Criticism of Shadowbringers and the hostility there in

[linayar]

I'm not trying to apply my values, but I really do think there's an important subset of the playerbase who pays just because it's what they always did or because it's like this in WoW, without putting too much thoughts into what they're getting. I know I've been in that position for a while.

WoW gives you incentives to keep subscribing, like mounts for 6-month subscription. FFXIV has nothing like that. They even stopped veteran rewards because they didn't want people to have to subscribe for a long time in order to receive some rewards. It's a very direct and clear offer: subscription fee for server access, while content access is determined by what expansions you own. Everyone is responsible for their own money. It's not your job to be concerned about "saving" people from their own spending choice.

addiction, force of habit and forgetting that they have a recurrent subscription are all things that happen

Addiction and force of habit are a personal problem, not the game's. Or rather, if the game is addicting, then it automatically means it's worth paying for because you are playing it due to your addiction.

Not knowing you have a recurring subscription is a budgeting problem, but if you don't care, then you don't care. I care because I can't afford to spend money on something I'm not deriving satisfaction in using.

do you know everything you're subscribed to and if you do, do you use it enough to warrant paying for it monthly? because many people sadly don't

Yes and yes. It's why I quit WoW and SWTOR because I ended up not playing either much. At least FFXIV's subscription doesn't give you special currency to purchase from the online store, so it really is all about whether you want to play.