When will Resource Survey Farming finally be adjusted?

TheDarkRuler · November 2022

Survey Farming have been coded very lackluster since ESO started.
Many players are stacking hoards upon hoards of Survey reports because of the way Surveys work.

Right now some people have hundreds of a single stack of resource survey because you need ...
a.) travel around to some of the weirdest locations of the maps.
b.) after harvesting one node completely you will need to reset them by running away an unspecified distance or relogging.
Also those surveys are cluttering inventories so fast because you get new survey types with each expansion. It becomes so much that even 215 max inventory is often half full with surveys.

My suggestions:
- After you've completed a survey make all resource nodes respawn instantly or if you are harvesting a node you will get X-times more resources where X is the amount of surveys of the same type you have.
- Move all Surveys from normal inventory to Crafting Bag if ESO+ is active.

What do you think?

Stanx · November 2022

I think all stacks you have should just appear once you first get there. Some have suggested getting a hireling for it, which I also would like.

lillybit · November 2022

I would settle for surveys in your inventory appearing on the map once that character has found it once. I know PC will have add ons for that but its such a pain on console.

Ideally I'd love surveys to be stored in the craft bag and be collectable from there. It would be so nice to be able to just come across them while I'm playing, without advance planning and having to shuffle them about different characters and filling my inventory first

Khenarthi · November 2022

I have 3 of those large storage chests dedicated to surveys, just stacking them until I can be bothered to go collect, because it's such a hassle to have to log out or run off a distance for the nodes to respawn

FluffWit · November 2022

I do wish they hadn't gone down this path of treating what's supposed to be a massive continent like a tiny island but that ship sailed with One Tamriel and theres no going back at this point.

Beyond that you get- at best, an average of one survey per character a day from doing the 6 writs that can drop surveys. Surveys not stacking and requiring you to actually go places and dig them up is only a hassle for the people who choose to do writs on like 5-36 characters a day.

I used to do them on 6 and it was chore that effectively turned the game into a second job. But that wasn't the games fault and good lord it made me a lot of gold.

joergino · November 2022

Yes, please. I have been asking for this myself in the past. The way surveys are right now, they are way too time-consuming to work off a larger stack of them.

virtus753 · November 2022

Khenarthi wrote: »

I have 3 of those large storage chests dedicated to surveys, just stacking them until I can be bothered to go collect, because it's such a hassle to have to log out or run off a distance for the nodes to respawn

I've been sitting on mine as well, except I put them on a mule.

With 162 current unique surveys (if I'm counting right), they take up 45% of our total possible house storage, 67.5% of a fully upgraded non-ESO+ bank (33.75% with ESO+), or 75.3% of the inventory of a character who's got every possible inventory bonus (including the paid pets). It's only going to get worse as each new Q2 DLC adds six more. This is one of the more onerous and obvious parts of the rat race and could do with some serious QoL improvements.

Ingenon · November 2022

Once I find the survey location, I collect the six nodes, and then preview a house that I do not own. Immediately exit that house, collect the six nodes, rinse, repeat.

Work for me. Yes, I know that this is two load screens. I recently upgraded to a PS5, so load screens for house travel are quick, at least on PS/NA. YMMV.

gariondavey · November 2022

+1

WiseSky · November 2022

yes

kargen27 · November 2022

The only one that bothers me is the one in Wrothgar where you have to run around the mountain and jump back down again to repeat it. I usually kill and harvest along the way as I run back and forth so I'm good with how they work.

Even if it did bother me I think there are many other things that should be higher priority that could be fixed and/or tweaked.

tmbrinks · November 2022

Have them go into the craft bag... absolutely. Mark the map once found for future ones... awesome idea!

I'd be all for an NPC that you can trade them to. You get 15 top level materials, and 10 materials of a random lower level. (7/3 for jewelry)... and some to be determined amount for Alchemy and Enchanting. You still get mats, and don't have to do the survey... win/win.

Survey collecting is already, short of running carries, the most time-effective way of gaining resources/gold/value in ESO. Sorry, I just don't think they need a change.

endgamesmug · November 2022

I detest trials that everyone seems to be in love with so i always have the time to do my surveys straight after writs everyday. If i left them to stack they would become a nightmare for me so i nip it in the bud as it were.

Freelancer_ESO · November 2022

Personally, I think the rewards for daily writs are already excessive and I don't think systems should be put in place to make profiting from them easier.

DMuehlhausen · November 2022

Take a page out of SWTOR. Get a menu where you see the surveys and your companions you aren't using. You can then select X number of surveys and assign a companion to go collect them. Based on Zone, type, number etc determines how long it takes them.

Grizzbeorn · November 2022

Ingenon wrote: »

Once I find the survey location, I collect the six nodes, and then preview a house that I do not own.

I'm punching myself in the face for not thinking of this.

spartaxoxo · November 2022

FluffWit wrote: »

I do wish they hadn't gone down this path of treating what's supposed to be a massive continent like a tiny island but that ship sailed with One Tamriel and theres no going back at this point.

Beyond that you get- at best, an average of one survey per character a day from doing the 6 writs that can drop surveys. Surveys not stacking and requiring you to actually go places and dig them up is only a hassle for the people who choose to do writs on like 5-36 characters a day.

I used to do them on 6 and it was chore that effectively turned the game into a second job. But that wasn't the games fault and good lord it made me a lot of gold.

I have this issue and I only do writs one character. I let them stack a bit before collecting them because as bad as it is to do multiple ones at once, it's even worse to try and do them every single day. It's come to the point I despise them. They are time consuming regardless if you choose to several at once or do them constantly, they are poorly implemented, and extremely non-interactive. Every now and then they become a massive pile because I stop them doing because my resentment of this game reaches a critical point and I have to stop doing them entirely for a while. Which I always pay a massive penalty for, the largest mistake penalty in the game by a country mile.

If the point of this system is to make people get on their phone and then resent how awfully grindy it can get, then they are doing a good job. If they want this game to be fun, they are some of the worst designed material gathering systems in the history of MMO gaming.

Rowjoh · November 2022

too many surveys are badly and unfairly placed.

some of the rewards are so bad it's not worth doing.

the fact that you have to spend longer on a horse and in loading screens than collecting is farcical game design.

etc etc

This system should have been updated, upgraded and made much more convenient and rewarding years ago.

TheDarkRuler · November 2022

I added the part with the Surveys and Crafting Bag in the first post. Thanks for all the comments. Lets hope that ZOS recognizes it.

Dr_Con · November 2022

Do them if you need them, destroy them if you don't. I've come to realize that surveys are for newer players, they aren't and shouldn't be reliable income for late-game players.

TheDarkRuler · November 2022

Dr_Con wrote: »

Do them if you need them, destroy them if you don't. I've come to realize that surveys are for newer players, they aren't and shouldn't be reliable income for late-game players.

I really doubt that. Surveys are for basic resorce farming that can be refined into gold mats.
The refined mats i do sell, i dont need them but gold is another matter.

Heartrage · November 2022

Make them tradeable.

oldbobdude · November 2022

Rowjoh wrote: »

too many surveys are badly and unfairly placed.

True. I’ve learned over time which ones take too much effort to get to. If they aren’t relatively near a wayshrine - delete. Except, I will hunt down jewelry surveys regardless.

Dr_Con · November 2022

TheDarkRuler wrote: »

Dr_Con wrote: »

Do them if you need them, destroy them if you don't. I've come to realize that surveys are for newer players, they aren't and shouldn't be reliable income for late-game players.

I really doubt that. Surveys are for basic resorce farming that can be refined into gold mats.
The refined mats i do sell, i dont need them but gold is another matter.

You haven't gotten to the point of being able to be one of the people who buys the gold mats, there's a threshold you've yet to pass from being one who grinds to sell the goods and the patron who utilizes the goods.

tmbrinks · November 2022

Dr_Con wrote: »

Do them if you need them, destroy them if you don't. I've come to realize that surveys are for newer players, they aren't and shouldn't be reliable income for late-game players.

guess I'm not a late-game player yet... oh well.

I wonder what's holding me back...

Is it not having Planesbreaker or Swashbucker Supreme?

Is it that I'm still missing the 150% war torte recipe?

Is it that I'm missing about 20 of the new furnishing plans released with Firesong.. but have all the others?

Ah... it's because I don't have all the eidetic memory books because of the few that are bugged!

Dr_Con · November 2022

tmbrinks wrote: »

Dr_Con wrote: »

Do them if you need them, destroy them if you don't. I've come to realize that surveys are for newer players, they aren't and shouldn't be reliable income for late-game players.

guess I'm not a late-game player yet... oh well.

You're a rare exception, your numbers are your end-game

Ishtarknows · November 2022

DMuehlhausen wrote: »

Take a page out of SWTOR. Get a menu where you see the surveys and your companions you aren't using. You can then select X number of surveys and assign a companion to go collect them. Based on Zone, type, number etc determines how long it takes them.

This!
This would be amazing, finally a use for those companions I levelled for the achievements then never used again.

barney2525 · November 2022

I stay at the spot. Its gonna be safe because its a survey zone.

I log out. takes 10 seconds.

I log in . takes 15 seconds

I harvest the nodes

Rinse and repeat as needed

How hard is that?

tmbrinks · November 2022

barney2525 wrote: »

I stay at the spot. Its gonna be safe because its a survey zone.

I log out. takes 10 seconds.

I log in . takes 15 seconds

I harvest the nodes

Rinse and repeat as needed

How hard is that?

1. I'd do unspeakable things for <15 second load screens.

2. For all but 3 surveys... you need to ride on your horse away for less than 5 seconds (then back)... and 10 < 25 (at least I hope it is... else I've been teaching it wrong for 15 years

)

Tenthirty2 · November 2022

I have one 60-chest where I put maps and surveys.
When the chest is nearly full the next time I head out I grab a few and do them while I'm zone hopping.
I've been trying to leave one of each type of survey and a tres map for any endeavors I may want.

If I get more than one for the same spot I'll FT to a home I do not own, then exit right away.
It puts you exactly at the spot you were before going to preview a home and the node is refreshed.

I agree I would be nice if multiples all pulled at once, however they would implement it. But previewing a home and coming back takes seconds.

redlink1979 · November 2022

barney2525 wrote: »

I stay at the spot. Its gonna be safe because its a survey zone.
I log out. takes 10 seconds.
I log in . takes 15 seconds
I harvest the nodes
Rinse and repeat as needed
How hard is that?

You don't need to relog: just move way from the nodes and approach again. Use the distance between Geirmund' Hall Wayshrine and The Eastmarch's enchantment survey report location as a benchmark.