The worst part is just how far gone the community is. You can carefully articulate just how detrimental this stuff is and still be met with everything from "Don't like it, don't play it" to victim blaming those with an adiction to gambling. Major props to you for making a video rightfully criticising all of this. It can't be easy when the playerbase is so willing to defend their own exploitation.
Since about 2018, some form of Stockholm syndrome started appearing in gaming (and entertainment media focused communities and fandoms generally) en masse. Reddit communities for specific games and series are the absolute worst, and the meme subreddits for games more often than not become the only place nuanced discussion or criticism happens.
It's same for GW 2 too.People who have nothing but one game in their life established a cult and defending to game no matter what their mission for "protecting" to game from critism.İn 2019 GW2 abandon raids like they did in dungeons and pvp and people critize this pushed back by Gw 2 cultist and Arena net partners for new content being better old content doesnt work because its too hard.İn truth Gw 2 didnt bring a better content just more easy to make content.Also because of lack of improvement and practice in Gw 2 people who reach to late game had no idea how to utilize their characters.And this cultist had simple answer for people critize to game "LOVE or LEAVE" so many people left.And you seeing Gw 2 barely seeing 500 people in twitch old maps having difficulty to gather players.İF they had that megaserver system game would be dead by now
"I get really tired of being called a greedy bastard" - Well firstly RIch, if everyone else is calling you that is the problem you or them? Secondly, if your tired of it then stop being a greedy bastard and stick up for the players instead of just being a gormless yes man.
There's an old saying in Australian business: Do you want to shear the sheep or do you want to slaughter the sheep? When you have a regular, long term playerbase you need to take care of them but they will return the favour by buying your stuff on a regular basis. When your playerbase is mostly short term, you have a very short window to make your money. If you leave a sour taste in their mouths, so be it because they're probably never coming back and you can then focus on the next load of customers. The problem is due to a number of bad decisions and a certain patch, ESO lost a lot of the former but replaced them with a lot of the latter. Their monetisation practices reflect this but has also worsened the sitauation, speeding up the shift of replacing long term players with shorter term ones. Hence a spiralling feedback loop that will accelerate over time.
At some point, even with trillions of people in the world, they will run out of customers. They are so cocky that they think it will never happen. People are going to get tired of the shit they pull and quite while others take their advice and don't start playing.
They don't care about running out of people because they know some players return to ESO plus when nobody would play ESO anymore, they would have gain enough money and they'll just let it die. Amaright ?
I was watching his stream that day and one thing I love about it: he’s ranting about predatory practices while he’s cheesing the giantess boss in SCP. It’s a mild exploit but! Watching him and his group defeat a boss in an exploitative manner without blinking an eye never fails to make me smirk.
Lawyers: "We could get sued for predatory gambling practices" Zenimax: "How can I slightly change what I'm doing but still get away with completely robbing my customers?" Lawyers: "........Endeavors..."
Azura out here doing the hard work. As someone who loves ESO, but is sometimes frustrated with the devs and or company responsible for it, thank you for this video. They'll never change unless we are loud about it and you are vocal AND do your research!
Not too loud and vocal though, we know how they treated Hoarcrux; they want all of us to have rose colored glasses on all the time and not see the ugly stuff under the rug. 😉
ESO is not the game it was. It is a game based on hanging out while you brag about what house you spent hundreds of dollars irl money. While sitting a top the latest crown store mount.
I've been playing since beta for ESO, and while I absolutely love this MMORPG and some of the changes they've made throughout the years such as One Tamriel, the new CP system and Mythic items, I absolutely hate how abusive the crown store is. Mounts should not take 180 days to completely level up, nor should I feel the need to purchase research skips because of a problem that ZOS could easily fix. They create a problem to sell you the solution. And I know a lot of those features weren't designed to make you buy items (since a lot of them existed before the store), but they can easily make some big QOL changes that would make everybody like the game more.
God that Rich clip at the end is one of the most infuriating things I've ever seen, and the chat defending him makes it even worse. I wish people would just wake up and realize how utterly consumed by greed ZoS is and would at least stop buying predatory crown store items and crown crates altogether to watch ZoS's attitudes change at light speed once they realize how much money they're losing.
@@The_Gravemind nah I just have a different perspective. I don’t jump on the bandwagon that the reason the game sucks is because of the crown store. Nice take though.
Really really well put together video; I watched the entire thing! I just started playing ESO and making videos on it and I really appreciate how "beginner friendly" this video is. I never fully understood the ESO+ system (or that it had a craft bag) and what crowns were used for. I inherited my dad's old account so he had a bunch of stuff on it already, but this really helped explain all the "stuff" I see pop-up on screen. I'm all about the solo experience and just basically playing for the story. But I can totally sympathize with people who have been playing this game for 10 years. Regardless, as someone who never has/will dabble in cosmetics, mounts, furniture, etc. (simply because of my playstyle) this video was very enlightening!
I liked ESO a lot and saw a ton of potential in the game. It's a shame ZOS prioritized pumping out shitty cash shop items and copy and paste DLCs instead of working on strengthening the foundation of the game. Cyrodil has practically never been playable at peak times.... Ever.
Until Azura's videos and viewpoints started showing up, I suffered from "Heavy-eyelid Syndrome" With each new video, my eyes are opening a bit more. I feel what she is conveying here, does make sense and when I truly listen, this info is very helpful, both to me as a human and as a consumer. Much appreciate the viewpoints. Looking forward to more future vids. Thank you and Cheers!
Zenimax was the reason why I stayed away from ESO. I wanted to play it, but it's monetization kept me away. I don't foresee me ever joining. There's plenty of games out there now. I don't have to play anything I'm not confident is a good value product. I understand your company needs to survive. But this looks like more than that. I don't like all the different currencies. And this game charges what many games give for free. It just screams SuS.
As player with 4000+ hours i can say you are absolutely right and like to point up the pay to win aspect in new chapters. If you want to do endgame content like dungeon or raid trifectas or just want to put out the most dmg or do meta builds, every year you have to buy the new chapter (or wait one year till it is an dlc within eso plus). There is always something that you would need for that kind of content: Necro, various mythic items, Arcanist... and after one year this particular item/class gets nerfed. I also think an abo model for a mmo is mostly justified b/c devs and serves etc have to be payed but the monetization here is bad and the stuff you can earn form playing the game sucks in comparison to the stuff you can purchase. Pulling the money out of peoples pockets is a problem in the hole gaming industry and we need to do something about it!
Totally agree, OP. The reasons 'chasing the meta' is a scam are because: 1. you're not playing the game your way, you're playing exactly how the uninformed, vapid devs want you to play. 2. This means you have to buy the latest expansion and DLC regularly. 3. Then they nerf it 3 months later. 4. so for many that means they get a couple weeks of play time with it after they've spent months grinding for the set pieces for it. Lather, rinse, repeat... year after year.
45:00 "Of course hard drugs should be legal. If you don't like the addiction then just don't buy them. Don't like to be in a car crash? Just don't use them! Got robbed in the streets? Just stay indoors. It's your responsibility after all. Easy peasy, kiddo."
When i hear microtransactions my mind fills with rage and disbelief at the same time while still pondering if i should or not but now it's numbness with a NO 😅.
They should slap a label on any game with gambling or loot boxes with Adult rating, and label it clearly as a game that contains such things. And hopefully there is regulation to crack down on these things in the future. Back when gold to crown rates were lower, pre-pandemic, i used to farm and make gold making my main priority and did that for a few years. It was my "incentive" and "motivation" for playing the game. As time went on, and the gold to crown prices increased, i started playing less cause i was getting burnt out. I now buy no crowns with gold anymore, and just focus on trying to enjoy the game for what it is. It's more relaxing. I stopped subbing to ESO+ as well, since i stopped doing writs, since i saved some gold from before. I love TES franchise, and even ESO, i have a love hate relationship with. Sadly, i dont feel comfortable recommending this game to any of my friends due to the traps and pitfalls it has with monetization.
Hey love your vids! Sucks you were gone for a bit but glad you're back on here. Your one of the few subs i keep the notifications on so keep up the good work and looking forward to your next! Take care.
That part when you mention the starter kits and how new players wouldn’t know any better … yeah I absolutely fell victim to that thinking I needed them hell I even purchased dlc I didn’t need when I had eso plus … I made too many mistakes with the crown store and there was nothing informing me that I am wasting my money until another player told me
As a new player, I was on the fence about staying or going with ESO - I love Elder Scrolls, but good god the monetization of ESO is insane. This video helped me put a lot of things into context that I was missing as someone who hasn't followed ESO development over the years and that Rich clip at the end was eye-opening to say the least, gonna chill with FF14 for now. Excellent video, definitely subbed.
Pretty sad that you watched this video and it destroyed your desire to play it. This is why this video is terrible. It’s an almost hour long banter about micro transactions that don’t affect you playing the game. Hate that you’re going to miss out on the best elder scrolls game in the series.
@@Karbsguy You are purposefully missing the point. Which is that the over monetization of cosmetic rewards has led to a lackluster gameplay experience. Because in any MMO, and really any game, it cosmetic reward is something that you were able to earn through gameplay. And cosmetic items were a huge motivating factor for things like achievements. This game almost removed incentive for playing that content. And its use of FOMO in tactics that are clearly designed to take advantage of new players is really crappy. I don’t know why you’re bothering to defend it. We all know that half of the items in the cash app would be put to better use as in rewards.
@@jacobodom8401 I don’t feel like I’m missing the point. The best cosmetic mounts in the game come from perfect trial runs. It’s not that they necessarily look better but it’s the clout. Same with titles. I look at players with radiant apex mounts and I think wow this person spends money. I look at someone with godslayer and I say wow they’re a god. Endless archive is great, tales of tribute is great, the only gripe I have against the game right now is its mistreatment towards PvP. That’s a whole issue in itself. And that gets completely glossed over with hardly any thought in this video. It’s mentioned but no real discussion on it. So it goes back to crying about the crown store.
@@Karbsguy there are definitely better mounts in the crown store, then there are in the trials. Save for maybe one mount. And fine, it doesn’t bother you, OK. But it bothers most people. It is one of the contributing factors as to why the game is not as popular as it could be. Because it is notorious for its monetization. Because a new player coming into the game and seeing cool mounts only to find out that they’re behind gambling crates is an extreme turn off. That is just common sense. I know a number of people who I got to tryout the game, who shortly left, and mentioned how the monetization was one of the reasons they did. Now, yes, the lack of updates to PVP is certainly a problem. And the crown store is part of that problem. Because the game has largely focused more resources on short term gains rather than players who are invested. Like the PVP players. But complaining about a video that is specifically about monetization practices for not doing a deep dive about the lack of PVP updates, doesn’t really make any sense. And in all honesty, sounds like the topic of a completely separate video. She made the point of how the companies extreme focus on monetization has left other areas in the game lacking, one of them being PVP. That’s all that needs to be said for this particular topic.
ZOS couldn't fix green incap cost bug for... 4 years (2019-2023). In that 4 years I've finished Master's degree, buried half of the family, get multiple sclerosis and AxSp... But u could guess how much crown stuff was added lol. Nobody even talks about class balance and PvP content at all through all years passed
or the lightning staff bugs that have been around forever. had to switch my magicka sorcerer to dual fire staff so i don't lose my mind trying to heavy attack ANYTHING. wish they would fix the one of FOUR magicka based weapons in the game.
It took me about a 7 month grind, using the endeavors, to buy a radiant mount. The crown crates is a crime, especially when you can only unlock face markings.
"I get tired of being called a greedy bastard"... Do you think, Rich, that maybe you could cut down on that by NOT BEING A GREEDY BASTARD? I mean, if you're going to do it, you can't be upset when someone calls you on it. Merely saying that your critics' definition of greed is merely an opinion doesn't cut it.
Their monetization and lack of in game rewards is the main reason I only play ESO casually. It's boring to complete quests, do dungeons and walk out with basically nothing. There's really very little dopamine to be had. Course, I've had a subscription since 2014 and have never bought a crown outside of that. They're happy to take my money though. The crown crates are the only 'fix' you can get but even then it's so disappointing. There was a trump on the board of zenimax......... just sayin. Guild wars 2 has better in game rewards.
Wow. Like she said. I finally gave it up and started Skyrim a few weeks ago. I would like to add that the regular "special" events seem designed to draw players back, but rewards are still mostly junk so I only participate when I can get extra experience or materials bonuses, which have practical use. Finally, it's "exploitative," not "exploitive," Zenimax dummies. This was new, this level of contempt actually vocalized, although it's been clear in game for a long time.
Gina is just a glorified stream hoster and patch note reposter, Jessica does even less but is Gina's "manager". This right here is a big part of the issue with ZOS, everyone is a "manager" with no-one or almost no one to manage.
I dare say that was probably more honesty about how they feel about PvP players than anything they've said before or since in their official communications. People say, "Oh, it was just his wife. He didn't say it. He was even mortified when she said it." First, where did she come by that opinion? From Rich. And. second, he was mortified because she said the quiet part out loud, not because he didn't agree. And he's never appologized since. Fuck that clown.
My personal fav is the selling of vamp and ww cures when its only a few hundred gold from in game npc. That's not taking advantage of new players? It's certainly not a "time saver".
@@jacobodom8401 I mean, ESO doesn't even have a proper auction outside of guild traders that are about as convenient as calling 911 using a carrier pigeon.
Now now, ZOS doesn't make money if we can trade gold for crowns, don't be silly. (Sarcasm of course) that would actually be a great idea, though I guess seals of endeavor is their way to half ass that idea.
Awesome video, thank you--you hit the nail on the head about the reward system and the problem with the crown store, FOMO--the whole thing. I am constantly complaining to my online friend group (most of whom do not even play the game and are tired of my bickering) about how greedy Zenimax is and how much better this game could be. I can't believe Rich said that in a stream... He has to be extremely out of touch. When it comes to Pay 2 Win I like to remind people that the system you mentioned "crown gifting" is not just about players getting items with in-game gold, it's also people buying in-game gold with real money. At least from my perspective, this is true P2W, gold can be used to buy meta gear, PVP gear, upgrade items to max out gear, expensive enchants, potions, etc...
I have something else to add! How about the crown store showing actual prices in euros and dollars instead of an purchasable limited currency like crowns/gems?? It would be so much harder to trick people into buying 150 euros for one house. That one feels so unbelievable scrummy!
That's true, however if they did this then the crates would be illegal in lots of countries (not a bad thing). When doing some research ages ago, lots of countries have gambling legislation around virtual gambling when you are basically buying stuff directly for money. Since you don't exactly buy crates and have to buy virtual currency to buy them, it doesn't fall under virtual gambling laws.
This is a very important video and I hope every new player who wants to start playing eso watches it. I played from 2017-2022 and only reason I stuck around after 2020 because I had fun raiding with my friends, but eventually it became too frustrating to keep playing this game because of everything you stated in this video (and that’s not even talking about all the bugs that are present at all times and take MONTHS for them to fix). That being said, while zos made me want to quit the game, what really sealed the deal for me was seeing all the enabling from certain parts of the “community”, which means that things will never change because there are so many people who defend zos all over the internet. Just take a look at the comments on Rich’s stream, absolutely appalling bootlicking.
On the soul gems, respecs etc they should add a disclaimer like: "Please note, these are also available in game from xxxxxx". Then at least the buyer is aware of what they are buying and not just purchasing because they weren't informed about how to do this for free in the game.
Great video and love your choice of music between segments :) Thank you for highlighting their sleazy tactics again and raising awareness. Maybe complaining directly to Microsoft is the way to go on some of these issues.
If you do not think that sentiment he shares is not shared within the entire studio then you're stupid. That is the reason he stated things the way he did without hesitation or remorse. They do not care. Use your brain.
Would like to note the eso+ exclusive durzog mount recently was not the only time they lock a mount purchase behind needing the sub. The ebon steel dwarven spider was first released in this method back in November 2018, then the following month in December made it available for non sub players. Whether or not the do the same with the durzog remains to be seen.
ZOS have been an utter shit show for the last 5 years, ran by a bunch of clowns who do nothing but lie to, gaslight and ignore their playerbase while wheeling out their CEO twice a year to promise to "be better", something that NEVER comes to pass. Vast majority of the dev team were moved off of ESO 5 years ago to start working on their new MMO which is still behind closed doors. Honestly seems like ESO has more "managers" left than developers now with the last 5 years having more and more copy and paste DLC's, worse quality content and less content year on year. Huge portions of the game literally abandoned years ago, such as their "signature" game mode, Cyrodiil, leaving insane amounts of lag, latency, bugs and straight up broken systems. Game has literally been in "maintenance+" mode for the last 5 years.
Another trend that is incredibly frustrating is the re-skinning... like the indrik, or arms packs, etc... I mean, it might be a different color or with a different "glow" but, other than that, it's the EXACT same thing.
In reality, you only need one mount. They all do the exact same thing. The only difference are the pixels on your screen. Yes, I learned that the hard way $$$.
So i started to play it on console with my brother . Than i move to pc played there with my wife and guess what Eso lost all of us because of the devs , i used to make community events and participate i class videos but the devs lost me and my friends family members nobody that i knows plays the game anymore we moved to Bdo WoW and Final Fantasy and you showed all of the reasons why we quit Eso good job on the video :) i loved this game now i hate what has happened to it
@@atonofspiders what is zos doing? Hybridization leads to homogenization, PVP kept getting worse, classes losing their identities, etc. Etc. I've played long enough to know that the game is dogwater.
@@Cyrius203 skill issue? On who's part? Mine? It definitely wasn't a skill issue, it didn't take much skill when you learn animation canceling, rotations, maintaining uptime on buffs, weaving, etc. Sure there's a learning curve, but it doesn't take 9 years to master 🤣 And I play MTG, which has a steeper skill curve than Yu-Gi-Oh.
It sucks that this is the only MMO that I truly love from all aspects. I started in 2019 and stopped after High Isles out of principle. I can no longer entertain their greed and predatory marketing strategy. I really wish for their downfall so bad.
I'm unsure if its me being naive but I feel pretty confident that if they removed all the useless consumables from the crown store and its crates, and then removed duplicates from crates, people would be significantly more inclined to purchase them. ZOS would likely get the same amount of money if not more from crates because then crown crates become a collection that you can be sure you could complete or at least get many items from, assuming you still get 4 items per crate with no duplicates or consumables, it probably wouldn't take too many crates to max the crate out. Then add maybe a way to get a good few crates in game per month for free, and if you complete the collection you get the crate itself as a furnishing collectable. Yes it would still be somewhat gambling, but it would certainly be a lot more reasonable than this asinine system we have right now.
I quit ESO after 7 years of subscriptions in 2021, and I'm happy that I didn't put a lot of money in extra crowns or crates. I've seen others stuffing a good fortune in it for ... nothing but s**t. Don't get me wrong, the game is great, but the greed is real. To resist the FOMO is not easy for a lot of people.
Thank you for once again reaffirming my decision to walk away from this game. Horrible performance, repetitive uninspired gameplay, wild swings in buff/nerf "balance", a neglected PvP scene...and the icing on the cake, extreme almost criminal greed. Addiction is no justification to support this game. The thing about addiction is that it can, and should be, cured.
I just picked up ESO after an 8 year brake. I dont blame the studio for promoting the shop, they have to earn money to keep the game alive. But its obvious they develop everything with monetization in mind. The game is so bland, I just open the shop out of sheer boredom. I always loved the depth of the game, the amount of things to do, the engaging design of customizing builds and everything. But they do so little with it.
As far as the crowns.... The value is shit, the amount of gems you receive for duplicate rewards is an insult. Compare the gems you receive for a duplicate item to the gem cost of that same item in the crown store. Here's an idea, 21000 crowns for $150? ZOS, sell the entire Crown crate rewards for $150, maybe $175 to include the Radiant Apex mounts. At least I'd know what I was getting for my hard earned money, instead of gambling. It's greed, plain and simple. I've played since beta, I uninstalled ESO in February after I saw the release trailer for Gold Road, I wasn't impressed. I figured they would have an EPIC storyline for the 10 year anniversary, nope, that announcement was lack luster at best. I'm not sure if I'll EVER go back. I had originally typed my experience with ESO, but it came to be a story, so I left my final straw reason.
I love how community managers and anyone in the PR go silent any time controversial things get brought up, always makes you acknowledge that they are NOT on your side, they're getting paid by the people you are disagreeing with.
"That's rich" is a phrase used to point out the irony or hypocrisy in someone's criticism or complaint by highlighting their own contradictory actions or circumstances12. It is often used in a sarcastic tone and is meant to be humorous or dramatic1. The phrase is used when you find someone's statement or action hypocritical or ironic1. It is a way to express sarcasm or disbelief towards their comments2. Rich Lambert
The developers have clearly put their resources devoted to short term players, for the most part, rather than making any concerted effort to retain a player base
Which is completely idiotic, why would they NOT want to retain long term players?! I'm not involved in the gaming industry but common sense tells me I would rather have loyal long term players than X amount who just come and go so to speak.
Because they’re developing a second MMO, because Elder scrolls 6 will eventually be released, and ESO will lose players. They’re abandoning ship and draining it of every dollar it’s worth
You played original Morrowind music. You win. Ok, time to chime in. Rich Lambert needs to be fired. He is an embarrassment and a liar. He told us nothing could be added to Cyrodiil until the servers were fixed. We'll Rich, the servers are fixed, where is our new stuff? In general, open world pvp and bgs are so cancerous, the next new class should be Oncologist. Great content!
I mean, they said they were adding a pvp update this year on Q3... BUT they also said it was not going to be Cyrodiil related And that doesn't make all the years of neglect okay, so... Why am I commenting this? Idk, I'm just an annoying "ummm actually" nerd 💀
People who are creating the games are mostly passionate about their work and trying to do their best. Sadly above them there are company owners and investors who are greedy as f**k and destroying gamers experience.
Crown crates / loot boxes are the worst part of ESO. All the cool looking cosmetics and mounts are locked behind those gambling mechanics. Pacrooti is the NPC that you interact with to gamble in the game, and he is probably the most hated NPC in the game lol.
Very well put together video. I love ESO, was my favorite game for years. I've stopped playing last year for many reasons, but ZOS greed was a big factor in that decision. Maybe one day I will come back when they make some big changes. copium 🙏
They won't. All those people's mortgages, car and student loans depend on folks shelling out real, hard-earned money for shiny pixels for a game that was already outdated when it launched 10 years ago. Yes, and I was one of those saps too. I actually left the game in 2017 for 2.5 years because of crown crates; thought they were disgusting. When I came back I did spend a bit of money on them, but not a lot - not more than the equivalent of buying a new game 2-3 times a year. Still, in retrospect, it was a waste, as I stopped completely playing the game last Spring. I also refused to subscribe when I came back. Found ways around needing the crafting bag using alt accounts and opening guild banks, and buying DLC with in-game gold. It was kind of satisfying playing the game consistently without giving them any sub money, hah!
Since players can’t go to the forums to voice they’re concerns without being censored or threatened with being banned. it’s nice to see content creators call them out on the bs on a platform they can’t control. Good job. I always enjoy these videos.
Whenever I get those crown soul gems from the daily reward system I just destroy them, because they are a unique item and take an extra slot in my inventory.
i actually quit playing the game back in 2019 after realizing i was addicted to crown crates... literally spent about $5000.00 in about 3 years.. so yeah had to quit.. so i get it.. but they are completely predatory
Good content and good points. Now that i have played many other mmo games, it even still amazes me how much in them i get rewards by actually playing the game and doing stuff, and not just buying from cash store like in ESO was, i had normalized that so much in my mind, that when started to play FF14 for example i kept being amazed for the first half a year all the time from 2 things: The game WORKS perfectly without lag AND i get rewarded with cool stuff by just playing and no credit card needed. In my mind the whole "Crown Crate seasons" had almost become content, even there was no content other than expensive stuff to buy. X) I still hear Scamcrootis lies and words in my head sometimes when i go to sleep. He promises i have a lucky aura, but always gives just Crown Poison bottles. I hate that mangy khajiit.
Been around the ESO block a few times, at least 16,000+ hours, probably a lot more. Now when i think of ESO & ZoS it puts me in mind of the final area of GTA III when a random street-walker strolls up to your character and asks, "Does this look infected to you?"
I moved over to Final Fantasy XIV 2+ years ago. The difference between ESO and Final Fantasy XIV is night and day. You mentioned in your video that all MMO's have a virtual currency. But Final Fantasy XIV does not. They do have a cash shop, but no loot boxes. What you buy, you get. No gambling. I was actually checking how many mounts I've gotten since starting Final Fantasy XIV and as of right now i have 140 and ALL but 3 were EARNED in game. And I still have many I haven't earned yet. I think Zenimax could learn a thing or 2 from Final Fantasy.
Yea I love that what I buy is what I get no gambling needed. FF14 has its ups and downs but it's by far got more earnable in game rewards for your efforts than ESO.
Regarding more crown sales, I worked at a large retailer years ago (so things may have changed). Employees were told that federal laws regulated the number of sales, and if there were too many over a set time period, a retailer could get into legal issues. Again, I'm not sure if this is currently the case or applies in this case.
I don't understand why zenimax do not put a website or an online interface to buy/sell crowns with ingame currency. Some games do that, they have a currency you can use to buy monthly or year susbscription to play the game further with your ingame currency, not a credit card (even some do that to get the currency in question). The platform is directly connected to your ingame bank and you select how much currency you want, then you buy, it's instant credit, you buy a pack online or a subscription giving more map access to the game or you keep to resell higher to et more ingame bank currency. Some people even play game like that to have a billionary bank account on a main character by moving from a server to another. That's the principe of a national bank, the company game can inject this currency to a price, and people then buy it or not, this game do have a market graph to follow the hourly rate
Stopped playing shortly after High Isle...didn't even made it to the Lost Depths update =P Greedy cash shop, bugs, performance issues and the constant back and forth with combat changes just pisses me off.
The year is 2030: you are required to pay $499 to be allowed to take part in a limited Uber-Crowns sale, which is a new currency that is 2x more expensive and is used to upgrade normal Crowns to a higher quality, which can be then used to purchase new crates, which have a 0.01% chance to drop a single use consumable item allowing you summon a new exclusive mount for 10 minutes.
47:33 *slow claps* Well done. LOL. I completely agree. Over 4k hrs in this game, no one made me, but have spent more money than I should've on things, and even spent money to go the 9 year Celebration in Vegas. Now none of the main players I played with in the community even play anymore because of monetization, and other reasons. I get it's a business, and you have to make revenue, but it's a shady model, and the extreme amount of micro transactions and scummy monetization needs to stop.
Hi Azura, Thanks for the deep insight. I have seen many of those issues already before, but since I'm not a full time player, I missed out on some of them. Nevertheless, ESO is visually quite a good looking one, I might still play it from time to time, but mostly cause of visuals and music, dont really find much value in else. Story is ok at some instances. I paid ESO + for a while till I realized that crafting IRL is more interesting and rewarding in the end.
Other than that, I agree, that these measures are mesmerizing at best, I have never purchased a crate because I totally refuse any kind of gambling, and crates are exactly that, nothing more or nothing less.
Some people may have been in different situation, I personally don't fall for gambling and lotteries, but I don't know how it works for everyone. ESO's and ZOS's business plan is definitely deceptive, from what I see now.
I have seen a few annoucements of that bastard "game master", designer, or whatever he is supposed to be called, but I didn't know he was such a xxxkweed. Well, he was most likely drunk when he did it, but still unacceptable. Attitude towards paying players, ppl who pay his wage!!! He is clueless.
Yeah prices of eso houses is insane ! I'd like to add that they sometimes give houses for free but it just create a big frustration if you miss the occasion and you'll just buy it when it returns for crowns in the store. And free houses are really easy to miss because you have a limited time to reclaim them. Edit : and they often are available in the end of the year, when you spend time with your familly not, paying attention that you have enough event tickets tonbuy the last part of the last tier event reward.
![The MYSTERIOUS Gamemasters of ESO | Where are they? | + GIVEAWAY!!! [Ended]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/bbM7b7ujOoU/mqdefault.jpg)
![The MYSTERIOUS Gamemasters of ESO | Where are they? | + GIVEAWAY!!! [Ended]](/img/tr.png)
daedric prince complains once again
follow me on twitter: twitter.com/Azuraaaaaaaaa_
One thing I'd add about the lack of value is the reskinning of everything. The laziness. and lack of creativity is absolutely unreal.
The worst part is just how far gone the community is. You can carefully articulate just how detrimental this stuff is and still be met with everything from "Don't like it, don't play it" to victim blaming those with an adiction to gambling.
Major props to you for making a video rightfully criticising all of this. It can't be easy when the playerbase is so willing to defend their own exploitation.
Since about 2018, some form of Stockholm syndrome started appearing in gaming (and entertainment media focused communities and fandoms generally) en masse.
Reddit communities for specific games and series are the absolute worst, and the meme subreddits for games more often than not become the only place nuanced discussion or criticism happens.
It's same for GW 2 too.People who have nothing but one game in their life established a cult and defending to game no matter what their mission for "protecting" to game from critism.İn 2019 GW2 abandon raids like they did in dungeons and pvp and people critize this pushed back by Gw 2 cultist and Arena net partners for new content being better old content doesnt work because its too hard.İn truth Gw 2 didnt bring a better content just more easy to make content.Also because of lack of improvement and practice in Gw 2 people who reach to late game had no idea how to utilize their characters.And this cultist had simple answer for people critize to game "LOVE or LEAVE" so many people left.And you seeing Gw 2 barely seeing 500 people in twitch old maps having difficulty to gather players.İF they had that megaserver system game would be dead by now
Gina doesn't do a good job of hiding her writing style when she posts on Reddit using her fake player accounts. It has been pointed out several times.
"I get really tired of being called a greedy bastard" - Well firstly RIch, if everyone else is calling you that is the problem you or them? Secondly, if your tired of it then stop being a greedy bastard and stick up for the players instead of just being a gormless yes man.
There's an old saying in Australian business: Do you want to shear the sheep or do you want to slaughter the sheep?
When you have a regular, long term playerbase you need to take care of them but they will return the favour by buying your stuff on a regular basis.
When your playerbase is mostly short term, you have a very short window to make your money. If you leave a sour taste in their mouths, so be it because they're probably never coming back and you can then focus on the next load of customers.
The problem is due to a number of bad decisions and a certain patch, ESO lost a lot of the former but replaced them with a lot of the latter. Their monetisation practices reflect this but has also worsened the sitauation, speeding up the shift of replacing long term players with shorter term ones. Hence a spiralling feedback loop that will accelerate over time.
At some point, even with trillions of people in the world, they will run out of customers. They are so cocky that they think it will never happen. People are going to get tired of the shit they pull and quite while others take their advice and don't start playing.
This is beautifully Said. Amazing analyzed!
very elegantly said and very true. I almost never shag sheep anymore, just shear em
They don't care about running out of people because they know some players return to ESO plus when nobody would play ESO anymore, they would have gain enough money and they'll just let it die. Amaright ?
Oh shit she went after the glass mount armor in oblivion. Nobody is safe
bethesda, you're next.........
I was watching his stream that day and one thing I love about it: he’s ranting about predatory practices while he’s cheesing the giantess boss in SCP. It’s a mild exploit but! Watching him and his group defeat a boss in an exploitative manner without blinking an eye never fails to make me smirk.
And Hoarcrux got in trouble for the whole exploit thing, laughable. I guess only devs can get away with things, surprise surprise.
As a recovering ESO addict, these videos are very therapeutic.
As a current eso addict, I know I need help. 😂
I try to be but ZOS keeps pushing me away
I'm addicted to Eso, rip
Lawyers: "We could get sued for predatory gambling practices"
Zenimax: "How can I slightly change what I'm doing but still get away with completely robbing my customers?"
Lawyers: "........Endeavors..."
Azura out here doing the hard work. As someone who loves ESO, but is sometimes frustrated with the devs and or company responsible for it, thank you for this video. They'll never change unless we are loud about it and you are vocal AND do your research!
Not too loud and vocal though, we know how they treated Hoarcrux; they want all of us to have rose colored glasses on all the time and not see the ugly stuff under the rug. 😉
ESO is not the game it was. It is a game based on hanging out while you brag about what house you spent hundreds of dollars irl money. While sitting a top the latest crown store mount.
@@davidoswald5749 What happend with Hoarcrux?
or what about u stop playing it. nothing says change like STOP playing.
I've been playing since beta for ESO, and while I absolutely love this MMORPG and some of the changes they've made throughout the years such as One Tamriel, the new CP system and Mythic items, I absolutely hate how abusive the crown store is. Mounts should not take 180 days to completely level up, nor should I feel the need to purchase research skips because of a problem that ZOS could easily fix. They create a problem to sell you the solution. And I know a lot of those features weren't designed to make you buy items (since a lot of them existed before the store), but they can easily make some big QOL changes that would make everybody like the game more.
heres a TIP stop playing. its that easy.
God that Rich clip at the end is one of the most infuriating things I've ever seen, and the chat defending him makes it even worse. I wish people would just wake up and realize how utterly consumed by greed ZoS is and would at least stop buying predatory crown store items and crown crates altogether to watch ZoS's attitudes change at light speed once they realize how much money they're losing.
I agree with rich. People act victimized by the crownstore constantly. Its hysterical
You are incompetent 🤡@@Karbsguy
@@The_Gravemind nah I just have a different perspective. I don’t jump on the bandwagon that the reason the game sucks is because of the crown store. Nice take though.
@@Karbsguy i think it's definitely undeniable that zos takes advantage of new players though. that's just a fact.
@@praiselinny I never once felt taken advantage of when I played. I just don’t see it. It’s just my opinion doesn’t mean I’m right but I don’t see it.
Hope this video gets solid exposure, Zenimax's treatment of ESO and its community is long overdue for some justice in so many ways.
Didn't even know that Azura The Daedra Prince have her own UA-cam channel - subscribed immediately. All hail Azura!
Really really well put together video; I watched the entire thing! I just started playing ESO and making videos on it and I really appreciate how "beginner friendly" this video is. I never fully understood the ESO+ system (or that it had a craft bag) and what crowns were used for. I inherited my dad's old account so he had a bunch of stuff on it already, but this really helped explain all the "stuff" I see pop-up on screen.
I'm all about the solo experience and just basically playing for the story. But I can totally sympathize with people who have been playing this game for 10 years. Regardless, as someone who never has/will dabble in cosmetics, mounts, furniture, etc. (simply because of my playstyle) this video was very enlightening!
I liked ESO a lot and saw a ton of potential in the game. It's a shame ZOS prioritized pumping out shitty cash shop items and copy and paste DLCs instead of working on strengthening the foundation of the game. Cyrodil has practically never been playable at peak times.... Ever.
Until Azura's videos and viewpoints started showing up, I suffered from "Heavy-eyelid Syndrome" With each new video, my eyes are opening a bit more. I feel what she is conveying here, does make sense and when I truly listen, this info is very helpful, both to me as a human and as a consumer. Much appreciate the viewpoints. Looking forward to more future vids. Thank you and Cheers!
Zenimax was the reason why I stayed away from ESO.
I wanted to play it, but it's monetization kept me away.
I don't foresee me ever joining. There's plenty of games out there now.
I don't have to play anything I'm not confident is a good value product. I understand your company needs to survive. But this looks like more than that. I don't like all the different currencies. And this game charges what many games give for free. It just screams SuS.
As player with 4000+ hours i can say you are absolutely right and like to point up the pay to win aspect in new chapters. If you want to do endgame content like dungeon or raid trifectas or just want to put out the most dmg or do meta builds, every year you have to buy the new chapter (or wait one year till it is an dlc within eso plus). There is always something that you would need for that kind of content: Necro, various mythic items, Arcanist... and after one year this particular item/class gets nerfed.
I also think an abo model for a mmo is mostly justified b/c devs and serves etc have to be payed but the monetization here is bad and the stuff you can earn form playing the game sucks in comparison to the stuff you can purchase.
Pulling the money out of peoples pockets is a problem in the hole gaming industry and we need to do something about it!
Totally agree, OP. The reasons 'chasing the meta' is a scam are because: 1. you're not playing the game your way, you're playing exactly how the uninformed, vapid devs want you to play. 2. This means you have to buy the latest expansion and DLC regularly. 3. Then they nerf it 3 months later. 4. so for many that means they get a couple weeks of play time with it after they've spent months grinding for the set pieces for it. Lather, rinse, repeat... year after year.
45:00 "Of course hard drugs should be legal. If you don't like the addiction then just don't buy them. Don't like to be in a car crash? Just don't use them! Got robbed in the streets? Just stay indoors. It's your responsibility after all. Easy peasy, kiddo."
When i hear microtransactions my mind fills with rage and disbelief at the same time while still pondering if i should or not but now it's numbness with a NO 😅.
exactly. when was the last time that was acceptable, 2004?
I think this molag bal polymorph being crown store only is a slap in the face to anyone who did all the events to get the pet and personality.
Lol
Buy ESO+
Buy crowns
Buy crown crates
👍
Amazing Video! Glad i found your Channel and hope it lets people see , how bad the monetization got over the Years.
I honestly feel like so many would be upset if they removed crates. It's absolutely insane
You're probably right. Most ESO players are such goddamn marks/Most people with at least some awareness and self respect are steering clear.
They should slap a label on any game with gambling or loot boxes with Adult rating, and label it clearly as a game that contains such things. And hopefully there is regulation to crack down on these things in the future.
Back when gold to crown rates were lower, pre-pandemic, i used to farm and make gold making my main priority and did that for a few years. It was my "incentive" and "motivation" for playing the game.
As time went on, and the gold to crown prices increased, i started playing less cause i was getting burnt out. I now buy no crowns with gold anymore, and just focus on trying to enjoy the game for what it is. It's more relaxing.
I stopped subbing to ESO+ as well, since i stopped doing writs, since i saved some gold from before.
I love TES franchise, and even ESO, i have a love hate relationship with. Sadly, i dont feel comfortable recommending this game to any of my friends due to the traps and pitfalls it has with monetization.
Hey love your vids! Sucks you were gone for a bit but glad you're back on here. Your one of the few subs i keep the notifications on so keep up the good work and looking forward to your next! Take care.
That part when you mention the starter kits and how new players wouldn’t know any better … yeah I absolutely fell victim to that thinking I needed them hell I even purchased dlc I didn’t need when I had eso plus … I made too many mistakes with the crown store and there was nothing informing me that I am wasting my money until another player told me
thats so messed up
Seriously, f-that horse armor!
As a new player, I was on the fence about staying or going with ESO - I love Elder Scrolls, but good god the monetization of ESO is insane. This video helped me put a lot of things into context that I was missing as someone who hasn't followed ESO development over the years and that Rich clip at the end was eye-opening to say the least, gonna chill with FF14 for now.
Excellent video, definitely subbed.
Pretty sad that you watched this video and it destroyed your desire to play it. This is why this video is terrible. It’s an almost hour long banter about micro transactions that don’t affect you playing the game. Hate that you’re going to miss out on the best elder scrolls game in the series.
@@Karbsguy You are purposefully missing the point. Which is that the over monetization of cosmetic rewards has led to a lackluster gameplay experience.
Because in any MMO, and really any game, it cosmetic reward is something that you were able to earn through gameplay. And cosmetic items were a huge motivating factor for things like achievements.
This game almost removed incentive for playing that content.
And its use of FOMO in tactics that are clearly designed to take advantage of new players is really crappy.
I don’t know why you’re bothering to defend it. We all know that half of the items in the cash app would be put to better use as in rewards.
@@jacobodom8401 I don’t feel like I’m missing the point. The best cosmetic mounts in the game come from perfect trial runs. It’s not that they necessarily look better but it’s the clout. Same with titles. I look at players with radiant apex mounts and I think wow this person spends money. I look at someone with godslayer and I say wow they’re a god. Endless archive is great, tales of tribute is great, the only gripe I have against the game right now is its mistreatment towards PvP. That’s a whole issue in itself. And that gets completely glossed over with hardly any thought in this video. It’s mentioned but no real discussion on it. So it goes back to crying about the crown store.
@@Karbsguy there are definitely better mounts in the crown store, then there are in the trials. Save for maybe one mount.
And fine, it doesn’t bother you, OK. But it bothers most people. It is one of the contributing factors as to why the game is not as popular as it could be. Because it is notorious for its monetization.
Because a new player coming into the game and seeing cool mounts only to find out that they’re behind gambling crates is an extreme turn off.
That is just common sense.
I know a number of people who I got to tryout the game, who shortly left, and mentioned how the monetization was one of the reasons they did.
Now, yes, the lack of updates to PVP is certainly a problem. And the crown store is part of that problem. Because the game has largely focused more resources on short term gains rather than players who are invested. Like the PVP players.
But complaining about a video that is specifically about monetization practices for not doing a deep dive about the lack of PVP updates, doesn’t really make any sense. And in all honesty, sounds like the topic of a completely separate video.
She made the point of how the companies extreme focus on monetization has left other areas in the game lacking, one of them being PVP. That’s all that needs to be said for this particular topic.
You are incompetent 🤡@@Karbsguy
A very good and concise video. Congratulations for this work, Azura.
ZOS couldn't fix green incap cost bug for... 4 years (2019-2023).
In that 4 years I've finished Master's degree, buried half of the family, get multiple sclerosis and AxSp...
But u could guess how much crown stuff was added lol.
Nobody even talks about class balance and PvP content at all through all years passed
or the lightning staff bugs that have been around forever. had to switch my magicka sorcerer to dual fire staff so i don't lose my mind trying to heavy attack ANYTHING. wish they would fix the one of FOUR magicka based weapons in the game.
stuck - in - combat, 10 years and counting. Zenimax is a company of incompetent frauds.
It took me about a 7 month grind, using the endeavors, to buy a radiant mount. The crown crates is a crime, especially when you can only unlock face markings.
The oblivion quest update sound instantly brought me back lol
"I get tired of being called a greedy bastard"... Do you think, Rich, that maybe you could cut down on that by NOT BEING A GREEDY BASTARD? I mean, if you're going to do it, you can't be upset when someone calls you on it. Merely saying that your critics' definition of greed is merely an opinion doesn't cut it.
Their monetization and lack of in game rewards is the main reason I only play ESO casually. It's boring to complete quests, do dungeons and walk out with basically nothing. There's really very little dopamine to be had. Course, I've had a subscription since 2014 and have never bought a crown outside of that. They're happy to take my money though. The crown crates are the only 'fix' you can get but even then it's so disappointing. There was a trump on the board of zenimax......... just sayin. Guild wars 2 has better in game rewards.
Good Vid 👍
thank you, my british canine friend
I miss you complaining about eso. Was always a great laugh.
@sawmanUK i thought u didnt care about eso 🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨
Sawman subbed on your channel too, will you ever come back to eso? Dumb question i know lmao sorry to ask lol
@@joecatapano710 Well, they have promised something new for PvP coming later this year... Let's see if doggo can be lured back.
Before even watching this vid I wanna say thanks Azuraaaaaaaaa!
Wow. Like she said. I finally gave it up and started Skyrim a few weeks ago. I would like to add that the regular "special" events seem designed to draw players back, but rewards are still mostly junk so I only participate when I can get extra experience or materials bonuses, which have practical use. Finally, it's "exploitative," not "exploitive," Zenimax dummies. This was new, this level of contempt actually vocalized, although it's been clear in game for a long time.
Gina is just a glorified stream hoster and patch note reposter, Jessica does even less but is Gina's "manager". This right here is a big part of the issue with ZOS, everyone is a "manager" with no-one or almost no one to manage.
Both of them demonstrate poor knowledge of the game and neither are even good at it. By there own admission in the last stream. :/
No clip of grandma lambert saying "Wah Wah Wah"? :(
Wtb granny Lambert emote! 21000 crowns!
Too expensive? Waaah waaah waaah!
I dare say that was probably more honesty about how they feel about PvP players than anything they've said before or since in their official communications. People say, "Oh, it was just his wife. He didn't say it. He was even mortified when she said it." First, where did she come by that opinion? From Rich. And. second, he was mortified because she said the quiet part out loud, not because he didn't agree. And he's never appologized since. Fuck that clown.
My personal fav is the selling of vamp and ww cures when its only a few hundred gold from in game npc. That's not taking advantage of new players? It's certainly not a "time saver".
I’m smiling so hard that this is an hour long about zos shenanigans but also pissed off aswell. Think I just self diagnosed myself with bipolar.
SHENANIGANS
In case it wasn't mentioned, GW2 does have a shop but you can literally exchange gold for the shop currency.
Also take a look at Warframe which has trade for currency
@@jacobodom8401 I mean, ESO doesn't even have a proper auction outside of guild traders that are about as convenient as calling 911 using a carrier pigeon.
Now now, ZOS doesn't make money if we can trade gold for crowns, don't be silly. (Sarcasm of course) that would actually be a great idea, though I guess seals of endeavor is their way to half ass that idea.
The Morrowind music keeps giving me childhood flashbacks of exploring Solstheim for the first time in the Bloodmoon DLC.
Awesome video, thank you--you hit the nail on the head about the reward system and the problem with the crown store, FOMO--the whole thing. I am constantly complaining to my online friend group (most of whom do not even play the game and are tired of my bickering) about how greedy Zenimax is and how much better this game could be.
I can't believe Rich said that in a stream... He has to be extremely out of touch.
When it comes to Pay 2 Win I like to remind people that the system you mentioned "crown gifting" is not just about players getting items with in-game gold, it's also people buying in-game gold with real money. At least from my perspective, this is true P2W, gold can be used to buy meta gear, PVP gear, upgrade items to max out gear, expensive enchants, potions, etc...
I have something else to add! How about the crown store showing actual prices in euros and dollars instead of an purchasable limited currency like crowns/gems?? It would be so much harder to trick people into buying 150 euros for one house. That one feels so unbelievable scrummy!
That's true, however if they did this then the crates would be illegal in lots of countries (not a bad thing). When doing some research ages ago, lots of countries have gambling legislation around virtual gambling when you are basically buying stuff directly for money. Since you don't exactly buy crates and have to buy virtual currency to buy them, it doesn't fall under virtual gambling laws.
This is a very important video and I hope every new player who wants to start playing eso watches it. I played from 2017-2022 and only reason I stuck around after 2020 because I had fun raiding with my friends, but eventually it became too frustrating to keep playing this game because of everything you stated in this video (and that’s not even talking about all the bugs that are present at all times and take MONTHS for them to fix).
That being said, while zos made me want to quit the game, what really sealed the deal for me was seeing all the enabling from certain parts of the “community”, which means that things will never change because there are so many people who defend zos all over the internet. Just take a look at the comments on Rich’s stream, absolutely appalling bootlicking.
Your makeup always looks so beautiful, you're so great at it! Seductive & fits perfect for daedric princes Azura
On the soul gems, respecs etc they should add a disclaimer like: "Please note, these are also available in game from xxxxxx". Then at least the buyer is aware of what they are buying and not just purchasing because they weren't informed about how to do this for free in the game.
You shouldn’t be able to do it unless you’ve done it before. This way the person knows and knows how to do it for free.
Great video and love your choice of music between segments :) Thank you for highlighting their sleazy tactics again and raising awareness. Maybe complaining directly to Microsoft is the way to go on some of these issues.
I'm actually surprised Rich was allowed to stream for as long as he did. I almost felt bad for ZOS having to deal with on-stream antics.
If you do not think that sentiment he shares is not shared within the entire studio then you're stupid.
That is the reason he stated things the way he did without hesitation or remorse.
They do not care.
Use your brain.
Greedmax Online Studios. Nice vid Azura. Hit nearly every mark.
Would like to note the eso+ exclusive durzog mount recently was not the only time they lock a mount purchase behind needing the sub. The ebon steel dwarven spider was first released in this method back in November 2018, then the following month in December made it available for non sub players. Whether or not the do the same with the durzog remains to be seen.
Membership has it's privileges, but an ugly exclusive store mount you still have to pay for isn't much of one.
ZOS have been an utter shit show for the last 5 years, ran by a bunch of clowns who do nothing but lie to, gaslight and ignore their playerbase while wheeling out their CEO twice a year to promise to "be better", something that NEVER comes to pass. Vast majority of the dev team were moved off of ESO 5 years ago to start working on their new MMO which is still behind closed doors. Honestly seems like ESO has more "managers" left than developers now with the last 5 years having more and more copy and paste DLC's, worse quality content and less content year on year. Huge portions of the game literally abandoned years ago, such as their "signature" game mode, Cyrodiil, leaving insane amounts of lag, latency, bugs and straight up broken systems. Game has literally been in "maintenance+" mode for the last 5 years.
Agreed, but I'd argue it has been in maintenance+ mode for 10 years.
Zenimax statement just proves that game devs live in ivory towers.
Another trend that is incredibly frustrating is the re-skinning... like the indrik, or arms packs, etc... I mean, it might be a different color or with a different "glow" but, other than that, it's the EXACT same thing.
In reality, you only need one mount. They all do the exact same thing. The only difference are the pixels on your screen. Yes, I learned that the hard way $$$.
So i started to play it on console with my brother . Than i move to pc played there with my wife and guess what Eso lost all of us because of the devs , i used to make community events and participate i class videos but the devs lost me and my friends family members nobody that i knows plays the game anymore we moved to Bdo WoW and Final Fantasy and you showed all of the reasons why we quit Eso good job on the video :) i loved this game now i hate what has happened to it
I've also spent 100s of my own hard earned money for years on this game. It's a money sink. I've been playing 2019-2023.
That's sad. You haven't even played that long. Like... what are you doing?
Any amount of time is too damn long on a game that doesn't care about you.@@atonofspiders
Skill issue ngl(coming from somebody who's spent a lot of money on yugioh cards)
@@atonofspiders what is zos doing? Hybridization leads to homogenization, PVP kept getting worse, classes losing their identities, etc. Etc.
I've played long enough to know that the game is dogwater.
@@Cyrius203 skill issue? On who's part? Mine? It definitely wasn't a skill issue, it didn't take much skill when you learn animation canceling, rotations, maintaining uptime on buffs, weaving, etc. Sure there's a learning curve, but it doesn't take 9 years to master 🤣
And I play MTG, which has a steeper skill curve than Yu-Gi-Oh.
It sucks that this is the only MMO that I truly love from all aspects. I started in 2019 and stopped after High Isles out of principle. I can no longer entertain their greed and predatory marketing strategy. I really wish for their downfall so bad.
I'm unsure if its me being naive but I feel pretty confident that if they removed all the useless consumables from the crown store and its crates, and then removed duplicates from crates, people would be significantly more inclined to purchase them. ZOS would likely get the same amount of money if not more from crates because then crown crates become a collection that you can be sure you could complete or at least get many items from, assuming you still get 4 items per crate with no duplicates or consumables, it probably wouldn't take too many crates to max the crate out. Then add maybe a way to get a good few crates in game per month for free, and if you complete the collection you get the crate itself as a furnishing collectable. Yes it would still be somewhat gambling, but it would certainly be a lot more reasonable than this asinine system we have right now.
I quit ESO after 7 years of subscriptions in 2021, and I'm happy that I didn't put a lot of money in extra crowns or crates. I've seen others stuffing a good fortune in it for ... nothing but s**t. Don't get me wrong, the game is great, but the greed is real. To resist the FOMO is not easy for a lot of people.
keep up the great work!
Thank you for once again reaffirming my decision to walk away from this game.
Horrible performance, repetitive uninspired gameplay, wild swings in buff/nerf "balance", a neglected PvP scene...and the icing on the cake, extreme almost criminal greed.
Addiction is no justification to support this game. The thing about addiction is that it can, and should be, cured.
You get a sub for exposing ESO for what it is, and educating the player base!
I just picked up ESO after an 8 year brake. I dont blame the studio for promoting the shop, they have to earn money to keep the game alive. But its obvious they develop everything with monetization in mind. The game is so bland, I just open the shop out of sheer boredom. I always loved the depth of the game, the amount of things to do, the engaging design of customizing builds and everything. But they do so little with it.
As far as the crowns.... The value is shit, the amount of gems you receive for duplicate rewards is an insult. Compare the gems you receive for a duplicate item to the gem cost of that same item in the crown store. Here's an idea, 21000 crowns for $150? ZOS, sell the entire Crown crate rewards for $150, maybe $175 to include the Radiant Apex mounts. At least I'd know what I was getting for my hard earned money, instead of gambling. It's greed, plain and simple.
I've played since beta, I uninstalled ESO in February after I saw the release trailer for Gold Road, I wasn't impressed. I figured they would have an EPIC storyline for the 10 year anniversary, nope, that announcement was lack luster at best. I'm not sure if I'll EVER go back. I had originally typed my experience with ESO, but it came to be a story, so I left my final straw reason.
That description is very thorough.
I love how community managers and anyone in the PR go silent any time controversial things get brought up, always makes you acknowledge that they are NOT on your side, they're getting paid by the people you are disagreeing with.
Streamers bootlicking giant companies is the ultimate cringe.
For real, though; Right!?!
Another peak, introspective video
Thank you! 💙
Omg K i didnt know u had a youtube >.> after all our trialing together i never knew :0 well im subbed now
"That's rich" is a phrase used to point out the irony or hypocrisy in someone's criticism or complaint by highlighting their own contradictory actions or circumstances12. It is often used in a sarcastic tone and is meant to be humorous or dramatic1. The phrase is used when you find someone's statement or action hypocritical or ironic1. It is a way to express sarcasm or disbelief towards their comments2.
Rich Lambert
The developers have clearly put their resources devoted to short term players, for the most part, rather than making any concerted effort to retain a player base
Which is completely idiotic, why would they NOT want to retain long term players?! I'm not involved in the gaming industry but common sense tells me I would rather have loyal long term players than X amount who just come and go so to speak.
Because they’re developing a second MMO, because Elder scrolls 6 will eventually be released, and ESO will lose players.
They’re abandoning ship and draining it of every dollar it’s worth
You played original Morrowind music. You win.
Ok, time to chime in. Rich Lambert needs to be fired. He is an embarrassment and a liar. He told us nothing could be added to Cyrodiil until the servers were fixed. We'll Rich, the servers are fixed, where is our new stuff? In general, open world pvp and bgs are so cancerous, the next new class should be Oncologist.
Great content!
I mean, they said they were adding a pvp update this year on Q3... BUT they also said it was not going to be Cyrodiil related
And that doesn't make all the years of neglect okay, so... Why am I commenting this? Idk, I'm just an annoying "ummm actually" nerd 💀
Agreed. Rich is a terrible creative lead.
The last line made me lose my shit that was good
Rich and I are best friends, clearly lol 😂
Still love how you called him out! Lol
u are my star cap:) i hope zos will get rid of him
I just find it annoying they intentionally add inconveniences to the game just so they can sell you convenience items.
haha the legend himself
People who are creating the games are mostly passionate about their work and trying to do their best. Sadly above them there are company owners and investors who are greedy as f**k and destroying gamers experience.
Did you not see the creative director or...?
Like brudda, the rot has made its way to the dev team, it's not just boogymen investors and CEOs
Crown crates / loot boxes are the worst part of ESO. All the cool looking cosmetics and mounts are locked behind those gambling mechanics. Pacrooti is the NPC that you interact with to gamble in the game, and he is probably the most hated NPC in the game lol.
Very well put together video. I love ESO, was my favorite game for years. I've stopped playing last year for many reasons, but ZOS greed was a big factor in that decision. Maybe one day I will come back when they make some big changes. copium 🙏
They won't. All those people's mortgages, car and student loans depend on folks shelling out real, hard-earned money for shiny pixels for a game that was already outdated when it launched 10 years ago. Yes, and I was one of those saps too.
I actually left the game in 2017 for 2.5 years because of crown crates; thought they were disgusting. When I came back I did spend a bit of money on them, but not a lot - not more than the equivalent of buying a new game 2-3 times a year. Still, in retrospect, it was a waste, as I stopped completely playing the game last Spring.
I also refused to subscribe when I came back. Found ways around needing the crafting bag using alt accounts and opening guild banks, and buying DLC with in-game gold. It was kind of satisfying playing the game consistently without giving them any sub money, hah!
Im also from nz and the price difference from other regions is INSANE
Since players can’t go to the forums to voice they’re concerns without being censored or threatened with being banned. it’s nice to see content creators call them out on the bs on a platform they can’t control. Good job. I always enjoy these videos.
Thanks for this video. I wasn't aware they were this evil. Thank you for showing me.
Thank you for expressing your experience!
Must. Give. ZOS. More. Money.
Honestly? I was surprised that the mount amount was EVEN 5%, I thought it would be far lower.
the indriks are buffing the stats methinks
Whenever I get those crown soul gems from the daily reward system I just destroy them, because they are a unique item and take an extra slot in my inventory.
i actually quit playing the game back in 2019 after realizing i was addicted to crown crates... literally spent about $5000.00 in about 3 years.. so yeah had to quit.. so i get it.. but they are completely predatory
How do you spend that much money without realizing earlier
Good content and good points. Now that i have played many other mmo games, it even still amazes me how much in them i get rewards by actually playing the game and doing stuff, and not just buying from cash store like in ESO was, i had normalized that so much in my mind, that when started to play FF14 for example i kept being amazed for the first half a year all the time from 2 things: The game WORKS perfectly without lag AND i get rewarded with cool stuff by just playing and no credit card needed.
In my mind the whole "Crown Crate seasons" had almost become content, even there was no content other than expensive stuff to buy. X) I still hear Scamcrootis lies and words in my head sometimes when i go to sleep. He promises i have a lucky aura, but always gives just Crown Poison bottles. I hate that mangy khajiit.
Thanks for your inside and I saw it with my own eyes over the years I like to play the game but I try to stay out of the circus
Been around the ESO block a few times, at least 16,000+ hours, probably a lot more. Now when i think of ESO & ZoS it puts me in mind of the final area of GTA III when a random street-walker strolls up to your character and asks, "Does this look infected to you?"
Thanks for the outtakes ❤
Great video. Good game, but the monetization and neglect of PvP is out of hand
thank you Nyce!
One thing that would help pvp doesn't involve content. Making better use of battle spirit could go a long way.
@@MikeyP109 THIS 💯
And the gameplay is really fun the builds take a lot of thought but once you get it right it's so much more gratifying than any other MMO out there
I moved over to Final Fantasy XIV 2+ years ago. The difference between ESO and Final Fantasy XIV is night and day. You mentioned in your video that all MMO's have a virtual currency. But Final Fantasy XIV does not. They do have a cash shop, but no loot boxes. What you buy, you get. No gambling. I was actually checking how many mounts I've gotten since starting Final Fantasy XIV and as of right now i have 140 and ALL but 3 were EARNED in game. And I still have many I haven't earned yet. I think Zenimax could learn a thing or 2 from Final Fantasy.
Yea I love that what I buy is what I get no gambling needed. FF14 has its ups and downs but it's by far got more earnable in game rewards for your efforts than ESO.
Cannot wait for the open beta on Xbox. Some actual competition on that console for ZoS and it's gonna hurt em for sure.
@The_Gravemind hopefully you will like it. It's definitely a different gaming experience, but it's definitely a great game.
thanks for the clarification! is good to know.
Regarding more crown sales, I worked at a large retailer years ago (so things may have changed). Employees were told that federal laws regulated the number of sales, and if there were too many over a set time period, a retailer could get into legal issues. Again, I'm not sure if this is currently the case or applies in this case.
oh it would be interesting if that played a part in it maybe! i didn't even consider that.
I don't understand why zenimax do not put a website or an online interface to buy/sell crowns with ingame currency. Some games do that, they have a currency you can use to buy monthly or year susbscription to play the game further with your ingame currency, not a credit card (even some do that to get the currency in question). The platform is directly connected to your ingame bank and you select how much currency you want, then you buy, it's instant credit, you buy a pack online or a subscription giving more map access to the game or you keep to resell higher to et more ingame bank currency. Some people even play game like that to have a billionary bank account on a main character by moving from a server to another. That's the principe of a national bank, the company game can inject this currency to a price, and people then buy it or not, this game do have a market graph to follow the hourly rate
Stopped playing shortly after High Isle...didn't even made it to the Lost Depths update =P
Greedy cash shop, bugs, performance issues and the constant back and forth with combat changes just pisses me off.
Problem is the community just eats it up and poneys up the money at every opportunity. Who knew flashy things were so important?
The year is 2030: you are required to pay $499 to be allowed to take part in a limited Uber-Crowns sale, which is a new currency that is 2x more expensive and is used to upgrade normal Crowns to a higher quality, which can be then used to purchase new crates, which have a 0.01% chance to drop a single use consumable item allowing you summon a new exclusive mount for 10 minutes.
47:33 *slow claps* Well done. LOL. I completely agree. Over 4k hrs in this game, no one made me, but have spent more money than I should've on things, and even spent money to go the 9 year Celebration in Vegas. Now none of the main players I played with in the community even play anymore because of monetization, and other reasons. I get it's a business, and you have to make revenue, but it's a shady model, and the extreme amount of micro transactions and scummy monetization needs to stop.
Hi Azura, Thanks for the deep insight. I have seen many of those issues already before, but since I'm not a full time player, I missed out on some of them. Nevertheless, ESO is visually quite a good looking one, I might still play it from time to time, but mostly cause of visuals and music, dont really find much value in else. Story is ok at some instances. I paid ESO + for a while till I realized that crafting IRL is more interesting and rewarding in the end.
Other than that, I agree, that these measures are mesmerizing at best, I have never purchased a crate because I totally refuse any kind of gambling, and crates are exactly that, nothing more or nothing less.
Some people may have been in different situation, I personally don't fall for gambling and lotteries, but I don't know how it works for everyone. ESO's and ZOS's business plan is definitely deceptive, from what I see now.
I have seen a few annoucements of that bastard "game master", designer, or whatever he is supposed to be called, but I didn't know he was such a xxxkweed. Well, he was most likely drunk when he did it, but still unacceptable. Attitude towards paying players, ppl who pay his wage!!! He is clueless.
Yeah prices of eso houses is insane ! I'd like to add that they sometimes give houses for free but it just create a big frustration if you miss the occasion and you'll just buy it when it returns for crowns in the store. And free houses are really easy to miss because you have a limited time to reclaim them.
Edit : and they often are available in the end of the year, when you spend time with your familly not, paying attention that you have enough event tickets tonbuy the last part of the last tier event reward.