The premium app is what finally made me unsub.

[Deceptus]

I understand that not many will care about yet another "unsub" post but I feel I need to write this.

TLDR: F2P elements have no business being in a subscription based MMO. Stop attempting to nickel and dime your playerbase.

This is coming from someone who has subbed almost constantly from 2.0, well over 1600 days on my sub, who has gotten multiple other people to play it via the Recruit a Friend Campaign.

I love this game and only want the best for it. I want it to succeed. I love telling other people how good it is.

But the premium app (as described) is the straw that broke this camel's back.

One of the things I've always championed is a subscription based model. It gives the developers a reliable base revenue stream to plan future content and I'm more than happy to pay it for a game that I enjoy. I think the value is very good.

However,

Square Enix has recently, in the last few years, shifted a lot of content that used to be available in game to the cash shop. It started (for me) with the Odin Mount. All other mounts had been available through in game content, but not this specific one. Even if it was a 1% drop chance, I would have been happy grinding away at it.

Now we have various emotes, mounts, clothes, etc on the cash shop and I'm generally OK with those. They're optional, and a one time purchase.

Now with the premium app you pay $5 a month more for a bit more saddlebag space, the option to remotely manage retainer inventory (not impressive), and the ability to expand your max retainers by one. Not get an extra retainer, just the ability to expand.

The creep is real and now this is absolutely unacceptable. You might say it's optional but the ability to have one more retainer than people who don't have the app is 20 extra slots on the MB. It will have real, in game consequences.

Look. If the game needs more money, increase the sub and add all these features into it. I'll gladly pay it because I think it's worth it. But I don't think this "premium based model" should be in a subscription based MMO. I simply refuse to support a game that does this kind of thing.

What some other have said:

Furthermore, one of the major concerns is the statement that the premium coins will be used for more things in the future...so I'm not sure what the 'wait and see' crowd are getting at. It's pretty obvious that they plan to go ahead with this regardless of the backlash.

I stopped my sub for the same reasons as OP. This isn't Pimp My Ride, where we should be excited to see subscriptions in our subscriptions. I paid a subscription to not have to deal with extra fees and microtransactions. Is this what I get for tolerating the Mog Station's existence? The chance to throw more of my money at the company for some basic features that should have been in the game from the start? I'd rather see a flat subscription fee increase . . .

But the point of contention for many who are un-subbing is grossly ignored, which doesn't come from the optional but from the perception that they are adding more stuff that can (as noticed) come off as additional charges for "better access". This only has fuel added to the bonfire when their home-front is fine because it caters to them. And then add the inventory limitation that some experience and you have a situation of:

Varying sub fee + $2 x # retainers + $5 app fee that still has no clarity on if the additional retainer comes from that fee or its just a "limit break" for one more. I am still talking about how all of this is optional but to many it still screams like: "How much are you willing to fork over for inventory space?"