Lack of 'server community' in FFXIV - a nostalgic perspective

[MirielleLavandre]

Lately after reading a few of the 'FFXI vets please respond' threads, I thought back to my close to 7 years with FFXI on the Shiva server, starting at NA launch and ending when level cap was 90 and Abyssea was the 'endgame'. I often, actually I always, miss the community aspect of FFXI. The game had tons and tons of flaws, but it nailed the feeling of being a part of a 'server community' in a way FF14 never can.


I think that having a cross server (datacenter) duty finder and party finder is what makes FF14 less of a community based game than FFXI. In FFXI, I remember forming parties at the dunes outpost or gate to Selbina, finding a potential party member who maybe needed help getting to us at our camp spot, and then perhaps even having to jump on a higher level job after changing in Selbina to help run them through La Thiene or something, past trains of gobs at the Dunes entrance and such (back before they got rid of training of mobs).

In FFXI, people you met in a party you may and probably would see again. Even others in other parties around your own you could meet and eventually maybe party up with and play together. That WHM you met in Garlaige you may meet again in Sky or Abyssea, and may eventually become a part of your LS or static. That elitist who constantly griefs others would soon get a name for themselves and find they either need to clean up their act or start a new character since reputation actually mattered. These and many more aspects of 'community' are lost when there is a cross world duty finder that allows for pretty much total anonymity because, as is often said here 'you'll probably never see that person again' so you can act any way you like. Others in your parties become virtual NPCs with 'hey healer' or 'hey sam' replacing peoples' character names, etc. -- I understand this is the way it is, and I'm not saying it is good or bad since people may prefer it this way -- but I do think it is what makes trying to build a community in FF14 a lot harder than in FFXI

Of course, people have their FCs and LSs that allow them to interact with those they like and/or have found compatible. These are both great! However, I just miss the sense of server community that feels as though is hard to find in any MMO at all these days, not only FF14 but WoW and others, too. In a way, I kind of wish we still had specific server only duty finders and all but I know queues may take forever, then, and that the cross server DF and PF is an amazing QoL improvement. Just nostalgic, I guess ^_^v Thoughts?

[DrWho2010]

I find you only get out of it what you put into it. I find the hunt community quite close knit and i often run into the same people all the time doing an A/S rank, and around in the Gold Saucer. I'm quite a flirty person so I meet a lot of people that way too. Also if you're good at what you do people will come to you, not the other way round.

[Gurney]

I was on Garuda when I first started playing 11. Yes the server community was so different. Sitting in Jeuno watching shouts for different parties, or asking for a Tele, D2, or Retrace. The social LS I was in had the mix from newbies to Elite endgamers. The person who ran the shell was known as the Mother of Garuda. She could put the call for help with something for a LS member and it seemed half the server showed up. I remember when she put the call out to get people O-Hats. We had over 75 people show up and several were from Elite Endgame linkshells and HNMLS groups. The would get parties set up so when one group finished they next one was ready to pop. Almost all of hem stayed there until everyone got their O-Hat.

[Sebazy]

Gotta agree here

This whole thing is a caused by 3 factors:

Cross realm PF - This is unavoidable in a modern MMO I guess. Perhaps players could be prioritised within the same server to some degree but eh, thems the breaks.

Entering a Raid via Duty Finder - This was just a bad move imo. Even if everyone didn't see eye to eye, you'd still get to know the rest of the server's raid community purely by virtue of bumping into them outside of Wineport through to the Hinterlands. I used to know and chatter to a huge chunk of the progression raiding scene on my server and knew pretty much every top flight healer on the block. Now I couldn't tell you who was where outside of a few choice progression FCs and friends that I keep up with.

A dull and inconvenient hub - MorDhona was a great hub with convenient NPCs and a colourful aesthetic. Idyllshire was also a solid hub, again, the theme was nice and the layout just plain worked. Rhalgr's Reach however just doesn't do it for me. It's drab, everything is spread out and the layout means it lacks a centrally visible stage for people to potter around on in the same manner that MD/Idyll did.

[Brightamethyst]

That's the trade-off have having the convenience of the DF. I have as much XI nostalgia as anyone, but I do NOT miss sitting around in Jeuno/Whitegate with my flag up for hours trying to hand form a party.

[Pastahnak]

Hunt community is ur answer, people don't like how u hunt aka early pull they'll remove u from linkshells, you'll always see the same people and recognize everyone outside of hunting as well. You can also make your own FC with being a tight knit group as the core feature or find one someone else has already made. Duty finder definitely makes it less personal but I'd have stopped playing if it wasn't in the game.

[Lunalepsy]

That era is long gone. Everything is streamlined and there is no need for core social aspects since every task can be done automatically without interacting. Interacting still happens, it's just not a necessary/mandatory thing. I remember back in the day it was compulsory to at least have some social decency if you were trying to find a party, do PvP, GvG, or at least being interactive with others. You could get banned from the entire server just by social behavior (trolls, ninja looters, beggars, etc.) Now since everything is streamlined (Duty Finder, Roulette, Dailies, etc.) there is no imperative need to be social or at least stay on your toes and have a somewhat decent behavior to do endgame stuff.

[NephthysVasudan]

The problem is not the game..its the people who don't give a care or anything.
Had foxy lady fate pop up the other day....call for help came out in novice network...showed up....couldn't put a dent in her.

30-40 people showed up in the area...a rank hunt train.
Asked for help in various linkshells prior.
Did they lift a finger?
Nope...not one.
Just frak it all and ignored us.
Couldn't be bothered to stop for 4-5 measly minutes and melt her down.

My point?
If people don't care....you're better off squeezing blood from a stone.
The community you desire requires "2 to tango"
You get what you put into it....find the people who are receptive..and go from there.

[RokkuEkkusu]

It depends on how people develop their own servers and respective communities.

Even with cross-server party finders and stuff, that didn't stop Balmung from becoming a server many wanted to go to even when it's congested. You could RP, hang out with friends, and other interactive stuff in other servers if you wanted to. But people at Balmung had more drives to do it on that server compared to other servers.

That being said, I don't miss the mass-exodus of the raiding community to Gilgamesh. Cross-server party finder and Discord were godsends in the end.

[Rockette]

A dull and inconvenient hub - MorDhona was a great hub with convenient NPCs and a colourful aesthetic. Idyllshire was also a solid hub, again, the theme was nice and the layout just plain worked. Rhalgr's Reach however just doesn't do it for me. It's drab, everything is spread out and the layout means it lacks a centrally visible stage for people to potter around on in the same manner that MD/Idyll did.

This is really important, I think. No one really hangs out at Rhalgrs like we did at Mor Dhona or Idylshire. It's too big, there's no platform to peacock or people watch on, everything is too spread out.
It's pushed some people back to Limsa, some Kugane and their own FC houses.