No Community

[aesteval]

I know I could just ask "hey what server are you all from?" every Duty Finder run I do... But it would be really convenient if you could just see who's on the same server (especially for new players trying to make friends)

Menu -> Social -> Contacts

Not sure if it works in duty, but shows adtet duty.

Having an icon next to name in duty could be another step in the right direction.

[Kosmos992k]

Been playing since ... well my forum join date atleast... I don't know anyone on my server well enough to call a friend other than the ones that came with me from ffxi. I blame DF and a severe lack of server side content. You don't meet people leveling your character, you don't meet people trying to group for story, you don't do alot of things with people from your server in this game. I dunno, I see where the OPs coming from but I see it from different reasonings. If I hadn't played ffxi for years and years I probably could have adapted to the come and go social aspect of this game alot easier. FFXI forced you to be very active/outgoing if you wanted to get anything done.

There is a simple change that SE could make, and have laid the groundwork to make, that would help. Cross server friend lists, and cross server moogle mail. The contact list that they added is a step in the right direction, but when I meet some players (or player) in a DF instance and we talk and have fun in the instance, I'd like to know what server they come from and be able to friend them. That would help.

So would people in general communicating, but short of twisting their arms, I don't know how we can encourage players in general to communicate better.

You get what you put in--if you're not meeting people, it's your approach to socializing in an MMO. People respond to those who take the time for them and are around them often, although some places (dungeons, etc) aren't where people normally go to "hang out". FCs are generally better, as are Linkshells or Discord servers where people can slow down and have more friendly chats, or start to associate voices with characters.

Not all of them are a good fit, but there are many out there. Also, people see what they want to see.

I met a player (former friend) in-game who complained that my FC didn't like them when they were in our Discord as my friend. They said that no one would talk to them except one, while I saw multiple people talking. Meanwhile, everyone was asking me in private when they were going to join us. I personally invited them to a voice channel when they wouldn't join on their own. They never stopped to ask anyone about their lives, and very rarely accepted invitations, and only to things that benefited them like a bird farm they wanted.

Eventually, they left. This was a person who frequently complained about being disliked, unwanted, etc. And to this day, as far as I know, they've never stopped to think if their attitude might be part of the problem.

I have seen this type of thing happen many times. It blows my mind how some people can complain bitterly about being left out, or not being talked to, when in fact I see most people in the FC talking to them. Of course the fact is that when they do little or nothing in response, and take no interest in their FC mates, people tend to become more superficial in their communication in reaction to that. The net result is that the uncommunicative player feels left out and gets angry because "no one talks to them", when in fact the opposite is true, and the problem was their own silence and distance.

TL;DR - TALK TO PEOPLE, be friendly, engage in social conversation, be civil, be respectful of all players, don't be a jerk. It's all easy stuff really.

[Kosmos992k]

This absolutely! And everyday I yearn for the adulation my peers had for me when I was the first person in our street to 'go round the clock' in space invaders

Nice, my guilty pleasure was Atari VCS (predates the 2600) Missile Command.

[Rinari]

I remember fondly the early days of Ragnarok Online, before fast travel. Simply travelling to a dungeon or meeting up with friends was a dangerous and thrilling experience. It could take hours to reach somewhere, and if you died, you had to start over from the last town. Sometimes players would set up merchants outside or even in dungeons selling much needed recovery items! Bringing along friends was a great way to mitigate the risk... and you really had to look out for each other. Everything was terribly imbalanced, there was no respec, and the best builds were often extremely difficult to level up at first. I took on Crusader, requiring me to level Swordsman first with Int instead of Str. It was a grueling experience and not many people took it on... but once I hit crusader, I was a powerhouse self-healing goliath that could tear apart the undead and dominate all of Niflheim and the guild wars castle defenses (which were undead). I became the lynchpin of my guild's castle attack strategy and we got us a castle!

[Parisstilton]

Nice, my guilty pleasure was Atari VCS (predates the 2600) Missile Command.

Wow you were so lucky! Up until recently I still had every gaming device I ever had including pong and the Atari. I decided to sell them all and before they went I set them up on my nans old television and let my 9 year old nephew play. He wasn't impressed lol

[Kosmos992k]

Thank you again to everyone who has posted here. I realize that I’ve been harsh in my appraisals but I think this is an important issue to raise for the next generation of MMO’s. I do not expect XIV to do an about-face**snip**

I’m realizing now having read all your comments that my use of the word “friendship” has obfuscated the issue. Many of you have shared anecdotes of in game connections that bloom into real-life friendships. Some of you may even have found significant others here. This was never under contention.

I’m speaking more to cohesion, culture and camaraderie. So many of you have challenged the notion that bonds are forged under pressure. I think you’re young and naive.**snippage of FFXI (and UO) rose tinted nostalgia**
I get it, they’re not for everyone and maybe not even for me anymore**snip**

I think I get it now. You want FFXIV to be FFXI, but it's not, and you don't like that. You could have just said that at the beginning.

[Newmanxeno]

He's "winning." He went full Charlie Sheen. Warlock post to follow.

[Newmanxeno]

Very nice.

Edit: No Warlock posts coming, I think I've got all the poison out

But seriously, why are you so worried about what other people like and do?

[Vidu]

...nope, still not getting what you're problem is. Or what you want to change - I know its a cheap argument to say "If you dont like it, look somewhere else" but it seems to be that in the end.


The relaunch of this game obviously happend with the idea in mind to appeal to a larger group of people because otherwise SE would have lost money on this project (read: it wouldnt have happend at all). I dont know when you, OP, started playing this game and what expectations you had, but FFXIV cant seen to fullfill those - and from what I've read from you, not because the game is to "bad" to do that but because the game isnt meant/designed to do that. Sorry to break it to you but if you game here because you wanted a remake of FFXI, you're wrong. (Just as my brother was wrong when he bought FFXIII and expected a game like FX - we all know that Final Fantasy games dont work like that! And I'd like to repeat my point here: SEs target group included most likely FF-Fans, so fans of a genre that tradionally solo and not catering to the typical MMO-player)

Maybe the focus of games shifted from "serious hard earned work!" to "just fun and relax", but yeah... the industry and the society evolved and apparently some of you got stuck in the past.

If there are enough people who share your view, maybe initiating an unofficial "oldschool"-server would be a solution? Or you just surronding yourself with friends who despite neon-green and punny-namens and enter dungeons only by traveling to the gate by mount and sit and wait around until everyone made - including that guy that used to have all the time in the world 14 years ago when he was 16 and in school and was running late from an important buisness meeting tonight.

I'm sure there are "hardcore"-games out there - just like we got Dark Souls for a hardcore-solo-experience. But they are niche, meaning: you'd have to dig a bit more for them and dont expect them in a AAA-production, since that wouldnt work from a buisness point of view.

You bought a product that isnt what you wanted - but the fault probably lies with you here. If I go to the store and buy "some green fruits" and am disappointed that I got pears and not apples, its my fault for picking the first green fruits I saw. Going back to the store and telling them "Hey, this doesnt taste like apple!" isnt going to achieve anything (or well, if they're nice, they'll point me towards the apples)

[Nanopizza]

I disagree. I've played a lot of MMO's and this is one of the most friendly and social ones i've played. I've made so many amazing friends through this game. My best friends at this stage in my life I have met through this game. This game has a lot of social elements and functions and the way progression is (mostly) achieved through group content makes it a very ripe place to make friends.
OP, I think you just need to find a community and become a part of it, friends aren't magically going to show up on your doorstep you must make an effort to talk to people and form friendships. Just start small, like saying "hello" at the start of a dungeon or trying to start some conversation, go into a social hub on your server and start talking, look on PF for some linkshells or FC's that suit what you're looking for. This game has loads of really awesome people playing it you just gotta find em!