SE - Please Stop Adding Iconic FFXIV Content / Raid Bosses to the Cash Shop

[Zalestra]

As this is a forum to give feedback, I will be doing so to the best of my ability.

The crux of this feedback is in the title, but I will repeat it here-
To CBU3: Please stop adding iconic FFXIV Content / Raid Bosses to the Cash Shop.


To begin, I believe that adding iconic raid bosses such as Cruise Chaser and Shadowkeeper to the cash shop is disrespectful and harmful to the loyal fans who have been supporting this game for the last 4, 7, and 8+ years.

Many still-active players raided in Heavensward, and progged Alexander - The Heart of the Creator after its release in 2016. I can't speak for anyone else, but when this iconic boss was later added to the cash shop in 2021, I was shocked. This was the first time a raid boss specifically from FFXIV was added to the cash shop.
Although I personally found this extremely upsetting, as progging A11 was a cherished memory for me, I was willing to let it go at the time. This was because it seemed like a one off scenario, and because it could be argued that Cruise Chaser is a reference to another Final Fantasy game enemy anyway.
To be clear, I would have loved to run -some kind of- content to gain a Cruise Chaser of my own. But I refused to pay SE extra money for something that I believed shouldn't have been in the cash shop to begin with.

However, the addition of the Shadowkeeper to the cash shop is two steps too far now. Shadowkeeper was current content less than 3 years ago, and aside from "just fighting a boss", she also has important ties to the lore of Shadowbringers.

This is setting a horrible precedent, and I want to give my feedback now in the hopes of avoiding more missteps like this in the future. It's disrespectful to add content from this game, content that the player base possibly ran for weeks, content that could have easily grown an emotional attachment, to the cash shop.

This sets a precedent that nothing is safe or sacred in our own game- why not just add Alexander himself to the cash shop? Heck, add Perfect Alexander. The community was joking at the time that ATV Titan should have been the raid mount, how long before that is shoved in the cash shop too? Why not just add Bahamut himself as a mount? Lord knows that would sell, and why should lore importance stop us now?
We are already slipping down this slope in real time.

Is it truly unreasonable to believe that any sort of lore important and emotionally connected content created during the play of this game should be kept within the bounds of this game, rather than require punching in extra $$$?
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I sincerely request that anyone who wants to engage with this thread be reasonable and provide your honest feedback. This is not about shaming anyone who buys cash shop items, or even shaming SE for having a cash shop at all.
My concern is only with keeping FFXIV centric content fully within the confines of the game we already enjoy, pay for, and support.
Thanks everyone

[Zalestra]

TLDR;

I am making this feedback:

• Iconic raid bosses can be very important to the players and the lore
• FFXIV related content (such as iconic raid mounts) should be obtainable in-game
• It is harmful and disrespectful to add them to the cash shop after players have grown an attachment to the content
• If we continue down this path, there is no end in sight

I am NOT making this feedback:

• The cash shop should go away
• People who buy from the cash shop are bad
• Mounts can't be in the cash shop
• Cash shop mounts can't be cool, interesting, or unique

[KRIPTICON]

Reasonable feedback and your arguments are supported in a reasonable way.