Why I started playing FFXIV

[Yshnal]

Before I begin, please, be warned that this is partly a long rant post full of opinions, and that I'm just venting while I try to give my personal feedback for whatever it's worth. If you can't stand that then proceed to leave the thread, as this won't interest you. Also, this is not an "I'm leaving post".

So, in light of the last live letter and of recent and past changes, I want to take a moment and write a post explaining why I started playing FFXIV in the first place and why, with each passing patch, I feel that the game is not welcoming me nor those that might think like myself.

Let's start at the beggining then, explaining what made me come to this MMO. As many of you know, the 1.0 version was plagued with problems and wasn't precisely a success. Back when it was released I was a bit burned from the latest MMO launches, so I waited until further reviews came from this game before jumping in, even if I was a long-time Final Fantasy fan. Therefore, due to all the negatives that I saw, I didn't play the game at all.

Then came Yoshida, and changes started to come to FFXIV too, many of them very well received. Moreover, what really impressed and caught me, was the fact that Square-Enix was willing to take the game and remake it from scratch. In a time where each and every failed MMO was just turned to a F2P cash grab to quickly get money back, this was indeed a very nice change in my eyes. Also, Square-Enix seemed to care about their playerbase and, even if as a company they wanted to make money, they didn't seem to see their customers and supporters as mere walking wallets: legacy campaign, tiered subs with a cheaper option (as you weren't paying more than the average sub in other MMOs if you wanted more than one character, and it was reflected in the tiers' names), etc.

Those were the main reasons that made me decide to give a chance to the game and support Square for the risk that they were willing to make for their "child". I bought the Collector's Edition, and I was pleasantly surprised during the beta. Even with it's flaws, 2.0 came to be an amazing and fun MMO that I began enjoying as I didn't enjoy any other MMO for a long time. During that time Square-Enix was still showing their care for their playerbase and their game, reflected upon the fact that they gave us for free the new digital items (fat chocobo and wind-up moogle) when the new CE was released (PS4 I think it was?), if we already had any of the previous ones.

However, things started to change once we got the (dreaded for some) cash shop. Previous years' items that were available for gil during events since 2.0 launched went away, just to come back for real money in the Mog Station. Sleipnir was introduced as a mount exclusive to the cash shop instead of being included in Odin's trial, as many of us expected. Weddings were shelled in various kinds of premium purchases, locking away behind a paywall things that were showcased during the live letters without giving us any hint that they weren't going to be available for every subscriber that wanted to hold an eternal bonding ceremony. On top of that, additional retainers were introduced to be rented with an additional monthly fee.

Still the game was enjoyable for me, especially with the people I play with, and I decided to keep giving it a chance. Even if I didn't like some of these changes I still had some faith in the team, and I wanted to think that what I was seeing was not the actual direction that they wanted to bring the game to, even if a small part of me was warning me about it. However, with each other patch I've kept seing things that I don't agree with, some of them gameplay wise (the worse ones that I can think of are the grinds on each and every new feature, no matter if it's just a side activity that should be meant to have mindless fun, the whole housing disaster, or the changes to crafting and gathering) and some others related to the Mog Station (like our inventory issues, even after the expansion, while more additional retainers were put for rent).

Today's live letter has been the straw that breaks the camel, and what has made me write this. I can't agree with them not taking any of the suggestions for the housing reclamation system when some parts of it leave much to be desired and will bring more issues, and I can't also agree with them putting even more exclusive glamour items to the cash shop, as if this was a cheap F2P game that depends on cosmetic sales to keep going. I can't agree either to them not being open to something that would potentially save both them and us resources like a glamour catalog, as it gives me the impression that they simply want us to rent more retainers.

Now it doesn't come an "I'm quitting" pharagraph, as I warned on the first lines of this post. I'm willing to wait and see if what I saw today will be intoduced right as I understood, or if I'll be positively surprised and things will change from now until they actually introduce them. I'm also willing to let them surprise me with the others changes, and consider if they make it up for the things that, right now, I don't like. However, if things go wrong, I'll just be able to move on, and away from the game. It would sadden me, but when you don't agree with the overall direction of the game and things keep going that way, there's no point in staying. Vote with your wallet, as they say.

I simply hope that this long post serves any purpose other than letting me write those thoughts. I really want to keep enjoying the game without worrying about these negatives that currently impact, and might impact in the future, my gameplay decisions.

[Adire]

Just legitimately wondering, where did they say they were going to start putting exclusive glamour in the cash shop?

[Tagihi]

problems with cash shops? you know when you clicked on the agreed button for this game then you do agreed to any service that SE will apply, Cash shop price arent even super high compare to F2p game..
If you still enjoy the game why would this be biggest problem for you?
So far iknow they been putting up old season events stuff and some random minions

[StrejdaTom]

Just legitimately wondering, where did they say they were going to start putting exclusive glamour in the cash shop?

Minfilia gear and hairstyle is going to be put into cash shop, it is written in Bayohne's Live Letter translation.

[Yshnal]

Just legitimately wondering, where did they say they were going to start putting exclusive glamour in the cash shop?

Here:

Q24: Do you have plans to add 3.0’s Y’shtola and Ysayle’s hairstyle?

A24: We’re planning to introduce a set of equipment and hairstyle which will allow players to look like NPCs as Mog Station optional items. Minfilia’s hairstyle and equipment will be added. The price hasn’t been decided yet, but this one is female-only equipment. (Showed an image of characters dressed as Minfilia.)

problems with cash shops? you know when you clicked on the agreed button for this game then you do agreed to any service that SE will apply, Cash shop price arent even super high compare to F2p game..
If you still enjoy the game why would this be biggest problem for you?
So far iknow they been putting up old season events stuff and some random minions

Yes, we agreed to anything that SE wants to do, and we also don't own anything here and they can delete all our characters if they so want. However, that doesn't mean that you have to agree with anything that they do, nor that you have to stay silent and take it.

Regarding F2P cash shop prices, FFXIV is the only MMO that I know of, P2P or F2P, that charges monthly for extra storage while having and acknowledged problem with inventory space. Not to mention that even some F2P MMOs let you obtain the vanity items on their cash shop by playing the game, regardless of the grind required to do it. But the cash shop is not the only problem that I have with the game, if you read my OP. There's more to it.

[adn]

That's an awful lot of words to say you don't like the cash shop.

They literally just announced the housing reclamation system. They probably haven't had any time to look at feedback for it yet, and they haven't even given it a try on live to see how well it works before they adjust it.

For all the complaining about the cash shop that people do, FFXIV has one of the least offensive cash shops I've ever seen. They deliberately stay away from things like level boosts or stuff like the WoW Token/Wildstar CREDD which has drastic and far-reaching effects on the in-game economy. All they do is sell a few totally optional items for people who might be interested in it.

When they start locking game features behind the cash shop then I'll understand if people want to complain. I do agree they need to do something about inventory space, because if you do crafting/gathering at all the extra retainers are almost mandatory.

[Tagihi]

Well to be fair i don't personly care much about cash shop in FFXIV. It dosen't bother me at all. Even if there is small people who does not like this. It's till to low numbers for SE to even consider it to even lower the price or even take it off completely.
Unless whole community starting go aginst it and they notice a player lose beacuse it. I hard to see this comming tho . I don't see this effect ur gameplay at all. Unless ur glamour addicted.

[Eye_Gore]

The bottom, is just that, the bottom line. Sure they'll say they care about the customer, first because they have to, second because we pay their bills. In this day and age of online gaming micro-transactions are here to stay. As the old saying goes "there's a sucker born every minute". People will and do purchase these micro-transactions, they know this, so why not do it? It only increases their wallet. Remember thats what it comes down to. Actions speak louder than words, want to show them something, get everyone to stop using the extra retainer service and the cash shop and things will most likely change (yeah right). But as long as people use it, its here to stay and more will be added to it.

I'm not a fan of the micro-transactions, never bought any in any game. I pay the bare minimum and still enjoy myself. When I stop enjoying myself, I'll stop paying, but no worries, someone else will fill my spot.

[BreathlessTao]

FFXIV has one of the least offensive cash shops I've ever seen

The fact that it exists in a game with a monthly sub fee is offensive enough. The fact that they apparently plan to add even more exclusive items to it is even more offensive - especially on top of the whole rent-a-retainer system when indeed the game does have an admitted inventory issue. (They actually outright share numbers of how many new items HW brought in, and how many new items there are in a content patch - really should have kept quiet about that, in my opinion.) Honestly, down this road, keeping in mind that they don't want to restrict access to new areas/whatever in 4.0, level boosts and the like are really only a question of "when", not "if". :/

[Adire]

Minfilia gear and hairstyle is going to be put into cash shop, it is written in Bayohne's Live Letter translation.

snip

Thanks. I missed it. That's a shame though....the precedent has been set for non-event related glamour gear being sold. The plot thickens.

Also, for people saying SE is within their rights to add a cash shop....how many times do we have to tell you, we know already. But just because you have the right to do something, doesn't mean you should or that it's right to do it. I would not want to imagine how the world would function if everyone had this mindset. "If it benefits you and you can do it, you should always do it."

And for adn, sure WoW's cash shop is far worse. But it started out much more innocently than it is now. After they realized people don't value their money and will throw it at basically anything, they capitalized, and now it's negatively impacted the experience for those who don't agree with the cash shop. You want a fast level? You pay. You want that horse, you pay extra. FFXIV's cash shop is small by comparison, but over time you WILL see it grow and grow and grow if it's profitable because SE is a business before all else, and you will see the game impacted for those who don't use it, as more is added to it that could have been added to the game they're already paying for, and wasn't just because $$$$.

"Optional" is completely irrelevant. Notice how they emphasized the cash shop's name, "Optional" items, almost as if they need to take attention away from the fact that these items are only somewhat optional for people who want them. The items are technically optional, but for someone who wants something from it, it's as optional as paying for the game itself is. I.E. if you want it but want to play the game you're paying for to get it, tough because there's only one NON-OPTIONAL way to get that "optional" item you already paid once for. We all support the game (and cash shop's) development through our subscription's at the least, so to pick and choose what they resell to us what we've already paid for, and detract from what could have been content gotten from playing the game, you know, what we all actually want to pay to do since I'm sure no one here enjoys paying for the opportunity to pay more for content that has no entertainment value past just having it, is just....wrong, to use a simple but accurate word. It makes it seem like SE values extra cash more than the quality of their game and definitely more than the player's experience in the game, as it's nothing more or less than an exploitation of loose spending habits and a nose turning at an opportunity for improving the game for everyone with a little extra effort.

Just imagine if SE scrapped Void Ark and just tossed the stuff from it into the cash shop. It would be highly profitable if people allowed it, so there would be little reason not to do that. Less development cost, more profit. But what would the result be? Less content to play and run around in with that rad glamour. People who like instant gratification would be happy, people who like to have access to everything they pay for, playing game content and getting glamour through that (therefore truly getting what they pay for in its entirety), and don't like being charged double for it in order to get it would be unhappy. The impact on the quality of content would be great for people in the latter group. It's not at that point yet of course, but it's a steady journey that will get rockier the more it's allowed to happen, and by the time you draw your personal line, it will be too late to fix things.