starting to lose interest in this game sadly

[Felis]

This game already has a pay to win feature. If being able to buy more retainers isn't pay to win I don't know what is.

But at the same time you can have 16 retainers on the same server without paying for a single one. It only need a bit organization, a FC safe and maybe a house.

[Bourne_Endeavor]

Game does not please the public. Public becomes furious. Word of mouth and reviews give game a bad reputation. Game stops generating profit. Failure.
Game pleases public. Public becomes happy. Word of mouth and reviews give game a good reputation. Game continues to generate profit. More development is done for content for game. Success.

Contrary to popular belief, forums make up a incredibly small fraction of any fanbase. Even if the majority here loathed the Cash Shop with a destructive passion that makes Bahamut blush, it would be a drop in the bucket. The fact Sleipnir has garnered over half a million dollars suggests people don't hate the Cash Shop all that much.

Partly this. They makes enough in subs in order to pay the FFXIV staff. Before the cash shop, they paid their staff while subs were incoming. The number of subs has only increased since that point. The FFXIV team has not substantially increased by any significant margin. That is the thanks of SE's board.

When the cash shop released, they said the funds were going to the European Data Center stuff. After the success of the cash shop, dollar signs appeared in their eyes and they turned it into a cash grab.

Or, or! Those funds are now being diverted to another section of the game. It's almost like they need to constantly provide content or upgrades at regular intervals. But even if their motivations were solely profit. Welcome to business 101. A company's primary interest is to make money. Despite that, they appeal their customers by restricting the Cash Shop to vanity items that have no influence on the game. FFXIV is actually an example of precisely how a Cash Shop should be managed. Dislike the color swapped Magitek Chocobos? No worries! You have a black one that functions in the exact same way, and it's free! If someone else wants to pay $12 for it. That's their prerogative.

[Ryel]

Or, or! Those funds are now being diverted to another game.

Most likely scenario tbh.

Between FFVII remaster, FFXV release, KH3, and bankruptcy recovery I'm willing to bet that's where those funds are going.

[Bourne_Endeavor]

This game already has a pay to win feature. If being able to buy more retainers isn't pay to win I don't know what is.

Not really. I know plenty of people who get by as crafters while still only have two retainers. You can also play through the entire story quest without ever once leveling a craft and you'll have more than enough gil to keep yourself adequately geared. Extra retainers simply allow for easier omnicrafting or storage if you decide to later level multiple jobs or fancy hoarding gear. Conversely, you could make alt characters and have extra retainers free of charge. It's just inconvenient, which is what you're actually paying extra for: convenience.

[Bourne_Endeavor]

Most likely scenario tbh.

Between FFVII remaster, FFXV release, KH3, and bankruptcy recovery I'm willing to bet that's where those funds are going.

Oh, no doubt. FFXIV's profits are definitely fueling FFXV, and possibly FFVII. I suspect Disney's stack in Kingdom Hearts keeps that money train going. Nevertheless, that is less a FFXIV problem and more simple business, as frustrating as it can be.

[Jynx]

Extra retainers simply allow for easier omnicrafting or storage.

In practice this is far from the case, ventures have proven to be a very lucrative market allowing players to amass astounding ammounts of gil in a short period of time due to the extra services they receive with multiple retainers.

Retainers make earning gil easier than without them, it can be construed as paying real money for more spending power ingame.

[Bourne_Endeavor]

In practice this is far from the case, ventures have proven to be a very lucrative market allowing players to amass astounding ammounts of gil in a short period of time due to the extra services they receive with multiple retainers.

Retainers make earning gil easier than without them, it can be construed as paying real money for more spending power ingame.

None of which is a reliable alternative. It also requires a minimum of one hour or upwards of eighteen. You can clear dungeons in less time, which then boils down to who gets luckier. That said, I don't particularly like how they're handling retainers. The fact we have yet to get another one or see them improve the armoire despite a wealth of new items sucks. But I wouldn't associate it with a pay to win model. To me, that is a system that would allow players to buy experience or Relic weapons.

[Ayuhra]

I find the cash shop in this game way less obnoxious than the ones for other games.

Look towards World of WarCraft where everything from pets and mounts to 90 level boosts can be bought and unlike, say, ESO, this game has a sub fee.

Things on the shop here are half the cost of WoW items ($25-30 for a mount there) and many of the outfits could be obtained in game at one time and were free if you'd been there.

Anyway regarding "not having fun", burnout happens. Take a break for a couple months and come back. I juggle four MMOs and swap between the two with subscription models. Nothing wrong with bowing out for a bit and coming back fresh later.

And regarding where the money goes, it likely goes first to shareholders and keeping the servers running. Once the game is self sustaining then funds are put into beefing up the game and start trickling into elsewhere.

[Reaperking386]

Apparently by Op's standards I am rich. I didn't even know.

[Jynx]

None of which is a reliable alternative. It also requires a minimum of one hour or upwards of eighteen.

Retainers aren't a "Reliable" alertnative to making gil? Could have fooled me.

To curb the Pay to Win argument they could easilly remove the ventures from all but your main two retainers and have them act as just extra storage space. Then you would have a service that gives you no real game changing value, but as they stand they can be a powerfull tool. Hell some ventures can yeild up to 25k an hour for doing nothing all the while being free to do all that "Other stuff" you listed. Why farm just dungeons when you can farm dungeons and send retainers out?