Keep past content out of Cash Shop

[HakuroDK]

I would prefer no cash shop or drop the subscription in alternative.
Then again, this may be the kick in the pants I need to let go of the game.

Can you explain to me why you feel that way? I mean, if it offered gameplay bonuses, I'd understand where you're coming from, but I have a hard time understanding that point of view when it comes to a purely aesthetic cash shop.

[Gramul]

Can you explain to me why you feel that way? I mean, if it offered gameplay bonuses, I'd understand where you're coming from, but I have a hard time understanding that point of view when it comes to a purely aesthetic cash shop.

Mainly, it's double dipping. It's greedy and cuts off content from people refusing to pay on top of their subscription.
I was wary with the special editions and additional retainers, but this a direct attempt to suck more money out of the players. Vanity items are a huge draw to this game. It gives crafters reliance and encourages people to play content over and over, helping to ensure that there will be players available for people approaching it for the first time.
Having a cash shop also allows them to avoid having to make or appropriate content to new gear. It's less effort on their part, but they're suddenly free to charge you extra for it, and you don't get to have fun clearing content for it.

I wish Square would just choose. You want to be a subscription MMO, include all content for players to unlock. If you want a cash shop, make it free to enter but have all the cool looking items behind a paywall. But please, don't try to take both at once. This sort of mingy behavior is what ultimately turned me away from WoW and other MMO's that tried the same.

If it did offer gameplay bonuses I would drop the game here and now.

[HakuroDK]

snip

I absolutely agree with you that, if there were gameplay bonuses in the cash shop, I would be done. Plain and simple.

I just find it to be an overexaggeration that "all the cool looking items" will be behind a paywall. There is one item. Just one item. That looks cool right now. That's the Sleipnir mount. That's it. Will that change with time? Sure. I just find this cash shop to be a good way to drop all of the old event gear no one cares about anymore and to add gear that may severely break lore if an event were added for it. Cloud's Buster Sword would be a very good example of this. If that were added to the game as an event, there are probably a lot of people who would cheer, but there would also be an equal amount of people, like myself, who would rage at the lack of sense it makes. I never even liked the Lightning Strikes event because it acts as a justification to validate Square-Enix's worst decision ever, but I still supported it for the gear. If that gear was added to the cash shop, I will never have to be directly reminded that Final Fantasy XIII was once a thing ever again.

Just seeing this development team, I have my doubts that this cash shop will turn into a cash shop like ArcheAge, Everquest 2, or especially Farmville. I have a strong feeling it will be for old event gear, cross-promotional gear, a couple of small things like minions, one or two really cool things like the Sleipnir mount, stockpiles of fantasia, maybe even some Aesthetician unlocks, and that's it. I seriously doubt we'll start to see FFXIV-native glamours as an exclusive in the cash shop other than, like, maybe select Eternal Bonding things or something. I think this cash shop is less of a "Let's see how much money we can extract from our players" and more of a "We have all these cool item ideas and no real cool way to implement them all without taking up a ton of time developing events. We also need more members of our development team and a means of which to pay them... aha! Cash Shop! Implement all of those item ideas AND fund more employees to help get content out quicker! Win-win!"

The whole thing seems like Square-Enix installing a vending machine in their game than it is taking a comically high-powered money-sucking vacuum to the playerbase. For it to be the latter, it would have to have pay-to-win items that give players a gameplay edge over others. But then, we may have to agree to disagree.

[Alukah]

I absolutely agree with you that, if there were gameplay bonuses in the cash shop, I would be done. Plain and simple.

I was typing a long response, but it was pretty much a repeat of something I said here, you see it as a cash shop with anything that messes with gear stats or progression as bad while treating vanity as something irrelevant, but for many it doesn't work that way, I don't see this any different than selling stats boosts.

[Prototype909]

Can you explain to me why you feel that way? I mean, if it offered gameplay bonuses, I'd understand where you're coming from, but I have a hard time understanding that point of view when it comes to a purely aesthetic cash shop.

Because now everytime something is revealed I'll have to think "Oh, is this content developed for everyone that I can get in game, or something that I'll have to pay extra/separate charge for". That isn't something you should have to worry about when you're already paying in a sub model.

[WHS]

Because now everytime something is revealed I'll have to think "Oh, is this content developed for everyone that I can get in game, or something that I'll have to pay extra/separate charge for". That isn't something you should have to worry about when you're already paying in a sub model.

Basically This!!! I too am afraid now on new content being developed solely for a cash shop and removed from in game aquisition.