Why are mask style page releases often bugged?

SaintJohnHM · March 21

Roksa the Warped Mask was supposed to be dropping this week, but it's bugged. This often happens with new style pages, so I didn't bother farming for it until other people wasted their time confirming whether it was dropping or not. Everyone in my guild knew it was probably going to be bugged. It's kind of sad how many people knew that ZOS was going to mess up again and didn't even bother farming for it.

But other people did waste hours trying to get it while the only mention we got from ZOS is a reply buried here in the forums rather than somewhere ALL players will be notified.

@ZOS_Kevin Should we keep assuming all future drops will be bugged and that players will not be notified so they don't waste their time?

ZOS_Kevin · March 21

Regarding the reply, we made sure to tag the follow up in the original thread to our Dev Tracker. And the dev tracker pings a bunch of services that players use. We will have a formal note next week on Monday's incremental patch notes (I already wrote it out) as a known issue and will have a follow up post next week when we have the hotfix ready to go. We didn't want to put a note out without having the fix timing concrete.

As for the drops not working, the team is reviewing what happened here to better address the process in the future. We do not aim to have items not populate properly, but when we found the issue (thanks again to players flagging) we found the issue and have the team working on a solution that best works within the schedule and as best as possible, avoids inconveniencing players. Again, we know this is frustrating and we do not intend to have anyone waste their time, which is why we will also be extending the time for the drops. The team is going over the issues here and addressing for the future.

code65536 · March 21

to better address the process in the future

@ZOS_Kevin Seeing as how every new mask in recent memory has run into some kind of drop issue, there really needs to be a serious look at why these issues keep happening, again and again.

On a tangential note, it would be nice if there was a bit more structure to how these mask drops return. Sometimes, when a mask returns, it returns for a week. Some times it returns for just 3 days. Sometimes we get months without any returning masks, and some months we get more than one. There is so much inconsistency that it feels like it's just an afterthought.

You should treat returning mask drop events much like those BG weekends (I mean, it ostensibly serves the same purpose--dangling extra rewards to get more people to do a certain activity). Make it last longer than 3 days. Make sure it covers the weekend. Put it on a consistent schedule that people can easily see.

ZOS_Kevin · March 21

code65536 wrote: »

to better address the process in the future

@ZOS_Kevin Seeing as how every new mask in recent memory has run into some kind of drop issue, there really needs to be a serious look at why these issues keep happening, again and again.

On a tangential note, it would be nice if there was a bit more structure to how these mask drops return. Sometimes, when a mask returns, it returns for a week. Some times it returns for just 3 days. Sometimes we get months without any returning masks, and some months we get more than one. There is so much inconsistency that it feels like it's just an afterthought.

You should treat returning mask drop events much like those BG weekends (I mean, it ostensibly serves the same purpose--dangling extra rewards to get more people to do a certain activity). Make it last longer than 3 days. Make sure it covers the weekend. Put it on a consistent schedule that people can easily see.

Thanks for the feedback here. We will take this to the team as well to review once we get through fixing the current issue. Fair point to bring up as this has been a repeated issue.

Personofsecrets · March 21

The style pages being bugged with respect to their drops from the undaunted veondor was one of my top 5 bug / pain points. It's confusing how this issue keeps happening. When the blind born style page was in the undaunted vendor, the random boxes never even got fixed before that offering left the undaunted vendor. And I don't recall a developer commenting on the issue either - it was just something along the lines of asking customer support to get undaunted keys back which is sort of a moral hazard.

tomofhyrule · March 22

Yeah, the Undaunted Arms system has gotten frustrating. We used to get one a month, and now they're few-and-far-between. And the fact that this is the third time in a row that a brand new never-before-released one has not dropped properly is a bit ridiculous. That people were actually expecting it to be messed up because they always are should clue someone in to the fact that this is a problem.

But on a slightly different note, this is only the third time since 2023 that we did get it messed up.
Let me say that again for anyone who doesn't see the problem: this is only the third never-before-released style to drop since mid 2023.
WHY is the team not releasing these anymore?

(for anyone interested, UESP has documented the release windows for each of the styles, and also indicated which are new and which are returning. The data is presented here in case anyone wants to see exactly how much the releases have slowed down, with the first run of each marked with an asterisk:)

2018
*Ilambris- July 25 to August 29, 2018
*Molag Kena - August 29 to September 26, 2018
*Shadowrend - September 26 to October 31, 2018
*Grothdarr - October 31 to November 28, 2018
*Troll King - November 28 to December 19, 2018
*Iceheart - December 19, 2018 to January 30, 2019
2019
*Bloodspawn - January 30 to February 27, 2019
*Swarm Mother - February 27 to March 27, 2019
*Sellistrix - March 27 to April 24, 2019
*Engine Guardian - April 24 to May 29, 2019
*Nightflame - May 29 to June 26, 2019; July 3 to July 30, 2019
*Lord Warden - June 5 to July 29, 2019; May 31 to June 3, 2019
*Mighty Chudan - July 31 to August 28, 2019
*Velidreth - August 28 to September 25, 2019
*Chokethorn - September 25 to October 30, 2019
*Pirate Skeleton - October 30 to November 27, 2019
Iceheart (Re-release) - December 23, 2019 to January 2, 2020
2020
Undaunted Celebration 2019 - January 9 to January 13, 2020
Bloodspawn (Re-release and Opal)
Engine Guardian (Re-release and Opal)
Ilambris (Re-release and Opal)
Troll King (Re-release and Opal)
*Valkyn Skoria - February 25 to March 25, 2020
*Slimecraw - March 25 to April 29, 2020
*Stormfist - April 29 to May 27, 2020
*Balorgh - May 27 to June 24, 2020
*Scourge Harvester - June 24 to July 29, 2020
*Domihaus - July 29 to August 26, 2020
*Nerien'eth - August 26 to September 30, 2020
*Earthgore - September 30 to October 28, 2020
*Maw of the Infernal - October 28 to November 25, 2020
*Tremorscale - November 25 to December 21, 2020
Undaunted Celebration 2020 - December 3 to December 15, 2020
Iceheart (Re-release and Opal)
Lord Warden (Re-release and Opal)
Nightflame (Re-release and Opal)
Swarm Mother (Re-release and Opal)
Engine Guardian (Re-release) - December 3 to December 7, 2020
Nightflame (Re-release) - December 3 to December 7, 2020
Pirate Skeleton (Re-release) - December 3 to December 7, 2020
Velidreth (Re-release) - December 3 to December 7, 2020
Iceheart (Re-release) - December 14 to December 17, 2020
*Kra'gh - December 21, 2020 to January 27, 2021
2021
*Sentinel of Rkugamz - January 27 to February 24, 2021
*Infernal Guardian - March 3 to March 31, 2021
*Symphony of Blades - March 31 to April 28, 2021
*Stonekeeper - April 28 to May 26, 2021
*Zaan - May 26 to July 7, 2021
Bloodspawn (Re-release) - July 15 to July 22, 2021
*Vykosa - June 30 to July 28, 2021
*Selene - July 28 to August 31, 2021
Molag Kena (Re-release) - August 19 to August 26, 2021
*Thurvokun - August 31 to September 29, 2021
*Maarselok - September 29 to October 27, 2021
Troll King (Re-release) - September 13 to September 20, 2021
*Grundwulf - October 27 to November 24, 2021
Undaunted Celebration 2021 - November 18 to November 30, 2021
Chokethorn (Re-release and Opal)
Iceheart (Re-release including Opal)
Lord Warden (Re-release including Opal)
Nightflame (Re-release including Opal)
Swarm Mother (Re-release including Opal)
Swarm Mother (Re-release) - November 18 to November 30, 2021
Iceheart (Re-release) - November 18 to November 30, 2021
Lord Warden (Re-release) - November 18 to November 30, 2021
Nightflame (Re-release) - November 18 to November 30, 2021
Chokethorn (Re-release) - November 18 to November 30, 2021
*Mother Ciannait - November 24 to December 22, 2021
Mighty Chudan (Re-release) - December 20, 2021 to January 5, 2022
2022
*Baron Zaudrus - January 19 to February 17, 2022
Sellistrix (Re-release) - February 7 to February 14, 2022
Ilambris (Re-release) - February 24 to March 3, 2022
Balorgh (Re-release) - March 24 to March 31, 2022
Stormfist (Re-release) - April 21 to April 28, 2022
Shadowrend (Re-release) - May 12 to May 19, 2022
*Prior Thierric - May 18 to June 15, 2022
Grothdarr (Re-release) - June 2 to June 9, 2022
*Lady Thorn - June 15 to July 20, 2022
Nerien'eth (Re-release) - July 14 to July 21, 2022
*Nazaray - July 20 to August 24, 2022
*Encratis's Behemoth - August 18 to September 21, 2022
Undaunted Celebration 2022 - September 8 to September 20, 2022
Velidreth (Re-release and Opal)
Bloodspawn (Re-release including Opal)
Engine Guardian (Re-release including Opal)
Ilambris (Re-release including Opal)
Troll King (Re-release including Opal)
Valkyn Skoria (Re-release) - September 8 to September 15, 2022
Pirate Skeleton (Re-release) - September 19 to September 26, 2022
*Spawn of Mephala - October 13 to October 27, 2022
Symphony of Blades (Re-release) - November 10 to November 17, 2022
Iceheart (Re-release) - December 5 to December 12, 2022
*Kjalnar's Nightmare - November 23, 2022 to January 18, 2023
2023
Stonekeeper (Re-release) - January 9 to January 16, 2023
Grundwulf (Re-release) - January 19 to February 2, 2023
Sentinel of Rkugamz (Re-release) - February 16 to February 23, 2023
Zaan (Re-release) - March 2 to March 9, 2023
Scourge Harvester (Re-release) - March 9 to March 16, 2023
Engine Guardian (Re-release) - April 17 to April 24, 2023
Maw of the Infernal (Re-release) - April 27 to May 4, 2023
Domihaus (Re-release) - May 11 to May 18, 2023
Molag Kena (Re-release) - May 18 to May 25, 2023
*Euphotic Gatekeeper - May 24 to June 19, 2023
Selene (Re-release) - June 8 to June 15, 2023
Earthgore (Re-release) - July 17 to July 24, 2023
Vykosa (Re-release) - August 3 to August 10, 2023
*Kargaeda - August 31 to September 21, 2023
Undaunted Celebration 2023 - September 7 to September 11, 2023
Sentinel of Rkugamz (Re-release and Opal)
Bloodspawn (Re-release including Opal)
Engine Guardian (Re-release including Opal)
Ilambris (Re-release including Opal)
Troll King (Re-release including Opal)
Velidreth (Re-release including Opal)
Slimecraw (Re-release) - September 7 to September 11, 2023
Tremorscale (Re-release) - September 7 to September 11, 2023
Kra'gh (Re-release) - September 11 to September 14, 2023
Velidreth (Re-release) - September 11 to September 14, 2023
Bloodspawn (Re-release) - September 14 to September 19, 2023
Infernal Guardian (Re-release) - September 14 to September 19, 2023
Thurvokun (Re-release) - October 2 to October 9, 2023
Maarselok (Re-release) - November 2 to November 9, 2023
Prior Thierric (Re-release) - November 22 to November 30, 2023
Mother Ciannait (Re-release) - December 7 to December 14, 2023
Nazaray (Re-release) - December 21, 2023 to January 4, 2024
2024
Lord Warden (Re-release) - January 16 to January 22, 2024
Nerien'eth (Re-release) - February 1 to February 8, 2024
Lady Thorn (Re-release) - February 5 to February 12, 2024
Spawn of Mephala (Re-release) - March 18 to March 25, 2024
Iceheart (Re-release) - April 11 to April 15, 2024
Kjalnar's Nightmare (Re-release) - April 22 to April 25, 2024
Zaan (Re-release) - April 25 to April 29, 2024
Molag Kena (Re-release) - May 6 to May 13, 2024
Selene (Re-release) - May 13 to May 20, 2024
Baron Zaudrus (Re-release) - May 20 to May 28, 2024
Symphony of Blades (Re-release) - June 3 to June 6, 2024
Ilambris (Re-release) - June 10 to June 13, 2024
Pirate Skeleton (Re-release) - June 13 to June 17, 2024
Balorgh (Re-release) - July 1 to July 8, 2024
*The Blind - July 3 to July 25, 2024
Vykosa (Re-release) - July 15 to July 22, 2024
Prior Thierric (Re-release) - August 1 to August 5, 2024
Valkyn Skoria (Re-release) - August 5 to August 12, 2024
Stonekeeper (Re-release) - August 8 to August 12, 2024
Kargaeda (Re-release) - August 12 to August 15, 2024
Infernal Guardian (Re-release) - August 19 to August 26, 2024
Encratis's Behemoth (Re-release) - August 29 to September 2, 2024
Sellistrix (Re-release) - September 5 to September 12, 2024
Shadowrend (Re-release) - September 9 to September 16, 2024
Undaunted Celebration 2024 - September 12 to September 24, 2024
Earthgore (Re-release and Opal)
Bloodspawn (Re-release including Opal)
Chokethorn (Re-release including Opal)
Engine Guardian (Re-release including Opal)
Ilambris (Re-release including Opal)
Iceheart (Re-release)
Lord Warden (Re-release)
Nightflame (Re-release)
Sentinel of Rkugamz (Re-release)
Swarm Mother (Re-release)
Thurvokun (Re-release)
Troll King (Re-release including Opal)
Velidreth (Re-release)
Scourge Harvester (Re-release) - October 7 to October 10, 2024
Maarselok (Re-release) - October 21 to October 24, 2024
2025
Nerien'eth (Re-release) - January 6 to January 9, 2025
Grundwulf (Re-release) - January 27 to January 30, 2025
Lady Thorn (Re-release) - February 17 to February 24, 2025

One of my 5 pain points in game was the fact that the Store team seems to be sleeping on the job in terms of releasing things. We've got collections - the Daedric Artifact styles and the Undaunted Monster styles - that just sit for ages incomplete because... the team just doesn't feel like putting them up for sale? Odd move, considering we can't buy them if they don't go up for sale, you know.

From the Undaunted sets, we're still missing:

Stone Husk (from 2020!)
Magma Incarnate (2021)
Archdruid Devyric (2022)
Ozezan the Inferno (2023)
Anthelmir's Construct (2024)

and of course the two new ones that just released.

We have 56 dungeons now, with the above 7 unreleased (not to mention 6 helm/shoulder styles from IC bosses as well). By now, we should have these on a set rotation, maybe two per month for a week each and that still won't need to repeat in under two years. The store team should also make sure that the missing ones (especially the ones that have been missing for almost 5 years) all get released in a timely fashion. Nobody should have to wait more than two years for something to release.

GoAvs34 · March 26

These style pages used to be something I a good portion of my ESO time on. I would farm pledge keys to buy boxes or the shoulders outright, unlock hm achievements so i was ready when the style pages came out, and farm the dungeon when the page was finally released. After enough bugged releases with bugged drops (both the dungeon and the key boxes) I stopped interacting with this. Thankfully they are putting these in the infinite archive venders so I can get them there.
The frustration of an always bugged style page pushed me away from this system

Hopefully whatever mechanism is being used to add them to the game can be revised and fixed so it isn't always bugged in the future and I can return to what used to be one of my favorite things in eso