The cash shop really is affecting my motivation to keep playing and paying for this game. I just can't help thinking that our family puts 240 euros a year in to the game while SE keeps locking out stuff that could and should be included in the subscription fee. It's not a lot of money in itself, but it starts to feel more when updates like this leave a sour taste in your mouth.

One can claim that it's only "optional content". We're playing a game, all the content is optional. And yes, everything that is in game is content. They might as well lock extreme primals behind a paywall because they don't really offer an advantage (as they're lower item level content than the current highest one). Or all relics after your first one. Or new jobs because you can progress in the game just as well with the originals. This argument could be discussed but it would require people to start defining what counts as "mandatory", what "optional", and basically, what is important content and what isn't.

One can also say all complainers should just quit. Well, not many games would get anywhere if every time someone is upset with a single feature they'd just leave and not say a word. It would also leave the developers wondering. I would like to think that there would still be developers that would be interested in hearing what their players think.