Unofficial Census 2016 for FFXIV

[zosia]

I suppose that explains why Black Desert is booming with activity. After all, the game is practically designed with the slow reward ideal in mind. In fact, virtually all Eastern MMOs follow a similar model, yet none last in the West. People aren't leaving because the devs added tokens to Pigeon farming. They left for a variety reasons; drought in content, Alexander being tuned far too high, lack of a midcore or the saturation of MMOs in general. You're also neglecting the fact this survey came at a time when the current cycle is nearing its end and two major games were released; one of which includes a $15 sub.

Doing a complete 180 on mount drops or Anima grinds aren't going to bring people back nor would it have influenced their decision to begin with. Frankly, even the most vocal complaints on this forum do not align with your theory; that being gear not lasting long enough.

Where did I ask for a 180? You are being hyperbolic and assuming my position. Just because I believe in the notion of rarity and compelling carrots does not mean I think every last thing in FFXIV needs to be a grind like some korean F2P grindy crapfest.

There is an extreme imbalance in this game when we have no long term carrots to work on that will stay rare. The only real long term goal this game has is housing and that is not even a readily available long term goal on most servers (since there are few severs with lots left).

But, go on, keep defending the status quo. A 24% sub loss over 7 months is nothing to worry about /s

You do realize, the drop rates on Primal mounds were increased expressly because enough people complained, yes? What also kills motivation is subjecting oneself to 200+ Ravana EX runs in DF because RNG decided to hate you. That is neither fun nor challenging. And while I'd do it because I like collecting stuff. If the game were designed around endless RNG, I can't say my interest would last.

And wait two years doing so. Most people who care about unique mounts or rewards want them now. The equivalent is my waiting to pick up FFXV because it'll be cheaper six months later. If I want the game badly enough, I'll buy it early. Most people do that.

If your only motivation to sub is rolling the dice on a mount drop... you aren't longed to stay subbed.

My little cousin complains that he can't have donuts for dinner, whats your point? Just because players want something does not mean it's good for the game. Did we not learn anything from gordias savage? You can see how pointless the ponies are now every time you see a whistle drop to the ground. The drop rates were waaaaaay too high.

The only nerf to the pony grind should have been outgearing the content. When players can duo or solo primals, do their respective mounts really need an increased drop rate? I mean, lets be real, if they had stayed around 5%, anyone who wants one today could still easily get them. Buffing them to 15-20%, or w/e the number is, was completely uncalled for.

The point that you are missing is that things are made WAAAAAAAAAAY to easy. SE has never heard of the concept of a goldilocks zone. The coffin lid is another great example. It went from a 1% drop rate to a 100% drop rate. There was absolutely no reason for that. It really should have just been around 30%, similar to other crystal tower furniture.

Again, pretend that this game is not careening down the pipes, you are only hurting your own game by doing so.