New Player Impressions

Good evening!

First of, I'd like to say I'm a long time Final Fantasy fan, since the first one launched so long ago on NES. I had a copy of it then. I recently finished FF7 for the first time in quite a number of years so I went looking for something new to do. Well, I saw FF14 available on Steam so I snatched it up and here I am! I opted to stick with the official forums as the discussion boards in Steam are less than satisfactory.

Something I'm noticing, however, is that in-game channels seem....quiet. I don't know if that's just because of what area I'm in or the server I'm using (Behemoth) or my level or channels I have access to but there's no chatter at all. I've played my fair share of MMOs and I haven't been able to really gauge what the community is like simply because I haven't really encountered any yet. All I have to go by is the forums and I still have a lot to learn before I understand what's being discussed. Maybe I just need to find a good Free Company.

Thanks!

And it seems the new player forums have a limit on characters so I couldn't say all I wanted to say.

My post wasn't intended to be all negative. I am enjoying the game so far. It runs well on my PC and the graphics are nice. If I had to compare them it would be TERA without the lag.

I made a gladiator first but also started up a pugilist and I'm enjoying that currently. I've already browsed the forums some to learn some info on what I need to do to improve myself. Hope to you in-game if you're on Behemoth!

Hey there,
You can go back and make the post limitations longer after editing your post. So feel free to know to go all out. ;p

Most channels are indeed quiet but it really depends on what server and zone you're in too! As you get to a higher level you'll notice people in channel for more stuff. Dungeons / Raids/ etc (Some servers also tend to generate more chatter. A newer one: Faerie for example: Whenever I go there people seem to be chatting away in zones like Bentbranch etc - but in my current server - Hyperion(Legacy) - it's usually quiet because most of the player-base has obtained level 50 and those players tend to chat all day in Mordona/More donuts.)

Good luck on your Free Company search, also consider trying to join some Linkshells in the future as they are based among more "diverse" groups of players (Diverse meaning not from the same FC) who readily chat on a daily basis.

Welcome to Eorzea! :D

I think the reason why chat channels like /shout and /yell are quiet is because early on at launch those channels were abused by RMT (Real Money Traders) who would spam them with their insidious illegal advertising. It got so bad it forced a lot of players to just disable those channels, thus not receiving any text sent in those channels (I've disabled shouts and yells in this way too).

Hence it's better than rather than trying to chat through public channels is to find a nice linkshell and Free Company to chat with people - a good place to start looking is the forum for your server, as there are always people offering invites to their lses and FCs there. If you're on Behemoth, the forum for your server can be found here: http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/forums/817-Behemoth

I would definitely recommend looking for a nice FC that suits your needs!

Thank you for the replies! Imagine my surprise when I found I could log into the forums from work. I wasn't expecting that....shh don't tell them.

I haven't really started looking for a FC as of yet simply because I've been focusing on leveling myself and I when I go looking for a guild/league/organization/clan/etc (dependingon the game you play), I like to research a lot of different ones to see which will be my best fit. Once I join one, I usually stick with them. I don't like to hop around. I'll probably start after I get myself to a sufficient level (likely around 30).

By the way...what's a linkshell? That like a private chat channel that's shared? And what level is required to be able to post on other forums?

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Originally Posted by Failia

what's a linkshell? That like a private chat channel that's shared?

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That's right, linkshells are just shared private channels. You can have up to 8 and can create them on your own at any level.
On the other hand, Free Companies are more like guilds you may have found on another MMOs, meaning you can have just 1 and get some benefits from it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Failia

And what level is required to be able to post on other forums?

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Forum Design and Features Update (Aug. 22)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Umo

That's right, linkshells are just shared private channels. You can have up to 8 and can create them on your own at any level.
On the other hand, Free Companies are more like guilds you may have found on another MMOs, meaning you can have just 1 and get some benefits from it.


Forum Design and Features Update (Aug. 22)

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Many thanks for the information! That's strangely restrictive but I'll just have to live with it. I guess it's good that I'm more or less waiting until 30 to look for a FC since I can't start any threads or make too many replies until about that time. I'm already browsing the community forums now.

You joined in a good moment to the game ^^.

Regardless of the servers, right now a lot of Free Companies are starting and recruiting members because with the PS4 the game is gaining a lot of new players.

Without exaggerating, every minute a new player enters the game. I tested in Limsa Lominsa Aetheryte plaza, awaiting for new people that came every two minutes or less and linked the aetheryte. And that was only one of the three starter cities of one server...Free Companies know that and now are recruiting like beasts. (Until the point I would call it spam...)

It depends of the tastes, but you should search for a small company, it is always better start together the things. You can check the profiles of the company before accepting an invitation ^^. There are also companies language-country based. For example I'm in one Spanish FC, since the game is not translated to us we are not many players, but it's a good environment. French and German FCs are bigger but probably a good option if you are from those countries.

If your native language is English then it depends of what are you searching more, big guild with a lot of advantages and people, or something smaller, not so many advantages but you'll probably know more the people and chat with them.

When I do start looking for a FC, it will be one that I can actually do things together with and can actually talk to. Big guilds/clans/whatever in games I've seen have a common problem: I feel they don't really care about their members as much as the fact that they have large numbers and they don't really communicate. I've already turned down 3 blind FC invites just yesterday (which aggrivate me to no end) as those types of FC I want to avoid like the plague. They don't care that you don't have a FC, just that you are tagless and want to see more of their names around. The issue with that is that you get members that do not care about the FC and only really about themselves.

I'm always picky in the guilds that I join but when I do, it's usually for the long haul. I'm learning more and more about the game every day so I look forward to helping others with what I struggled with.

Isn't it? ^^

Exactly the same I thought. I joined to a phantom free company almost by error the same day I started the game... But when I met the company I am in right now, I left that one quickly. In my opinion smaller companies with people you know will always be the best!... Eventually they will grow too, but hopefully knowing everyone.