[TERA PC & Console] En Masse is closing, but TERA lives on! We will continue to support TERA PC (NA) and TERA Console until service is transferred. Stay tuned for more information.
[TERA Console] The Grotto of Lost Souls update (v85) is now live! Read the patch notes here: https://bit.ly/TERACon_v85
[TERA PC] The 64-bit update (v97) is now live. Check out all the changes delivered on August 11 here: https://bit.ly/tera64_patchnotes
[TERA PC & CONSOLE] Summerfest Part 2: The Beach Bash is on from August 11 until September 1! Participate in event activities to earn tokens redeemable for costumes, consumables, mounts, and more! Details: https://bit.ly/tera_sf20
Comments
The crystalbinds we're adding to the Elite bar will require players to use one every 3 hours. You'll need to click it less often than an Everful Nostrum and it won't take up space in your inventory.
The implementation of Elite CCB and resulting changes to this feature are a 100% direct result of player feedback.
Except that's part of the convenience that we have with Continuous Crystalbind--we never have to click it or check it.
I've had MULTIPLE occasions since Continuous Crystalbind came out where I die on an alt and my first thought is "Did I put on a Crystalbind?" It's so convenient to not have to worry about your CCB timing out, dying in a boss fight just to realize that your CCB expired 3 minutes ago and you broke a Vyrsk.
You're make the CCB from Elite less convenient for 2 achievements that could just be removed from the game, similar to how the achievement for dying 100 times was removed from the game. It's a step backwards, and honestly, I'd take the Continuous Crystalbind with the achievements being unobtainable over this new "3 hour" CCB.
As far as player feedback goes, I beg of you to read this thread and realize that an overwhelming number of people prefer Continuous CCB over the 3 hour compromise. The minority of people want the Continuous CCB removed for their achievements. You are changing something for the worse over two 20 point achievements, things that are not even required to play the game and provide minimal cosmetic value in the form of a laurel which CAN be obtained without the achievements in question.
Every 3 hours when for the past month+ people were used to never having to remember at all. Also not as good as every 12 hours which is already massively plentiful in the game.....
But how many people actually complained? They decided to get Elite KNOWING it would come with permanent complete crystalbind. As far as I am concerned, that's their fault. If they want two minuscule achievements that are only worth 20 points, they can not get Elite. Simple. Why should everyone else who wanted the permanent crystalbind be punished for the ignorance of others?
EDIT: Not to mention that those two achievements should have never existed. It's counter-productive and just encourages users to blow gold, which is already blown a lot with Arsenal, to replace their crystals.
The worst part of this is that they're changing Continuous Crystalbind because of two achievements. Achivements that are not essential to gameplay. Achievements that assist you in getting a cosmetic laurel for your class. Achievements that are NOT required to get your laurel, as they only total 40 points.
It leaves a bad taste in the mouths of players. Once you get these achievements in question, the new crystalbinds are automatically less convenient than the old ones. The Continuous Crystalbind is only "less" convenient if you need these 2 achievements, and out of the people that do need them, most players don't even care about their laurels...
You really think they're going to tell people as their official solution to this complaint "oh, we recommend you cancel your Elite subscription so you can get these in-game achievements, and then add Elite again later?" Every time someone gets a new character? That's not a valid answer to the problem they created. I'm sure most would agree that having BHS remove the achievements is a better long-term solution, but for now they're still there.
I realize CCB are dirt cheap at the moment, though it may not always be the case. But someone getting a 1-day promo Elite voucher and then popping 12-hour CCB on all their alts isn't the intention either.
All in all, I think the always-on was better too, but given the situation the solution makes sense. Having it be unlimited-use, shorter-duration like nostrums would also be fine, if that were possible, but if BHS is going to have to program anything, a toggle would be better-still (or get rid of the achievements). (Edit: Or, get rid of crystal breaking entirely, to be honest.)
Oh but you CAN run out. Because everything with the word "veteran" in it ends when a crystal would have broken.
So, say I'm learning a dungeon. If I die a LOT, I could easily go through all 24. in one day.
Or in an hour, even. But that's neither here nor there, as you're pretty much correct.
There is a difference between "Crystalbind" which expires after protecting a crystal and "Complete Crystalbind" which remains for the full duration regardless of how many crystals it protects. This change may be awful and the whole elite "update" wasn't well thought out at all but don't go around providing false information.
However when this change does happen tomorrow and they use CBs instead of CCBs, well then they just massively screwed up on a whole new level.
Veteran actually just represents it's untradeable status, it was the same wording used on Instance Reset Scrolls.
That's obviously a bug, because it makes no sense, and it never worked that way before. The "veteran" just denoted untradable. Otherwise, why the hell would you ever use a Complete Veteran Crystalbind over a Veteran Crystalbind? (A Veteran Crystalbind lasts indefinitely until it breaks, but Complete lasts for <x> time or until it breaks whatever comes sooner? The regular one would be better!)
Edit: I asked about this -- it's a bug in the tooltip and the text will be fixed. It works like a CCB just is untradeable.