[Request] Free Companies need some updates

[TwistedTea]

*On a sidenote the issue with FC only content is that there'll always be that handful of crybabies that will whine if they can't partake in it because they either a) don't have a FC or b) choose not to socialize within the game.

As a FC leader,I would actually like to see a survey carried out to see how many players/normal FC members, actually get to participate or benefit from FC content like Airships/Submarines etc.

Under the current system, the FC leader pretty much controls such features/content and gets to decide who participates/benefits.

[Evogolist]

As a FC leader,I would actually like to see a survey carried out to see how many players/normal FC members, actually get to participate or benefit from FC content like Airships/Submarines etc.

Under the current system, the FC leader pretty much controls such features/content and gets to decide who participates/benefits.

Agreed, well...I guess it depends on who and what kind of FC Leader a FC has. With my FC on Sarg, the FC tries their best to get everyone to participate. Of certain aspects and duties are assigned to certain people, but as far as contributing to the building of airships/submarines, gardening, and so forth, the FC leader will do an all call to see who all can help contribute to those things. We also have a policy that if you need help with something or would like to do something just ask and the FC leader will try and organize it around everyone's schedule.

[Kaethra]

Application process to replace the invitation one we currently have.

Right now FC recruiters are a bit too zealous for members, and will constantly invite you unless you put them on ignore or change your online status to Busy. If they had to rely on an application system instead, it would cut that out. Let players come to the FC.

Or at the very least give us an option to turn off FC invites.

There's at least 2-3 FC recruiters on my server that have possibly gotten suspended for sending unsolicited invites to me multiple times per day because they don't think to make a no-go list.

[Xatsh]

*On a sidenote the issue with FC only content is that there'll always be that handful of crybabies that will whine if they can't partake in it because they either a) don't have a FC or b) choose not to socialize within the game.

That is no different in my eyes then saying it is not fair I cannot take my trust into Savage Eden and clear it.



The not in a FC part... You can get a FC in about 5secs of shouting on any server.. due to the design of the game anyone wanting to build a guild are starving for members because no one sees the point and half the people are in 5-15man fcs with close friends or static members.

This is a mmo and guilds are suppose to be a center point of community in a mmos. Atm FFXIV is the only mmo I know without any guild focused endgame content.

For anyone who would refuse to join a guild for whatever reason if they did ever add content for them... they are also choosing to not do content in my eyes.

MMOs should not be centered around low man static groups and pugs, that stuff is fine to have. But the center point for any mmo community should be a guild.

[Barraind]

I don't think that besides the FC leader and their inner circle, normal FC members get the benefits of things like Airships or can actively participate in such FC content.

I'm a little curious what you think the rewards end up being.

I put in about 85-90% of the materials for my FC's ships/subs, 100% of the mats for my alts FC ship/subs, and the tangible rewards from it are... very little.

Right now, the benefits are minions you can get 1ish of a month and cloudsbreath, which you'll either have 0 of if you started after subs were introduced, or more than you can do anything with if you had a lot of pre-sub airship time. Everything else ends up being cheaper on the MB than the relative cost of the fuel and magitek repair materials.

And honestly, the mat cost for a full ship / sub capable of gathering the valuable things is probably more than the value of the things you want.

Gardening makes significantly more than ships and subs do, by an astonishing amount.

[Voidedge_Ragna]

FC have been ignored for to long we need new stuff like OP says maybe some sort of fc event. Atleast an outleast for the 30mil credits we have.

[Nalien]

*On a sidenote the issue with FC only content is that there'll always be that handful of crybabies that will whine if they can't partake in it because they either a) don't have a FC or b) choose not to socialize within the game.

I always see this as a non-point. I mean yeah, people are going to cry because they can't do the exciting new Free Company content, but... So what? I personally don't think their complaints have much merit, getting or making a Free Company is not difficult. If someone doesn't want to be in one by choice? How is that any different than saying "I don't want to be in a static" or "I don't want to learn Ultimate"? Should Savage and Ultimate content be scrapped because a few people are asocial enough to keep themselves from such content? Hell no.

As a FC leader,I would actually like to see a survey carried out to see how many players/normal FC members, actually get to participate or benefit from FC content like Airships/Submarines etc.

Under the current system, the FC leader pretty much controls such features/content and gets to decide who participates/benefits.

Honestly I think they should change the system somewhat... Airships and Submarines should be a perk of joining and committing to a Free Company... Rather than the Free Company just having 4 of each with the leader likely in control of all of them, have it so everyone with the correct permission can have 1 Airship and 1 Submarine... Essentially a "Hey, we'd like to keep you in this Free Company, so have a Free Company Retainer to send off on Ventures", given that's all they really are currently... Perhaps still limit it somewhat, since there's probably some spaghetti code ruining all our fun, so say only X number of people can have the rank that gives permission to build and own the ships. You can technically organize this currently, but it would be absurd to ignore the risks involved in that, you give permission to someone currently, they have access to all your Airships/Submarines. Nothing stopping them stripping them for parts and bolting to another Company in all honesty...

Rework the whole "You found a thing that lets you build another Ship" thing to be a progression system perhaps... You start out by building a regular ass Boat, send it on Voyages to uncharted Islands. One day it comes back with a thing, now you can build an Airship. Send that off too, one day it comes back with a thing that lets you build a Submarine. Come 7.0 perhaps that comes back with a thing to build a Spaceship for Lunar Voyages... Honestly I'd like an all-in-one Ship like Final Fantasy V (so you start off with a Boat, you upgrade it to an Airship, then you upgrade it to a Submarine, and it can do all those functions in one), rather than the Airship and Submarine that we currently have, but something like that likely requires a much more significant overhaul.

Rework the Workshop constructions to be entirely solo, but with a "Other members can donate supplies if they feel like it" stipulation, because honestly the whole "Get 3 people to sit around doing absolutely nothing while you progress the build" was never a good design. I'd much rather a system where you walk up to the build thing, and it gives you a list of members names who are currently building something. They all progress their builds on their own, but I can say look at Bobs build, see he needs some Cobalt Nails, see I have spare Cobalt Nails, and put them towards his build to help out. He gets a little notification saying I donated Cobalt Nails and thanks me in Free Company Chat.

And to repeat my previous idea; Slap Treasure Map style content on the end of Voyages. Random chance my Airship comes back with a location that we can physically ride the Airship to visit and explore for various additional rewards. Some new rewards, some repeating from the Voyage loot table. I, or anyone in the Free Company with Airship permissions, gets that. They say in chat, we gather up and go on a fun little jaunt around some random Diadem-esque island. Submarines can do the exact same thing, just rather than a Diadem inspired area, take from Tempest and the various underwater areas from Ruby Sea.

Oh, and remove the Workshop from Housing... The door in Estates should be a convenient shortcut for groups lucky enough to have a House, not the sole means of accessing the content... Slap an appropriate NPC/Door somewhere in the three starting cities and have that be how every Free Company accesses the Workshop. Your Free Company is allied to Twin Adders? You go to Gridania, talk to this NPC/Door, pay the 500k or whatever it was to unlock the Workshop. Bam. Now you have a Workshop, simply return to that NPC/Door whenever you want to enter it.

[IamBetterThanYou]

I am sitting on 7mil or so fc seals no clue what to spend them on and u r here complaining about it... guess i never thought how hard it could be for smaller fcs

[Evogolist]

To add to my earlier list, along with the FC recruitment board, I think one of the three npcs available for FC's should offer a short mini-quest or tutorial to help newer players understand what Free Companies are and how they work. Also, add the following:

1) For Tier 3 & 4 FC Actions/buffs have them be quested content. The Quests can either unlock just the Tier sets or the actions of the two tiers individually. This in a sense, helps promote member bonding in FC's. The quests shouldn't be too hard, but not a pushover either.

2) Bring back Faction Leves or whatever they were called where you fought a powerful boss, but needed help to win. The dev team could even put it under a different name and type of content. Instead of Leve allowances, you could use FC Company Points to purchase a mark and then head out with a group to go tackle the boss. The rewards could differ from things such as unique/exclusive parts potentially leading to building classic FF airships from previous FF games, customizable furniture that'll allow you put the FC logo on there an whatever else they might add as rewards.

Basically, the whole point of Free Companies is giving players the feeling of being a part of a community and forming a special bond among players who you may even come to consider friends and maybe even family. As it stands now, XIV and the current FC system doesn't do enough of that. In fact, it does a very poor job at it. And while I like Cross-World Linkshells, it should really just be a subsidary of Free Companies.

[LillithCale]

Giving this a bump up again, especially since Fellowships are getting some features that FCs could really use