Should I remain FCless?

Every time I seem to be in a FC it is never as social as they claim to be I miss out on doing events due to my schedule unless I decide to stay up and sleep less for work. All these FC's that try and promote never live up to their promises of what they were promoting and I rather not start my own. I already had someone steal a bunch of things when I ran one and trying to run it stressed me out

Just let it come naturally. Instead of actively trying to seek out an FC, just meet people and if you find yourself meeting a group of people that happen to be in the same FC then you can go from there.

its kind of a personal decision and not one that you will get a good answer to on the forums.

basically boils down to "do you want to be in one"

you say you miss out on things due to your schedule, and then say they are not living up to promises.

its usually a two way street. if they are in a different time zone, or you work all nights and sleep all day when most are on, your expectations are unlikely to be met. so hard to say what promises, in your situation, they are not "living up to"

Depends on outlook. My FCless alts seem to get spammed with blind FC invites every time I visit a major city with them.

You shouldn't be letting your game time interfere with your work time in the first place. And it's not like being in an FC is a requirement. Why don't you try going solo for a while.

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Originally Posted by RitsukoSonoda

Depends on outlook. My FCless alts seem to get spammed with blind FC invites every time I visit a major city with them.

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The way I did it for my catboy alt: I accepted one of the blind invite only from an FC that seemed to have a perpetual exp buff running. Then I moved all the FC-related chats to another channel & only went out my way to read them when I feel like to lol.

There are FCs that do events but to different extents. Some of them cater their events to multiple farm parties and others will say you're out of luck if the first party filled. Sometimes they are run for selfish reasons by people who need the content, or by someone who just decided to "fill" the position of event coordinator. Sometimes they are actually run by people who love managing communities at the expense of their own progression. Even if they run events, FCs eventually die or the event coordinators just stop playing as much.

Whether an FC is social depends if they are hardcore players. If they spend all of their time in the game, they will probably be accustomed to using the game's chat systems, but if they play other games or limited hours they may use discord to communicate instead. If they don't spend all their time playing, conversations can only be held together properly through discord because it is independent of which games or real life activities they are occupied with.

Another thing that affects how social it is are the people putting in the effort to talk. I take the initiative if I want to make an FC social by saying whatever random thought comes into my mind. It's like bait, they will either take it and make a conversation out of it or they won't but usually all these otherwise silent people respond to it and the FC is a lot more social for it.

I would suggest you join an FC even if you don't use it, because there is no reason not to be in one. If your FC dies, casually leave it and join another one. Don't stress too much over it, because FCs are meaningless and don't benefit you unless you're lucky.

Never really been in an FC in the years I've played this game. I have been in one, but it was a tiny one that my friend led. It didn't really function as a true FC or guild. I don't personally see a reason to be in one. Granted, there are apparently submarine and airship things or whatever (don't really know what that all is), but I know some people just end up making their own personal guild (although, getting a house for it might be a problem).

Guilds I've seen aren't typically as they describe in an advertisement, or rather, you won't really experience what they describe. It's usually just a ploy to boost their numbers, and you end up feeling like a third wheel. Sometimes you can find a lasting guild through an advertisement, but I wouldn't say it's the usual experience.

FCs offer some nice, tangible benefits like buffs and easier access to certain housing features for the masses.

When it comes to the social side of things, your mileage will vary and will frequently depend a lot upon how much you are willing to put yourself out there. Many FCs are just kind of a group of friends playing the game together, so it can take a bit of effort to be included at first.

Frankly I would recommend avoiding heavily organizational FCs that have ambitions around big events and stuff; It's a lot easier to end up as a face in the crowd in that kind of setting.

Join one, turn it off and just enjoy the buffs at least.

I see thanks for all the input

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Originally Posted by Velvet_Lunarfang

Every time I seem to be in a FC it is never as social as they claim to be I miss out on doing events due to my schedule unless I decide to stay up and sleep less for work. All these FC's that try and promote never live up to their promises of what they were promoting and I rather not start my own. I already had someone steal a bunch of things when I ran one and trying to run it stressed me out

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I got kicked from a FC for being myself. Ever since then I never joined a FC and I intend to keep it that way.
How is this relevant for you? Because when I joined, they promoted themselves to be all sort of good things. All FCs do that to gain members, and they actually care about you just to be nice and earn social points.
Keep it in your mind. Its difficult to find a good FC, and any who promote themselves to be whatever they say is probably not what reality is. This comes from my experience where I jumped from one FC to another for a long time., but it's really all up to you.

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Originally Posted by Velvet_Lunarfang

Every time I seem to be in a FC it is never as social as they claim to be

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Bingo, hat trick, trophy unlocked.

Being in reality just flat underwhelming seems to plague those aspiring big FCs. Every server has few; the FC which eats sprouts and spits out disappointed players who probably at least have something to say about how well the former FC's staff really listened to their members.

I'm little disappointed that we see so few even little bit specialised FCs in contrast to all-purpose "you be 30min old sprout or qudruple legend veteran, we are the place for you!" FCs. Sure, roleplayers and alphabet people have their own places, but surely there is more? I am solo/very small FC kind of person, but if there was variety to choose from, I might be more interested seeking out just the right FC. I have no patience to begin to test several dozen all-purpose FCs to figure out if they had any interesting focus under the surface or not.

I find FC's in this game to be a chore..
Most of the members always unsub a week after a new patch, there's always that incredibly annoying person that never shuts up, or they have a a FC static(what could possibly go wrong right?)
There's nothing in this game that req a FC anyway, 10 exp buff is hardly noticable with how much exp you get for doing anything these days, and whenever you make plans to do something 3 people always suddenly have different plans :p

That's entirely up to you, really. Personally, I made my own FC where I can enjoy the perks without having to worry about whether I fit in or not. Just me, myself and I and my discount teleports. :p

Could always make your own and just have it for yourself or you and a few close friends. Then do your socializing with linkshells. That's what I've done since I made mine, hmm, 6 years ago I think?

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Originally Posted by Velvet_Lunarfang

Every time I seem to be in a FC it is never as social as they claim to be I miss out on doing events due to my schedule unless I decide to stay up and sleep less for work. All these FC's that try and promote never live up to their promises of what they were promoting and I rather not start my own. I already had someone steal a bunch of things when I ran one and trying to run it stressed me out

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Go to Limsa, ask in shout if any Free Company is recruiting and join the first one that invites you. Then you can't be disappointed as there were no promises.

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Originally Posted by Kaurhz

Just let it come naturally. Instead of actively trying to seek out an FC, just meet people and if you find yourself meeting a group of people that happen to be in the same FC then you can go from there.

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Pretty much this, I totally agree.

From my experience, randomly joining FCs or picking up random members to join an FC rarely works out. It's a relationship of sorts, so things like compatibility, history with previous guilds (including non-FFXIV guilds), and mutual benefit comes into play. Having an established connection with someone within an FC is also really helpful opposed to just joining the FC of someone you just met, and you just happen to interact with each other a little outside the norm.

I also find that random and/or open recruitment leads to a lot of potential issues, and I am as adverse to joining a random FC invite as I would be to adding a random player I know nothing about. I would remain FC-less until one that would potentially be a good fit for you presents itself. 99% of FCs recruiting via in-city shouts will not be one of those. Those are dime-a-dozen FCs willing to add to their numbers with similar-minded players.

I find small FC's the best if you're looking to make connections. But usually you have to make some kind of connection outside of the FC first before the invite comes. The small FC's i've joined over the years have yielded some good experiences.

The big FC's have been, from my experience, made up of a small, main clique that runs the show with the rest of their members being "feeders" usually. I haven't had any good personal experiences with any of them, even when I was actively trying to make social connections.

Eventually, I made a (very) small FC for myself and my RL friends (that aren't playing anymore, sadly.) I did it just to avoid the invite spams initially but I was given a surprise quirk with housing recently. lol. Now, I have access to my own FC buffs if I ever want, extra FC storage, a (small) house. Not many downsides, imo. Even without the housing quirk it's not a bad deal. Just have some people sign a charter and kick em out.

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Originally Posted by Velvet_Lunarfang

Every time I seem to be in a FC it is never as social as they claim to be I miss out on doing events due to my schedule unless I decide to stay up and sleep less for work. All these FC's that try and promote never live up to their promises of what they were promoting and I rather not start my own. I already had someone steal a bunch of things when I ran one and trying to run it stressed me out

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Been in a LOT of varied guilds in multiple games over the years, from small friend clique guilds to mega-sized world first clans and my views on how to best join a clan/guild/FC have changed over time. There''s a lot of factors in successfully finding a suitable FC but across all that experience two things have been pretty constant. Focused guilds are easier to work with than generalist guilds, guilds who claim to do everything rarely do anything but guilds who are razor focused on like 1 or 2 things "generally" have a higher likelihood of maintaining momentum due to a core group of interested players (be this hard core raiding or house/glam building/RPing, doesn't matter). The second is that large guilds usually have more critical mass and staying power than small guilds, sad but true. I don't mean the mega-church guilds with 400 players all doing their own thing but more the 30-40 people who are all in there for the same reason. While large guilds do have negatives they are usually offset by the fact they take longer to implode and can handle turnover/fatigue.

I know people will have different takes but if you want a sustainable guild I would look for one with solid numbers and facilities and goals, not a tiny guild, or a "social-we-want-to-do-everything" guild. If you can find these two things and are capable of putting up with a few people who aren't "your kinda people" but you can work with in a business-like way then that's a better chance of finding a long term home than most. Most big cross-game clans that seem like life-long bros aren't really a few school buddies, they grow into those clans because the members learn to be more scalable and business-like and BECOME friends as a result of that building process.

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Originally Posted by Velvet_Lunarfang

Every time I seem to be in a FC it is never as social as they claim to be I miss out on doing events due to my schedule unless I decide to stay up and sleep less for work. All these FC's that try and promote never live up to their promises of what they were promoting and I rather not start my own. I already had someone steal a bunch of things when I ran one and trying to run it stressed me out

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Funny, I’m on Hyperion too! I’ve found the exact same problem, and currently have no fc.

They always start out great then end up feeling like you’re playing a solo game. I do talk and stuff, and usually get people to chat for a bit, but I get sick of always being the one to start things.

I asked myself same question many times since a day I purchase a game. Should I join FC or not? Even I am playing mostly solo still it feels kind a lonely. But my previous experience with guilds (aka FC in FF XIV) during last years was not so bright. When I joined I was hoping to meet social people who are ready to help with different stuff and even just to talk but in the end, it led to pretty stupid grindfest where I became just a tool of the guild. My first great experience with guilds was back in 2003-2004 when I played WoW and people really enjoyed and lived with this game like I did myself, unfortunately it changed very fast and not in good direction.
To be honest when I started to play FF XIV I did not expect something different from community and was ready for the worse but so far people are quite nice here – they are positive and communicative. I hope one day I can find FC with good people with whom I can enjoy spending time.

I don't entirely see the point to anymore
If your feeling lonely go interact with players (its pretty much the same thing) or Touch some grass... JK
The buffs really only matter for Crafting so if your not doing that then don't worry about them
FC house is no different then a regular one
But if your want to scratch that itch just join a random one and enjoy your chaos

If the issue is that your life schedule doesn't necessarily work with a typical FC event schedule (for example, you work nights), might be an idea to look for one that has members in a different time zone/country. That way, you may have a chance to run into events and such during your active hours, compared to always missing them due to work.

As far as people stealing things, that just comes down to setting permissions on the chest properly and not giving out high ranks to people you don't know well yet.

I've never not been in a FC, mine has existed in some form since 1.0.
While it's on the larger side, some people have had odd expectations from it.
While we can be social, many of our players aren't online all the time so we are social in discord. To someone who isn't keen on discord, they'll miss out on a bunch of chit chat from our members mingling.
While we have contests and events, they aren't daily. But always given much advance notice or entry time. In fact I've been hinting at our annual summer glam contest for a while now, gotta get the hype up!

With everyone in different parts of the MSQ or raid tier, or just general direction in how to play, it's a miracle so many of the FC members raid together! But at the same time it makes it hard for people to drop in a "Hey who wants to run endsinger ex real quick" and more of a "Hey I posted a signup to farm endsinger ex in discord for the weekend"

Either way I love them all they're people I interact with all the time. It'd be hard not to enjoy the continued company.
So I don't think you should remain FCless, unless you really want to play the game solo. I hope you can find something that suits you. If you happen to cross paths with me though, fellow Hyperion player, shoot me a tell. I don't bite. :3

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Originally Posted by Kes13a

its kind of a personal decision and not one that you will get a good answer to on the forums.

basically boils down to "do you want to be in one"

you say you miss out on things due to your schedule, and then say they are not living up to promises.

its usually a two way street. if they are in a different time zone, or you work all nights and sleep all day when most are on, your expectations are unlikely to be met. so hard to say what promises, in your situation, they are not "living up to"

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This is one of the best answers. I'm not the most social person and I miss a lot of my FC's events but when I feel socialable and when I have the time to talk(usually discord), I make an attempt. And that attempt is met with a good response, so I'm happy.

But you have to make some attempt. You can't just immediately expect your fc to carry conversations and drag you into events and other stuff.

I would love to be in a FC.My problem is I was born deaf and almost all the ones I have looked at use discord for chat.
Which is fine,not there fault I cant talk.But just from playing other MMOs no one believes you.Like if your char is female
You must be guy and just saying you are.Even though FF shows my PS I.D for some reason.So I just kina lone wolf it.
l even went to a Aus.Server from NA feels like a solo game since most are sleeping when I play.So just kind of shy about even trying to join
one any more.

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Originally Posted by Taralyne

I would love to be in a FC.My problem is I was born deaf and almost all the ones I have looked at use discord for chat.
Which is fine,not there fault I cant talk.But just from playing other MMOs no one believes you.Like if your char is female
You must be guy and just saying you are.Even though FF shows my PS I.D for some reason.So I just kina lone wolf it.
l even went to a Aus.Server from NA feels like a solo game since most are sleeping when I play.So just kind of shy about even trying to join
one any more.

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Discord has text chat as well.

Anyway I wouldn't worry about it. The ppl that don't read things have already been hauled off by Apple for experiments they agreed to...

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Originally Posted by Taralyne

I would love to be in a FC.My problem is I was born deaf and almost all the ones I have looked at use discord for chat.
Which is fine,not there fault I cant talk.But just from playing other MMOs no one believes you.Like if your char is female
You must be guy and just saying you are.Even though FF shows my PS I.D for some reason.So I just kina lone wolf it.
l even went to a Aus.Server from NA feels like a solo game since most are sleeping when I play.So just kind of shy about even trying to join
one any more.

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This might sound weird but there are a number of FCs around, for example the LGBTQ clans who are deliberately set up to be inclusive spaces for people who are socially/physically/etc-varied. I don't know about deafness specifically but I am sure these sorts of more socially mature clans would be able to accommodate you. Also, even if most clans list Discord it is VERY common for clans to use Discord but for text only, not voice, there are plenty of members who just use Discord as a forum/notice board and not for its VOIP.

This is one of those "Do what feel right". There is no wrong answer. I've been playing MMOs for decades and I've been in literally over 100 different guilds and what not...nothing grabs me to stay. I've donated literally million of gold and gil as an apology to each FC/guild I've joined because I think the longest I've eevr stayed in one is 2 months. FCs/guilds aren't meant for everyone. I've never locked on the social aspect cause it's either silent and no one talks or it's so packed that I never fit in.

I've personally see no purpose of an FC that a linkshell can't do. All the buffs? GC seals gets you that. I'm so flush with passes and what not that I'll never have to pay for a teleport or repair ever again. So only the social aspect is beneficial for an FC...and a Linkshell does that.

Judging by a few of your other posts, make your own FC for the sole purpose of buying a house. If you then feel like it, actually grow it into your own community.