Grand Company Pride is non existent.

[Saraide]

Yea when can I become second storm commander?

[LilimoLimomo]

It's hard to feel anything close to pride in the Grand Companies; since the beginning they've been portrayed as oppressive, colonizing forces: double-crossing territorial deals with the various tribes, enslaving certain tribes, treating them as less than human while throwing around slurs, etc.

It's good that in the lead-up to Endwalker the Grand Companies have finally started down the path towards a more unified Eorzea, but I still feel like I need to see a lot more progress before I can feel anything approaching pride for my Grand Company. There are decades of wrongs in need of righting, and so far the Grand Companies have only taken the first small step towards that. Redemption is possible, but it must needs include proper amends.

[BaconBits]

Personally I think the beast races should go back to being oppressed so I can lord my superiority as a 3 foot tall midget over them.

[Rainbows]

And another thing, why aren't the gc salutes a photo option in the adventurer plates?

[Raraka]

I was very confused at the start of Endwaker when some of the "garlean" soldiers were wearing Maelstrom DoW gear

Its almost as if the devs themselves forgot it was Maelstrom gear...

[Rainbows]

I would be all for a GC of Eorzea unification. In hindsight however, it would make pvp kind of difficult to do... Maybe I wouldn't be all for that...

[Rolder50]

Probably because your grand company has absolutely zero relevance to your character and the story, other then what city you go to for seals and stuff.

[ThaCa]

I would be all for a GC of Eorzea unification. In hindsight however, it would make pvp kind of difficult to do... Maybe I wouldn't be all for that...

PvP basically already is war games between the GCs so they could continue as is.

[Rainbows]

Probably because your grand company has absolutely zero relevance to your character and the story, other then what city you go to for seals and stuff.

You touch on my point exactly, it SHOULD have relevance! If you are going to go to the trouble of making the selection of your grand company part of the MAIN STORY QUESTS then it is a decision that should MEAN SOMETHING! Additionally, as you have said it currently doesn't at all, it isn't a meaningful choice, there are so many things they could do to expand on grand companies and they just don't!

[Vallavia]

Honestly, I think we're overdue for a big faction system revamp. Squadrons have been almost wholesale replaced by the Trust system in an almost comically short amount of time, and narratively the individual companies have been made obsolete as of Endwalker by the fact that all the primal threats and Garlemald have been completely neutralized. The joining of your Grand Company in 2.0 seemed to happen for no practical reason, since after you join you quite literally do not ever interact with them as one of their soldiers in the main story, only as a Scion collaborator (barring some flavor lines from some characters identifying you by rank). I think it would be really great for roleplay to also be able to join some kind of Ishgardian or Ala Mhigan (or, dare we dream, Doman or Hannish or Sharlayan) faction with the same general progression but different flavor as the GCs, and be able to play with Squadrons the same way we do with Trusts/Duty Support to get some fancy gear and weapons.