As someone said before, using VPN + sub + retainers makes the game expensive to sustain, playing from Brazil. Some people use the Steam version to pay the sub and Steam's USD to BRL conversion makes the sub affordable and they also avoid taxes by doing that. Still, for us early adopters who have been playing the game since launch it sucks because we can't get that option and have to pay for all the services in dollars. As an early supporter, I got the shaft, but I chose to overlook that since I love the game so much.

As for the ping, I got excited because inside my housing ward I could do things with my opener that I NEVER could do before, but then I saw on reddit that the housing wards respond differently to player input. I tested on SSS and I am losing from 2 to 3 GCDs on openers, depending on the class. The cumulative clipping will eat several GCDs in the course of a fight, which basically destroys any plans that I or fellow Brazilians had of raiding seriously in Stormblood.