Feeling really down about no mog gifts for Christmas

[Johners]

You see a piss poor shop. I see a less predatory gaming experience.

I see a piss poor shop because that's exactly what it is, a predatory and poorly implemented store.

There's more cash store items in this paid, subscription based MMO than the main competitor in WoW. There's FOMO items from previous event that aren't obtainable in the following year's version of the same event, you have to buy them. There's more adverts for new additions on the launcher, the Steam client news feed and the social media channels than competing games do for their MTX/cash store.

I don't see why keeping direct store access out of the game client suddenly makes any of that ok, it just doesn't. It's a predatory cash store that relies on FOMO and advertising to you in the news/social media feeds for the game.

[Reinha]

One christmas in my previous fc we had volunteers donate items to the fc bank in advance, then gave out random gifts to everyone. No one felt pressured to buy anything from the Mog Station and people could participate with as little or as much as they could or wanted to.

[Deveryn]

I see a piss poor shop because that's exactly what it is, a predatory and poorly implemented store.

There's more cash store items in this paid, subscription based MMO than the main competitor in WoW. There's FOMO items from previous event that aren't obtainable in the following year's version of the same event, you have to buy them. There's more adverts for new additions on the launcher, the Steam client news feed and the social media channels than competing games do for their MTX/cash store.

I don't see why keeping direct store access out of the game client suddenly makes any of that ok, it just doesn't. It's a predatory cash store that relies on FOMO and advertising to you in the news/social media feeds for the game.

OK, so you must be a WoW shill because they're way more predatory. You said it yourself when you praised how you can buy things from in the game. Nothing in the FFXIV store is necessary for participating / winning in the game, while WoW has tokens for in game currency and items. You basically pay extra to participate in raids.

XIV's "FOMO items" as you call them are nothing more than an optional courtesy. You missed an event and can generally get the item for less than it would've cost to play during that time. That's less pressure on the customer to stay subscribed.

Who cares if there are adverts on the launcher or on social media? That's what any good business is supposed to do. When they start having shopping cart icons in the game itself is when things get legitimately predatory.

[Arzalis]

I don't know if predatory is the word I'd use, but FFXIV does sell quite a few things that should just be available in the game.

Ex: They actually used to let you buy the last year's event items for gil when the event re-ran, but they stopped doing it so they could sell it in the cash shop instead.

[Johners]

OK, so you must be a WoW shill because they're way more predatory. You said it yourself when you praised how you can buy things from in the game. Nothing in the FFXIV store is necessary for participating / winning in the game, while WoW has tokens for in game currency and items. You basically pay extra to participate in raids.

XIV's "FOMO items" as you call them are nothing more than an optional courtesy. You missed an event and can generally get the item for less than it would've cost to play during that time. That's less pressure on the customer to stay subscribed.

Who cares if there are adverts on the launcher or on social media? That's what any good business is supposed to do. When they start having shopping cart icons in the game itself is when things get legitimately predatory.

The FOMO items are predatory because they should just stay available in game at the event vendor. This year's Easter event, for example, had a FATE which gave eggs you then spent on a small pool of items at a vendor. All Easter event rewards ever added into XIV should've just been available at the vendor and newer players would just farm the FATE more to unlock them.


I don't buy the idea that the cash store isn't predatory solely because you can't directly access it in the game client. It's not a secret, everyone knows it exists and you see the items everywhere in game. Whether it's glamour, mounts or even housing customisations, you do see it.


As for WoW, I'm not shilling the game but the amount of items is much lower. Regarding the token, that's just a way of utilising supply and demand within the player base as a convenient substitute for RMT that would othewise happen. Not to mention things like level boosts exist to remove account sharing services that once existed to do this for you.


We're long past the stage in which cash stores are going to disappear in online games like XIV, WoW or anything else. In that case, they might as well be easily useable and actually allow players to gift rather than these arbitrary limitations in XIV (and the fact certain cosmetics are character specific which is just dumb).

[Deveryn]

I don't know if predatory is the word I'd use, but FFXIV does sell quite a few things that should just be available in the game.

Ex: They actually used to let you buy the last year's event items for gil when the event re-ran, but they stopped doing it so they could sell it in the cash shop instead.

Doesn't Moonfire still sell some of the old items? Either way, it doesn't seem that sinister, but maybe that's just me. There's no sense in loading up a vendor with Chinese New Year goods from other years when that year has passed.

[Deveryn]

The FOMO items are predatory because they should just stay available in game at the event vendor. This year's Easter event, for example, had a FATE which gave eggs you then spent on a small pool of items at a vendor. All Easter event rewards ever added into XIV should've just been available at the vendor and newer players would just farm the FATE more to unlock them.


I don't buy the idea that the cash store isn't predatory solely because you can't directly access it in the game client. It's not a secret, everyone knows it exists and you see the items everywhere in game. Whether it's glamour, mounts or even housing customisations, you do see it.


As for WoW, I'm not shilling the game but the amount of items is much lower. Regarding the token, that's just a way of utilising supply and demand within the player base as a convenient substitute for RMT that would othewise happen. Not to mention things like level boosts exist to remove account sharing services that once existed to do this for you.


We're long past the stage in which cash stores are going to disappear in online games like XIV, WoW or anything else. In that case, they might as well be easily useable and actually allow players to gift rather than these arbitrary limitations in XIV (and the fact certain cosmetics are character specific which is just dumb).

I don't buy the idea that you don't understand what actually constitutes predatory behavior and you definitely come off as a shill talking more highly of WoW and its practices. Maybe you're just used to it on the Western game market. Cash stores are necessary to help keep these games afloat, but I don't believe they need to be so integrated into the game we spend so much time on. SE is less aggressive with their marketing and it's working for them. I get bombarded with enough bullshit elsewhere online and offline. I really like looking at my game screen and not seeing a single sign of predatory behavior like a shopping cart icon or any kind of ad for specials when I get past login. Call it old-fashioned, but I appreciate being able to simply play my game.

[Rockette]

You know you can still do this right? Not directly but with gift cards. Might even work better as people can choose what they want from the store themselves.

What gift cards?

[VelKallor]

XIV's "FOMO items" as you call them are nothing more than an optional courtesy. You missed an event and can generally get the item for less than it would've cost to play during that time. That's less pressure on the customer to stay subscribed.

Yup whereas Blizzard gets their chainsaw and you never see whatever it is again. Ever. Blizzard has literally carved out ENTIRE QUESTLINES at will. You werent here? Tough luck too bad so sad. But here, heres a reskinned recolour of a mount you can have for subscribing for SIX MONTHS.

I nearly died laughing at this "epic Feldrake"..which is a recolour of an existing mount with some green stuff attached.

Speaking of predatory..all the lore fof FF 145 is in the game. WOW asks you to buy.....what is it so far...25 books? to see what we already get in MSQ...anything and everything to keep you paying and playing......FOMO is in itself a predatory practice.

Regarding the token, that's just a way of utilising supply and demand within the player base as a convenient substitute for RMT that would othewise happen.

Spend real money - get token - sell token on AH - get gold - use gold to buy carries - pay to win.

..and dont even get me STARTED on Diablo 3's RMAH.......or Diablo Immortal fort that matter..

( FYI? Moonfire gear can be CRAFTED. No money needed. )

[Raoabolic]

OK, so you must be a WoW shill because they're way more predatory. You said it yourself when you praised how you can buy things from in the game. Nothing in the FFXIV store is necessary for participating / winning in the game, while WoW has tokens for in game currency and items. You basically pay extra to participate in raids.

XIV's "FOMO items" as you call them are nothing more than an optional courtesy. You missed an event and can generally get the item for less than it would've cost to play during that time. That's less pressure on the customer to stay subscribed.

Who cares if there are adverts on the launcher or on social media? That's what any good business is supposed to do. When they start having shopping cart icons in the game itself is when things get legitimately predatory.

Just because WoW made the concept accepted with the "Gamurz™" doesn't mean that SE gets a free pass at doing the same thing. We can go into how XIV has copied the bad parts of WoW as well (dailies/fomo/cash shops in a game with a monthly fee/ect.) but defending SE to this degree reeks of the same type of person that allowed past MMOs to fall into the usual trappings and then scratches their head when the game is hemorrhaging players.