Petition to Lift Balmung Server Lock / Impact of Server Lock on FFXIV RP Community

[Alaray]

unless you enjoy random RP with the very wide-ranging RP quality in the Quicksand(FFXIV's version of Goldshire from WoW), you are a bit screwed.

I wouldn't go that far, as someone who played on MG and experienced that place I can at least attest to the fact that the QS is a lot more just basic tavern RP with some thought put into most of what I see go on there. I'd say QS is probably somewhat decent with the few bothersome things that pop up from time to time, but I really feel that comparing it to Goldshire in WoW is... an erroneous comparison.

Personally, I can't say much on the rest. I don't go out of my way to find RP on the server, and I can usually find people to interact with through my own FC or, if I'm feeling less anxious, one of the events that go on.

[Settiesama]

Whether you like to admit it or not, unless you enjoy random RP with the very wide-ranging RP quality in the Quicksand(FFXIV's version of Goldshire from WoW), you are a bit screwed.

I'm confused, you want new people to enter for more RP, but you refuse to venture into the realm of the RP that's already on the plate? How exactly are new people gonna change this? Those people in the Quicksand might just be the salvation for your 'FC community' but you're unwilling to try and set up with them? Would this not be the same if new people come in? I'm sorry, but I lack any sympathy for the RPers who cry out for new people yet refuse to reach out to the others already there and don't set up Linkshells instead of FC hopping.

If RP really did die out, I would be incredibly happy as I could actually go to the events and run through Ul'dah without having a cringe fest in my chat log, but at the same time I despise those willing to let a community die without even trying to spread out and try with the thousands of strangers still there. The lack of new players is not the problem, your strict ruling to yourself is the problem.

[Kazrah]

Most of the linkshells have died out. Just in the past 2 months I have visited or joined multiple FCs that literally all RP with the exact same crowds. It's become a running joke that wherever I go I will see the same 10 people.

Ya know, I heard [*insert other server name here*] has been building up a healthy RP community. You should go check it out. In fact, bring some friends, because Balmung will forever stay locked until people leave the server--not quit the game, leave the server. The end.

[Bacent]

Balmung is definitely still populated, but the amount of people in my fc's and friends list have dwindled massively. The amount of substantial RP FC's has been declining at a rapid rate as well. No new blood into the community is killing the roleplayers.

Yeah, everyone gets it now. No one new means everything RP wise will die because people have run out of all possibilities with their RPing and stuff. Do people finish up a different roleplay every day or something? Guess people don't know how to get creative anymore. If people are so damn bored of the same people, including friends, to RP with then just transfer off the bloody server.

You're just repeating one of the biggest complaints people of Balmung have. Wish someone would turn off the skipping record player in the back now.

[NolLacnala]

Do people finish up a different roleplay every day or something? Guess people don't know how to get creative anymore.

Most of the complainers are probably ERPers who have burned every bridge and need fresh meat for the lewd grinder.

[Vidu]

Balmung is definitely still populated, but the amount of people in my fc's and friends list have dwindled massively. The amount of substantial RP FC's has been declining at a rapid rate as well. No new blood into the community is killing the roleplayers.

Can someone explain this argument to me? (I picked this quote randomly, the whole "we need new people"-thing has been brought up by several people)
As a non-RPer I just dont understand this - I always thought you'd find your RP-group and play with those people. Maybe have a second group with an alt or something, but basically: Continue to tell the story of your character, interacting with teh characters of your friends? So why do you need new people all the time? Are you going through "friends" so quickly?
I'm asking this because I've been playing this game with more or less the same people for years now - once in a while someone new joins our ranks (usual its not a person new to the game though, just new to the group - I'm sure I havent met all 15k people on Odin), while another person leaves but the core-group always stays the same.
I always assumed its the same for RPers?
Are you just getting bored by people a lot faster than I do?

(...please tell me its not really the ERP-thing...)

[Settiesama]

Snip

From what I've seen, they either want to expand on-going rps by adding new people, and others tend to get bored of their storylines rather quickly and like to move on to other ones, and therefore want new people to rp with instead. I believe they don't like altering what has happened to them in the story so refuse to just adapt to a new background for a new storyline. Now, this would be an issue for them if they had rp'd with every rper in the server, but seeing how many there are, I highly doubt it so new people joining the server changes nothing.

I really don't understand it, but the whole argument they give of needing new people in the server for the community to survive/thrive is absolutely ridiculous. If they looked past that idea, they would see there is nothing wrong at all with the server.

[Rokke]

Can someone explain this argument to me?

Well, while you will likely have your "core" group of people to rp your character with, you do want to mix things up with others if you don't want the story to boil down to revolving around the same people forever. New character contacts are potential new scenarios that your character wouldn't have been in otherwise. Its less burning through friends and more branching outwards a la



the bigger the circles are, the more directions your character can go.

[Atreyu]

Can someone explain this argument to me?
<snip>
(...please tell me its not really the ERP-thing...)

It's nothing to do with ERP. Friends take breaks, get burnt out, decide to stop RPing for whatever reason.
Sometimes this happens with those who put on major events for the whole server, which is something that Balmung admittedly still has in spades, but in the long-term it could be detrimental.

For me, my reasons for wanting it to be unlocked are because I want to stay here (where most of my RP connections are) but also want my friends to be here with me, too. Many of my friends are stranded on less-populated servers with fewer people to play with. Many fellow RPers come from communities from other games, too, with whom they want to join up with in this world. For instance I came here from WoW and know most of my friends and connections from the guild we share on there.

Many of us are here either because we rolled in HW before the locks (or even longer -- I'm a relic on this server from Besaid in 1.0), but for others who came during Stormblood they're effectively cut off from the circles that may have made them interested in the game to begin with.

Granted, many of us have made alts on that smaller server to play with them, but this isn't the most alt-friendly game, either.

[SomeRandomHuman]

Here's the thing: if they unlock balmung, it'll get swarmed with transfers and effectively have wasted the past year. I know there's a lot of players who refuse to leave balmung and want to play with their friends, but where is the line drawn when your server is more important than your friends? Yes there is the cross-world parties for duties and such, but I've read a decent amount of people saying they wanted to be in the same world.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I wouldn't get your hopes up of balmung being unlocked anytime in the near future given how many people just refuse to leave.