Whitestrake's Mayhem is out on the PTS. According to the latest PTS Patch Notes:

"You can earn a total of 3 Event Tickets per day during this event.
-The first 2 come from completing any daily quest that focuses on Cyrodiil or Battlegrounds.
- You may earn an additional ticket by completing an Imperial City District daily quest. Visit both places if you want to maximize your ticket earnings!"


As much as I'm pleased to see that all forms of PvPvE are being included in this event celebrating ALL forms of PVP...I'm disappointed to see that the tickets are once more split between Cyrodiil + BGs, and Imperial City.

I far preferred the ticket distribution from Midyear Mayhem Jan/Feb 2020. That event awarded three event tickets for any daily in Cyrodiil, BGs, and Imperial City.

I feel this methodology of "All tickets for any one daily" has the following benefits:

• As with other events that only require one daily, this is more respectful of players with limited time to play.
• Players who like PVP can focus on one of the PVP-centric dailies and then be done to PVP however they like.
• Players who don't like PVP can focus on one of the quicker, less riskier dailies, and then be done.
• Players who only like one form of PVP can focus on doing the daily from the type of PVP they enjoy.
• Players who have to queue for Cyrodiil and Imperial City can accomplish all three tickets without having to leave that zone and queue up for the other. Additionally, waiting in queue can take a while depending on the campaign and time of day, so this having to queue once is more respectful of player time.

Now, since I like to look at all sides, here's some possible Cons to the idea:

• Players who don't like Imperial City might avoid IC and stick to Cyrodiil or Battlegrounds. Presumably, this looks bad on population metrics, and also might make for a disappointing event for anyone who heads to Imperial City hoping to find it as busy as Cyrodiil.
• This is speculation, but the Cyrodiil campaigns do tend to get rather full during past Midyear Mayhems. Prompting players to queue for IC if they want all the tickets may help even out the strain?
• Players who are okay with Cyrodiil/BGs but don't want to or have time to do the IC Dailies as well are more likely to miss out on tickets, and thus, more likely to buy tickets from the Crown store.

In addition, I have some specific qualms about requiring Imperial City Dailies to get one ticket.

• Most importantly, there is no Below 50 campaign for Imperial City. Unlike in Cyrodiil and Battlegrounds where low level players can compete with other players also below 50 (in level, anyways, if not necessarily in experience), Imperial City does not have that option anymore. Yes, there is the No CP Campaign. However, that still involves fighting players in CP 160 gear, so it's not the same situation. You give a Below 50 option for Cyrodiil and BGs, but then require Below 50 players to play with the "big dogs" for the final ticket? This is a problem. You should either add a Below 50 IC Campaign for the duration of the event or remove the requirement.
• In actual practice, Imperial City is quite difficult for players who are inexperienced at PVP due to the close quarters and stealth ambushes of urban PVP. Worse, the dailies make it very easy to predict where players are going to be, and there are only six options. In comparison, Cyrodiil has so many available dailies from towns and scouting missions that it is considerably more forgiving for players who are struggling with PVP. And yet, you chose to require Imperial City for the final ticket, with only six dailies.
• The Imperial City Arena District quest neatly illustrates my qualms. As you know from past events, the Arena daily can be completed from the top of the alliance spawn points in the district. Naturally, this is an easier daily for players who want to avoid PVP. What we also saw as the last Year One Celebration event went on was that players who wanted to fight would go to the Arena District and target the players who were up on the platform. That's all allowed gameplay, but I'd ask "Is it good gameplay?" Did the Devs intend to create a situation where some players hide in a tower to complete an event ticket daily while others circle below like piranhas? It's not exactly fun and thrilling gameplay up there in the tower. And no offense meant to the piranhas. As a PVPer myself, I know the feeling...but it's not exactly great gameplay either.

As I said, I'm a PVPer. You won't find me wringing my hands about gankers or unfair fights when Whitestrake's Mayhem brings all the casual PVEers to the yard for PVP rewards. PVP gonna happen in PVP zones.

But that being said, I have some problems with splitting the three event tickets between Cyrodiil+ Battlegrounds AND Imperial City.

It will be far more respectful of player time to only require 1 PVP-zone daily for ALL 3 tickets.

It will be far more enjoyable for players to get ALL 3 tickets from the daily they most prefer doing.

There are substantive issues with Imperial City meaning that the IC Dailies are not an accessible source of event tickets. Specifically, IC is unfair to Below 50 players, the design of Imperial City is such that PVP is intentionally more difficult to avoid than in Cyrodiil, and finally, the limited options and easy ability to camp the daily quest locations make the IC Dailies far less forgiving than the other option in Cyrodiil.

I do not know why the Devs keep requiring the Imperial City Dailies for this type of event. If it's because participation numbers in Imperial City are very low, perhaps they should consider that exposing players to unfair and unfun PVP gameplay does not exactly make for a good lasting impression.

In contrast, giving players ALL 3 tickets for doing ANY daily in PVP zone gives players the agency to participate however they want with as much or as little risk as they can manage. It's much fairer and much more enjoyable that way.

Finally, if you absolutely must require the IC Dailies for the two Whitestrake's Mayhems, can you please, please for the love of Alessia, not make them a requirement for event tickets during the next "Year One/Imperial City" Event? Three times in a year is too much for the same six dailies. Have the decency to let us do White-Gold Tower and Imperial City Prison, at least!


Thank you for your consideration.