Cash Shop vs In Game: An objective view of Heavensward

[MomomiMomi]

In my opinion, the game is well balanced in terms of basic vanity items vs cash shop items for now (check TERA or BnS)

Comparing non-sub vs. sub? Not exactly a fair comparison.

Also, at least on Tera, you can get those things in-game through trade from what I've understood. So they are available in-game in some form.

[Driavna]

Comparing non-sub vs. sub? Not exactly a fair comparison.

Also, at least on Tera, you can get those things in-game through trade from what I've understood. So they are available in-game in some form.

You can but someone have to pay for it first so in a way you are still promoting the cash shop and more items will be added. I can't speak for TERA anymore, but in BnS the amount of cash shop only costumes VS "free" (even during all that time the game was P2P in Korea) is really really bad.

And I think is a fair comparison because some complaints are about "FXIV looks like an F2P game" and ATM the amount of cash shop only items is minimal, but of course, people want what they can't have and usually ignore how many "free" options they already have. I mean, GARO event alone add a lot of mounts and unique gear. If in the future this is no longer true then yeah, bye bye FXIV.

[sarehptar]

Twintania and the Amber Draught Chocobo should not be listed in the cash shop, as you can technically obtain them for free by recruiting people without buying anything yourself.

That said, this isn't really a fair comparison. Rather than comparing the number of Heavensward unique/glamor items to the number of cash shop items, you should compare the number of items given for free prior to the cash shop existing. For example, all the past seasonal items used to be purchasable with gil, and now they are not anymore. All new emotes used to be free from in-game events, now we have to pay for some emotes if we want them. So on, so forth.

My concern is far less about the sheer number of free items compared to cash shop items, but the slow creep of the cash shop into places it did not use to be.

[kuma_aus]

While these may not be 3.0-3.5 items, there are players that have received them during HW's tenure, so I feel it's important to include them as well.

Primal birds are listed as "Lanners". I'll add in Primal to make it clear. Also I'll work on barding later, just busy and spending my free time going over all the XIV information that was just released. I really don't want to add stuff in from before Heavensward. The only things I really consider to be a part of them is the brand new stuff added from China's and Koreans servers since they were never in Global version until this time frame. It's mainly a list of what new models were added to the game during the time frame, not what people can earn since I can still earn High Allagan gear from Second Coil right now but it would be a bit unfair to list every single 2.X unique model item (Also a massive amount of research).

A list that compares in game models to cash shop models would be great to do but I don't really have the time and effort for it right now.

Is this supposed to be a defense?

I find it quite alarming that you view a post with no bias, with no opinion in it as a "defense". I'm just listing facts, everyone can form their own opinion. It's neither and attack or defense, but I personally just wanted a list where I can compare the two and I felt others might like to see it as well. The key word "objective" is in the title for a reason.

Twintania and the Amber Draught Chocobo

I'm mainly listing things that someone who does the bare minimum of buying the game + sub and just playing the game will get that doesn't involve some kind of extra money being spent. Why collectors edition items are there as well when I don't really consider them to be the same category as some other items. I've got both of them but I know a few friends of mine that still don't and have been active since they were released, mainly because they haven't bothered giving new people recruit codes. And that reason is why I don't want to put in old event items into the cash shop category. The way I'm viewing it is that people paid a sub and got the event items, those that weren't subbed need to pay some money themselves to get what others got for free.

[savageink]

Without digging through the shop to recheck, other than the Odin Mount, the wedding upgrades, and the new Fuga clothes, except for consumables I can't think of any items on the list that weren't free at some point somewhere. I have no problem with them keeping special items special unless you want to pay for them. I got the Goku Cloud mount through the Amazon promotion along with a set of eastern duds, so i'm not complaining about that one either. ....come to think of it, I'm not sure the Odin Mount wasn't free somewhere, but I thought it was an exclusive. I don't really care about the pricing of these items. I do mind that they are character and not account specific in many cases. That should be changed.