Why do people hesitate about merging Free Companies?

[Noshpan]

I like the small FC I'm in, short of disbanding, I would never leave it. We're pretty familiar with each other and we all share a commonality: this adorable guy (Praise the sun!)

[Lukums]

Each to their own that's what I say.

I'm an officer for Serenity in Behemoth - we have 11 Static Coil Groups.
Each group comes on vent, we all chat on Ventrilo constantly - bonds are formed, friendships are made.

Each person is different I guess some tend to join the guild just to be in a guild to communicate in the game - Not voice chat. Which is fine.

A lot of groups tend to stick to themselves coming from older games are happy with their for example 1 coil group.
Whatever they are happy with usually stays, I've tried getting guilds to come over some do some don't because of the said reasons above.

[Altanas]

I appreciate that players may like their close knit communities, but I feel using FC's rather than linkshells for that may hurt the community within the game in the future. There should be a reason in an MMO to be part of a large guild (i'm not talking crazy large though)

I always shiver at the memory of a guy in SWG who had several accounts just so he could have his own guild city. A barren wasteland of a player town.

A question we should ask is why other than a few perks do we need free companies in ARR at all right now.

Putting aside the fluff like guild banks and guild housing, there is nothing a free company cannot do that a linkshell cannot achieve in game.

1. There is no wider striving purpose to FC's.

However, the moment you need to be in a FC to do ARR's equivalent of "Sky", there will be mass mergers going on.

2. Also, there are no systems in game to support "layering"/hierarchy of guilds to encourage guilds to either merge or alliance with one another.

Using Darkfall as an example: I was in a sub-guild within the largest alliance Hyperion. As the small man we had help where needed for events and got to know some cool people and hey we also got a hamlet to call home. In return, because the alliance ran on a feudal system a percentage of everything from our guild went to the head guild, 10% of resources gathered went to the head guild as "tax". We had to pull our weight to contribute resources for sieges. We also had a duty to assist in the front lines or defence with various ingame city sieges (i.e the endgame), but at the same time it was fun to join in and do that.

[arctic]

Putting aside the fluff like guild banks and guild housing, there is nothing a free company cannot do that a linkshell cannot achieve in game.

I dunno, I think the FC buffs are a rather good enticement. Propercare is great to turn on for people going into coil runs or titan runs. EXP bonuses are great because we setup meet ups for group crafting, leveling alts, or gathering, its so people have motivation to be on at certain times to play together. As long as the FC is active and attentive to activities the buffs alone can be a reason that FCs trump linkshells.


The Heat of Battle - Increases EXP earned from battle.
Earth and Water - Increases EXP gained from gathering.
Helping Hand - Increases EXP gained from crafting.
A Man's Best Friend - Increases EXP earned by companions.
Brave New World - Increases attributes of all members under level 10.
Live off the Land - Increases Gathering.
What You See - Increases Perception.
In Control - Increases Control.
That Which Binds Us - Increases Spiritbonding Speed.
Meat and Mead - Increases food buff duration.
Proper Care - Slows reduction in item durability.
Back on Your Feet - Reduces duration of Weakness.
Reduced Rates - Reduces teleportation feed.

Some people may just brush this off as more fluff, but at this point just what is so bad about a free company compared to a linkshell?

[sasakusaku]

I have never seen a merge work after 20 years now. In almost all cases the guild folds or splits due to conflicts.

Now coalitions have worked in rare cases though. ie. multiple guilds forming with others to tackle end game.

Was in one with over 20 smaller guilds in that other game back in vanilla that got together to do MC/BWL; guilds involved wanted to keep their identities. The 2 pro guilds on server laughed at us and said it could not be done (while trying to poach our better players). I can safely say we proved them wrong and had two groups clearing that content after a lot of trial and error.

[HaplessHermit]

I met my friends in XI, and we moved onto XIV together. If I wanted to play with other people, I wouldn't have made three friends and then stopped.

[Altanas]

Apologies for being slightly off topic from the OP

I dunno, I think the FC buffs are a rather good enticement.

I don't disagree that the perks are nice, and helps everyone become more efficient. Aside from most of those perks becoming increasingly irrelevant as more members max out their characters, the main problem is the distinction between Linkshell and Free Company boils down to not very much at all. At the moment perks can sort of be boiled down to making players a bit more efficient, and guild banks boiled down to a more simply way to distribute items for raids.

What is really missing at the moment, and I appreciate we are only in a birth phase following launch, is the concept of Guild Influence within the world.

Perhaps an example of this is how BluegGartr is shone with praise when it achieves a world first, although this praise is given beyond the gameworld.

However, for the regular joe FC, having recognition or influence within game for achieving various feats would be desirable, so that FC's can strive for something as an Entity. Basically an FC should have its own tasks to do that the members contribute towards in return for rewards

FCs should have their own Quests requiring contribution from its members to achieve. This could range from simple things like:

1. Repeatable and Randomised FC quests to kill 10,000 enemies in each Region
2. Repeatable and Randomised FC quests to assist GC's by clearing various dungeons or endgame events
3. Repeatable and Randomised FC missions to defend or attack NPCs or landmarks. Basically a more controlled version of FATE that only your FC or party members can participate in.
3. Repeatable and Randomised FC Hunters Guild type quests. Basically Hunt NMs. Basically in the form of the old "Wanted:..." Leves in Version 1 where you had 40minutes to hunt various outlaws, and also the separate Faction leves with NMs.

In turn there should be dedicated FC Reputation Vendors, FC titles, FC discounts, etc

As there are different types of players, there should be ways to allow for specialisation, beyond the FC perks we have.
1.A DOH FC may be a collective of likeminded crafters and traders. They should be able to gain access to new recipes or new methods of crafting such as being able to tweak stats on gear or HQ++/HQ+++ gear.
2. A DOW FC may just be a bunch of mercs who can gain access to various DOW buffs?
3. Importantly, FCs can ally and so gain/transfer overall benefits with good politics between FCs

Another way to consider Influence is to give FC's the opportunity to have a stake in the world: Allow FC's to compete for weekly control of camps and hamlets. While everyone else retains the status quo, the controlling FC gains additional boons perhaps from simple things like:
- double-up for each gathering attempt
- or increasing drop rates and quantity from farmed mobs.
- or perhaps even granting access to area specific NMs or hardmode dungeons with loot. That way Merc'ing can become acceptable and certain FC's can gain a reputation as the go to guild for that particular area.
- Another excellent offshoot from this would be for FC's to "do business" with other FC's, opening up all sorts of opportunities. The more business connections the FC makes, the larger the alliance becomes while at the same time individual FCs maintaining their individual identities and social groups.

I would have liked FCs to gain more prominence in housing. Such as constructing castles or constructing sea ports, air ports, battle arenas, basically Amenities rather than holiday bungalows...

Another way to give FC's a purpose to have a stake in the world would of course be control via FC v FC PVP. However for the most part this would seem to be clawed back to the anticipated Frontlines zone although it would have been great if it extended beyond that zone.

[Kantide]

Alliances are a better way to go than mergers. If many FCs could ally, that would be awesome.

EVE is a good example of this.

[TrystWildkey]

stuff

While I can appreciate your ideas, and a lot of them are very good, I have to disagree with implementing them. The last thing I want is to be locked out of content again because I don't have the right friends.

While I'm not all the way anti-social, I am an introvert, and prefer to keep to small groups of friends. I'm also a casual player (meaning that I don't plan on even thinking about coil until lots of other content is out and the difficulty is lowered, I just don't like uber-difficult raids as I'm not that good a gamer). FFXI lost my subscription finally because I was locked out of too much content. I started out with a great linkshell, but it eventually dissolved and what remains are way too hard-core for me.

Please, for the love of all that is holy, don't lock me out of content because I don't have (nor do I want) a big FC to support me.

[SmackyHuggins]

OP, I don't wanna sound mean but did you ever think maybe those people don't want to play with you? It's fairly arrogant of you to say they have no chance at endgame with such a small group. So they give you no explanation. Do they owe you one? Endgame is not everyone's goal, some people just want to hang with friends. Sounds like youbare trying to bolster numbers. I have been in guilds that did that in other games and the new people who joined never got into the core clique and ended up leaving anyway. I was one of them and we made our own group.