MoonPile wrote: »

I've had quite a few drop, maybe like 5 so far? One actually contained a Solstice map, even.

But still no Vitrified Soul Crystal lead 😂

Good to know that the "Unopened Treasure Maps" can indeed drop Solstice Treasure Maps!

Sorry that the Vitrified Soul Crystal is behaving as if its lead were supposed to drop from a treasure map.

MidnightDuel wrote: »

I'm not sure if anything changed with U49 and Solstice drop rates from maps, but from 22 maps, 6 leads dropped today. One purple lead, 5 blue. Only the purple lead advanced a codex. The blues cannot be purchased with a complete codex anyway and probably dropped because each codex was already complete.
...
Edited to add: [/i] I should note that before digging up the Solstice Treasure Maps, I dug up a series of other zone treasure maps, which included three from the Telvanni Peninsula, without any furnishing leads dropping whatsoever.

Interesting! Thanks for sharing. Bolded those parts FWIW –

Codex complete: Idk if it's objectively true, but "it is known" among players that 2/3 - 3/3 have the worst odds, and then it levels out after you've completed the codex. Or possibly the pattern repeats: 4th is good, 5-6 suck again, and so on.

And I've now seen a few players in different places (incl. earlier in this thread: one who shared data with better odds than others) mention that digging up other maps (usually they use cheap ones) seems to trigger more Leads, as if it's a faucet we first have to unblock 😂

I hate this tin-foil-hat ritual stuff, but maybe useful to note if anyone really needs to complete something and can't wait for a possible real QOL change.

P.S.

Sorry that the Vitrified Soul Crystal is behaving as if its lead were supposed to drop from a treasure map.

^ I've seriously wondered about this: Whether there's some kind of pattern wherein leads drop from types of sources consecutively, thus I'm not getting one because I've refused to use Solstice Maps. But it seems like others got it unlocked without Maps? Idk.

MidnightDuel wrote: »

Zone Treasure Maps seem to behave differently from other sources. For example, I have never seen more than one lead drop from a Treasure Map at a time. However, I have seen double-lead drops from World and Delve Bosses on several occasions, including two leads yesterday in Solstice from the boss in the Lair of the Black Worm delve. One of the leads only drops from that WB and the other (Giant Crocodile Skull) can drop from anything in the zone.

Has anyone ever seen a double lead drop from a Zone Treasure Map?

Right at the start you used to get both base ancestral leads in each zone together but they stopped it. I remember rushing around trying to get them all before the patch hit.

Yes! Thank you for saying this. I spent over 50k buying maps from Guild Traders (And considerable time trying to find them cheaply) just to get one book for my house T_T

BradTheNord wrote: »

this isn’t just for treasure maps either leads need improving across the board

Agreed. In particular, the 2nd and 3rd leads are especially grindy. It took me15 months of regular trips to Wayrest II to get the lead from the final boss to complete a codex.

Also, when new mythics have leads from delves and public dungeons, it's nearly impossible to get hits on targets that drop the leads because so many players are after the same source. At least those lead sources are only tied to normal RNG and not double-locked behind a second layer of RNG, such as a treasure map, and a loot table equal to several mythics worth of leads.

Thoriorz wrote: »

MidnightDuel wrote: »

Has anyone ever seen a double lead drop from a Zone Treasure Map?

Yes, it wasn't from Solstice, but I definitely remember hunting for leads a while back, and I remember getting two leads from a single treasure map. I don't really remember the exact details, but it just stuck in my mind that it happened...

Some zones have leads that will drop from anything, including treasure maps. An example is the "Stone Relief, Yokudan" furnishing from Alik'r Desert. Likewise, an Alik'r Treasure Map can drop leads for Ancestral Orc: Gloves or Ancestral Orc: Swords motifs, but probably not both motifs. Perhaps a furnishing lead could drop along with a motif lead?

MidnightDuel wrote: »

Thoriorz wrote: »

MidnightDuel wrote: »

Has anyone ever seen a double lead drop from a Zone Treasure Map?

Yes, it wasn't from Solstice, but I definitely remember hunting for leads a while back, and I remember getting two leads from a single treasure map. I don't really remember the exact details, but it just stuck in my mind that it happened...

Some zones have leads that will drop from anything, including treasure maps. An example is the "Stone Relief, Yokudan" furnishing from Alik'r Desert. Likewise, an Alik'r Treasure Map can drop leads for Ancestral Orc: Gloves or Ancestral Orc: Swords motifs, but probably not both motifs. Perhaps a furnishing lead could drop along with a motif lead?

Yeah, I think it went something like this: I got a Lead drop that drops source is from anything, plus a Lead motif or Lead furnishing that drops specifically from a certain Treasure Map. And I know that when I was collecting motifs Lead in the Deadlands, I got somethimes 2x motif Lead from single Treasure Map. But I never got two furnishing Leads from one map. So there’s probably some rule about what can drop twice..

More Map Data @MoonPile
16 West Weald Treasure Maps yielded 3 furnishing leads:



Two green and one purple, which literally drops from anything and everything.

The West Weald maps were leftovers from when I had originally completed the zone codices. They were collected after digging up treasure from other stray zone maps.

MoonPile wrote: »

Me and at least one housing friend really wanted to unlock the Colovian Tapestry, Worn – until we realized that was impossible over a year ago.

That person was an amazing builder, but Idk if they are even playing anymore or entirely moved on to other games, and from what they've told me, it's in part due to the Map/Antiquities grind. They're not the only one and it bums me out.

Some might argue that just a handful of people won't matter to a big company, but some of those "just a handful" were community members whose builds inspire many others – and even nudge us buy Crown houses we weren't previously interested in, only because they sparked something for us. FWIW, in case anyone with a say in these things is reading.

One hopes the decision makers are reading these threads, or at least getting an executive summary that captures the pain points and recommendations for improving this aspect of the game. Sometimes I wonder if more of us had spoken up when Necrom came out with maps as a source for furnishing leads, or when West Weald upped the lead-locking, if the Solstice situation would have been better.

I remember the frustration with the Necrom leads, and it was multiplied in West Weald. At least both of those chapters had an event that made those zone maps more obtainable. The Solstice zone event was a disaster is so many ways, not the least of which was that zone maps never got a boost to drop rates.

Sorry to hear you've had player friends quit the game too. Players can only take so much, and when the game is no longer fun, there is no reason to stick around. Even though I've invested a lot of time and money in playing ESO, if the direction of the game doesn't change, I'll be looking to find another way to spend my time and something else to spend my money on as well.

MidnightDuel wrote: »

MoonPile wrote: »

Me and at least one housing friend really wanted to unlock the Colovian Tapestry, Worn – until we realized that was impossible over a year ago.

That person was an amazing builder, but Idk if they are even playing anymore or entirely moved on to other games, and from what they've told me, it's in part due to the Map/Antiquities grind. They're not the only one and it bums me out.

Some might argue that just a handful of people won't matter to a big company, but some of those "just a handful" were community members whose builds inspire many others – and even nudge us buy Crown houses we weren't previously interested in, only because they sparked something for us. FWIW, in case anyone with a say in these things is reading.

One hopes the decision makers are reading these threads, or at least getting an executive summary that captures the pain points and recommendations for improving this aspect of the game. Sometimes I wonder if more of us had spoken up when Necrom came out with maps as a source for furnishing leads, or when West Weald upped the lead-locking, if the Solstice situation would have been better.

I remember the frustration with the Necrom leads, and it was multiplied in West Weald. At least both of those chapters had an event that made those zone maps more obtainable. The Solstice zone event was a disaster is so many ways, not the least of which was that zone maps never got a boost to drop rates.

Sorry to hear you've had player friends quit the game too. Players can only take so much, and when the game is no longer fun, there is no reason to stick around. Even though I've invested a lot of time and money in playing ESO, if the direction of the game doesn't change, I'll be looking to find another way to spend my time and something else to spend my money on as well.

We did post about West Weald, we were told that the leads were dropping fine for the devs when they tested. We don’t know if they took into consideration that the one purple Ayleid tree drops from everything or that the first leads drop fairly quickly but some of us have never got any second leads.

We have been posting about treasure map leads since the Ancestral motifs came out in the dlc zones but they continue this practice.

MoonPile wrote: »

Hi all,

The Real Endgame (a large ESO Housing community on Discord – https://discord.gg/8A9XByfhxV ) is hosting a survey about Map-exclusive Antiquities. We're seeking player input on Treasure Map Leads for Antiquity furnishings from a housing perspective. Responses will be shared with the Devs, who've recently responded regarding this issue. (The sent responses will be anonymized.)

Please come take the quick survey and share your map data:
⭐ https://forms.gle/Yx4D6gqzKf4Lzvc47

And feel free to share with other housers who'd be interested in improving this system for all players!

For reference – my data from tests this summer:
130+ maps used in total, only 1 item codex-unlocked 3/3 to buy, and a gap of 2 months & 76 Maps with NO leads:
https://moonpile.tumblr.com/post/796136099180396544/solstice-treasure-map-leads-data-sept-30

Last few days to answer this survey before it closes!

I just watched the U50 QOL stream, doesn't sound like this issue will be tackled yet. U50 doesn't launch until June, so at best, even if it were coming "soon", a lot of housers are still stuck waiting months / years to be able to complete their projects due to this system (or give up because of it).

P.S.
Updated post with combined data & info for context:
https://moonpile.tumblr.com/post/808642600457338880/info-treasure-map-antiquities-leads-02-2026

MoonPile wrote: »

I just watched the U50 QOL stream, doesn't sound like this issue will be tackled yet. U50 doesn't launch until June, so at best, even if it were coming "soon", a lot of housers are still stuck waiting months / years to be able to complete their projects due to this system (or give up because of it).

Oh no...

Ugh. I'm not digging up any more treasure maps until the system is fixed. I mean, what's the point, right?

@BretonMage @Emeratis same, I quit Solstice & West Weald maps. (In the time spent waiting, maybe I’d get the items already? But it’s not interesting, I don’t want to spend that much gold and time just to be frustrated by a boring grind.) Also the non-Map Trifold Mirror in Necrom, stuck on 2/3 and don't care about it anymore. Similar to Nymics, it was already hard to fight dozens of times, and now worse in a dead zone.

Just info for anyone interested in improving Antiquity Lead drops more broadly than just Map-exclusive ones, there's a separate thread about it over here: https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/688204/there-needs-to-be-a-mercy-system-for-antiquity-leads

And so it doesn't get too buried:
https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/comment/8446207/#Comment_8446207
↑ Last few days to answer this survey before it closes!

MoonPile wrote: »

I just watched the U50 QOL stream, doesn't sound like this issue will be tackled yet. U50 doesn't launch until June, so at best, even if it were coming "soon", a lot of housers are still stuck waiting months / years to be able to complete their projects due to this system (or give up because of it).

I was disappointed in the U50 QoL stream list. The only thing remotely related to housing was a new skin for the Transmute Station. To be fair, after the U49 QoL and the increased slots for non-notable homes, my expectations were probably set too high.

It took three-plus years to get where we are with double-locked furnishing leads, so an overnight fix is probably unrealistic.

There is more coming with U50 and another dev stream on the 31st. Perhaps there's still a chance for some good news regarding Antiquity leads, but I won't be holding my breath.

anadandy wrote: »

Those are the ones that grind my gears too. I love those tapestries and wanted to fill my Imperial house with them but...no. I'm still sitting at 1/3 codex entries for them and the fresco.

Sadly, even with a complete codex, the West Weald tapestries and fresco aren't purchasable. Unless something changes, the only source for those is West Weald Treasure Map leads.

BretonMage wrote: »

Ugh. I'm not digging up any more treasure maps until the system is fixed. I mean, what's the point, right?

Emeratis wrote: »

Yea I've stopped digging up maps in the zones that are a scam to dig them up due to absurdly low droprate.

Fortunately with U49, any new maps drop as "Unopened" and stack to 200. Until there's a positive change to drop rates for rare maps and/or to the leads that drop from them, I won't be opening any map ever again.

They had a survey after today's Bethesda's stream which I took the time to fill out.

I made to sure to comment on the fact that we don't know how to provide feedback , and if it's actually being seen.
We've been told forums, or reddit, or twitter/X, but no clue if any of those are even monitored or how we know feedback was actually received.

As for the previous comment about the Devs saying lead drops worked fine for them, that's just the problem.
They are doing quick test, they aren't invested in these systems the way players are. Look at all the players with complaints with the combat system, end game trials, or PVP. I'm not an expert in ANY of these areas by any means. However, I can confidently say that none of the PVP streamers I've watched have said vengeance was their vision for the future So it seems the devs just test that things are 'good enough' for the general populace, not that it's something that the end game players need or want.

I do hope that the devs actually look at this from an end game 'houser' point of view and address the issue.