Guild Traders, etc: Why is everything mailed instead of deposited?

scorpius2k1 · August 2020

What is the point of using the mail system when you buy an item from Guild Traders, etc? Speculating here, but surely there are thousands of items mailed within a short amount of time on a constant basis from the multitude of players buying items --while small, could this be another area where some form of server performance could be addressed? Why not just remove the item from the trader and put directly in your inventory instead? Done. Skip the middle ground and get your item instantly. When you buy an item from a Merchant, it is put directly into inventory, not mailed yeah? Why not with traders too? I am sure there is some technical this or that for the reason, but the mail in this game is completely random and sometimes annoyingly off kilter--sometimes you get your item right away, other times it takes a while or if you want it right away it requires you to travel to another zone (which in itself is a bit odd and inconvenient in the first place).

/r

vibeborn · August 2020

It may just be me, but my inventory frequently gets full very quickly, and since I often buy more than one item from guild stores, I'd hate to have spent gold on something, only to find out that my inventory was full.

I do agree that travelling to another zone to get the mail is a bit annoying tho.

Narvuntien · August 2020

You might not have inventory space.

I often completely fill up my mail with rewards for the worthy (I only open one a day for more transmute stones)

scorpius2k1 · August 2020

No offense, but saying "inventory space" could be the reason isn't a very strong argument imho. It would simply say "Inventory Full" like it does for everything else and not take your gold until you have the required free slot(s) to acquire your item(s). My inventory is full a lot too, so I sell stuff to make space. Not to mention, Guild Traders are usually near a merchant so selling junk to clear bag space shouldn't be THAT big a problem. If it really is inventory space, then why do things like merchants, furnishing, impressario, etc all put directly into your bag. Exact same concept. Then there is the other issue, what if your mailbox is full too? See what I mean? Moot point. Doesn't make much sense why some sales goto your bags while others goto your mailbox, it seems like just another system in ESO that could maybe use improvement in the future. At the very least, hopefully mail could be more consistent, that would be a good start.

idk · August 2020

Trading is account-based. Mail is account-based. I have yet to find a MMORPG server that can read our minds.

In other words, it is a good design to let us decide where the items in a mail should go. Especially since it is not always just gold.

MashmalloMan · August 2020

In case you weren't aware, if you'd like your mail right away, you need need to teleport to a new zone. It's been this way for as long as I can remember.

I never bother waiting for my mail in a zone, it can take 5-20 minutes. Loading a new zone is instant.

SeaGtGruff · August 2020

You don't necessarily need to take a wayshrine to a different zone, although I guess it depends on what you mean by "zone."

You can stay within the same zone and just go in or out of an Outlaws Refuge, or go in or out of a player housing-- basically, any change of scene that gives you a load screen. This should trigger, within a few seconds of changing scenes, a check for any new mail.

Of course, whenever I buy something from a guild trader it's usually after checking TTC for prices and locations, so most of the time I had to take a wayshrine to get to the guild trader, and then take a wayshrine to get back to wherever I came from.

scorpius2k1 · August 2020

MashmalloMan wrote: »

In case you weren't aware, if you'd like your mail right away, you need need to teleport to a new zone. It's been this way for as long as I can remember.

I never bother waiting for my mail in a zone, it can take 5-20 minutes. Loading a new zone is instant.

Right. Thank you. I'm aware of it which is why I stated that in my initial post. I do usually end up traveling to another zone to get my mail, it's just odd to have to do that when you really think about it you know? Also, travel between zones can add those wonderful loading screens too. It is a bit silly and seems unpractical to work around inconsistencies like this, you know, just because "we're all used to doing it this way".

scorpius2k1 · August 2020

SeaGtGruff wrote: »

You don't necessarily need to take a wayshrine to a different zone, although I guess it depends on what you mean by "zone."

You can stay within the same zone and just go in or out of an Outlaws Refuge, or go in or out of a player housing-- basically, any change of scene that gives you a load screen. This should trigger, within a few seconds of changing scenes, a check for any new mail.

Of course, whenever I buy something from a guild trader it's usually after checking TTC for prices and locations, so most of the time I had to take a wayshrine to get to the guild trader, and then take a wayshrine to get back to wherever I came from.

Yep. Totally understand and am aware. So many systems in ESO are still the same as they were in 2014 when the game was in beta which is why it becomes so frustrating. All of the small inconsistencies add up over time. As players, we all just work around the shortcomings with a smile and deal with half-baked systems all throughout ESO. They all add up to a lot of time spent we could be doing other things tbh. It is what it is though unless ZoS can/wants to improve on it. Sorry for the rant posts.

SilverBride · August 2020

Maybe they could make so it defaults placing it into your bag, but if that is full then it mails it to you.

MashmalloMan · August 2020

scorpius2k1 wrote: »

MashmalloMan wrote: »

In case you weren't aware, if you'd like your mail right away, you need need to teleport to a new zone. It's been this way for as long as I can remember.

I never bother waiting for my mail in a zone, it can take 5-20 minutes. Loading a new zone is instant.

Right. Thank you. I'm aware of it which is why I stated that in my initial post. I do usually end up traveling to another zone to get my mail, it's just odd to have to do that when you really think about it you know? Also, travel between zones can add those wonderful loading screens too. It is a bit silly and seems unpractical to work around inconsistencies like this, you know, just because "we're all used to doing it this way".

Ah my mistake, last line of your post.

Yeah not saying it's right, just what we have to do for whatever reason unfortunately.

That being said, I wouldn't want them to just put it in our inventory requiring us to empty it out, there is more convenience involved with receiving the items in the mail and allowing you to pick it up on another character or the same character at a later time when you have more space then there would be with the inconvenience of constantly managing inventory when I'm trying to check a billion different traders to get the best prices.

It's just nicer to have it placed in a seperate place every character on an account can access at any time.

A better middleground would be to find a way to fix the current situation because traveling to a new zone is just stupid, feels even more silly when a new player learns this important detail for the first time and asks why? Well I don't know, but ZOS seems to think this is fine.

To be fair, in my experience this is exactly how every trader in every mmo I've ever tried did it. The items have always been mailed to me, with the exception that they were at least mailed within 30s and did not require a zone refresh. ESO is just 20 years behind with their crappy code.

Arunei · August 2020

MashmalloMan wrote: »

In case you weren't aware, if you'd like your mail right away, you need need to teleport to a new zone. It's been this way for as long as I can remember.

I never bother waiting for my mail in a zone, it can take 5-20 minutes. Loading a new zone is instant.

Actually, it didn't used to be like this years ago. It used to be you'd get your mail instantly, and then I think two or so years after launch (maybe 3, idr exactly when it's been so long) it changed to where your mail would only arrive if you traveled to another zone entirely, or if you relogged. In fact, iirc there was never any official word on it changing, so for the longest time a lot of people (myself included) thought it was a bug of some kind that was introduced with one of the past updates. So it has been like this for a while, but it wasn't always like this.

kargen27 · August 2020

Inventory as others have mentioned is a part of it. I know merchants are handy but sometimes your inventory is full of stuff you do not want to sell.
I often purchase things that will be used for a different character. Having those items sit in a mail until I log onto that player is convenient. If it went directly to my inventory I would need to go to a bank and deposit the item then also go to the bank to withdraw the item.

Myyth · August 2020

It is annoying that you have to go use a shrine and teleport to another zone right after purchasing an item in order to get your mail to refresh. wish it was at least instant.

zvavi · August 2020

Additional to the reasons others mentioned (being handy as mail is account wide and to not plague inventory). There is also mails being a nice receipt, and probably a log on the server for ZoS.

Additionally I don't think it will affect performance much to not send the mail, since you are sending a mail anyway (the person getting the gold)

FriedEggSandwich · August 2020

I imagine there's a machine, virtual or otherwise, that is dedicated to handling mail. So having guild trader sales arrive by mail might actually reduce stress on the main servers.