Cross post from FFBE because I fully expect the thread on that side to get heavily downvoted, plus I prefer the discussion that comes from this sub anyway.

Reading up on the various threads that popped up over the weekend discussing the CG Noctis and Lunafreya banner as well as the Mog King changes which add an insane grind to the game, I had the thought that the direction the game is taking reminds me of one of the most successful gacha games on the market: Fate/Grand Order.

1. "Free" event units which require several weeks of dedicated grind. The King Mog event free 7 stars look a whole lot like the FGO event units which require a soul sucking amount of time spread over the course of the weeks of the event, unless you refresh several weeks worth of energy to do it in one shot.
2. Time limited banner after time limited banner. Most of FGO's new units are time limited, and almost none of them are collabs. They're also typically very powerful. However, they don't get any sort of special rate up (typically 0.7% featured unit rates)
3. Additional unit banners releasing in the middle of an event. FGO will drop new limited units in the middle of their event, with a completely separate rate up than the initial limited units for the event. Most notably this happens with summer units in FGO.
4. No safety net: The Lunafreya step up banner is a slap in the face. No guaranteed rainbows and no select summon tickets to ensure you get the unit you want after spending several hundred dollars on lapis. FGO does have a safety net in the form of blank saint graphs, but the net is so weak it may as well not exist. Once you have pulled 5 of a specific 5 star unit, any additional copies of that unit become blank saint graphs. Once you have 10 of them, you get a single 5 star unit of your choice. That's 15 of the same dupe, or 6 of 10 different dupes. Only the whaliest of whales could ever hope to see a single blank saint graph, much less 10.
5. Reduced generosity. FFBE has greatly reduced the amount of tickets they give out to players. FGO gives maybe 25 summons a month? With a 0.7% featured 5* unit rate, this means that the average player can expect to pull 2 or 3 featured units in a YEAR.

So why doesn't this work with FFBE when it works for FGO? Many reasons. First is expectations. FFBE has had great hand me outs and safety nets. Step ups with guaranteed featured units, 20k lapis and dozens of tickets a month, unit of choice tickets to help you get the units you want. In the recent months we've seen tickets and unit of choice opportunities dry up, and most recently, 25k lapis step ups eliminate the guaranteed rainbows in the middle and end. In business, you almost NEVER want to reduce your generosity because consumers get used to a certain level. To keep them happy, you should always be INCREASING your generosity, never regressing.

Second is game design. Power creep in FFBE means that in order to stay relevant, you need a new 7* damage dealer, support, tank, and healer, as well as a variety of TMRs to gear them out. Say you were being frugal and only wanted a new set every year. That's still 10 specific 5* pulls at a 1% featured rate every year. When you eliminate the safety nets like UoC or guaranteed units in step up, this suddenly means you will need about 500,000 lapis to pull those 10 specific units. And you better have that lapis while their banner is up!

Third is the draw of the game. FFBE's draw has, in my opinion, been incredibly deep gameplay, a better than average story, but arguably most importantly, nostalgia for FF units. Contrast this to FGO, whose strength lies in good writing and character design. The meta is completely unattainable for 99% of players, but the game is designed to be completely beatable by any number of low rarity units, as long as you are smart with your team compositions and are willing to put in a bit of grind. F2P players in FGO save for units they love and go ham when that banner drops. Whereas people in FFBE have previously typically been able to get a unit they love with relatively few resources thanks to UoCs and step ups. The rest of those resources end up going towards keeping up with the meta.

FFBE can't survive using FGO's business model. The game isn't built for it and anyone could have told them that. So why is Alim trying to fit a square peg into a round hole?