Linkshells.

[Niwashi]

since it's assumed you'll use your FC for random conversation and snagging folks for group content.

Another main purpose of linkshells is for people who cannot snag folks for group content through their FC because their FC doesn't have the people for it.

We're limited to only being in one FC, and for most FC-specific features (housing, FC chest, even the company action buffs to some extent) it's beneficial to limit FCs to only a few people. But if you do that, then you don't have much of a pool of players to draw from there for forming groups to run content with.

The most useful purpose that linkshells are better suited to is for finding groups. Unfortunately, the most useful purpose isn't necessarily the most common purpose, so yes, the majority of linkshells do seem to focus on a particular activity. But there are some geared to allowing players in small FCs to be able to run group content.