This game is super quiet

Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I usually ignore general chat in every game I play because it’s...well...general chat.

That being said, it’s “background noise.” Like having the TV or radio on while you’re doing stuff around the house. It’s comforting. And ever since I lost my sprout status, the chat channels have been empty. It makes the world feel lifeless.

My FC is really small and I’m usually the only one on. So, I’m wondering are there any chat channels I don’t know about where people are actually chatting?

Yes, most of us use Linkshell system, you can currently have 8 LH with a max of 128 member (Data center LH coming soon with 68 being max).
Chances are friend rather join a LS and chat then leave Free company. FC don't really contributed much outside of skill and garden (if they let you use it) . Since airship/submarine/chest mostly for top officer anyway.
General Chat is ok but no use much outside of the starting city.
Another reason why so quite because we waiting for next patch since most of us already dry from 4.2

Join linkshells, specially if they're about things you like, there are some Highlander only linkshells, etc Ask friends or people in FC to invite you to fun linkshells.

I actually prefer the quieter world. One of the things I dislike most about games like WoW and BDO is the absolutely incessant levels of chat spam.

Currently a lot of this happens in the Eureka area of the game which is unfortunately quite endgame. Beyond that typically areas like Limsa Lominsa are your best bet. However, a lot of chat does happen in personalized linkshells and partially is probably related to how Japanese players tend to be a lot more quiet and prefer talking over tells. So there is not as natural a demand for a global chat channel at least overseas. Beyond Novice Network there is unfortunately not really any such thing as a global general chat. That said such a thing would be overrun by gil advertisements so it's probably for the best. I would recommend looking into the variety of FFXIV based discord groups such as The Balance discord and others, but it won't be as natural as an ingame solution unfortunately.

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Originally Posted by Pidgeon

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Yeah, I've joined a couple Discord servers. But you can't see the Discord chat while in-game. I mean, I could have it up on my phone while I play, I guess. I'll look for some cool linkshells to join on my server.

It's one of the good things about this game imo. There is no system chat like in other MMO's that shall remain nameless where all the cancer of the game congregates to burn out your eye sockets.

I imagine if the Exodus NN is anywhere close to Balmung's, losing access to it can be surprisingly jarring in terms of the chatter you get to hear. Joining a linkshell, or even working towards earning mentorship yourself to regain access to the NN is probably the best way to go.

Linkshells and a more active FC is basically it if u want more active chats. I prefer it that way too, I'm not a big fan of a cross server general chat full of spam. I was playing MapleStory the other day and they let people (I'm assuming dumped a ton of cash into the game) broadcast their message not only in general chat but also in the top right of my screen in an annoying flashy mess of words.

If you ever go into Eureka, it’s absolutely fun and loud in there. It really brought a new picture of the community; I’ve had a blast just killing enemies, talking to folks, and hanging in there. It’s like it’s own game, really brought that spark of life I needed that ffxiv didn’t give during its normal romp through the world.

Plus party play is super addicting, it’s what makes an MMO communication / actually activily doing things with others, etc.

You should give it a go; overwhelming at first, but I’m sure a higher lvl will take you under their wing as a few 20s did to my lowly lvl 1

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Originally Posted by PatronasCharm

If you ever go into Eureka, it’s absolutely fun and loud in there. It really brought a new picture of the community; I’ve had a blast just killing enemies, talking to folks, and hanging in there. It’s like it’s own game, really brought that spark of life I needed that ffxiv didn’t give during its normal romp through the world.

Plus party play is super addicting, it’s what makes an MMO communication / actually activily doing things with others, etc.

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Yeah, the bold is exactly my point. This is an MMO and though I usually ignore any kind of global chat, it's nice to see it there. It's "background noise". Otherwise, I'll just go play Witcher 3 or something. FFXIV has a healthy population, but with no one chatting, the world feels lifeless.

I start my game day with a hi and silent log out. Perfect day for me.

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Originally Posted by Lium

My FC is really small and I’m usually the only one on. So, I’m wondering are there any chat channels I don’t know about where people are actually chatting?

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Besides Linkshells, I can't think of much. You'll still get varying levels of activity in any given LS, though, depending on where the update cycle is at. You should be able to find LS recruitment shouts in the major cities. I will say that, personally, I find it quite difficult to join a LS 'naturally' though. The game simply isn't social enough. I do very much hope the cross-world LS implementation fixes this, though with a 68-person cap (and only one LS slot per character), it'll probably be more of a novelty initially.

One other thing contributing to the relative quiet is the fact that many people play on gamepads. That makes typing an active decision rather than just something they weave into whatever it is they're currently doing, particularly if their keyboard isn't right at hand.

It's also worth noting we're in what would usually be classed as a "quiet" time which is the weeks leading up to a new patch.

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Originally Posted by Colino

It's also worth noting we're in what would usually be classed as a "quiet" time which is the weeks leading up to a new patch.

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This. Once new patches drop there is usually an upswing in people chatting and doing the new content.

FFXIV has no General Chat. That said, folks generally make their own substitutes. Mor Dhona and Idyllshire were notorious for this; I'm not sure that any of the Stormblood "hangout" zones compare. Novice Network, at least on Gilgamesh, has a healthy (some would say unhealthy) amount of chatter, but I hesitate to recommend becoming a Mentor unless you're actually willing to do some Mentoring. We have enough Mentors-in-name-only as it is. As was mentioned, Eureka has turned out to be a fantastic location for chitchat, as well

Of these, I'd say only Novice Network really qualifies as background noise you can take with you no matter where you go.

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Originally Posted by Ghastly

Join linkshells, specially if they're about things you like, there are some Highlander only linkshells, etc Ask friends or people in FC to invite you to fun linkshells.

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Finding out about linkshells is not easy though...

Discord really changed the gaming landscape.

Old MMOs had a lot of chat because they were on dialup or very rarely isdn, and voice wasn't workable. Voice chat became more prevalent, but even then it was kind of limited since setting up stuff like teamspeak was a little harder than usual. But discord is free, easy to share a link to, and omnipresent, and it's really killing chat I think. Makes the game very silent.

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Originally Posted by RiyahArp

Discord really changed the gaming landscape.

Old MMOs had a lot of chat because they were on dialup or very rarely isdn, and voice wasn't workable. Voice chat became more prevalent, but even then it was kind of limited since setting up stuff like teamspeak was a little harder than usual. But discord is free, easy to share a link to, and omnipresent, and it's really killing chat I think. Makes the game very silent.

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Yeah, especially now with voice overlay. But the only way you can see Discord chat is if you have it up on your phone or tablet while you play. Or you play in windowed mode.

Either way, Discord seems to be where everyone's at. The Reddit Discord is quite lively. So is The Balance.