Citizenship Change

[viola_vilgrantz]

I'm not sure how many people would second this but, I feel there should really be, for the sake of RP, a way for you to change your citizenship status from whatever you chose in the beginning. I'd imagine even that it would be nice if not only you could change between Ul'dah, Limsa Lominsa and Gridania, but also be granted citizenship in Ishgard, Ala Mhigo, Yanxia, and even with certain tribes like the brotherhood of ash, Vanu Vanu, Moghome, etc.

The way I see this being handled is by buying a permit through either the hunter scholar in the grand company through hunt seals or Centurio seals depending on the place, or through beast tribe currency. After all, it's as if you worked for that kin to gain their trust.

It makes some sense canonically and improves RP possibilities, it's something that'll just interfere on a single stat of the profile, and I see no harm in it if done through farming hunts or beast tribe quests.

[Enkidoh]

If SE had been interested with allowing you to change your citystate like the player could in FFXI I think it would have been available at launch, but the way things are now, it's pretty clear in the terms of the storyline your choice of starting citystate is now rather irrelevant - in fact, it's something of a misnomer, as you haven't really pledged alleigance to that city at all, you're just a foreign sellsword who has signed on with the Adventurer's Guild of that particular citystate, which is possibly a lore reason why you cannot change it (the trade-off with this is you are literally free to come and go as you will without anyone stopping you, a perk of being an officially registered adventurer - citizens ironically have far greater restrictions on their movements).

This also explains why you are not bound to enlisting with the Grand Company of your starting city, but can choose from any of the three, as you're not a citizen of that city, but just someone who taken up lodging in there (to say nothing of the Grand Companies being volunteer forces and not full-time armies, hence why adventurers fill their ranks).

Technically every player are pseudo-citizens of Ishgard eventually, given the WoL is granted asylum in the city and made a legal Ward of House Fortemps, but the game doesn't treat that as necessary to be mentioned in the character screen as it's just assumed (given even more standing when the WoL becomes the Champion of Ishgard who ends the Dragonsong War forever - foolish indeed would be anyone who would dare question the WoL's right to Ishgardian residency then! ).

As for Ala Mhigo and Doma, both are nations that for most of the story were long conquered by the Garlean Empire and were considered Imperial provinces, and that we were throwing in our lot with their respective resistance movements, resistances that remain as provisional governments after the Garlean forces are defeated and the cities liberated, so having 'alleigance' to any of them is redundant as there really isn't any nation yet for either to be a citizen of (and I say this as a player who roleplays a character that was born in Ala Mhigo and still feels she has ties to the nation).

No, the important thing to remember is the WoL is a citizen of Eorzea (and by extension, all of Hydaelyn), not just any one citystate or place (and as fully befitting someone who long long ago was literally called the 'Wanderer'), so I do not alas see SE changing this I'm afraid, as it does not fit the game's story, or has any tangible effect on gameplay.

[viola_vilgrantz]

I do hear you there. :P And it does make sense to look at it that way. You're not necessarily a citizen of that particular nation, as the warrior of light is a wanderer, to begin with. My main point however is that since the city you start in ends up showing in your character profile, it would be far more RP-friendly if you could make it useful for that end. If it's part of your description, after all.