Cash shop confirmed

[Akubikumo]

Serious question: Why didn't the selling of Fantasias kill the game for you? Or the selling of additional retainers which is far more game changing than a mount that does nothing special or minions that add nothing to the game?

Fantasias aren't content. Neither are world transfers. These are account changes, which make sense to charge for as they require extra work on SEs part. Mounts, minions, goofy hats, that's content. Content that's been designed, developed, and implemented then gated behind a cash shop and available for those who have more money to spend than others. Sorry but, ubiquitous or not, its a fucked up system.

(On a side note, the retainer thing is actually a good example of P2W-lite already happening. With each retainer you get a huge boost in inventory, an extra Venture and another hand in the Market Board. These are all pretty big advantages, especially if your a savvy crafter)

[Tupsi]

Fantasias aren't content.

Neither are mounts and minions, technically. My game progression doesn't come to a halt by not having a specific mount or minion - The only content that utilizes Mounts are beast tribe quests, which provides them to you free of charge for the quest(s) they're needed in. If Mounts and minions are considered content, fantasias are too as they're also an in-game item and not simply an account service.

which make sense to charge for as they require extra work on SEs part

Actually, transfers are automated unless something happens on the backend that requires a tech to do it manually - heck everything is actually automated unless something goes wrong. When you get down to it, them doing vet rewards is no different from cash shop, with the cash shop you can get it whenever you want rather than paying $20-$80+, which is far more expensive.