Why telling people to unsub is a horrible defense of the game.

[VirusOnline]

1. The game is deliberately designed in a way that disincentivizes players from unsubbing.

The most common example that people use is the housing demolition timer. You'd still need to sub for at least 50% of the time to keep your house.

It only took me a year to understand why I never sat well with this line lol. But I really don't like this example. It's too easy to make a false dilemma out of it if you ignore who it affects (housed and unhoused) and how and why the housing system is the way it is.

Housing became a feature in 2.1.
Individual housing didn't start until 2.38, 9 mos after 2.1.
Reclamation system was put into place in 3.1, after another 9 mos in direct result of housing shortage and inactive-owned houses.

I really began maining XIV during HW. Seeing an empty plot on Excalibur ? Not a thing. Imagine the bigger more popular servers. For those who knew how plots became available during this time - you knew. But demand only continued to rise and rise.
The reclamation system was an effort to help that. Then came the extra wards.

As it is now, we have about 6 periods where houses go up for reclaim. If we extended the reclamation period to 60, then there would be 4 periods of reclaim. 90 ? 3 periods of reclaim. Etc. A player without a house would have only these times to attempt the lottery in a year while an inactive-owned house sits there.
Someone could try 6 times in the lottery and not get a house meaning the player had waited an entire year and was not successful. On the other hand, the inactive-owned house is given 6 chances during the year to keep it from being demo. And due to a combination of costs/infrastructure/instancing/YoshiBeingYoshi, the housing system will likely never change.

Can we say that the game is deliberately keeping player from unsubbing in order to keep their house knowing these past and current issues ?


Along those lines ...
In a year if a player only subbed for a house and only pay their sub before their house is reclaimed, in the end they would have only paid 6 times vs 12 times (1 sub fee per each month, 30 days). SE loses a maximum potential of 6 months of sub fee for allowing a player 45 days after they last entered their house. Or in this case let's say after their last sub day which we'll also say was the last day they entered their house.

A lot of players here have a saying: "if you lose your house, you didn't need it". If that's true, then those 6 weeks are in fact a grace period from SE. The system was made to evaluate that you didn't need your house (inactive player) and it's time to free up the resource. But while you see disincentive, an extra 6 weeks outside of the natural sub period (30 days) could be considered a grace period in advantage of the inactive player. SE has even created apartments and FC housing to compensate, but alas the playerbase wants the valuable commodity.

Many who don't play but resub for their house alone are hanging onto something that exists as a "just in case I need it/want to enjoy it/can't get it again" or because it's simply a valuable/unique resource in the game. I don't care how you spend your money, but you know how the system works and if you want that house that is what you have to pay to keep it. At the end of the day, it is you alone who gets to decide what is worth your money.

But, to say it's deliberate disincentivisation to not unsub isn't fair when you consider the leeway SE has given: inactive players are given multiple notices and a 6 week grace period and up to a 6 month discount.

*had to fix my maths
*side effects of mathing while sleep, don't do it people
*i am now questioning math

[LianaThorne]

snip.

Personally I think the people in this camp are using housing as a status symbol and freak out at the thought of losing it because of how hard it is to get housing on DCs other than Dynamis (which I've been screaming into the void for months now that people can just go get an easy house there). Now we're getting housing items in Island Sanctuary (and I would think since they're taking these steps that other forms of customization similar to ward housing will be coming down the line) so the point of how you need to stay subbed for it is going to diminish since you can just start using that as a form of housing starting tomorrow.

[ZephyrMenodora]

Still such a strange topic needlessly necrod after it was dead a year. I don’t see how unsubbing or telling people to unsubscribe is defending a game. I unsub from this and many other mmos when they aren’t holding my interest and my decision to give my money to another product isn’t a defense of any of them.

The commentary that Devs can’t specifically cater to any one persons whims so that they are delighted for 10 years straight is not a defense of the game either. It’s simply reality for any game and the people ranting here would find disappointment, in time, wherever they go.

[Amenara]

Still such a strange topic needlessly necrod after it was dead a year. I don’t see how unsubbing or telling people to unsubscribe is defending a game. I unsub from this and many other mmos when they aren’t holding my interest and my decision to give my money to another product isn’t a defense of any of them.

The commentary that Devs can’t specifically cater to any one persons whims so that they are delighted for 10 years straight is not a defense of the game either. It’s simply reality for any game and the people ranting here would find disappointment, in time, wherever they go.

The issue is when criticism of the game is met with the retort that you should unsub from the game. I 100% agree you should unsub if you aren't having fun and it's what I am doing after my house rots on Thursday, however if people still want to play the game and just want to provide criticism or recommendations for things to make the game better, telling them to just unsub is unhelpful for everyone. That being said, I hope 7.0 makes some changes for the game to be fun for me again...

[Saraide]

The issue is when criticism of the game is met with the retort that you should unsub from the game. I 100% agree you should unsub if you aren't having fun and it's what I am doing after my house rots on Thursday, however if people still want to play the game and just want to provide criticism or recommendations for things to make the game better, telling them to just unsub is unhelpful for everyone. That being said, I hope 7.0 makes some changes for the game to be fun for me again...

I agree that it is a waste of time but it's not a defense of the game. It's essentially telling people to do their part and let the game die if they think it sucks. Needlessly binary, no doubt. But it's not a defense of the game, quite literally the opposite.

[Amenara]

I agree that it is a waste of time but it's not a defense of the game. It's essentially telling people to do their part and let the game die if they think it sucks. Needlessly binary, no doubt. But it's not a defense of the game, quite literally the opposite.

The problem is when the blanket just unsub statement comes out to retort against people who legitimately still play and just want it to be better. It's a bad argument to make against honest opinions of people who still play and just want it to be better and I feel like it pops in way too much. That being said I do think both sides are too antagonistic against each other and opinions should be approached with open-mindedness and discussion but it has become very polarized between those who are very hyperbolic with their opinions on the game and those who will defend it to the extreme. It's obviously not everyone who posts here but they are generally the loudest ones on the forums which only makes it worse. Reminds me of where politics in the US are.

[Sheriyana]

The devs were very transparent about the delays we would have for the patches we are seeing now. We all knew there would be much wider gaps so expanding the break time should have been expected. I'm really not sure why people are shocked by this.

And that makes it good how exactly? Being transparent about something doesn't mean it's good. And once again, for the millionth time, I'm not necessarily talking about the time in between patches but the longevity of the content, which currently is basically nonexistent.

[Sheriyana]

Except many of us do have content to do. It comes down to personal interest in the various types of content being offered.

The majority of content between ShB and EW is the same type in the same quantity with the following exceptions:
ShB had Bozja and Firmament
EW has Variant/Criterion, Deep Dungeon and Island Sanctuary

Were you spending that much time on Bozja and/or Firmament last expansion that it kept you busy all patch, or is that looking back with rose colored glasses? Were you doing other things like leveling up jobs you had previously ignored so now this expansion instead of having 50-80 levels to go you only had 10?

It helps to have specifics on why you were active during patch cycles last expansion but are bored this expansion. What were you doing then that you aren't doing now that makes the difference?

Do you have some obsessive compulsion or what is up with you debate lording everything? Yes, I did do said content in Shadowbringers, now there is no such content that will keep you busy, there is no reason to spend more than 5 minutes a day in the Island Sanctuary, there's no reason to keep doing variant/criterion for no rewards, deep dungeon was obsolete on patch day when the relic weapon was better and basically handed to you. This is not a difficult concept to grasp, there is no LONGEVITY to any of the new content.

[Xirean]

And that makes it good how exactly? Being transparent about something doesn't mean it's good. And once again, for the millionth time, I'm not necessarily talking about the time in between patches but the longevity of the content, which currently is basically nonexistent.

I didn't say it was good. I'm saying people shouldn't be surprised.

now there is no such content that will keep you busy, there is no reason to spend more than 5 minutes a day in the Island Sanctuary, there's no reason to keep doing variant/criterion for no rewards, deep dungeon was obsolete on patch day when the relic weapon was better and basically handed to you. This is not a difficult concept to grasp, there is no LONGEVITY to any of the new content.

Then why keep paying if there is nothing to do? This is not a difficult concept to grasp, if there is no longevity in the new content why are you still paying for it?

[Iyrnthota]

The problem is when the blanket just unsub statement comes out to retort against people who legitimately still play and just want it to be better. It's a bad argument to make against honest opinions of people who still play and just want it to be better and I feel like it pops in way too much. That being said I do think both sides are too antagonistic against each other and opinions should be approached with open-mindedness and discussion but it has become very polarized between those who are very hyperbolic with their opinions on the game and those who will defend it to the extreme. It's obviously not everyone who posts here but they are generally the loudest ones on the forums which only makes it worse. Reminds me of where politics in the US are.

I can only speak anecdotally, but from my experience poking around these forums the past month or more, the "just unsub" comments don't tend to be thrown about for someone who just expresses dissatisfaction with parts of the game. They tend to come up for these repeat posters who do nothing but complain about every aspect of the game.

Like, no-one is going to take seriously the suggestion to unsub if you make a post saying you're not pleased with the state of healers recently.

But when you make multiple forum posts every week saying you don't like the story, you don't like the job balance or feel, you don't like the raid content, you don't like the housing, you don't like relic quests, you don't like the crafting, on and on and on. Eventually people gonna ask what the hell are you still doing here? You know?

Like, I get wanting the game you enjoy to be better, but when there's legitimately nothing you like about the current game....