Thoughts/review of the new Hearts week event so far?

Mascen · February 12

Overall I think it's a great new addition to the event lineup. The quest chain was well crafted and I do like the idea of events having quest chains like that with new ones added every year rather than repeatables. The addition of companion gifts was very cool as well. Meanwhile the event outfit looked fun and I know quite a few people who want just the hat.

Only qualm I have was that if you got a bad gold companion ring, that was it, but maybe there's always next year for an aggressive gold ring rather than paying an arm and a leg for one in guild traders.

FieryPhoenix · February 12

The new quest chain was interesting enough, and the golden pursuit providing unbound furniture rewards is also appreciated. However, yet again it seems vet/established players are left out. Many of my guild mates commented that this event would have been a good time to drop new companions, as they had already leveled all their companions to max, meaning that for them this was another event where they’d just log in, get tickets and log back out.

lillybit · February 12

There seems to be a chance for others to drop. Not a good chance but it's there!

Orbital78 · February 12

Mid tier, was a let down with no new food/drink recipes or more than one legendary drop. It is holiday themed, short(just a week), something new, and has some okay drops. Unless you're fussy about too many events, I don't see how anyone could complain. I enjoyed the last part of the quest with Argonian and his companions.

lillybit · February 12

I've enjoyed it too

My only niggle is it was all a bit easy. It only took a couple of hours to do the pursuit and the achievements. Now there's just the style pages to collect and as they drop from the gold boxes there isn't really much incentive to do more than a quick WB each day for the gold box and tickets

I guess that's by design to give people more time levelling companions, but all mine are done so there's not much left to do!

Thumbless_Bot · February 12

Enjoy it and rewards seems pretty legit.

DestroyerPewnack · February 12

Rewards are great. Cooldowns? Not so much.

NeoniKa · February 12

I'm finding it very disappointing. In the site it's advertised that we should get Mara’s Parcels from delve bosses, world bosses and Infinite Archive bosses, but it's not at all true. At least at my end. I'm not sure if it's bugged, but most world bosses and most Infinite Archive bosses don't drop anything. In fact, very few bosses drop it. Oh! And also treasure chests, I only got a Mara’s Parcel from the first one, and that's it, the others didn't drop anything.

Initially I was quite excited, I was already planning to spend the whole weekend collecting these rewards, but in the end, since it's just a matter of luck or this is all bugged, I'll just finish the achievements and give up. Theoretically the event was attractive, in practice it's not convincing.

Mascen · February 12

NeoniKa wrote: »

I'm finding it very disappointing. In the site it's advertised that we should get Mara’s Parcels from delve bosses, world bosses and Infinite Archive bosses, but it's not at all true. At least at my end. I'm not sure if it's bugged, but most world bosses and most Infinite Archive bosses don't drop anything. In fact, very few bosses drop it. Oh! And also treasure chests, I only got a Mara’s Parcel from the first one, and that's it, the others didn't drop anything.

Initially I was quite excited, I was already planning to spend the whole weekend collecting these rewards, but in the end, since it's just a matter of luck or this is all bugged, I'll just finish the achievements and give up. Theoretically the event was attractive, in practice it's not convincing.

Try infinite archive, got a ton doing the event achievement for it. And yeah the event isn't perfect but in terms of well meant effort it was a decent first try, so I give the team the benefit of the doubt especially considering the recent reshuffling of the people on top.

Malyore · February 12

Felt underdeveloped and not thought through. I abandoned the second quest due to being forced to play along with an annoying NPC. Nothing worthwhile in the pursuits for me personally, besides crown gems. The gifts for the companions doesn't even get new dialogue, which was disappointing (and the fact that gifts provide bonus points on the holiday imply that they will be acquirable outside of the holiday too, so it's perhaps not that they didn't want to provide exclusive VA for just a week event). The letters you get from companions will auto-delete. The areas in-game were too visually cluttered with players to actually experience anything. Choices in the quests still feel out of place.
The only new thing for our fully leveled companions is the gold ring for, what, like a 1% boost compared to a purple ring?

I was hoping for higher quality from this reshaken ZOS team.

AScarlato · February 12

Overall positive impression. Always love Valentines themed MMO events and glad we have something substantial now in ESO.

Pros:

Outfit is A+ for me. Love it.
Enjoyed 3 of the 4 quests.
Mara focused and Sanguine remembered.
Free gold companion gear is nice since it's otherwise hard to get.
Easy to get Crown Crates as a reward that takes nearly no effort.
Since the event is short, it's not too hard to get the primary rewards.
Companion gifts and more specifically letters is nice additional companion lore.

Cons:

Bugs. Instrument NPC reaction in Quest 2 broken. Hug for me didn't even work.
Quest 3 was too long, and boring compared to the others.
Emote reward way too absurd/silly. I don't know who this would work on if they were trying to flirt or romance someone.
Event is short, so worried about not being able to get all the outfit pieces with only 7 days for 6 parts if I get duplicates.

Suggestions:

Turn Companion letters from in-game mail to house items like their quest letters.
Have companion voice actors return for some voice lines/reactions.
Curate outfit rewards if the event is short so we don't get duplicates.

Other suggestions would be more about some general game issues so will skip here.

Soarora · February 12

So far, I’ve actually been really enjoying it. I’ve been retired from being an overlander. Solstice quests didn’t encapture me enough to finish them. But I love the big kitty man and Sanguine (the Sanguine quest I had heard was well-written and I have to say, I agree. So much so that I’m going to do it again just to check out the other options! On my Sanguine-themed character, no less!). It’s also nice to have new achievements to chase as after 7 years, I’m tired of almost all of the events.

spartaxoxo · February 12

NeoniKa wrote: »

I'm finding it very disappointing. In the site it's advertised that we should get Mara’s Parcels from delve bosses, world bosses and Infinite Archive bosses, but it's not at all true. At least at my end. I'm not sure if it's bugged, but most world bosses and most Infinite Archive bosses don't drop anything. In fact, very few bosses drop it. Oh! And also treasure chests, I only got a Mara’s Parcel from the first one, and that's it, the others didn't drop anything.

Initially I was quite excited, I was already planning to spend the whole weekend collecting these rewards, but in the end, since it's just a matter of luck or this is all bugged, I'll just finish the achievements and give up. Theoretically the event was attractive, in practice it's not convincing.

@NeoniKa

Do you have a companion or group member? There's a 5 minute CD on loot. You should be getting drops pretty regularly if you're doing those two things.

During the event period, you can earn Mara’s Parcels in several ways, but primarily by completing adventuring tasks with friends. Being in a group with one or more other players counts, as does having a Companion summoned. The tasks that award parcels are:

Defeating a delve boss.

Defeating a world boss.

Defeating an Infinite Archive boss.

A chance for a parcel when you complete an Incursion, such as a Dark Anchor or Abyssal Geyser.

Looting a treasure chest.

A small chance for a parcel when you harvest resource nodes.

Pickpocketing an NPC.

NeoniKa · February 12

Mascen wrote: »

NeoniKa wrote: »

I'm finding it very disappointing. In the site it's advertised that we should get Mara’s Parcels from delve bosses, world bosses and Infinite Archive bosses, but it's not at all true. At least at my end. I'm not sure if it's bugged, but most world bosses and most Infinite Archive bosses don't drop anything. In fact, very few bosses drop it. Oh! And also treasure chests, I only got a Mara’s Parcel from the first one, and that's it, the others didn't drop anything.

Initially I was quite excited, I was already planning to spend the whole weekend collecting these rewards, but in the end, since it's just a matter of luck or this is all bugged, I'll just finish the achievements and give up. Theoretically the event was attractive, in practice it's not convincing.

Try infinite archive, got a ton doing the event achievement for it. And yeah the event isn't perfect but in terms of well meant effort it was a decent first try, so I give the team the benefit of the doubt especially considering the recent reshuffling of the people on top.

That's what I've been doing. But it's annoying. It only gives rewards every two bosses and there's no XP bonus for companions. I think the event is really weak, and it could have been excellent: they just needed to give double XP to allows us to level up companions a little faster during the event and honest rewards on ALL bosses (not some, or randomly). I really don't like it as it is. It's hardly motivating to deviate from what we usually do in the game.

SilverBride · February 13

I don't like the quests and only did them on one character. There was too much running around and a few quest markers were in the wrong places.

I find some of the Golden Pursuits to be too specific. I also don't feel like a lot of these are very clear on what needs done and especially how it needs to be done. (i.e. Must be in a group or with a companion. Must be in close proximity to grouped player.). I also wasn't aware that there were achievements that sent boxes by mail to players until I read it in a thread.

I finished all the Achievements and all but 3 Golden Pursuits that I don't care about. The furnishings are nice.

NeoniKa · February 13

spartaxoxo wrote: »

Do you have a companion or group member? There's a 5 minute CD on loot. You should be getting drops pretty regularly if you're doing those two things.

Obviously. I was trying to level up faster the companions, so, I always have the companion activated.

What's a "5 minute CD"?

Danikat · February 13

I haven't had much time to play, but I'm also waiting for the overcrowding to die down so I can see what's going on during the quests. I've learned from past experience that a lot of things can be ruined by doing them when they're new and there's so many players around it's impossible to see anything else.

Which is going to be difficult when we switch over to temporary releases where you do it during the designated 'season' or not at all.

spartaxoxo · February 13

NeoniKa wrote: »

spartaxoxo wrote: »

Do you have a companion or group member? There's a 5 minute CD on loot. You should be getting drops pretty regularly if you're doing those two things.

Obviously. I was trying to level up faster the companions, so, I always have the companion activated.

What's a "5 minute CD"?

5 minute Cooldown. It's on event boxes in general. Once you get one you have to wait at least 5 minutes before you get another.

NeoniKa · February 13

spartaxoxo wrote: »

NeoniKa wrote: »

spartaxoxo wrote: »

Do you have a companion or group member? There's a 5 minute CD on loot. You should be getting drops pretty regularly if you're doing those two things.

Obviously. I was trying to level up faster the companions, so, I always have the companion activated.

What's a "5 minute CD"?

5 minute Cooldown. It's on event boxes in general. Once you get one you have to wait at least 5 minutes before you get another.

What? Seriously? Then this is even worse than I thought. So the event is designed to favor slow players. It makes absolutely no sense. So I have to play while looking at a timer. What a complete abomination. I don't understand the logic.

But hey... how does this work? After killing an Archive boss, do I have to wait 5 minutes to open the chest, or do I have to wait 5 minutes before killing the boss?

Is there some addon that keeps track of this time, or times that I play with a timer? What a terrible thing!

spartaxoxo · February 13

NeoniKa wrote: »

spartaxoxo wrote: »

NeoniKa wrote: »

spartaxoxo wrote: »

Do you have a companion or group member? There's a 5 minute CD on loot. You should be getting drops pretty regularly if you're doing those two things.

Obviously. I was trying to level up faster the companions, so, I always have the companion activated.

What's a "5 minute CD"?

5 minute Cooldown. It's on event boxes in general. Once you get one you have to wait at least 5 minutes before you get another.

What? Seriously? Then this is even worse than I thought. So the event is designed to favor slow players. It makes absolutely no sense. So I have to play while looking at a timer. What a complete abomination. I don't understand the logic.

But hey... how does this work? After killing an Archive boss, do I have to wait 5 minutes to open the chest, or do I have to wait 5 minutes before killing the boss?

Is there some addon that keeps track of this time, or times that I play with a timer? What a terrible thing!

It's not just this event but events in general because people farmed them too quickly in certain spots. IDK when it was added but it's been around a little bit. Sometimes they have made exceptions for certain sources iirc but it's definitely 5 minutes this event.

IDK about how it works with the IA boss because I just a timer add-on and only kill a boss if it can be looted. On PS5 there is Murf's timer that allows you to keep a simple timer on your screen. You have to manually stop/start it yourself. IDK if there one for PC.

NeoniKa · February 13

spartaxoxo wrote: »

NeoniKa wrote: »

spartaxoxo wrote: »

NeoniKa wrote: »

spartaxoxo wrote: »

Do you have a companion or group member? There's a 5 minute CD on loot. You should be getting drops pretty regularly if you're doing those two things.

Obviously. I was trying to level up faster the companions, so, I always have the companion activated.

What's a "5 minute CD"?

5 minute Cooldown. It's on event boxes in general. Once you get one you have to wait at least 5 minutes before you get another.

What? Seriously? Then this is even worse than I thought. So the event is designed to favor slow players. It makes absolutely no sense. So I have to play while looking at a timer. What a complete abomination. I don't understand the logic.

But hey... how does this work? After killing an Archive boss, do I have to wait 5 minutes to open the chest, or do I have to wait 5 minutes before killing the boss?

Is there some addon that keeps track of this time, or times that I play with a timer? What a terrible thing!

It's not just this event but events in general because people farmed them too quickly in certain spots. IDK when it was added but it's been around a little bit. Sometimes they have made exceptions for certain sources iirc but it's definitely 5 minutes this event.

IDK about how it works with the IA boss because I just a timer add-on and only kill a boss if it can be looted. On PS5 there is Murf's timer that allows you to keep a simple timer on your screen. You have to manually stop/start it yourself. IDK if there one for PC.

I see. Now I understand why most players don't actually play the game and just camp waiting for a delve boss.

I'm definitely going to do the same.

It's more rewarding to watch anything on YouTube and kill a delve boss every 5 minutes than to play normally and then stare at the clock like an idiot before killing a boss.

This is the epitome of bad game design. Really disappointing. Being programmed this way makes it much worse than if it were a bug.

Alphawolf01A · February 13

My only minor "issue" was that it was often almost impossible to see what was going on with the npcs for the various quests because of the 20+ other people around. Couldn't see the forest for the trees kind of thing. I know it's probably not possible, but maybe some sort of instance "bubble" around the various npcs to hide other players, especially those that stay on their mounts the whole time. I know it's not realistic to expect something like that, but I can dream. Lol

BretonMage · February 13

It's been fun to do a new event. I love companions so I especially appreciated the theme of this one. I do wish there was more content with the companions themselves, including new voiced quests with the companions, and the ability to hug them.

The gold companion ring being in a potentially bad trait was not fair, and with RNG like that, they should drop more often to give players a better chance to get one with a useful trait.

Destai · February 13

So far nothing too remarkable. I don’t see many reward boxes dropping, and most of the content isn’t very appealing to me personally. None of the golden pursuit rewards are something I want. Same goes for the quest reward.

I am enjoying the rapport and experience boosts though.

Ingel_Riday · February 13

I've been enjoying it thus far. I appreciate being able to do it with companions and not just guildmates / grouped-players.

As to drop rates and what-have-you... no idea. I've been playing The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom and popping in here daily to do a world boss, my endeavors, and then log off. I'm burned out after the PVP event (ugh) and playing a single player game that is utterly devoid of live service trappings has been absolutely wonderful. Live service games can feel like jobs. Pseudo-vacations are welcome.

Planning to do the four new quests this weekend and see what they're all about. Should wrap up my Golden Pursuit, which is great. Otherwise, I'll be traipsing about Hyrule.

heimdall14_9 · February 13

NeoniKa wrote: »

spartaxoxo wrote: »

NeoniKa wrote: »

spartaxoxo wrote: »

NeoniKa wrote: »

spartaxoxo wrote: »

Do you have a companion or group member? There's a 5 minute CD on loot. You should be getting drops pretty regularly if you're doing those two things.

Obviously. I was trying to level up faster the companions, so, I always have the companion activated.

What's a "5 minute CD"?

5 minute Cooldown. It's on event boxes in general. Once you get one you have to wait at least 5 minutes before you get another.

What? Seriously? Then this is even worse than I thought. So the event is designed to favor slow players. It makes absolutely no sense. So I have to play while looking at a timer. What a complete abomination. I don't understand the logic.

But hey... how does this work? After killing an Archive boss, do I have to wait 5 minutes to open the chest, or do I have to wait 5 minutes before killing the boss?

Is there some addon that keeps track of this time, or times that I play with a timer? What a terrible thing!

It's not just this event but events in general because people farmed them too quickly in certain spots. IDK when it was added but it's been around a little bit. Sometimes they have made exceptions for certain sources iirc but it's definitely 5 minutes this event.

IDK about how it works with the IA boss because I just a timer add-on and only kill a boss if it can be looted. On PS5 there is Murf's timer that allows you to keep a simple timer on your screen. You have to manually stop/start it yourself. IDK if there one for PC.

I see. Now I understand why most players don't actually play the game and just camp waiting for a delve boss.

I'm definitely going to do the same.

It's more rewarding to watch anything on YouTube and kill a delve boss every 5 minutes than to play normally and then stare at the clock like an idiot before killing a boss.

This is the epitome of bad game design. Really disappointing. Being programmed this way makes it much worse than if it were a bug.

i my case warm up with nice big glass of hot chocolate 🍫 and read the forums lol

heimdall14_9 · February 13

Destai wrote: »

So far nothing too remarkable. I don’t see many reward boxes dropping, and most of the content isn’t very appealing to me personally. None of the golden pursuit rewards are something I want. Same goes for the quest reward.

I am enjoying the rapport and experience boosts though.

ive been getting an butt load of fighter , DB, thief,mage ,scrolls that i can see being useful

NotaDaedraWorshipper · February 13

Soarora wrote: »

So far, I’ve actually been really enjoying it. I’ve been retired from being an overlander. Solstice quests didn’t encapture me enough to finish them. But I love the big kitty man and Sanguine (the Sanguine quest I had heard was well-written and I have to say, I agree. So much so that I’m going to do it again just to check out the other options! On my Sanguine-themed character, no less!). It’s also nice to have new achievements to chase as after 7 years, I’m tired of almost all of the events.

And here I thought all of them were bad to some degree and I dislike this portrayal and appearance of Sanguine as much as the Jester's Festival one. Which of course you can't even mention how extremely similar they are. Only Kuzam-jo mentions when the quests are done how he once attended a Jester's Festival and how that Samuel and Samara smelled the same. Smell the same, behave the same, and almost look the same even wearing the same outfit. Yet the only one the Vestige could think Samara reminds them of is Darien.
Would've been more interesting if the priest of Mara khajiit was actually a Sanguine cultist and the hints to him being it was subtle.

Only thing I liked was that one could do the quests in different ways that supported one or the other more.

The other quests weren't that better, the first needing to go to a specific delve was a terrible decision from a gameplay point of view, and the third felt so utterly pointless. Why are we helping these advenuterers? Why aren't they talking to eachother like adults and friends? Instead of having some stranger do these things while they roll their thumbs.

jaekobcaed · February 13

I haven't finished it yet but I really dig it so far! Unlike previous events, this one actually feels like a small questline rather than only being than a bunch of dailies. Quest 1 made me think of the one quest where you perform in a play in Morrowind's first expansion, Tribunal, though that quest was centered around memorization rather than combat of any sort. Quest 2 feels very Elder Scrolls-y as a whole, a nice variety of gameplay. Plus, the way it encourages players to group up is fun, but the companion aspect kinda does ruin that a bit.

I honestly wish more events felt like this. I barely participate in events anymore because most of them are just a repeat of the previous year with new rewards and they rarely feel rewarding enough to me. I play ESO primarily as an online Elder Scrolls experience, so having gameplay that leans more TES than MMO is always welcome, even in time-limited events!

Eliahnus · February 13

The emote is too silly to use unfortunately.
Otherwise a great event!

tohopka_eso · February 13

My only issue is trying to get to Craglorn. I decided to take a character I've been leveling up skills and what not and just let me a few of my other characters the NPC in Grahtwood and the other corresponding cities wasn't by the cart and I couldn't click on the cart to get there.
I didn't see a portal by the event tent so I had to remember how to get there on foot. Still unsure if that NPC by the cart is part of another quest or it's bugged cause he is there on some of my characters.