Quote Originally Posted by Ashthra View Post
It is fair, though -- if you were to stop playing for three days, the way that guy with a 40+ hour a week job may often have to, then you would accrue the exact same amount of rested experience he does. It is, for all intents and purposes, equal.

Frankly, I find all of this hilariously poetic. How many times was the casual player told over the years, "Nothing's stopping you from getting what you want out of [X game], just set aside the time to do it or don't cry about it!" and now, the moment a bone is thrown in their direction, they get to hear from the very same people that were telling them to suck it up, "HEY THAT ISN'T FAIR, WHY CAN'T I GET THAT?!"

Well. Nothing's stopping you from getting what you want out of FFXIV, just set aside the time to gain the rested exp, or don't cry about it.
I disagree with your assessment of my view. It's not that I feel it's unfair for the people who put in more time- I feel it's ethically unfair from a systems perspective. If our rewards are a result of the time we put in the game, which we both seem to agree on, I understand your perspective. You have other obligations that you feel are more important, they prevent you from putting in as many XIV hours as [random dude x]. That's fine. If they choose to give you a handicap to help stay on par with [random dude x] that's fine too. I choose to play this game, I have the liberty to walk away. I'm absolutely fine accepting their rules- and I don't think either group, casual or hardcore, is excessively benefiting from rest exp.

Time is the currency of MMOs. If we make a metaphor out of this, it can be compared to any other system with a currency, e.g: work, trading/bartering, etc. The differences people are debating in this thread are not casual versus hardcore, or exp reward systems, they're philosophical. Some people believe in individual reward equally distributed as a result of effort (no bonuses for anyone); and some people believe individuals with less opportunity should receive systemic benefits to elevate them to a common standard within a community (bonuses for less equitable individuals in the group).

The less equitable individuals are not worse players, or unintelligent; they're just people who put in less time. Time ends up being the currency of the system. If the devs feel that they want systems to elevate people in the community with less opportunity to receive bonuses that's entirely their choice. People who find this element a deal-breaker are free to leave. I'm not going to ragequit, it's not a trumping issue for me personally by any means. I just do not agree with the philosophy from a broad perspective.