GC Ranks

[Mychael]

Yea there are different quest between the ranks...but there should still be a show and prove for the next higher rank...also I think SE could consider tweeking the ranking structure...Petty Officers are naval ranks...Coporals and Privates and Sergeants are Army and Marine Corps ranks...

I was thinking this, but didn't say anything until someone else pointed it out. "Petty Officer" isn't really a class including corporals and privates. Petty officers are the naval/coast guard equivalents of Corporals and Privates, which are army/marine ranks.

I think it would be neat if the Maelstrom used Navy ranks, but since we're going with Corporal/Sergeant and private, they're not petty officers.

For an official source regarding US military titles, see: http://www.defense.gov/about/insignias/enlisted.aspx

Furthermore, there is no such thing as a Private Third Class. It's just Private. Then you move up to Private First Class (marines) or Private E-2 (Army). I'm alright with second class, but calling someone "Private Third Class" seems more of an insult than a title.

Even if we continue to use "Third Class," I think there should be a "short title" used in dialogue. For example, instead of EVERY Adder-related NPC greeting me as Private Second Class Estheim, I think they should just say Private Estheim. Maybe Private First Class should be included in dialogue because it represents honour, but for casual conversation, the "Third Class" and probably "Second Class" don't seem appropriate.

If I'm not mistaken, the British army does have Privates classed 1-4, but I'm not sure if this is said/listed at all. I'd appreciate if someone with more knowledge of the Royal Army could help me out.

[Allistar]

I was thinking this, but didn't say anything until someone else pointed it out. "Petty Officer" isn't really a class including corporals and privates. Petty officers are the naval/coast guard equivalents of Corporals and Privates, which are army/marine ranks.

I think it would be neat if the Maelstrom used Navy ranks, but since we're going with Corporal/Sergeant and private, they're not petty officers.

For an official source regarding US military titles, see: http://www.defense.gov/about/insignias/enlisted.aspx

Furthermore, there is no such thing as a Private Third Class. It's just Private. Then you move up to Private First Class (marines) or Private E-2 (Army). I'm alright with second class, but calling someone "Private Third Class" seems more of an insult than a title.

Even if we continue to use "Third Class," I think there should be a "short title" used in dialogue. For example, instead of EVERY Adder-related NPC greeting me as Private Second Class Estheim, I think they should just say Private Estheim. Maybe Private First Class should be include in dialogue because it represents honour, but for casual conversation, the "Third Class" and probably "Second Class" don't seem appropriate.

If I'm not mistaken, the British army does have Privates classed 1-4, but I'm not sure if this is said/listed at all. I'd appreciate if someone with more knowledge of the Royal Army could help me out.

Thank you friend, of course I can only speak of the american military and I do realize that most other nations have a different rank structure...but I do know that there is a difference between naval rank and army/marine ranks...and that its basically the same for every nation....*in case anyone is wondering...I am a petty officer 2nd class in the US navy* hence my post*

[Raldo]

I don't really know anything about military ranks, but it would be interesting if the LOC team could tell us how the other languages' ranks are set up. It might help explain some of their decisions for the rank names.

[Mychael]

I don't really know anything about military ranks, but it would be interesting if the LOC team could tell us how the other languages' ranks are set up. It might help explain some of their decisions for the rank names.

Definitely. I'm not trying to say this is wrong, either. There's absolutely no reason that Eorzea should match the US in military setup. However, the Petty Officer bit catches my eyes every time I see it referenced.. Though I would again like to see the different companies use different titles all-together. Perhaps, naval titles for the Maelstrom, and different countries' structures used for Adders and Flames.

I, too, would also like a little background on the names, although it's probably not a deep, exciting topic like facero--ERRR--Roegadyn naming conventions. The similarity between the three different companies almost seems as if they were devised together--or based on some tradition that each of the nations has ties to.

[Koga_Edge]

I'm not trying to flame or anything but, most games featuring Army ranks usually go Private 1st class> Specialist> Corporal, While Corporal and Specialist are equal in pay, going from Specialist to Corporal is a lateral promotion which is usually only temporary. There are 3 ranks to Petty Officers the lowest being equivalent to Corporals. I do agree on the dropping of the "Third Class" from the private tier though. But anyways it's Eorzea and the rank names and trees are up to SE and their imagination, maybe the GCs mock the ranks of the Empires collective armed services which results in the hodgepodge.

[Fernehalwes]

Greetings Mychael and thanks a lot for the post and my apologies for the belated response!

It wouldn't be a stretch to say that coming up with Grand Company ranks for the three main city-states was quite the task. The lore masters wanted something that was original, but also recognizable...AND not too complicated. Things got even trickier when the team let it drop that they wanted to base the names off of traditional Japanese military rankings...which seemed to fall beautifully into groups of four, and didn't always match up with existing American or British terminology. THEN, there was the issue of being able to use the same rankings across all three Grand Companies, even though, like you mentioned, they are completely different organizations (i.e. the Maelstrom being akin to a navy, etc.).

And that is pretty much what led us to our current ranking system. For the most part, it can be thought of as an amalgam of titles borrowed from each of the three systems used traditionally in Limsa Lominsa, Gridania, and Ul'dah; combined to form a single system to rule them all.

LORE ALERT
When the three city-states began to recognize that the threat of the Empire was real, and that restoring the Grand Companies of old might be the best solution to maintain the peace, the Eorzean Alliance held several talks to discuss the best plan of action. Like any government might, each city-state had their own interests, but realized that they only way they were to stand against the Empire is if they stood together, and to do that, they would need a system that clearly defined rank, smoothing cross-company communication by preventing confusion over who outranked who. The last thing anyone needed were petty squabbles over the differences between a ship captain in the Thalassocratic Navy, a Woodwailer captain, and a mercenary captain in the Brass Blades.

For anyone who is or was a member of the armed forces here on Earth, I can understand the awkwardness that accompanies seeing 'petty officer' in association with ranks that are reserved for the Army, and for that we're sorry. However, we're going to stick with what we have, as we feel it gives the ranks that 'melting pot' feel the lore masters were aiming for.

As for your suggestion to shorten up player titles (from Storm Sergeant Second Class, down to just Storm Sergeant, etc), I think that's something that can definitely be done depending on the context, and we'll keep that in mind when churning out future quests.

Thanks again, and I hope that answer helped to clear some things up.

[Mychael]

[Brilliance]

Awesome! Thank you so much for the response and especially lore. :3 The random lore tidbits make the Localization forums my favorite place. I didn't even think about the Eorzean Alliance, so it makes much more sense that everyone's' ranks match with that taken into consideration. ^^; Also, good news about the shorter titles.

Thanks again!

[Skies]

For anyone who is or was a member of the armed forces here on Earth, I can understand the awkwardness that accompanies seeing 'petty officer' in association with ranks that are reserved for the Army, and for that we're sorry. However, we're going to stick with what we have, as we feel it gives the ranks that 'melting pot' feel the lore masters were aiming for.

For what it's worth, at least in Brazil all three armed forces use almost exactly the same naming scheme, with the exception of officers and soldiers in the navy. So it doesn't makes THAT little sense.

[Fernehalwes]

For what it's worth, at least in Brazil all three armed forces use almost exactly the same naming scheme, with the exception of officers and soldiers in the navy. So it doesn't makes THAT little sense.

That I did not know! Thanks for the cool info, Skies!

(scribbles in 'check Brazilian military rankings' between 'name new monster attacks' and 'eat spicy lunch at local Chinese noodle shop' on list of things to do today)