Make FFXIV More Alt-Friendly... Please??????

[Miste]

No, this isn't a good ideaat all. If SE did this, how would you get yor Alt on Balmung, a server that is damn near perpetually locked against character creation?

Seriously how many thousand more semi-active characters canyou add on locked servers? If SE did allow this, theend result would be to make high population servers even more ridiculously hard to get on.

That's not how the server locking works.

The server locks based on the number of currently online players. Which is why some servers (like mine) unlock in the middle of the night like 1am-8am for example since very few EST/PST players are online late into the night. If you really wanna try and fix servers being locked go yell on Balmung forums for players to not leave their game on AFK for hours or while they sleep, but since it is such a high pop server even removing the AFK's may not open it up for creation idk.

So this semi-active characters thing you mention doesn't exist really, if they aren't actually online in-game on the server the locking mechanism doesn't take that player into account when locking servers.

I have all 8 character slots on my account on Excalibur but only when I am online on one of them am I contributing to the server lock number. Just having 8 there by itself does nothing if I am not currently online, and I can only be online on one of them at a time.

[Kosmos992k]

That's not how the server locking works.

I think it is. It was explained at length back when we were starving for server space and subsequently got new worlds.

Servers lock in one of two ways. First, SE explicitly locks servers against character creation based on the population spread and density in starting zones. Alternately servers can automatically lock themselves based on the population in the zone you are attempting to join - or the total online population on the server. But that depends entirely on the server being available for character creation. Balmung is seldom open for new characters - which is a big part of what I was saying.

Even if it is open forvcharacter creation, if you start a new character as a conjurer and it just happens that Gridania is very busy (or Balmung is very busy as a whole), you'll be told you can't create your character. On a heavily populated server this translates to it being easier to create characters during the least busy times - assuming the server is open to new characters..

[Miste]

I think it is. It was explained at length back when we were starving for server space and subsequently got new worlds.

Servers lock in one of two ways. First, SE explicitly locks servers against character creation based on the population spread and density in starting zones. Alternately servers can automatically lock themselves based on the population in the zone you are attempting to join - or the total online population on the server. But that depends entirely on the server being available for character creation. Balmung is seldom open for new characters - which is a big part of what I was saying.

Even if it is open forvcharacter creation, if you start a new character as a conjurer and it just happens that Gridania is very busy (or Balmung is very busy as a whole), you'll be told you can't create your character. On a heavily populated server this translates to it being easier to create characters during the least busy times - assuming the server is open to new characters..

You just said the same thing I said...it is based on the amount of currently online players.

I really doubt SE would be so oblivious that they would take into account all my 8 characters on Excalibur as 8 more characters to add to the lock number. I could also create 8 characters on a whole other server (for no reason at all) and create even more towards the lock even though my account is essentially one entity since you can only login to one character at a time. Why on earth would they count me as 16 people? It makes zero sense.

Unless you make more than one FFXIV account and pay more than one sub you only exist as one player no matter how many alts you make because in the World you are on they only exist one at a time. When you have Character A and Character B and you are online on Character A, Character B doesn't actually exist on your server at that time until you switch off Character A and go online on Character B. You can only increase or decrease your World's online population by a factor of 1 at all times (unless you make another FFXIV account and sub).

Balmung is seldom open because there are too many people online on the server at all hours. Also it is locked for a reason...I know it sucks when you can't get on a server you want but it would do no good if SE just let us overpop a server till it breaks. Blaming people with multiple alts for you not being able to make your own alt on that server is a bit silly imo.

[PArcher]

Balmung is seldom open because there are too many people online on the server at all hours. Also it is locked for a reason...I know it sucks when you can't get on a server you want but it would do no good if SE just let us overpop a server till it breaks. Blaming people with multiple alts for you not being able to make your own alt on that server is a bit silly imo.

Its a bit back and forth. Yes, your account can only exist in-game as one character at a time, so it ultimately doesn't matter if you have one or multiple characters on a server if you were to spend the same amount of time on that server. That is true. But if you are going to have multiple characters, having them on different servers (or, at the very least, not all on the highest-population servers) is "better".You'll be on the higher-pop server less often, which frees up space for other people (hopefully their mains), and you'll be on lower-pop servers more often, which can help with their population issues too.


As an aside, I have several characters; most of which I made and never used (including one on Greg). I do have my main and my alt both on the same server; main's cleared A4S, alt is geared enough to do so, but I'm too lazy to run in two statics at once (so just pug A1S and A2S when I feel like it with him). Alt isn't for RP, he's for playing and gearing a different job (healer) than my main (tank)

[TheUltimateSeph]

I don't even see a point to making an alt except TO replay all the MSQ again. Other then starting on a new server I guess but then there is the world transfer service...nope I just don't see the point. Why work on an alt when there is still stuff to accomplish on my main anyway? Seems counterproductive. Not in favor.

[Chessala]

I have attempted alts 3 times and each time had to give up at level 50 or shortly before that.

I usually enjoy making alts but it is too much of a PITA to unlock every feature again.

- Why do I have to look like a hobo until lvl 50? (glamour)
- Why not unlock the dungeons account wide?
- Why not make dungeon gear tradeable? Honestly, gearing my alts up is the reason I can't stand it...or at least 90% of it.
- Due to the lack of versatility in how to play the classes, I feel like I only make copies of my alts (apart from the look and RP background story)
- Let me mail my alt. RMT people find easy way around these restrictions, it's the actual players that suffer most
- Give me the option to enter Ishgard and it's areas when I hit 50 and to possibly skip MSQ (only if you have a main that already has access and a completed storyline)

I have 3 beutiful alts and they are rotting because really, SE made every single unlock so tidious that I can't be arsed to go through it again....

[LaylaTsarra]

I have attempted alts 3 times and each time had to give up at level 50 or shortly before that.

I usually enjoy making alts but it is too much of a PITA to unlock every feature again.

I have 3 beautiful alts and they are rotting because really, SE made every single unlock so tedious that I can't be arsed to go through it again....

I agree it is a lot of work getting though story, unlocking all the content needed to play dungeons and trials, and so on. I certainly didn't touch any of the side quests other than those needed to unlock dances, glamour and the like. I personally would prefer if they allowed the use of different races using the same account by being able to save the look. It will only get harder for new players to consider making them given there is so much to do story wise even after one hits 50 and it will only get harder as new updates and expansions are added.

Personally I adore being able to experience all the different emotes and animations related to each race. I'd probably have more if that were possible. I leveled one of my alts as a Lala but decided to go AuRa when that race was introduced. If they introduce a new race in 4.0 I'm not sure it'll be worth the effort to do again.

Relative to gear if you create and use only one role with your alt running an expert roulette once a day will pretty much assure you will be well geared and able to do the latest content. The roles on my alts are actually higher than the same roles I have on my main from a gear perspective. My pally on my alt for example is ilv 206 where that same role on my main is only ilv 184 do to tome caps and gearing other roles as a priority.

[Zojha]

Give me the option to enter Ishgard and it's areas when I hit 50 and to possibly skip MSQ (only if you have a main that already has access and a completed storyline)

This is probably one of the biggest turn-offs. The entire quest chain leading to Ishgard gives very little XP, has oodles of backtracking and the only thing you gain is equipment roughly equivalent to the local vendors there (Which really is just the essentials to survive there). And it's not even short, like the dye, aesthetician or challenge log quests.

Leveling an alt is, thanks to roulettes, rather easy. But this hurdle is...ouch. Doubly so as DPS.

[seida]

Out of curiosity, how many non-RPers actually have alts? Is there actually a big demand for this? (especially if it wouldn't allow you to get around raid lockouts).

[Aramina]

Out of curiosity, how many non-RPers actually have alts? Is there actually a big demand for this? (especially if it wouldn't allow you to get
around raid lockouts).

I have 3 characters for crafting.