Maybe I'm blind or can't read, but...

[Felis]

Once per month is too little. 3-6 month would be optimal as change cooldown

But I think a barber shop where you can change your hair and hair color is enough to get a fresh style to the char. Race/gender change only with new race/gender implementation.

[Vesper]

Everyone who has spent the last year+ in this game DESERVES the same options as new players. We spent lots of time in this game when it wasn't up to par, show your playerbase some respect for not jumping ship and allow a one time free race/gender/name change.

[Nyzira]

Dear Yoshi-P (and whoever else it may concern),

Fair warning: I write this very late, but the topic struck me and upon seeing your request for feedback, I wished to throw my two gil into the lot. I apologize if I lose my train of thought in places, as it has been a very long day.

No doubt you have many opinions, several of which lie in favor of implementing a service that would allow one to change their character's appearance (race, gender, etc.) after the initial re-launch. I can also understand your concern as a world-builder how such a thing could be explained within the realm's own existence - I only gather this from your attention to detail with how you will incorporate 2.0's changes. Having played other MMOs (including FFXI at NA launch), an idea struck me:

Break it down into different options that may be purchased after certain cool-down periods. Name Change (bribing a bard can do wonders), Makeover (it's perfectly normal to try a new hairdo, or have your face reconstructed after being sat on by a gobbue), or an Extreme Makeover (cast away an illusion of you by the Traders).

In another MMO, I had twenty characters on my main account. Thankfully, it is a much smaller game, but it was bothersome to go through the game 10+ times because I realized my character looked goofy to me after a point. As many others have stated, sometimes you get tired of staring at the same...character...every....time....every...year..... After all, no one has had the same hairstyle since they were five, correct? No disrespect meant toward those who are still rockin' a mullet, but....many of us craved a change after a while, if you understand what I am trying to convey.

Once in a while, it's nice to change things up. No one must use the option, but nor should anyone abuse it. It would be nice to give a female Roegadyn a try, but what if I find I miss being an Elezen? Am I forever stuck and forced to start completely over? If I may speak plainly, some people would sooner quit than delete and start a character all over again after a year or more of work; lost time can never be retrieved and often makes us ill because of it. But if you provide an option - one they were willing to pay for after the initial re-launch - to make their embodiment of their accomplishments someone they are happy to see when they log on... Why not give them the chance?

I like the idea of an in-game area to explain away the "simple" changes like a salon/barber shop. As for changing race and/or gender.... Well... That may be trickier to explain. As a writer, I always enjoy seeing how game designers take a more creative approach to solving problems such as these. I certainly look forward to how you all will do it - if you go that route at all.

Thank you for your time, and please know I appreciate all of the hard work and effort you and your team are putting into this game. I would not guess this is the same game from a year ago (it was enough to bring me back from quitting cold turkey, after all).

Sincerely,
Ny

[Nephera]

I might change my hair, everyone uses the same hair.

[Tonkra]

Everyone who has spent the last year+ in this game DESERVES the same options as new players. We spent lots of time in this game when it wasn't up to par, show your playerbase some respect for not jumping ship and allow a one time free race/gender/name change.

What i would like more important to see is if there will be the option to change the grand company...

because i decided against gridania for a reason... the dull regions of gridania like it is now..
but with 2.0. the regions will be never the same then before.
and the atmosphere as well.

so i think changing the companys would be also important to. especially if i want to fight for the "right" company in PVP battles for the country i like the most.


New players will be able to chose the company after the new regions.

[Coombah]

Make future race switches free only if new races are added. otherwise put a price tag on it and give a timeframe on when they can switch again.

[Forerunner]

... Oh, and if we Lalafells could get some wicked facial scars like the other races, that would be awesome! OwO

And emotes that don't seem so... uhhh... lame.

That's a nice safe word that won't get censored: LAME.

[Kostya]

I definitely think that current players should get a free race change. Then after that it should be a fee with a relatively long cooldown. It's only fair to give the current players the same options as anyone that may be joining in 2.0.

[Overkill9000]

free race/gender change on 2.0, no cooldowns, no waiting periods, get all the big shock factor stuff over with quick. new graphics, new races/genders, new maps, etc. ... get it all done at once. then throw in a barber shop to change minute stuff. throw in a pay to change feature after first change.