Content geared towards FCs

[Raven2014]

There's no real reason to be in a FC right now outside of buffs and the workshop(which only ranks get access to anyways). This means it's a mostly social group, and that people hop between them until they find the right one or they decide that they don't need one.

Which is ... exactly what it should be? This sound more like you want a static and not an FC. People group up in static for content, with or without the social aspect. But people should only be an FC if it's a good social fit.

Again, you don't want to force people who don't want to be in an FC to be in an FC. And trust me, you probably don't want to have those people in your FC either.

[Vidu]

Oh, I don't know... Maybe because if FCs actually mattered then recruitment would also matter, and it would end up being important to keep your FC clean of it?

There would still be drama, you can never be rid of that, but people in FCs would make a lot more effort to avoid it.

There's no real reason to be in a FC right now outside of buffs and the workshop(which only ranks get access to anyways). This means it's a mostly social group, and that people hop between them until they find the right one or they decide that they don't need one.

If there was exclusive content for a FC suddenly most people would likely need one, but FCs would also need willing members for that content. This means there could be competitive recruitment, and competitive recruitment would lead to FCs attempting to reduce drama and treat their members better. Otherwise their FC could end up with a bad image, and therefore struggle to recruit members for said content.

Its nice that you have such a positive outlook here, but honestly I'd suspect the opposite would happen.

FC-exclusive content would be gated by something else on top of being gated by FCs - may that be the amount of people who can participate at once, your own schedudle which may or may not allow you to play during the time your FC does the content, the amount of loot (think about how the rare drops from airships/subs are distributed within a FC...) or if its personal loot the question of everyone contributed equally to the task at hand... honestly, I can think of so many things that are basically drama waiting to happen here.

In addition to that I also see potential from turning FCs from social groups into "reward factories" where you dont join a FC or stay in it because you like the company, but because its the most efficient one for you to have access to the content/rewards. I'm being a bit hyperbolic here, but imagine people having to leave FCs with friends that they enjoy playing with because the FC is to small for the content or because everyones schedules dont line up well enough to tackle it. People staying in FCs where they dont like anyone, but get to do the content. People being kicked out of the FC because they dont contribut enough to said content. People going FC hoping to do the content more often. People threating to leave the FC if they dont get XYZ...

I actually prefer FCs being "just" social groups over being forced into a group that ends up being more or less social - and in the end potentially only focussed on getting the most out of the FC. And I'd prefer to be in a FC because people like having me, as a person, around - not because I'm useful to them because of [content].

[Raven2014]

In addition to that I also see potential from turning FCs from social groups into "reward factories" where you dont join a FC or stay in it because you like the company, but because its the most efficient one for you to have access to the content/rewards. I'm being a bit hyperbolic here, but imagine people having to leave FCs with friends that they enjoy playing with because the FC is to small for the content or because everyones schedules dont line up well enough to tackle it. People staying in FCs where they dont like anyone, but get to do the content. People being kicked out of the FC because they dont contribut enough to said content. People going FC hoping to do the content more often. People threating to leave the FC if they dont get XYZ...

It's not hyperbolic, trust me. I have played MMOs where they put extras stuff behind thing like FC/Guild, and all of that (and more) do indeed happen.

[VerdeLuck]

Its nice that you have such a positive outlook here, but honestly I'd suspect the opposite would happen.

FC-exclusive content would be gated by something else on top of being gated by FCs - may that be the amount of people who can participate at once, your own schedudle which may or may not allow you to play during the time your FC does the content, the amount of loot (think about how the rare drops from airships/subs are distributed within a FC...) or if its personal loot the question of everyone contributed equally to the task at hand... honestly, I can think of so many things that are basically drama waiting to happen here.

In addition to that I also see potential from turning FCs from social groups into "reward factories" where you dont join a FC or stay in it because you like the company, but because its the most efficient one for you to have access to the content/rewards. I'm being a bit hyperbolic here, but imagine people having to leave FCs with friends that they enjoy playing with because the FC is to small for the content or because everyones schedules dont line up well enough to tackle it. People staying in FCs where they dont like anyone, but get to do the content. People being kicked out of the FC because they dont contribut enough to said content. People going FC hoping to do the content more often. People threating to leave the FC if they dont get XYZ...

I actually prefer FCs being "just" social groups over being forced into a group that ends up being more or less social - and in the end potentially only focussed on getting the most out of the FC. And I'd prefer to be in a FC because people like having me, as a person, around - not because I'm useful to them because of [content].

The part of loot distribution is a good point. I've been a part of a few FCs and pretty much all of them keep all profits and rare items with the leader or the few at the top. Gardening profits, Subs, even decorating the house is just for the Leader and maybe 1-2 other people. Trusting FCs in this game to fairly distribute loot in the event that rare items drop would be abysmal. Most likely the leader would take it for himself first, give to the top members, and then list the rest on the MB for profit. It happens with those other things that are already in the game and are limited to FCs already so why would this be any different?

[Vidu]

The part of loot distribution is a good point. I've been a part of a few FCs and pretty much all of them keep all profits and rare items with the leader or the few at the top. Gardening profits, Subs, even decorating the house is just for the Leader and maybe 1-2 other people. Trusting FCs in this game to fairly distribute loot in the event that rare items drop would be abysmal. Most likely the leader would take it for himself first, give to the top members, and then list the rest on the MB for profit. It happens with those other things that are already in the game and are limited to FCs already so why would this be any different?

I guess one could get around this by having personal loot - as in: You have to be in a FC to access the content, maybe you even have to run a [dungeon-type-thing] with other FC-members, but everyone gets their own loot.
...which would lead to another drama-potential: Has everyone contributed enough to truely earn their loot? I'm thinking of people joining frontline matches, finding a quite corner and not doing anything for the whole match on the one hand - and absolute hardcore elitst who require you to have a purple parse to join their Aurum Vale farm for moogletomestones on the other hand. And anything in between...

[Jojoya]

Fluff content doesn't move all players...if i was asking about fluff, adding a hairstyle, or something glamour related I'm 90% sure the responses would all be supportive. General consensus seems to be we dont want it locked behind fc meanwhile if implemented correctly it could be a invigorating change to spark more life into the deadness that is absolutely felt by many FCs across all data centers. When did our community get so afraid of innovation? Its always no dont touch anything the game is perfect as is for many things that are suggested.

If a FC is experiencing "deadness", look to the FC leadership. Active FCs don't just happen on their own. They happen because there are members that take on leadership roles to organize events and keep members engaged.

It's amazing how many players go "it would be neat to start my own FC" without having any intention of doing anything other than invite people to join and then end up puzzled why their FC is boring. It's because they didn't do anything other than invite people.

It's not that community is afraid of innovation. They'll show up if someone is running an event. It's that few are willing to put in the effort to innovate and organize the events in the first place. Most players feel like it's someone else's responsibility because they aren't here to "work" and then end up disappointed (or upset) when it turns out those around them likewise aren't interested in "work".

In addition to that I also see potential from turning FCs from social groups into "reward factories" where you dont join a FC or stay in it because you like the company, but because its the most efficient one for you to have access to the content/rewards. I'm being a bit hyperbolic here, but imagine people having to leave FCs with friends that they enjoy playing with because the FC is to small for the content or because everyones schedules dont line up well enough to tackle it. People staying in FCs where they dont like anyone, but get to do the content. People being kicked out of the FC because they dont contribut enough to said content. People going FC hoping to do the content more often. People threating to leave the FC if they dont get XYZ..

That's a pretty accurate description of what happened in WoW during Cataclysm and Mists of Pandaria when the guild perks/rewards system was a big deal.

[Mika_Zahard]

What is stopping you from running content with your fc? There's plenty of activities to do with them, like maps, roulettes, raiding, etc.

Really dont see the point of this thread..

[Atelier-Bagur]

I guess they should just get rid of the concept of FCs all together then if this is how we feel. Just keep the linkshell system so that we can still communicate with others.

A lot of the response here is just folks throwing the excuse around oh but we dont want content being gated. I suppose the game itself is gated around paying a subscription. Or how the endgame is gated behind a lengthy msq or how gear is gated behind raiding.

Anymore loose examples we can start throwing with crying about things being "gated" rather than wanting the devs to just create content for the sake of content huh?

[caffe_macchiato]

FCs are not a core part of game design. No one is guaranteed a spot in a FC simply because they created a character. They're an optional part of game design. You can play the entire game without joining a FC and miss out on nothing of importance. Even most of the FC actions (minor QoL) are available through Squadron Manuals.

Someday, FFXIV players will realize that multiplayer is the core of a game like this, and without good multiplayer incentives, our game as a whole is lacking. We all think that FFXIV is this amazing blockbuster title that's taking the world by storm. It's not. It's not even the most-played MMO--or the second, or the third, or even the fourth. So our sense of grandiosity is completely unwarranted. What we do have, though, unlike most other MMOs, is a complete disinterest in retaining players. The content is as wide as an ocean and shallow as a puddle. Most players don't sub year-round. We get what we deserve. According to the vast, vast majority of MMO players, we aren't the best. Maybe we should look at ourselves in the mirror and ask ourselves why.

Someday you will realize that group content is a good thing--and quit FFXIV accordingly!

The game has moved to catering to single players and small groups only.

Sad but true.

[Saraide]

I guess they should just get rid of the concept of FCs all together then if this is how we feel. Just keep the linkshell system so that we can still communicate with others.

A lot of the response here is just folks throwing the excuse around oh but we dont want content being gated. I suppose the game itself is gated around paying a subscription. Or how the endgame is gated behind a lengthy msq or how gear is gated behind raiding.

Anymore loose examples we can start throwing with crying about things being "gated" rather than wanting the devs to just create content for the sake of content huh?

Creating content for the sake of content? Are you sure this is what this thread is asking for? To me it sounds more like creating content for the sake of requiring FCs.