Opened 15x All-Maker Crates - got one legendary item, and 15 blue items

Tra_Lalan · August 16

Recently I bought a 15x allmaker crates bundle. Decided to open them now. From opening 15 crates I got only one legendary item (golden quality - 100 gems item), all other crates had 3 fine rewards (green) and one superior reward (blue). Most of the blue rewards were the same thing. Got only one bonus card (which was the 100 gems one).
I used to buy those bundles in previous years, always had much better rewards than this (1x400 gems reward, or at least two 100 gems rewards and some purple items). Seems like the drop rates for crates got massively decreased. Just wanted to share. Don't buy those.

MEBengalsFan2001 · August 16

RNG…. It’s random.

C_Inside · August 16

It's very well known by now that gamble boxes in general are a scam. ZOS has the odds for crown crates available on their website: https://help.elderscrollsonline.com/#en/answer/49828. You can clearly see how skewed the odds are. Many content creators have also spoken out against them over the years and how unfair they are. At this point if you still think it's a good idea to spend money on gambling then it's your own fault. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes and all that.

oldbobdude · August 16

The funny thing is that the “prizes” in the crates are not real. I guess people just like gambling. Why else would you pay real money to have horrible odds to get a digital item.

zharkovian · August 16

Yes, it is just gambling, the only one that wins is ZoS

Thoriorz · August 16

The casino always wins.

Dagoth_Rac · August 16

oldbobdude wrote: »

The funny thing is that the “prizes” in the crates are not real. I guess people just like gambling. Why else would you pay real money to have horrible odds to get a digital item.

Some people get enjoyment out of cosmetic items and having their in-game characters look and behave in ways they find appealing. That enjoyment is just as "real" as any enjoyment a person gets from a physical object.

Do I think it is a good idea to gamble real money with horrible odds on these in-game items? No. Just like I would not recommend gambling with horrible odds for the chance at a pumpkin spice latte (a real world but similarly ephemeral enjoyment).

But I don't think people wanting these items is the problem. It is the mechanism for acquiring them that I find distasteful.

Necrotech_Master · August 16

Dagoth_Rac wrote: »

oldbobdude wrote: »

The funny thing is that the “prizes” in the crates are not real. I guess people just like gambling. Why else would you pay real money to have horrible odds to get a digital item.

Some people get enjoyment out of cosmetic items and having their in-game characters look and behave in ways they find appealing. That enjoyment is just as "real" as any enjoyment a person gets from a physical object.

Do I think it is a good idea to gamble real money with horrible odds on these in-game items? No. Just like I would not recommend gambling with horrible odds for the chance at a pumpkin spice latte (a real world but similarly ephemeral enjoyment).

But I don't think people wanting these items is the problem. It is the mechanism for acquiring them that I find distasteful.

thats why i just stockpile endeavors (and crown gems from free crates) to buy items directly from crates lol

the only time i occasionally get crates is because they come in a bundle deal with another cosmetic i do like (such as when they did the shade polymorph, i wanted the polymorph and felt the 25 crates that came with it was incidental and wasnt really aiming for anything in the crates themselves)

AzuraFan · August 16

MEBengalsFan2001 wrote: »

RNG…. It’s random.

Sure. But it's still possible that items are not dropping as frequently as they used to. ZOS might have decreased the drop rates. So if the chance of getting an item used to be 2%, maybe now it's only 0.5%.

The main thing I've noticed about crates is a steep increase in the number of duplicates. You should not be able to get a duplicate in a tier until you have everything in that tier. Alternatively, duplicates should reward the replacement value in gems, so if you get a duplicate, you can go to the crown store and use gems to get another item in the same tier. Right now, the gems you get for a duplicate are ridiculously low.

(I buy crates just for a bit of fun sometimes, but only using my ESO+ crowns.)

malistorr · August 16

Definitely agree, don't buy them.

Stafford197 · August 16

You gambled money, not much else to it.

FYI, there is a site that has big data for Crown Crate drop rates across many different Crate seasons. I recommend looking this up to see actual drop rates.

AzuraFan · August 16

Stafford197 wrote: »

FYI, there is a site that has big data for Crown Crate drop rates across many different Crate seasons. I recommend looking this up to see actual drop rates.

I looked it up and yikes. Maybe I won't bother with crown crates anymore, even for a bit of fun. Drop rates are way, way lower than I thought they'd be for the higher tiers.

Stafford197 · August 16

AzuraFan wrote: »

Stafford197 wrote: »

FYI, there is a site that has big data for Crown Crate drop rates across many different Crate seasons. I recommend looking this up to see actual drop rates.

I looked it up and yikes. Maybe I won't bother with crown crates anymore, even for a bit of fun. Drop rates are way, way lower than I thought they'd be for the higher tiers.

Yeah it’s really bad. Most people use the Gifting system to trade Gold to obtain Crown Crates, in which case it’s reasonable to get lots of crates. Don’t allow yourself to become one of the individuals spending large chunks of money to buy these crates.

But also it’s your money and no one can tell you what to do with your money. I’m just going to flat out say Gambling your money away is bad.

Finedaible · August 16

It's 2024.

Gambling mechanics should be illegal.

That is all.

AzuraFan · August 16

Stafford197 wrote: »

Yeah it’s really bad. Most people use the Gifting system to trade Gold to obtain Crown Crates, in which case it’s reasonable to get lots of crates. Don’t allow yourself to become one of the individuals spending large chunks of money to buy these crates.

Oh, I don't buy crates every often, and when I do, it's using my ESO+ crowns and only for a bit of fun. Lately I've been passing up on them altogether because of too many duplicates, and because I have more mounts, non-combat pets, emotes, customized actions, costumes, etc. than I'll ever be able to use.

kargen27 · August 16

Finedaible wrote: »

It's 2024.

Gambling mechanics should be illegal.

That is all.

legally the crown crates are not gambling. You are guaranteed a certain number of items in each crate and you always receive at least that number and occasionally a bonus item. Crown crates are basically the same as gum packs with sports trading cards inside. You know how many cards you will get but not what players you will get. Not gambling because you always know how many cards are inside.

Jaraal · August 16

C_Inside wrote: »

It's very well known by now that gamble boxes in general are a scam. ZOS has the odds for crown crates available on their website: https://help.elderscrollsonline.com/#en/answer/49828. You can clearly see how skewed the odds are. Many content creators have also spoken out against them over the years and how unfair they are. At this point if you still think it's a good idea to spend money on gambling then it's your own fault. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes and all that.

Interesting that they deliberately left the Radiant Apex odds off the list.

oldbobdude · August 16

Dagoth_Rac wrote: »

oldbobdude wrote: »

The funny thing is that the “prizes” in the crates are not real. I guess people just like gambling. Why else would you pay real money to have horrible odds to get a digital item.

Some people get enjoyment out of cosmetic items and having their in-game characters look and behave in ways they find appealing. That enjoyment is just as "real" as any enjoyment a person gets from a physical object.

Do I think it is a good idea to gamble real money with horrible odds on these in-game items? No. Just like I would not recommend gambling with horrible odds for the chance at a pumpkin spice latte (a real world but similarly ephemeral enjoyment).

But I don't think people wanting these items is the problem. It is the mechanism for acquiring them that I find distasteful.

None of it is a problem. Those that play the crates know (or should know) the odds ain’t good. So, set your expectations accordingly.

tsaescishoeshiner · August 16

They publicly state the drop chances on their website, you just got bad RNG in a small sample size. I had a 15-set where I got only blues and one purple. Not broken, just RNG. A bad deal? Some might say ...

I wish there was a pity timer to get at least an epic reward, or some more gauranteed purples or above in 15-crate sets. Otherwise, disappointment from bad sets of crates totally turn me off getting more.

AuroranGoldenEagle · August 17

With all of the fun animations, bright colors, punchy sound effects and Parcooti egging you on to purchase more, opening crates is 100% akin to a dazzling slot machine in Vegas designed to keep you putting in coins.

Use a site like uesp to look up crate rewards and save seals and gems from daily reward crates to grab specific items, especially if you're prone to addiction.

Gabriel_H · August 17

zharkovian wrote: »

Yes, it is just gambling, the only one that wins is ZoS

At present, only Netherlands, Belgium and Slovakia actually recognise pay for loot boxes as gambling. There is still debate in the EU parliament as what to do about regulating such items.

Though iirc I think Belgium actually bans loot boxes - any Belgians around?

C_Inside · August 17

Jaraal wrote: »

C_Inside wrote: »

It's very well known by now that gamble boxes in general are a scam. ZOS has the odds for crown crates available on their website: https://help.elderscrollsonline.com/#en/answer/49828. You can clearly see how skewed the odds are. Many content creators have also spoken out against them over the years and how unfair they are. At this point if you still think it's a good idea to spend money on gambling then it's your own fault. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes and all that.

Interesting that they deliberately left the Radiant Apex odds off the list.

They can try to hide the data but the community has already figured out the drop rate for Radiant Apexes. There was an addon you could install that would collect data about your crown crate drops. The addon hasn't been updated in a while and they stopped collecting data all the way back in 2021, but at that point the drop rate for Radiant Apexes was around 0.3%. Considering they haven't changed their website at all I'm willing to bet that information is still accurate.

Ilumia · August 17

I bought 15 crates at some point years ago, and got the same result as you, except the gold item was purple - so disappointing.
I think a proper pity timer might make people enjoy crates more. But to zos it's business and they do what they think is best for them. There might be plenty of whales buying crates no matter what, I don't know.

Anyway, a pity timer isn't the right level to solve this on, still hope eu becomes a frontrunner and makes loot boxes like these illegal.

vsrs_au · August 17

oldbobdude wrote: »

The funny thing is that the “prizes” in the crates are not real. I guess people just like gambling. Why else would you pay real money to have horrible odds to get a digital item.

This is the 21st century, where digital products are considered to have value.

EF321 · August 17

Gabriel_H wrote: »

zharkovian wrote: »

Yes, it is just gambling, the only one that wins is ZoS

At present, only Netherlands, Belgium and Slovakia actually recognise pay for loot boxes as gambling. There is still debate in the EU parliament as what to do about regulating such items.

Though iirc I think Belgium actually bans loot boxes - any Belgians around?

I know people who live in one of those countries that bans gamble boxes, they just don't see crates in crown shop. They do see gem items.

Gabriel_H · August 17

EF321 wrote: »

Gabriel_H wrote: »

zharkovian wrote: »

Yes, it is just gambling, the only one that wins is ZoS

At present, only Netherlands, Belgium and Slovakia actually recognise pay for loot boxes as gambling. There is still debate in the EU parliament as what to do about regulating such items.

Though iirc I think Belgium actually bans loot boxes - any Belgians around?

I know people who live in one of those countries that bans gamble boxes, they just don't see crates in crown shop. They do see gem items.

Thanks for that. Was one of those things that would have kept nagging at me.

Gabriel_H · August 17

I will add that if enough countries pass laws banning loot boxes (like the current implementation of them) then they can still exist in a different form.

For example:

Buying 1 gives you the choice of a guaranteed purple item from a known pool that you select
Buying 5 gives you the choice of a guaranteed gold and 2 x purple items from a known pool that you select
Buying 10 gives you the choice of a guaranteed 2 x gold and 5 x purple items from a known pool that you select

ZOS could implement this now and get ahead of the curve - plus it would almost certainly increase crown crate purchases

LatentBuzzard · August 17

kargen27 wrote: »

legally the crown crates are not gambling.

That is incorrect. Legally crown crates are not gambling in some countries whereas in other countries (such as Belgium) they are legally classified as gambling which is why they're restricted (not banned). So a blanket statement that crown crates are not legally gambling is just wrong as in some jurisdictions they are legally gambling.

PDarkBHood · August 17

Well, as you can see I do like the crates!! I do buy crates and I hope the revenue goes to support hiring of good talent to make ESO a better product/game. This is why I choose to buy crates, to support the future of ESO as it is a business. What I do hate is getting the same Superior Rewards: Vvardvark pet (from Ragebound crates) for example to a point where it would be statistically impossible if it was random. This has occurred for many other Superior Rewards from different crates too, you get the same item over and over again. Within a same gem priced tier the probability of getting an item should be the same. If it is not the same then ZOS has an ethical obligation to state that there is different. The statistics supports that there is a difference. Anyways. the house always wins and we win too as the prizes are fun to have!

LPapirius · August 17

Hopefully the US will adopt some of the same anti predatory gambling crate legislation some of the European nations have adopted.

zaria · August 17

EF321 wrote: »

Gabriel_H wrote: »

zharkovian wrote: »

Yes, it is just gambling, the only one that wins is ZoS

At present, only Netherlands, Belgium and Slovakia actually recognise pay for loot boxes as gambling. There is still debate in the EU parliament as what to do about regulating such items.

Though iirc I think Belgium actually bans loot boxes - any Belgians around?

I know people who live in one of those countries that bans gamble boxes, they just don't see crates in crown shop. They do see gem items.

So they can still buy items for free crates who is nice.
The gem shop and endeavor shop operate on wildly different pricing models:
For gems you want to buy the cheap blue stuff, purple if you have lots of gems.
Endeavors you want to save for the expensive stuff, you don't want to buy blue stuff with endeavors if you can avoid it.
This one is not an fan of the more flashy stuff anyway.

This one is only here to farm is my favorite.