I completely get the argument that these items would never have been created if it wasn't for the purpose of selling them on the cash shop, but if I honestly had to choose, I'd take a couple extra dungeons per patch over a handful of mounts and $18 outfits that I'd have to pay extra for.

Which leads me to this question- wasn't the near-outrageous price tag on these outfits somehow linked with the fact that SE would need permission from the Chinese/Korean companies distributing and running FFXIV in those countries to market their items? Pretty sure there was a copyright argument there, because I gave SE the benefit of the doubt on that for all the Chinese and Korean exclusive dresses and outfits they've added over time, thinking that those were the only ones they'd charge that much for. But oops! It was apparently a new normal. Oh well... fooled twice, shame on me. So I'm waiting for a sale before I touch these or anything else added at nearly $20 a pop.