The thing about FC's and why people choose not to join

[Malzian]

Really don't feel like going into a huge amount of depth on it right now, but I won't join a FC because of a disdain for the very concept of guilds.
I feel they tend to degenerate communities into insular pockets of enforce an arbitrary sense of segregation.
I'd rather the pool of people I meet people from be 'everyone in the game' rather than 'these X people that happen to have the same letters over their head'.

Granted, not joining doesn't really solve the fundamental problem, as the very existence of guilds shifts the community in that direction, but at least I'm not part of the problem. :-\

The thing here is... joining an FC doesn't take you out of the community at large. It's tantamount to saying, "I joined <some organization> and have completely stopped talking to my friends and neighbors who aren't part of it." FCs and Guilds exist for 2 reasons... first it's an easy way of grouping up with your friends and having a consistent set of people you know will be there to help you if you need it. Second, a majority of people like feeling as-if they belong to something bigger than themselves and the act of contributing to those things makes them feel good.

Now the perks you get for being part of the guild are great (FC housing, the exp bonuses and the like), they were added to further incentivize joining a group, but the over-all mindset at SE has been that content in an MMO is meant to be played together with people you know. This is the core of gameplay for them in their MMOs and you could see this especially in XI.

What I don't agree with for what SE has done with it is how they've gated off some content behind having a large, thriving FC as the only way to access it... Personal Housing, Gardening, Chocobo 'Raising' (which is completely not the system I was hoping for, by the by). Anything where you need one of those inordinately expensive FC houses to do, which if you have a very small FC become mountainous underdertakings to achieve.

[MeiUshu]

you can do many things on your own, use wiki and various youtube and what no web infos if you need something. I was in a few FC but never lasted long the main motif was that most of the FC were not interested in building a Fc but just to attract numbers to be THE FC, people didnt matter only a few were considered and this in all and any I have been to so, in these conditions, what is the point in being part of a FC ? for my part... none

Just me though maybe one day I will find what I look for

Mei

[Shioban]

ITT: "I know how every person in the game feels about FC's"


Each person is different and has their own reasons for joining or not joining a Free Company, assuming the reasons why as a 'general' is just silly.

[Sadana]

My guess, some folks just don't like chat and are drama-phobic. Perhaps a few pride themselves on refusing to join a FC.

I've set up my FC like a haven for people to get away from assholes and, even then, it is not always going to be the right fit for everyone. My suggestion (if I can make one) is to not be afraid to join a FC and leave if it doesn't suit you. It isn't a sign of weakness. Use the perks FC's get to your benefit; it's what they are for. If you think a FC will wall you off and keep you from playing with anyone you want, they won't... and if they do, that FC is no good, leave em. XD

[Malzian]

you can do many things on your own, use wiki and various youtube and what no web infos if you need something. I was in a few FC but never lasted long the main motif was that most of the FC were not interested in building a Fc but just to attract numbers to be THE FC, people didnt matter only a few were considered and this in all and any I have been to so, in these conditions, what is the point in being part of a FC ? for my part... none

Just me though maybe one day I will find what I look for

Mei

I'd be happy to invite you into mine were you on my server... Definitely not about numbers... >.> We have 4... All the initial members, 1 of which is away since she just had a baby an the other 2 haven't played since Wildstar launched, so it's just been me pushing the FC to rank 8 while grinding Atma and squirreling away Gil for a house. Haven't left because... well, I wanted an FC not about numbers and for my friends, so I'm keeping it.

[Dark-Saviour]

The thing here is... joining an FC doesn't take you out of the community at large. It's tantamount to saying, "I joined <some organization> and have completely stopped talking to my friends and neighbors who aren't part of it."

It isn't an intrinsic issue, but that actually is the mentality these systems tend to foster due to a combination of history and just the nature of a lot of players. I've consistently seen a trend in the games I've played (with some worse than others, mind you) of, "Guild >>>> Everyone else. **** those scrubs." If you're not in someone's guild, you are inherently terribad and there's no need to ever do content with you or even associate with you.
And as soon as someone joins an online game, it seems they've been indoctrinated to believe they've "GOTTA FIND A GUILD! FAST!". That combined with the mass spam of invites half the guilds in any game seem to throw at everyone they see makes me confused as to why guilds in their current form can hold so much appeal as to consistently remain a thing.

In my eyes, a 'guild' should only consist of people you've met and already enjoy playing with; it should never be something you enter into before already having a relationship with all of the members. And at that point you don't need a guild because there is no need for that hierarchy and structure with that type of relationship.

But when people are indoctrinated into believing they need to be in a guild and place an unfounded sense of value on other players solely because they're in the same guild, it makes for a community where it is difficult to find the players I'd most enjoy playing with on a universal level.

[ruskie]

Hmmm as someone that at the start of the game thought they will never be in a FC I've now switched 4. The first one started as a LS in beta...

found some people I enjoyed running things with. That lasted a couple of months. Everyone was so hurrying towards endgame that my slow leveling didn't seem to fit so after one of the people I had on my friends list left I left a while after - I still have contact with the leader though.

Then joined the same FC that my friend went to but that lasted a whole of 14 days... and it was dead then left... a bit after that I responded to a random recruitment shout for a FC and joined that one.

That lasted until end of april where there were some issues(well the issues where there since I joined(but the pattern wasn't really obvious) but I was invested in people and I had a high rank so tried to work it)(there's a post on my lodestone blog about it).

Then quite a few of us splintered from that one and established our own FC which near 3 months later is still going strong and is still focused on fun and it's members and not a single static group doing endgame stuff. A few other groups splintered from that FC as well and we made a common FC(can't wait for FC alliances) LS so we have all the friends there - even people that we parted with a while ago we invited there and are having a blast(from top tier raiders to just the most casual ones).

[Souljacker]

I'm surprised at the vitriol for FC's in this thread. I agree a lot of the content gated behind FC's is rock stupid - but SE has a long history of gating content behind rock stupid things so it's here to stay.

Aside from that, I am still in the same FC I joined when I first started. At this point I'm third from the top, we have about 20 active and loyal members with another 20 or so patch-jumpers, and we just bought our mansion after everyone working hard and basically donating everything we could to fund it. Everyone has their own little corner of the place to decorate, and overall that aspect of has been really fun. We took naked pictures in front of it then some of us broke off to do coils while the rest decorated.

I think that maybe the sense of community in this game is a little skewed because there's *too much* content that can be solo'd, but that doesn't mean that guilds are useless. I don't even carry any linkshells anymore - they are just noise and my FC does everything I could ever need.

[KenzieLynch]

I prefer to play solo.

Always meeting new people when pugging, and there is non of the drama or politics so often attached to FC's.

Also, I find linkshells far more useful to join up with players to do content, because the LS's I joined are purely for a specific purpose. I think having 1 source like a Free Company to fulfil all your needs is not the best idea...kind of like putting all your eggs in one basket.

[Dawning-Blue]

FC and guilds are nothing but a group of crackheads There no point in joining one