Transmutation Crystals needs management improvement

Vildebill · May 2019

As we all know by now there's a couple of pretty big pain points with managing our transmutation crystals. Some of the big ones are:
* Not being able to carry enough crystals (200 for ESO+, and 100(?) for non plus).
* If you have the maximum amount of crystals you can carry, you can still loot a geode with the result of crystals vanishing. This is extremely annoying, and goes against how other containers work (if you have the max amount of items in your bag, you simply cannot take out an item from a container).
* People are hoarding up on geodes and/or rewards of the worthy for the sole purpose of saving up crystals, which in the end will be the same result as having a higher crystal capacity, function wise, but clogging up inventory space in the process.
* Methods for turning crystals into gold are pretty widespread (transmute a weapon to nirnhoned, deconstruct the weapon, sell the potent nirncrux). This cannot be intended (but with the current situation I sure not hope they will disable the possibility to gain trait material from deconstructing transmuted items).

These are the ones I know on top of my head, but I'm sure there are a lot more issues regarding transmutation crystals. If you know more issues, have suggestions or propositions of change, or simply just disagree with me, please leave a comment, because this issue is getting pretty annoying.

VaranisArano · May 2019

Annoyance is the point.

Transmute crystals are supposed to be a last resort to get an item you've been griding for, not a replacement for farming, nor a hoard of crystals that lets you theorycraft as much as you want or transmute new set gear almost as soon as new content drops.

So ZOS makes it annoying to hoard up crystals. Limited currency space, filling up inventory, and restrictions on storing geodes are working as intended. Sure, players can store more if they want, but ZOS makes it annoying to do so.

Most players want transmute stones to be an easily available convenience that saves them from having to farm for gear. That's not what ZOS wants - ZOS wants you playing the game a lot to get your gear, with transmute crystals only added as a last resort.

sionIV · May 2019

The problem is that it's too easy to get them. As mentioned above, ZoS wanted it to be a last resort.

Prof_Bawbag · May 2019

About the nirn, don't you need the nirn in your inv in the first place as to transmute the weapon?

sionIV · May 2019

Prof_Bawbag wrote: »

About the nirn, don't you need the nirn in your inv in the first place as to transmute the weapon?

No, you can transmute without the Nirn.

siddique · May 2019

Prof_Bawbag wrote: »

About the nirn, don't you need the nirn in your inv in the first place as to transmute the weapon?

You just need to have researched the trait.

bigelle.x3_ESO · May 2019

God people blow 50 shards just to sell a nirncrux? I have so many things that need to be transmuted and this hurts my soul.

Bealeb319 · May 2019

Are you seriously concerned that people turning weapons to nirn for trait stones is exploiting? I can think of much faster ways to make 10k gold than farming 50 transmute crystals.

Vildebill · May 2019

VaranisArano wrote: »

Annoyance is the point.

Transmute crystals are supposed to be a last resort to get an item you've been griding for, not a replacement for farming, nor a hoard of crystals that lets you theorycraft as much as you want or transmute new set gear almost as soon as new content drops.

So ZOS makes it annoying to hoard up crystals. Limited currency space, filling up inventory, and restrictions on storing geodes are working as intended. Sure, players can store more if they want, but ZOS makes it annoying to do so.

Most players want transmute stones to be an easily available convenience that saves them from having to farm for gear. That's not what ZOS wants - ZOS wants you playing the game a lot to get your gear, with transmute crystals only added as a last resort.

I partially agree with you there. The currency isn't very thoughtfully implemented, people are sitting on piles of crystals. It's not hard to get them, it's hard to manage them. So the whole purpose of them being a last resort thing doesn't really make sense. But the annoyance part sure makes sense, because that's what the management is right now. Annoying but fully possible to to what's "not intended".

DaveMoeDee · May 2019

My only issue with transmutation stones is events like this where you get so many and might not want to spend time to transmute gear. Otherwise, with 14 max level characters, I always have something I could transmute. I did take time yesterday to transmute 3 items for a sorc I plan to use to finally make a run at VMA.

One part of the system that makes it a chore is getting gear to the proper alt who knows the trait. That can be annoying when you would prefer playing the game to logging in and out.

zaria · May 2019

You can not loot geodes if full, however crystals from trials and the event boxes will simply overflow with no warning.
Trying to limits crystals players hold fail in that you can simply get to level 1 in an 30 day campaign and store up say 20 of the 50 crystal geodes.

zaria · May 2019

DaveMoeDee wrote: »

My only issue with transmutation stones is events like this where you get so many and might not want to spend time to transmute gear. Otherwise, with 14 max level characters, I always have something I could transmute. I did take time yesterday to transmute 3 items for a sorc I plan to use to finally make a run at VMA.

One part of the system that makes it a chore is getting gear to the proper alt who knows the trait. That can be annoying when you would prefer playing the game to logging in and out.

You can research pretty fast even with no crafting skills and no skill point assigned as long as you focus on relevant traits: divine infused, reinforced sturdy and inpren, focus on that is important for character.

Lightspeedflashb14_ESO · May 2019

sionIV wrote: »

The problem is that it's too easy to get them. As mentioned above, ZoS wanted it to be a last resort.

i dont pvp, so it is definitely not easy, andi have 10 toons, soon to be 12, there is always something i want to transmute and i dont have ESO+, so my cap is only 100, not that it matters to me.

xenowarrior92eb17_ESO · May 2019

VaranisArano wrote: »

Annoyance is the point.

Transmute crystals are supposed to be a last resort to get an item you've been griding for, not a replacement for farming, nor a hoard of crystals that lets you theorycraft as much as you want or transmute new set gear almost as soon as new content drops.

So ZOS makes it annoying to hoard up crystals. Limited currency space, filling up inventory, and restrictions on storing geodes are working as intended. Sure, players can store more if they want, but ZOS makes it annoying to do so.

Most players want transmute stones to be an easily available convenience that saves them from having to farm for gear. That's not what ZOS wants - ZOS wants you playing the game a lot to get your gear, with transmute crystals only added as a last resort.

honestly...as the OP already specified people are already hoarding them for the sole purpose of it...so unless zos would made geodes either vanish after a while(crumbles to dust if not used in 5-10 minutes cuz magic!) it would just be good to put either an endless crystal cap like every other currency except event tickets or just severely increase the carrying capacity...500-1000...id say 1000 since most of the times that time a lot of things happen and around 300-400 I need to get smt and retrait or so...but I cant cuz I already was capped and had to keep 398938493843 geodes or waste them on nirn traits for decon cuz at least get some money out instead of nothing...really poor design in my opinion.

Kikke · May 2019

[edited to remove baiting commentary]

Transmute Crystals are supposed to help, not replace gear grind.

Transmute crystals are supposed to be tedious to work with.

Transmute Crystals are supposed to be 'hard' to get.

Transmute Crystals are worth a lot more than 50 = Nirn, so people doing this is silly.

If there are an event like now that showers you with transmute crystals. Transmute some of those items you have not prioritized before now. Monster sets, BiS healer sets, BiS tank sets, Arena weapons you have not fixed yet, or those random PvP parts you never bothered getting in the right trait.

There are so much to USE crystals on, Why complain that you cant stack more than 200?

Vildebill · May 2019

Kikke wrote: »

OMG, the whine is big in this thread.

Transmute Crystals are supposed to help, not replace gear grind.

Transmute crystals are supposed to be tedious to work with.

Transmute Crystals are supposed to be 'hard' to get.

Transmute Crystals are worth a lot more than 50 = Nirn, so people doing this is silly.

If there are an event like now that showers you with transmute crystals. Transmute some of those items you have not prioritized before now. Monster sets, BiS healer sets, BiS tank sets, Arena weapons you have not fixed yet, or those random PvP parts you never bothered getting in the right trait.

There are so much to USE crystals on, Why complain that you cant stack more than 200?

I don't understand your mentality at all. Do you think it's a good thing that it's annoying and tedious to manage crystals? Because they are not hard to get, they are annoying to manage.

It's like thinking it would be good to have cap at other things as well like crafting materials, because "use your ancestor silk, there's always gear and sets to create". Maybe, for you, maybe not, for someone else.

The crystals exist, they are stackable, they are easy to get, but they suck to manage. The design isn't well thought through. And it sounds so dumb that the only argument I hear is "it's supposed to be annoying". Way to go mentality.

Vildebill · May 2019

Bealeb319 wrote: »

Are you seriously concerned that people turning weapons to nirn for trait stones is exploiting? I can think of much faster ways to make 10k gold than farming 50 transmute crystals.

From my original post: This cannot be intended (but with the current situation I sure not hope they will disable the possibility to gain trait material from deconstructing transmuted items)

Can you read?

majulook · May 2019

The rewards Transmute stone rewards for PVE while usually low in number add up quick during events like this

I have 200 stones in inventory and over 300 in reward containers on various characters.

Once this event is over my crafters gonna make some low level gear and transmute it to Nirn and then I will research them for another character. If only transmuted gear was not account bound...

Taleof2Cities · May 2019

Prof_Bawbag wrote: »

About the nirn, don't you need the nirn in your inv in the first place as to transmute the weapon?

sionIV wrote: »

No, you can transmute without the Nirn.

Note that (as with everything you decon) it’s not a 100% chance to get the trait stone even with the crafting decon passives fully unlocked.

Given the RNG of getting your nirncrux (and ZOS staying silent on the issue for years) ... this is not an exploit.

Jamdarius · May 2019

bigelle.x3_ESO wrote: »

God people blow 50 shards just to sell a nirncrux? I have so many things that need to be transmuted and this hurts my soul.

If you have nothing to transmute and you got 10 x 50 geodes gathering dust in your inventory there is no better way to get some gold out of this badly limited feature.

kringled_1 · May 2019

majulook wrote: »

The rewards Transmute stone rewards for PVE while usually low in number add up quick during events like this

I have 200 stones in inventory and over 300 in reward containers on various characters.

Once this event is over my crafters gonna make some low level gear and transmute it to Nirn and then I will research them for another character. If only transmuted gear was not account bound...

You can't do quite that, at least the last time I checked. Transmuted items can't be used for research.

frostz417 · May 2019

sionIV wrote: »

The problem is that it's too easy to get them. As mentioned above, ZoS wanted it to be a last resort.

The hell its not. Doesn’t need to be changed how it is

Vildebill · May 2019

frostz417 wrote: »

sionIV wrote: »

The problem is that it's too easy to get them. As mentioned above, ZoS wanted it to be a last resort.

The hell its not. Doesn’t need to be changed how it is

But they are easy to get if you play regularly, especially if you PvP on multiple characters.

Kalante · May 2019

thats what happens when zos doesn't change or come up with new useful sets that you can farm from dungeons. There is nothing worth using them on when there is few bis sets. People typically just get advancing yokeda, war machine, or siroria, burning spell weave. Thats all you really need. Apart from the monster sets which are also few worth using the rest are trash like lord warden, lol maw, nerien, mephal, and tons more ive never seen anyone use those sets in competitive pve or pvp.

Jamdarius · May 2019

Kalante wrote: »

thats what happens when zos doesn't change or come up with new useful sets that you can farm from dungeons. There is nothing worth using them on when there is few bis sets. People typically just get advancing yokeda, war machine, or siroria, burning spell weave. Thats all you really need. Apart from the monster sets which are also few worth using the rest are trash like lord warden, lol maw, nerien, mephal, and tons more ive never seen anyone use those sets in competitive pve or pvp.

Lord Warden is not trash set, it is good tank set for group play.
(1 items) Adds 2975 Spell Resistance
(1 items) Adds 2975 Physical Resistance
(2 items) When you take damage, you have a 50% chance to summon a shadow orb for 10 seconds that increases the Physical and Spell Resistance of you and your allies within 8 meters by 3870. This effect can occur once every 10 seconds.

AlienatedGoat · May 2019

bigelle.x3_ESO wrote: »

God people blow 50 shards just to sell a nirncrux? I have so many things that need to be transmuted and this hurts my soul.

It's funnier when you remember that getting a trait mat from decon isn't guaranteed.

ShellaSunshine · May 2019

First of all, you CANNOT open transmute geodes if you have the max number of transmute crystals. An error message will pop up in the top right corner of your screen. You CANNOT even see how many you have in that geode.

Second of all, they are incredibly easy to get if you have a minimum of 6 characters. Just by doing daily dungeons and daily battlegrounds with those 6 characters, you can get anywhere from 20-50 crystals every day (depends on how generous RNG is with you).

If you PvP in Shor and join a group to capture keeps, you get a solid 10 transmute crystals every week when the campaign ends.

Transmute crystals has a chance to drop from the last boss of any dungeon whether it's normal or veteran.

You can also get them with normal, veteran, and veteran HM pledges.

Last but not least, if you open an Anniversary Box and it has transmute crystals and you are at the maximum number of crystals, do NOT collect the contents. You will lose those crystals.

Shantu · May 2019

VaranisArano wrote: »

Annoyance is the point.

Transmute crystals are supposed to be a last resort to get an item you've been griding for, not a replacement for farming, nor a hoard of crystals that lets you theorycraft as much as you want or transmute new set gear almost as soon as new content drops.

So ZOS makes it annoying to hoard up crystals. Limited currency space, filling up inventory, and restrictions on storing geodes are working as intended. Sure, players can store more if they want, but ZOS makes it annoying to do so.

Most players want transmute stones to be an easily available convenience that saves them from having to farm for gear. That's not what ZOS wants - ZOS wants you playing the game a lot to get your gear, with transmute crystals only added as a last resort.

The transmute system is just a patch for a poorly designed game feature. As more content is added, RGN gets worse and grinding escalates. There is a limit to how much annoyance will be tolerated before a player just says screw it and does something else.

D0PAMINE · May 2019

Jamdarius wrote: »

Kalante wrote: »

thats what happens when zos doesn't change or come up with new useful sets that you can farm from dungeons. There is nothing worth using them on when there is few bis sets. People typically just get advancing yokeda, war machine, or siroria, burning spell weave. Thats all you really need. Apart from the monster sets which are also few worth using the rest are trash like lord warden, lol maw, nerien, mephal, and tons more ive never seen anyone use those sets in competitive pve or pvp.

Lord Warden is not trash set, it is good tank set for group play.
(1 items) Adds 2975 Spell Resistance
(1 items) Adds 2975 Physical Resistance
(2 items) When you take damage, you have a 50% chance to summon a shadow orb for 10 seconds that increases the Physical and Spell Resistance of you and your allies within 8 meters by 3870. This effect can occur once every 10 seconds.

Agreed. LW is a wonderful set, reliable proc and it does it's job well.

Vildebill · May 2019

bigelle.x3_ESO wrote: »

God people blow 50 shards just to sell a nirncrux? I have so many things that need to be transmuted and this hurts my soul.

You should PvP on all of your characters if you need crystals. This won't net you all the crystals directly, but if you get to tier 1 in your PvP 30 day campaign, you are guaranteed 50 crystals at the end of the campaign. Which in turn is 50 crystals per char per month. I have 10 chars

notyuu · May 2019

Proposal: Allow for the trading of geodes between players.

That way, those that need the geodes can get them, and those with too many geodes will have a reason to actually run the geode cgenerating content again.