Newbie questions about Free Companies

[nranola]

Hi! My boyfriend and I started playing a few days ago and we're loving the game. We might just stay for the long haul.

Now, about Free Companies... I know that to be able to make one, you need one player to initiate + 3 co-signees. No problem.

My questions are:

1) Once the Free Company is made, and say 2 other people leave, will the Free Company not be disbanded?
2) Do all 3 co-signees have to be online at the same time for the Free Company to be created? Or, can they simply sign and then log off?

My boyfriend and I want to have a Free Company with just the two of us to pool our resources and possibly acquire housing in the future. Basically my questions are to determine if this is possible to do in the game.

Thanks!

[Werhusky]

You can get 1 friend with 3 alts signing your petition they do not need be online at same time. After they leave you are boss of it but it won't disband.

[nranola]

That is very good to know! Thank you very much!

[Zari]

Werhusky answered your main question but I do eant to warn you that depending on what server you are on you may have trouble finding housing

[nranola]

I see... I did notice that in Cactuar it seems like all lots are occupied (at least in Gridania, which is my ideal location). Which servers are likely to have availability?

[Niwashi]

There's some hope that once the Ishgard wards open up, and the instanced individual housing is added, enough people will move there that plots will open up in the existing areas. That's far from guaranteed, though. With just the two of you, it might take quite a while to level up your FC to rank 6 (to unlock FC housing) anyway, so it's hard to predict quite what the housing situation will be like by then.

[Werhusky]

I see... I did notice that in Cactuar it seems like all lots are occupied (at least in Gridania, which is my ideal location). Which servers are likely to have availability?

Think availability you have MAYBE on low population servers... MAYBE.
We had luck to get one due to housing reclamation (we waited 3 month for that).
Best way is to make up a few objects of small FCs check their chars how recent gear/if roles change is and check company profile if they log in and then check the plot few times. Also randomly checking wards for free plots... unless you wanna buy from those doing that on regular base to resell plots (which is forbidden btw).
It is a huge matter of luck atm to get a house until new wards/plots added.

[Erendis]

There are new houseing plots coming in patch 3.3, however cheapest plot is 3.4 or 3.2 mil, so you might need to save a while. You will also need 0.5 mil for a small house permit.

[Taika]

I would also consider if you want to have a FC for just the two of you in the long run. You're able to share private housing for the two of you (one of you is the house owner and the other can also have rights to enter and decorate the house) without having a FC. If you form a FC and buy a house with it, if you would like to join a larger FC any time in the future to do higher level content or for whatever reason, you would lose the house. Personal house doesn't go away even if you move between Free Companies. Additionally, with just the two of you, it might be a bit difficult to get enough FC points to maintain FC buffs you want to use, or to build and use airships and so on. So consider these things first before making your decision.

[nranola]

@Taika
Good point about potentially leaving our personal FC to join a bigger one, because that is something that we're considering. So as far as housing goes I think we might just stick with personal housing. Thanks for the info!

It's a relief to know that the house owner can grant decorating rights. Would the house owner be able to give essentially all rights to another player with regards to the house, barring the actual ownership of the house?