Free Company Question

[AliceValentine]

Hello everyone. My name is Alice and I am new to FFXIV, just bought the game 4 days ago. (So noob! Much wow!) I was looking around and didn't see this question anywhere so I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask. (Or I missed it somewhere & I apologize if I did!)

I was looking at the free companies that are "open" for recruiting on Lodestone to see what was out there and maybe make some friends (I'm so shy >_<). I didn't see a way to join any of them. I tried the FC option in the Main Menu and that didn't work so I'm guessing that's for seeing FC info once you join one, yes? So how would I go about joining one?

Also... how do people make friends? o-o I didn't see a thread or anything for it around here and people are AFK/dead silent in town.

Last question, what are linkshells? Are they like the step between a party and a free company?

Sorry for all the strange questions but there is only so much that the various wikis will tell me, you know? Thank you in advance for answering.

[Chesder]

hey Alice No worries about being "noob" we all start somewhere

To join a free company all you really need to do is be in any city and type (eg: /shout Hi I'm looking for a friendly Free Company)

As for making friends, just be pleasant Find people you like playing with and you'll have plenty of friends in no time!

Linkshells are chatrooms. You can make one and invite friends into it to have a private chat to talk to one another anywhere in the world. You can type /L# (# meaning a number) to switch between them!

Feel free to ask any other questions and if I can I'll answer them!

I also just so happen to make videos for new players covering topics like these which you can check out Here

Shameless plug I know, but I do make them for new players to get used to the game!

Hope this helps

[AliceValentine]

Helpful stuff~

Ohhh, what a coincidence! I just watched your "A Starter's Guide to Eorzea - Part 1 : Leveling a New Character" video yesterday~ Thank you for the helpful advice and videos.

Two additional questions for you:
I see people with little titles above/below their names that look <like this>, are those from quests?

Where do elemental shards come from? I saw some quests gave me some and found out they're for crafting things. Do monsters drop them as well?

Thanks again for the help.

[Chesder]

You earn titles mostly through finishing story quests and dungeons. Once you earn them you can open your character window (C) and choose the profile tab to select your favorite.

Elemental shards you just pick up as you play so don't worry too much about that As for crafting? I wouldn't focus on it unless you have free time to kill or after you hit max level. It is very tedious to level up. I actually plan on covering it in its own video because there is so much to go into about it, but for now I'll just say that it doesn't speed your leveling up, just provides some low level gear and money if you sell the right things.

[Chesder]

And for money, you should keep in mind that you can usually resell items from quests for more than the gold coins are worth. So keep your eye out for that when you unlock your Retainer at around level 25ish. The Retainer is your Bank and Auction House to sell items

[Niwashi]

I was looking at the free companies that are "open" for recruiting on Lodestone to see what was out there and maybe make some friends (I'm so shy >_<). I didn't see a way to join any of them. I tried the FC option in the Main Menu and that didn't work so I'm guessing that's for seeing FC info once you join one, yes? So how would I go about joining one?

The Lodestone can tell you about Free Companies, but you can only join them from within the game. You have to be invited by an existing member who has been given recruiting rights by their FC leader. You can either ask for such invites through chat, as Chesder mentioned, or you can submit a request through their Company Profile window.

You can right-click on another player in-game (or select them and use the square button on PS3/PS4 controller) and select "View Company Profile" from the subcommand menu. This brings up a window showing basic information about their FC, how many players are in it, how many of those are online, what areas of interest they're focused on, whether they have a house, and so on. If they have their Recruitment setting set to Open, it will also have a "Submit Application" button available, which is essentially a way to send a message to the FC's officers requesting an invite to their company. (Oh, and if the FC has a house, you can also get to that Company Profile window from the Placard at the entrance to their yard.)

Last question, what are linkshells? Are they like the step between a party and a free company?

They're private chat channels where you can talk with all the other members who have joined that linkshell. Some are for general purpose socializing and some have a specific focus. So, it's kind of like the chat part of an FC, but without all the other features like a company chest, company actions, housing, etc. You can be a member of up to 8 linkshells at a time, but can only be a member of one Free Company.

Where do elemental shards come from? I saw some quests gave me some and found out they're for crafting things. Do monsters drop them as well?

Some monsters drop elemental shards, and there are a few quests that give them, but mostly they come from the Botanist and Miner gathering classes. If you take up either of those, you can gather the shards needed for crafting as well as a bunch of other crafting materials. If you want to take up crafting and not spend a fortune on it, then you'll want to advance the gathering classes as well, since many items are obtained either exclusively or primarily though gathering (or purchasing from other players who gather them, but that's the expensive version).

Crafting itself is entirely optional. Some players advance their crafting along with their main combat classes so they can make their own gear. Some wait until after they've leveled up their main class/job before starting. And some never get into crafting at all. Personally, I found it really helpful to be able to make gear while leveling up, but doing them together does take significantly more time than just leveling up a single main job by itself.

At endgame, crafting is useful mainly for cosmetics and the ability to repair your gear, whereas while leveling up, it can provide you with significantly better gear than you'll likely have access to otherwise. (So waiting until you've finished leveling your main job before starting on crafting is essentially giving up on one of crafting's purposes in exchange for faster initial leveling.)