This game can seriously do with more FC activities.

[Solarra]

I agree OP, there is very little point in being in a FC and very little for FCs to do together.

What we have and what's wrong with it:

FC crafting (actually making house-skins, ships and subs) - This is a joke. If you look at the boards here, you will see numerous threads complaining that it is basically something for a single player to do, while 3 others look on.
In it's present form it's boring for the majority of participants and many active FCs struggle to get a light party together.

House-skins - Why go to huge expense or spend hours getting a mountain of materials together when you know the skins will be on the retainer loot table in a few months time? Since retainers started bringing house-skins back, not one person in our FC has wanted to make one.

Buffs - Squadron buffs are just as good as the mid-range ones and give individuals far more flexibility. Grade 3 buffs are better but they take so long to charge that they can only be put up occasionally.

Exploratory Missions - Diadem was a neat idea, except that it was tough for smaller parties of DoW to get rewards. We often went in with the FC but rarely got a full group. I got fed up running out of time on the bigger fates we managed to spawn. Gathering was great though, especially after they made Diadem II.

Exploratory Voyages - These are just big retainer ventures, and while your FC should get a slow stream of material, crafting mats, mounts and minions from them, it's most efficient if run as a single player activity.

Room in FC House - It's the same size as an apartment. The one advantage is that it's cheaper but it has huge disadvantages. Subject to the whims of the FC management you can be locked out of the FC house indefinitely and lose access. If you are kicked or the FC house is demolished while you take a break, you lose your room.


So yes, FC activities are lacklustre and besides the social aspect they offer very little to their members that they can't get elsewhere. I know people are unhappy when FCs get exclusives and I agree locking a whole area like the Diadem to FCs only was going way too far, but I do think FCs should offer some advantages to their members over going the single player/LS route.


What I'd like to see:

First Stop the 'exploits' - These put a lot of people off joining FCs or running one.
e.g. A lot of FCs have lost out due to the FC 'ranking' system - we need a proper ranking system so people cannot promote above their own rank.
FC leaders locking people out of the FC house should not be allowed (it means the person cannot access their room or leave the FC)

More Ranks for FCs and More Perks - extra storage in the chest, mounts, minions, FC tabard/exclusive glams etc.

Activities - Make FC crafting more of a group activity, it would be much more popular if people were engaged rather than standing around or afk. I'm not advocating anything horribly complex here, just something for each person to do. Maybe, make it possible to affect the quality of the item by participating rather than have it completely reliant on RNG.

FC Achievements - WoW had a system where Guilds were rewarded for so many dungeons run, mobs killed etc. While a lot of these were completed simply by playing, we would get groups together to unlock some of the more obscure ones and get the perks.


Possible ideas and not necessarily FC exclusive

Exploration - Diadem DoW was awful and Eureka has it's issues, so maybe this sort of content just isn't going to work in FFXIV.
However, I enjoyed Diadem DoL and I miss having something similar to do with the subs. One person checking the mission table for loot every 2 or 3 days excludes most FC members and isn't very exciting.

Hamlet Defence - I never experienced this but it sounds a lot of fun. People are always complaining the wards are dead (and they're right), some activity based around the housing areas could make the wards more lively and be a fun addition to the game.


The only other game I have experience of besides FFXIV is WoW. I had great fun levelling up a Guild there and unlocking the rewards.
The biggest issue there, was that large memberships earned gold and of course people exploited that by spam inviting and giving their members nothing back. Which is why I'm strongly in favour of tightening up our present system and closing down ways in which FCs can be griefed by rogue members or FC leaders. Hopefully the devs would look for any possible exploits before implementing a new reward system here.

[Jandor]

More Ranks for FCs and More Perks[/B] - extra storage in the chest, mounts, minions, FC tabard/exclusive glams etc.

Free Company glam is a nice idea.
Choco barding with the FC flag on it. The GC uniforms but coloured in your FC's colours. Indoor and outdoor FC flag furnishings. I'd love some stuff like that.