No free crates for ESO+ members during the next trial period

Recremen · November 2018

ravenarc wrote: »

Recremen wrote: »

Honestly good riddance to the free gambling boxes, I like the new approach they're rolling out a whole lot better. I don't know why people think they're decreasing ESO+ value when they literally just announced and are launching several new features. It's almost like the gambling boxes have awakened your inner addict and now you miss the ability to scratch the itch. :-o

I disagree. Previous months was merry which earned me a lot of gems from those free crates including the log in rewards.

So no, It's not the gambling kicking in, It's the access on free gems. Now if only there are other methods of earning crown gems, most people wouldn't be voicing their opinion here.

Honestly if we're asking for things that don't exist I don't know why you'd want to participate in the gem system at all. If ESO Plus members could just outright purchase items from the gambling boxes instead of gambling for them that would be worlds better. That would be something much better to spend the crown stipend on.

H1ker · November 2018

Personally, I always enjoyed the free crates during ESO+ trail periods and I'm sorry to see them go.

I really don't want an ugly statue of Molag Bal that I would not display in any of my homes.

Jhalin · November 2018

Kiralyn2000 wrote: »

Nebthet78 wrote: »

This reeks of me as an attempt to get ES0+ members to spend more money in the Crown Store above and beyond the Allowance they get for their sub. It reeks of a double dip attempt.

Oh.. we're not gonna give you these crates free, but we'll give you a 30% discount .... but you won't know we'll change the RNG to our favour so you have to use up your Crown Allowance and buy more to get what you want.

Wow, that's conspiracy-theorying hard. (and no, I don't sub, and I don't buy crates. I found the various free crates to be a wonderful demonstration of why they're not worth the crowns. But I still don't assume that They're Out To Get Me! just because of some changes in freebies.)

ravenarc wrote: »

It is fewer than it was introduced for the first time. From 8 crates if I remember correctly then down to 2 crates and sooner or later, probably nothing.

The number of crates has varied each month, depending on the other 'big gift'. The month we got Lots O' Dwarven Crates, that was the big prize. The month we got 100k, there were less crates. Honestly, given that we're getting Murkmire this month, I was totally surprised that there were any crates at all.

Well when they’ve started designing motif obtainment methods around how best they can get people to buy from the store (*cough* Welkynar...)
I think it’s a reasonable concern

Katahdin · November 2018

I get nothing but crap (potions, meals, riding lessons and XP scrolls for my 15 maxed characters) from the crates anyway so having other unique things like the free little statue that I can put in one of my houses once in a while is welcome.

BenevolentBowd · November 2018

ZOS_JessicaFolsom wrote: »

Hi everyone,

Thank you for sharing your concerns with us. Our goal is to provide our ESO Plus members with valuable benefits and exclusive offers on a more consistent cadence every month, instead of a few bonus rewards every once in a while.

In addition to the original ESO Plus membership benefits such as full DLC access and the Craft Bag, on November 13 we will launch additional monthly improvements to our ESO Plus membership. These new benefits - available only to paid ESO Plus members - include exclusive Crown Store items and deals, free in-game collectibles, and an increase to the monthly Crown stipend. If you haven't yet, you can learn more about them here.

Hi @ZOS_JessicaFolsom , my ESO+ was recently processed. Given that the ESO+ crowns are all provided when payment is made, does that mean I do not get the extra crowns until my payment is processed next? Based on my new crown balance, it would appear that I did not get the higher ESO+ per month.

Elsonso · November 2018

.

BenevolentBowd wrote: »

ZOS_JessicaFolsom wrote: »

Hi everyone,

Thank you for sharing your concerns with us. Our goal is to provide our ESO Plus members with valuable benefits and exclusive offers on a more consistent cadence every month, instead of a few bonus rewards every once in a while.

In addition to the original ESO Plus membership benefits such as full DLC access and the Craft Bag, on November 13 we will launch additional monthly improvements to our ESO Plus membership. These new benefits - available only to paid ESO Plus members - include exclusive Crown Store items and deals, free in-game collectibles, and an increase to the monthly Crown stipend. If you haven't yet, you can learn more about them here.

Hi @ZOS_JessicaFolsom , my ESO+ was recently processed. Given that the ESO+ crowns are all provided when payment is made, does that mean I do not get the extra crowns until my payment is processed next? Based on my new crown balance, it would appear that I did not get the higher ESO+ per month.

Earlier, they said that subscribers would be getting their extra Crowns by the end of November.

If I can find the reference, I will post it.

Edit:
"As an ESO Plus member, you will receive an additional 150 Crowns as part of your monthly stipend, bringing your total to 1650 per month. Note that if you are partly though a 3- or 6-month membership, you will be credited your bonus crowns by the end of November."

https://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-us/news/post/54825

Edit 2: Looks like you have to be a 3 or 6 month subscriber. Month to month is not mentioned

Gaeliator · November 2018

the more u give away(even it's a trick), the greedier some ppl will become. just saying...

ZOS_JessicaFolsom · November 2018

lordrichter wrote: »

BenevolentBowd wrote: »

Hi @ZOS_JessicaFolsom , my ESO+ was recently processed. Given that the ESO+ crowns are all provided when payment is made, does that mean I do not get the extra crowns until my payment is processed next? Based on my new crown balance, it would appear that I did not get the higher ESO+ per month.

Earlier, they said that subscribers would be getting their extra Crowns by the end of November.

If I can find the reference, I will post it.

Edit:
"As an ESO Plus member, you will receive an additional 150 Crowns as part of your monthly stipend, bringing your total to 1650 per month. Note that if you are partly though a 3- or 6-month membership, you will be credited your bonus crowns by the end of November."

https://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-us/news/post/54825

Edit 2: Looks like you have to be a 3 or 6 month subscriber. Month to month is not mentioned

Thanks, @lordrichter! What you answered with is accurate.

@BenevolentBowd does that address your concerns?

Nebthet78 · November 2018

Recremen wrote: »

Honestly good riddance to the free gambling boxes, I like the new approach they're rolling out a whole lot better. I don't know why people think they're decreasing ESO+ value when they literally just announced and are launching several new features. It's almost like the gambling boxes have awakened your inner addict and now you miss the ability to scratch the itch. :-o

Maybe they are butthurt their marketing strategy isn't working! Perhaps it's time we fire this new Marketing person and go on to the next one.. Someone who actually gets it. I mean, that door has revolved twice already, what's a third time going to hurt?

BenevolentBowd · November 2018

ZOS_JessicaFolsom wrote: »

lordrichter wrote: »

BenevolentBowd wrote: »

Hi @ZOS_JessicaFolsom , my ESO+ was recently processed. Given that the ESO+ crowns are all provided when payment is made, does that mean I do not get the extra crowns until my payment is processed next? Based on my new crown balance, it would appear that I did not get the higher ESO+ per month.

Earlier, they said that subscribers would be getting their extra Crowns by the end of November.

If I can find the reference, I will post it.

Edit:
"As an ESO Plus member, you will receive an additional 150 Crowns as part of your monthly stipend, bringing your total to 1650 per month. Note that if you are partly though a 3- or 6-month membership, you will be credited your bonus crowns by the end of November."

https://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-us/news/post/54825

Edit 2: Looks like you have to be a 3 or 6 month subscriber. Month to month is not mentioned

Thanks, @lordrichter! What you answered with is accurate.

@BenevolentBowd does that address your concerns?

Yup, thanks!

Synthwavius · November 2018

Wow. I'm not subbed but this is really lame. I wonder what's going on at ZOS marketing department

weedgenius · November 2018

Synthwavius wrote: »

Wow. I'm not subbed but this is really lame. I wonder what's going on at ZOS marketing department

Agree. The new ESO+ benefit is that I can buy something from the crown store full price a couple weeks earlier than everyone else? Who cares? Or buy one crown store item of their choice at a discount once a month? No thanks. The statue is nice but it's also different from the first free item they previewed when they announced this new system last month (Priestess of Mara costume, anyone?).

It definitely does not feel valuable or rewarding to me that I need to buy items from the crown store in order to take advantage of 2/3 of the new benefits of a subscription I already paid for. Yet another new layer added to that constant sinking feeling of being pushed to the crown store.

Snit · November 2018

This month's big prize, Murkmire, is something ESO+ already contains. The other big prize is free ESO+ for non-subscribers. ESO+ will be allowed to buy a few things in the Crown Shop at what I suspect will be a small discount.

In general, ESO+ is worthwhile. Not this month, though. We'll have to see whether this is a new direction or an aberration. I do wonder whether anyone at ZOS considered how this would look to subscribers.

heaven13 · November 2018

I agree with so much of what has already been said. It's not really the crates themselves that are the issue.

The new benefits were explained to add to ESO+ value, and as a long term change.

The crates were offered to "show appreciation" for current subscribers. Non-subs who logged in that week received all benefits of a subscription, other than the crowns. By offering something to their subscribers, ZoS was saying "thank you for supporting us, we'd like you to earn something by logging in too". Crates just happened to be the bait they used, which worked well since they were trying to promote those as well.

Being told that they've removed the appreciation crates because they're increasing the value of a subscription in other ways are totally different points. The crates were never advertised as an increased benefit to the subscription to begin with, either in the trial news posts or the subscription benefits page.

Instead, now ESO+ members get nothing during the trial period that they won't get regardless. The 150 extra crowns a month (what does this even buy, not even many crown exclusive furnishings), the exclusive deals, etc...we were going to get that stuff anyway, with or without a plus trial. If your subscription expires before the trial starts, there is literally ZERO incentive to renew it immediately.

Ertosi · November 2018

Here's the original article for the new ESO+ rewards: https://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-us/news/post/54825

In summary, those paying for ESO+ get +150 more crowns per month, free items perhaps once per month, and discounts on select crown store items.

Here's the article the last Free ESO+ Week: https://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-us/news/post/26435

In summary, if you already paid for ESO+ you could receive up to 6 free Crown Crates.

Many are comparing the new ESO+ rewards directly to the free crown crates which used to be given out during Free ESO+ Weeks. It should be pointed out that the new ESO+ rewards will be given each and every month to subscribers, no matter if there's a Free ESO+ Week or not that month. The two should not be compared as ESO+ subscribers would be getting the new rewards regardless. So the bottom line is ESO+ subscribers are getting much less value out of their current subscription this month due to the lack of free crates. Are ESO+ subscribers entitled to get old extras like those free crates? Certainly not, but the perception of lost value is easily visible and understandable.

Despite the two sets of rewards not truly being comparable, lets still look at their equivalent value. Crates cost 400 crown each, so 6 crates is 2400 crowns total in value (2200 crowns if you compare them to the cost of a 4 pack and 2 singles). The rewards this month for being an ESO+ subscriber include +150 crowns, a free furnishing item, and a discount price on a crown store mount. A free furnishing item can easily be comparable to a free crate, because you usually get something out of each, so we'll say 400 crowns in value. In Retail, giving out a discounted price on a future store purchase is called a Bounce-Back Coupon. Its not considered as giving something for free; its considered a hook to increase future purchases. Fair to not give that a value (if we did give it a value, it would have to be negative). That adds up to a estimated value of 550 crowns for this month's ESO+ subscriber rewards.

Everyone is free to have their own opinion on how they perceive this month's rewards, as we all value things differently. As an ESO+ subscriber, I personally don't feel like this month's rewards are telling me my subscription is valued as much as it used to be.

DaveMoeDee · November 2018

Kanar wrote: »

There's a lot of zos white knights in here. A couple points:
1. Some have mentioned items/services going on sale after you buy. I would point out that you're a fool if you DON'T go back to the store and get the sale price. Or, price match through credit card. With services like cable, all you have to do is call them and you can get the new customer price. I mean, really, "a fool and his money are soon parted."
2. If you go into a restaurant and buy a burger, pay $4, and then after you the cashier gives free burgers to everyone then you will be mad too. Just because you don't see the ESO+ scenario the same, does not mean it isn't.
3. Zos can just add 1 week to all our subs to make up for the free week.

Yeah, when I go to the food court and buy a dish, and then I see them giving out samples of the dish, I get pissed because I could have just loaded up on 100 free samples!

DaveMoeDee · November 2018

Alex_Lex wrote: »

ZOS_JessicaFolsom wrote: »

Thank you for sharing your concerns with us.

150 crowns instead of 6 crowncrates?

Wow! That's quite a deal

I hope you would be happy to get 1500 crowns instead of your salaries then

GIVE US OUR CROWNCRATES

Why would you want free crown crates when you can spend your money on their limited time deals in the crown store instead?

DanielMorra · November 2018

As a result, regular subscribers will not get anything during the event? Excellent zos! =_=

Cpt_Teemo · November 2018

DanielMorra wrote: »

As a result, regular subscribers will not get anything during the event? Excellent zos! =_=

Yeah usually its atleast 1 free crate a day, now its nothing but an extra 150 crowns per month if you have a 3-6 month sub not a month to month which some have been subbed forever using the month to month sucks no compensation for that either, just seems they're trying to push out the already loyal subscribers in for new ones or something really hope they don't go down EA's path cause we all know what happened to Swtor.

JasonSilverSpring · November 2018

Ertosi wrote: »

Here's the original article for the new ESO+ rewards: https://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-us/news/post/54825
In summary, those paying for ESO+ get +150 more crowns per month, free items perhaps once per month, and discounts on select crown store items.

Here's the article the last Free ESO+ Week: https://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-us/news/post/26435
In summary, if you already paid for ESO+ you could receive up to 6 free Crown Crates.

Many are comparing the new ESO+ rewards directly to the free crown crates which used to be given out during Free ESO+ Weeks. It should be pointed out that the new ESO+ rewards will be given each and every month to subscribers, no matter if there's a Free ESO+ Week or not that month. The two should not be compared as ESO+ subscribers would be getting the new rewards regardless. So the bottom line is ESO+ subscribers are getting much less value out of their current subscription this month due to the lack of free crates. Are ESO+ subscribers entitled to get old extras like those free crates? Certainly not, but the perception of lost value is easily visible and understandable.

Despite the two sets of rewards not truly being comparable, lets still look at their equivalent value. Crates cost 400 crown each, so 6 crates is 2400 crowns total in value (2200 crowns if you compare them to the cost of a 4 pack and 2 singles). The rewards this month for being an ESO+ subscriber include +150 crowns, a free furnishing item, and a discount price on a crown store mount. A free furnishing item can easily be comparable to a free crate, because you usually get something out of each, so we'll say 400 crowns in value. In Retail, giving out a discounted price on a future store purchase is called a Bounce-Back Coupon. Its not considered as giving something for free; its considered a hook to increase future purchases. Fair to not give that a value (if we did give it a value, it would have to be negative). That adds up to a estimated value of 550 crowns for this month's ESO+ subscriber rewards.

Everyone is free to have their own opinion on how they perceive this month's rewards, as we all value things differently. As an ESO+ subscriber, I personally don't feel like this month's rewards are telling me my subscription is valued as much as it used to be.

You should also factor in the ongoing monthly extras for ESO+. The point is that instead of showing ESO+ members appreciation just a couple times a year they are now showing it monthly. So, over time this new system might be more rewarding and is at least more frequent. Perhaps in future months the ESO+ perk will be some free crates. Who knows.

I don't think it is fair to compare one month's worth of the new system to the old system that only happened I think at most twice a year.

Ragged_Claw · November 2018

Cpt_Teemo wrote: »

DanielMorra wrote: »

As a result, regular subscribers will not get anything during the event? Excellent zos! =_=

Yeah usually its atleast 1 free crate a day, now its nothing but an extra 150 crowns per month if you have a 3-6 month sub not a month to month which some have been subbed forever using the month to month sucks no compensation for that either, just seems they're trying to push out the already loyal subscribers in for new ones or something really hope they don't go down EA's path cause we all know what happened to Swtor.

Wait a minute, I wont get the extra 150 crowns because I sub monthly?? I wasn't aware of that. I've been subbed since early access on a monthly basis, I have NEVER taken a break but I won't get the extra crowns? Well I wasn't going to throw my toys out of the pram over not getting the free crates (although I'm annoyed about it) but I will over this. That's terrible.

LordLomax · November 2018

Hang on I subscribe monthly so I won’t even get the 150 crowns ?

albesca · November 2018

LordLomax wrote: »

Hang on I subscribe monthly so I won’t even get the 150 crowns ?

You won't get the 150 crown for the month already started, you'll get them from the next month onward. Those with an ongoing longer subscription will get the crown raise for the remaining months: I'm in the first month of my 6 months subscription, at the end of November I'll get 750 crowns (150 × 5 remaining months).
That's how I understood the article, anyway

LordLomax · November 2018

Ooh I see thanks for clarifying that . Mine renews last of month so December will be new rate for me

Ragged_Claw · November 2018

albesca wrote: »

LordLomax wrote: »

Hang on I subscribe monthly so I won’t even get the 150 crowns ?

You won't get the 150 crown for the month already started, you'll get them from the next month onward. Those with an ongoing longer subscription will get the crown raise for the remaining months: I'm in the first month of my 6 months subscription, at the end of November I'll get 750 crowns (150 × 5 remaining months).
That's how I understood the article, anyway

Ah thank you! I thought we wouldn't be getting them at all, ever

jainiadral · November 2018

Ragged_Claw wrote: »

albesca wrote: »

LordLomax wrote: »

Hang on I subscribe monthly so I won’t even get the 150 crowns ?

You won't get the 150 crown for the month already started, you'll get them from the next month onward. Those with an ongoing longer subscription will get the crown raise for the remaining months: I'm in the first month of my 6 months subscription, at the end of November I'll get 750 crowns (150 × 5 remaining months).
That's how I understood the article, anyway

Ah thank you! I thought we wouldn't be getting them at all, ever

You will. My sub renewed just after Murkmire was released, and I got 1650.

code65536 · November 2018

Danikat wrote: »

Kanar wrote: »

There's a lot of zos white knights in here. A couple points:
1. Some have mentioned items/services going on sale after you buy. I would point out that you're a fool if you DON'T go back to the store and get the sale price. Or, price match through credit card. With services like cable, all you have to do is call them and you can get the new customer price. I mean, really, "a fool and his money are soon parted."
2. If you go into a restaurant and buy a burger, pay $4, and then after you the cashier gives free burgers to everyone then you will be mad too. Just because you don't see the ESO+ scenario the same, does not mean it isn't.
3. Zos can just add 1 week to all our subs to make up for the free week.

If you'd tried 1. in any shop I've ever worked in you'd be told "I'm very sorry you missed this promotion, better luck next time maybe". And you could shout and stamp and demand to speak to the manager all you like (and trust me people do) or threaten to report us to Trading Standards or your MP or your mum or whatever other authority figure you imagine might be able to change it and even if you actually did nothing at all would happen. You didn't qualify for the promotion, end of discussion.

As for 2. if you've ever eaten in a restaurant and didn't assume at least 1 table was using a voucher or some other offer to get a discount on the exact same meal you're getting then you're deluding yourself.

3. They can, but they won't.

@Danikat I suppose the more apt analogy would be this:

You buy a widget from a store.

The store announces, "Free widgets for everyone!"

You go to the store and say, "I'll take a free widget. Always wanted a second one."

The store responds, "No, you can't have a free widget because you already bought a widget."

In the restaurant example, if someone bought a sandwich, and the store then offered free sandwiches to everyone, they could take that second sandwich, take it home, put it in the fridge, and eat it later. I.e., being a paying customer does not disqualify you from taking advantage of a promotion. But since ESO+ is a service, you can't really get two ESO+ like you can with physical goods, so being a customer does disqualify you from a promotion. In the past, members were offered alternative promotions.

In any case, as people have mentioned, simply increasing the duration of existing subs would be a reasonable solution to that problem.

majulook · November 2018

Ertosi wrote: »

Here's the original article for the new ESO+ rewards: https://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-us/news/post/54825
In summary, those paying for ESO+ get +150 more crowns per month, free items perhaps once per month, and discounts on select crown store items.

For the free items it is not monthly. The article states: "The free items will only be available to ESO Plus members and will be indicated in gold text labeled “Free” next to the Chalice icon. Free items will be added to the Crown Store only on rare occasions and for a very limited time "

With the trial ESO+ in the past being roughly every 3 months you got 3 Crates that had free items. Granted many were low level consumables. But all items that you did not already have, and all consumables could be traded for Gems which could eventually added up to a free apex mount. I seriously doubt that the the Free Crown Store items will be any thing that would be on par to a free Apex mount. I currently have 415 gems (would have more but use some to get a couple of items)and never purchased a crown crate.

But we need to wait and see what the Free items will be and how much of a discount the other items will be. This could be a great deal

Rain_Greyraven · November 2018

Acrolas wrote: »

SantieClaws wrote: »

Perhaps ultimately the crate based business model was not as promising as it seems and the original plan of a more stable subscription based plan may have had more merit in the long term?

The crates never replaced anything, though.

The crate seasons are an opportunity to design around a specific theme, offer all basic mount types for that theme at one time, and fit in both new and returning items that wouldn't otherwise receive a release slot in the monthly Showcase.

The system is still very much working as intended.

If anything, the new approach took into account the feedback that people would rather have the opportunity to purchase regularly and directly from the Crown Store than have an occasional chance at something. This thread certainly doesn't represent the entire population, but it appears that this particular subset of players really doesn't know what they want unless it's personally curated for them and as close to free as possible.

So ZOS can't win in any scenario and they should just do what they want with the knowledge that there will be some heavy handed reactions even under the most ideal conditions.

This^ exactly.

Thanks for fielding that question, I could never respond to thespians that refuses to break character.

And you are correct many folks on the forums only want three things Free, Special and now, and no ZoS can't win, so they just ignore the "communal" minded posters and proceed in a more rational fashion that benefits their bottom line as well as those who wish to participate, those who don't have a huge amount of gameplay for ten bucks. But if you dare mention this you are a ZoS shill...white Knight...Whale etc etc.

Arciris · November 2018

I am more concerned about how they read feedback at Zenimax.

Player feedback:
Some of us don't like gambling and therefore dislike Crown Crates and would prefer to be able to make direct purchases from the Crown Store.
Zenimax response:
Ok, we are removing free crates as incentives or signs of appreciation and we have rework the Eso+ perks to give you discounts on Crown Store purchases, as long as a free item once in a while.

At first glance, so far so good, it seems Zeni got that part right.

But, that feedback was provided in the context of Crown Crates containing exclusive items, which never were, nor ever will be, available for direct purchase from the Crown Store.

That means that if we want some statue, or pet, or mount, or costume that are Crown Crates Exclusives, we are now "forced" into gambling, whereas the free crates system allowed to those that would never buy crates in the first place, to have somewhat access to those exclusive Crown Crate items, either by sheer luck, or by careful planning and savings (gems).

It's not only the free trial crates that were removed: daily rewards also now contain less crates, and even Eso Live now gives pretty much 1 crate when it uses to give up to 5.

Zenimax is simply turning off the supply of "free" gems and is using "player feedback" as an excuse to do so: "you don't like crates, fine, no more free crates" style..

This will not increase the Crown Crate sales. it will only frustrate players who refuse to gamble and who will now see some items locked behind a gambling wall, without any other means to get them.

PS: I have a headache atm so I can't make a list of Zenimax blatantly misreading player feedback but one case come to mind: the Azura Plasm from the Coldharbour estate that players interested in housing asked to be added to the estate, and when the estate came out, the promo text stated (to add insult to injury) that all Azura's plasm had been removed for the convenience of the owners of that estate I can't even...