Why do Vanity items / Player housing / Pets exist?

[Azazela]

Because this is a PVE game based around casuals. High end PVE is for a much smaller playerbase than all these fun universally accessable gimmicks.

[Sixmp]

Isn't an MMO about immersion? The more of the little things they add the more "real" the world will feel.
Instead of that weekly run people end up doing at end game people will log in after doing that to play mini games with friends or do some pvp or collects pets or build/collect things for their own living space.

It adds to the feel of the world, while letting you add some of your personality to the space you take up.

[Uveck]

Stop wasting dev resources in "Player Housing" - Why should I care about a housing area that's just a deliberate attempt at adding more padding to time-consumption. That will have little to no effect to me. Seriously, they fleeced people already by saying "earn an Ahrman pet (that does nothing)" for 90days upfront. - Yeah you can wait but many people paid all upfront.

Because housing items will give players bonuses on exp, etc

[Meleena]

Game is fine, housing is fine, looking forward to it.

[ZephyrK]

I honestly thought the original post was a troll attempt.

FFXIV is a "Theme Park MMO." If you've ever been to a theme park, you would know you aren't interested in everything it has to offer, but there's probably something that interests you a great deal. I believe this what they are going for.

If you were expecting an ARPG out of FFXIV, that is not part of this game's design. It is laser focused on nothing.

[Tahldon]

Wow. Well isn't this just the heated topic of the day.

I don't know OP, I rather like it when Kidragora follows me around while I do botany. It used to be so lonely... The only company I used to have were those Efts... and for some reason... they just kept trying to kill me...

[Malkavianqueen]

My question is, why is catering to casual players a BAD thing if it extends the game's lifespan? The people who leave the game are the ones who get burned out on it by sitting and grinding out the content in a week and then lose interest, only to resub when the new raids or whatever come out...And then leave again. By adding fun content like vanity items, pets, and housing (and minigames!) it allows for different methods of play and different things to strive for and DO. This means a more diverse playerbase and longevity in the long run, especially for crafters who right now are primarily only able to sell to other crafters.

I hate the mindset of casual = bad. Some of us have lives. Some of us like to have other things to do in games than fight mobs all day. I like to have my characters look pretty, have pets to follow me around and have a cute house to show off my things and sense of style. =D

[Caselia]

My question is, why is catering to casual players a BAD thing if it extends the game's lifespan?

It doesn't, casuals may be the larger market, but they're usually the ones to quit first because something "new and shiny" comes along and they move there. MMOs are meant for longevity which means shit should take a lot longer than it does now, but because devs are just aiming for a quick buck they kill any long term goals that hardcore players/"dedicated" players play for.

Edit: And this game has no identity, so much crap tossed in taken from other games makes it feel hollow and without improving these systems to give it great depth will drive people away. A theme park style does not work for this game.

[Malkavianqueen]

casuals may be the larger market, but they're usually the ones to quit first because something "new and shiny" comes along

I get what you're saying, but that's a pretty big generalization. To me, hardcore does not necessarily = dedicated. How many 'hardcore' guilds from this game do the same sort of mmo hopping as 'casual' players? How many already left or are going to leave?

I agree that the game should be harder to extend its lifespan...for those that choose to play that way. I sometimes wish that they had servers with difficulty levels or slower progression rates but I understand why that would be difficult.

I'm just saying from MY experience there is a large group of people who play games for other things than raiding/grinding mobs and that we shouldn't be excluded. For me, most of my crafting professions are higher than my battle ones. And that's why they're adding these vanity/fluff items. To diversify the playerbase and make money.

[Kewhi]

A theme park style does not work for this game.

You mean it doesn't work for you. The game seems to be pretty successful thus far, and many of these "theme park" ideas were used as a main marketing point to boast sales & gain players.

- Non-combat pets
- Barbershop
- Player Housing
- Golden Saucer mini-games
- A vanity style "dressing room"

All these items were main points of focus during the marketing campaign to hype up this game, and all items are considered to be of a "theme park" style of game play. And the population continues to increase each day largely in anticipation for these things.

So how about we let the developers decide what works for this game. They seem to be doing a well enough job so far.