What would you consider to be the most fitting City/GC for the overall story?

Like, if there was a canon "Warrior of Light/Darkness", where do you think they'd be most likely to have starting their adventure, and representing which Grand Company?

Well, if you include 1.0 in that, it would be Limsa Lominsa as the 1.0 opening movie showed Derplander and his party (as in, Ardbert's Source counterpart who is a trailer stand-in for the player's character) at the Drowning Wench in Limsa (or rather, an earlier design of it, the Adventurer's Guild's design was changed later on though, such as the aetheryte being moved elsewhere) - the location is revealed by the fact the guildleve plate he picks up (and which triggers his Echo vision) has 'Limsa Lominsa' stencilled on it.

So Limsa is a good location as where Derplander started at least as any. But really, there is no 'true' canon starting location, it's up to the player to decide on that.

I don't think any of the starting cities really fits as 'canon', but Ul'dah has the most connection to later story since it has you helping 'lady lilira'

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Originally Posted by seraseth

I don't think any of the starting cities really fits as 'canon', but Ul'dah has the most connection to later story since it has you helping 'lady lilira'

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In addition to meeting Thancred first, I believe. Considering his importance to the 2.0 story, it did feel significant setting up that connection early.

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Originally Posted by Hasrat

In addition to meeting Thancred first, I believe. Considering his importance to the 2.0 story, it did feel significant setting up that connection early.

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Yeah I started in Gridania and had no idea who Thancred even was until patch 2.2 I think >.>

I mean I have seen him before... maybe, but for me he was just another unimportant NPC wich I don't have to remember anyway at that time.


Most fitting for the warrior or light would be to not be in any grand company at all. He is a hero for everyone, not just for a single state or army. He has no boundaries and travels to any place where he is needed. He fits well between the pirates in Limsa Lominsa. While he is of course not a pirate himself, there are so many people from different cultures and nations, it is the most fitting home for a traveling hero and the sea breeze calls for adventure.

Ul'dah. It gets the lion's share of focus throughout ARR and even in later expansions it plays a slightly bigger role than either Gridania or Limsa.

As introduced in the conversation, Ul'dah has many of the core characters based on 1.0 lore. Thancred, Minfilia, f'lhaminn all come from Ul'dah. The thing with 1.0 was though, you could get to all 3 states at level 1. They had a working boat for Limsa (something we never did get) so any of them would have made sense. Ul'dah just stands as the central location.

I picked Limsa, but there was still plenty of story happening in Uldah.. It also turned out that the Aetherite and MB / market are nice and close together. However, I've been spending most of my time out of the city now due to the constant gil spamming. (Reporting them accomplishes nothing.) Best thing about Crystarium is that the spambots can't be bothered to level up to it.

Limsa since the best leader in the game is there.

Ul'dah seems most important to me as well. It sets up several characters that are significant throughout the rest of the story - Nanamo, Raubahn (the most featured and complex of the three GC leaders), better familiarity with Thancred; Papashan as well - he's not as central but he's often with Nanamo, and it's good to know who he is.

I don't think there are any characters in the other two early stories that really 'matter' to the MSQ in the same way.

(Less of a concern, but the Ul'dah storyline also means you get all of Fufulupa's story instead of just the early sidequest portraying him as a bit of a well-intentioned idiot, but not the rest where he gets better - and then he's somehow been promoted to captain by post-ARR anyway.)

Hmmm never really thought of it till now or even realised starting the game notnin uldah has a different story to tell. I began in uldah and had to interact with nanamo and meet thancred and papashan early on. Wha happens if you pick the other cities? Never really thought about that even though it seems totally obvious now I think about it lol

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Originally Posted by Rhus

Hmmm never really thought of it till now or even realised starting the game notnin uldah has a different story to tell. I began in uldah and had to interact with nanamo and meet thancred and papashan early on. Wha happens if you pick the other cities? Never really thought about that even though it seems totally obvious now I think about it lol

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Only the first 15 levels are defined by starting city.


- Ul'dah = Thancred
- Limsa = Y'shtola
- Gridania = Papalymo and Yda as Scion introductions.



In all cases you accomplish different versions of the same thing. The Golem at level 10 is the Golem at level 10 in all 3.

For both Gridania and Ul'dah you could open and atune the entire map, not including La Noscea. Right to Mor Dohna if you wanted. Unlike expansions, ARR map wasn't blocked by MSQ. It also allows you to unlock more crafting and gathering to start in Ul'dah or Limsa but in the end, clearing map fog is best delayed as long as possible due to the percentage of level experience bonus and crafting and gathering are best left to after you have become a Scion. Just because it's where you get retainers.



I know when ARR first launched Ul'dah was a rough start but only if you went Gladiator as a launch class. You didn't get other classes until 15 and the level 10 Gladiator where you defended your healer/ gladiator NPC was a fair bit more difficult than it is now. He died if a mob looked at him funny and you didn't have the aggro management you do now at that level. You were actually boxed in to a corner on that quest as it had to be cleared, synced to break out. I actually started in Ul'dah as a Weaver in 1.0 and hoofed it to Gridania to get Conjurer but the journey was different then and we had a health buff from leveling multiple classes via a global level.



Off the nostalgia kick, back to the question, it's the same thing. Just different NPCs playing the Scion part.

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Originally Posted by Ksenia

it's the same thing. Just different NPCs playing the Scion part.

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It's the same thing gameplay-wise. City orientation; MSQ that makes use of one of the two starter zones; a sidequest chain set in the other; meet your local Scion and have your first vision of Hydaelyn; an Ascian sets a golem on you...

Story-wise, however, they are all distinct and tell their own unique story that can't be accessed if you started in the other cities. The sidequest chain is also only available to people starting in that city.

Limsa Lominsa! Maelstrom. TILL SEA SWALLOWS ALL!!!

I felt Ul'dah really shined for the MSQ, like there was whole sections having to do with it. And someone says "but wait what about that set of quests in Limsa?" and I say I barely read that part of the ARR questline because I LOATHE reading the pirate talk. I don't say that in a way to make anyone feel bad either.

I actually think it's cute SE took that level of detail to give people accents and I probably would enjoy Limsa a lot more if everyone in the game spoke their lines (so I don't have to read it), but I actively disliked reading that pirate talk and so anything that has to do with Limsa in the early days when that was still strong.. nah not important to me lol (meaning all their characters are less important to me too). There are touches of Gridania of course but the whole Ul'dah naughty lala and giving a hand thing were huge moments in the game I'd say.

Therefore, imo (lol), Ul'dah is Queen of the MSQ :p. Besides we've the gates of Raubahn, true end game content ;).

Ul'Dah. Simply because from what I have seen the most important characters come from there. Most of the MSQ quests are in Ul'Dah in ARR and the area just has alot going on.

Derplander is WAR in the Answers cutscene. Also apparently was in Drowning Wench in 1.0's CS. Both imply Limsa. Limsa has you meet Y'shtola as your first scion, who is the "poster child" for the game (or so I'm told). Eulmore looks like a dystopian Limsa, which hits more of an emotional cord if you are from there.

Limsa and Maelstrom all the way. :)

Sure you don't actually start there, but I always felt most at home at Ishgard personally lol. But as for the opening city-states I can see why Ul'Dah is cited by a lot of people, particularly since you get the early introduction to Nanamo there, and she becomes such an important character later on. Given what happens at the end of 2.0, meeting Thancred first does make it more impactful, I'd say. Unfortunately I have not created any alts to experience the other versions of the opening story if you begin at the other two city-states, so I can't personally account for them yet.

I've seen all 3 and I love Limsa the most. While each leader is good in their own right, I adore The Admiral the most. I liked her so much I modified my Roe alt to be a Sea Wolf with the same complexion and pale eyes.

Till the sea swallows all o7

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Originally Posted by Keddera_StormMoon

I've seen all 3 and I love Limsa the most. While each leader is good in their own right, I adore The Admiral the most. I liked her so much I modified my Roe alt to be a Sea Wolf with the same complexion and pale eyes.

Till the sea swallows all o7

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This is the correct answer.

Ul'Dah so far definitely has the most central plot points to the story, so it would make sense for the player character to be more invested in those plot points if he/she started there.

Ul'Dah has you interacting with Thancred early on, which helps establish him as a memorable character, but you do lose interactions with Yda. Y'Shtola is a major part of your interactions for the ARR story leading up to fighting Titan, so you interact with her a decent amount even if you don't start in Limsa.

Ul'Dah is also the scene of the major plot points at the end of ARR leading into Heavensward, it introduces the issues surrounding Ala Mhigo and its refugees, its where the Domans initially made landfall on Eorzea, and it's probably the city state with the closest political ties to Ala Mhigo in the post Stormblood story. So it would make more sense if the player character started there for those connections to exist.

After that, I would say Limsa since you do interact with the Admiral a decent ammount, I feel like I remember several meetings with her in the Heavensward story quests. Gridania is probably the one that has had the least impact on major story points. However, every city state is perfectly viable to start in since they do a decent job homogenizing the story regardless of starting city the further you get into the story.

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Originally Posted by Alleluia

Derplander is WAR in the Answers cutscene.

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Except Derplander is an Archer for most 1.0 CGI he did go War at some point but if we go by jobs then Gridania is starting City-State even ShB still had him being an Archer in flashback trailer for 1.0 parts.

From a story continuity standpoint Ul'dah ties better into the story of ARR and leading into HW given the Sultana and Thancred have big roles in that City State's MSQ. Overall it really doesn't matter though beyond that so any of them work.

The one you choose.

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Originally Posted by Lord_Umbra

Except Derplander is an Archer for most 1.0 CGI he did go War at some point but if we go by jobs then Gridania is starting City-State even ShB still had him being an Archer in flashback trailer for 1.0 parts.

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For most of the 1.0 opening he was ARC... except right at the start in the Adventurer's Guild, where he was dressed in a different outfit (a tabard) and, as far as can be determined, was actually not ARC but GLA (based on the sword strapped to his backpack he hoists onto his shoulder at the end of the opening - also some propaganda art from 1.0 showed him as a GLA with a sword, and SE themselves even have a display at SE HQ of his 1.0 outfit.. with a sword. He may have switched to ARC in the 'Echo scene' back to the Battle of Silvertear Skies, but he was for all intents and purposes a GLA originally (this was after all deliberate - SE were trying to show how the Armoury System worked in the original opening, that you weren't locked to a single class throughout the game).

By the Calamity though he had switched to WAR which is probably the Job he's now most identified with.

That's actually really interesting about good ol "Derplander". You're right, he was shown in Limsa as an Archer, I don't recall seeing him as a Gladiator, but definitely seems in that artwork. More interesting is that he *doesn't* show up as a Gladiator in the Shadowbringers cinematic, which is funny because he cycles through every other Job he's ever appeared in cinematics, before turning into a Dark Knight.

Something I've also noticed, is that any time it shows all three Grand Companies, the Maelstrom is *always* listed first. And on the Teleport screen, the Limsa Lominsa region (I forget the name of the actual island) is listed first in line, followed by the Shroud, then Thanalan (which seems a recurring theme). Even in the story, when all three storylines converge around lvl 15, it has you going to Limsa first, Gridania second, and then Ul'dah last (although it's the first Primal, so kind of the "big climax" even early on).

I dunno, I just always find it interesting to think about.

Ul'dah has the most ties to later story developments, mainly setting up Raubhan, Nanamo, and Thancred, which lays the groundwork for a huge chunk of the story from ARR to Stormblood.

Limsa Lominsa sets up the sahagin and Leviathan, which better leads into Sastasha, but then that whole plot line just kinda gets set aside until post-ARR patches.

Gridania.....is pretty? And has the only level one healing class? It brings up a bit of the "will of the elementals" stuff, but to date that still hasn't really gone anywhere, so....

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Originally Posted by TheMightyMollusk

Ul'dah has the most ties to later story developments, mainly setting up Raubhan, Nanamo, and Thancred, which lays the groundwork for a huge chunk of the story from ARR to Stormblood.

Limsa Lominsa sets up the sahagin and Leviathan, which better leads into Sastasha, but then that whole plot line just kinda gets set aside until post-ARR patches.

Gridania.....is pretty? And has the only level one healing class? It brings up a bit of the "will of the elementals" stuff, but to date that still hasn't really gone anywhere, so....

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Funny how everyone seems to forget that it was at Gridania that the Grand Companies were actually first formed in 1.0 (where Kan E, Merlwyb and Raubahn swore an oath of alliance to each other), and where they along with Louisoix, Cid and the Archons later had a victory celebration over Nael's defeat (premature of course but there you are).

Gridania was also where in ARR the Alliance met to discuss Varis's ascension to the Empire's throne (in 2.2), where Kan E met with the Scions about the sylphs summoning Ramuh (2.3), where the player met with Kan E and her siblings to ask for their assistance in retrieving Y'shtola from the Lifestream (HW main scenario), that Kan E actually travelled to the Churning Mists to meet with Chieftain Moglin at Moghome as Gridania's representative in developing relations between the moogles in on the surface and the sky (HW main story), and where the Alliance organized the assault on Balesar's Wall and discussed how to handle Shinryu (and where Nero showed up unannounced) (3.5 story). The climatic battle scene between Omega and Shinryu at the end of the 3.57 patch scenario also took place on the border between the Black Shroud and Gyr Abania. Kan E also plays a part in SB's later patch story after the 'Call' starts, in that she examines the unconcious Thancred in Ala Mhigo and declared that she could not detect his soul in his body at all.

And to say nothing of Gridania's Archons 'Yda' and Papalymo playing a major role in the 3.5 story, especially Papalymo's sacrifice to seal Shinryu and Yda's big revelation.

Gridania might not seem to play as much of a major role in the main storyline, but that is misleading, it has a very big part in world affairs, none the less because of it's close proximity to Ala Mhigo and thus was the closest of the citystates to the Empire (Baelsar's Wall after all pretty much was built through the eastern fringe of the Black Shroud).

Storywise I would say Ul'dah because you get to meet Nanamo, Raubahn and Thancred earlier in the story than with other starting citys and they play a significant role in the following story of ARR. Also, you learn more about the political schemes of Ul'dah and it's problems.

Gridania and Limsa starting quests feel kind of disconnected to the msq if you compare their starting quests to the ones of Ul'dah. It also felt nice for the story to begin in Ul'dah and end ARR with the escape out of Ul'dah, especially with the chocobo carriage since you meet the merchant from the very first quest again and he remembers you.