Naoki Yoshida's Comment in Regard to Jump Potions/Boost Potions

[Kyonika]

Go back literally 5 posts from when this was posted and you will see some. (In fact, the response directly before this is talking about them)

Umm...I asked for ideas that didn't break the game, but all your suggestions break the game in one way or another. You may not see it that way ofc, but - from an objective view - they do damage the way the game works right now, and as it was designed to be.

Have you ever played one of those free to play money sucking mobile games? Their entire grab is that they are addictive but the activities take far too long to allow you to enjoy the game without purchase. What you win from the jump potion is the same. It is instant gratification of having a level 60 character and being top level without working for it. Granted, I have a far greater issue with the levelling potion than the story potion (because the levelling potion is literally paying for experience points on any number of jobs), but both involve you paying to decrease the amount of time it takes to get your reward, just like the free to play mobile games (this is framed from the mindset of someone who is incentivised by the potion)

Oh, I see now. So that's why. You want to deny this emerging reality due to your feelings of perceived cheapening/loss of accomplishment.

Anyways, please try to be understanding as I go through this...

So, you are in the "I had to grind countless hours to level to 50, and don't want some newbie to be able to buy a drink and do the same in an instant" camp, right? News flash: we all did the slow way, and many of us don't have a problem with the Zero-to-Hero potion. And in other news: this change is the reality now in Korea and China, and is coming to the rest of FF14 along with Bloodstorm! It was an inevitability - sooner or later, and it's pretty good timing for SE to release it with the next expac. And I - along with many - do believe that this is a positive and necessary thing for the longevity of the game.

Also, please do take into account that many newbies will likely not want either potion: either for being too pricey, or b'cos they want to experience the game the way it was meant to be played. However, there will be some who will want to just get the leveling potion, so they can just focus on the MSQ story, and not have to deal with the insane amounts of side-quests - and other distractions - just to level their class. And then there will be the newbies that were referred by their friends (or bf/gf/partner/spouse/etc.) who will buy both potions, so that they can do the same things together in the new expac. Ultimately, these "jump potions" simply give players more choice and flexibility - without breaking the game we all enjoy.

Boosted characters, right out of the gate, are the norm now in a lot of present day MMOs, and they are usually sold in each games' respective cash shops. And, this will continue to be more the norm as we go into the future. This is the paradigm that trends are shifting towards: as you said - instant gratification. And this paradigm shift was introduced by social trends stemming from social media, mobile apps and games: stats show that social media and mobile apps have made the average person's attention span shorter than a goldfish's. So, to meet this present and emerging trend, game developers, and their games, have to adapt to capture their audience, or risk dying out.

Now, please allow me to be blunt...

This is the inexorable truth: you don't have to like it, but you do have to live with it.

[lxlWolflxl]

I'm fine with the idea. I mean as of right now, you have players who are busy and can only play on the weekends, so they level so much slower than daily players. Then you have your max level players, who refuse to do their job correctly, who refuse to practice their rotations, who refuse to learn their openers, who want to do savage content, but can't put in enough effort to help DPS faust.

Jump potions aren't gonna change the way players play this game, rather someone takes the turtle or rabbit path to 60, isn't gonna make the player better or worse. If a player really want to learn their job, their traits, their rotations and openers, they WILL learn it. If a player grinds to 60, refuse to learn their job, then they won't. It's happening right now in the game, without the jump potions.

[lxlWolflxl]

If this ends up being confirmed, I'll stand behind it. I'll still buy stormblood. This doesn't make me change the way I feel about this game as a whole. New and casual players need love too. Not every single person can log on and grind 7 days a week, people get busy, that's just how it is outside of Eorzea.

[Naunet]

Expect little to no delay on any of the rest of the content - Yes (and don't even try to contest this! The second a patch is delayed a month or two everyone will be screaming like little b****es; I've played MMOs far too many years to not see this one coming) It may not apply to you specifically, as it tends to not apply to me either, but when it comes to most people, this isn't a point of contention.

I've never actually complained about the length of time between patches. It doesn't bother me at all, especially as I have plenty of other things to do with my time if I feel like I'm getting bored with any one particular game. My philosophy regarding MMO updates has generally been that they will come when they're ready (though of course I always hope for "soon"). You can't try and pick apart my own argument with an assertion that you outright admit may not apply to me (and does not apply to me).

I still maintain that if SE starts selling us story-skip potions, we will NEVER see any further adjustments to ARR content. There would simply be no financial motivation for them to do so, and I would be willing to bet that many players will even take up SE's banner with regard to this and meet any complaints with, "Just go buy a potion".

Well no but they would have to hire more people to adjust the MSQ as well as work on new content.

and if the cash shop couldn't cover all of that, well... that could result in an increase in sub prices.

Your prediction is absurdity. SE can fix it with what they have on hand. It does not need to be a mad rush to Stormblood. Again: they don't need to rush. Build Stormblood in such a way that it does NOT perpetuate the ARR/HW issues and then gradually chip away at the problems in the older content.

[FreeKingStefan]

I am definitely disappointed to see that character boosts will be a thing in FFXIV, i don't agree at all with allowing people the ability to pay and skip gameplay but unfortunately the modern gamer is very entitled and sees no issue in actually not playing the video game they pay for. This news doesn't make me want to quit but it does send major signals as to where the game is heading.

Posts like this out on clear display how short sighted some people are. People do not want jump potions due to entitlement or laziness, it's due to time and accessibility.

[KitingGenbu]

...

I'm having a slightly hard time understanding your logic in regards that a game's narrative should be a defining factor in what an individual is doing and/or has access to in a game, at least to this game's degree. The real comparison people should be using is FFXI to FFXIV if they are trying to keep up with your logic, since they are in the same "main-line" category. The main difference is that XI isn't as restrictive in what players have access to nor ever has, but it should be a narrative heavy game since its "main-line." Players were given the option to access most of the newer expansion areas (I wont say all of its content since certain things were gated by mission progression) and they could get the jobs as well, which is the main complaint. XIV's design was just lackluster and as a result, SE is trying to make money off of it instead of legitimately fixing the issues.

I'm not for or against these potions since its inevitable and gives the company easy money; however, people shouldn't be foolish enough to think that just because SE is making more money that it automatically means this game is going to get a massive amount of content because of it. Making sure the game flows well should always be the top priority and "level jumping" should be a tacked on feature, not a 'fix.'

[FreeKingStefan]

I also feel the need to make this statement to all those that say jump potions "cheapen the accomplishment" of hitting max level....

Reaching max level has not been considered an accomplishment in MMOs since like, 2006. Level caps are just a barrier for entry into the end-game centric styles of the modern MMO.

[ReplicaX]

Posts like this out on clear display how short sighted some people are. People do not want jump potions due to entitlement or laziness, it's due to time and accessibility.

It can be short sighted with some holding onto to past practices when the genre and demographic has changed over the years. Why the topic is controversial and "entitlement" is thrown all over the place.

[Yokosho]

I hope that the jump potions are per account and not per character also I'm role playing as an imperial soldier lol. All glory for the empire let's reclaim our hearth and home

[VTXShiva]

You can't try and pick apart my own argument with an assertion that you outright admit may not apply to me (and does not apply to me).

I still maintain that if SE starts selling us story-skip potions, we will NEVER see any further adjustments to ARR content. There would simply be no financial motivation for them to do so, and I would be willing to bet that many players will even take up SE's banner with regard to this and meet any complaints with, "Just go buy a potion".

You persist to ignore the crux of the matter, which is that it's not about "you" or "me" but about the state of the game and its continued existence and support.
I used "you" in those examples because i was addressing myself to you. Please understand nuance and be a little bit more flexible in your thought process.

Likewise stop saying things like "never see any further adjustments" because at this point you're crossing the border on what it means to be ignorant.

Yes this is a business and their obligation towards their investors is obvious. But NO they are not some monsters trying to suck everything out of us. Most of the people working on games are there because they love working on games; more often than not they will work overtime to release things on time, as well as work overtime to get something cool in the game for their own personal satisfaction., which incidentally can also be seen as a financial investment in and of itself as it is done for the betterment of the game.

Like i said earlier, i sense a lot of ill-will from your post.