Is this game still completely P2P?Follow

I don't see how this is a bother to anyone then. Don't pay for them if you don't want to, simply as that. That's the route I'm choosing, and I sure as hell am not going to complain that others might want to have extra space. Extra inventory space does not seem to give any unfair advantages to those that do choose to pay, so I don't see what the problem is.

Being able to send all your retainers out on separate ventures is definitely an advantage, but honestly I'm the type of person who doesn't even log in every day so I'm not too upset about it. Even though I COULD afford the extra retainers, I'm not going to bother. I don't hoard useless things.

I will never beat the latest and greatest in this game. I will never have the biggest house or the most pimped out character with all the relics. And that's okay. I play this game to have fun, not to work. Others can spend 5-6 hours a day (or more) in the game and milk it for every second of content. I have a job and other hobbies that I enjoy, too, and I won't sacrifice the time I spend on those things for a video game.

I'm more annoyed that others have caught onto my money making scheme and I'm not churning out 100K/day like I was at its height.

At least you're willing to admit it. There are a lot of people here who say they'd quit playing XIV if it went F2P because of the incentives created to push players toward the cash shop, yet they have no problem with SE doing the same in a P2P game. I don't get it.

I think the big factor is whether that F2P wall is in a place where most players will actually run into it. In true F2P games, normal players run into that wall more frequently, and are thus given incentive to buy from the cash shop. That's not the case with FFXIV.

Even though a third retainer gives an advantage, it's an advantage I'd never benefit from even if I had the third retainer. I wouldn't benefit from inventory space, because I don't even have enough stuff to fill ONE retainer, and that's despite leveling multiple battle and crafting classes... as far as ventures go, I don't craft often enough to need my retainers to go get mats for me... and even if I do step up my crafting, I've still got to fully utilize two retainers before a third would even enter the picture.

For someone who plays this game like a job, then sure, they may be hitting that "F2P wall" where they might actually feel incentivized toward the cash shop...

For most players though, there's no real push to get that third retainer. The F2P wall is so far out there, it's not even something I'd think about if I didn't frequent these forums.

Edited, Mar 26th 2014 11:51am by Thayos

Exactly what kind of an advantage is it though? Being able to list 60 or 80 items on the Market is an advantage over only being able to list 40 items. But given the state of the economy, what does that advantage translate to exactly? It gives sellers even more opportunity to undercut one another, all over gil that gets hoarded in hopes of a buying a bigger house.

I don't foresee Ventures ever yielding end-game stuff. Maybe you'll occasionally get 5 or 10 tomestones of soldiery, which likely wouldn't even help players hit their weekly soldiery cap any sooner than they otherwise would.

It's like being able to buy a helm that gives +20% exp for levels 1 through 10. That's double the bonus that you can get from Moogle Cap or Helm of Light. Is that an advantage? Strictly speaking, sure. Is it a significant advantage that players need to feel obligated to buy? I don't think so.

We know so little about the Venture system and its potential rewards, it seems silly to claim that access to 2 additional retainers is venturing into pay-to-win territory.

And people are cool with this, I see no difference, to be honest, the mule was way more advantages then this retainer thing.

Gardening. Gardening!

What you mean to say is that's it's the same as FFXI gardening. You log in every day on all your mules, take care of your plants, and reap the free money. It's pretty much what Ventures are, only the context is a bit different.

Naw, I purchased 9 mules accross two accounts for the other benefits of having 9 mules across two accounts. Being able to use them to play the mog lotto (and potentially win 100 million gil) was just a bonus.

Highest I ever won was Rank 2. I got Sagasinger, which was a nifty sword at the time, but now all the Skirmish weapons make it feel like a toy lightsaber.

What I don't want to see for sale:

- Unique level 1 Glamour outfits. Those need to be seasonal event rewards.
- Any gear with any kind of stats on it whatsoever
- Dungeon access that requires a one time payment, with the exception of a full expansion that also includes non-dungeon content (e.g. when they open Ishgard)
- A mount that goes 5% faster
- Soul Gems that have to be purchased instead of earned (again, with the exception of new jobs and classes rolled into an expansion)
- Currency/tomes for sale
- Any kind of Zynga style thing that encourages you to spam your friends with cows instead of purchasing currency
- An extra minion slot, because that's just getting silly

Yeah, it just strikes me as odd because they're adding these things in a subscriber-only game. It makes sense to provide an advantage to players who will pay, but only feels right when those who aren't paying for them don't have to pay at all.

I don't agree with this comment as an advantage, as usually I hate when someone puts only stacks of 99's on the board, when I only need like a handful of the items. I also hate it when I look up an item and there are only HQ versions of it. =)

Another interview with Yoshi-P: http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2014-03-27-final-fantasy-producer-subscriptions-are-still-good-for-mmos

If this story is referencing an old interview, then at least it contains a quote from YP that I haven't seen anywhere else:

"A lot of games look at the first two months of subscription numbers, think that's not going to be a feasible business, and switch over to free-to-play. I don't think it's necessarily because free-to-play is a better form, though. It's more about people making a rash decision to switch over and chase a quick buck."