I see a lot of people frustrated that all the best glamours end up on the Mog Station, but I think there is a connection here that often gets overlooked. For years, players have complained that rewards are locked behind content that is 'too hard' or 'too time consuming,' whether that is Savage, Ultimates, or even just higher-end grinds. And every time those complaints get loud, Square Enix has fewer reasons to put desirable rewards in challenging content.
The Mog Station, on the other hand, is completely accessible. It does not matter if you raid, craft, or even log in much at all. Anyone with a credit card can get the rewards instantly, and that means no backlash about difficulty or time walls. It is the safest option for the company, even if it feels like a lazy one to the players who actually want incentives in the game itself.
On top of the complaints coming from players, the Mog Station offers Square Enix a way to offset the loss of profit from the overwhelming amount of people leaving this game. It also perfectly explains the content drought. Why make content when so many people complain about how difficult it is or say it is a waste of time and they only want the rewards? The community has done this to themselves and there is nobody to blame but the players.
This is me asking Square Enix to stop catering to the people who do not play the game. They might be subscribed, but they are not the ones actually engaging in anything more than story and glamour. Time and time again there are threads complaining about content being too hard, about exclusive rewards, about everything being locked away. This has reached a point where SE's hands are tied because they live by the notion that every single piece of feedback has to be addressed. Why? At the end of the day, this is an MMO, not a dress up chatroom simulator like IMVU. Rewards should be exclusive, not everyone is entitled to them.
In fact, the constant complaints that every single character looks the same come from this exact problem. You want unique character looks? You want interesting rewards? Then start focusing on the content being provided. Start adding in real rewards to the game once again. Give people a reason to leave their comfort zone and hop into grinding Savage even if it takes them months. That is what keeps an MMO alive, not endless accessibility and not Mog Station band-aids.
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The Mog Station, on the other hand, is completely accessible. It does not matter if you raid, craft, or even log in much at all. Anyone with a credit card can get the rewards instantly, and that means no backlash about difficulty or time walls. It is the safest option for the company, even if it feels like a lazy one to the players who actually want incentives in the game itself.
On top of the complaints coming from players, the Mog Station offers Square Enix a way to offset the loss of profit from the overwhelming amount of people leaving this game. It also perfectly explains the content drought. Why make content when so many people complain about how difficult it is or say it is a waste of time and they only want the rewards? The community has done this to themselves and there is nobody to blame but the players.
This is me asking Square Enix to stop catering to the people who do not play the game. They might be subscribed, but they are not the ones actually engaging in anything more than story and glamour. Time and time again there are threads complaining about content being too hard, about exclusive rewards, about everything being locked away. This has reached a point where SE's hands are tied because they live by the notion that every single piece of feedback has to be addressed. Why? At the end of the day, this is an MMO, not a dress up chatroom simulator like IMVU. Rewards should be exclusive, not everyone is entitled to them.
In fact, the constant complaints that every single character looks the same come from this exact problem. You want unique character looks? You want interesting rewards? Then start focusing on the content being provided. Start adding in real rewards to the game once again. Give people a reason to leave their comfort zone and hop into grinding Savage even if it takes them months. That is what keeps an MMO alive, not endless accessibility and not Mog Station band-aids.
Continue reading...