West Weald Treasure Map Leads Still Bugged After 6 Months of Silence

Asdara · July 7

Back on January 28, I reported a serious issue regarding West Weald treasure maps not dropping leads, even during the Pan-Tamriel Celebration event that was supposed to increase drop rates. On January 30, the community manager @ZOS_Kevin responded by saying:
"Just wanted to follow up here. Our teams are still looking into this. We tested on PC and leads are dropping, specifically with West Weald treasure maps on the live server. So we are not seeing an issue there. Still investigating."

Since that message, we have received no further updates. It is now July, and the problem is still ongoing. Players are continuing to report that treasure maps from West Weald do not yield any codex leads, despite using dozens or even hundreds of them. The situation has not improved, and it feels like the issue has been quietly brushed aside.

I believe the testing that was done did not replicate the correct conditions. Based on what many players are observing, the problem only appears if you have already acquired all the West Weald leads once before. This bug seems to affect only those trying to complete their codex, which requires finding the same leads again. If you test the drop rates on a fresh account or with missing leads, everything looks fine. But if you already found all the leads and are now trying to complete your codex, the drop rate appears to be broken or non-existent.

This is not a matter of bad luck. This is a gameplay system failing to function properly. What is worse is the complete silence since January. There has been no official acknowledgment or clarification, and the community has been left in the dark. Many of us have invested large amounts of time and in-game currency into these maps, hoping to complete our codexes, only to hit a wall due to what seems to be a technical issue.

We need answers. If this is a known issue, please say so. If it is working as intended, explain why the drop rate becomes practically zero after already collecting the leads once. But leaving players without any communication for six months is not acceptable.

Please investigate this issue under the right conditions. Please communicate with the players who have raised this repeatedly. The silence is doing real damage to trust in the system and the experience for dedicated collectors and completionists.

This needs a real answer and, ideally, a real fix.

Aylish · July 7

I can say that they do drop. But it‘s ridiculous how low the chances are.

I do 30-50 maps when I gathered enough through guild traders at a decent price and sometimes I get a lead but most of the times there is not a single one in such a „session“.

Asdara · July 7

Aylish wrote: »

I can say that they do drop. But it‘s ridiculous how low the chances are.

I do 30-50 maps when I gathered enough through guild traders at a decent price and sometimes I get a lead but most of the times there is not a single one in such a „session“.

Even after getting your first/second lead for that codex entry? i'm down like 200 maps at this point and i still dont drop the last lead i need to complete the "Ayleid Window, Large", on the other hand i have like 35 "Ayleid Sculpture, Grand Tree". RNG can't be THAT bad, its beyond anything i've ever, and i farmed insanely low drop mount in wow back in the days...

Rishikesa108 · July 8

Yes I can confirm that this BUG still persist. I don't know why these treasure maps have a drop rate much worse than all the others, including all the DLC treasure maps.
I also don't understand the policy of closing leads coming from treasure maps behind multiple RNG locks, with a very low drop rate (infinitesimal), even after a long time from the release of that specific DLC. If you really want to leave a low drop rate, do it with the new DLC for about 6 months, then open the doors to a more human and friendlier drop rate.

@ZOS_Kevin

katanagirl1 · July 8

I quit doing these treasure maps during the event with increased drop rates because they did drop fairly often on the first lead but never on the second. I’m still holding treasure maps in my bank and on my characters until this gets fixed.

Aylish · July 8

Asdara wrote: »

Aylish wrote: »

I can say that they do drop. But it‘s ridiculous how low the chances are.

I do 30-50 maps when I gathered enough through guild traders at a decent price and sometimes I get a lead but most of the times there is not a single one in such a „session“.

Even after getting your first/second lead for that codex entry? i'm down like 200 maps at this point and i still dont drop the last lead i need to complete the "Ayleid Window, Large", on the other hand i have like 35 "Ayleid Sculpture, Grand Tree". RNG can't be THAT bad, its beyond anything i've ever, and i farmed insanely low drop mount in wow back in the days...

Yes, I‘m half done with the 3/3 entries. The third Ayleid Window is the one I‘m after as well. I don‘t care about the missing entries for tapestries or pottery stuff.

I had far better luck with other DLC treasure leads. So after the third window, I‘ll quit doing West Weald ones. I didn‘t count properly but I might be at something around 300 maps now.

The grand Ayleid tree is the „drops everywhere“ lead IIRC. I just keep the lead running so it doesn‘t drop over and over and keeps the other leads from dropping at all.

I also have the feeling that there are some maps that just don‘t drop any leads at all. I never got a lead from map I, but some leads from III and V.

The other issue is that you don‘t have an unlimited amount of time to efficiently farm for the right lead. You can‘t scry for all of them at once, so leads may expire. So you have to dig for them and they‘re back to the loot pool again…

Mirumorg · July 8

I never had any problems with the drop of the first codex, for the second and third it's another thing... but I completed all 3 codex of the west weald leads without huge problems.

RealLoveBVB · July 8

The first lead usually drops very fast, often at the first try already. But the chance for the 2nd and 3rd leads are decreasing drastically.

It's not just with West Weald treasure maps leads like this. I think that this ones are just more frustrating and more noticeable, as you only have one chance and every map is time consuming when riding to the spot and digging them up.

There was a lead locked behind coldharbor chests. The first one dropped super fast (took around 5 chests), while I needed over 200 for the 3rd lead.

Then there was the eye lead in imperial city prison, which also took me around 60 tries to complete the last one.

If you mirror the chances to the West Weald leads, then it totally makes sense that some single leads take 50-200 maps.

I would love if ZOS would be more transparent with the chances. They could add the chances next to the leads, so players could decide whether they accept the drill or not.
Feels like West Weald leads are around 0,5%.

Asdara · July 18

@ZOS_Kevin Please give us an update

Rishikesa108 · July 18

RealLoveBVB wrote: »

The first lead usually drops very fast, often at the first try already. But the chance for the 2nd and 3rd leads are decreasing drastically.

It's not just with West Weald treasure maps leads like this. I think that this ones are just more frustrating and more noticeable, as you only have one chance and every map is time consuming when riding to the spot and digging them up.

There was a lead locked behind coldharbor chests. The first one dropped super fast (took around 5 chests), while I needed over 200 for the 3rd lead.

Then there was the eye lead in imperial city prison, which also took me around 60 tries to complete the last one.

If you mirror the chances to the West Weald leads, then it totally makes sense that some single leads take 50-200 maps.

I would love if ZOS would be more transparent with the chances. They could add the chances next to the leads, so players could decide whether they accept the drill or not.
Feels like West Weald leads are around 0,5%.

0,5? for me it is less, much less

jle30303 · July 22

Second and third leads, *generally*, have insanely lower chances to appear, than first leads - for MANY antiquities, it seems (but not all - leads for the base-game multi-part items are dropping like flies.)

Asdara · July 28

jle30303 wrote: »

Second and third leads, *generally*, have insanely lower chances to appear, than first leads - for MANY antiquities, it seems (but not all - leads for the base-game multi-part items are dropping like flies.)

Not at this level, its insanely low, below 0.1%
Since i've stored every WW maps i could, i tested this on PTS for multiple cycle.
It was always the same results

Asdara · August 18

@ZOS_Kevin Please give us an update

Asdara · August 29

@ZOS_Icy @ZOS_Kevin Could you please give this an answer so we can close this post? Thank you

Asdara · September 1

Day 216 without a response from @ZOS_Icy @ZOS_Kevin

Dear diary, 216 days wandering the West Weald. No leads. Only madness. Today I used another 30 maps, chasing ghosts in the dirt. The maps are gone, the gold is gone, the codex is still empty. Perhaps the true antiquity was the friends we lost along the way. Only the silence remains.

Horny_Poney · September 1

We must stop telling it’s a bug, it is not, it is intentional.

BretonMage · September 2

Horny_Poney wrote: »

We must stop telling it’s a bug, it is not, it is intentional.

Drop chances are so drastically different from other antiquities, even DLC ones, that feels like either a bug or a miscalculation.

And even if the highly improbable chances were intended initially, I honestly doubt the outcome was intended. Making something so impossible to get that it discourages involvement can't have been the goal.

Just like combat skills can be tweaked, drop rates should be adjusted if they are deterring players rather than encouraging them.

Asdara · September 2

Horny_Poney wrote: »

We must stop telling it’s a bug, it is not, it is intentional.

i have 39 "Ayleid Sculpture, Grand Tree" and yet only:

Ayleid Lens Array, Reassembled /1
Ayleid Arch, Wide /1
Ayleid Sculpture, Simple Tree /1
Ayleid Window, Large /2

Does this look normal? OUT OF 400 MAPS

Asdara · September 2

Day 217 without a response from @ZOS_Icy @ZOS_Kevin

Dear diary, another day, another empty dig site. I even ran tests on the PTS with the maps I had and the results were the same, no leads, no progress. When a bug prevents players from advancing in the game, communication from the devs isn’t optional, it’s essential. The silence stings more than the grind.

xencthlu · September 2

I'd really like to use the tapestries and the vase in more of my builds. I hope ZOS fixes this soon.

BretonMage · September 3

I'd have to add that the problem - and the ultra low drop rates are definitely a problem - is compounded by the fact that WW maps are very rare compared with previous DLC or base game maps. I get a lot of Summerset and Elsweyr maps, a few Skyrim and Blackwood maps, but have only ever found 2 WW maps.

Horny_Poney · September 3

By the way, I didn’t mean to say it’s normal for the drop rate to be so low, just that ZOS said several times that the drop rate is “as intended”. And I believe them because it already happened: the Apocryphal Well. I don’t know about Solstice but it wouldn’t surprise me if it is the same.

birdmann1230 · September 4

I haven’t gotten a single solstice map. MAYBE 1. Maybe.

Asdara · September 9

Day 224. Still no response from anyone at ZOS. Today I burned through more than 50k Archival Fortune to buy and use 27 West Weald maps. And what do I have to show for it? Yet another “Ayleid Sculpture, Grand Tree” lead. That brings the total to 42 of the exact same lead and still not a single other one.

This is beyond frustrating. It has been over seven months since this was first reported, and silence is the only answer we get. A bug that prevents players from progressing their codex should be treated as critical, yet here we are — ignored. I’m angry, I’m tired, and I’m starting to wonder if the only way to get a response is to kick and scream until someone finally acknowledges us.

Gabriel_H · 6:46AM

Asdara wrote: »

Day 224. Still no response from anyone at ZOS. Today I burned through more than 50k Archival Fortune to buy and use 27 West Weald maps. And what do I have to show for it? Yet another “Ayleid Sculpture, Grand Tree” lead. That brings the total to 42 of the exact same lead and still not a single other one.

This is beyond frustrating. It has been over seven months since this was first reported, and silence is the only answer we get. A bug that prevents players from progressing their codex should be treated as critical, yet here we are — ignored. I’m angry, I’m tired, and I’m starting to wonder if the only way to get a response is to kick and scream until someone finally acknowledges us.

https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/comment/8260068/#Comment_8260068

https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/comment/8366907/#Comment_8366907

https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/comment/8366921/#Comment_8366921

Edit: First response was Jan 30th - being 2 days after the issue was raised.

Asdara · 1:07PM

Gabriel_H wrote: »

Asdara wrote: »

Day 224. Still no response from anyone at ZOS. Today I burned through more than 50k Archival Fortune to buy and use 27 West Weald maps. And what do I have to show for it? Yet another “Ayleid Sculpture, Grand Tree” lead. That brings the total to 42 of the exact same lead and still not a single other one.

This is beyond frustrating. It has been over seven months since this was first reported, and silence is the only answer we get. A bug that prevents players from progressing their codex should be treated as critical, yet here we are — ignored. I’m angry, I’m tired, and I’m starting to wonder if the only way to get a response is to kick and scream until someone finally acknowledges us.

https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/comment/8260068/#Comment_8260068

https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/comment/8366907/#Comment_8366907

https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/comment/8366921/#Comment_8366921

Edit: First response was Jan 30th - being 2 days after the issue was raised.

Ah yes, the famous January 30 reply. Thank you for digging that up, I’m sure nobody here has ever seen it before. If only quoting a 7-month-old “still investigating” counted as communication, then we could all pretend the silence since doesn’t exist.

But that’s exactly the problem. Dropping in once to say “we tested and it works for us” and then vanishing for 224 days is not communication. It’s a placeholder. In that time, players have burned through hundreds of maps and millions of gold and keep reporting the same issue, and the only follow-up we’ve had is… nothing.

Nobody here is confused about whether there was a reply. What we’re pointing out is the lack of meaningful updates after that. Communication isn’t about ticking a box once, it’s about keeping players informed until the issue is resolved. And on that front, ZOS has completely failed.

Gabriel_H · 1:58PM

Asdara wrote: »

Ah yes, the famous January 30 reply. Thank you for digging that up, I’m sure nobody here has ever seen it before. If only quoting a 7-month-old “still investigating” counted as communication, then we could all pretend the silence since doesn’t exist.

But that’s exactly the problem. Dropping in once to say “we tested and it works for us” and then vanishing for 224 days is not communication. It’s a placeholder. In that time, players have burned through hundreds of maps and millions of gold and keep reporting the same issue, and the only follow-up we’ve had is… nothing.

Nobody here is confused about whether there was a reply. What we’re pointing out is the lack of meaningful updates after that. Communication isn’t about ticking a box once, it’s about keeping players informed until the issue is resolved. And on that front, ZOS has completely failed.

Just going to ignore the latest comments from ZOS then, huh? Communication is about listening. They've said they don't see a problem. Not responding beyond that isn't "silence". Would you be happier if they sent you a personal email every day repeating they don't see a problem?

Are no leads dropping from WW treasure maps, or is it just a you problem? I've had some drop - no idea what that means for the bigger picture but it does say it isn't completely broken at the very least.

I once farmed a lead from Timbershade in Galen, when the zone was practically empty as people had moved on. It took me 27 days, 3 to 4 kills a day for it to drop - 82 kills in total, 60+ of them solo. It wasn't broken, it was just a bad RNG.

You've identified a potential bug (in an RNG system) and in attempting to verify it ZOS have said they cannot re-create it. I don't know what you expect them to do beyond that?! They have said they will investigate again. If they say again they do not see a problem will you accept that is in fact a "meaningful reply"?