Legit Question for those against Cash Shop - Mog Station

[Sho86]

Fantasia - Each character gets one to begin with, and they are just a fancy name for a personal change of character looks/race. I don't lose or benefit from someone else using this.

Retainers - Yeah this one is a bit of "P2W" I suppose if you really want to force the issue. Although we're allowed two per character of which I've had no problem storing items in even as a full Lv50 crafter/gatherer. Even as an alt user I've kept all my mats on my crafter, so my hand is not forced to pay if I want to keep on par.

Cash shop opens a huge can of worms that can be a constantly changing hellride based on how they see fit. Starting with Minions yeah its same as fantasia for now, its a personal gain with no advantage other than looks. If they ever add mini-games with the minions, that suddenly changes. Mounts kind of the same deal, some stuff should have been included with lore thats already within the game as some pointed out with Odin's mount. Other mounts that just get thrown in and wouldn't have any real value to lore or given any bonuses (faster ride, no knockoff etc), is ok.

My main problem is what cash shop openings always lead too. They start small, then grow, and grow, and grow. "Vanity" can be a very loosely used term and expand to a ton of content; ranging from booster packs for Triple Triad that could include better chances of getting rare cards, or special items that affect Choco breeding/racing in some way. Since neither of these side games are progression or main story, it can be considered vanity fluff, yet this alters my game play directly if I want to stand a chance in these things.

It's anyone's guess as to how large it'll grow and how much they milk it, but I don't believe any company - SE or otherwise - when they throw promises out. Housing could be an easy example of promises.


Edit - and forgot about vanity gear. Thats a real issue too for economies and crafters. Old event gear has no business being there since it was already in the game, up for grabs every year the season event was out. If it were 'optional' on the grounds of buy it in the CS or wait for the event for the gil NPC, then sure, but its not. As for crafting, just have to wait and see how much vanity gear is thrown in.

[Vaer]

stuff

They've had the GC leaders as one minion before as a vet reward. Well, they gave two of the archons for the anniversary. These are just the rest from the set. They could have been slated to be released then, too. This is all just assumption of course, they could have been, they could have just been made specifically for this. People are always cynical when it comes to the cash shop because other MMOs have set a precedent for some of this stuff. I'm just saying if they were supposed to be vet rewards, then that kinda sucks, not that they actually are vet rewards.

[Nakiamiie]

wuh?

I did negatively talk about it IRL and in-game.
I do consider it a cash shop.

When they added it, I truly feared it was just the beginning for a cash shop and strongly voiced my opinion against cash shop back then. Because yes, we had cash shop discussion threads then.
However, since things had quiet down, I truly thought that battle won... apparently not.

It seems like Yoshi-P changes opinion like he changes underwear. It's not the first time that he contradicts himself and surely won't be the last.
He's probably just following orders anyway, as a good Japanese and as someone who needs a pay check.

In conclusion: it's not a new thing that we're against cash shops.

[Ashkendor]

Instead of fantasia you could create a new char (and you get some for free) and instead of additional retainers you can use other storage methods aswell (other char, own guild....)

But you can't get premium cash shop items. There is no other way getting them.

So basically, "I can't have it so it's bad!" Okay. I mean, there have been exclusive items in the past. It's not like this is anything new even in a P2P game. There are mounts exclusive to the collector's edition. There are minions that you only get by purchasing a (rather expensive) CD set. Why haven't people thrown as big a fit over those as they are over the cash shop that we have pretty much no details on right now? I don't get it. Mog station has been there for ages selling Fantasias and extra retainers, the latter of which are actually pretty game-changing. So what if they want to sell a few pieces of exclusive vanity gear? It's nothing that hasn't already been done.

This is all just assumption of course,

That's the problem. People are assuming way too much and then throwing this huge fit over it even though the information we have is very basic at best. They assume all vanity items are going to move to cash shop only, which is a real leap in logic. They assume that the mounts/minions were slated for release as vet rewards or whatever and SE suddenly changed their minds and decided to do a cash shop. Games like this have their updates planned out months if not years in advance, so I seriously doubt this was a snap decision.

[Vaer]

That's the problem. People are assuming way too much and then throwing this huge fit over it even though the information we have is very basic at best. They assume all vanity items are going to move to cash shop only, which is a real leap in logic. They assume that the mounts/minions were slated for release as vet rewards or whatever and SE suddenly changed their minds and decided to do a cash shop. Games like this have their updates planned out months if not years in advance, so I seriously doubt this was a snap decision.

Again, people are cynical about stuff like this because they've been burned before "trusting" that it was going to stay minor. I don't really blame them honestly. But yes, everyone is assuming, but there were outspoken people that were concerned about this when they added fantasias and later retainers that this would start escalating and it has somewhat at this point. Not really that much of a leap that they are going to offer more items.

[Ashkendor]

Again, people are cynical about stuff like this because they've been burned before "trusting" that it was going to stay minor. I don't really blame them honestly. But yes, everyone is assuming, but there were outspoken people that were concerned about this when they added fantasias and later retainers that this would start escalating and it has somewhat at this point.

I guess? I just think people are being alarmist about the whole thing and using it as an excuse to do a massive amount of fearmongering and bashing on SE for what is actually a pretty good business decision. I don't get what the problem with having a 'wait and see' attitude about it is. The information we have is very basic, so why not wait till we get more instead of kicking up a bunch of drama about it that may ultimately be pointless later?

[Lovescake]

Retainers and fantasia were things that we could get in the game already. This other stuff they will be putting in the cash shop are going to be things that can not get them unless you pay.

third retainer makes a HUGE difference.
fantasia was one free, thats it.

[Vaer]

I guess? I just think people are being alarmist about the whole thing and using it as an excuse to do a massive amount of fearmongering and bashing on SE for what is actually a pretty good business decision. I don't get what the problem with having a 'wait and see' attitude about it is. The information we have is very basic, so why not wait till we get more instead of kicking up a bunch of drama about it that may ultimately be pointless later?

Well, this is General Discussion on an MMO forum.

Perhaps they feel once they get all the information, it will be too late. Who knows.

[Legacy_Wolfwood]

as long as it isnt p2w, then idc really.

the retainer view can go both ways, but i dont think it makes a big enough impact to "win"

[Seif]

So we have now:
Fantasias announced: "it's fine guys it's just fantasias, get over it."
Extra retainers announced: "it's fine guys it's just extra retainers, get over it."
Now: "it's fine guys it's just extra minions and a mount, get over it."

Right now, I don't find it a huge deal, however if these were supposed to be veteran rewards that were pulled at the last minute to throw in a cash shop, that is meh.


I mean, how many more people would be upset if they no longer gave people new hairstyles and just threw it into the shop with no other way to get them?

That's where this is going! Getting mounts used to be only an award for some of the longest quests in the game but selling those on a shop flushes the entire meaning of mounts down the drain. Same for pets.

These categories were more than vanity they were a symbol of your progress in the game. SE's endless greed has made those achievments now 100% meaningless!