[Column] Elder Scrolls Online: Crafting Writs - A Reason to Log In Every Day

SBFord · October 2014

One thing that has always bugged me about The Elder Scrolls Online was the lack of a need to login to do something. As much as it bugs me to admit this, World of Warcraft did it right with dailies. Dailies give an additional reason to login every day, and give another avenue for players to feel like they are progressing. At least they had that in WoW, no so much ESO. However patch 1.5 is trying to change that.

Read more of Ryan Getchell's Elder Scrolls Online: Crafting Writs - A Reason to Log In Every Day.

aslan132 · October 2014

The major problem here is that ESO was released with a PVP focused "endgame". They put all their eggs in one basket (Cyrodill) and no amount of dailies or trials is going to force players to PVE. Now, PVP is broken, only one campaign is even used, and until they fix the issues with PVP, players are dropping like flies. Hopefully Imperial City will bring some back, but only if they fix things like Forward Camps, and oil and build exploits. *Crosses fingers*

Battlerock · October 2014

I agree, World of Warcraft did it right.

DrWookie · October 2014

Dailies are a lazy means of development. Please do not suggest more games need dailies.

Ides385 · October 2014

I like that they are adding dailies. This game was missing a reason for repeatable content. I think the undaunted system was a very good way to do it. I haven't got to run it yet because PTS didn't have anyone playing to make a group when I tried.

As far as progression, I think once the champion system rolls in we'll be better of there. You wont be stuck at VR14 anymore, so doing undaunted dailies will progress you (as anything would really). As far as writs though, if your already topped out in crafting they are only really helpful for getting mats. Though, they will be a nice way to progress your crafting if not maxed. I don't see my self doing writs unless I really need nirncrux.

Rukushin · October 2014

Originally posted by Torvaldr
I seriously can't believe that a mmorpg contributor would put forth that dailies are what is missing from an mmo. Dailies (quests, clickies, whatever) are a cheap mindless trope for the treadmill. If you need a "reason" to login to your game, then maybe it's time to find another game instead spinning your wheels.

Almost every mmo has them now instead of meaningful engagement. EQ2 did crafting writs right. You can do as many as your money and materials allow. There are easy writs that just need you to complete the writ. There are somewhat more challenging writs that are on a short timer and reward more.

WoW didn't do it right with dailies and neither has Rift, LotRO, EQ2, and every other mmo that has added them in that fashion. WoW has done almost nothing "right" except make an extremely polished engine. The rest of the game is just mediocre enough that people don't mind it. It's the Farmville of mmos with regards to depth of gameplay. People don't play it because it's good. They play it because it's an easy social chat room with the barest bones of an rpg over the top of it. They play it because their friends are playing it. It should never be used as the standard by which we judge good gameplay mechanics.

OMG YES! I agree completely and this could not be more important of a quote for devs to look at. WoW is garbage. I play simply because of my friends and that is all. If it wasn't for the social experience I'd have been gone. Dailies are HORRIBLE.

I quit WoW for a year because of them. More specifically because I rep grinded in order to have all of the enchants available for my friends and guild. Then blizzard turns around and makes it so that you no longer need to rep grind but can then buy all the enchants for almost no effort. I wasted my time doing something I hate, Rep Grind, to just be slapped in the face and see new players catch up to me in my journey in no time at all and compete with me in offering the same goods and services. Absolutely unacceptable. Dailies are an abomination to the MMO community and especially the player.

If you want to get people to log into your game on a daily basis then go back to the old days. For instance Matrix Online. Their devs would log in to the game and play as the major characters to drive the story arc along and create dynamic events, but actually be completely interactable.

What happen to real community events like that. They also used to happen like every month.

Sovrath · October 2014

Originally posted by Torvaldr
I seriously can't believe that a mmorpg contributor would put forth that dailies are what is missing from an mmo. Dailies (quests, clickies, whatever) are a cheap mindless trope for the treadmill. If you need a "reason" to login to your game, then maybe it's time to find another game instead spinning your wheels.

I completely agree. I hate "dailies". I tried them in Lord of the Rings Online "twice" and realized it was a waste and I tried it with Tera "once".

Hate them. Won't do them.

cronius77 · October 2014

whats wrong with these dailies? Some of you people just complain to complain for the sake of it here. These are designed to help crafters get traits and resources without having to hit the guild auction houses or spend days running around looking for resources. The undaunted are there so people revisit old dungeons since dungeons scale now with group leader level. This adds reasons for people to go back into the dungeons and keeps the new grouping system active. Some people here whine about any and everything no matter what a company does its pretty ridiculous.

Bladestrom · October 2014

To say dailies are good you are demonstrating a lack of experience, a lack of awareness of public opinion and no analytical skills.

Bladestrom · October 2014

I'm referring to the ! over the head for rep dailies. A daily reward that compliments existing content can work where it represents a layer of reward.

Simsu · October 2014

If games have dailies that's fine with me, but to say that they're the solution to the (any) problem makes me cringe. There are very few things I dislike in MMOs more than feeling like I have to log on every day to do some exceedingly boring task just to keep up with other people, to grind rep, or etc.

I fully understand that some people like them, but I just won’t do them – period.

Sovrath · October 2014

Originally posted by cronius77
whats wrong with these dailies? Some of you people just complain to complain for the sake of it here. These are designed to help crafters get traits and resources without having to hit the guild auction houses or spend days running around looking for resources.

I think you've hit the nail on the head. There is a schism in mmo players. Those who want "a world" where you would have to "run around" (which would be considered a good thing) or hit the auction house or trade with other players and those who want streamlined activities that take the place of the "world" feel.

It's a difference in mmo preference.

pantaro · October 2014

Originally posted by Torvaldr
I seriously can't believe that a mmorpg contributor would put forth that dailies are what is missing from an mmo. Dailies (quests, clickies, whatever) are a cheap mindless trope for the treadmill. If you need a "reason" to login to your game, then maybe it's time to find another game instead spinning your wheels.

Almost every mmo has them now instead of meaningful engagement. EQ2 did crafting writs right. You can do as many as your money and materials allow. There are easy writs that just need you to complete the writ. There are somewhat more challenging writs that are on a short timer and reward more.

WoW didn't do it right with dailies and neither has Rift, LotRO, EQ2, and every other mmo that has added them in that fashion. WoW has done almost nothing "right" except make an extremely polished engine. The rest of the game is just mediocre enough that people don't mind it. It's the Farmville of mmos with regards to depth of gameplay. People don't play it because it's good. They play it because it's an easy social chat room with the barest bones of an rpg over the top of it. They play it because their friends are playing it. It should never be used as the standard by which we judge good gameplay mechanics.

Truth!

MikeB · October 2014

I feel the game should be compelling enough on its own for me to want to login every day. If an MMO needs dailies to keep me logging in each day, then it becomes more of an obligation than a game. I play Marvel Heroes just about every day because I find the game fun. Gazillion sometimes run events that make me feel like I need to play every day and those are actually a huge turn off for me. My longest MMO runs (City of Heroes and Star Wars Galaxies) didn't have dailies and didn't need them for me to feel like logging in. To me, it's not just about logging in every day; it's what makes you want to login every day. If it's to complete daily quests, which, again, just feel like an obligation, I don't really consider that playing the game.

I don't know about anyone else, but the quickest way to get me to quit an MMO (or any game) is by making me feel like I need to login when I don't want to. This is especially true when I find myself taking a short break to play an awesome new non-MMO that's just come out and I've been looking forward to. The pressure that makes me feel like I should still login today, even though I'm focused on some other game (or busy with work or anything else), is often enough to get me to resent said MMO altogether. Multiply this feeling for every character I need to login and do these for. Games should always be entertainment, not chores.

If the game is feeling a bit stale, take a break until they add something that truly entices you to come back. I wouldn't pay $15/month for a game I'm finding stale and whose only new reason for me to log on is to do dailies. Come on, it's 2014. Games can and should do better than that.

TL;DR: I don't think the addition of dailies should ever be celebrated. As another user put it, they're lazy game design. Make your game genuinely fun and interesting and people will play it every day. I like ESO, but if people aren't logging in as much every day, the solution to the problem isn't dailies. That's a band-aid for a problem that runs deeper.

finefluff · October 2014

I dislike daily quests too. Games are for leisure but daily quests are a chore. That's why I never do them. It especially annoyed me in FF14 when some side story quests for the beast tribes were locked behind dailies. I don't mind repeatable quests though because they let you set your own pace.

Salute · October 2014

Originally posted by pantaro
Originally posted by Torvaldr
I seriously can't believe that a mmorpg contributor would put forth that dailies are what is missing from an mmo. Dailies (quests, clickies, whatever) are a cheap mindless trope for the treadmill. If you need a "reason" to login to your game, then maybe it's time to find another game instead spinning your wheels.

Almost every mmo has them now instead of meaningful engagement. EQ2 did crafting writs right. You can do as many as your money and materials allow. There are easy writs that just need you to complete the writ. There are somewhat more challenging writs that are on a short timer and reward more.

WoW didn't do it right with dailies and neither has Rift, LotRO, EQ2, and every other mmo that has added them in that fashion. WoW has done almost nothing "right" except make an extremely polished engine. The rest of the game is just mediocre enough that people don't mind it. It's the Farmville of mmos with regards to depth of gameplay. People don't play it because it's good. They play it because it's an easy social chat room with the barest bones of an rpg over the top of it. They play it because their friends are playing it. It should never be used as the standard by which we judge good gameplay mechanics.

Truth!

+2

Telondariel · October 2014

Originally posted by cronius77
whats wrong with these dailies? Some of you people just complain to complain for the sake of it here. These are designed to help crafters get traits and resources without having to hit the guild auction houses or spend days running around looking for resources. The undaunted are there so people revisit old dungeons since dungeons scale now with group leader level. This adds reasons for people to go back into the dungeons and keeps the new grouping system active. Some people here whine about any and everything no matter what a company does its pretty ridiculous.

^^ Bingo.

It's too bad Ryan can't see that perspective. I figure if you can't see a reason to log into the game anymore aside from what your guild schedules for you, then it's probably time to put your energies elsewhere. If anything, get someone with a neutral or positive bias, rather than a negative one, to write the ESO articles.

Cougan · October 2014

My eyes lit up when I read the bit about the survey reports leading you to areas littered with special nodes that give more materials!

bcbully · October 2014

Originally posted by MikeB
I feel the game should be compelling enough on its own for me to want to login every day. If an MMO needs dailies to keep me logging in each day, then it becomes more of an obligation than a game. I play Marvel Heroes just about every day because I find the game fun. Gazillion sometimes run events that make me feel like I need to play every day and those are actually a huge turn off for me. My longest MMO runs (City of Heroes and Star Wars Galaxies) didn't have dailies and didn't need them for me to feel like logging in. To me, it's not just about logging in every day; it's what makes you want to login every day. If it's to complete daily quests, which, again, just feel like an obligation, I don't really consider that playing the game.

I don't know about anyone else, but the quickest way to get me to quit an MMO (or any game) is by making me feel like I need to login when I don't want to. This is especially true when I find myself taking a short break to play an awesome new non-MMO that's just come out and I've been looking forward to. The pressure that makes me feel like I should still login today, even though I'm focused on some other game (or busy with work or anything else), is often enough to get me to resent said MMO altogether. Multiply this feeling for every character I need to login and do these for. Games should always be entertainment, not chores.

If the game is feeling a bit stale, take a break until they add something that truly entices you to come back. I wouldn't pay $15/month for a game I'm finding stale and whose only new reason for me to log on is to do dailies. Come on, it's 2014. Games can and should do better than that.

TL;DR: I don't think the addition of dailies should ever be celebrated. As another user put it, they're lazy game design. Make your game genuinely fun and interesting and people will play it every day. I like ESO, but if people aren't logging in as much every day, the solution to the problem isn't dailies. That's a band-aid for a problem that runs deeper.

You have a problem with crafting dailies? Seriously? Crafting dailies? I understand your stance in your post if it pertains to a possible future. A possible future where ZOS starts introducing dailies in the place of content like WoW or GW2, but crafting dailies? Crafting dailies for traits? We have a long way to go down that slop before it's time to stand on a soapbox.

MikeB · October 2014

Originally posted by bcbully
Originally posted by MikeB
I feel the game should be compelling enough on its own for me to want to login every day. If an MMO needs dailies to keep me logging in each day, then it becomes more of an obligation than a game. I play Marvel Heroes just about every day because I find the game fun. Gazillion sometimes run events that make me feel like I need to play every day and those are actually a huge turn off for me. My longest MMO runs (City of Heroes and Star Wars Galaxies) didn't have dailies and didn't need them for me to feel like logging in. To me, it's not just about logging in every day; it's what makes you want to login every day. If it's to complete daily quests, which, again, just feel like an obligation, I don't really consider that playing the game.

I don't know about anyone else, but the quickest way to get me to quit an MMO (or any game) is by making me feel like I need to login when I don't want to. This is especially true when I find myself taking a short break to play an awesome new non-MMO that's just come out and I've been looking forward to. The pressure that makes me feel like I should still login today, even though I'm focused on some other game (or busy with work or anything else), is often enough to get me to resent said MMO altogether. Multiply this feeling for every character I need to login and do these for. Games should always be entertainment, not chores.

If the game is feeling a bit stale, take a break until they add something that truly entices you to come back. I wouldn't pay $15/month for a game I'm finding stale and whose only new reason for me to log on is to do dailies. Come on, it's 2014. Games can and should do better than that.

TL;DR: I don't think the addition of dailies should ever be celebrated. As another user put it, they're lazy game design. Make your game genuinely fun and interesting and people will play it every day. I like ESO, but if people aren't logging in as much every day, the solution to the problem isn't dailies. That's a band-aid for a problem that runs deeper.

You have a problem with crafting dailies? Seriously? Crafting dailies? I understand your stance in your post if it pertains to a possible future. A possible future where ZOS starts introducing dailies in the place of content like WoW or GW2, but crafting dailies? Crafting dailies for traits? We have a long way to go down that slop before it's time to stand on a soapbox.

I don't like dailies, period. They're the equivalent of video game chores. I don't care what particular activity they govern as they are still chores in the end.

Mikeha · October 2014

I have no problem with things like this as long as its something that I don't have to do every day or I will fall behind.

Zandil · October 2014

I put dailies in the same basket as so called Heroic Dungeons, just taking the same old content and upping the difficulty is lazy.

ArcaneEyes · October 2014

At least Heroics adds an added level of difficulty, but at no point EVER should i "need a reason to log in" other than the game being hillariously fun or me being in the mood for it.

they're already taking my money, why do they want to waste my time as well?

DrWookie · October 2014

Whether they are crafting dailies or other dailies, it makes no difference to me.

I completely agree with MikeB. They are a HUGE turn off...they are the biggest factor in me quitting a game. They make the game feel like a chore. If I want to level up a crafting tree, I feel like a failure because if I don't log in every day I'm "missing out" on resources that people who do log in every day get. The content is boring. It's repetitive, and it exists solely to be repeated. There is no purpose to it except grind.

If you can't create content that is fun to play, and rewarding while "leveling up" some aspect of the game, then perhaps that aspect of the game is too grindy. You should never feel like you have to do something every single day for a month to get anywhere. I'm currently playing Archeage and I haven't TOUCHED the gilda star dailies. They make me want to vomit. I'm very pissed because I know that it means that I'm "behind" everyone else, but I don't care. It will ultimately be the reason I quit most likely.

bcbully · October 2014

Originally posted by DrWookie
Whether they are crafting dailies or other dailies, it makes no difference to me.

I completely agree with MikeB. They are a HUGE turn off...they are the biggest factor in me quitting a game. They make the game feel like a chore. If I want to level up a crafting tree, I feel like a failure because if I don't log in every day I'm "missing out" on resources that people who do log in every day get. The content is boring. It's repetitive, and it exists solely to be repeated. There is no purpose to it except grind.

If you can't create content that is fun to play, and rewarding while "leveling up" some aspect of the game, then perhaps that aspect of the game is too grindy. You should never feel like you have to do something every single day for a month to get anywhere. I'm currently playing Archeage and I haven't TOUCHED the gilda star dailies. They make me want to vomit. I'm very pissed because I know that it means that I'm "behind" everyone else, but I don't care. It will ultimately be the reason I quit most likely.

That's simply not the case. Again if your statement is about a possible future were dailies are like WoW or GW2 I would fully agree with you and Mike. No one here hates questing more than I do, therefore I hate dailies too.

Let me try to put it in perspective. In WoW at level cap you start doing dailies for rep/badges. Over a set period of time, if you do your dailies every day you will be able to buy a certain pieces of gear. Players feel compelled to do these dailies because if not they will fall behind.

This is simply not the case with ESO and this CURRENT system. This could change, but as it stands these crafting dailies are nothing more than something to do. There is nothing attached to them of value. Like I said, I see the slope, but it's much to early to stand on a soapbox. If you are doing so to insure that ESO doesn't go down the GW2/WoW route, then I understand.

I have my issues with ESO, but 200g crafting traits don't even make my list.

Ikeda · October 2014

Hahahahha

Bahahahaha

(holds up a finger to catch my breath)

HAHAHHAHAHA

Seriously, are you THAT disconnected from the community?

Dailies are a rep grind scenario that takes no effort and gives you cheap trinkets as a result of your work.

Why not make a game that has QUESTS that MAKE you want to play daily? Not compel. These "daily" games compel me to play in order to gain something paltry.

It's silliness.

While you are entitled to your opinion, people also had the opinion that the world was flat... and they were wrong.

What's worse is that your just throwing said opinion out there as if it's the majority. I don't believe it is. I believe you will find the actual numbers are split somewhere between 3 ways... 33% favor, 33% hate, and then 34% are on the fence about the issue... meaning the majority of players do NOT favor it.

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[Column] Elder Scrolls Online: Crafting Writs - A Reason to Log In Every Day

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