Ask Questions for Letter from the Producer LIVE Part XIX! (Exploring Patch 2.45)

[Squintina]

Back when the eternal bond system was announced, and the only 2 person mount that does not require recruit a friend was announced, there was no hint that these would be cash only. 2.45 finally released this mount...for cash shop only.

What led you to think it was fair to suddenly announce this mount would be cash-only at the last live letter (which by the way was not in the Q&A threads so non-Japanese speaking players who didn't read fan translations of the event, or read forums, actually had NO idea about this sudden cash shop announcement until the patch notes came out), and keep going through with this idea even after all the player blowback regarding having to pay extra for content despite that we already pay a subscription?

And before you say it's just vanity. A 2-mount chocobo is more than just vanity; it's a feature. My husband and I like to go farm together. This means we teleport to the same place, then ride to our nodes. Both of us having 2-person mounts means one of us can get up to fetch drinks, or snacks, etc... without forcing the other one to wait.

The recruit a friend mount, which we'll have next month, is only available for the recruiter, so we couldn't alternate who does the leading. Putting this behind a cash wall hinders our ability to play more efficiently, and thus farm more efficiently. It can therefore be used for more than just vanity.

Edit: and using /follow assumes both people have mounts and that (for chocobo) it's not stabled. Something people who have the 2-person mounts can overcome. So, still a gameplay feature being gated.