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

[Sicno]

I think I would be ok with jumping potions if the jump wasn't THAT big and would set you at the beginning of the previous expansion instead of the current one. Like, if the current expansion is Stormblood the potions would leave you at the beginning of Heavensward / at lvl 50. That would be the best compromise. Having players brand new to the game and completely clueless about how to play it at the gates of the current expansion on launch day may be too much and an invitation for disaster. Also while it's important to attract new players to the game you also want to keep the trust of your loyal players. If at day 1 of the new expansion a brand new player who paid for a potion is at exactly the same spot in progression than people who have gone through all the story, all the duties, etc. then yes, they have all the reasons to feel mad and betrayed. Putting them at the beginning of Heavensward is a good middle ground. It gives them a chunk of the game they still have to go through while not being that extreme, they can get to the current expansion in a week or 2 and then catch up with their friends.

[dragonseth07]

If at day 1 of the new expansion a brand new player who paid for a potion is at exactly the same spot in progression than people who have gone through all the story, all the duties, etc. then yes, they have all the reasons to feel mad and betrayed.

No, they don't. It's totally nonsensical to get mad about it, because it's irrelevant to you.

[Sicno]

No, they don't. It's totally nonsensical to get mad about it, because it's irrelevant to you.

That you don't care and don't get mad at the fact that after all the grinding you had to do to get to lvl 60 and to get your gear (current jumping potion grants augmented ironworks gear, the new pot will be adjusted most likely to augmented shire) someone who paid with real money gets all that instantly and be exactly where you are on day 1 of the new expansion doesn't mean other people will completely ignore it and not be mad at it. It means all you had to go through can be instantly bought with cash. It's the very definition of pay to win.

[Gemina]

"Quality" subs, as you put it, pay the same as everyone else. I've played a lot of MMO's with very dedicated, very loyal fanbases, that died horrible deaths. A small dedicated playerbase doesn't pay for servers. A large playerbase does.

I've seen the deaths of lots of MMO's, and many players who would rather see their games die with "dignity" rather than figure out how to keep on going in a market that doesn't favor them.

If you want an MMO to live, it needs more sales. Always.

I understand that, and I am not selfish enough to want the game to die. But the jump is too great. Let the new players start at 3.0 instead of the new expansion. Implement more than just two potions. Two potions for the new players, and two potions for the subscribed players. The first two can skip ARR and start at 50 respectively. The latter can skip HW and start @60 respectively.

[dragonseth07]

That you don't care and don't get mad at the fact that after all the grinding you had to do to get to lvl 60 and to get your gear (current jumping potion grants augmented ironworks gear, the new pot will be adjusted most likely to augmented shire) someone who paid with real money gets all that instantly and be exactly where you are on day 1 of the new expansion doesn't mean other people will completely ignore it and not be mad at it. It means all you had to go through can be instantly bought with cash. It's the very definition of pay to win.

I'm sure they will get mad. But, they have no reason to be mad. It's gonna make finding petty, angry people really easy, I guess.

[Underdog2204]

That you don't care and don't get mad at the fact that after all the grinding you had to do to get to lvl 60 and to get your gear (current jumping potion grants augmented ironworks gear, the new pot will be adjusted most likely to augmented shire) someone who paid with real money gets all that instantly and be exactly where you are on day 1 of the new expansion doesn't mean other people will completely ignore it and not be mad at it. It means all you had to go through can be instantly bought with cash. It's the very definition of pay to win.

This is the same as complaining about how "new people can get lore gear within a week but I had to go though weekly locks!". Who cares? You gonna use it far into the expansion? The answer to that question is no... It's reduntant as soon as the expansion hits so why does it matter?

Augemented Ironworks doesn't get things done easy in Heavensward... Dunno why you seem to think its this super powerful stuff.

[Sicno]

This is the same as complaining about how "new people can get lore gear within a week but I had to go though weekly locks!".

One difference is how much do you skip. Meassures to make it easier for new players to catch up when there are years of content to go through are necessary so I agree on the potions existing, but not to the extreme of instantly putting new players on the exact same spot as veterans the moment they launch the game for the 1st time. There's a difference between that and "I skipped a patch or 2 worth of gear (but I still played the game up to this point, even if it was in a nerfed condition)".

Who cares? You gonna use it far into the expansion? The answer to that question is no... It's reduntant as soon as the expansion hits so why does it matter?

Augemented Ironworks doesn't get things done easy in Heavensward... Dunno why you seem to think its this super powerful stuff.

It's not that much a matter of "you need this gear in order to progress" or "this will make everything incredibly easy". Regular content in this game is incredibly easy and having the best possible gear is not really necessary. But even then you'll want to get whatever the game has to offer, and in turn it'll make you feel prepared for whatever challenges come next, since the content will keep coming. Getting better gear be it through grindy means (weekly lockouts/anima) or difficult means (raiding) gives you the satisfaction of performing better and feeling prepared for the unkown, but it's discouraging for some people if all that hard work can be instantly bought by people who has never played the game.

At the same time your job progress and gear serves as bragging rights of sorts. "I'm THIS good at the game" or "I'm THIS dedicated". That may seem arrogant, but it also serves as inspiration and motivation for newer players to have something to work for. When they see your flamboyant character running around town they'll dream of being like you if they keep playing. But what's there to be inspired of when I could just buy my way through it? And yes, what I'm saying applies mostly to the first few days of the new expansion, but it'll still be bitter for a lot of loyal players.

That's why I think the best compromise for making everybody happy is to have the potions jump to the previous expansion instead of the current one. It's not too much content to go through so that it's a huge burden for new players nor too little to trample over veteran players.

[Roth_Trailfinder]

No, they don't. It's totally nonsensical to get mad about it, because it's irrelevant to you.

Its human nature to not care about something, or to not want to care about something, unless it impacts the individual directly. That does not mean that they have no reason to get mad about someone else paying to get, in a moment, what it took them months, or even years, to get.



My opposition to this is because it is the very essence of Pay to Win. People can argue semantics about it ("oh, there's no advantage" or "oh everything bought is available in game" or "its not putting them beyond where I am") but all they are attempting to do is justify it, and justification is only necessary where something would ordinarily be wrong. Also, I honestly don't care about what kind of hurdle "playing the game" is to playing the game. The argument that people don't want to have to play the game to catch up to their friends simply tells me one thing : people don't want to play the game. Its not about being with their friends, its about not wanting to have to play the game. PERIOD.

SE can not and will not retain subscriptions from people who do not want to play the game, Instant-Content-Win potion and Instant-Level-X potion or no. If SE is worried about getting and retaining players, then they must be worried they are doing something wrong with the game, and that something wrong needs to be FIXED, not merely covered over with an ineffectual Pay-To-Win band-aid.

This is the same as complaining about how "new people can get lore gear within a week but I had to go though weekly locks!". Who cares? You gonna use it far into the expansion? The answer to that question is no... It's reduntant as soon as the expansion hits so why does it matter?

Augemented Ironworks doesn't get things done easy in Heavensward... Dunno why you seem to think its this super powerful stuff.

Pay-To-Win is wrong, bad, evil. Is that not enough of a reason for it to matter to people? The same question to the person who posted right below this post :

You'd have more of a point if the potions took you to the current endgame. They don't they take someone to level 60 when these potions are released the current level cap will be 70 and everyone will already be on a fairly equal playing field as none of us will know how our classes will change/ fucntion with the new skills and abilities and anything that is not part of the 4.0 cycle will be irrelevant anyway.

Pay-to-win is wrong, bad, evil. Is that not enough of a reason to oppose it, in any form?

[thegreatonemal]

snip

You'd have more of a point if the potions took you to the current endgame. They don't they take someone to level 60 when these potions are released the current level cap will be 70 and everyone will already be on a fairly equal playing field as none of us will know how our classes will change/ fucntion with the new skills and abilities and anything that is not part of the 4.0 cycle will be irrelevant anyway.

[Derio]

It jumps only 1 job, but you can purchase multiple to jump up several jobs to 60.

However even though it skips them up, does it allow them to get the first time bonus for old content that they skipped?