Oh, so FFXIV is pay-to-win? That's... stupid.

[Dante_V]

I agree that the buying retainer thing is kind of dumb but saying it is pay to win is really naive to the core.

[Dante_V]

Also want to point out that having more products on the market doesn't necessarily mean more gil or income than having less products on the market. Potentials are not actuals.

Also having more products on the market doesn't increase rate of sales in itself. Supply isn't the only determining factor in economics, it's offset by demand.

[Roth_Trailfinder]

I think people throw pay to win, and don't even know what it means. Pay to win is like, paying for top end gear, or levels or a rush to endgame. Paying for a glamour item, a mount, a minion or extra storage space is not pay to win. Should we have to pay for extra storage, No not really. Its rediculous that they havent increased inventory space and retainer space. It is what it is..

Almost correct.

Paying to win is paying real money for ANY advantage in game.

Glamour, mounts (when mounts are basically just different skins for stuff already there in game), minions that do nothing ... that is not pay to win. They confer no advantage.

But if people do not think that more selling room is not an advantage, then go ask business owners out about town IRL whether they would prefer to be in a larger or smaller store, and the advantages and disadvantages of each. More room to sell stuff, more people to send out on Ventures, these are advantages. Not advantages that deal with end game, no; but advantages nonetheless and thus paying for retainers fails the smell test on whether or not FF14 has pay to win in it.

Pay to win is not necessarily end game related. It is paying for any sort of advantage AT ALL.

[Radial]

I think people throw pay to win, and don't even know what it means. Pay to win is like, paying for top end gear, or levels or a rush to endgame. Paying for a glamour item, a mount, a minion or extra storage space is not pay to win. Should we have to pay for extra storage, No not really. Its rediculous that they havent increased inventory space and retainer space. It is what it is..

OK since you don't seem to get it let me break it down for you.

Step 1: Buy 6 additional retainers.
Step 2: Gear/lvl retainers for ventures.
Step 3: Send retainers out for valuable items i.e. shards/minions/leather
Step 4: Sell items with all your extra sell slots.
Step 5: Use said gill to buy gear. Like 110 Pentamelded gear. or using the materia to finish your relic step with no effort. totally not p2w... :/

This is all using the dumb assumption that endgame and top end gear is the only "game" here. This is a Final Fantasy game and a RPG. what about crafting/housing/gathering/quests etc etc. so many ways to get P2W

[Clawbriar]

The cash shop & extra retainers helped pay for the game and its patches & expansions you're playing now. The cool thing is, both are also entirely optional and don't require your money sans the subscription you already pay.

What I'm saying is: nobody cares. Just don't buy them. Whatever. If you think that they're pay-to-win, then thank you for enlightening us that this is indeed your first MMO.

[Radial]

The cash shop & extra retainers helped pay for the game and its patches & expansions you're playing now. The cool thing is, both are also entirely optional and don't require your money sans the subscription you already pay.

What I'm saying is: nobody cares. Just don't buy them. Whatever. If you think that they're pay-to-win, then thank you for enlightening us that this is indeed your first MMO.

Wow what an asshole way to dismiss our opinions with no substance. I have played dozens of MMO's for over ten years thank you very much, and if any of the old greats tried this crap in their heyday we would've have FLIPPED OUT. But welcome to our new F2P golden age where EVERY game must have microtransactions, MMO or not, sub game or not.

[Teryaani]

OK since you don't seem to get it let me break it down for you.

Step 1: Buy 6 additional retainers.
Step 2: Gear/lvl retainers for ventures.
Step 3: Send retainers out for valuable items i.e. shards/minions/leather
Step 4: Sell items with all your extra sell slots.
Step 5: Use said gill to buy gear. Like 110 Pentamelded gear. or using the materia to finish your relic step with no effort. totally not p2w... :/

If you're talking about the 2.0 relic, it would be faster and less effort just to buy i115 vendor gear to clear the content involved. The steps you're taking above are absolutely the slowest possible way to get the gear you need to clear content.

This is all using the dumb assumption that endgame and top end gear is the only "game" here. This is a Final Fantasy game and a RPG. what about crafting/housing/gathering/quests etc etc. so many ways to get P2W

That's not our dumb assumption. That's the game developer's dumb assumption.

I agree that the retainer thing is...I think shady is the word I prefer here. They should have at least given a free retainer when they did this.

[ruskie]

Tbh expected at least 1 free retainer per expansion if not 2. Yes the new hq to nq feature helps a bit but even if you are collecting just one thing and only keeping those bits of glamour you really care for... it still adds up.

[Ooshima]

OK since you don't seem to get it let me break it down for you.

Step 1: Buy 6 additional retainers.
Step 2: Gear/lvl retainers for ventures.
Step 3: Send retainers out for valuable items i.e. shards/minions/leather
Step 4: Sell items with all your extra sell slots.
Step 5: Use said gill to buy gear. Like 110 Pentamelded gear. or using the materia to finish your relic step with no effort. totally not p2w... :/

This is all using the dumb assumption that endgame and top end gear is the only "game" here. This is a Final Fantasy game and a RPG. what about crafting/housing/gathering/quests etc etc. so many ways to get P2W

ha ha ha, by the time you actually used your said method to achieve a perfectly melded Zeta weapon with "no effort", it's already Patch 4.0.

Stop being naive that having 8 retainers that actually gives you tangible benefits from multi ventures that will grant you an easier raid win. Lmao.

[AriaEnia]

If only I can get my retainers to go grab Tomestones and centurio seals on ventures, I would like to hire 20 of them right now this minute!
But sadly, all they bring are roofs, beds, doors, fish, dyes... I dunno where they steal them from...
Pay to win!