There is a segment of people out there who are interested in the game as a FINAL FANTASY game, but are not willing to schill out the monthly fee.

reasons for not wanting to pay a monthly fee are
  • Does not think the monthly fee is a good entertainment value
  • is not comfortable with paying more than the box for a game.
  • Cannot afford to do so

Most of these guys probably never payed a subscription fee in their lives, And I don't blame them when you look at what 'free' gets. It is pretty much on par with p2p service. If p2p really wants to compete they have to offer a service that is immediately more apparent. Obviously we know what the difference is between f2p and p2p. I think the best way is for the crew to spike the game with significant and meaningful content (story and battle) on a much higher rate than now and higher than any other MMO. When people play ARR, they should be getting the feeling that their money spent and time spent is twice as worth it as a netflix subscription.

On another note, its pretty funny to see those people who say they will leave the game if it goes f2p. Leave to where? Elder scrolls online? The myriad of classic pre-wow mmo's? Guild Wars 2? oh.. of course. The Secret World :3. when you look at things objectively, both models affect the design of the content. One is determined to make you play for as long as they can, and the other is designed to squeeze a couple of dimes out of you every once in a while before you take a break. the only way to get a pure experience is to not play an mmo.