Why do casual players seem entitled to cosmetic items added in game?

[Supersnow845]

I agree that there really isn't an objective way to decide where rewards go, and also that many people are miffed it is in savage because they don't do savage. That said, there is a broader context which I'd suggest makes it a poor decision to put it in savage.

1. Patch cycles are front-loaded with high-end content. Casuals are thus feeling neglected.
2. One of the most-requested additions for years have been more long hairstyles.
3. The hairstyle has no thematic link with the raid.
4. A perception (possibly false) that cosmetics are held in higher esteem by casuals than raiders.

We can create reverse-scenario analogies. It would be puzzling, for example, if being rewarded with BiS required you to catch all the rare animals on Sanctuary Island.

Place all this in the broader context of an uninspiring story, really miserable society quests, and the narrative that SE is pandering to hardcore players, and this reaction was completely predictable. Casual players -- the largest sub-group in the player base -- are feeling unloved, and are complaining as a result.

And yes, I recognize it can be bought on the MB and that mitigates the above somewhat. Honestly, the only way any of my characters would wear it is if they accidentally got transported to Haight-Ashbury c. 1968. I can almost smell the patchouli.

See this is where the problem is coming from

1) conflation of 2 points in this thread. Casual content being under-offered this expansion is not the same thing as saying “if you both aren’t willing to try CAR or buy it you shouldn’t feel entitled to it”. I fully agree that casual content is pathetic this expansion but that’s got near nothing to do with the idea that if you aren’t willing to go for a rare item in various ways you shouldn’t feel entitled to it. Is there an argument the hair shouldn’t have been a savage reward; yes I’d say there is. But in the context of the fact it is one if you won’t try one of the two avenues to get it then that’s more a personal problem

2) the reward is no more “casual” than it is “hardcore”. You specifically use the analogy “what if BIS was locked behind IS” directly implying that this is a casual reward locked behind high end as your analogy is the reverse. What makes this a “casual” reward? How do you determine what rewards low effort casual only players intrinsically have the right to? What if this reward was instead say a reward for 10/10/10 in Bozja. That’s all casual content but it’s a long grind people wouldn’t like. How do you determine as a playerbase wide arrangement of who is intrinsically entitled to what based on what content. It feels like most of these complaints are proxy complaints for lack of content

[Mawlzy]

See this is where the problem is coming from

1) conflation of 2 points in this thread. Casual content being under-offered this expansion is not the same thing as saying “if you both aren’t willing to try CAR or buy it you shouldn’t feel entitled to it”. I fully agree that casual content is pathetic this expansion but that’s got near nothing to do with the idea that if you aren’t willing to go for a rare item in various ways you shouldn’t feel entitled to it. Is there an argument the hair shouldn’t have been a savage reward; yes I’d say there is. But in the context of the fact it is one if you won’t try one of the two avenues to get it then that’s more a personal problem

2) the reward is no more “casual” than it is “hardcore”. You specifically use the analogy “what if BIS was locked behind IS” directly implying that this is a casual reward locked behind high end as your analogy is the reverse. What makes this a “casual” reward? How do you determine what rewards low effort casual only players intrinsically have the right to? What if this reward was instead say a reward for 10/10/10 in Bozja. That’s all casual content but it’s a long grind people wouldn’t like. How do you determine as a playerbase wide arrangement of who is intrinsically entitled to what based on what content. It feels like most of these complaints are proxy complaints for lack of content

Sure, people tend to complain more when they are annoyed about other aspects of game direction. Many people are currently very annoyed.

FWIW I don't think people are entitled to any in-game reward. But "being willing to try CAR" doesn't earn you the reward, does it? And encouraging people to try CAR is a pretty bad idea when most cannot clear it and will simply annoy the raiders.

So sure, it can be bought. And many casual players, rightly or wrongly, see this as their gil being siphoned off to hand to the favorite players. The players SQEX actually values. Because they play the game how SQEX wants them to. See how unpleasant this gets?

Basically I agree with you. The complaints about the hairstyle being locked behind savage are intertwined with a host of other complaints about game direction, the majority of which are legitimate. In that purist and abstract sense, I can see how the complaints come across as entitlement.

Here's a thought experiment. Let's suppose six months ago, we had a thread here titled "What could SQEX do in 7.1 to most annoy the playerbase?"

I would bet folding money a top answer would be "lock a long hairstyle behind a savage raid." The only reason it might not appear is most people couldn't conceive of SQEX doing something that monumentally stupid.

[MrJPtheAssassin]

So sure, it can be bought. And many casual players, rightly or wrongly, see this as their gil being siphoned off to hand to the favorite players. The players SQEX actually values. Because they play the game how SQEX wants them to. See how unpleasant this gets?

Honestly, I never thought about this before but Im glad you bought this up. The casual to mid-core players can buy the hairstyle from the MB but it's not really a feel-good buy honestly. Like look at this patch, raiders got everything. They got new content, 2 mounts, a hairstyle, more gear(that can be used as glam and BiS), and a way to make lots of money. What did casual to mid-core players get? The ability to give raiders gil for a mount or hairstyle. It just feels like a rich get richer and poor get poorer situation where the favorited player base gets everything and the other player base only gets the ability to hand over their money to the favorites.

[Arrius]

Honestly, I never thought about this before but Im glad you bought this up. The casual to mid-core players can buy the hairstyle from the MB but it's not really a feel-good buy honestly. Like look at this patch, raiders got everything. They got new content, 2 mounts, a hairstyle, more gear(that can be used as glam and BiS), and a way to make lots of money. What did casual to mid-core players get? The ability to give raiders gil for a mount or hairstyle. It just feels like a rich get richer and poor get poorer situation where the favorited player base gets everything and the other player base only gets the ability to hand over their money to the favorites.

That applies when Gil is around as a somewhat limited currency, but you can generate it en masse out of nowhere through roulettes, turn-ins and society quests.

[MrJPtheAssassin]

That applies when Gil is around as a somewhat limited currency, but you can generate it en masse out of nowhere through roulettes, turn-ins and society quests.

Yes, I know you can make gil but that's not the point of my reply you replying to...All those ways to make gil isn't new or even that fun...I find doing roulette extremely boring to do bc you get the same old duns every single day, the turn-ins just feel like chores, and dailies are also so boring. The point is there is nothing new for casual and mid-core players to do right now. Yes, they can farm gil to buy the hairstyle, but the ways to do it have been in the game for years and all of it just boring and feels unrewarding to do. Meanwhile, raiders got everything so far the expac. I don't think ppl feel entitled, I think ppl just want something to do that is new and fun to have the chance to earn a reward. If they added a new way to earn gil this patch that was fun for casual and mid core players to do then getting the hairstyle from the MB wouldn't feel so bad IMO. But instead, they get nothing and have to hand over their gil over the raiders who got everything.

[hydralus]

The next cute hairstyle is going to be a rare drop from submarine ventures.

[Eyrilona]

The next cute hairstyle is going to be a rare drop from submarine ventures.

Description: "Unbeknownst to many, these glossy locks are actually a species of jellyfish."

[Tint]

The next cute hairstyle is going to be a rare drop from submarine ventures.

At least it would generally be available then in the long term.

Prices on EU are now in the 20-22 mio range, constantly rising.

[Mawlzy]

2) the reward is no more “casual” than it is “hardcore”. You specifically use the analogy “what if BIS was locked behind IS” directly implying that this is a casual reward locked behind high end as your analogy is the reverse. What makes this a “casual” reward?

Here's a key difference. A non-raider has no use for BiS gear. All players can use a hairstyle.

Does that matter? I'm not even sure. This whole episode and the nasty reactions have soured me on the game tbh.

[Saraide]

Here's a key difference. A non-raider has no use for BiS gear. All players can use a hairstyle.

Does that matter? I'm not even sure. This whole episode and the nasty reactions have soured me on the game tbh.

All players can use mounts aswell. The axolotl thread was bait btw.