Idea For Previous Subscribers To Continue Playing For Free

I doubt this will be used, but here is an idea that would allow players who have subscribed in the past to play the game in a more restricted form (though not as restricted as Free Trial players). Cause one of the reasons I was reluctant to subscribe to the game was because that would mean I would never be able to play it for free again.

Restrictions will be as follows:

Any jobs above level 60 will be synced down to level 60. However, you may still continue playing the Stormblood and Shadowbringers jobs, you just won't be able to do content above 60 on them.

You may not access any content related to Stormblood or Shadowbringers (with the exception of the previously mentioned jobs). This includes New Game+. Anyway missions in progress will be put in a special folder, and will not go against the 30 active quest limits. If you are in a Stormblood or Shadowbringers area, you will be teleported to you starting city state.

You will have a Gil cap of 1 Million.

You may buy from the Market Board, but you may not sell on the Market Board.

You may only have one active Retainer, which you will choose when you first ring the bell after no longer being a subscriber (assuming you have hired more than one)

If you do not resubscribe within 45 days, your House will be subject to auto demolition. This only refers to Houses, not Apartment Rooms.

There is probably more I could add, but this seems reasonable.

Now, the other part of my idea is more perks for active subscribers.

Free US$10 (or any equivalents) for use in the Mog Station per 30 days subscribed.

Free 10,000 MGP per 30 days subscribed.

Exclusive mounts that can only be used by an active subscriber.

Exclusive glamours that can only be used by an active subscriber.

There is probably more I could add. I doubt SE would do this, but still, wanted to get my idea out there.

There's no motivation for them to provide this service and let you play for free, restricted or not.

A generous free trial before you buy is still a restrictive free trial that may lead to you giving them money.

They have no reason to continue providing you with a service once you've experienced the full game and decided to stop paying them for it.

Bro, just pay for the game like everyone else. Honestly, this just adds to the list of reasons why expanding the free trial was such a bad idea.

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Originally Posted by Mavrias

Bro, just pay for the game like everyone else. Honestly, this just adds to the list of reasons why expanding the free trial was such a bad idea.

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Small correction, I'm a woman.

And, yeah, have no problem paying for the game. My main problem is the pressure to try to get everything done within the subscriptions time. With non subscription games, I can go at my own pace, knowing that I can take breaks. With subscribtion based games, I feel I have to play them every single day, to make sure I haven't wasted any money.

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Originally Posted by Styrmwyda

Small correction, I'm a woman.

And, yeah, have no problem paying for the game. My main problem is the pressure to try to get everything done within the subscriptions time. With non subscription games, I can go at my own pace, knowing that I can take breaks. With subscribtion based games, I feel I have to play them every single day, to make sure I haven't wasted any money.

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Sub is worth it to me. The sub fee is still cheaper than one trip to the movies (or two matinees) and much cheaper than going out to lunch or dinner.... And I can't do any of those things currently because of Covid-19 anyway.

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Originally Posted by Styrmwyda

Free US$10 (or any equivalents) for use in the Mog Station per 30 days subscribed.

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This is probably a bit much, given that it would refund most of the subscription. I'd have over $400 of mog station credit.

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Originally Posted by Styrmwyda

And, yeah, have no problem paying for the game. My main problem is the pressure to try to get everything done within the subscriptions time. With non subscription games, I can go at my own pace, knowing that I can take breaks. With subscribtion based games, I feel I have to play them every single day, to make sure I haven't wasted any money.

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Consider what other forms of entertainment you could get with a similar amount of money.

You could get a movie ticket and spend two hours watching the movie. If you play the game on one evening per month, you've gotten more value than from a movie.

You could get a paperback book, which might take 20 hours to read. If you play the game on two weekends, you've gotten more value than from a book.

You probably wouldn't consider either of those wasted money, assuming you didn't pick a totally bad one. So there's no need to consider a game subscription wasted even if you don't play every day. If you have Netflix or similar, do you also feel like you have to watch something from it every day to not waste it? Do you feel like you have to call or text someone every day to not waste your phone service plan?

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Originally Posted by Styrmwyda

And, yeah, have no problem paying for the game. My main problem is the pressure to try to get everything done within the subscriptions time. With non subscription games, I can go at my own pace, knowing that I can take breaks. With subscribtion based games, I feel I have to play them every single day, to make sure I haven't wasted any money.

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Outside of seasonal events, content isn't going to disappear if you take a break from the game. Everything will be waiting for you to pick up where you left off.

As tbd said, compare what you pay for this game compared to what you pay for other entertainment and the amount of time you spend on it. Movie theaters here (at least before COVID became an issue) would sometimes charge more to watch a single movie for two hours than what my monthly, nearly unlimited use subscription here costs.

Your money isn't going to waste if you're not playing every day. It only goes to waste if you don't log in at all for the entire month.

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Originally Posted by Mavrias

Bro, just pay for the game like everyone else. Honestly, this just adds to the list of reasons why expanding the free trial was such a bad idea.

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Wait, why would this be a reason why the expanding the free trial was a bad idea?

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Originally Posted by tdb

This is probably a bit much, given that it would refund most of the subscription. I'd have over $400 of mog station credit.


Consider what other forms of entertainment you could get with a similar amount of money.

You could get a movie ticket and spend two hours watching the movie. If you play the game on one evening per month, you've gotten more value than from a movie.

You could get a paperback book, which might take 20 hours to read. If you play the game on two weekends, you've gotten more value than from a book.

You probably wouldn't consider either of those wasted money, assuming you didn't pick a totally bad one. So there's no need to consider a game subscription wasted even if you don't play every day. If you have Netflix or similar, do you also feel like you have to watch something from it every day to not waste it? Do you feel like you have to call or text someone every day to not waste your phone service plan?

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Good point.

If the sub was $20 a month, and you dont play weekends at all (family or some such) thats usually less than a dollar a play day. so, if you end up paying less per month, the price drops even further which imo is good value for a lot of entertainment

name something else you can do at that price.

even a cheap coffee/tea per day costs more than that, if you are locked down at home of course.

Subscriptions can be seen as tedious, but as someone said, the content wont disappear if you take a month or more break from the game.

basically, I guess I think that people arent playing because they found something else for a bit, or something they disliked in game or the game just wasnt for them. I am not sure if making like a former sub customer have slightly better than ftp restrictions is going to bring them back. generally if they want to come back, will likely pay for the sub.

The trouble with enhancing free-to-play is it always leads to pay-to-win.

One would find that penta-melding would become required for even casual content, and run at 1% unless you buy a US$20 melding potion from the mogstation. And on non-essentials, all glams would become random chests bought for US$5 on the mogstation, with a 1% chance to get the glam you want.

Let's leave this as one of the few sub games left and avoid that chance.

Things are perfectly fine as they are and I personally disagree with everything in your post. Can't sub? Welp, guess you can't play. Such is life. I think the achievement certificate vendor could use more rewards though. They don't keep that updated as much as they should.

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Originally Posted by Shibi

The trouble with enhancing free-to-play is it always leads to pay-to-win.

One would find that penta-melding would become required for even casual content, and run at 1% unless you buy a US$20 melding potion from the mogstation. And on non-essentials, all glams would become random chests bought for US$5 on the mogstation, with a 1% chance to get the glam you want.

Let's leave this as one of the few sub games left and avoid that chance.

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The moment any of that gets introduced is the moment I quit.


After 10 years, thousands of hours, a lot of money.

Freemium games are the worst...

The inspiration of this idea was from SWTOR's "Preferred Player" plan. But yeah, you all make sense.

$15 sub is 720 hours of potential entertainment, where else are you going to get that aside from netflix/amazon prime?
FF14 doesn't care at which pace you play the game, if this was WoW forums you may have an argument.

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Originally Posted by Styrmwyda

The inspiration of this idea was from SWTOR's "Preferred Player" plan. But yeah, you all make sense.

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Any idea like this you always have to ask yourself 2 questions:

1) Will this idea increase the revenue of SE? (Yes or no?)
2) If this idea reduces revenue of SE, then do you have a plan that will help recoup that revenue loss in another form or method, at the same amount or more? Meaning if the idea will lose you $10, then do you have a plan to present them that will help recoup the $10 or more? (Yes or no)

If both answers are No, just assume they will never implement something like this. This is just the basic question any manager will have. Any idea that will reduce short/long-term revenue will never fly.

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Originally Posted by Styrmwyda

My main problem is the pressure to try to get everything done within the subscriptions time. With non subscription games, I can go at my own pace, knowing that I can take breaks. With subscribtion based games, I feel I have to play them every single day, to make sure I haven't wasted any money.

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I'd say if you are feeling that stress of "must play or I'm wasting money", then I might suggest stopping when you feel that way; not full on forever..just deactivate for a month or two, play some other game (I'm playing Horizon Zero Dawn for PC currently! Highly recommend!) or really any other hobby.

When you've had enough, two things:
1) You might have some inspiration/motivation to do something in FFXIV you weren't into before or
2) Enough time will have passed that a fairly decent new chunk of content will become available to you.

Again, I'm not trying to assume, but I haven't really felt the way you do since college when money was really tight. If you're in a similar situation money-wise, I highly recommend enjoying the heck out of FFXIV, then taking breaks to something like Guildwars 2 or an alternative game genre entirely.

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Originally Posted by HotPixels

$15 sub is 720 hours of potential entertainment

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Please remember to sleep too.

The problem with all of these restrictions is what happens if you've already broken them?
1mil gil cap? I have 15mil at the moment, so what would happen to all of my gil?
I'm already in an FC, I'm taking up a room there and have an apartment.
I've sold a bunch on the MB and have added plenty of friends.
So I've already broken all of the free trial restrictions.

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Originally Posted by HotPixels

is 720 hours .

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Originally Posted by tdb

Please remember to sleep too.

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okey the more accurate number is around 494-6 Hours if u take the normal 8 hour sleep cycle, breakfast, lunch and dinner time into the count