This isn't about pay to win - this is about the erosion of value of our subscription.

Emotes, outfits, hairstyles - these things used to be considered completely under the canopy of "what we already paid for with our subscription". This was baseline - right up there along with new dungeons, new story, and a plethora of other content. But it seems, and Square Enix is not the only one guilty of this, mind you, that this baseline is being shaven away at each time. Where more of the content we used to enjoy is being thrown into the cash shop, leaving us a continually narrowing definition of bare minimum when it comes updates we get from our subscription and playtime alone.

Up until recently (the import of Chinese exclusive items to Mogstation) emotes were not a part of the canopy of Mogstation, unless it was part of an already expired event, in which players had their opportunity to earn it in game first. Now, a core tenant of social interaction - emotes, are becoming progressively more exclusive and shelled out for extra money.

It was BARELY tolerable that Zantetsuken was an exclusive to buying a figurine - but then it actually made marketing sense as the move is signature to the figurine being sold.

"Play Dead" and "Backflip", honestly, are basic things anyone in an immersive environment should be able to do without paying extra for it.

Imagine if macros were paywalled - Or combo indicators - Or the A B an C ground markers. Sure, we don't need them to play the game but they're a part of how we communicate. For as much as this is a combat game, it is also a social venue. And continually slicing away at what value our core subscription gives us does not encourage newer or even veteran players to continue to invest in the game - especially when what little baseline of our content we have is under constant criticism on how bare and unengaging it seems to many players.

This would be more excusable if this was Free to Play. But it's not - and it is personally concerning to me that my subscription continues to provide less and less of a turnaround on investment.