Yoshida is considering the removal of the GC restriction in PvP content.

[KayVonTrarx]

This was already said in Live Letter 24 last November. This link to the forum digest shows below:

However, it’s not for lore reasons that we haven’t removed these limitations; it’s because we are concerned about PvP being abused in ways such as creating fixed matches resulting in moral degeneration. However, as an attempt to reduce matching times we’re exploring whether we can make a system that places you in content without waiting for 72 players and then fills in the other members as they queue. Naturally, we have not completely ruled out removing the Grand Company restrictions; however, we would like to have some restrictions in place for PvP.

It has been closing on one year since then. He just said the exact same thing down to the moral degradation line which makes no sense as people in this tread have already pointed out. I'm not holding my breath.

[Stormrider]

It has been closing on one year since then. He just said the exact same thing down to the moral degradation line which makes no sense as people in this tread have already pointed out. I'm not holding my breath.

Hundred percent agree with nothing being done. One year of lore, one year of cheaters, any takers on what the excuse will be in November?

[Nalien]

I'll believe it when I see it... I still think they should just take the Grand Company restriction and roll with it by just giving it a damn purpose... Ranked Frontlines could work IMO, perhaps even better than Feast...

Still wouldn't mind seeing the restriction at least reduced instead though, a mercenary type concept has been kicking around here long enough, seems like a solid middle-ground to me...

[Dumbledoremd]

Moral degradation, huh?

What I don't quite understand is: Aren't 6+ premades pretty much already "farming for one single grand company"? What's there to worry about, that's already a thing. I don't quite understand what spy activity is supposed to be in this context either. Anyone got pointers?

Adders had a premade on aether during 2.0 i ran into them all the time its nothing new to frontlines

[Februs]

It has been closing on one year since then. He just said the exact same thing down to the moral degradation line which makes no sense as people in this tread have already pointed out. I'm not holding my breath.

Exactly this. SE and Yoshi have led us down this path before, and nothing happened. It's clear and total bulls***. Even if you believe that they're actually working on it, exactly what kind of tests can they possibly be doing that take more than a year? Further, what kind of tests could they possibly be doing that can measure the effects of 'moral degeneration' in the PvP community? I curious of how they could even have accurate results for such a test when they're not even testing the PvP community directly.

Quite frankly, this is the kind of lingo used by corporate big wigs when they don't actually have an answer to a question or don't know what they're talking about. Nothing more.

[kensatsu]

Farming a single grand compagny and the spy thing, even with the GC restriction, it happen.
it's not hard to have friend in a other GC, and make 2 GC farming one.
any restriction can do nothing about it, i don't think you can even control this.
If SE fear the pvp to be abused, GC restriction don't help for this, players still joining the GC they want and can organize anything easily, the GC restriction don't prevent anything.
And it's annoying like you said because you can't make any pvp without abuse. it happen with the premade in the feast, it can happen in the frontline, because a few players don't have respect for the pvp at all and try to control it.

[PotatoTree]

The JP players must play FL way different, cause I've played on all 3 GCs for the pony and the thing their pugs all had in common was a mutual hatred of their own GC's players and a constant paranoia that the other two teams were in some collusion to team up against them.

In the end I don't think anything will change for FL. They'd probably just make a new mode that is not connected to GC if anything. Right now the GCs are tied into the queuing structure, score screen, the achievements, the mounts, map doodads, lodestone, etc. If they can't even make it so you can queue with a chocobo out, I don't think they can untangle the web of code for this change without just making something new.

[aldarenn]

Yoshida's point on Grand Company restrictions is a fallacy.

First off, this isn't an RvR game like DAoC, GW2, ESO, etc. This is BGs we're talking about. Spying in BG PvP is pretty nonexistent. The community is so niche I doubt anyone cares about these issues Yoshida is worried about. Desperate times calls for desperate measures.

Secondly, has he stepped into PvP before? The enemies are pinpointed on the map after the first objective usually. This makes the game even more predictable.

As for farming for one single Grand Company, what can you do about premades?

[AbandonHopeTD]

Yeah they don't really fix stuff, they just make new content and hope people forget. The other stuff gets left to die, example Diadem. I don't think we'll see GC restrictions gone.

[Knahli]

The JP players must play FL way different, cause I've played on all 3 GCs for the pony and the thing their pugs all had in common was a mutual hatred of their own GC's players and a constant paranoia that the other two teams were in some collusion to team up against them

Hahahahaha... I cannot count the times I've heard the "ganging up" excuse or the ""premade" accusation just because the other team was getting the better of an unorganised, worthless mess of a PUG back in the Cartenau days especially.