Mogstation taking another step to the darkside

[linay]

I overall agree with what you're saying here.

I've mentioned in earlier post that players likely aren't ready to pay for higher sub despite inflation, which leads me to believe Cash Shop practices will only get more significan in the future. It's this standard of 15$/month since forever that I don't think any MMO would dare to question any time soon. WoW might have had the opportunity to set a new standard but they seem to have gone the Cash Shop route.

Personally I'd gladly pay more for sub if it meant no Cash Shop at all. It's out of principle and desire for greater sense of immersion in the game and also prevent potential slippery slope (I realize slippery slope might be fallacy, but it would still put my mind more at ease knowing it's out of the question).

However it's pretty likely I'm in minority with this opinion (for now at least) and there is no solid niche game at the moment that would satisfy this principle. Thus you make a good point imo.

Your principle doesn't make sense, though.

You don't want to be charged separately for things that you want, but are willing to be charged more for things that you may not even want.

In principle alone, I would oppose the latter and accept the former.

[MikaIto]

For me it just boils down to "Dang wish I could have earned that."

[Payadopa]

It seems to me that you have no common sense. Every current day MMO has a cash shop. No one is "shilling for SE" when the simple fact is that EVERYTHING on the Mog Station is completely optional. None of it is predatorial. There's nothing anyone NEEDS from the Mog Station. It's all optional stuff that doesn't impact character stats, gameplay, or overall enjoyment factor. None of it. In fact, the Mog Station isn't even directly tied into the game. You can't open a menu in XIV and access the Mog Station through it. This is literally the most easy going and non-invasive cash shop I've seen in an MMO. Calm the calamity that is your mammeries

So you're part of the 'It's optional' crowd. Fair enough. In a game that has glamour as true end-game wanting to like your best is not optional. It's part of the intended experience.

It it wasn't SE would just release the same looking gear with different stats. If nobody speaks out against these practices they'll continue to tighten their grasp. It's common business sense. Look no further than EA or Nintendo's (clumsy) steps over the years. It has happened and has been documented countless times and yet... here we are. It's sad, really.

Also, what does least intrusive even mean? I'm paying for the game and a subscription. This isn't F2P. Goes to show how indoctrinated people already are. That stuff wouldn't have flown 15 years ago.

[Fland]

IMO cash shop doesn't really have anything to do with reskinned in-game gear. Like others have mentioned, the team that makes the cash shop items is different than the team that makes in-game items. Even if the cash shop is removed it won't magically make the in-game gears all interesting, unique, and not a reskin (and no, the gears that are currently in cash shop won't be made in the first place if there was no cash shop). Sometimes we get new unique gears, sometimes we get reskinned gears. That is a decision from the devs that has no relevancy with the cash shop.

[StriderShinryu]

For me it just boils down to "Dang wish I could have earned that."

Yeah, pretty much the same here. It's a great looking mount and I'd love to have it. Them putting it store only, and especially at that price, has basically meant I won't be getting it if/until it goes on major sale. It sucks but that's just the way it works. It's definitely not the first thing on the store that I've thought looked great but is priced out of what I consider personally worth the cost but they wouldn't price the items the way they do if there weren't others who were willing to pay up.

[Gemina]

For me it just boils down to "Dang wish I could have earned that."

If you make an honest living and purchase something from the cash shop; consider it earned. Just in another way. The people making stuff and placing them in the cash shop are also trying to make an honest living. Both the cash shop and the game should be filled to the brim with items players want.

[Lastelli]

My biggest gripe is that mog station mounts usually look interesting and polished, while in game mounts are mostly shrank down mob/boss models.
You can tell how much care and attention in game mounts get by looking at the Ramuh mount...it doesn't even have a normal galloping animation despite being a half-horse because the boss just levitates...

[Fland]

My biggest gripe is that mog station mounts usually look interesting and polished, while in game mounts are mostly shrank down mob/boss models.
You can tell how much care and attention in game mounts get by looking at the Ramuh mount...it doesn't even have a normal galloping animation despite being a half-horse because the boss just levitates...

It's mostly subjective. For me for example, the cumulus mount doesn't look that polished and the fat moogle mount looks weird.
On the contrary, some of the best looking mounts for me are the ones obtainable in-game.

Also what do you mean by normal galloping animation? Ramuh still has galloping animation even if it's floating.

[SamRF]

If you make an honest living and purchase something from the cash shop; consider it earned. Just in another way. The people making stuff and placing them in the cash shop are also trying to make an honest living. Both the cash shop and the game should be filled to the brim with items players want.

It should be understandable that some don't want to earn things that way in a video game.

Also breaks some kind of immersion when you pull out your real life wallet to get specific item in the game.

[Gemina]

Yeah, pretty much the same here. It's a great looking mount and I'd love to have it. Them putting it store only, and especially at that price, has basically meant I won't be getting it if/until it goes on major sale. It sucks but that's just the way it works. It's definitely not the first thing on the store that I've thought looked great but is priced out of what I consider personally worth the cost but they wouldn't price the items the way they do if there weren't others who were willing to pay up.

I bought the Spriggy mount last night. I also felt the price tag was too high, but also know that is what account wide mounts typically go for. So they are even more pricey for players like myself who only have one character to take advantage of it. Despite that, as soon as I hopped on that Spriggy I immediately did not regret the purchase. I honestly cannot remember the last time 24 bucks made me so happy, as I knew it would, because I asked for a Spriggy mount the moment I knew both Spriggans and mounts existed in this game.

It was a rare feeling. As someone who can't trust anything positive due to a feeling of an awareness of a universal latent effect that will undoubtedly bring about the balancing negative; I feel like this was a steal at 24USD. You can't put a price tag on that kind of elation.

Whether or not it is affordable is another matter, but I think most of us could and probably do spend that 24USD on things that don't bring anywhere near the same benefit.