The appearance of The Elder Scrolls Online at Gamescom did not go quite as planned. The coverage of ESO at Gamescom was taken over by a fan from reddit, who summarized a presentation by Matt Firor, the boss, which reached a bit into the future.
One of the points is now sparking a discussion. So-called “Lockboxes” are supposed to be introduced into the game. These would be boxes that you buy in the Crown Store, of which you do not know what exactly is inside, but which could contain rare, even limited items: stuff that used to be a limited-time offer in the shop and that you can’t get any other way.
The Elder Scrolls Online: 400 crowns for cosmetic loot box
According to information from the fan on reddit, these packs are supposed to cost 400 crowns and be purely cosmetic. The rarer an item is, the rarer it is also in one of these boxes.
Such “gambling loot boxes” are not well received by the ESO community, as initial reactions show. Both on reddit and in the official forum, there are already protest threads criticizing the introduction of these boxes. They are seen as unfair ways to make money with an extreme element of chance. Additionally, they undermine the exclusivity of earlier special mounts that were only available for a short time and that no one else has.
The post in the English section of the official forum is currently at 45 pages. The reddit thread is at 260 comments. Both are quite astonishingly high values for the otherwise quiet The Elder Scrolls Online.
Zenimax has already responded in an initial reaction. Gina Bruno explained some details of the system. The boxes are planned for “later in the year” and will only contain cosmetic or “convenience” items, including mounts that you cannot get any other way, and even completely unique items. If you receive an item through the box that you already have, you will be able to exchange it for a special currency with which you can buy other items from the offering.
We will address further details from the Gamescom presentation of The Elder Scrolls Online in a future article.
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