Generic feedback that´s been on my mind for quite some time regarding Midyear/Whitestrike:

Can we please not have as many temporary campaigns as we do? Or at least be a bit more dynamic with how many you keep up during the event? Maybe remove/disable some of them as the event goes along if you see they´re empty and just (ab)used for activities such as emp trading etc. Nothing worse than seeing all these extra campaigns with 3 bars on one faction and none for every other faction. None of these campaigns have any real PvP in them and just spreads out the population even more than necessary.

For the next PvP event I´d like to see fewer temporary campaigns so that players are "forced" into fewer campaigns (which means more action). Same goes for imperial city, we don´t need extra imperial city campaigns during the event. No one that actually wanna PvP want empty or "one sided" (aka one faction dominates completely) Cyrodiil/IC campaigns. Only people I ever see advocate in favour of dead/empy campaigns are those who have no interest in PvP and just want easy way to complete quests/achievements/get tickets etc...

I like the change. One week 4 times a year gives more opportunities with less burnout. Removing the daily login requirement helps deal with FOMO issues. The rewards are otherwise unchanged so it helps the event feel more focused on celebrating the content rather than a time limited daily chore. I hope this becomes a model for other events, especially I'd like to see undaunted also be like this so I can get some dungeon celebrations a few times a year rather than one 12 day block a year which may or may not line up with real life commitments.

coop500 wrote: »

As a PvEer I actually do find it personally weird to remove the Trade bars from this event. I don't think that's a fair call, and I didn't mind doing IC and Cryodiil Town Dailies for these.

I don't think this change is only for Mayhem, based on "As part of our broader Seasons-based strategy we want to try to take different approaches on events both new and old, as you'll see with High Seas of Tamriel later this year." ,
Mayhem just happens to be the first event to come with this change.

I don't think its right to remove trade bars/event tickets from the only PVP event. Its the only event I enjoy interacting with, and I would never ask for ZOS to remove trade bars from all other events and put them exclusively in the one I enjoy playing. If I cant wait for another whitestrakes, I grind through content I wouldnt usually see to get tickets. It shouldnt be removed to pacify a vocal minority (who already have more than enough opportunities to get as many trade bars they need from all the other events) at the expense of people who enjoy playing the games only proper PVP event.

Feels like a further segregation of PVP and PVE, which doesnt feel like its in the spirit of an MMORPG. If I dont want to wait for a monster set to come up in the golden vendor I have to run a dungeon to get it sooner. The same should go for event tickets, if you aren't willing to wait until the next event you would like to play, you have the opportunity to play a part of the game you wouldn't usually interact with to get them sooner. This always seemed like a healthy way to get players out of their comfort zone.

Hoping this change can be reverted.

Taking away our event ticket replacement (trade bars) is one of the most insulting things you've ever done to the PVP community who is already deeply convinced that ZOS does not care about PVP. How dare you

There's an enormous number of style motifs that will become available via the Impresario and Philus Dormer in the new version of Whitestrakes Mayhem, so keep your eyes open for trade bar opportunities between now and then.

SO WE CAN'T EVEN EARN THE REWARDS BY PLAYING THE MODE. I can't state this plainly enough due to forum censorship but <snip> all the way off.

I like the timing change. Hosting the event four times a year for one week each time feels like a better compromise than hosting it twice a year for nearly two weeks at a time. Although I will miss not having two weekends encompassed by the event, as the weekends are when the most enjoyable action happens.

Removing the trade bars feels like a slap in the face to me. PVP needs more rewards, not less. I'm guessing that the reward track has something to do with this, but I personally find the veterancy system very lackluster. Please reconsider removing the ability to earn trade bars via these events.

I just want to echo what @Major_Mangle said about the addition of extra campaigns. It really makes these events feel "dead" when people spread out across 6 empty instances of cyrodiil, and feels like it goes against the spirit of "mayhem". The last event on PC NA, the two 7 day no-cp campaigns did not have even one bar of population the entire event.

PC EU is the most populated platform in regards to PVP, so perhaps their needs differ. I only recently started playing over there so I can't speak to what the campaigns look like during an event. But PC NA is the second most populated platform, and it simply does not need all the extra campaigns.

Instead, I'd propose the following for cyrodiil;

Grey Host, Blackreach, Ravenwatch, then add 1-2 CP campaigns. Do not add any no-cp campaigns, as ravenwatch failed to reach pop cap during the event on PC NA and quagmire/fields of regret had zero bars straight through the entirety of the event.

Imperial city probably does not need any additional instances at all. The main imperial city might fill up and get laggy which is unfortunate, but the no-cp IC was completely empty. Dragonfire is nice as an overflow for CP IC, but even that feels like it adds too much when we're outside of primetime.

Of course, this is all without considering how vengeance will impact these numbers. I guess that'll be something we just have to wait and see.

I really question the removal of Trade Bars from Whitestrake's.

While I can see the idea behind making it a more drop-in mini-event like the BG weekends, the fact does remain that MYM is the only PvP-centric event. And, as much as many PvErs gripe about it, it did encourage more population to get into PvP, at least for a time.

I remember when I started playing this game, and I was extremely anti-PvP. I straight up skipped the first PvP event I faced (it was an IC event) because I hated the idea of PvP. But as I got more into the game, I would use MYM to poke around in PvP. And I found out... well, I still don't like playing PvP, but I would go in for the events to get some achievements I didn't think I'd get.

I can agree that the old MYM-style of getting tickets from the dailies was unfun, especially since it was common for questgivers to be camped by gankers. But ZOS should be more encouraging of players to go into other modes, not give them ways to avoid them.
And I can't help but notice that a lot of the "oh, we're making the experience better for new/solo players" things ZOS is doing this year is coming at the expense of the vets: no new Dungeons (but you get an event zone that you can just zergsurf! and solo dungeons are coming!), removal of unlocked PvP campaigns (but if you want to play with your friends, just go into Vengeance!), and now removal of a major enticement to get people into PvP (but you can get the Trade Bars from Veterancy!).

It feels icky, tbh.

All I can say is that I hope you consider adding Trade Bars to the Pelinal boxes.

JHartEllis wrote: »

7x2x300 Trade Bars is 4200 per 6-month Veterancy season. If big chunks of that could be frontloaded into the Veterancy reward structure, it would be a strong incentive to get people started into the new system while still allowing players to be able to earn the rewards that go along with the event.

@JHartEllis It's not about that. People want to have an event because an event is... well... an event. It's the PvPer's equivalent of removing Jubilee, Jester's or Undaunted. It's a set time and a place for people to come together. The veterancy cannot provide the same thing even if mathematically the rewards are the same because it is stretched out too much.
Not to mention that Whitestrakes is also a good time to try PvP for the first time because others like you are also jumping into PvP for the first time with you, and while it's a tough ask to defeat a veteran PvPer when you're new, defeating a fellow newcomer is a lot easier.
That's why Whitestrakes is important and that's why Whitestrakes should absolutely be something PvErs should care about, just like the Undaunted is something PvPers should care about.

Ratzkifal wrote: »

because it is stretched out too much.

That's why I said to frontload it. Mayhem would be the best time for people to become interested in Veterancy progression, so it would feel like the two are part of a grander overlapping event with more rewards if you are just starting into it.

A lot of people previously just forwent Event Tickets from Mayhem or just purely stuck to the PVE side of things, and this might be a better way to engage them.

My position here is it may be prudent to come up with palatable alternatives since it's quite likely this is otherwise already firmly decided.

Are you receiving the rewards you expected to receive?

I didn't open a ton of boxes but, the ones I did open didn't seem to be much of an improvement.

Did anything not function to your expectations?


The Impresario will be live while Whitestrakes is up so that players that want to acquire past Whitestrakes Mayhem rewards can do so. There's an enormous number of style motifs that will become available via the Impresario and Philus Dormer in the new version of Whitestrakes Mayhem, so keep your eyes open for trade bar opportunities between now and then.

The Impresario is not present.


Do you have any other general feedback?

I would note that without event Tickets or their equivalent and without new styles the event doesn't have much to pull in people that didn't already PvP beyond maybe having more players of more varied skill levels to play with.

Having the old items be purchased for trade bars puts a further damper on incentives to participate if you were not already inclined. If you want more people involved in the event you might be better off selling them for PvP currency.