Free to Play vs Pay to Play Ideas

[Eldaena]

I think I remember them not being sure when they will start charging. What reference are you refering to? (Just curious.)

Hm, I'm trying to recall where I saw this. It might have been in one of the more recent interviews I read. They talked about it very briefly, as if it were the farthest of their mind at the moment.

[Noctura]

If this game ever becomes F2P..... my entire group and I would be quitting for good.

Sorry I don't believe people with more money to spend on games irl should be able to advance above everyone else faster....
I would rather pay once a month for access to everything then not have access to anything because I can't afford to spend more then 15 a month on it... I played a lot of F2P mmos ..... and it would totally ruin this one. I hated all of them. I don't want to be reminded how poor I am every time I see the cash shop and can't spend money on some digital item. "How did you do that so fast?" - "Oh it's 20 bucks in the cash shop..." Great.... what wonderful gameplay and skill that must take...
That is the only thing that will permanently drive me and everyone I know playing away from FFXIV.

No mmo that is F2P will ever be successful, fun, or balanced in my eyes.... You are more then welcome to your opinion and I was glad to at least see you had organized ideas but I really hate threads like these...
The community is really special here.... and I really enjoy reading here.... Imagine the spam, hate and botting that would occur.... look at the forums before SE said you had to have an account. You want all those nasty people back here and in the game?

The game would be a total fail, everyone in my shell would be unhappy, and then we would all go back to XI and never look back. I love FFXIV but that's the line...
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[Eldaena]

I think overall, some players have played free to play games in the past and have attached their thoughts to overhyped stereotypes of the MMOs that do this, believing it's entirely truth. Some people believe it'll be more expensive than a monthly subscription. Some people think that the service will be terrible. Some believe it will be an unbalanced game with a cash shop. All these things do not HAVE to be that way.

Just because you had a bad experience with one free to play game doesn't mean they're all like that. Just because cash shop items are tempting doesn't mean you have to have them...but that's part of the marketing. They want to make you want them because that's fun and you want to pay for it. Considering this is Square Enix, they aren't about to let their service slip any further because they have a reputation and now they have to do all they can to promote this game in order to sell it. (After a flop release, slow updates, and overall some poor design.)

Right now, I know several people that would be willing to pay a subscription in order to get this game moving in the right direction. They could make it free to play for a few years with a cash shop while they are fixing everything. That would put in some income, allow people to play the game, and see the changes all at the same time.

Maybe one day, they could go pay to play, but I honestly cannot see this happening and being successful anytime soon. With new games coming out and this one lagging behind the curve, they could consider going free to play for an indefinite amount of time, like they basically have, with the options to spend money on retainers and other cash shop features in order to help fund the cause whilst adding some spice to the game.

[Eldaena]

If this game ever becomes F2P..... my entire group and I would be quitting for good.

Sorry I don't believe people with more money to spend on games irl should be able to advance above everyone else faster....
I would rather pay once a month for access to everything then not have access to anything because I can't afford to spend more then 15 a month on it... I played a lot of F2P mmos ..... and it would totally ruin this one. I hated all of them. I don't want to be reminded how poor I am every time I see the cash shop and can't spend money on some digital item. "How did you do that so fast?" - "Oh it's 20 bucks in the cash shop..." Great.... what wonderful gameplay and skill that must take...
That is the only thing that will permanently drive me and everyone I know playing away from FFXIV.

No mmo that is F2P will ever be successful, fun, or balanced in my eyes.... You are more then welcome to your opinion and I was glad to at least see you had organized ideas but I really hate threads like these...
The community is really special here.... and I really enjoy reading here.... Imagine the spam, hate and botting that would occur.... look at the forums before SE said you had to have an account. You want all those nasty people back here and in the game?

The game would be a total fail, everyone in my shell would be unhappy, and then we would all go back to XI and never look back. I love FFXIV but that's the line...
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Being free to play doesn't mean you get to level faster because you have more money. You are stereotyping free to play games as if they are all the same. Balancing is severely important in these matters and that's what we hear about all the time with the development team. BALANCE.

In a free to play game you don't have to buy anything. In a free to play game it doesn't have to be all the terrible things you mention if the company stays on it. And it's not as if pay to play games keep bots out. We have them now. We would have gil sellers now if it were pay to play or even a popular game.

Just like you and your group would leave if it became free to play, there are several other groups that would leave if it became pay to play. None of the things I brought up made the game unbalanced or unfair in a cash shop setting. Fashion, reasonable one-use items, and a crafting enhancement that still requires a crafter to use. I'm sorry you hate my thread, but I made pros and cons to both for a reason.

[Kyra]

Lol if you want to see what happens to games with the Free to Play - Cash Ingame Items Korean Model go check Silkroad Online. They probably make more money in 1 month than FFXIV will ever make in its Lifetime.

This maybe good idea for SE, but for players its horrible. You get 3 camps of people: The freeloaders who dont ever spend anything and have really crappy gear, the average player who spends a bit each month and has a decent set (far more than the cost of 1 month sub to FFXIV), and the super rich who will spend endless amounts of money just to get the best stuff, best +, best enhanctment etc etc.

It sucks trust me. It turns the game into a - who has the most $ wins.

I know someone in my guild on silkroad online that spends $500-1000 a month on the game to try and make the best set on the server. There is many players like him.

I dont mind them adding cash items for stuff like differnt color chocobos or fun costumes. but not for stuff that makes your character stronger.

[Captaindownsyndrome]

if it goes f2p i would walk away

[Eldaena]

if it goes f2p i would walk away

lol technically it is free to play now.

[Eldaena]

Lol if you want to see what happens to games with the Free to Play - Cash Ingame Items Korean Model go check Silkroad Online. They probably make more money in 1 month than FFXIV will ever make in its Lifetime.

This maybe good idea for SE, but for players its horrible. You get 3 camps of people: The freeloaders who dont ever spend anything and have really crappy gear, the average player who spends a bit each month and has a decent set (far more than the cost of 1 month sub to FFXIV), and the super rich who will spend endless amounts of money just to get the best stuff, best +, best enhanctment etc etc.

It sucks trust me. It turns the game into a - who has the most $ wins.

I know someone in my guild on silkroad online that spends $500-1000 a month on the game to try and make the best set on the server. There is many players like him.

I dont mind them adding cash items for stuff like differnt color chocobos or fun costumes. but not for stuff that makes your character stronger.

Well, again in the examples I gave for cash shop items, they hardly influenced the actual game play or made anyone stronger. The only thing I could say that could possibly be considered that is the enhancement pieces to craft gear to a higher HQ. However, I made it very clear how to balance and make it fair to use. I would never agree with things like buying overpowered gear or double exp tickets or something.

[Visch]

if it goes f2p i would walk away

Yup, me too.

[Eldaena]

It would be more constructive to state why you would leave rather than just say you would. You've already paid for the game software, what a waste to just stop playing. You must not be very attached to the game in general if you would leave it so quickly. It's almost the same as those that will leave once it becomes pay to play.