Quote Originally Posted by Ketriana View Post
Exactly. Raninia did not explain why there is a need to make figments significantly harder to obtain, or the reasons behind increasing the figment cost of housing decos/cosmetics, so we are left to assume this is about nothing more than attempting to push the housing/cosmetics community towards lootboxes. He states that they "expect that most players will get a bit choosier in terms of what cosmetics they prioritize." Again, why is there a need to limit the amount of cosmetic items players can earn, other than a desperate attempt to push us to lootboxes?

The limited availability of the curator and seasonal vendors was frustrating enough, even when I was able to keep motes banked for quick conversion. Without that option, I'm having nightmares of grinding festivals ad nauseum only to have the curator disappear a day or two before getting enough figments for the item I am after... how does that sound even remotely fun?

This is cosmetic fluff we are talking about. What problem is it causing if I choose to run missions for motes to convert to figments so I can dress my hobbit as a lumberjack, or fill my premium house with pets? Those activities were what I enjoyed most in Lotro, and the cosmetic rewards made tedious, grindy content like missions worthwhile to me. If you remove my reward for doing grindy content, I simply stop doing that content, which makes me less engaged with the game, with less reason to login. I know a lot of people with similar playstyles feel the same way. I have no interest in raiding or getting the best gear, so cosmetics and housing were my main reason for playing (aside from the story).

This change will alienate casual players who play mostly for roleplay, housing, cosmetics, etc. As someone who returned to Lotro after a long absence and has spent a lot of time grinding cosmetic and housing items to "catch up," it is enough of a challenge to do so, even with converting motes from missions. Eliminating the conversion will be especially frustrating to new or returning players when they are met with dozens of items they would like, and little means of obtaining them without resorting to lootboxes. Not to mention it will sap all the fun out of festivals, which will become a necessary time-limited grind that must be done on as many characters as possible. If that had been the case when I returned to the game, I can guarantee that I would not have played nearly as much as I have, nor spent nearly the amount on Lotro points/VIP/expansions that I did.
It looks like this part of the player base wasn't hitting enough of their targets...too much having fun, not enough grinding/spending.