25 hour maintenance Follow

Wow 2.2 and instance system rebuild must be BIG to require a day and bit for implementation.... Could there be more being released than advertised so far?

Maybe they're pulling a Scotty. Double your estimate and you'll look like a miracle worker.

did I read that about retainers right? theyll cost an additional 2 dollars a MONTH for each one? now if i was a one time fee i may have done it but making me pay more monthly? umm they can keep that

If they are mucking around with core systems that connect all the servers, then yes, they are allotting a LOT of time to make SURE nothing goes horribly awry.

I doubt it will take the full 25 hours if everything goes as planned, but yet if crap does hit the fan, they want enough time that they can try and fix it before the deadline is up to minimize player nerdrage.

So no, I don't think there's "more than advertised". From what I can tell from what I've played thusfar, it sounds like SE adds exactly what they say they're going to add when they post patch notes and such.

What they're really saying is, "You've got one day off to play the Diablo 3 expansion."

Which is kind of a moot point considering XIV gives extra characters for free (which result in 2 free extra retainers per character). So XI is still worse.

When I played XI, I had 4 mules - one for each starting city and Jeuno. That's the same extra cost as two retainers.

That's true; two extra dollars a month for seven more characters (less depending on whether you pay for one, three or six months plan). A much better value/dollar, but more importantly diminishing the value of extra retainers on your main character (while not completely replacing them).

I'm sorry but XI is much worse. Extra characters in XI have much more value than extra retainers in XIV for your main character since you can also get extra retainers through cheaper means. Thus while the price is steep people are given alternative, feasible options. Something that XI never provided.

Edited, Mar 25th 2014 11:16pm by Hyanmen

$1 gave you access to another max-level craft in FFXI and access to, how much storage space again? A potential of:

80 Inventory
80 Mog House - Furniture
80 Storage
80 Mog Locker
80 Mog Satchel
80 Mog Case
80 Mog Sack

That's 560 minus some furniture, probably IIRC, like what 8 pieces of furniture to get 80 storage? Or is it 60? I forget.

So basically $1 a month for ~500 item storage for non-Rare/EX items, and a max level craft (since you can only have 1 on your main not counting fishing last I checked).

That's not too shabby either.

It's not necessarily just about the money. While there is certainly an argument for free to play games that offer in game incentives that draw them to shelling out extra cash, some people enjoy paying a monthly subscription and having their in game goals be entirely achievable within the game itself, rather than a "pay more, get more" mentality.

If you're looking at extra retainers as a "substantial boost" (your words, here) due to the new venture system for "just 2 dollars a month!" then you're looking at the exact same type of incentive that a lot of people might play a game like this to avoid, except also paying a monthly subscription on top of it. This is understandably going to be something that not everyone is a fan of (even if not everyone agrees), whether or not $4 per month is going to make you go bankrupt.

Edited, Mar 25th 2014 8:36pm by Susanoh

This is true, but then again, an incremental payment system is much, much different than a one time purchase, and the differences have to be taken into consideration. For someone who gets only one of the two possible extra retainers and pays an extra $2 a month and then quits the game in April, that's not bad compared to free to play options. For someone who gets another retainer and sticks with this game for another 5 years, assuming the payment model were to stay the same they're paying over $100 for another retainer, and that is unquestionably bad compared to free to play options. The amount that you pay in an incremental payment system is directly linked to how much you intend on playing, and for loyal fans who want to stick around a while, it doesn't work in their favor.



You don't necessarily need to buy those extra retainers, I will agree with that. They most definitely provide a boost, but they aren't required, we completely agree on that. Still, there's some really stiff competition out there that offer the same types of incentives, that you never need to buy at all. They're nice, like retainers, but also like retainers, they won't slay end game bosses for you or make you overpowered. People who play a subscription based game are happily handing money over to the devs just for the privilege of even playing the game. Despite all that competition out there, subscribers of a game feel that that game must be worth it for one reason or another. So for some to see extra convenience features tacked behind a pay wall in order to pry into your wallet some more, it may cause some to think "Maybe this game isn't as different as I thought?" That competition is still out there, it's still free and some of them are pretty solid games. I can't exactly speak for anyone else, but I'm not a huge fan of "pay more, get more" in free to play games but I am willing to put up with it if I really like the game. To do the same thing in a game that I'm already giving money to every single month just to play? Well, one of the things I did prefer about this game that made it willing to pay for suddenly doesn't look like much of an advantage any more, personally. I still enjoy the game for what it is at the moment, and I can understand that corporations are in a never ending quest for money, but if a friend asked me how much value there is in playing this game compared to the competition, this would most definitely be a factor in my response.

Edited, Mar 25th 2014 9:08pm by Susanoh