Originally Posted by
Gunspec
I'm ok with optional items to a point. The first store item I remember in WoW was a minion, the first month proceeds of which were donated to the make-a-wish foundation, which Blizzard had collaborated with multiple times in this past. That was a nice touch, and the pets and mounts that followed were gradual and unique enough that it didn't seem like they were deliberately making cuts from the base game. It was only around 4 or 5 years ago that they went mad with power.
FFXIV started by introducing a Slepnir store mount at the SAME TIME they introduced an Odin battle. While not as hard as the previous primal extreme fights, Odin was the first primal not to drop a themed mount, despite being the only primal that road a mount. That felt like something that deserved to be in the base game, in my opinion, and is the main reason I've hesitated to embrace the new stuff that has appeared on the mogstation.