No Community

[DynamoAce]

I'm sure it's hard for a lot of people to try to make friends/conversation and stuff with others through a game, but sometimes it doesn't come to you just out of nowhere.
I found a lot of friends I made simply came to be through me just continuing to play the game. I'd say there is a community but a lot stick to their own corners. It's tough but it doesn't hurt to reach out a little. Sometimes it just takes the smallest thing to make a difference, like commenting on a person's glamour. : D

[AmalonStar]

No this isn't FF XI and in my opinion it is better in a few different ways. The duty finder makes it easy to do things on any job, on XI if ppl deemed a job worthless you wouldn't get a party to be able to level it at all.

The party finder makes it easy to build a party for something, on XI you had to search and try to find the jobs you need for a party yourself.

Having players from all servers on the data center available for the duty finder and now the party finder, XI you were limited to the ppl on your own server which made it hard on low populated servers to get enough ppl for something.

Those are just a few examples, yes there are some aspects I do miss about XI but for the most part XIV has been set up fairly well for community. Making friends that's something each player has to do for themselves, waiting for ppl to come to you and say do you want to be my friend doesn't work so well unless you're like 6 years old and younger.

[Seig345]

"Waiting", "Paranoid", "Severe".

If those were the buzzwords used to describe an MMO, I wouldn't be optimistic about its widespread success.

They turn a game into something more like a project, or a focused hobby beyond just video games. They cater to far more than just people with more time on their hands and "unlimited !@#$'s to give", if anything I feel like they cater to people who use in-game progress to replace real-life accomplishments far more than FFXIV has or ever will. As it stands, if anyone tries to run around bragging about something they did in this game, most people will simply think "So what?" and in any case it'll be a matter of a few months before everyone else who wants to do it will have done it too.

You may see this as a negative quality of the game, but my point is it's hard to argue that any degree of accomplishment in this game is somehow a tangible, long lasting replacement for RL accomplishments in one's life. Instead it's a game meant to entertain and pass the time.

[Vidu]

I find it a little "troublesome" that some people here make it sound as if they need the game to provide them with an enviroment to form bonds with others - you need the game to make you wait so that you have time to talk to each other? Today thats viewed as bad game design because in that very moment the game isnt fullfilling its purpose as a game anymore (hence why many people asked to have the CD reset after wipes). I still have meaningful conversations with a lot of friends, often only logged in for that, talking for three hours til its 3 a.m. and we both should have been in bed an hour ago.

You are talking about people leaving all the time - and there are countless threads that discuss this issue (as in: There isnt enough content to keep us entertaint, please change!). I have a little trouble relating to that though - because I'm mostly sticking around for my friends atm. But at the same time I'm very happy, that I have the freedom to just leave the game alone for a week without screwing them over. (Maybe I have a flase imagine in mind about how the old MMOs worked, but right now I imagine it a bit as statics are today - if someone doesnt show up, you might be in trouble)
But let me tell you: You dont need this game to be/stay friends with someone! I have two friends (that I met through the game) who arent playing atm - we exchanged contact-information and are still talking.

So yeah... if you want friendship and a "community" for yourself this game is giving you the tools for it - but it isnt shoving them in your face, telling you that you absolutly have to do this now if you want to get anywhere.
If you cant form bonds/friendships without external pressure... that might be a problem you're having

[Ageofwar]

I would have to disagree with the OP because FFXIV does have a comunity it's just not in game, its more on tumblr, instagram and discord (and probably facebook too which i don't have)

I have met FFXIV players from other server and they have visited me on hyperion.

I have played with players in game and they have then found me on tumblr.

[aesteval]

Now there is no mystery, everything is a Google search and a YouTube video away.

That's a much broader change to the world and not just gaming.

The thing about challenge in xiv is that the game presents challenge as an option. Running higher end content, using the minimum ilvl toggle in DF. It's there. But you have to find your group to run with beforehand because no, the game doesn't force you into group early because the default accessibility to the game is for a wider audience to provide a larger revenue source. Speaking from the perspective of someone who had a goblin throwing rocks at them halfway across the continent on the way to Jeuno: xiv does not need that to be the default difficulty because it will drive subscriptions away.

[aesteval]

Want to add it into optional content? Sure. Want to make an argument for more meaningful gear choices? Ok. Want to make the open world more alive? Sounds good. But know that ease of access to basic content to make basic progress is of benefit to the game because even the MMO players of old may have more time and scheduling restraints than they used to have.

[duhgirl2u2]

I guess I see your point OP, but honestly, in my short (4-9 days) playing I'm finding the community to be pretty great honestly. I've already made several new game friends and joined an awesome FC full of helpful and friendly people. Somewhat surprised to see that its an issue. I'm actually finding the opposite to be true. So far, this game has one of the best, friendliest, and most helpful communities I've found on an mmo to date.

Sorry, I think I've probably missed the point. No, it doesn't seem terribly hard, but then I'm level 27 and doubt I've really hit any content that would be difficult yet. I'm kinda ok with the content being engaging but not really that difficult or grueling to be honest. Like some of the other answering posters, I did the hard ones. I'm kinda ready for the relaxing one with the great community now.

[Rinari]

I guess I see your point OP, but honestly, in my short (4-9 days) playing I'm finding the community to be pretty great honestly. I've already made several new game friends and joined an awesome FC full of helpful and friendly people. Somewhat surprised to see that its an issue. I'm actually finding the opposite to be true. So far, this game has one of the best, friendliest, and most helpful communities I've found on an mmo to date.

That's been my experience as well. It even gets better as you reach the content that more players are working on. I think I'm about 6 weeks in now. I've got my FC, 2 active social linkshells, and plenty of friends outside of that. If you haven't already, ask around for a mentor to get an invite to the novice network! That's a wonderful place to chat, make friends, and learn about the game. You'll get kicked out when you finish the AAR MSQ, but it's a long journey to that point, so there is plenty of time to forge some friendships there.

[Enthy]

I think a really simple thing they could add to help build community is make it easy to see if players you team up with in Duty Finder are on the same server as you. Maybe make their name a different color or have an icon next to their name.

My reasoning is that we do most of our interaction with each other through Duty Finder with people from random servers. I don't bother to remember the names of random people I play with because I figure 'what are the odds I'll see them again? not likely'. But if I could identify who in my Duty Finder party is on my same server, I'd be more likely to remember them and maybe even seek them out after the Dungeon is over to be friends.

I know I could just ask "hey what server are you all from?" every Duty Finder run I do... But it would be really convenient if you could just see who's on the same server (especially for new players trying to make friends)