Give a cash shop an inch, they say, and it’ll take a mile.
Sharp-eyed Elder Scrolls Online players have been watching the game’s crown store ever since its release, looking for any apparent “pay-to-win” or shady offering. This week they are definitely up in arms over one particular future offering in which ESO will be selling a limited-time Grim Harlequin crafting motif as a store exclusive.
So what is the controversy here? According to Reddit, the problem is that this motif’s availability only in the store means that a player with money can use his or her wallet to obtain the crafting recipe and then start churning out cosmetic gear for in-game gold. Previously, any motifs sold on the store either were obtainable in the game itself or could be used only on that player’s characters.
Some players are now calling this a “pay-to-get-rich” scheme, while others are pointing to ZeniMax’s recent assurance that crown store offerings will “do no harm” and not influence player power. So the question on the table is, does making a desirable crafting recipe cash shop-only with a potential for gold revenue influence player power in the economic market?
