The Elder Scrolls Online » Discussions


Crown Crates: Clever or Con?

  • Member
    April 13, 2017

    With the Crown Store Sale going on right now (40% off 5500 crowns purchased on Xbox One!) I wanted to experience the Wild Hunt Crown Crates, hoping to get Southpaw, Rajhin's pet Lynx. Don't ask. To get him I would need 100 Crown Gems, or a stroke of good luck from a crate. The logician in me says the chances of the latter are slim. So the question is, then, are crown crates worth it? Ie, will I get back more than 400 crowns worth of items, thus justifying the purchase, and is that even the right way of looking at it?

    Pychologically, this feels like being a child again and opening that packet of stickers for the FIFA '90 sticker book I never had (in truth I did actually collect Monster in My Pocket which worked the same way. I was a geeeky kid). The bright colours, a Khajiit who could sell fur to a Khajiit, and the anticipation of "what's in the box" makes a crown crate rather exciting. That said, there are a fair few things one could do with 400 crowns that would probably be better than blowing them on uncertainty. 

    So here's a little video of my third :p experience of opening a Crown Crate:

    In terms of economics, the Lethal Poisons are worth 200 Crowns, while the Riding Speed lesson is worth 1000, and the Mimic Stone is worth I don't know what. So that's a profit. However, would I have bought any of them even if their cost was equal to the 400 spent on the crate? No, I would not. So that's a loss. So I exchanged the poisons for a gem, but kept the riding lesson and mimic stone for now. Go figure. As for the costume, well I would not have bought it either, but I don't object to owning it. 

    And I feel no closer to owning Southpaw. I would need the luck of the Purring Liar himself, or a lot of money to blow, to get that Dark Moons Lynx. I would sooner have the option to just buy him than jump hoops like a pahmar or senche-tiger in a circus, raising the question of business ethics. 

    What do you think? Crown Crates: Good fun, or a total con? 

  • Member
    April 13, 2017

    I opened a couple of crown crates when they were first introduced just see what it was all about. I don't plan to buy anymore. Is it a bit like gambling? Yes. Is it a money grab? Absolutely. But I understand that an MMO needs money to crank out new content. The crates are just not for me, but I wouldn't judge anyone who wanted to buy one.

  • April 13, 2017

    I have no idea, personally I hate these sorts of in-game purchasse. I generally prefer just straight out buying things because I feel like people get ripped off by these sorts of things far too often. If I had a excess number of crowns and literally nothing else to buy (which seems unlikely for me personally) then I would definitely buy these just to spend the crowns but otherwise I'd never touch the Crown Crates unless it was some crazy buy one get ten free kind of situation.

    ESO does do it a lot better than other games, at least, with the inclusion of both direct purchases and the Crown Crates it means players who hunt down this kind of thing don't have to waste money buying dozens of crown crates (most of the time at least), and it seems like it's hard not to get something that is at least decent in them even if you don't get what they want.

  • Member
    April 13, 2017
    Thanks for the post and vid, Phil. I hadn't yet sprung for one (though admittedly I contemplated it). Seeing it in action... I will probably refrain unless, as Deebs said, I somehow had a huge surplus of crowns to just blow or there was a batshit insane deal. Thanks for dealing with Pacrooti so I don't have to. :)
  • Member
    April 14, 2017

    Patriarch said:

    I opened a couple of crown crates when they were first introduced just see what it was all about. I don't plan to buy anymore. Is it a bit like gambling? Yes. Is it a money grab? Absolutely. But I understand that an MMO needs money to crank out new content. The crates are just not for me, but I wouldn't judge anyone who wanted to buy one.

    The gambler in me enjoyed it, and I think that there is another layer I didn't address in terms of the social impact. I imagine that, like collecting and swapping stickers, a large part of the fun a crown crate can have is in the ability to give items to others. A group of friends who each are after different things form the Wild Hunt Collectibles could probably find pleasure worth more than the 400 crown outlay. Possibly. I never was a social person, although I recall swapping a few Monsters in my Pocket with friends :D

    Dragonborn1721 said:

    I have no idea, personally I hate these sorts of in-game purchasse. I generally prefer just straight out buying things because I feel like people get ripped off by these sorts of things far too often. If I had a excess number of crowns and literally nothing else to buy (which seems unlikely for me personally) then I would definitely buy these just to spend the crowns but otherwise I'd never touch the Crown Crates unless it was some crazy buy one get ten free kind of situation.

    ESO does do it a lot better than other games, at least, with the inclusion of both direct purchases and the Crown Crates it means players who hunt down this kind of thing don't have to waste money buying dozens of crown crates (most of the time at least), and it seems like it's hard not to get something that is at least decent in them even if you don't get what they want.

    Agreed, ESO has done this better than most. Also, beware it's addictive :D 

    Edana said: Thanks for the post and vid, Phil. I hadn't yet sprung for one (though admittedly I contemplated it). Seeing it in action... I will probably refrain unless, as Deebs said, I somehow had a huge surplus of crowns to just blow or there was a batshit insane deal. Thanks for dealing with Pacrooti so I don't have to. :)

    I am glad you found it helpful :) A batshit insane deal would have me blowing crowns like an acolyte of Dibella, umm, blows out candles :p