Does FFXIV have a player driven economy?

[Angelhearth]

If so, why then is SE regulating it with adjusting the drop rate for the retainers?

As I have a total of 35 retainers @ lvl 80 (9 @ 73) I notice what drops regularly and what does not. I also notice the prices on the items and how they fluctuate. The market started caching up somewhat, and the prices, at least on items not favored by bots, has had a steady increase the last month or so (not much, but noticeable). Why then is it I see some items starting to drop again? And the items for sale for the most parts not being player crafted? Is this SE actually regulating the prices with the retainers drop rates? If so, what happened to player driven economy? Isn't it better just to admit that they find the prices too high, and that they will regulate them if they get too high? I understand that those that doesn't craft themselves can find the prices a bit high, but it's all about demand and supply. Most crafters won't bother making stuff if it doesn't sell, so SE regulating the market in this way, with retainers getting items (on Quick Explorations) that crafters otherwise would make, is not a very nice thing to do. I for one have almost completely given up on crafting and just sell whatever my retainers bring back, check them twice a day, and just don't do much else in the game. It was a fun game, when you could see some return on a days work, but for those of us that played this game first and foremost for the crafting, the fun has disappeared, sadly, because the game is great, if just the developers could keep their fingers off of what was supposed to be the players domain.

[KageTokage]

Between them constantly making old furniture/glams more accessible via either new content or quick exploration and their total lack of enforcement when it comes to bot farmers there's little that actually holds much value in the long run these days... and the RMTers are trying their darndest to get at the stuff that does still have value if those treasure map bots showing up recently is any indication.