Naoki Yoshida's Comment in Regard to Jump Potions/Boost Potions

[Vivi_Bushido]

Personally, I believe that existing players are far more likely to use these jump potions to level alts than new/returning players would to level their mains.
Face it; SE is going to make a lot of money from the Role Players of Balmung; and I admit to being one of the fools to buy them in bulks.

[Vejjiegirl]

Wow didn't introduce a jump potion until 5 expansions in, SE are already introducing one. If it's to combat turning off new players this early it makes me think the game may not be doing so well in the first place to attract new players.

Something tells me that's the case.
The one thing that has been turning off a lot of my friends from playing FFXIV is the very slow combat at the start and the fetch quests and filler quests leading up to level 50.
One of my friends managed to get to lvl 50 and after doing CM and Prae quit after a really horrible experience.

[JCharms]

Are you SERIOUSLY comparing FFXIV

Fair points on SWTOR, I'm sorry I have given you nightmares. I left in May, after Ben Irving's open letter.
Anyway, I wasn't comparing them, just noting my observations of the devs and producers of that game and others, who say one thing but the truth is often nowhere close to it.
The reasons they do or don't do a thing are often hidden behind a "its too complex and expensive" whereas the truth is probably it doesn't fit with our path or ideas going forward.
Or to put it simply, they BS far too often, all of them.
I have no idea how much time, effort and money it would take to clean it all up, but no one else other than a few inside the studio does either.
I don't care about the potions, I really don't, but I would like to see the leveling process tuned regardless, for the good of the game.

[Bourne_Endeavor]

The cash grab is what's bothering me the most. Yoshi p has been disappointing me all throughout HW. So this really doesn't change anything to be honest, go for it.

Yoshi P doesn't get to decide these things. He has to answer to the demands of Square Enix. A prime example of this was Deus Ex, which wasn't originally designed to have any multi-player component or micro-transactions. Square Enix told the dev team they had to implement them. You don't exactly get to say no unless you fancy unemployment.

Argue all you like. If you are right, you are right. If you are not, then you are not.

In this instance though, people saying it is not PTW are wrong. Whether it is a good thing for the game, or not, is a completely separate issue. I can see this sort of thing necessary after the 5th or 6th expansion, especially if they keep tying the next expansion to the tail of the previous. I think they need to stop doing THAT, rather than put in the PTW.

I don't think anyone (who stops to think about it) would doubt that untying HW from 2.55 and tying it back at the end of the Praetorium would take a lot of work. I don't think anyone (who stops to think about it) would doubt that untying SB from the end of HW would also be a lot of work. I think, and this is an opinion, that that work would be a better use of their time, even to the point of delaying 3.5 and 3.55 by one and two months (from current schedule) respectively, than making and implementing these PTW potions.

We can argue that all day long. But buying power, buying an advantage, not being PTW? Nope, sorry, circumstances do not matter, scenario does not matter, amount of power bought, or level of power bought to reach, do not matter ... any buying of in-game power or advantage using an out-of-game currency is PTW, no matter how minuscule the power gain percieved by people past that point may be.

They aren't buying power. Level skipping is not power. I'll reiterate what I said earlier on the subject.

It's the consistency and optimization which determine pay to win. At least, in my opinion.

To give some FFXIV examples. Say our Relic weapon was upgraded each patch cycle and it was definitively BiS. The grind associated will take nearly three months, however you could buy the needed components from the mogstation. This is pay to win because by the time you've grinded it out, the weapon will be invalidated within a few weeks-- making the most optimal solution to always be spending money. Another example would be in Savage, if the Gobdip, Gobtwine and Gobcoat all had their drop rate reduced to 5%... but were made purchasable on the mogstation. You can't farm them per Savage loot rules, thus you have to either pray to the RNG gods or spend money.

It's that consistency and optimization that factor into what is pay to win. You're buying power, and you always have to in order to keep up.

Neither of what I highlighted apply to a level skip. There is no consistent advantage since someone brand new who doesn't skip will inevitably catch up to the person who did as their progression is capped. It isn't optimal because said skipper will be inferior to anyone who has progressed through to 3.55 prior to Stormblood's launch. This fact is made only worse if these potions are bundled into the expansion itself as a freebie. Then it wouldn't be a cost decision, but an entirely subjective one.

[VTXShiva]

I have no idea how much time, effort and money it would take to clean it all up, but no one else other than a few inside the studio does either.
I don't care about the potions, I really don't, but I would like to see the leveling process tuned regardless, for the good of the game.

I personally HAVE worked in the industry in several positions and I even worked on an MMO. I can tell you that "too complex and expensive" is in fact true.
Games are a balancing act of cost vs return. That content needs to be released to even produce any kind of return. When the return isn't or can't be foreseen to match the cost or the time investment, it literally becomes too complex or expensive.
Additionally, there's no guarantee that this isn't just a "quick" solution; ultimately the leveling process could actually be updated *later*

Also just to harp on SWTOR a little bit more, the cash shop not only sells races, but even leveling boosts (as far back as KOTFE)

[Rlloona]

Honestly? I'm glad they are using this approach instead of trimming the MSQ. It would be bad for people who'd like to experience the story again with a new character a few expansions/years down the line.

[Virlym]

Honestly? I'm glad they are using this approach instead of trimming the MSQ. It would be bad for people who'd like to experience the story again with a new character a few expansions/years down the line.

One great example of this is the 1.0 story and background information that we can no longer access. While 1.0 did need the overhaul that 2.0 brought, the loss of the 1.0 story is a little sad.

[Enur]

Without reading the 90+ pages

As i haved stated in similar threads i do believe that a jump potion is the way to go. While i, personally would rather see the game without one i have to realise one thing:

No bloody way im making my friends convert to ffxiv with the current quest grind. And if i cant make my friends convert, why should a random customer with no obligations towards anyone buy it in the first place?

You all say this is a story driven game, which is true, but i think you heavily exaggerate the amount of people who cares for the story. In my free company of 30 or so members it is not even a handful of them that doesnt skip the story.

The game might be driven by story, the players certainly arent.

[ZhaneX]

Personally maintain that jump potions are a bad idea. They would encourage some of the worst behaviors in the game, and the perceived benefits just do not outweight the numerous failings.

If something like this were to be implemented for the market at large, it should come at a massive price gouge with plentiful restrictions, so as to discourage people from using them outside of the circumstances which are deemed most beneficial.

[Ashiee]

Honestly? I'm glad they are using this approach instead of trimming the MSQ. It would be bad for people who'd like to experience the story again with a new character a few expansions/years down the line.

I definitely agree with you on this. The story skip potion is a much better solution than going through the main story and cutting out parts, even if some of the parts have little significance to the main story as a whole.

Trimming the story would take a lot of time and effort, it’s not as simple as just taking out all the fetch quests… you gotta make sure that dialog still works, you probably have to change some scenes, even just small references might get screwed up. On top of that, the devs might end up removing a part of the MSQ that some people actually enjoy, and then people would complain about it being missing.

And honestly, even if the devs did trim down the MSQ, I would bet you people would STILL complain that the MSQ is way too long, and that it is such a slog, and that they don’t want to do it.

On that note, I rather them not add the story skip or the job potions just because it’s a slippery slope to P2W… but honestly we already hit that point when we added the cash shop so I guess whatever at this point. Not a huge fan but it doesn’t ultimately affect me that much.