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Antiquities system - Leads Countdown timer?
Grey17
✭✭✭
I understand that the system has a 30 day count down timer before the leads disappear, but where is this timer so I know how much time I have left? Mousing over the lead doesn't bring up
anything.
Anyone throw me a bone?
anything.
Anyone throw me a bone?
8
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Taleof2Cities✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭There’s no timer in the UI, @Grey17.
Until an enterprising add-on author comes along, you can probably use your smart phone to keep track.
Of course, the elephant in the room question though:
Do you really need 30 days to track down a lead??
Edited by Taleof2Cities on May 30, 2020 6:20PM3 -
Grey17✭✭✭Well that's a nice oversight isn't it [snip]
[Edited to remove Bashing]
Edited by ZOS_ConnorG on May 30, 2020 6:40PM0 -
KMarble✭✭✭✭✭Taleof2Cities wrote: »
Some players will need to do a lot of other content to get skill points before they can dig. 27 skill points IIRC.
I got a lead I cannot work on because of my scrying level. I need one of the passives to be at 10 to be able to work on that lead, and scrying levels up very slowly. I'm fortunate enough to have started antiquities with more than enough skill points to level it up to max, but many people aren't.Edited by ZOS_ConnorG on June 2, 2020 10:35AM30 -
virtus753✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭For some people they may indeed take 30 days. Not everyone has the time it takes to grind the skill lines and the skill points in that amount of time.
But since leads do expire, a timer would be helpful to many while not hurting anyone. I don’t think it makes sense for ZOS to make us rely on an add-on author here.
For one, add-ons are not an option for console players. This shouldn’t be yet another way in which basic QoL features are accessible via add-ons but not to two of the three platforms. I appreciate that not everything that add-ons can do can feasibly be incorporated into consoles, but basic timers already exist in game for other things across all platforms.
To me this is like not including a timer for research pieces or horse training, so that we would have to create spreadsheets on our own (or rely on add-ons while console players are left to do it manually). Or knowing that the campaigns expire in 30 days, but if you didn’t write down when they started, you wouldn’t know when they ended. (At least not without spamming zone chat and hoping someone else knew, and here you can’t even ask anyone else when your particular leads expire.) The fact that there are already several crucial timers accessible in game makes me wonder why they neglected to include one here when it would be useful to players and beneficial to ZOS commercially.
From a business perspective it would help encourage sales of Greymoor: buy it now before your leads expire (in dd:hh:mm and counting), or face farming them again once/if you do. As it is now, not only do we not have a lead timer, but we’re never even told in game that leads expire. Most players don’t read the website or the patch notes, so unless they hear it from other players, there’s no perceived time pressure to buy Greymoor. I’ve seen quite a few people say they won’t buy Greymoor now but will wait to follow their leads until it’s included with ESO+. A month from now they’ll realize their leads are disappearing, but are they more likely to buy it then when they’re already disappointed? Speaking for myself, that would distinctly turn me off from spending additional money on Greymoor. A countdown, on the other hand, could drive sales much the same way as a limited-time offer.
Timers would be a win-win for players and ZOS. They’re missing a real opportunity here to help everyone, including themselves.14 -
Linaleah✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭yes. please, timer would be good. becasue right now instead of being something relaxing to do in game - the system is now stressful, by creating this urge to grind it, JUST so that you don't accidentally miss out on a higher level lead, because there isn't even a timer to refer to.
although, ideally - there would be NO expiration to begin with.Edited by Linaleah on May 31, 2020 7:06PMdirty worthless casual.
Lois McMaster Bujold "A Civil Campaign"Reputation is what other people know about you. Honor is what you know about yourself. Guard your honor. Let your reputation fall where it will. And outlive the ***10 -
Starlock✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭Wait a sec... are you folks telling me that not only did they introduce a superfluous and entirely unnecessary expiration to leads, but that the game doesn't even tell you they expire in the in-game interface (much less when they expire)??
Setting aside that the expiration date makes no darned sense to begin with except as a sneaky way of psychologically manipulating customers to play this game more ... what the legitimate cluck. Like Linaleah said, antiquities should be a relaxing activity. Like fishing. Remove the darned expiry altogether.31 -
Kolzki✭✭✭✭✭There’s a timer? Where does it say that in game? Tracking down leads in 30 days is no problem but we need to actually know if leads are not permanent.3 -
Zulera301✭✭✭✭✭if it takes you more than 30 days to pursue a lead, antiquities isn't for you.
if you're worried about how long it'll take to reach a high enough level to be able to scry for a lead, don't bother farming them until you're at the sufficient level. The rest of the leads drop like parade candy and so if you lose one, you can easily get it back.Shortly after the formation of the Ebonheart Pact, a Nord woman was given a tour of the Tribunal Temple. When later asked about the experience, she seemed upset. Suffice to say, the Dunmer were not pleased to hear this, and thus they inquired further.
"Well," the Nord frowned, "the priests were very angry and unwelcoming. They kept shouting things at me like "you can't drink that mead in here!" and "somebody stop her, she's running naked!" and "we can't catch her; she's covered in grease!""0 -
Taleof2Cities✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭There’s a timer? Where does it say that in game? Tracking down leads in 30 days is no problem but we need to actually know if leads are not permanent.
It says that all over, @Kolzki ... in the patch notes, the in-game help section on Antiquities, ESO Live, ESO news article FAQ, and so on.
If players don't know leads expire, they've been hiding under a rock.1 -
HoyaCarnosa✭✭Woah, wait... there IS A TIMER? No one told me that...well it seems i should go skyshard hunting since i have some leads but no points to use them....well seems i will go to zones that i dont wanted to go before i played the story in order i play since last year dragon rise event / onyx indrik (the last event where everything was aviable for onyx including pet, sadly i started there so i could not get it, also did not get the following indriks because i had no clue what was going on at that time, but for icebreath it looks good, i seem to get it this time)... since i am a slow player and take my time i only made it to shadowfen with the story ( i get distracted very often, fishing, collecting, dolmens so much to do in this great game)..but the new system sounded so good i traveled directly to greymoor to get the tools for the leads...thanks to you i know now that they expire, i was not a single time told from the tutorial that leads expire and yes a timer would be very very helpful.1
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Taleof2Cities✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭HoyaCarnosa wrote: »Woah, wait... there IS A TIMER? No one told me that...well it seems i should go skyshard hunting since i have some leads but no points to use them....well seems i will go to zones that i dont wanted to go before i played the story in order i play since last year dragon rise event / onyx indrik (the last event where everything was aviable for onyx including pet, sadly i started there so i could not get it, also did not get the following indriks because i had no clue what was going on at that time, but for icebreath it looks good, i seem to get it this time)... since i am a slow player and take my time i only made it to shadowfen with the story ( i get distracted very often, fishing, collecting, dolmens so much to do in this great game)..but the new system sounded so good i traveled directly to greymoor to get the tools for the leads...thanks to you i know now that they expire, i was not a single time told from the tutorial that leads expire and yes a timer would be very very helpful.
All of your examples are in the patch notes AND the game's in-game help section.
So, the choices are:
a. Read up and be prepared for these mechanics ahead of time.
OR
b. Each time you find a new mechanic in-game, craft a long run-on sentence in the forums saying you had "no clue what was going on."0 -
HoyaCarnosa✭✭Taleof2Cities wrote: »There’s a timer? Where does it say that in game? Tracking down leads in 30 days is no problem but we need to actually know if leads are not permanent.
It says that all over, @Kolzki ... in the patch notes, the in-game help section on Antiquities, ESO Live, ESO news article FAQ, and so on.
If players don't know leads expire, they've been hiding under a rock.
Well not everyone reads the patch notes or the help section or the FAQ, i was under the impression that the tutorial that they made ingame tells you all the important things to know....why else would they made a tutorial when there is such an important detail missing? Even if there is a timer, it would be nice to know when the lead expires or even that there is a timer, lets say i get a lead but dont want to track it down at the moment because i want to do other things, then i forget about it because guild keeps me busy, when i then remember that i had that lead and want to track it down but 30 days have passed and it is gone i would be confused because i thought i had it, but without knowing that they will expire i would be looking through the lead pages and wonder where it is...Taleof2Cities wrote: »
All of your examples are in the patch notes AND the game's in-game help section.
So, the choices are:
a. Read up and be prepared for these mechanics ahead of time.
OR
b. Each time you find a new mechanic in-game, craft a long run-on sentence in the forums saying you had "no clue what was going on."
edited for:
ouch that hurts...i know many players that want to be surprised what new mechanics come to the game with big patches and avoid the patch notes active...Edited by HoyaCarnosa on May 31, 2020 9:44PM6 -
mikikatze✭✭✭✭✭30 days is not a lot if you play only 2 hours each evening (if at all because people do have work, families etc.) and keep getting a lead here and there. They add up quickly (you often get one while finishing another), and the missing timer is really stupid.
It's more stupid that there IS one in the first place, though..16 -
DaveMoeDee✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭Taleof2Cities wrote: »
Not at all. There are a lot of things going on in the game. If I can manage to get in-game 6 hours/week and I want to play through Greymoor and some other old content I have laying around (I am almost done with Elsweyr and still have the DLC from last year to do), I might not have time to finish antiquities on-time. Well, I can finish them if I decide to forego content that brings me the most enjoyment.
The timer is horrible. Don't put pressure on people to do busywork like that. Let them do it at their leisure. Especially when you keep throwing up all the busywork events.
Edit: sadly, though I was really enjoying finishing up Elsweyr, I spent my game time today leveling antiquities skill lines. I guess it is my fault for being easily distracted from the part of the game I enjoy the most.Edited by ZOS_ConnorG on June 2, 2020 10:35AM5 -
Kolzki✭✭✭✭✭Taleof2Cities wrote: »There’s a timer? Where does it say that in game? Tracking down leads in 30 days is no problem but we need to actually know if leads are not permanent.
It says that all over, @Kolzki ... in the patch notes, the in-game help section on Antiquities, ESO Live, ESO news article FAQ, and so on.
If players don't know leads expire, they've been hiding under a rock.
The only one of those location that is in game is the help page and who reads the help page? Sure, I read the patch notes (although I clearly skipped that section) but most players do not.4 -
DaveMoeDee✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭Taleof2Cities wrote: »There’s a timer? Where does it say that in game? Tracking down leads in 30 days is no problem but we need to actually know if leads are not permanent.
It says that all over, @Kolzki ... in the patch notes, the in-game help section on Antiquities, ESO Live, ESO news article FAQ, and so on.
If players don't know leads expire, they've been hiding under a rock.
The only one of those location that is in game is the help page and who reads the help page? Sure, I read the patch notes (although I clearly skipped that section) but most players do not.
It has been years since I took a peak at patch notes for this game. Generally not something I'm interested in for any game. I'll hear big changes in forums, streams, or guild.1 -
Kiralyn2000✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭Taleof2Cities wrote: »It says that all over, @Kolzki ... in the patch notes, the in-game help section on Antiquities, ESO Live, ESO news article FAQ, and so on.
If players don't know leads expire, they've been hiding under a rock.
You do know that the average player won't have anything to do with the italic'd things (or this forum), and won't go to the help section unless they know there's a reason for them to look for something there? If it isn't mentioned in the in-game "welcome to Antiquities" tutorial, or the interface itself, they'll likely only find out about it when something disappears.
(actually, thinking about it - I have no idea where this help section is. I don't think I've ever looked at/for it. I've definitely never watched ESO Live. I rarely see the News articles - my bookmark comes straight here to the forum. And I only sometimes look at patch notes.)Edited by Kiralyn2000 on May 31, 2020 11:36PM3 -
bearbelly✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭30 days is not a lot if you play only 2 hours each evening (if at all because people do have work, families etc.) and keep getting a lead here and there. They add up quickly (you often get one while finishing another), and the missing timer is really stupid.
It's more stupid that there IS one in the first place, though..
But it's not like you permanently lose the chance to find whatever item that lead was for.
The leads can be found again if you let them expire, for whatever reason.0 -
Starlock✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭30 days is not a lot if you play only 2 hours each evening (if at all because people do have work, families etc.) and keep getting a lead here and there. They add up quickly (you often get one while finishing another), and the missing timer is really stupid.
It's more stupid that there IS one in the first place, though..
But it's not like you permanently lose the chance to find whatever item that lead was for.
The leads can be found again if you let them expire, for whatever reason.
It's just a very strange mechanic, though. Why have this at all? What gameplay reason is there for an expiry to exist? In a game were provisioning ingredients never expire and alchemy reagents never spoil, why have leads for this antiquities system expire at all? It makes no sense from a gameplay standpoint. It seems to only exist to pressure players needlessly in to following up on them immediately which has the potential to become an addiction-forming gameplay loop. That's the only point I can see to it. Considering this game has so many addiction-forming gameplay design elements already (seeking out antiquities without the darned expiry could do that for some people), I just don't understand why this expiry was added. Has there been any developer commentary about the reasoning behind this strange mechanic?11 -
Dagoth_Rac✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭I did not know they expire. I had been ignoring some of the furnishing ones because storage for furnishings is a bit of a pain point in this game. I figured I would just dig them up when/if I find a good spot I want to put them in a house. The lead expiring seems kind of unusual. Nothing else in the game (quests, treasure maps, progress on achievements, surveys, etc.) expire. Not sure why they did that with antiquities.3 -
kargen27✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭if it takes you more than 30 days to pursue a lead, antiquities isn't for you.
if you're worried about how long it'll take to reach a high enough level to be able to scry for a lead, don't bother farming them until you're at the sufficient level. The rest of the leads drop like parade candy and so if you lose one, you can easily get it back.
We don't all play the game the same way. Nor do we all have the same amount of time to play the game. I'm planning on taking my time with antiquities. I'm not looking at any of the guides nor going out of my way to find leads. I'm going to play it as while I'm in the neighborhood I might as well dig a bit. Same way I did the psijic order. That way it never feels like a grind and I continue to enjoy the game with more things to do. I don't mind that leads expire but would be nice to know how much longer we have on one. If I decide I want to do a bit of digging it would be good to know which one is about to go away so I can weigh that in my decision.and then the parrot said, "must be the water mines green too."6 -
Elvenheart✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭I can’t remember where I heard this, but I’m sure I heard someone say that the lead expiring was to simulate the short term usefulness of that type of information. Like, here’s a lead I have on a hot item, but you’d better move quick or someone else who’s learned about it will get to it before you! Now, of course that doesn’t really happen in the game since all leads and their excavation sites are individual to the player, but the news not lasting forever simulates that. Are you sure that something to this effect isn’t anywhere in the tutorial? They should definitely include it1 -
Warwolf✭Personal if there is no convincing argument for the 30 days its contra productive for a MMO ...
People already rush to endgame and than complain there is nothing to do why feed them ?
More time =More ESO + just saying
Have fun "TAKE YOUR TIME" and enjoy this game the way you want it 0 -
mikikatze✭✭✭✭✭30 days is not a lot if you play only 2 hours each evening (if at all because people do have work, families etc.) and keep getting a lead here and there. They add up quickly (you often get one while finishing another), and the missing timer is really stupid.
It's more stupid that there IS one in the first place, though..
But it's not like you permanently lose the chance to find whatever item that lead was for.
The leads can be found again if you let them expire, for whatever reason.
But they don't all drop at fix spots.
I got my first gold(!) lead in the tutorial of Vardenfell (I don't even have Greymoor on that 2nd account), where I can not return to. So as a casual player I'd be really frustrated, because I cannot get that many extra skillpoints that early in the game, unless I grind like a maniac.Edited by mikikatze on June 1, 2020 7:03AM3 -
Red_Feather✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭Does this mean I'll lose my leads before I get to level that I can do all this.0 -
VaranisArano✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭Red_Feather wrote: »Does this mean I'll lose my leads before I get to level that I can do all this.
It means you'll lose your leads in 30 days. If that's before you reach the needed level, yes, you'll have to find them again.0 -
bearbelly✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭30 days is not a lot if you play only 2 hours each evening (if at all because people do have work, families etc.) and keep getting a lead here and there. They add up quickly (you often get one while finishing another), and the missing timer is really stupid.
It's more stupid that there IS one in the first place, though..
But it's not like you permanently lose the chance to find whatever item that lead was for.
The leads can be found again if you let them expire, for whatever reason.
But they don't all drop at fix spots.
I got my first gold(!) lead in the tutorial of Vardenfell (I don't even have Greymoor on that 2nd account), where I can not return to. So as a casual player I'd be really frustrated, because I cannot get that many extra skillpoints that early in the game, unless I grind like a maniac.
I don't think lead drops are fixed to specific locations. I was under the impression that any lead can drop anywhere, randomly.
But I could be wrong about that. I haven't spent a lot of time with this new system yet.0 -
Skauron✭✭✭I really don't think its that big a deal, you can revisit this any time you want and get the leads back any time too, if its expired it will pop again. If you're only plays a few hours a day, and wish to spend it scrying/excavating , that is your choice .. but you won't be penalised. Your progress is only going to be hampered by the effort you put in to level it, so if you are spending your time running around getting skill points because you want to buy the new passives then naturally you are not going to be spending all your 2 hours scrying.
Swings and roundabouts, eventually you'll have more skill points than you need anyway and noone has specifically told you that just because scrying is in this patch that you have to drop everything and go and run and do it, if you need to level up, can i suggest you do that first ?Champion level chars: Nord Warden (Tank):50 Khajiit Nightblade (stam dual blade):50 High Elf Necromancer (magicka dps):50 Dragonknight (Tank):50 Sorcerer Vampire: 50
Also levelling: Templar (dps)
Started playing ESO: April 4th0 -
KMarble✭✭✭✭✭if it takes you more than 30 days to pursue a lead, antiquities isn't for you.
if you're worried about how long it'll take to reach a high enough level to be able to scry for a lead, don't bother farming them until you're at the sufficient level. The rest of the leads drop like parade candy and so if you lose one, you can easily get it back.
I wasn't farming for leads when the lead that requires level 10 in scrying dropped for me. I don't even know where I found it. According to your logic anyone who isn't level 10 in both skills stop playing the way I've done so far - picking up nodes, checking containers, stealing, killing mobs, doing dungeons... in short, playing the game, since leads can drop from anything.I don't think lead drops are fixed to specific locations. I was under the impression that any lead can drop anywhere, randomly.
But I could be wrong about that. I haven't spent a lot of time with this new system yet.
Kinda. From what I understand, some (most?) leads are zone specific but can drop from different activities.2
