Something I’ve been wondering about the IA…

Elvenheart · March 25

…is how many players (like myself right now) are running the IA to get fortunes just to buy the weekly furnishing plans that change each week, and maybe an antiquity lead if it’s really hard to get otherwise?

I used to run the IA just to get all the books, and right about the time I finally got all of them they added the three weekly furnishing plans, so that’s what I’ve been doing ever since. I’ve just been wondering if a lot of other players are doing that too or if it’s just a few of us. 🙂

LunaFlora · March 25

i do it occasionally, but i have so many furniture plans already and the Archive really needs improvements.

improvements such as
- save options
- option to skip Stage fights and instead only do Cycle Bosses and Tho'at.
- unlocked class styles

DenverRalphy · March 25

I only run it when I don't have enough fortunes for anything I want from the weekly reset. I have all the books. Occasionally there will be a furnishing plan I don't have, or a lead I may want. Usually for the most part I need only speed run to complete Esalinwe's daily quest to get the fortunes I need. Though this week I had a surplus of fortunes. Don't really recall how that happened. Guess I hadn't been paying much attention.

Necrotech_Master · March 25

i typically run it sometimes several times a week because i find it fun and i help friends farm gear from there lol

currently have around 300,000 fortunes banked and i typically buy up a bunch of stuff every week from the rotational vendor

i usually end up buying at least 2-3 of the furnishing plans, 0-2 leads if i still need codex entries, the monster style page if needed (though im down to only missing 3 of these because ive bought all of them from the archive so dont buy them often), and occasionally ill buy treasure maps if its for a zone i still need leads codex entries for

avg i probably spend about 4-10k fortunes per week, but i can sometimes make 50k fortunes in a week so it stacks up far faster than i use it, especially if i do a deeper run and stop at like arc 6-7 where i can make 60k fortunes in 1 run

method__01 · March 25

every day, up to arc 3 or 4 -only for fun now ,nothing new to get except weekly vendor wares
same for NA acc -less rounds there,not enough time

Buffy121 · March 25

I have been running the IA for exactly the same reasons: books, furnishing plans and antiquity leads.

I ran it when there was an endeavor that could be completed there. I probably won't run it again unless my fortunes run out and I want to buy something.

benzenexz · March 25

This question ultimately breaks into 2 questions. Why would I run IA in the first place? Where would I spend those fortunes?

When it was first live, it was designed to sell collectibles with random rotations. Collectible things are the class sets, its outfit pages, achievement titles and mementos, its own upgrade, weekly monster head style pages, and the use 20/50 to get something collectibles. The monster head refreshes every week, so I got to generate averagely 7.5k AF per week if I don't want to miss any (shoulder pages, why bother spending AF while I have thousands of keys?).

Aside from those collectibles, the actual runs, to me, is the exact place to plunge yourself into combat to feel nothing but the full and complete aspect of the combat itself. The increasing difficulty each arc makes a simpler base-game boss tough enough to not be overlooked, which to me is really enjoyable.

However, to collect things for the sake of collecting them, is such a grind that can be tedious and tiresome. I used to run one lengthy (averagely arc8) run once a week, it got things collected up a lot as well as bunch of AF, though even once a week seems too exhausting for me. Now I do once in a while, it's rare to group up with random people to be able to run that high, but surely I can maintain in a much healthier state in RL.

As for the weekly furnishing plans. I buy off those every week, but would never run IA purely for the sake of preparing AF. I enjoy doing stuffs that satisfies me mentally, and more so when there're beneficial side effects such as getting some SOLID progression on collectibles, getting shiny MONEY that I may hoard and spend on collectible plans. But to grind for any of those with the sole purpose of getting that one thing, that's a big NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

tsaescishoeshiner · March 25

The first few Arcs being unskippable despite being so easy and slow is a barrier to making the content worthwhile. Some of the furnishing plans may be good deals for the time it takes—for many, you may be better off farming resources or expensive* drops and selling them to buy the motifs with gold.

BretonMage · March 25

I do it if I see a lead or plan I want from Ool, but it's rare. Ool needs a larger rotation, say 4 or 5 of each, given the number of leads and plans out there.

Syldras · March 25

Right now there's barely anything of interest for me in the Archive, to be honest (not that I complain - I appreciate I don't have to grind for the currency anymore).

I already have learnt most furnishing plans (bought through Rolis). I have already bought all books I wanted when they showed up at Filer Ool for the first time - now they only repeat, so as long as no new ones get added, there's also nothing for me to buy anymore. Leads? Well, there's still one or two that could be interesting for me, so I still look at the weekly thread. I luckily already have enough currency for those, so no need for me to do anything in the Archive right now.

I'm not saying the Archive itself as a game system wasn't fun. It was fun so see all backdrops once, to hear the watchlings' different voice lines, to try all different abilities, and to complete all side portals. But once everything is explored - everything is explored. For me personally, just repeating some content without there being anything new just isn't interesting. The only thing that could actually really get my interest again would be content additions to the Archive itself (and with content I don't mean buyable items to spend currency on).

mdjessup4906 · March 25

I refuse to set foot in there until they make a save option, no matter how nice the stuff is. Life's too short for that kind of tedium.

Apollosipod · March 25

I've been running it for a few of the class sets I want to try, but mostly for the archival furnishings to buy motifs and furnishing designs. The gameplay itself is painfully stale and really needs some new life breathed into it. The same handful of stages with the mind numbing green and brown really wears on me. They should throw in some levels that are based not only on the various cults and enemies of Nirn, but also where those people are from: give me a High Isle stage like the battlegrounds map or something

Thumbless_Bot · March 25

I run it for fortunes, plans, and to get timing down on my rotations.

richo262 · March 25

I wish you could sell the books for the IA currency

jaws343 · March 25

I run it now for the currency for leads and plans and motifs when I don't have them.

But, I also run it to test out new builds.

AzuraFan · March 25

Elvenheart wrote: »

…is how many players (like myself right now) are running the IA to get fortunes just to buy the weekly furnishing plans that change each week, and maybe an antiquity lead if it’s really hard to get otherwise?

Yes, that's me. I only run the IA when I'm running low on fortunes to buy antiquities leads. I'd rather have another way to buy them, meaning through doing activities I enjoy, rather than being forced to do an activity I can take or leave.

I also used to do the IA when there was an endeavor and I couldn't get 3/3 any other way.

katanagirl1 · March 26

I don’t enjoy IA, I just run it for currency to buy leads. I also ran it to get leads that only come from IA, but those are hard to come by and have only one of each. Too bad they are cool furnishings of which I would like to have more.

The devs crammed so much stuff into IA that unless you really enjoy it and run it every day you will never get it. I wish I could opt out of the style pages and get more leads instead.

Elvenheart · March 26

Great responses, all! It’s really interesting to hear why those that run the IA do so.

I’m betting than when Tomes (Endeavors 2.0) go Live that a typical Tome activity will be something like “Run the IA __ times this Season” or this week or something similar, which will give some of us another reason to be doing it!

cyclonus11 · March 26

Elvenheart wrote: »

…is how many players (like myself right now) are running the IA to get fortunes just to buy the weekly furnishing plans that change each week, and maybe an antiquity lead if it’s really hard to get otherwise?

I used to run the IA just to get all the books, and right about the time I finally got all of them they added the three weekly furnishing plans, so that’s what I’ve been doing ever since. I’ve just been wondering if a lot of other players are doing that too or if it’s just a few of us. 🙂

Yes, this is exactly why I run IA

Tannus15 · March 26

I don't do anything in ESO that I don't enjoy, hence no fishing or tales of tribute.

I have been running some IA lately for the class set drops and hopefully the zone drops. I know, the class sets pretty much all suck, but i like collecting them in hopes that one day they will buff them or something.

Apollosipod · March 26

richo262 wrote: »

I wish you could sell the books for the IA currency

This would actually be a very cool system to combine with eidetic memory. Every time you read a Mages book or some random document that gets fed into your memory, you can share it with the archive for fortunes.

LootAllTheStuff · March 26

I typically have just run IA when there was an endeavour for it, and it was easier for me to do that than any of the other options. That said, I did one arc last night with someone while waiting for a 3rd person to finish dailies, and got several missing sticker-book items from the different groups that spawned in, so that was cool.

lillybit · March 26

I started running it daily about 6 weeks ago just for the leads (dropped not bought). I didn't necessary want complete all the codex so was planning on stopping after that but I've carried on to finish collecting all the sets and styles (only just finished the 1st codex so just as well I wasn't planning on them all). Now I've built up a few fortunes I've started buying the leads if I need them and a few other bits. I'll probably carry on once or twice a week after I fill my stickerbook just for the fortunes.

Generally run til after the arc 3 marauder tho I might go to the end if he doesn't appear til late in the arc

tmacedo · March 26

I do IA regularly for
- competing stickerbook;
- farm fortunes for plans and leads that have stupid farming sources (looking at you southern elaweyr portals.. CA last boss...)
- farming for a chance at the exclusive leads there.

Now stickerbook motivates me to do so, but once it completes i dont know if i'll have the will to farm the other things. I already sugested increasing the number of leads available in vendors, two for mythics and two for furnitures. But still...

DenverRalphy · March 26

lillybit wrote: »

I started running it daily about 6 weeks ago just for the leads (dropped not bought). I didn't necessary want complete all the codex so was planning on stopping after that but I've carried on to finish collecting all the sets and styles (only just finished the 1st codex so just as well I wasn't planning on them all). Now I've built up a few fortunes I've started buying the leads if I need them and a few other bits. I'll probably carry on once or twice a week after I fill my stickerbook just for the fortunes.

Generally run til after the arc 3 marauder tho I might go to the end if he doesn't appear til late in the arc

FWIW, if you're still working on your stickerbook I recommend carrying on to finishh Arc 3 Tho'at as well. Because Armor pieces drop on odd number arcs, and weapons on even. So if you stop at Arc 3 Marauder, you'll finish your weapons but have several armor pieces left to farm because you have to collect all 3 weights of the armor pieces. The little bit of extra time to finish Arc 3 Tho'at to get one last armor piece shaves a lot of unneeded extra runs later when Arc 2 isn't dropping anything you need anymore.

Just my opinion though.

lillybit · March 26

DenverRalphy wrote: »

lillybit wrote: »

I started running it daily about 6 weeks ago just for the leads (dropped not bought). I didn't necessary want complete all the codex so was planning on stopping after that but I've carried on to finish collecting all the sets and styles (only just finished the 1st codex so just as well I wasn't planning on them all). Now I've built up a few fortunes I've started buying the leads if I need them and a few other bits. I'll probably carry on once or twice a week after I fill my stickerbook just for the fortunes.

Generally run til after the arc 3 marauder tho I might go to the end if he doesn't appear til late in the arc

FWIW, if you're still working on your stickerbook I recommend carrying on to finishh Arc 3 Tho'at as well. Because Armor pieces drop on odd number arcs, and weapons on even. So if you stop at Arc 3 Marauder, you'll finish your weapons but have several armor pieces left to farm because you have to collect all 3 weights of the armor pieces. The little bit of extra time to finish Arc 3 Tho'at to get one last armor piece shaves a lot of unneeded extra runs later when Arc 2 isn't dropping anything you need anymore.

Just my opinion though.

Oh really? I assumed they were just random curated drops. I'll definitely try to remember that, thank you.

Do the Marauders keep to anything like that too?

tomofhyrule · March 26

lillybit wrote: »

DenverRalphy wrote: »

lillybit wrote: »

I started running it daily about 6 weeks ago just for the leads (dropped not bought). I didn't necessary want complete all the codex so was planning on stopping after that but I've carried on to finish collecting all the sets and styles (only just finished the 1st codex so just as well I wasn't planning on them all). Now I've built up a few fortunes I've started buying the leads if I need them and a few other bits. I'll probably carry on once or twice a week after I fill my stickerbook just for the fortunes.

Generally run til after the arc 3 marauder tho I might go to the end if he doesn't appear til late in the arc

FWIW, if you're still working on your stickerbook I recommend carrying on to finishh Arc 3 Tho'at as well. Because Armor pieces drop on odd number arcs, and weapons on even. So if you stop at Arc 3 Marauder, you'll finish your weapons but have several armor pieces left to farm because you have to collect all 3 weights of the armor pieces. The little bit of extra time to finish Arc 3 Tho'at to get one last armor piece shaves a lot of unneeded extra runs later when Arc 2 isn't dropping anything you need anymore.

Just my opinion though.

Oh really? I assumed they were just random curated drops. I'll definitely try to remember that, thank you.

Do the Marauders keep to anything like that too?

Marauders and Tho’at share drop tables.

That means even Marauders and Tho’at drop weapons/jewelry and odd ones drop armor.

Alp · March 26

Until the class styles aren't class locked I will have a hard time caring about infinite archive personally. Fashion is the endgame.

Necrotech_Master · March 26

katanagirl1 wrote: »

I don’t enjoy IA, I just run it for currency to buy leads. I also ran it to get leads that only come from IA, but those are hard to come by and have only one of each. Too bad they are cool furnishings of which I would like to have more.

The devs crammed so much stuff into IA that unless you really enjoy it and run it every day you will never get it. I wish I could opt out of the style pages and get more leads instead.

i dont know if the leads and style pages can drop separately, i honestly dont remember and cant test it now anyway as i already have all of the style pages lol

i ran it significantly more when they added new stuff, otherwise i do basically fun runs (i think it took me about 3 weeks to get all of the 2nd gen class gear and all of the 2nd round of achievements), and would definitely say i enjoy running it more with another player than by myself or with a companion and would happily run it with anyone who needed help clearing higher arcs or farming drops on PC NA (could potentially include console too if they ever get around to adding the crossplay stuff lol)

SilverBride · 12:10AM

I used to run the IA a few times a week but haven't done it much lately. I buy the furniture patterns every week but didn't keep track of how many fortunes I had been using. This thread prompted me to take a look and I better start running it again.

I just wish there was another reason to do so besides getting fortunes for patterns.