Thread: 2.2 Retainers via Microtransactions

Originally Posted by Naunet

Since when are bank storage and market boards not game systems?

When they already gave you 40 slots on the market board for free, along with 350 slots for free, having more became a convenience.

And a workaround for people who do not use the Market board to sell things, you can list items for ridiculous prices so people don't buy your items and store items you have no intention of using for the foreseeable future.

Originally Posted by C-croft

When they already gave you 40 slots on the market board for free, along with 350 slots for free, having more became a convenience.

In any other reasonable subscription-based MMO, in order to access more bank/inventory space, you spend in-game currency.

Originally Posted by Zumi

Selling retainers was a relic from 1.0 at launch. It was SEs plan to sell them at the start of the game and I didn't see anyone complaing about it back then.

This is a non-argument. A lot of people did not play 1.0 - in fact, I'd hazard a guess that the number of folk who play XIV now but didn't play 1.0 is greater than the number of folk who played 1.0 - and therefor we could not "complaing" about anything "back then".

Originally Posted by Naunet

In any other reasonable subscription-based MMO, in order to access more bank/inventory space, you spend in-game currency.

Other games also charge you for conveniences. Maybe not more bank space per say, but you are paying for a convenience. Mule accounts in FFXI were the same way.

EDIT: Daily limit, you guys are saved!

Originally Posted by Yshnal

I didn't know that I wasn't paying a sub and that the game was F2P.

Nope, nothing is free here. We're paying for it. Our sub gives us access to the game (no, we don't own it) and it's not there just to pay patches and updates, but also to keep everything running, from server maintenances to server infrastructure. We're paying for the whole service. That means that we're already paying to have access to any in-game system that stores data in the database (such as bank/retainer space).

Also, even if it was a just a mere convencience, it stops being one when a system like the armoire doesn't work as it should (our sub pays that, too).

Of course it isn't free due to a sub, but they could easily have made retainers cost money period. No base of 2 retainers and the benefits they provide. But since we do get 2 retainers for our sub, 1 more is a convenience. We are paying for an allotment of data on the servers. A small fee to increase the data allotment is hardly unreasonable as it is an extra to your base access. Like a smartphone, even though it is broken out of your phone plan, you have to pay for a certain amount of data, 3gb or w/e these days. It doesn't matter if it is broken out or not, because it is a requirement to have a smartphone on the network. If you want more data, you pay an extra fee. We don't have access to an entire database for storage, we have to share among all other players. Also, if you are going to complain about the armoire make a post about that. It still stores things, it still works, just not in a reasonable way at times.

Originally Posted by Yshnal

And why do the other P2P MMOs do it then, when they let us get extra storage paying with in-game currency? No, the real issue is in that charging for it doesn't seem to be needed and that it doesn't follow with what they've been doing and saying until now. Not to mention all the other potential issues that others have pointed out.

Also, I'm sorry, but the armoire issues are related to retainers as well, as we have to store in them some items (19 right now, if not mistaken) for 3 months until they allow us to put them in the armoire as they should be from the start (that's what said feature is intended to do). I never complained about that before because it didn't really matter if it was just temporary, I was able to have some patience. But when they start charging real money for retainer space (thus making any wasted space worth actual money), thats where I have to say "there's the limit".

They are going to charge for EXTRA space. They aren't taking away what you already have. Other P2P do things differently. They also have their own conveniences they may charge for. It really isn't an issue with the armoire because EXTRA space is optional. At that point you have to decide if your patience is worth the small fee to store these 19 items on a new retainer that holds 175 slots. If anything, any empty space is wasted if you plan on paying for a new retainer. If you pay the small fee yet only hold 19 items on your new retainer, the space you do not fill is wasted, not the 19 items that you can't put anywhere else. The storage space is bringing its value for those 19 items, because they aren't in your inventory/armory. Even if the armoire should, and it should, hold those 19 items, it can't right now. The only other place to store it is in your inventory or retainers.

Well...

I'd much prefer to get an additional retainer for free instead of having to pay for it with real-life money, but its been evident for weeks now that the new retainer was going to be a paid service.

As for people complaining about it being pay to win, well, they're right. Just like how paying a normal subscription instead of the cheaper one is also pay to win since it allowed you to make more than one character on the same server, and also like how paying for more than one account is also pay to win.

As pay to win mechanics go though, it's a pretty mild offense.