So what's the point of Grand Companies

Other than glamor usages and putting an arbitrary restriction on who you're allowed to enter Frontlines with? They're never relevant in the story (Aside from like 2-3 lines of dialogue when talking with some NPCs where they just mention your rank), they have no storylines of their own, the gear they give themselves is only semi-relevant when you're first leveling up. I mean sure you can buy items with GC Seals but is that really all they're good for? Being yet another currency vendor that could just as easily be assimilated or replaced with any of the other ones?

So what are they for? Because right now they just feel like some half-baked idea they implemented only to put no actual content behind it.

Grand Companies actually had some of the better endgame gear in 1.0. Like many things in the game they were carried over but have never really been expanded upon in ARR. They may introduce new ranks and such once the level cap increases, but it's probably still going to be some of the lesser gear for that level range.

(They also had some really interesting story lines in 1.0, and played an integral part of the Dalamud story arc. Sadly much of the story and indeed lore of the grand companies, like many things from 1.0, did not carry over into ARR either.)

I say give SE some time to work out what they want to do with the GC's. Like Kiroh said, in 1.0 the GC's had some good quests... it just wasn't ported over to ARR. The game is still relatively young (mmo wise), so there may be some more development for them in future expansions etc.

Between the Expansion, the Chinese Client, the DX11 Client, the Server issues, Fanfest, and a bunch of other projects, there's been a lot of work on tertiary projects for this game throughout its entire first year and beyond. Once all that is done (I assume by the time Heavensward launches), I'm sure there will be more manpower devoted to content expanding upon things like Grand Company quests and such.

More GC content is coming with 3.0

I'd love for grand companies to be expanded too (new content is always welcome), but Grand Companies are important to lore, have leveling gear, vanity gear, and crafting material rewards, are part of the hunt and fate features, have a big list of exclusive achievements and titles., and dictate things in Frontlines. I think they bring a good deal to the table.

I really hope that the GC get a real storyline again. Not just some quests here in there.
During 1.x they were a important part of the 7th umbral era storyline. We spied for our GC, we fought for our GC, we delivered messages for our GC and we didn't switch GC.
In ARR we don't have a strong link to our GC, because most time we just work for Minfillia.

Also Chocobo Caravan was part of the GC contents. I hope it get a comeback someday

http://img4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb2...n_Security.png

I wouldn't mind some expanded storylines for the GCs but I don't actually mind them being a PvP/Glamour only thing either.

Given the direction of the story the game takes once the Scions come into play, the GCs are a backseat thing right now. Perhaps at some point in time, we'll see them take a greater role, but I guess the writers don't really want to incorporate them much until they get their main ideas out of the way. Once those things have been exhausted, there will most likely be a greater focus on the GCs to supplement content. GCs are separate identities afterall, meaning different storylines ideally... otherwise, it's basically what we have now. A unified story that develops the same way for everyone.

XI is a good example of what to expect with faction/affiliated nation storyline, assuming they ever do release GC related story quests. Taking on questlines that deal with the imminent local danger (beastmen, local/political corruption, etc). Hmm... makes me miss the conquest system a little. Having a bit of pride in your decisions to be affiliated with a faction is a fun experience. We can get a glimpse of that with Frontlines, in fact.

I just wish they would allow you to wear the clothes from any GC you've completed. Our glamour options are already severely limited; they really didn't need to limit them further by restricting us from wearing the gear from any gc but our current one. Those Maelstrom hunt coats are amazing and I really like the headpiece and robe from Adder's hunt stuff, but I'm married to my Flames loincloth. Not to mention the awesome weapons BLM get from the other GC hunt stuff, while the Flames' one is rather blah.

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Originally Posted by NozomiKei

I just wish they would allow you to wear the clothes from any GC you've completed. Our glamour options are already severely limited; they really didn't need to limit them further by restricting us from wearing the gear from any gc but our current one. Those Maelstrom hunt coats are amazing and I really like the headpiece and robe from Adder's hunt stuff, but I'm married to my Flames loincloth. Not to mention the awesome weapons BLM get from the other GC hunt stuff, while the Flames' one is rather blah.

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I've got the opposite position :p I'm happy that at least a few of our choices have some effects. We pick things like our race and patron deity and they mean almost nothing. I like that our choice in grand company actually results in different available equipment.

The Chocobo Caravan feels are reals.

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Originally Posted by Prototype909

Other than glamor usages and putting an arbitrary restriction on who you're allowed to enter Frontlines with?

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There's also the arbitrary restriction of GC dungeons in order to unlock Hunts.

They do offer decent (if goofy looking) lower level gear, though.

I am hoping when Ishgard is opened up to us (about time since 1.0 it was supposed to open) that we can join their GC if they have one. Cause Aymeric guy was pretty cool so far. His attitude and his beliefs already make him far superior to me than any of the Grand Company leaders.

Unlikely that there will be a GC for Ishgard due to how closed off they have been to the other city states (why have a GC when you got your own personal army serving under you and Fury?) and even though 3.0 is going to open them up, I don't think it will be that quick. There's also the issue of having an additional 24 players in frontlines if a 4th GC was introduced.

I suspect that if anything we may end up invited to join our choice of the four Ishgardian knight houses in Heavensward.

Personally, I like grand companies. I started out with the Twin Adder since I started in Gridania, and then when I felt like it I tried switching to the Maelstrom... but you know, all it did was make me miss good old Gridania. So I switched back when I was able.

I think they add a nice bit of flavor to the game. I dunno, the whole experience just made me appreciate the nation I started out in a lot more I guess?

They're just pointless fluff. Window dressing if you will like so much in the game. Deity choice... yeah, that mattered. Your birthday! Pointless. Elemental resistances... Square still has entire sections of the UI, an entire family of Materia, and oh back to deity choice again... bonuses all based on a worthless, non-existent aspect of the game. If they didn't intend for elemental resistances to be part of 2.0 you are telling me that the UI people could take the 2 hours it would have taken to remove that section from the character sheet? Or the database people the 5 minutes it would have taken to remove all that crap materia from the database? It's a nice game, don't get me wrong, just so much duct tape and bailing wire still showing.

Yoshida-san, and Team have already commented that they are going to make it more diverse, and have talked about bringing the Chocobo Caravans back.

Now they will most likely expand on these things, so, not sarcastically, I look forward to it :)

-Tari