Buying Skyshards with crowns

DjMuscleboy02 · April 2019

RottingAlien wrote: »

DjMuscleboy02 wrote: »

RottingAlien wrote: »

DjMuscleboy02 wrote: »

I hope they open this up to purchasing fully leveled character upgrades. If I don't want to level a character, that's my prerogative. This does not affect anyone else.

This is not P2W at all, skyshards don't affect anyone else. Start selling vMA weapons in the crown store and we'll have an issue.

Oh god please no.
And yes, it might affect someone else if we're talking pvp.

How does me getting skyshards affect a single other player? It's literally the same as mount upgrades. There are absolutely no circumstances in which buying skyshards affects another players game play.

Ok i'll try. So, power levelers used to have a "problem". When you'd try to power level an alt character you would start missing out on skill points. Which is not necessarily a bad thing! It makes you spend more time customizing it, learning it, making the right choices and thinking about what you really want to do with it instead of just creating alts just for the sake of it.
Now, The example to your question may be more prominent in below 50 battlegrounds/pvp, where you can have all the skyshards in a fresh character, let's say, level 40. You can bet you will have an advantage in this situation. This is just one way how it can impact another player directly. Most examples would be PvP. In PvE, everyone is on the same team, nobody cares.

Also, just to make sure you got it right, I wouldn't mind if you could buy the skyshards achiements with gold. Or having both options like you have with so many other things. The fact that crowns will be the only method its what makes me thing about the future of these kind of things in ESO.

But regardless of it I'm level 10 or level 49, I can just as easily run around and collect skyshards, no? I still don't see any issue here. It's not like you'll be level 30 with every skill line at 50 and full leveled skills. From what it sounds like to me, you just have an issue with having to spend money to get these. ZOS is a business still, you may disagree with the fact that it's purchased using crowns, but that doesn't necessarily make it pay-to-win. That said, I'd like to see it available through gold as well.

max_only · April 2019

bharathitman wrote: »

RottingAlien wrote: »

bharathitman wrote: »

RottingAlien wrote: »

ErMurazor wrote: »

I Love it. As a dad and full time worker i take any timesaver i can get so i have more time raiding when i actually can play

@ErMurazor What do you love if you don't mind me asking? Is it the buying with crowns part or the suggestion of buying with gold? Do you actually agree with shortcuts paid with real money or are you talking about in-game currency?

This question is so leading. You are implying that he is doing something negative by those skyshards with real money

I'm actually curious.
My post is to try to offer a solution to something that is, in my prespective, a problem. And I wanted to know with what is he agreeing with. Its no secret I don't like that skyshards could only be bought through crowns.

You might personally dislike it, but companies always look out for alternative revenue streams. As consumers we hope that our current way of playing the game does not change when a company introduces additional products to boost their revenue.

In this particular caase nothing is changing, you can still go out and get those skyshards the old fashioned way. Keep in mind that the success of this will mostly depend on how they price it, if it's as expensive as 1000 crowns per large zone then I am better off spending those 20 mins gathering skyshards in that particular zone.

The right pricing would be 50 crowns for a small zone (Bal Foyen), to around 150 to 200 crowns for a large zone.

A literal recolored mount, (not even a retexture and new accessories) that has no functionality is over 1k crowns. I’ll eat my hat if the packs are less than 2k.

BackAndAngry · April 2019

Start trading and farming gold for crowns while you work on the achiev if you don't have it yet.

On another note, crown selling for gold has played a more relevant role with diminishing gold sellers than many think.

RottingAlien · April 2019

DjMuscleboy02 wrote: »

RottingAlien wrote: »

DjMuscleboy02 wrote: »

RottingAlien wrote: »

DjMuscleboy02 wrote: »

I hope they open this up to purchasing fully leveled character upgrades. If I don't want to level a character, that's my prerogative. This does not affect anyone else.

This is not P2W at all, skyshards don't affect anyone else. Start selling vMA weapons in the crown store and we'll have an issue.

Oh god please no.
And yes, it might affect someone else if we're talking pvp.

How does me getting skyshards affect a single other player? It's literally the same as mount upgrades. There are absolutely no circumstances in which buying skyshards affects another players game play.

Ok i'll try. So, power levelers used to have a "problem". When you'd try to power level an alt character you would start missing out on skill points. Which is not necessarily a bad thing! It makes you spend more time customizing it, learning it, making the right choices and thinking about what you really want to do with it instead of just creating alts just for the sake of it.
Now, The example to your question may be more prominent in below 50 battlegrounds/pvp, where you can have all the skyshards in a fresh character, let's say, level 40. You can bet you will have an advantage in this situation. This is just one way how it can impact another player directly. Most examples would be PvP. In PvE, everyone is on the same team, nobody cares.

Also, just to make sure you got it right, I wouldn't mind if you could buy the skyshards achiements with gold. Or having both options like you have with so many other things. The fact that crowns will be the only method its what makes me thing about the future of these kind of things in ESO.

But regardless of it I'm level 10 or level 49, I can just as easily run around and collect skyshards, no? I still don't see any issue here. It's not like you'll be level 30 with every skill line at 50 and full leveled skills. From what it sounds like to me, you just have an issue with having to spend money to get these. ZOS is a business still, you may disagree with the fact that it's purchased using crowns, but that doesn't necessarily make it pay-to-win. That said, I'd like to see it available through gold as well.

No, by having to look for skyshards, you will be force to level up because you are discovering new places, or have to kill npcs etc etc. With this system, you can have plenty of skyshards before leveling up. And you will never run out of skill points in the process wich you would if you were leveling and gathering skill points in the conventional way.
And again, no. Fortunately, I can buy plenty of crowns, i have eso + and have all expansions and some dlcs. But also fortunately I don't think only about myself, but also in other people who aren't able to buy crowns as easily or, most important i care about the heatlth state of the game. Wich you can be sure will decline if this becomes a norm.

Tandor · April 2019

RazielSR wrote: »

RottingAlien wrote: »

RazielSR wrote: »

Its not p2w and is quite ignorant to think it is. You even have a requirement to buy them.

I HOPE THEY WILL ADD GUILD SKILLS LINES SOON WITH A REQUIREMENT!!

RazielSR wrote: »

Later in the topic the "this is p2w" appears so...and the "fear" of this making real p2w things to appear in crown store is nonsense because they will add guild skill lines if you alraady have them with other char. It will work the same and will not be p2w either.

I really hope that ZOS doesn't go down that road. That will be a bullet in the head for eso.
But, let me see if I get this right.
"Buy shortcut for Skyshards! yay!"
"Buy shortcut for Psijic Skill line! yay!"
"Buy shortcut for Mages guild Skill line! yay!"
"Buy shortcut for fighters guild Skill line! yay!"

By this point you barely touched your new alt and you have many skill points to spend and unlocked skill lines. Don't you find that weird at all? Why not buy your alt the level 50 too?
And what will you be playing if you buy it all? End game content? what for if you didn't learn anything and just bought everything? To be carried by some guild in trials and vet content? to be a zergling in PvP? To do this all in 1 month and then be like "game sucks there's nothing to do."?
I seriously don't understand this kind of thought. it's so lazy and a terribly bad habit.

Dude...you know...for some people is MAD to do the same over and over again for every char. It kills the fun and stops the diversity.

Tell me who is gonna get better by buying this? Who is gonna have an advantage?? If people wants to do it again and again...just do it and let the others pay. If you are a bad player,you are gonna be a bad player even buying skyshards or skill lines. If you are good,nothing will change. Just less stupid time sink.

Now if you tell me there will be a whole skill line in the crown store that you can't have ingame or that you dont need any requirement first....then that would be a different story.

But this? Cmon...

That's why a lot of players stick to one character in MMOs. I fully respect that, far more than those players whose only interest is in say endgame PvP with characters they have no attachment to. That what FPS games are for!

As for the diversity argument, if you're on PC and you want to try a different build then either roll a new character and play it fully to level 20 (which won't take long even if you run around a couple of zones rather than stand still at a dolmen) by which time you'll have a feel for the class/build, or try it out on the PTS with a maxed character. If you're on console you're out of luck with the PTS, but then playing MMORPGs on console is a whole new subject for debate

!

XxCaLxX · April 2019

I may have missed it in the patch notes or even this thread but what will be the cost? I mean it’s not p2w by any means. Only way it would be p2w is if this was the only way to get them. Anyway I don’t like it or hate it at this point. I’ll make my decision when I know how much it costs per zone or per alliance or all base game etc. if I could get the 4 zones from each alliance for 1500-2500 crowns then that would be really convenient. I imagine it’ll be more like 1500 per zone which would be ridiculous.

Darkenarlol · April 2019

what is your problem with my *omg pay2win shortcut*?

like why do you even care HOW i get skyshards on my 37th char?

jealousy won't let you to sleep?

anyway it is not your friggin business how do i get MY skyshards

RottingAlien · April 2019

Darkenarlol wrote: »

what is your problem with my *omg pay2win shortcut*?

like why do you even care HOW i get skyshards on my 37th char?

jealousy won't let you to sleep?

anyway it is not your friggin business how do i get MY skyshards

I don't care what you do. That was never the point. I care if the game reaches an unhealthy state. But you clearly are completely oblivious to it. So you keep doing you!

TheShadowScout · April 2019

The way I see it in a nutshell...

Either you go grab the skyshards with each character, as the game intended, then you earned the stuff through your effort playing the game. And it won't give you any advantage over anyone else who just spent the time grabbing them.

Or you pay through the nose for a crown unlock that lets you copy your mains skyshard prowess to an alt, then you earend the stuff through your financial support of the game. And it -still- won't give you any advantage over anyone else who just spent the time grabbing them.

Those I would have no issue with.
Especially since either way it only takes -time- to catch up to the same effect for anyone, play or pay.

The ones who go like "gimme for free!", that would vex me greatly, as can be determined from all the numerous negative comments I made in numerous such threads...

ErMurazor · April 2019

I dont care what it costs, or if it costs gold or crowns as long as i can buy it.

ErMurazor · April 2019

Now give me the option to buy mages and fighters guild aswell and im satisfied

tahol10069 · April 2019

I see where people worried about this come from. But, I think there is some of "chicken little" going on. Mind you, I also don't like the amount of microtransactions games have these days, so I do get the concern.

But, I have played SWTOR for four years. When they inroduced character tokens with Kotfe-expansion, no one batted an eye. Every subscriber got onevfor free, and with a later expansion we got another for free. Character tokens that will give you a full-levelled character have been sold since, and we have never seen it as a problem, because it hasn't been a problem. I think it is because levelling skills is a bit different in SWTOR, you don't go around gathering skillpoints. Every one will have the exact same skillpoints at max level, and you have no freedom in how you distribute them. Your skills are what they are, you don't get to choose them, save 10 legendary points that will give you some minor customisation.

In no way has these characters tokens had a negative impact on the game, and if you would go to SWTOR-forums to complain that thay are "P2W" you would be laughed out. No matter how much I think about it, I can't see how they would have given an advantage to someone over other players. You either level up by playing the game, or you spend money to buy a token if you wish so. Either way, the end result is the same, you are level 70. Actually, people buying the token are in disadvantage imho: Only gear they have is the crap they get with their token and they have no money or other resources which you get when you level up by actually playing the game, unless they are old players who can pimp up their new character.

On the other hand, what ESO does right and SWTOR doesn't, is account sharing when it comes to cash shop purchases. In SWTOR everything is only for your character, and if you want to let your other characters use what you bought, you have to "unlock" it from "collections" with cash shop currency. Yay. There is an insane amount of gear to unlock. Hundreds and hundreds of it. It is horrible.

I could complain that ESO+ is P2W. I don't have it, and so I can't use crafting bag. It also gives more xp. I have bought the base game, Summerset and Morrowind yet I have to do with some pretty big limiting in what I can do. ESO is heavily paywalled. Saying ESO+ is P2W is just as valid as saying buying skyshards is P2W. Just accept it, throwing money at the game will give you advantages.Game company will be the one deciding what advantages they are ready to sell.

Zer0_CooL · April 2019

Isn't the crafting bag P2W aswell then? And what about jewelery crafting? You had to pay for that too and it is an advantage. P2W too? What about XP scrolls or riding lessons? Riding a fast horse is an advantage aswell, especially in cyro. Are they P2W?

SoLooney · April 2019

How is this pay to win?

The person who is buying skyshards with crowns only has a time advantage over the person who hasn't bought it with crowns.

You people really dont understand what pay 2 win means. If they offered weapons and armor that vastly outperform other gear in pve and pvp, then that's pay 2 win.

I dont see why this is a problem. And they're making you get the achievement too. I hope they offer mages and fighters guild buyable as well. We all know how much mages guild sucks, even with pc ad ons and guides

Jazz_Funk · April 2019

When I first read about this, I immediately thought it might lead down a path where many achievements were buyable and my first though was, how long till I can get mages guild (gotta admit I hate leveling it looking for all books), fighters guild, undaunted etc through crown store. On one hand I think you should earn your achievements but if you have already earnt it on a character you have already done the work so why should it not be easier or the achievement simply be account bound or even buyable with crowns. I think they have to be a little careful what they make available to shortcut through a crown store purchase but I think for many who simply don’t have the hours it takes to redo everything a second, third………fifteenth time there could be some value, so will give ZOS the benefit of the doubt that they know what they are doing and their aim is to improve player experience and see how it goes.

katanagirl1 · November 2019

I know this thread is a bit old, but it seems to be a good place to describe what I saw in an ESO PS4 community today.

A player commented about finally getting the skyshard achievement, and what a pain it was. I congratulated him, and commented on how I thought it was more difficult now because the skyshards behind the gates in Cyrodiil now seem to require not just the keep nearest the gate taken, but the one next to it as well. He replied and said he just created a character for each alliance and got the skyshards for each, and then bought the rest with crowns for his main character.

He said he didn’t want to wait for the gates to be open to get the achievement. Is it really possible to get all the Cyrodiil skyshards this way?

If so, I feel really cheated for getting them the hard way.

starkerealm · November 2019

katanagirl1 wrote: »

I know this thread is a bit old, but it seems to be a good place to describe what I saw in an ESO PS4 community today.

A player commented about finally getting the skyshard achievement, and what a pain it was. I congratulated him, and commented on how I thought it was more difficult now because the skyshards behind the gates in Cyrodiil now seem to require not just the keep nearest the gate taken, but the one next to it as well. He replied and said he just created a character for each alliance and got the skyshards for each, and then bought the rest with crowns for his main character.

He said he didn’t want to wait for the gates to be open to get the achievement. Is it really possible to get all the Cyrodiil skyshards this way?

If so, I feel really cheated for getting them the hard way.

Yeah, sorta. Cyrodiil has three separate Skyshard achievements, one for each segment. Each one can be purchased separately.

As someone who's collected the temple shards on four characters... yep, I'm with you there.

Minyassa · November 2019

I don't feel cheated for having done it the hard way. I feel relieved that with future characters I never have to do it that way again, and I feel like I can be a cane-waving grandpa and talk about how these young'uns today will never know what it is to have to trek through four open gates uphill through four feet of snow to get skyshards like when I was a newbie. I don't resent other people not having to do the work I had to do, I feel accomplished for doing more than is now necessary.

Hotdog_23 · November 2019

I don't feel cheated either. As I got them the hard way on several characters but also purchased them on the 3 new necro's I made during the summer.

Side note I thought it was funny that if you purchased them you do not get the Mountain skyshard. So I guess you still have to go get that one if you want it.

Dusk_Coven · November 2019

Unlocking skyshards in the Crown Store is like buying Crown Store Mundus Stones and putting it in your house for easy access. Except it costs even more.

Dusk_Coven · November 2019

RottingAlien wrote: »

I would suggest and would like to know how everyone would feel about this, that you'd have something like the Shrine of Srendarr or Shrine of Stuhn but for SkyShards. Where you could unlock skyshards by using the Shrine (or something else) and you would still have the Crown Store option.

This is WORSE than putting a pay-wall on it.
This is basically what RMT encourages people to do and why RMT is bad: Don't bother to play the game at all! Just buy several millions of in-game gold and hit the guild stores. With your proposal they could now hit these convenient skill stones -- in a way more convenient than the Crown Store.

What would happen is established people would just drop gold and get it. Gold is stupidly easy to get.
Or people who are impatient could buy Crowns and use Crown Selling to get that gold -- and that's still a roundabout way of going through the Crown Store.
Or they might turn to RMT. Which puts money in the pockets of illegitimate vendors.

If ZOS wants to help people with a lot of alts skip the skyshard grind, I'd rather see ZOS have the money through a convenience pay-wall than have it accessed in uncontrolled and possibly shady ways.
ZOS still wants people to play the game -- because they know that if too many people can get it too easily or by not playing the game at all, there will be complaints -- hence the pay wall.

katanagirl1 · November 2019

starkerealm wrote: »

katanagirl1 wrote: »

I know this thread is a bit old, but it seems to be a good place to describe what I saw in an ESO PS4 community today.

A player commented about finally getting the skyshard achievement, and what a pain it was. I congratulated him, and commented on how I thought it was more difficult now because the skyshards behind the gates in Cyrodiil now seem to require not just the keep nearest the gate taken, but the one next to it as well. He replied and said he just created a character for each alliance and got the skyshards for each, and then bought the rest with crowns for his main character.

He said he didn’t want to wait for the gates to be open to get the achievement. Is it really possible to get all the Cyrodiil skyshards this way?

If so, I feel really cheated for getting them the hard way.

Yeah, sorta. Cyrodiil has three separate Skyshard achievements, one for each segment. Each one can be purchased separately.

As someone who's collected the temple shards on four characters... yep, I'm with you there.

Ah, right, I forgot about that, so that’s how it’s done.

You should have to get all of them in Cyrodiil on one character to unlock the shkyshard achievement. Otherwise it’s a cheat or exploit in my book.

myskyrim26 · November 2019

Skyshards for crowns? Great idea for those who want to try a new class. Provided that such person already found all the skyshards and has the money - what's the problem?
I have almost all basic zones done with my main - collected the skyshards. And now I'm leveling a new character. And I have the money to buy crowns. Will I buy Skyshards? No. No point for me. Now I'm unlocking them by reading the hints! It is fun!

max_only · November 2019

It’s not a cheat or an exploit and I don’t feel cheated that he paid for something I can get for free.

starkerealm · November 2019

katanagirl1 wrote: »

starkerealm wrote: »

katanagirl1 wrote: »

I know this thread is a bit old, but it seems to be a good place to describe what I saw in an ESO PS4 community today.

A player commented about finally getting the skyshard achievement, and what a pain it was. I congratulated him, and commented on how I thought it was more difficult now because the skyshards behind the gates in Cyrodiil now seem to require not just the keep nearest the gate taken, but the one next to it as well. He replied and said he just created a character for each alliance and got the skyshards for each, and then bought the rest with crowns for his main character.

He said he didn’t want to wait for the gates to be open to get the achievement. Is it really possible to get all the Cyrodiil skyshards this way?

If so, I feel really cheated for getting them the hard way.

Yeah, sorta. Cyrodiil has three separate Skyshard achievements, one for each segment. Each one can be purchased separately.

As someone who's collected the temple shards on four characters... yep, I'm with you there.

Ah, right, I forgot about that, so that’s how it’s done.

You should have to get all of them in Cyrodiil on one character to unlock the shkyshard achievement. Otherwise it’s a cheat or exploit in my book.

It's neither an exploit, nor a cheat, but it is cheap.

Yeah, when the system was first being floated, I said exactly that. All 46 Cyrodiil Shards should be a single purchase. Not how it turned out.

DaNnYtHePcFrEaK · November 2019

I do agree with buying for gold too because the crown rate is bull and I'd much rather have something to spend gold on

Idinuse · November 2019

All right. I've seen these threads enough now (I know it's slightly necroed).

I've been playing this game since March 2014 (beta) and with my "old" main since April 2014. Stop for a moment and contemplate the previous sentence. Over 5 years. ~2007 days. Over 6.500 hours /played.

I've made new characters, done all skill lines, all shards, bloody Fighters / Mages / Undaunted Guild Rank, not to mention the 1,000 chests needed to pick for Legerdemain's Locksmith passive (holy [snip]) and All That Jazz... It's boring, tedious and a monumental time waste at this point for me. Make a new toon? Shivers...

That GRIND again?

So just let us who have done these tasks numerous times, all those hours wasted on the same thing we already did 8-10 times, not having to do it yet one more time?

Which I for one won't buy anyhow, since the prices are just a joke. Should be 1,500, or 1,600 if you like - the monthly Crown reward for Subscription/Membership.

But to have it available? Oh yeah!

(I agree on the Cyrodiil reasoning btw.)

[Edit for minor profanity]

Marcus684 · November 2019

RottingAlien wrote: »

RazielSR wrote: »

Its not p2w and is quite ignorant to think it is. You even have a requirement to buy them.

I HOPE THEY WILL ADD GUILD SKILLS LINES SOON WITH A REQUIREMENT!!

RazielSR wrote: »

Later in the topic the "this is p2w" appears so...and the "fear" of this making real p2w things to appear in crown store is nonsense because they will add guild skill lines if you alraady have them with other char. It will work the same and will not be p2w either.

I really hope that ZOS doesn't go down that road. That will be a bullet in the head for eso.
But, let me see if I get this right.
"Buy shortcut for Skyshards! yay!"
"Buy shortcut for Psijic Skill line! yay!"
"Buy shortcut for Mages guild Skill line! yay!"
"Buy shortcut for fighters guild Skill line! yay!"

By this point you barely touched your new alt and you have many skill points to spend and unlocked skill lines. Don't you find that weird at all? Why not buy your alt the level 50 too?
And what will you be playing if you buy it all? End game content? what for if you didn't learn anything and just bought everything? To be carried by some guild in trials and vet content? to be a zergling in PvP? To do this all in 1 month and then be like "game sucks there's nothing to do."?
I seriously don't understand this kind of thought. it's so lazy and a terribly bad habit.

In my opinion, buying shortcuts is actually more like “pay-to-lose”. Players who do this will have bypassed the part of the game that actually makes you good at the game, developing the ability to use the skills unique to that class effectively. They’ll subsequently have to spend a significant portion of the time they saved actually learning the class well enough to be good at it.

I have no problem with this. ZOS gets the money they need to continue to operate and develop the game, which is what we all really want, right?

katanagirl1 · November 2019

I don’t have a problem with people buying skyshards for new characters when they got them on previous characters.

However, I don’t think you guys get the point about skyshard achievement when it comes to Cyrodiil. By getting the sub-achievement on 3 separate characters and then buying for the rest, you can obtain an achievement that you did not get on any of them.

Marcus684 · November 2019

katanagirl1 wrote: »

I don’t have a problem with people buying skyshards for new characters when they got them on previous characters.

However, I don’t think you guys get the point about skyshard achievement when it comes to Cyrodiil. By getting the sub-achievement on 3 separate characters and then buying for the rest, you can obtain an achievement that you did not get on any of them.

It’s an achievement. A simple check mark on a list of pointless tasks to do for a false sense of accomplishment. I literally could not care less if someone gets this achievement by buying it