Anti-Social?

[Mushy]

It is as social a game as you make it. You talk to get people talking. When someone talks and it interests you start a convo in fc/ls/shout/say/tell it doesnt matter. If you are talking enough the community starts to feel more connected. Sure it is big enough there are a lot of people you are never going to talk to while you are on, but it is as social a game as any other form of chat. They can develop a game that requires you to be social, but seeing as not every user has a keyboard for this, they do not make it a requirement to get by. That doesn't mean people will not talk

Now things like:
Preventing PMs while in DF
Making the storyline missions solo only
Not able to stay in contact with people from other servers you meet in Duty Finder to chat, and setup other DF events

I think if they brought these, and some others I cannot think of this late at night it would make communication better for what we do have

More could be done with end game to not make people seem like zombies, but there hasn't been a single content expansion release so we are off to a good start, once 24 people are required for content a lot of those smaller tight knit FC/LS are going to be reaching out that is your time to talk

[Recaldy]

They could be using a VOIP program. Ours uses Mumble. (My least favourite of the 3.)

[xXHalloweenTrixXx]

My FC uses Mumble, but sometimes I rarely find it easy to just go on and chat with people. Since its a bunch of people from all different kinds of backgrounds, religions, way of thought.. It can be very intimidating.

But my FC in game there is always someone talking, and there is always grouping happening for instances, etc. So its not that bad. But I can understand how the game does feel very anti-social. You could go through the entire game without really needing to talk to anyone unless you are looking for a group.

[Ranebow]

We first have to clarify that 'social' and 'social interaction' are different things in these games. A lot of people use MMOs as a place to live a second life and being social is a cornerstone of that.
Where as social interaction and having light levels of relations - if only for the purpose of advancement and progression - is expected with online games.

FFXIV (like it's predecessor) ends up making players dependent on others. However there's not a lot of social functions or features available (or required for that matter) to support this style.
As an example, not having open world 'grind' groups leaves group experience gaining as more of a solo experience process but with other people e.g. dungeons [Forced]- which is accessed in the duty finder by the majority of players.
Ultimately the only social aspect is that you interact with other people in an anonymous way though you do not build social relations, other than via guilds which even then are a bit desolate because of the lack of social gaming features.

[Wilksha]

My LS and FC are fairly social. But usually it's cause I'm the one to blurt out utter nonsense that could easily get a M rating. For example I said I will not activate a FC buff untill they add a breast enhancement buff! No I'm not into them being huge, I was making a joke, and a very stupid one at that, and we got into a very social talk. Just make sure you don't step outside the comfort zone of the ls. My FC is all adults and we've been around a long while so I'm familiar with them. And I'm not the only one that starts silly discussions like it, though 80% of the time it was likely me. Plus I'm not fond of VoiP. Nothng against it, I just don't like Voip. 90% of the time when I do get on a VoiP I don't even talk or really pay much attention to what they are saying. I'm not deaf, I'm just easily distracted.