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[BillyBones]

I like the F2P model more than this. And I never use the cash shop in such games despite having a top geared character.
So, F2P, yes please.

[polyphonica]

This is a thread only made for those who don't want this wonderful game to become a Pay to Win game, so its intention is to gather them and post briefly their opinion, making the rest know that there's people playing here only because it is not a Pay to Win.

But they already said that this game was not going to go free-to-play; I don't think that option is even on the table at all. Just because they have a cash shop with some optional items/services doesn't mean that they're on the verge of going free-to-play. And then the way you equate all free-to-play with pay-to-win... it's kind of baseless fear-mongering.

[Adrian74]

Aye, I know... But, I think it was a bit needed to show up players that would be against that PAy to Win model, because I fear the cash shop incursions would end inevitably in a P2W. As it is right now, I don't mind about the cash shop and the things it sells, because are not game breaking...

To be honest, I have an almost blind faith in Square Enix team and that they don't want a P2W model, but... If people starts to love too much cash shop and support it, they might make SE change their ideals.

[reptiliane]

But they already said that this game was not going to go free-to-play; I don't think that option is even on the table at all. Just because they have a cash shop with some optional items/services doesn't mean that they're on the verge of going free-to-play. And then the way you equate all free-to-play with pay-to-win... it's kind of baseless fear-mongering.

It isn't a free to play, FFXIV is a free to pay now. Free to pay for thing that should be ingame if the cash shop wasn't here.

[lackofwords]

<-- Would you stop playing FFXIV if it would become a FREE to play (aka, PAY TO WIN) model? -->

I applaud your effort in trying to making a click-bait question.

If it becomes Free to Play, I could care less. Such as when TF2 became F2P, I didn't really care either way. Same with War of the Roses.
Actually, I was kind of happy that War of the Roses going F2P because the player base was starting to dwindle down to only a set of highly skilled competitive players rather than people wanting to just mess around, like how L4D became.

But if it becomes Pay to Win, then they have to restructure everything. Because, there is little to no competition in the game for P2W model.
There's no real competition based leader boards. There's very little PvP involvement as you saw in the FanFest. There's nothing to entice a player to spend thousands to show off their dominance over other the mass.

[Shougun]

P2P without a strong cash shop. I can't see the value in a game with a strong cash shop presence. That is my opinion.

Explanation: General game costs 60 - around 15-40 hours (not at 100% completion). MMORPG 60 + monthly fee, nearing a limitless time value.

Cash shop nearing half the price of the said above values for 1/100000000th the content. Now of course the logical response is "dont buy it then" but a cash shop would be bad if it had nothing you wanted, of course you want these items that's why they are bought. They look for what you want so you have to buy these (imo) terrible buys. I'm not strapped for cash and can make purchases for what I desire; however, given the circumstance of paying thousands of dollars for what has a $50 value.. I'd rather move on to the next game.

It is true that they can use that money to reinvest but more likely than not it is just to make more profit, meaning more content but not necessarily meaning more free/p2p content (SE is a business after all lol). If you trust SE has a good heart it wont be the end, but these reinvestment/better for mmorpg arguments hinge on good intentions as they do not inherently hold safe assumptions (do as little as possible to make as much as possible, its not that safe of an investment to buy cash shop items and think that it has to circulate back into the regular p2p portion of the game, or even at all). Rather than deciding if SE is good, bad or a friend I'd think it is better just to decide when it is no longer a cost that meets a perceived/potential satisfaction and most importantly stop or start paying for it then.

More direct answer, I don't play many F2P games as they have a clear whale hunting mentality and that type of game design significantly reduces the value of the game in my perception.

[CGMidlander]

I've yet to see a free-to-play MMORPG with a payment model I like.
They're all bogged down with "Pay to ease up enhancing RNG", "Premium keybox keys", and other expensive nonsense.

(That's not to say I haven't seen a free-to-play MMO with a payment model I like. A certain tank game is one.)

[Altera]

I would probably not play XIV if they went F2P.

Sure XIV like WOW, has a cashshop. But the items there is just optional.
I see people cry their hearts out on the Wedding issue, I can understand ofc why people dont like it. But it does have a free version, and wedding is purely vanity etc.
Same with the Odin horse mount. I bought it as I just wanted it. Did I NEED it? Absolutly not. Do I want to be wed, yes. Do I need it though, no

I am definitly not too fond of cashshops in a P2P MMORPG, so I really hope they dont go overboard with it, like unique cards for triple triad, or tokens for the Golden Saucer etc.

But yeah, I much more prefer the subscription model over F2P, as all the socalled Free games, has content that makes you rather wanna spend money to bypass instead of the long grind. I think I have spent more money in Guildwars 2, than I have done in XIV since I started in 2011 patch 1.15.

[HakuroDK]

That's not the exclusive reason I play, no. I've been a Final Fantasy fan for 20 years and this whole game is a culmination and homage to that 20 years of fandom I hold dear.

The P2P subscription definitely helps keep some of the undesirables at bay for sure and doesn't make me feel like a second-class citizen in a game I love. I also don't mind the cash shop as it only offers cosmetic items and it doesn't shove itself in my face or make it too easy to buy things.

[Datu]

I lurk in forums but never post. After reading news of wedding items being offered in the micro transaction cash shop, I had to log in and break my silence. I am disgusted by this move.

I left another mmorpg because of items (vanity or otherwise) wormed its way into the game. I returned to FFXIV because I thought that this game was free from the taint of micro transactions. I guess I was wrong. I despise the idea. I wanted to play FFXIV because it was Pay to Play. F2P models or any hybrid of it does not sit well with me. I hate cash shops. It cheapens my gaming experience by these money grabs being in a game I already pay for monthly. I don't mind optional services such as renaming, gender change, etc. Items behind a pay wall is where I draw the line.