I think ZOS is spoiling the community with limited time rewards, as a thanks for supporting them.

Greg11jkalfa · November 2018

Recently, and I mean within the past two months, players have been getting major one time rewards.

It all started with the Summerfall event. [Info here: https://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-us/summerfall ]

Then they announced the Nascent Indrik as a reward for players who participate in the End-of-Year Events. [Info here: https://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-us/news/post/54935 ]

And now players can receive the new Murkmire DLC as a daily reward. [Info here: https://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-us/news/post/55041 ]

Surely this is their way of giving back to players, as a thanks for all of the support over the past four and a half years. As far as I'm aware, there are no details for future events, nor what they have planned for the fifth anniversary. But I have no doubts that they will continue to reward those who play the game a lot. I think it's incredible how interactive they are, especially compared to other companies. Now, are there issues with the game? Yes. Have they made some bad decisions? Who doesn't. But most importantly, do they try their best to give players what they want? Absolutely. And I'm not saying that new content, and nice rewards excuse the issues lurking in the game. I'm just saying there's a lot to be thankful for, on both the player, and developer side of things.

But what do you think about all of it?

Aliyavana · November 2018

I wouldn't mind a reskinned dwemer sphere as a reward @zos_ginabruno wink wink

killahsin · November 2018

well if you played this game for as long as some of these players have with so many things completely broken i'd say the players deserve to be spoiled.

MetalHead4x4 · November 2018

Its bribery, not spoiling.

Turelus · November 2018

I think it's nice they're doing events and finding ways to offer us new interesting items without having to buy them.

However at the same time some of the events (Summerfall) were also about marketing and driving sales, so it wasn't entirely selfless of them. I am not going to complain about that though, if both parties can win from an event that's better than just ZOS taking advantage.

idk · November 2018

Greg11jkalfa wrote: »

Surely this is their way of giving back to players, as a thanks for all of the support over the past four and a half years.

I think we can say for sure these are not a 4 and a half year loyalty rewards as they do not require subscription for all those months like the previous loyalty rewards and those soon to come.

However, what OP lists is more for promotion.

The Psijic home was to promote more sales of the expansion.
The Indrik mount is a promotion to get players to play through the end of the year and will play out into next year.
I have not figured out the angle for giving away the DLC, especially since we seemed to know before it went live. There is one.

All this, just like ESO stepping up the perks for ESO+ since subscriptions is their most coveted and stable source of revenue.

All of this comes down to driving revenue, one way or another. Of course, those of us that are active get to benefit, well, except the free DLC does not benefit ESO+ people.

Greg11jkalfa · November 2018

@idk

It just seems weird that they would only do the Summerfall event for marketing, considering they did it months after Summerset released. As for the Indrik, I can see it for sure being a two way street, where they get to promote the new event merchant set up, and players get rewarded for taking part. And even Murkmire as a daily is like that, since they get to spread the word about unique daily login rewards, and players get those rewards for doing so. (Before anyone says "but eso plus players have it anyways" you're still paying to get access to it.)

All in all, you're not wrong. They certainly gain from doing these things, promoting the game, and it's content. But that doesn't mean the rewards are any less valuable. The house is incredible, the mount is the first one that can have it's appearance altered, and Murkmire as a daily reward saves players roughly $25. And no, these aren't rewards specifically for all of that time. But when I said:

Greg11jkalfa wrote: »

Surely this is their way of giving back to players, as a thanks for all of the support over the past four and a half years.

I meant, they wouldn't be able to host such events, or even have gotten this far without us, the fan base. Whether it's true or not, it is just an opinion of mine. I like to think ZOS is one of the handful of devs that actually care about their fans, and try their best to give them what they want.

Path · November 2018

MetalHead4x4 wrote: »

Its bribery, not spoiling.

I'm good with that. ESO+ since inception.

Day one player...bribe, gift, award, pat on the back, I'm in.

jainiadral · November 2018

idk wrote: »

Greg11jkalfa wrote: »

Surely this is their way of giving back to players, as a thanks for all of the support over the past four and a half years.

I think we can say for sure these are not a 4 and a half year loyalty rewards as they do not require subscription for all those months like the previous loyalty rewards and those soon to come.

However, what OP lists is more for promotion.

The Psijic home was to promote more sales of the expansion.
The Indrik mount is a promotion to get players to play through the end of the year and will play out into next year.
I have not figured out the angle for giving away the DLC, especially since we seemed to know before it went live. There is one.

All this, just like ESO stepping up the perks for ESO+ since subscriptions is their most coveted and stable source of revenue.

All of this comes down to driving revenue, one way or another. Of course, those of us that are active get to benefit, well, except the free DLC does not benefit ESO+ people.

I'm just remembering a line from the Forbes article that was posted around here the other day stating the indrik mount was a "thinly veiled attempt" to get people to log in daily. Maybe I'm just a jaded old cynic, but my first thought was, "Thinly veiled? More like blatantly obvious."

Interesting, and timely too, this MassivelyOP piece on behavioral engineering:

https://massivelyop.com/2018/11/01/working-as-intended-the-gamification-of-the-workification-of-games/

Kind of funny, because it come on the heels of one of my unfortunate moments of clarity. I was standing around in one of Glenumbra's delves waiting for the boss to spawn just so I could get my last event ticket. I'd gotten the first indrik feather with four extra tickets left over. Some dingus was taking potshots at my matriarch with his bow. I was twiddling my thumbs and groaning like I've been prone to a lot since the Witches Festival began-- every delve I've done these last couple of weeks has involved waiting-- and I realized I hated every minute of it. Including front-loading extra event tickets for those festivals down the line that I'm going to enjoy even less. All for a shiny I don't particularly care about.

These moments are the ones that burn me out on games forever. With GW2, it was the roller beetle and the quest for light armor pants followed by nerfs on the classes I find most fun. The endless GC ranks in SWTOR which are the only way for a solo player to get decent enough end-game gear to make it through "solo" flashpoints that were the only story delivery vehicle for the past year.

Not sure where I'm going with this... but I don't exactly feel spoiled

Rukia541 · November 2018

Their motive doesn't matter to me, fact of the matter is no other MMO rewards me for playing like ESO does. Maybe I joined at the perfect time, I was still maining GW2 when ESO dropped so I missed all the bad. But it is very noticeable and appreciated.

I don't feel rewarded at all in WoW and I pay 15$ for that every month.. I don't even know why anymore. Character attachment I guess. I wish more MMOs would 'bribe' their players (as another user claims) lol.

ESO is closer every day to becoming my main game. I just wish my friends would follow me, I feel like abandoning them if I just leave lol.

Gatviper · November 2018

I've made this account 5-6 days after the game actually came out in April 2014. Did I get any reward for that? No. Those who kept a sub for 6+ months when it came out, they did get a unique mount and a dwemer pet. Nevermind me returning back to game about 1 year after and subbing for 3 months pretty much every time.
Don't be so quick to thank ZoS for "giving back" for playing. People who get Murkmire for free are more likely to sub & pay than those who wouldn't bother with ESO if they didn't get it. It's just a calculated math.

Robvenom · November 2018

Greg11jkalfa wrote: »

Recently, and I mean within the past two months, players have been getting major one time rewards.

It all started with the Summerfall event. [Info here: https://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-us/summerfall ]

The free house was cool yes. But it was a stripped down version of the one people thought they were getting. It is also a marketing tactic. They wanted to sell furniture bundles, simple as that.

Greg11jkalfa wrote: »

Then they announced the Nascent Indrik as a reward for players who participate in the End-of-Year Events. [Info here: https://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-us/news/post/54935 ]

And in order to get the mount, you need access to CWC. Again, things are not black and white. This is another tactic to get people to either sub or buy CWC DLC.

Greg11jkalfa wrote: »

And now players can receive the new Murkmire DLC as a daily reward. [Info here: https://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-us/news/post/55041 ]

Great for people who do not sub, slap in the face to those who do sub and always have ESO plus. Again, just another way to sell more DLC and Subs. Players see how good Murkmire is, they buy more DLC or sub to get access to all of them.

Greg11jkalfa wrote: »

Surely this is their way of giving back to players, as thanks for all of the support over the past four and a half years.

No, it is not. Everything is numbers, formulated targeting and money. Companies like ZOS do not do anything that does not benefit them and make them money. ZOS has proven time and time again that selling items on the crown store is the motivating factor behind pretty much every decision they make.

Greg11jkalfa wrote: »

As far as I'm aware, there are no details for future events, nor what they have planned for the fifth anniversary. But I have no doubts that they will continue to reward those who play the game a lot. I think it's incredible how interactive they are, especially compared to other companies.

Interactive in what way? A small note from the developers in the patch notes? The 'we have removed some comments' replies in threads with excellent feedback and productive criticism? or the manipulative way they reward loyal players for watching other people play the game on one of the most toxic platforms on the internet?

Greg11jkalfa wrote: »

Now, are there issues with the game? Yes. Have they made some bad decisions? Who doesn't. But most importantly, do they try their best to give players what they want? Absolutely.

What we want, like 24-hour limited time stupidly expensive mounts or the constant stream of items in the cash shop that are unobtainable in-game? Or are you referring to Cyrodil being one of the worst lag-fest PVP experiences you could ask for? Or is it the constant loading screens we all asked for? You know the ones where you can literally take a nap and when you come back you still aren't loaded. Or is it the constant nerfs to classes, instead of buffs and new ways to for us to customize and use our classes?

Greg11jkalfa wrote: »

And I'm not saying that new content, and nice rewards excuse the issues lurking in the game. I'm just saying there's a lot to be thankful for, on both the player, and developer side of things.

But what do you think about all of it?

Yes, there is a lot to be thankful for. But let's not sit here and say that ZOS is rewarding the loyal players. They aren't.

ESO has a lot going for it, the world is beautiful, the questing is amazing, the crafting system is fun and the dungeons and raids are well done and can be repeated many times over before burnout. I could list 1000 more things about ESO i love.

Don't get me wrong, ESO is the best MMO out, and I will follow ZOS to the next MMO that they are making if it is 1/2 as good as ESO, but don't think that every little move they make is not calculated to squeeze every dollar they can from their community. The way they have handled the cash shop is proof of that and has been for years. And don't get me started on RNG loot boxes and the overall performance of the game.

Sorry to reign on your parade.

Jameliel · November 2018

All I know is that 100% of my real life friends have quit. Fewer and fewer people on my friends list log in. Game performance and level of fun are both at all time lows since I've been playing. I cancelled my sub, and am not too hopeful about renewing, as the devs and staff in general seem as if they want to drive people away instead of the opposite. Its bewildering why they continually force changes that only a small minority like or want. Typical of mmos these days it seems.

yodased · November 2018

What metrics are mmos generally judged on...

New monthly player downloads
Month over month attrition
Month over month % connected to server
Day over day time on server
% player purchase in game currency

I believe , just my opinion is that they are either attempting to define a metric or increase the % of certainty for future growth.

Its like an earnings call for public companies.

Just look at what is being offered and when its being offered and you can see definitive data patterns.

House thing to find out what motivates action, run daily reports of connection to server compared to % achieivment is a non scientific, but generally a good guideline for potential brand ambassadors.

Free daily login, onviously is for % retention and time on server.

Giving free crown crates and comparing crate demand before and after gives relevant data to see how effective drip feeding is. Same thing with twitch boxes. Compare before and after crown sales spe ific to the user amd their rewards. If you get something awesome from a free crate, you very well may buy more.

Gating the DLC for 24 days in may be because their metrics show a steady decline in the last week of the month, putting such a large prize there is a way, in theory, to mitigate the transitonal player back into ESO sooner than predicted or pre iouslly observed.

It really comes across to me that they are harvesting all data points and putting people into silos, which allows for personalization of advertisement and less wasted money on market research.

I like the shinies though, they are shiney.

Greg11jkalfa · November 2018

@Robvenom

Robvenom wrote: »

And in order to get the mount, you need access to CWC. Again, things are not black and white. This is another tactic to get people to either sub or buy CWC DLC.

They say on that page: "You are not locked out of purchasing feathers from previous events, so if you weren’t able to collect enough Event Tickets previously, you always have a chance to catch up."

They also state that: "To earn Event Tickets during the Undaunted Celebration Event, you must complete a dungeon (Normal or Veteran). You will receive three Event Tickets from the final boss of the first dungeon you complete in addition to the normal rewards."

And while the undaunted event only lasts a week, that's still 21 tickets if you get them for every day, which is more than enough to get the missing feather. Plus the New Life Festival event will last 21 days, giving you even more time to catch up if you don't have the DLC.

As for the "Sorry to reign on your parade.", don't be. After all, ESO is just an enormous, bug infested, unbalanced, and unstable cash grab. I'm not sure what I was smoking when I made the discussion.

Rake · November 2018

Pet areynn

Beardimus · November 2018

It's cool and all, but already the entitlement has started. Grumps moaning what they gunna get as they already have Murkmire etc etc

Hand outs are a difficult path as very quickly people judge the caliber of free stuff. And expert more and more.