that wants to be here long term. Without those things, after 1 or 2 years new players will simply give up picking up the game because the original players are 2-3 years ahead and will remain 2-3 years ahead.

Every MMO needs new players to grow and replace those that have quit.

I have a mostly complete account on Xbox and am starting one on PC to see if I want to trade. Without Research Scrolls from vouchers and maybe even store, Riding Speed lessons and other small things, I'd never even consider a switch and would likely just stop playing. And this is me, an experienced ESO player that already know the important stuff and the shortcuts to get there.

New players already get pretty overwhelmed with ESO. They need to have those systems so people don't feel "hopeless" for starting the game 3-4 years after launch.

Regarding the Crown Store, as I said, I do dislike a few strategies, but as long as they stay 100% cosmetic, I don't see the issue at all.

You compare with ArchAge, but the example you yourself gave does not apply here. One person spending $15,000 on ESO will only manage to get "prettier" or "flashier" than other people, and maybe speed up a few levels that won't affect the game. Nobody will become "king of PvP" on ESO with any amount of money, so that shows that the system is not the same as ArchAge.

Dreyloch · April 2018

I could of told you that Trion was a money pit company. I played Rift for a couple years and the RNG on their crates was just absurd. Nothing was really pay to win or even "get there faster". But if you liked a really cool mount or costume/outfit, you'd typically be paying a LOT of money for it.

I wish more companies would follow the model that Path of Exile has. Pure and simple, outside of inventory space (which you really need anyway and it's really cheap) what they do is create new costumes, new spell/ability effects, all kinds of cosmetic goods, and that's it. There are no mounts in the game cause it's an ARPG. On top of it, they do have some crate type stuff that comes and goes. But get this....THEY TELL YOU THE ODDS of getting the best items!!!! Not seen that anywhere else. Especially NOT Trion. (Maybe thats changed since I played, idk and idc)

To top off all of this, the game is free to play. No buying the game, no subs, totally free. I forgot to mention they have "supporter packs" when new content comes out. But it's by no means required to play said content. Now if only MMO's would pick up on this idea =/

NewBlacksmurf · April 2018

Its been this since Tamriel Unlimited (6 months after the name change)

Notice there's been yet another name change each year so manage your expectations.....I'm not a fan either so I choose not to indulge or participate in a lot.

lazerlaz · April 2018

It's kinda just the way the culture of online game has become the norm unfortunately.

#1 Buy the game
#2 Pay monthly
#3 Pay for exclusive items.
#4 introduce gambling (in this case crown crates)

4 big ways they make money.

It's not enough to do the first 2 anymore, that's so 2000. Their greed gets the best of them and therefore #3 and #4 were born.

Business wise it's smart. Ethically it's disgusting. Especially #4.

Moloch1514 · April 2018

WTB Crown Jewelry Materials Pack!

SwampRaider · April 2018

Moloch1514 wrote: »

WTB Crown Jewelry Materials Pack!

WTS [Crown jewelry materials pack] 5000g OBO. See my trustworthy gift rating on www.esocrownexchange.com I always send a free crown crate first as collateral.

Moloch1514 · April 2018

SwampRaider wrote: »

Moloch1514 wrote: »

WTB Crown Jewelry Materials Pack!

WTS [Crown jewelry materials pack] 5000g OBO. See my trustworthy gift rating on www.esocrownexchange.com I always send a free crown crate first as collateral.

And so it begins

eso_nya · April 2018

lazerlaz wrote: »

It's kinda just the way the culture of online game has become the norm unfortunately.

#1 Buy the game
#2 Pay monthly
#3 Pay for exclusive items.
#4 introduce gambling (in this case crown crates)

4 big ways they make money.

It's not enough to do the first 2 anymore, that's so 2000. Their greed gets the best of them and therefore #3 and #4 were born.

Business wise it's smart. Ethically it's disgusting. Especially #4.

The standard lifecycle of a mmo

I did expect a them to be better tho. TES Universe and fanbase existing since 1994, made it hard to believe they'd turn it into a standard cash grab grinder in less than 10 years

Sad.

Minno · April 2018

Btw, 15k is a down payment on a 300k house.

No wonder baby-boomers think less of us millennials lol.

Minno · April 2018

lazerlaz wrote: »

It's kinda just the way the culture of online game has become the norm unfortunately.

#1 Buy the game
#2 Pay monthly
#3 Pay for exclusive items.
#4 introduce gambling (in this case crown crates)

4 big ways they make money.

It's not enough to do the first 2 anymore, that's so 2000. Their greed gets the best of them and therefore #3 and #4 were born.

Business wise it's smart. Ethically it's disgusting. Especially #4.

#latestagecapitalism

When the Earth is fully mined, they'd find a way to charge you for the smoking hole in the ground lol.

SwampRaider · April 2018

I wish ZOS would just be transparent about their Crown store plans no. You know be honest.

temjiu · April 2018

On one side, I really get irritated with some of the prices they charge, it's highway robbery. ON the flip side, I appreciate that all they have is cosmetics and QoL enhancements. There is nothing in the store that gives a player a competitive edge on another player in the actual game.

The same can't be said of Archeage, which scaled the player advantage with the $$ spent. It's one of the big reasons Archeage crashed. ESO probably will not, even if the prices on some of the things are simply crazy (cough...outfit slots...cough).