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The game has been monetized all along, in one way or another. The fact that people are offended or surprised by this seems a bit odd to me. There will always be things you can't have without paying. As a consumer, my job is to decide a) if I can afford it, and b) if it appeals to me. If I don’t buy something, I'm not entitled to it for free.

GW as per usual not getting the point. This isn't about spending in general it's about the fact that the more sales we have, the more expensive they get.

The game has been around for 10 and a half years, give or take. You think the market hasn't changed over that amount of time?
All money does at its base function in this game is accelerate time. Unless something is exclusively only available for purchase, which very few things are in this game, then spending saves time.
The OP talked about the frequency of sales and the effect on casual spenders and FTP Players. There is no tit for tat in this game. There's no competition between spending and non-spending Players. It's just not a thing. No one would spend if they gave every perk to people for free.
Equally, a casual spender spends at their leisure, and isn't always the targeted audience for all sales, especially when they're higher in value. Those Offers are more likely aimed at the big spenders.
It IS about whether they monetize or not because there's no such thing as too much. They don't owe amends for monetizing to the people who don't or barely spend. They're a business. So they're going to make their money in whatever way works, and the only expectation on people to buy it all is the one they place on themselves.