Problem with "Optional" Items in the Cash Shop

[Hasrat]

All of the trials we have had so far dropped weapons that increased our iLevel. The only way they would put a trial fight on the mogstation is if they took out the weapons, or had the weapons not have an ilevel.

I see no reason why that would happen.

Old reply, but, worth considering, if fight grants exp, or any rewards at all, it's separated from the usual optional content. If this hypothetical pay-raid gave even any exp at all, it's experience available only for pay, giving paying players an advantage. And since the fight would at minimum probably increase spiritbond, there's almost no way to remove rewards from such an idea. Somehow come up with an idea to remove even that? You'd have to remove Player Commendations, too, or they'd have an extra means of completing a Challenge Log entry.

The whole point of the "optional" is that it grants no advantage over non-paying players, I should think.

[Texa]

I like the cheap things on mogstation because I get a bank fine if I don't use my card enough times in a month and I can just buy some dye there if I need to up my uses a little.

Otherwise I don't really have an opinion on the stuff there. The new haori is nice, but the suikan from last year's little ladies day is more my taste and the old asuran hakama is structured more like an actual hakama. The Fuga attire seems like a watered down version of the Samurai artifact set to me overall. If someone wants to buy it more power to them I guess.

[AlexanderThorolund]

You don't stop to think why threads like this keep being created? It's blatantly obvious that many people are not happy with how the mogstation is being handled (priced mostly). If you have nothing of value to add to the thread why even bother posting?

To point out that stupid threads like this are amounting to spam.

[HyoMinPark]

I don't feel like quoting everyone that I want to respond to, so just here's what I have to say.

I think the OP fails to realize the vanity a lot of people have when it comes to this game. And to glamour items in this game. With regards to the cosmetic items, I find a lot of enjoyment out of glamour, and so do a bunch of other players. I would absolutely hate it if I had to keep the appearance of whatever relevant end-game gear was available during a said patch. Especially since some of the gear is extremely unappealing for me. And I think a lot of others would, too. People live for glamour, and I don't just mean in FFXIV. I mean in life. People want glamour, they want luxurious things. Perhaps they're just vain, but vanity is part of human nature. And it seeps into this game and peoples' game personas.

With regards to dyes, they are available in-game, and, on a lot of servers, for a very hefty Market Board price--Pure White and Jet Black dye usually sell for 500,000+ on my server for just one pot. With regards to the Bomb Dance someone mentioned, that was available in-game for one of the Moonfire Faire events.

I don't see how "glamour items, mounts, and dyes" in the Cash Shop made someone jump to SE adding primal fights, trials, and entire storylines to the Cash Shop. What even...? Stop using slippery slope arguments, please. The developers have never given any indication that they would add actual playable content to the Mogstation. None of this makes your argument appealing. If anything, it just discredits it because of the extreme jump from cosmetic items to playable game content.
PS - The ARR Hildibrand trials dropped minions.

Also, people continue to make these threads because they just like to complain, usually. If it isn't about the Mogstation, it's about something else (Cleric Stance, Healer DPS, PvP chat restrictions, Wanderer's Minuet, tanks not dropping tank stance for more deeps...you name it, and someone is probably complaining about it). And so many similar threads pop up because people can't be bothered to just keep complaints to a single thread; they feel the need to make an entirely new thread voicing an opinion that already has 10 other threads associated with it. The fact of the matter is: there are those out there who will simply complain just for the sake of complaining.

Can't satisfy everyone.

[Felis]

We already pay for it every month. Also, an eastern-inspired glamour 2 weeks before an eastern-inspired expansion that we payed $60 for?

Let's wait 2 weeks and then we all can look if in the crafting log are more eastern themed gears or in the cash shop

[Naunet]

I think the OP fails to realize the vanity a lot of people have when it comes to this game. And to glamour items in this game.

This is WHY people are complaining about the Mogstation, because most of us do enjoy glamour as a huge motivation for play. We also see items in the Mogstation as decreasing the value of our sub (the more they add, the less your subscription purchases), and see the prices on the Mogstation as far too high for what you get (especially when compared to other MMOs).

[Enur]

Isnt it clear that most, if not all, of the revenue FFXIV generates gets shared among other SE projects? If one game is failing or doesnt live up to their expectations they can just put it a new overpriced dress. I saw this argument before but i believe that the Mogstation doesnt pay for anything FFXIV related directly. Supporting the game through mogstation is like donating money to apple. SE of course doesnt mind this and continues.

[Vhailor]

How long before they stop putting "optional" items in the game? Think about it.

I have. The dev team has. The marketing team probably has. All have concluded that an all-or-nothing system isn't as financially beneficial as a mixed system, which is what SE is now offering.

Seriously, there are several very good reasons to oppose the "sanctioned RMT" that is the cash shop, but this isn't one of them.

[HyoMinPark]

This is WHY people are complaining about the Mogstation, because most of us do enjoy glamour as a huge motivation for play. We also see items in the Mogstation as decreasing the value of our sub (the more they add, the less your subscription purchases), and see the prices on the Mogstation as far too high for what you get (especially when compared to other MMOs).

You're misinterpeting my post. OP says we don't need anything other than what the game provides us for progression. Why even bother with any sort of glamour or optional items. They aren't exclusively talking about cash shop optional items. People are not likely to play such a basic game with no shinies because people enjoy the shinies in life. That's why I'm saying they don't seem to understand how vain individuals can be.

Value is a subjective measure. And adding items to the cash shop has not stopped production of adding items in-game. Just look at all the event items we've gotten this year so far. A new emote for Valentine's, a new emote and glamour for Little Ladies' Day, a new mount for Easter, a new hairstyle for the Make it Rain. Just look at the Garo event, all of which is included in-game, but that could have, just as easily, been added to the Mogstation instead (as Level 1 glamour items and shiny mounts).

[AlexSag]

Can anyone show proof that they've started putting fewer optional items in the game because they've been adding everything to mogstation? We still seem to have the same events every season and roughly the same rewards. I love this game and I don't mind paying $7 for a stupid emote if some of the profit from that goes into making the game better.

I also think, one question we should really ask is, would these optional items even exist if there was no monetary incentive for the dev team to make them? If not, then shutting down mogstation or only using it to sell seasonal gear whose events have ended, just takes something away from people who are willing to pay a little extra to dress up their characters.

Lastly, I'm not sure how these transactions are much different than what happens whenever a collectors edition of a game is released. You pay additional money for the collectors edition and you get in game items that people who didn't want to pay extra money won't get.