When progression is entirely self only, like THJ or what it looks like they might be doing on EQL, where everyone can instance all the things, then it is not p2w at all. If this was mnm where they plan to shove everyone in an uninstanced hellscape where everyone has to out dps everyone for loot and camps, you would be right. In properly instanced games there are no monopolies on anything, so the only thing that happens for someone using an xp pot is they level/aa faster.
If racing provided some sort of game power/ability that was otherwise unobtainable you would be right. But I haven't seen anything so far that indicates that will be the case. If Faceless is able to clear naggy/vox/fear/hate/sky 5 minutes after the server opens, who the fuck cares? Good for them. They will have full +10 on 20 accounts before I get my first one done. That has jack and shit to do with my game experience unless I want to baz something for convenience that they might be selling. I will get to those same fights solo in my own time, and I will probably have a lot of fun doing it. Each emu I have played has had various quirks, but I have enjoyed them.
That's a much more reasonable argument than the usual "XP pots aren't P2W because convenience magically doesn't count" nonsense, but I still think you're underselling how progression advantage functions even in heavily instanced environments. You're basically arguing that because the degree of competitive impact is reduced, the monetization no longer qualifies as P2W at all. I don't think that tracks.
Instancing absolutely mitigates a lot of the worst MMO behaviors, agreed. But
reduced impact is not the same thing as "no impact." Even in a fully instanced game, progression speed still affects: access to stronger gear sooner, AA accumulation sooner, farming efficiency sooner, economic generation sooner, market influence sooner, raid readiness sooner, group desirability sooner, etc. Those are still forms of measurable character advantage obtained via real money.
The thing I think people keep doing is conflating: "Does this negatively affect MY personal enjoyment?" with "Is this P2W?". Those are
not the same question. You personally not caring if Faceless clears everything instantly doesn't somehow erase the monetized advantage that got them there faster. It just means you've decided it doesn't meaningfully damage
your own gameplay experience.
But there are absolutely shades to this stuff. A mostly instanced server with XP pots is obviously nowhere near as toxic as an uninstanced krono-ridden sweatfest where guilds weaponize every progression advantage to dominate content access. Still, paying real money for accelerated progression in an RPG where progression directly translates into character effectiveness is, definitionally,
paying for advantage. Even if the environment softens the downstream impact.
So I think the more intellectually honest position is: "Yes, XP pots are technically P2W, but in a heavily instanced environment the practical impact on other players is reduced." That's a much stronger argument than pretending the mechanic somehow stops being P2W entirely because the server ruleset is "friendlier".
