Should ZOS compensate EU/PC players for server crashes and extended server down time?

Tippertty · April 2019

Although I am a new player, I have been playing for around a month now give or take a few days, but since day one I have been experiencing random disconnection from the server. I played for about a week and after getting a little annoyed I took to the forums to ask for help I will say the MOD was helpful with a few suggestions and I looked into trying them. However, I was still getting disconnection up to one or two an hour. So I started looking for help in other forums and in other threads, then up popped this So it seems a problem has been developing on the EU server since around January 2019 which seemed to be getting worse and it started to come to a head in the five year anniversary, with server crashes, as well as extended server maintenance running into peaktime and so ZOS introduced a queue time to maintain a capped server population. Then later tonight we had another server crash(as of the posting of this poll has yet to be fixed 28/04/2019 22:44 UK GMT) How this problem has taken nearly 3 months to diagnose and fix boggles the mind. (speculation)Unless they knew the server couldn't handle the extra load but were counting on the player numbers to drop and the problem to fix itself(speculation)

No matter which way you cut it, the player base has been left with a bitter pill to swallow. A lot of players don't have much play time due to family, work or whatever life throws at them so their few hours they manage to sign on and play has been dogged with interruption to their play time. So the question is should we be compensated and how do you measure that compensation. If this poll balances towards a yes, then ZOS should look at the poll honestly and see that the EU PC community is annoyed with the interruption and look in some way to compensate them.

Asys · April 2019

No

no - just stop giving them anymore money ffs

inchdixprb19_ESO · April 2019

No

you agreed to the terms of service …… as sad as it is, there wont be compensation, nor should you expect any.

BrianLovesLisa · April 2019

Asys wrote: »

no - just stop giving them anymore money ffs

why don't you just stop playing the game if you dislike the company so much.

Casterial · April 2019

No

If the downtime is 5+hours over expected maybe. BDO has a good compensation they give XP awards etc!

VDoom1 · April 2019

On the fence here. Sure there have been a lot of problems lately. But it's not ZoS fault, it's not like they planned this and are laughing at us. "Muhahah, they pay for a game that at the moment doesn't work. " Yeah nope. These things happen. There is a lot of technical things for ZoS to keep functioning for ESO to work well.

Besides this event was originally 5 weeks, now it's 6 weeks. They gave us an entire extra week because of the server problems. That is actually very good of them! A lot of other games would have just said "to bad."

Once the EU server is given more capacity a lot of problems could...will, hopefully go away. That's why we had the log in queue, capacity.

Btw, no sign of the log in queue last couple of days. ZoS did something right.

How come there is yelling and all hell breaks loose when something goes wrong. But when something goes right...not a word. Well my thanks to ZoS for fixing or tending to whatever gave us the queue, good job.

Jhalin · April 2019

Yes

VDoom1 wrote: »

On the fence here. Sure there have been a lot of problems lately. But it's not ZoS fault, it's not like they planned this and are laughing at us. "Muhahah, they pay for a game that at the moment doesn't work. " Yeah nope. These things happen. There is a lot of technical things for ZoS to keep functioning for ESO to work well.

Besides this event was originally 5 weeks, now it's 6 weeks. They gave us an entire extra week because of the server problems. That is actually very good of them! A lot of other games would have just said "to bad."

Once the EU server is given more capacity a lot of problems could...will, hopefully go away. That's why we had the log in queue, capacity.

Btw, no sign of the log in queue last couple of days. ZoS did something right.

How come there is yelling and all hell breaks loose when something goes wrong. But when something goes right...not a word. Well my thanks to ZoS for fixing or tending to whatever gave us the queue, good job.

@VDoom1
I believe you’ve read last year’s article, where the same problem was happening. Nothing recent suggests any extension of the event

Nimrhys · April 2019

No

If it were a pay to play game like WoW, possibly some game time but even then it’s like what, a price of a cinema ticket? You don’t have that here, you just buy to play and ESO+ doesn’t involve whether you get to play or not. Any game with servers is going to need maintainence and have issues, it’s just a fact and to be expected. If we can’t find something else to do, that’s kinda sad.

Lisutaris · April 2019

Yes

Yeah, they should do it.

Why ? Broken login timer, broken grp finder (during event) again, disconnects out of the blue (funny when trying to do no death and speed runs ... HAHAHAHAHA).
Ofc, it is not "game breaking" and no big deal for some1 who is just gathering mats, questing, ....
IT IS PRETTY ANNOYING FOR GROUPS THAT WANT TO ENJOY THE CONTENT/GAME..... -_-

Give us some crowns or crates and make us store addicted ....

EDIT:

Nimrhys wrote: »

If it were a pay to play game like WoW, possibly some game time but even then it’s like what, a price of a cinema ticket? You don’t have that here, you just buy to play and ESO+ doesn’t involve whether you get to play or not. Any game with servers is going to need maintainence and have issues, it’s just a fact and to be expected. If we can’t find something else to do, that’s kinda sad.

That may be true for a "lone wolf" gamer. But if you arrange to meet with your friends at a fixed time and want to do some content like vet dungeon achievments and "get rekt" by the game itself and not the difficult content, THATS BAD REALLY BAD!

sionIV · April 2019

Yes

Should they? Yes.

Will they? No.

FlyingSwan · April 2019

No

No. Do what I did, cancelled my sub, cancelled my Elswery pre-order. As with all crooks, you have to cut off their money supply before you'll see any repentance.

Sanctuary_Reaper · April 2019

Yes

Here's the thing, regarding the ToS, it doesn't matter whats in them, when something you buy as a consumer is not fit for purpose, then you are entitled to be compensated, it is about knowing your rights. Be it refunds in full or partial refunds.

Just 1 example, there are many others

Groupfinder, it is part of the product, for some players, a vital part of the product, its not fit for purpose. << That right there is enough in itself to be compensated a consumer.

Fischblut · April 2019

Yes

But it's not ZoS fault, it's not like they planned this and are laughing at us. "Muhahah, they pay for a game that at the moment doesn't work. "

I can actually imagine that, after all the increasing problems...

themightyhades · April 2019

Yes

FlyingSwan wrote: »

No. Do what I did, cancelled my sub, cancelled my Elswery pre-order. As with all crooks, you have to cut off their money supply before you'll see any repentance.

You can cancel the elswyer pre-order? I'm currently waiting for my subscription to end...

abigfishy · April 2019

Yes

I don't think anyone should be stopping their subs or anything like that for a few hours down. On the other hand it would just be polite to give some sort of small gift to EU players to make up for this. Two crown crates, 1000 crowns or a pet would all be fine and not cost them more than a little coding.

Mitrenga · April 2019

No

abigfishy wrote: »

I don't think anyone should be stopping their subs or anything like that for a few hours down. On the other hand it would just be polite to give some sort of small gift to EU players to make up for this. Two crown crates, 1000 crowns or a pet would all be fine and not cost them more than a little coding.

For a few hours down? You must be new here...
I do not think ZoS should give anything extra. Just give us the service we are paying for. It's a simple trade, really.

gepe87 · April 2019

Yes

The Code of Conduct don't say that some servers are better than the rest (US vs EU).
We just ask for EQUALITY.

LiraTaurwen · April 2019

Who cares about compensations? That won't solve anything! They need to fix their server, no compensation can beat that.

VDoom1 wrote: »

On the fence here. Sure there have been a lot of problems lately. But it's not ZoS fault, it's not like they planned this and are laughing at us. "Muhahah, they pay for a game that at the moment doesn't work. " Yeah nope. These things happen. There is a lot of technical things for ZoS to keep functioning for ESO to work well.

Besides this event was originally 5 weeks, now it's 6 weeks. They gave us an entire extra week because of the server problems. That is actually very good of them! A lot of other games would have just said "to bad."

Once the EU server is given more capacity a lot of problems could...will, hopefully go away. That's why we had the log in queue, capacity.

Btw, no sign of the log in queue last couple of days. ZoS did something right.

How come there is yelling and all hell breaks loose when something goes wrong. But when something goes right...not a word. Well my thanks to ZoS for fixing or tending to whatever gave us the queue, good job.

Who's fault is it then? Who is responsible for having a server working and capable of handling high traffic? Who is responsible of fixing bugs? Who is responsible of giving their playerbase equal conditions? Who is getting our money here?

This is all ZOS fault, EU server has been having problems for months and all they did was tell us empty words and make the server worse.
It's clear they did nothing to fix what caused the queue in the first place, proof or that is what happened yesterday...lol there was no increased server capacity.

Royaji · April 2019

Should we have the same discussion every time something happens to the server?

They can. They don't have to. We all agreed to ToS and according to it ZOS can flick the switch and shut it all down tomorrow and even then we will not be entitled for any kind of compensation.

AlienSlof · April 2019

Yes

We're not entitled, certainly, but it would be a nice gesture on ZOS's part if they did. It would smooth over a lot of the bad blood right now for sure.

Considering that they claim the EU is their largest player base, they stand to lose out big-time if the EU players walk away from the game. They should be looking after us, not treating us as second-class just because we're not Americans.

Last night I missed out on my weekly vMoL progression run - played Minecraft instead!

MornaBaine · April 2019

Yes

Back when the game was subscription based they WOULD usually compensate players when they screwed up. But that kind of accountability went out the window when they made the switch they promised they wouldn't and went buy to play, dropping the subscription model and setting the stage for charging us as outrageously as possible for every little thing they can think of. So now the only real way they can compensate players it through crowns rather than adding days to a sub like they used to. And we all know there's no hope in Hades of that happening.

Tippertty · April 2019

Yes

Hey guys, I thought I would add my thoughts to some of the answers.

I know some have brought up the TOS, BTW TOS is a legally binding contract, but it can not be legally enforced, because of the grounds in which the present it to you. e.g. were you in a suitable state of mind when you accepted the TOS. This goes to "has any company got a witness they can provide to say you were" plus, One of the most common unenforceable terms is the unilateral amendment provision, which gives a company the right to change its agreement however it wants, whenever it wants, with or without notifying its customers. Courts have repeatedly found this term unenforceable

However, leaving that aside the point of the poll was to show ZOS that the EU/PC community are annoyed and are sick of getting the crappy end of the stick. Now, you can argue, that ZOS has no legal right to compensate you, and you will be justified to do so. However, nothing bleeds players away from a game quicker than players that are annoyed. I think Bethesda recently have learned that. The flip side is, nothing makes a player happy, is when game studios turn around and say "Hey guys we F'ed up and we are trying to fix the problem ASAP, but as compensation for all the problems we will be looking to compensate you guys when the problems have been solved"

So for a PR and customer assurance point of view compensating players for disrupted service.

e.g.
Last year Virgin media had massive problems in my area and I personally had 10 days of disrupted service, without asking Virgin wiped off that months bill as an apology for the disrupted service.

World of tanks, had massive problems with their in-game chat(which took over a year to fix) and they compensated all the player base with premium goods and a tank crew member.

So it is not like companies have a duty to compensate, but it goes a long way in rebuilding faith in the community.

FlyingSwan · April 2019

No

themightyhades wrote: »

FlyingSwan wrote: »

No. Do what I did, cancelled my sub, cancelled my Elswery pre-order. As with all crooks, you have to cut off their money supply before you'll see any repentance.

You can cancel the elswyer pre-order? I'm currently waiting for my subscription to end...

Yes, when the queue was enabled on the EU server I raised a ticket cancelling my sub and pre-order and they responded within 30 mins doing both. I was in fact impressed with how quickly they addressed my concerns in that regard.

"The Elder Scrolls Online Team response on 04/14/2019 04:08 PM
Greetings Adventurer!

Thank you for contacting The Elder Scrolls Online Team. My name is xxxxx and it would be my pleasure to help guide you today. I want to thank you for taking the time to reach out to us about this issue at hand, as well as your patience while we figure out a solution to this matter.

I have gone ahead and refunded your purchase. You should see the funds back in your account in about one business week.

If you have any further questions or concerns about anything we support please feel free to contact us back. We would be more than happy to further assist you with your matter!

Thank you for your continued interest and support! Happy questing!

Sincerely..."

cascarrabias · April 2019

Yes

Absolutely, as paying eso+ customer i can not understand this kind of service coming from other mmos, while non-paying customers get the same service as I do.

Verbal_Earthworm · April 2019

Yes

FlyingSwan wrote: »

themightyhades wrote: »

FlyingSwan wrote: »

No. Do what I did, cancelled my sub, cancelled my Elswery pre-order. As with all crooks, you have to cut off their money supply before you'll see any repentance.

You can cancel the elswyer pre-order? I'm currently waiting for my subscription to end...

Yes, when the queue was enabled on the EU server I raised a ticket cancelling my sub and pre-order and they responded within 30 mins doing both. I was in fact impressed with how quickly they addressed my concerns in that regard.

"The Elder Scrolls Online Team response on 04/14/2019 04:08 PM
Greetings Adventurer!

Thank you for contacting The Elder Scrolls Online Team. My name is xxxxx and it would be my pleasure to help guide you today. I want to thank you for taking the time to reach out to us about this issue at hand, as well as your patience while we figure out a solution to this matter.

I have gone ahead and refunded your purchase. You should see the funds back in your account in about one business week.

If you have any further questions or concerns about anything we support please feel free to contact us back. We would be more than happy to further assist you with your matter!

Thank you for your continued interest and support! Happy questing!

Sincerely..."

Did they take the ESO+ crowns back?

Gilora · April 2019

VDoom1 wrote: »

-snip-

Besides this event was originally 5 weeks, now it's 6 weeks. They gave us an entire extra week because of the server problems.

-snip-

Source?

KhajiitFelix · April 2019

Yes

GIVE US COMPENSATION OR I WILL SPOIL ENDGAME

Ethardt · April 2019

No

Just work on the performance. So bad that we still have this big lag/login/queue issues.

Inoki · April 2019

Yes

What can I say. It's very shameful they *** on us like this. EU matters very little to them it seems, although we're not a handful. Maybe it's something about our coin, but when I look up exchange rates, EURO is stronger than USD.

Jameliel · April 2019

Yes

VDoom1 wrote: »

On the fence here. Sure there have been a lot of problems lately. But it's not ZoS fault, it's not like they planned this and are laughing at us. "Muhahah, they pay for a game that at the moment doesn't work. " Yeah nope. These things happen. There is a lot of technical things for ZoS to keep functioning for ESO to work well.

Besides this event was originally 5 weeks, now it's 6 weeks. They gave us an entire extra week because of the server problems. That is actually very good of them! A lot of other games would have just said "to bad."

Once the EU server is given more capacity a lot of problems could...will, hopefully go away. That's why we had the log in queue, capacity.

Btw, no sign of the log in queue last couple of days. ZoS did something right.

How come there is yelling and all hell breaks loose when something goes wrong. But when something goes right...not a word. Well my thanks to ZoS for fixing or tending to whatever gave us the queue, good job.

Whose fault is it then. wtf...

Elwendryll · April 2019

No

They don't have to. They could. Should they? It's up to them, but it would only be a nice gesture, never a due.

Should ZOS compensate EU/PC players for server crashes and extended server down time?

Should ZOS compensate EU/PC players for server crashes and extended server down time? 168 votes