An Open Letter to Square-Enix

[Kimiko]

Ok guys, like it or hate it, a good amount of folks are pissed off about the newest wave of "RMT countermeasures" which end up doing more harm than good. I for one (and I'm sure a lot of others here), are tired of SE trying to force their doctrine of curing the disease by killing the patient. To that end, I'm starting a campaign to get this change overturned. Square-Enix has to understand that their pursuit of RMT over the last year is working, and that drastic measures such as was implemented yesterday, are detrimental to the game as a whole.

To the development team and special task force of Final Fantasy XI:

I would like to take this opportunity to speak with you in regards to some of the changes that were made to Final Fantasy XI during the version update of December 8th, 2008. Specifically, I would like to address the following changes...

"The sale prices for the following items have been changed: Black Ink / Bugard Skin / H. Q. Bugard Skin / Orc Piercer / Yagudo Freezer / Shellbuster / Leech Saliva / Bird Blood / Beast Blood "

"The respawn time for Treasure Coffers and Treasure Chests has been shortened, and the chances of obtaining artifacts, maps, and key items from them have been increased. Furthermore, after obtaining items or gil from a coffer or chest, players will temporarily become unable to receive items or gil from other coffers or chests."

While I must commend you on your continued efforts in the elimination of real money traders from the game, I find it extremely disappointing that you decided in this case to, "Cure the disease by killing the patient." Did you think for even one minute that in your relentless hunt for RMT, that you have single handedly destroyed one of the few viable sources of income remaining in the game for thousands of legitimate players? Not everyone in the game has a viable crafting income, nor does everyone involve themselves in the HNM scene for making a little bank. To these people, who I count myself as one of, being able to farm simple mobs for gil was a lifeline to a reasonable living within the game. A lifeline which you, in your sweeping brushstrokes to round up RMT, have forcefully severed. Did you even think that your efforts to crush RMT had already had a positive effect on the game? 82,000 banned accounts with over 33 billion gil removed from circulation in the last year alone. I would be remiss to say that you have already made an impact upon those that have chosen to cheat in this matter. While there may still be some RMT lingering about in areas, however they are nowhere close to the levels of a year or two ago. Why, at this point was such a catastrophic countermeasure required to combat the RMT presence? Why not continue the efforts that have made the game a better place for everyone? While this change does place a major strain against the remaining RMT, you have also placed that same burden upon the community at large. A burden in which, in my opinion, is detrimental to the game as a collective whole.

All I ask of you is that you please reconsider the changes that were made as of Monday's version update in consideration of the thousands of players that are needlessly punished by these changes. Together through the efforts of the STF & the community, we are winning the fight against the RMT. The medicine is indeed working; all we ask is the time and patience for the patient to become well once again.

Thank you,

Sincerely
- Kimiko of Siren

[Rafike]

Wasn't there something said about working to more closely track the transactions of large amounts of gil between RMT and gilbuyers? Thought I remembered seeing something, but can't find it for the life of me now. Not that this necessarily is in direct concern with the OP just figured since both have to do with RMT crackdowns this would be the optimal place to ask.

[Kimiko]

That and I also vaguely remember them saying in an interview that they actually wanted to increase farmable mob drops?

[EvilSid]

Why don't you try to do ISNMs instead of an infinite pointless farming?

Such things like Khroma Ores will always have a decent price, you can do it every japanese day, and also it costs to you the same amount of IS you can gain in a single Besieged lv.8 or in less than a hour of exp/merit in ToAU areas.

It's not the best source of gil in the game, I didn't say it, but i just gave you my 2 cents.

[Cream Soda]

Why don't you try to do ISNMs instead of an infinite pointless farming?

Such things like Khroma Ores will always have a decent price, you can do it every japanese day, and also it costs to you the same amount of IS you can gain in a single Besieged lv.8 or in less than a hour of exp/merit in ToAU areas.

It's not the best source of gil in the game, I didn't say it, but i just gave you my 2 cents.

I do ISNM every day and I hardly ever get Kore. When I went to Castle Zvahl, it was a guaranteed consistent income, which is now gone. Idk about you, but i can't live off a dragon talon a day.

[Tricen]

Sell beastmen blood.

[phrost]

Good effort.
http://www.exposedreality.com/wp-con...2001to2003.PNG

My only confusion stemmed from this sentence:
"A burden in which, in my opinion, is detrimental to the game as a collective whole."

Also, it appears that you're riding the "killing the patient" analogy pretty hard, I understand you probably think it' was pretty clever. The analogy kinda fits, in a tongue-in-cheek sense. However, for a letter you expect the development team or at least relations people to read seriously. I would avoid flowery and overly theatrical language.

[Tricen]

Also, send them the .gif of the 1 guy 1 cup thing.

[Apelila]

Dear Sqaure Enix:

Please make something players can do for money, since you seem hell bent on taking away all the good ones that high level players used.

[fren.]

Why don't you try to do ISNMs instead of an infinite pointless farming?

Such things like Khroma Ores will always have a decent price, you can do it every japanese day, and also it costs to you the same amount of IS you can gain in a single Besieged lv.8 or in less than a hour of exp/merit in ToAU areas.

It's not the best source of gil in the game, I didn't say it, but i just gave you my 2 cents.

Farming beast bloods/orc piercers didn't require the help of 3+ or more people and was available on the whim. Not to mention it was essentially guaranteed to cover the cost of basic necessities, instead of relying on retarded luck.

Infinite pointless farm means exactly what?

[Lujei]

My farming wasn't hurt by this update, but I pose the question "why now?" Why not when they lowered the NPC price of Remedies? Both are technically doing the same thing. Is it the amount of people who were making money off of it? Making the broad and unlikely assumption that the ratio of real players:gilsellers making money off the synths and the farming is the same, why should this update get "special treatment?"

[Qeomash]

I still can't fathom how this economy even works in the first place. How many millions of gil gets destroyed each week by Auction House Fees, OP Warps, Storage (less now, but still), Dynamis, Limbus, whatever? How is gill actually added to the system? Gil drops from monsters, gil drops from BCNMs etc, and NPCed items.

With a normal government tax like AH fees, in real life that money is eventually spent back into the economy through salaries or other projects. In FFXI, it vanishes. So, to compensate, there must be an equally steady flow coming in or the economy will start to deflate.

So, meager as blood farming was, it was still a vital cog in the economy. And now that that's gone, something similar will have to replace its gil production eventually.

And, no, the economy is not going to collapse overnight because of this update's changes. But it certainty wont help it get built up.

[Apelila]

My farming wasn't hurt by this update, but I pose the question "why now?" Why not when they lowered the NPC price of Remedies? Both are technically doing the same thing. Is it the amount of people who were making money off of it? Making the broad and unlikely assumption that the ratio of real players:gilsellers making money off the synths and the farming is the same, why should this update get "special treatment?"

Well, what they nerfed this time affects a whole mess of people. Remedies only really affected high level alchemists and those who got them in assaults. This affects anyone with half a brain and a lvl75 character not made of wet paper. I used to farm castle Z back day but stopped when it got crowded.

[mdkuser]

Why don't you try to do ISNMs instead of an infinite pointless farming?

Such things like Khroma Ores will always have a decent price, you can do it every japanese day, and also it costs to you the same amount of IS you can gain in a single Besieged lv.8 or in less than a hour of exp/merit in ToAU areas.

It's not the best source of gil in the game, I didn't say it, but i just gave you my 2 cents.

seriously, ISNM is shitty money, come on. take into consideration the amount of time it takes to get the IS then teh time to form a pt and to your 6 INSM....


vs....

demon farming in catle zwahl: 50k/hour minimum by NPC ing crap...

[Kaylia]

I still can't fathom how this economy even works in the first place. How many millions of gil gets destroyed each week by Auction House Fees, OP Warps, Storage (less now, but still), Dynamis, Limbus, whatever? How is gill actually added to the system? Gil drops from monsters, gil drops from BCNMs etc, and NPCed items.

JP duping gil.

I think a good chunk of the money come from vendored item. I usually break even on expandable if I vendor everything I get.

[zard1977]

Ways to earn money (without having to join a HNM LS)

1. BCNM
2. ISNM
3. ENM
4. Gardening

OR you can just level smn and farm spiders outside WG.

[Tsuko_Asura]

Ways to earn money (without having to join a HNM LS)

1. BCNM
2. ISNM
3. ENM
4. Gardening

OR you can just level smn and farm spiders outside WG, which will in turn pay for a Claustrum that will drastically speed up the rate at which you can farm said spiders.

Exactly.

[mdkuser]

tbh this price fix might have good consequences on the economy, and make prices drop even lower. The gil influx from bat drops/bugards/demons was HUGE, and a lot of people did it. Just for reference, with TH4, bat farming was 30k/h, bugards was 40k and demons was 100k ( but needed healer+THF to be efficient so 50k) of gil created by NPCing shit. I can't think of any other activity in game that create more money/hour/server, so gil will definatly leave the game.

[gandorf]

There is a lot you can do for gil if you got time and aren't lazy. Just take a few hours go through Final Fantasy XI Auction House - FFXIAH.com and find something you can farm.

I lved cooking to 80 without losing much gil and I can make decent gil off of that. I also farm megabugard and the nm buffalo in range when I got nothing else to do. You might even be able to lend your services to people that might need a nm soloed or a avatar killed and you might get a reward.

[Roaringhedgehog]

well ... may i point out a fact about these drops people are just flat out QQing over..mainly the bloods and saliva...

lets take a trip back in time to begin with children ok ;p

so many people who played beast and made jugs for beast job used to way back when farm for hours on end to make jugs such as Liferdrinker Lars, Audasious Audrey andChopsuey Chukkie.. these items were reasonably sitty to get more so the bloods which droped from bast in litelor and the dermites and leech..... so many people complained that it used to take them weeks to farm enuff bloods to make a few stacks...

Then teh caps for such jugs were rather high so the HQ were quite rare meaning yet more bloods needed to be farmed... then one day SE in all thier great wisdom decided to give bst a wonderful present that thier jugs would now be more farmable by incrasing teh drop rates of such items AND even lowering the craft cap so to make hq more doable....

Sadly they forgot that due to the old ways these bloods were hard to farm so the npc value was rather high, they did not change this npc value..those peopel who actually knew teh value before hand realised how much gil could actuyally be made by farming these and npcing them taking advantage of teh mistake by S..AND also still carry on emakin the wonderful jugs for bst....

maybe 6 months after teh update the many rmt and also normal player who came to litelor began to wonder why some people were killing these bats..so they also killed some and realised the gold mine which stood before them......

and now almost a year or so later SE finally fix there mistake and soo many people are QQing over it.. personally i farmed these for weeks when they 1st changed the drop rates when i more or less had thes zone to myself..later when all teh asshats and thier dogs came i moved on due to teh fact i could make more gils doing other things...having a bat voked before me for basically0-1k gil is kinda pathetic to me so i couldnt be assed.

i for one wlecome the change to these npc values i have complined in teh past to SE to fix the price of said bloods as in reality it stoped me as a lvl 75 bst making one of teh best items i can use for bst which SE inteded to make more freely available.

NOW.. on the other hand the black ink price thisi also did being a fisherman and lvl 60 alchemy i could hq this shit and make more gils normally and quicker than selling my nebs on the AH.. kinda pissed me off teh nerf but overall i think not such a bad thing as normally dont know many people or see many rmt style people do this so a lil annoyed.

personally i would have liekd to see Holy water added to this list as i know 1 char on my server who does nothing but craft this more or less all day ... Tarutauobject sits at port jeuno and just makes this shit ...>.> so blatently open along with his mate phobeus making sushis

so yeah end of day the QQing over these so called nerfs i dont think should be QQed over when u look at the resoning behind it . ;p

Hog