I think yesterday made several things very clear...

I'll start with this one, and get to more as time goes on today... But, before I do:

I guess I'm finally getting into end-game. :) Someone actually recruited me, almost sight-unseen, for a Dynamis linkshell. We'll see how it goes. I just hope I can do well for them, and at least learn about this. Baby steps, one step at a time.

OK, now to the part of the update (other than the postponement of Moblin Maze Mongers) which has everyone up in arms:

Square-Enix, in their continuing fight against RMT, has decided to cut (significantly) the NPC prices of several items which were used as farming items for players to put gil into the system.

And a lot of players are pissed, and probably should be.

Here's the thing: RMT has gotten more and more and more desperate over the course of the last few months -- going so far, in some cases, as to hack into accounts and steal passwords and the like. I think it's becoming clear that, in the eyes of Square-Enix, it is becoming necessary to cut off the flow of "incoming gil" -- that is, gil created by the game (by selling to NPC's).

Consider the amount of work that the Special Task Force has done vs. RMT, and know that they have to have tried to figure out which methods the cheaters were using to get their gil. I think it's clear that they don't want to continue to see gil coming into the system as much as they used to.

Consider another thing they put into this update: The Treasure Caskets. They seem to drop quite a bit more than 1/10. I think Square is actually trying to put a lot of these items, more, into "temporary" usage, rather than permanent items, probably not only to lessen the amount of gil passing through the system, but to help with storage issues. (At least for lower and mid-level players...)

This is not going to go quietly. I could see more than a few accounts leave play because of this -- I'm ambivalent on it, but I can see the consternation.

---

Edit: Another thing that it makes clear -- they don't want everybody finishing WotG missions.

Bastok especially.

You see, to get to the set in this update, you have to finish all missions and quests (in the mission line) up to one called "Fire in the Hole". Adelheid is a Scholar. A very immature and stupid one.

You are supposed to keep her alive through several waves of Quadav so she can blow up a Turret deep in the mines near Pashhow and Rolanberry in the Shadowrealm.

With as stupid as she is and as frail as she is -- good -- freaking -- luck.

And, if you want the next missions, you have to beat her, and you can only get other Bastokans (or those who have done FitH) to help you.

Nah, they don't want us seeing the story...