Do you still think FFXIV should be Monthly Sub Model ?

[CalvinDescoles]

Everything in the title.

Until now, I felt like we were getting what a monthly subscription MMO deserved in terms of content, quality, time investment, update frequency, interface improvements, and overall QoL updates.

However, now that the game no longer meets my standards (just my personal opinion, of course), I find myself questioning the real value and justification of a monthly subscription model.

At this point, the only reason I’m still subscribed is FOMO (mainly due to the housing system).

I know this is just my personal take, but… do you still think a monthly subscription model is justified?

[AvoSturmfaust]

yes i still think it, as someone which played mmos for more then 15-18 years i know exactly what will happen if final goes to a f2p modell, final has a lot of room for cashgrabs

[CalvinDescoles]

yes i still think it, as someone which played mmos for more then 15-18 years i know exactly what will happen if final goes to a f2p modell, final has a lot of room for cashgrabs

I don't think this is a valid justification. But i understand.

[LinaAkayomi]

Considering we're already charged for everything ON TOP of a monthly sub... I shudder to imagine what they'd do to "make up" for the money lost in sub fees
It'd probably become the worst cashslop kMMO tier P2W garbage the world's ever seen yet

[Jeeqbit]

Yes, because free to play isn't good. When I play a free to play games I actually just subscribe if it's an option because it's less annoying than having to go and buy items and unlocks.

Until now, I felt like we were getting what a monthly subscription MMO deserved in terms of content, quality, time investment, update frequency, interface improvements, and overall QoL updates.

It's strange that you think we're not getting as much content now, an expansion with more scheduled content than any other FFXIV expansion in history. We didn't used to get Chaotic raids for example.

I agree that we lack enough interface or QoL updates, but that's always been the case and even used to be worse. It takes an eternity for them to improve things that tool developers can fix in a day but that isn't a new thing at all.

(They are still working chat bubbles despite having showed pictures of working prototypes nearly a year ago at this point and despite that it works for NPCs, for example)

I find myself questioning the real value and justification of a monthly subscription model.

If there's nothing of value to you, you could temporarily unsubscribe until there is. So if you don't want to pay 120, you could subscribe for 2 months a year and pay a fraction of that.

At this point, the only reason I’m still subscribed is FOMO (mainly due to the housing system).

I hope the housing system will improve someday. But if I was you, I would just do one of these things:

• Join an FC and get an FC room instead. And let the FC house be sort of your house.
• Get an apartment (I do this).
• Settle for Island Sanctuary's outdoor decorating.

[Carin-Eri]

Absolutely.

Regardless of current opinions pertaining to YoshiP, he said this in an interview once:
"The free to play model is an unreliable source of income predicated on devoting a lot of development resources to monthly consumable or cosmetic items in order to maintain profitability, leaving little time for higher quality story and battle content"

And before someone says "but the Mogstation/online store!" - no. Just no.

Before I discovered FFXIV I'd played a game that went F2P after it's first year. I stuck with that game for 12 years and watched it transform over that time. New playable content releases became less and less regular and far smaller to the point where they were only releasing one new piece of MSQ content, worth about 45 minutes of game time, every four or five months.
In the meantime they were pumping out new gambleboxes and stupidly expensive £300 bundles every four or five weeks whilst trying to gaslight players into believing that said boxes/bundles were content.

In the meantime, I understand from a friend who still plays it, the Devs have completely failed to keep on top of the power creep; thanks to their, gamblebox fueled, business model pieces of (replayable) content that used to feel challenging and could take around 40 minutes to complete can now be completed in twelve seconds.

And atop that? Quality control? Prelaunch testing? Forget it - "release it now and worry about bugs when they happen".

And then there's the FOMO. Being 'pressured' into playing a piece of content you hate for weeks on end... but have to complete otherwise you don't get whatever limited-time powercreep shiny that is on offer.

I'd hate to see FFXIV go down that path, because it seems that once gambleboxes take hold they end up taking priority over everything else.

[Clockworks]

Yes, because free to play isn't good. When I play a free to play games I actually just subscribe if it's an option because it's less annoying than having to go and buy items and unlocks.

It's strange that you think we're not getting as much content now, an expansion with more scheduled content than any other FFXIV expansion in history. We didn't used to get Chaotic raids for example.

I agree that we lack enough interface or QoL updates, but that's always been the case and even used to be worse. It takes an eternity for them to improve things that tool developers can fix in a day but that isn't a new thing at all.

(They are still working chat bubbles despite having showed pictures of working prototypes nearly a year ago at this point and despite that it works for NPCs, for example)
If there's nothing of value to you, you could temporarily unsubscribe until there is. So if you don't want to pay 120, you could subscribe for 2 months a year and pay a fraction of that.
I hope the housing system will improve someday. But if I was you, I would just do one of these things:

• Join an FC and get an FC room instead. And let the FC house be sort of your house.
• Get an apartment (I do this).
• Settle for Island Sanctuary's outdoor decorating.

It's strange that you think we're not getting as much content now, an expansion with more scheduled content than any other FFXIV expansion in history. We didn't used to get Chaotic raids for example.

They can get out all the content they want, if everything they put out that you call "new" (it isnt) is bad, then no one will do that content, quality > quantity.

original post.

New playable content releases became less and less regular and far smaller to the point where they were only releasing one new piece of MSQ content, worth about 45 minutes of game time, every four or five months.
In the meantime they were pumping out new gambleboxes and stupidly expensive £300 bundles every four or five weeks whilst trying to gaslight players into believing that said boxes/bundles were content.

You pretty much described FFXIV at this point, I'm not sure this is the point you thought it was lmao.

We are getting hundreds and hundreds if not thousands of euros/dollars of FFXIV related merch and collabs, if anything that's basically all we get outside of absolutely miserable content, more cash shop purchases that are getting more and more close time wise in between each of them, and more paid collabs, the lodestone is basically full of them talking about getting DDOS'd and cash shop items.

Most events are absolutely atrocious and are 2 min walks to talk to NPC A and then NPC B and then go back to NPC A and turn in quest for terrible rewards (exception is the latest bouquet emote, the rest was absolutely atrocious), and even that is just basically getting out so it can be used to be sold on the cash shop.

The content cycle is 4 to 5 months long with basically a week at most of content if you go at a snail pace, otherwise you're done in a single evening.

As I said, you literally described FFXIV, which is ironic.

Let's not even talk about the whole "congested" fiasco, servers are locked down because they're "struggling to keep up with the load of players", BUT if you shell some money to transfer there, it weirdly enough has enough space for you, funny how that works, almost as if they're forcing you to pay money just so you can do content and play with your friends, thankfully it seems they mostly gave up on this "congested" thing, but it took an extremely long time to happen and for the community to absolutely dip in population to one of the lowest levels in years.

[Misutoraru]

yes i still think it, as someone which played mmos for more then 15-18 years i know exactly what will happen if final goes to a f2p modell, final has a lot of room for cashgrabs

This,
I had play F2P MMO by SE, FEZ a more GvG focus.
Only sell cosmetic to start with then, they start selling temporary stats increases potion, not game breaking but does give slight edge to players who paid. Take forever for any content update.
Most of the sub MMO turn F2P end up cashgrabs. Very few non sub base MMO I found to be alright, probably just GW2 I would say a success however, GW2 is a very different type of MMO.

[Carin-Eri]

You pretty much described FFXIV at this point, I'm not sure this is the point you thought it was lmao.

I did?

Okay - please point me in the direction of the £300 bundle that includes pay-to-win items such as weapons that can't be obtained any other way and are better than anything obtained by simply playing?
Please show me where I may purchase some FFXIV gambleboxes containing pay-to-win items such as weapons that can't be obtained any other way and are better than anything obtained by simply playing?
Please link me to the expansion (or patch) that contained literally ONE new piece of story content and nothing else?

[AvoSturmfaust]

I did?

Okay - please point me in the direction of the £300 bundle that includes pay-to-win items such as weapons that can't be obtained any other way and are better than anything obtained by simply playing?
Please show me where I may purchase some FFXIV gambleboxes containing pay-to-win items such as weapons that can't be obtained any other way and are better than anything obtained by simply playing?
Please link me to the expansion (or patch) that contained literally ONE new piece of story content and nothing else?

Its about your sentence "and far smaller to the point where they were only releasing one new piece of MSQ content, worth about 45 minutes of game time, every four or five months. " because this is exactly what we have currently in a 2 1/2 year cyclus we get 3 savages tiers which usually require more time thats true and 2 ultimates the same for it, but otherwise we literally get every 4 1/2 months content for 30min and thats it