Isn`t just vanity. Is 2 diferent experiences and thats why is bad.

[Alexander_Dragonfang]

Anything that does not advance you in Story or iLvl is vanity content. Vanity content is not the over all goal of a game, yes it is in the game and you can put it as a goal for yourself but the game was not designed that way. The game has a story and raids that progress your character in that story, this is the main goal of the game. If you want a game that is based around Vanity content go play the Sims.If you want to do things outside the scope of the main goal and the developers give you the option to do so but it comes with a price its fine because it does not involve further or hinder people from the main goal of the game. You choose to participate in this vanity content, in doing so you have the great option of making it better by paying more, you also have the option of not paying at all. You should be happy there is even a choice of not paying, because this content is not even close to the purpose of the game. Everyone complaining needs to get over themself, you are part of the problem. Please do not complain about vanity content in a story based, progressional game. As I said if you want to play a vanity game the Sims Online or Second Life are still around.

Ilvls are vanity too. Actually i see far more braging about iLvl than i see about housing or glamouring.

Advancing on story grants you titles which are also vanity.The game is made up of subsystems, everyone of them as important as the other, the moment you take any of those and put them behind a paywall just because you think, from the subsystem you participate the most, that one is optional, it doesnt make it so. A thousand players would tell you that housing is far more important than high end raiding. Those players are not optional, the content they enjoy is not optional. Everything in this game is either a must or optional. You can`t have a few of each all over the place.

BTW, playing the game is also optional, and can even be considered vanity for some, specially high end raiders.

And is lovely your attitude, "you don`t do my content, so your content is optional and please leave to other games", you gonna go far kid.

[Seoulstar]

That is legitimate. Not everyone plays this game for raids and high end gear. Some do them for several things being hyped over the past years as Housing and Marriage. Social gamers and RPers are also gamers, customers and their way of playing and the content they enjoy is not "optional".

Then just simply make it to get all the mounts and minions that are available in the game without cash shopping. Would the same apply for the people that can't get the mount that 1.0 players got when they switched over to 2.0?

[Edellis]

The reason people complain about cash shop stuff (even if it's content they don't care about) is because it existing, out of reach of what they already paid for, creates an amount of distrust with the decision they made to subscribe to the game.


Before, without a cash shop, you knew what you were getting when you paid your subscription -- you were getting everything. If it was put into the game, it was included in your subscription, all you have to do is play and find it. It adds a little bit of excitement, it lengthens the distance to the finish line of the game

Now, WITH a cash shop, you know that when you pay your subscription, there's some little, tiny, illegible fine print that says, "Well, you paid, and you'll get most of the stuff we put in the game, except for this stuff over here, which isn't included". It may be something you never cared about, but it's something you aren't getting. It's not something you probably wont find...it's something you can't find.


Whats worse, the fact that it's in the cash shop immediately destroys any amount of value it would have had otherwise. It wasn't behind a string of quests, or a trial, or a random drop in a dungeon, it was simply behind a pay wall. Cash shops just take content that would be made to otherwise enhance a game, destroys it, and then places it out of reach. Even when Housing was revealed, and it had a ridiculous price...I didn't even care. I'm going to stay subscribed anyway, EVENTUALLY i'm going to be able to afford it, because there's no cash shop to make me think otherwise.



FFXIV is a very light offender of this, but like i said, it creates distrust. No longer am I able to be 100% excited about EVERYTHING Square Enix shows in a screenshot. Now, there's some little twinge in the back of every reveal that has to wonder whether or not it's vanity cash shop or not. Is it simply really tough to get? Or is it only overly tough because they plan to incentivize the cash shop? It literally diminishes the entire feeling of the game.

[Kuwagami]

Then just simply make it to get all the mounts and minions that are available in the game without cash shopping. Would the same apply for the people that can't get the mount that 1.0 players got when they switched over to 2.0?

heh, they're justifying their rant on the fact that NOW they can never get ALL the mounts/minions, when in fact they COULDN'T if they weren't 1.0 players.

But you know, terrible logic is terrible, and they feel more cheated by extra fluff obtainable by cash than by unobtainable fluff by any existing means.

The more I read these threads, the more I laugh at how pointless some arguments are.

[Serdapi]

snip

No iLvl is not vanity because you are required to have a certain level to even complete actual content and story in the game.

I'm not saying people can't do the vanity content, I'm saying that it is not the purpose of the game. The game has a clear purpose of telling a story in a progressional way.

Vanity content does not stop or continue any of the games actual purpose, therefore it can be made available to the players for purchase and does not hinder the continuation of the actual purpose of the game, story and boss battles that tell the story.

I'm not telling you to play a different game unless you are playing this game expecting that Vanity content is goal and purpose of this game. If you think it is the goal of the dev team and design team then you are delusional and need to be playing an actual vanity game like the Sims. "Kid" lol

[odintius]

Please don't lump everyone into one category on social or role players into your vague analogy, not everyone in those category would agree with this assessment people are different on how they play a game true. If it just housing/marriage/vanity that's very narrow view on how to play a game while ignoring the rest of the 99.9% of the actual game people are not going to get married over and over again and just stay indoors in their house every time they log in that's just pure hyperbole bs.

[Edellis]

I'm not saying people can't do the vanity content, I'm saying that it is not the purpose of the game. The game has a clear purpose of telling a story in a progressional way.

No, enjoyment is the purpose of the game. Vanity adds enjoyment, therefore it's part of the game, and clearly a very big part, hence the point of this topic.

To assume that just because you can complete the game without using it, that it's irrelevant, is extremely faulty logic. What people like to call "vanity" has become such a massive part of gaming in general (graphics, character creators, ect) that i find it silly when people justify cash shops because it has no effect on your stats.


If you wore the same outfit from ilvl 1-120, would you not care? If you didn't have the option to equip whatever you wanted, would you not care? If you didn't have the option to acquire and use different mounts, despite the fact they are all LITERALLY the same thing, would you care? Of course you would, everyone would. People need to stop pretending like "VANITY" gives you an excuse to pretend like it's expendable. The option to choose different paths is at the core of endgame gameplay.


Just because they take one or two [awesome] looking, functionally useless mounts out of the game and throw it in the cash shop doesn't mean it's useless content. It CLEARLY has a purpose, or they wouldn't be sticking it behind a goddamn pay wall.

[Jacost]

snip

Then how did the game ever have any value? There were extras packed in with the CE on day one, more stuff was awarded for buying the OSTs or attending the fanfest, and we all knew that an expansion was on it's way... how is this any different? Would you have preferred it if SE had put the cash shop stuff in a "game of the year edition" and included an upgrade on the mogstation instead?

[Edellis]

Then how did the game ever have any value? There were extras packed in with the CE on day one, more stuff was awarded for buying the OSTs or attending the fanfest, and we all knew that an expansion was on it's way... how is this any different? Would you have preferred it if SE had put the cash shop stuff in a "game of the year edition" and included an upgrade on the mogstation instead?

It's very different, lets not throw every situation into a black and white analogy. The concept of a cash shop is not at all synonymous with CE/OST/Limited Edition release and promotional events. To answer your question, yes, yes, YES i would have preferred they do that, or maybe in a veteran reward with my subscription. Because then it would have been established from the moment i bought the game that the content wasn't for me.

But being teased in updates with in-game content i have to pay to use and then pay to acquire? Sorry, that's a completely different scenario. You don't ever see people complaining about expansions or day-1 bonuses or attendance awards for this very reason.

[Genesis-xyx]

Why do you assume that the free wedding isn't the full experience? Why can't the paid wedding be an extra experience instead of being labelled as full experience?

Perhaps SE originally planned for the free wedding to be the full experience, but since there are people willing to pay for more fluff. They added in an extra experience for the paid wedding.

Well if you didn't notice there is a "might" in there, as I know nothing is set in stone yet.