The Elder Scrolls Online » Discussions

Mailbox Banking, or: How I Learned to Stop Accidentally Dismantl

• Teccam

  

  Member
   

  July 24, 2015

  Howdy, all. Here's my first ESO tip. Hopefully more to follow soon!

  
  This trick is primarily geared toward console players, as I know there are some add-ons for PC that allow you to mark items for research, or lock them so you don't accidentally sell or dismantle them. Without add-ons, accidentally selling or dismantling items you meant to research is a very easy mistake to make. In addition to mitigating that risk, this trick has the added benefit of freeing up space in your bank and inventory.

  Sound interesting? Of course it does! So let me tell you how it's done.
  

  Before we get started, you will need a friend you trust, on the same platform (it needn't be restricted to the same alliance, just the same system). The Vault's group registry is a good place to start; I'm sure everyone here would be happy to help you out for this trick as it requires no sacrifice on their part. Once you've located a friend who is able and willing to help you, here's how you proceed:

  1. Send a mail message to the friend/assistant. In this message, attach any item(s) you wish to set aside for research. It's best to do it in small batches for optimal organization.
  2. OPTIONAL: Before sending the message, request that the recipient send you 1 coin in exchange for the items. This will highlight the message in their inbox as a gold request, making it easier for them to distinguish your message from hirelings or other messages.
  3. The friend/assistant must REFUSE your message/attachments, returning them to you.
  4. You will get a message in your inbox, with the item(s) attached!

  Simply wait to take the attachment(s) from the mailbox until you are ready to research. It's that easy!

  This trick can also be used to save recipes, motifs, and basically anything else you might want to hold on to — e.g., what if you're in the middle of a dungeon and you find a nice piece of loot, but you don't want to destroy anything to create a space for the new item? Just grab a buddy and use this trick to temporarily store a few items in your mailbox, and remove them next time you're in town with a few free inventory slots. Easy as pie!
  

  Note that it may take 5-10 minutes for the message to send and/or to bounce back to you once your friend returns it. So don't panic when it doesn't happen instantly.
  
  

  WARNING!

  Messages are automatically deleted after 30 days, so don't wait too long! There are perks in each crafting skill that limit research times to 30 days maximum anyways, so even in the endgame, this shouldn't be a hindrance in practice. If you really need to push that 30 day limit, make a reminder on your phone or computer so you don't forget to take the item before the message expires (or whenever your research cooldown ends).

  Other than the 30 day message limitation, the only other [minor] drawback to this trick is that there's a small fee to send messages. However, it's only a few coins; even low level characters should have no trouble justifying this price or locating the necessary funds.

  Howdy, all. Here's my first ESO tip. Hopefully more to follow soon!

  
  This trick is primarily geared toward console players, as I know there are some add-ons for PC that allow you to mark items for research, or lock them so you don't accidentally sell or dismantle them. Without add-ons, accidentally selling or dismantling items you meant to research is a very easy mistake to make. In addition to mitigating that risk, this trick has the added benefit of freeing up space in your bank and inventory.

  Sound interesting? Of course it does! So let me tell you how it's done.
  

  Before we get started, you will need a friend you trust, on the same platform (it needn't be restricted to the same alliance, just the same system). The Vault's group registry is a good place to start; I'm sure everyone here would be happy to help you out for this trick as it requires no sacrifice on their part. Once you've located a friend who is able and willing to help you, here's how you proceed:

  1. Send a mail message to the friend/assistant. In this message, attach any item(s) you wish to set aside for research. It's best to do it in small batches for optimal organization.
  2. OPTIONAL: Before sending the message, request that the recipient send you 1 coin in exchange for the items. This will highlight the message in their inbox as a gold request, making it easier for them to distinguish your message from hirelings or other messages.
  3. The friend/assistant must REFUSE your message/attachments, returning them to you.
  4. You will get a message in your inbox, with the item(s) attached!

  Simply wait to take the attachment(s) from the mailbox until you are ready to research. It's that easy!

  This trick can also be used to save recipes, motifs, and basically anything else you might want to hold on to — e.g., what if you're in the middle of a dungeon and you find a nice piece of loot, but you don't want to destroy anything to create a space for the new item? Just grab a buddy and use this trick to temporarily store a few items in your mailbox, and remove them next time you're in town with a few free inventory slots. Easy as pie!
  

  Note that it may take 5-10 minutes for the message to send and/or to bounce back to you once your friend returns it. So don't panic when it doesn't happen instantly.
  
  

  WARNING!

  Messages are automatically deleted after 30 days, so don't wait too long! There are perks in each crafting skill that limit research times to 30 days maximum anyways, so even in the endgame, this shouldn't be a hindrance in practice. If you really need to push that 30 day limit, make a reminder on your phone or computer so you don't forget to take the item before the message expires (or whenever your research cooldown ends).

  Other than the 30 day message limitation, the only other [minor] drawback to this trick is that there's a small fee to send messages. However, it's only a few coins; even low level characters should have no trouble justifying this price or locating the necessary funds.

• Ponty

  

  Member
   

  July 25, 2015

  This is also a popular way to circumvent inventory limits - items in your mailbox don't take up inventory space after all! I think this *is* classed as an exploit by the developers but I haven't heard of anyone being banned for it.

  Not sure if it's available on console but on PC you can send items to the Junk tab of your inventory and then sell them all at once when you reach a vendor. Easy to go through and start research/bank on all the stuff you want to keep.

  This is also a popular way to circumvent inventory limits - items in your mailbox don't take up inventory space after all! I think this *is* classed as an exploit by the developers but I haven't heard of anyone being banned for it.

  Not sure if it's available on console but on PC you can send items to the Junk tab of your inventory and then sell them all at once when you reach a vendor. Easy to go through and start research/bank on all the stuff you want to keep.

• Teccam

  

  Member
   

  July 25, 2015

  I don't think there's an option for marking items as trash on consoles. At least, I've never noticed one. I picked up the game for PC a few days ago, so I'm excited to experience some of the different functions. (Not to mention add-ons!)

  I didn't know this was considered an exploit by ZOS. I suppose they're more concerned about players shirking their bank/inventory limits though. I feel like using this to avoid accidentally deconstructing something is a pretty fair/valid purpose, since we console players have no way to lock items, and it's even possible to accidentally deconstruct gear that's sitting in your bank vault! This is a security measure to me, a way to work around a flaw in the game design, not a way to bypass the game's limitations on the player's storage capacity (though, as you say, it can be used for that too, and that is certainly more risky/exploitative).

  I don't think there's an option for marking items as trash on consoles. At least, I've never noticed one. I picked up the game for PC a few days ago, so I'm excited to experience some of the different functions. (Not to mention add-ons!)

  I didn't know this was considered an exploit by ZOS. I suppose they're more concerned about players shirking their bank/inventory limits though. I feel like using this to avoid accidentally deconstructing something is a pretty fair/valid purpose, since we console players have no way to lock items, and it's even possible to accidentally deconstruct gear that's sitting in your bank vault! This is a security measure to me, a way to work around a flaw in the game design, not a way to bypass the game's limitations on the player's storage capacity (though, as you say, it can be used for that too, and that is certainly more risky/exploitative).