Why do people beg for cash shop stuff?

[alimdia]

There's an argument that always appears when people are discussing the cash shop, saying that people shouldn't care because the cash shop only has vanity and not gear. But does the community really value gear above vanity? I think I've seen more people spending hours farming primals for mounts than people raiding for stronger gear, likewise with more gil spent on houses, furniture and glamour compared to crafted gear, materia, buff pots and food.

With this I'm not saying they should put battle gear in the cash shop, just pointing out that vantiy gear is more valued than people think, I mean it's so valued that people are even paying extra real money for it.

Again, glamour/housing are the true end game in this game

If glamour is the true end game wouldn't that mean the cash shop is pay to win?

[CosmicKirby]

I don't know what's crazier, that someone is trying to say that Glamour is unironically the most fun to be had in this game, or that they're implying the Cash Shop has the best glamour options.

[Lunafreya]

When you call people lazy for a choice on what they do for their money that is an insult. And To make this clear the insult I made was FAKE. It was posed to be inchangeable with all these " lazy" comments in all these threads. I guess my point - poorly- was made tho. No one likes to be insulted for what they are doing. Which is all I was trying to get across.

"I've been caught so I'm going to say my insult was totally fake" You know what you said and you didn't need to delete your post. Own up to it.

[Ametrine]

snip

Not neccesarily. Most of the time, these go hand in hand. You want to get that lanner whistle? You'll be gaining tokens, tomes, and weapons during those runs as well as the chance to get the whistle. Same with rare dungeon minions. You'll earn gil, tomes, and gear while grinding for the minion.

So, it's still better to grind in-game as there are more rewards verses spend $15 on this outfit.

But that's why everything in the cash shop is exclusive to it. You can't get it without real life money, even if it's old holiday gear.



Buuuuut, if vanity is your endgame, the cashmere poncho is 24mil last I checked on my server. $18 for that Matriarch dress looks more appealing by comparison to a non-crafter like me :/

[Welsper59]

There's an argument that always appears when people are discussing the cash shop, saying that people shouldn't care because the cash shop only has vanity and not gear. But does the community really value gear above vanity? I think I've seen more people spending hours farming primals for mounts than people raiding for stronger gear, likewise with more gil spent on houses, furniture and glamour compared to crafted gear, materia, buff pots and food.

With this I'm not saying they should put battle gear in the cash shop, just pointing out that vantiy gear is more valued than people think, I mean it's so valued that people are even paying extra real money for it.

It is indeed valuable, that much has never changed from long before microtransactions were ever a common thing. The defining factor of complaints is how often people jump around about their "points" for them. I think it's universally acknowledged among most FFXIV players that we don't want the cash shop to sport P2W practices. The grey area for a lot of us with that is what constitutes the "win" part.

Many of us play for our own reasons, so obviously paying to "win" is going to be subjective. What isn't subjective however is the devs idea or direction of that "win". It's obvious enough that the primary point of this game is centered around combat and stats on the gear to let you win at combat. That said, glamour, while popular, is not an officially recognized form of "winning" in this game.

People are always willing to pay more for appearance or prestige. Look no further than the average persons want of color preference. Suppose you were going to buy a car in a color you wanted, but the dealer says another car of the same model/make/year was available at $20 cheaper except not in that color, would you take the cheaper offer or stick with what you wanted and forgo that lost $20? I'm willing to bet you would go with your preferred color for vanity sake, despite not saving money. That's paying more for something that doesn't actually give you an advantage with the car itself.

So long as there's preference or appeal in video games, there will always be a market for it. In fairness to players however, given the fact it's sub based, functions pertaining to the "win" direction of the game will not be applied in so drastic of a way. It may eventually, with level boosting (a P2W purchase, but one that actually does warrant a look into exactly how positive/negative it'd be at the time of introduction), but gear acquisition is a big "no" at any point of this games existence, if they're going to keep P2W out of the cash shop. Just saying that value or popularity of something doesn't imply the same standing as something else.

[Bourne_Endeavor]

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Naturally, because gear progression is static. You only have tomestones or Savage for even patch cycles and a 24-man for odd. There isn't a need to farm nor will the majority of players ever have need for Savage gear. Therefore, the two cannot be equated. Furthermore, glamour value is entirely subjective. One person may play the game solely to make their character pretty while another couldn't give a damn about housing and pretty dresses. Actual gear is not, as its value has been predetermined.

Looking pretty doesn't win you anything. Except social status on Balmung maybe.

[Zojha]

It's obvious enough that the primary point of this game is centered around combat and stats on the gear to let you win at combat.

And yet, stats are synced in the vast majority of content, which puts a cap to the degree at which stats can make you win at combat. Moreover, crafting has an entirely unrelated, but very similar, equally stat based endgame - you need a battle job at 60 to partake, you do not need to strive for that winning condition after however. These stats are curiously not synced.

To add to this, stats do not retain their value indefinitely - after roughly 6 months, that gear will have to be replaced. As such, any "win" in gearing is only temporary. And a lot more temporary than a level boost for example, as levels tend to remain relevant for longer than gear. Level 60 is as relevant now as it's been at the start of HW - iLvL 170 gear not.
Furthermore, a primal mount takes far, far longer to attain than a primal weapon. Not materia or the weapon but rather the hairstyle, the barding, the pony are the hardest things to get from PotD. Savage mounts are rarer than Savage weapons. If the point of the game is to win with combat stats, the reward scheme of the game is very clearly backwards, as it generally makes stats easier to attain than comparable vanity.

I would argue that in the light of this, the devs idea/direction regarding "win" is a lot more muddled than you make it out to be. The game's design is not very consistent with the idea that gaining combat stats equals "winning".

[Ametrine]

Snip

This is a good argument to make. To add, the latest craftable bits of gear, both vanity and combat based, are generally equally hard to gather materials for and to make.

So, vanity and high tier raid gear are on even footing in said instances.

[Ksenia]

Pretty straightforward question. Why would you ask for an item that is not available yet to be put straight into the cash shop rather than included in the game for free? I've seen about five different threads with that in the title on the front two pages alone, and I literally don't understand the mind-set to want that.

Long and the short of it, they feel they are likely to get it added to the cash shop because mormoney beats morality every time.

[Starkbeaumont]

The game is also a subscription based game. Too many cash shop exclusives will drive away a big portion of the player base. Have it in both and everybody is happy.

the cash shop could be full of mounts, minions, glamour and so on. in no way it would effect me or even make me go away. non of the items help you beat the game (unless you need to look like Thancred to perform good.)