Well not really a rant (clickbait), but hear me out.
Now of course the way Mabinogi is being updated is not ideal as the generation system was basically thrown out the window because of how slow that's going, but that's not the issue I'm gonna complain about, nor am I gonna complain about the need for a total overhaul of the games internal engine, or the community.
What I'm gonna complain about is how almost all new cosmetic content is locked to events, or a limited offer. Gachapons aside. An example being: this spring time event gives us access to lots of adorable new homestead props, but they're limited to the event. While it's fine that "the big prize" can happily be a limited thing as incentive to participate, the sheer quantity of stuff you can get on the side would have made for an amazing content addition. I don't really want to make this a big wall cuz no one's gonna read more than a paragraph so I'll make it into a bullet point.
[*] Our Last "Generation" update was g20: Gate of Sanctuary (April 14th 2016), which added the story line, the beltane knights, and some weapons. (We did have a Dungeon Revamp and Phantasm added in August, and Music Q in December)
[*] Simon's store has literally not been updated since g4-7 came out in NA. He has never had a single item of clothing added to his store since then. In fact, no clothing NPC has had new clothes added to their store since Elves and Giants were released in 2009 as far as my brief fact check shows. I don't think Edern has ever had a store update either.
[*] Most NPC's have had very minor changes to their stores, such as the introduction of reforge tools, and new instruments. Ingredient/Food stores did get a major overhaul.
[*] Being how easy it is to obtain gold, even for new players, there should have been a readjustment to NPC prices a long time ago.
[*] Since their release in April 2011, Homesteads have had one solid update in March 2013, which added 4 Levels, a size expansion, new cosmetic additions, and Pon Compatability. Homestead's have just had one more update, April 2017, which instead of a standard "a few more levels and one more expansion" we have a paywall expansion (which is still nice I guess), and no new cosmetics.
[*] ALL new Homestead cosmetics have been locked behind limited events since March 2013.
[*] There has not been a single new permanent addition to the Pet section of the Cash shop, since the Warp Imp, added in August 2012. Guardian Spider and Laghodessa are older existing pets that used to be Limited, but have silently been added as permanent additions to the cash shop in November 2016. (I'm actually tempted to buy a Laggy...)
[*] There have been more previously Permanent Pets taken out of the cash shop and turned into Limited Time Sales, than there have been pets added to the game in the last 5 years.
[*] There have been no Sewing Patterns added to NPC Stores, since possibly the introduction of Iria. There are multiple items of clothing released in events and Gachapon that were to have sewing patterns (Marlin Robe, Connous Leather Armor, etc.) that have never been implemented.
[*] On the Contrary, Blacksmithing has had recent updates with the addition of Celtic weapons added into Gilmore's Store. Not that it matters since I'm 90% sure you can get the new weapons in Gachapon anyway...
[*] Festia was an amazing attempt at contradicting the point of this entire post, as those event exclusive minigames we loved are now permanent additions to Mabinogi! Granted you can't play them unlimitedly...
[*] Theres been a bizarre trend of locking all new events to one character, instead of just typical Attendance events. Additionally events are very strict on how much time you have to get the top prize, while also locking you to a limited amount of progress each day, which makes the events stressful and less fun to participate in, since it's very easy to let the best prize slip away and you may never see it again, since it's probably untradable anyway.
[*] We have plenty of skills in Mabinogi and more skills are being added even now, however there are STILL unfinished skills that have yet to be fully uncapped since the dawn of the game. (Here's looking at you, First Aid and Rest)
Now why would I whiiiiine about something so silly? Well, I think personally it's horrible design that is a massive part of this game's snowballing downfall. Sure Devcat/Nexon don't care so long as they milk what they can out of this game's dying breath, and don't get me wrong I LOVE Mabinogi, but it IS getting too old for how poorly it's maintained. Unless Duncan's Skill Reset is the latest thing, there's been no major gold sink implemented since 2012-ish besides gradually more insane repair costs. Inflation is running rampant due to a lack of content for us to spill our gold down NPC drains on top of how easy it is to grind up 1million gold in less than an hour if you know the right methods.
There are multitudes of difficulties this game faces but in my opinion this is one that shouldn't have been left as neglected as it has been. The soul of the game has basically been abandoned as Devcat/Nexon churn out events and Gachapon as a form of Life Support, unsurprisingly making the state of the game worse.
The current Director seems to be trying his best as I've heard he's repairing some outdated functionalities and adding systems to make Free to Play Players have a little less power difference than reforge snorting addicts, but all that's doing is putting a new carpet over the torn up, well loved, lumpy rag that just needed some proper attention.
I know this isn't gonna be fixed, but I felt like I needed to rant on the forum because hey maybe people will agree or share their insight and opinions and maybe if the stars align and I sacrifice my firstborn to the Weird Cat, it could make its way higher up. (They're probably already aware of these issues though and just don't care)
TL:DR Besides what comes out in Events and Gachapon there hasn't really been any content added to the game since 2012, not including revamps, story updates, and filler features such as Renown and Potential, and it's making the game feel more and more dated as time passes besides it's multitude of other problems. Inflation.
Thoughts?