Stop Online Store Items

[Alicie]

You want to know what this boils down to? Why would they stop?

No, seriously, Mog Store glams consistently become flavor of the month, you can't go into a roulette without seeing several people wearing them, so you need a good reason why Square Enix, as a business, would stop them, it brings a huge deal of profit, you'd need a good reason from a business point of view, being better for the players isn't enough, does it suck that it is like this? yes, I don't like it either, but it is how it is.

Points have already been provided in the first message. Better player retention, better reputation and loyalty, better overall opinions of the game, extended content lifetime especially considering that delays between patches got significantly bigger and amount of new content significantly smaller, aren't these things that SE desperately needs right now? Especially in the light of recent events where it has been made clear that there will be "no substantial changes in foreseeable future" and considering that players are already have became very tense about more and more store exclusive items being added constantly.

[VeyaAkemi]

Points have already been provided in the first message.

And none of that matters when faced with profit, you can't make the argument that it will make for a healthier game, that does not matter for the suits, you need to find a way to make the argument this will lead into more money, and your argument needs to be strong enough to out-do the internal data they have, just saying "More goodwill=more subs=more profit" is a hollow statement without data to back it up, it's just something you feel is right.

And believe me, I wish the argument of "Well you might make less money but will make money for longer" worked on executives, it does not, capitalism cares about what is in front of it only.

[Alicie]

And none of that matters when faced with profit, you can't make the argument that it will make for a healthier game, that does not matter for the suits, you need to find a way to make the argument this will lead into more money, and your argument needs to be strong enough to out-do the internal data they have, just saying "More goodwill=more subs=more profit" is a hollow statement without data to back it up, it's just something you feel is right.

And believe me, I wish the argument of "Well you might make less money but will make money for longer" worked on executives, it does not, capitalism cares about what is in front of it only.

I do not think that "they won't ever change it, it's all doomed" mindset will lead anyone anywhere. Also, I do not think that we, players, should really think on how SE executives can maximize their profits. If anything, I believe if everyone who does not likes microtransaction locked items in a paid game with paid subscription and paid DLCs would make a single post expressing their dissatisfaction in this thread, there could be at least a slim chance to set a motion to change it in future. Why would you be so defensive about microtransactions?

[Uzephi]

I do see a major issue that any company needs to keep in mind that this thread hasn't touched on. What would SE do to compensate people who purchased an item previously only available for purchase and advertised as cash only now available with the base subscription of the game? What customer service would SE give to them to keep them happy. Imagine spending any amount of money on mogstation items to only have them acquired for free after, when at the initial point of sale was: this is cash exclusive.

[virianna]

What would SE do to compensate people who purchased an item previously only available for purchase and advertised as cash only now available with the base subscription of the game?

One of two things:
- they keep old items exclusive to the store, let only new ones be farmable in game
- either the cash shop items get altered or their in game counterparts get altered slightly.

But in general for 'putting cash shop items farmable in game' they could depending on the item:
- make them semi-exclusive ie. for emotes that use an object the object could be unique (please don't give me a "but" here, we have a lot of reused emotes with a different object) whether in color or shape, make it more sparkly etc
- simply offering more - take a woodland attire - it has two bottom options - ie the game farmable counterpart could only offer one of these
- offer something special - dyeable accessories/accessories set, a special minion that goes with an attire/mount, extra dyes, thematically accurate music roll
- farms in game could be hard and/or related to some duty - ie. some high amount tokens like for crafter/gatherer/gemstone mounts, have them as a VERY rare drop from deep dungeons, coffers in eureka/bozja/oc etc
- event items could return for the event with a catch that they will be expensive or random/limited - there is no guarantee that the item you missed last year will show up bc it was decided that this year we only get 2015 items back for event A and 2024 items for event B

[Mercury_Grey]

I will throw a f2p game out that turned into the example of p2w. Right now FFXIV has a monthly cost. Unless you do the 3 or 6 months sub or the time card then it differs. An old f2p game i use play is called Elsword. It had characters, jobs, gear and more you get for free by doing the story. Make a character-do story- do side story to get job- do a side mission(s) for more skills- finish story an start gearing character. But, now it is the most pay 2 win game out there want to have past outfits or better gear? Spend irl money and sell the in game currency. Here youc an make gil wihtout spending a ime. Can spen like lets say if they add to mog station $15 to get noctis outfit (anyone get the joke i made on price?) If anything buying a sub an getting the dlc every 2 years and buying an old event item on mog station is more cost effective to me.

[pathetica]

I disagree only slightly, give us cheaper glam options on Mogstore that many people are definitely going to buy! We need money INTO FFXIV for it to survive [do not underestimate the oilers and their many alts]. It doesn't even have to be a full set, gamers have amazing ideas based off an elusive piece of glam so go figure

As many people have said, definitely put glams in content, people love glamming in this game obviously... weaponize their FOMO when they see catgirl/auragirl with an outfit they don't have so they PLAY the game
and potentially want to keep playing it because of the options you give us!

Remember some of us don't work amazing jobs and can't always afford high priced outfits on Mogstore, me for example I love a lot of the glam on there but will refuse to buy because I'm busy being depressed that I bought something I needed IRL. I sacrifice Netflix and all the such to justify a FFXIV sub, and if you think I should take an L on that then fine. I'm just highlighting that instead of paying monthly for one thing, I am paying monthly for FF"We're-human-too"XIV to further enjoy it!

[Mercury_Grey]

I disagree only slightly, give us cheaper glam options on Mogstore that many people are definitely going to buy! We need money INTO FFXIV for it to survive [do not underestimate the oilers and their many alts]. It doesn't even have to be a full set, gamers have amazing ideas based off an elusive piece of glam so go figure

As many people have said, definitely put glams in content, people love glamming in this game obviously... weaponize their FOMO when they see catgirl/auragirl with an outfit they don't have so they PLAY the game
and potentially want to keep playing it because of the options you give us!

Remember some of us don't work amazing jobs and can't always afford high priced outfits on Mogstore, me for example I love a lot of the glam on there but will refuse to buy because I'm busy being depressed that I bought something I needed IRL. I sacrifice Netflix and all the such to justify a FFXIV sub, and if you think I should take an L on that then fine. I'm just highlighting that instead of paying monthly for one thing, I am paying monthly for FF"We're-human-too"XIV to further enjoy it!

I'm just glad i bought the 6 month sub on my last paycheck from my last job i worked so i can still play the game. Honestly if an event comes out with a new outfit i'll do the event with friends to get it easier. Otherwise if i don't get it in time i can wait for a sale on outfits whenever they add it to the mog station.

[Reimmi]

Sorry OP, the 80 year old suits at square gotta make another failed gacha game to flush our money down the toilet again, couldn't ever possibly invest back into this game

[PyurBlue]

Problem:

• There are a lot, way too many items that are unobtainable in game that you can only get using cash.

Why is this a problem:[LIST][*]We already paid $60 for the game, then $15 per month for subscription and $40 for each DLC every 2 years, totalling approximately $200 per year. It's simply not ethical to lock cosmetic items behind paywall in a paid game with paid subscription and paid DLC.

Paying for the base game doesn't mean that charging for extras is unethical. The work done to make additional items is still labor being performed by someone. More problematic than the shop are the prices. Why does an outfit cost as much as, or half as much, an expansion? DLC tends to be extremely overpriced universally in games. Prices should be maybe 1/10th as much at most. Or the DLC should be bundled into packs for an expansion and sold at a fixed cost, say $20 gets you everything added over an expansion. I'm not trying to defend the shop as it is. I refuse to buy from shops like FF14 whether I can afford the items or not because the pricing makes no sense. I don't think extras have to be free though.

Unlocking items in game is also a valid idea, though I think gil is the best currency for rewards. It's a common reward from most content and wouldn't restrict you to doing specific duties. My philosophy with games is that enjoyment must be the primary motivating factor for playing the game. Running content for a reward is counter productive.