I hate to break it to you, but this is all snake-oil salesman bullshit.
- To ensure all purchases in-game feel optional, it is important players have a path to acquire all items in our in-game store without having to make a purchase. Most items are available with Crystals which can be earned by trading gold at a player-run exchange. Any item without a Crystal price will be tradable via the in-game trading post. This means that all items will be available for in-game, earnable currencies (with few exceptions, such as Founder’s Packs and services like name changes).
This is how it already is pretty much. Even if they change a few/all things that cost Royal Crystals to cost Blue Crystals, it doesn't really affect you. Buying Blues from other players with gold to then use the Blues to buy cash shop items isn't really any different than buying those same items from other players off the AH. If anything it will most likely drive up the gold cost of Blues, so a net loss. ( Would be nice if they included character slots, but that is probably a "service" like name changes)
2. We have updated how pet features function. Originally, players would rent features on their pets each month and the pets would gain additional functionality. An epic-grade pet will be available for free as a quest reward in the early stages of the game. In our version, pet purchases are permanent and the features that were previously rented are now available through Crystalline Aura benefits. Auto-looting remains a default feature of pets, regardless of whether or not you have Crystalline Aura active.
The free epic pet is from the pet tutorial quest and is already in the other versions of the game. In those version the rented features (Warehouse access/repairs etc) cost a certain amount of Blues per month to activate. (AH anywhere access used to be part of this, but Smilegate gave that to everyone and made it part of the UI) Removing that and making it part of the Crystalline Aura (Beatrice Blessing) which is basically a sub and something you don't need doesn't really change anything for the better. There is no mention if the Crystalline Aura will be purchasable with Blues, as it is cash only in other regions. If it's still a cash purchase it's worse. Otherwise, it's a meaningless change. ( And saying the pet benefits are "no longer rented" but "now part of the (rented) Aura benefits" is a blatant lie.
3. We tuned the timing on Mari’s Secret Store to make products stay in the store for longer periods of time, giving players more time to make a purchase decision. Players will have 72hrs before items rotate out of Mari’s Secret Store.
Yawn.
4. We reconstructed the premium service, Crystalline Aura, to provide fair and fully optional benefits and avoid potential pay to win mechanical advantages. Examples of these changes include removing increased movement speed and increased combat XP from the Crystalline Aura benefits, and adding in some of the PC Cafe benefits, like half-priced ship tickets and free Triport trips.
Straight up worse
. There are no p2w benefits in the current Aura. Just convenience.
