Please Fix Free Companies

[DapperGent]

So I'm a fairly new player. I played for a few months just as many years ago and came back recently. I've been enjoying the game so far but one thing has been grating on me. You can look up specific Fellowships by interest but there's nothing to look up or research Free Companies. And if there is, it's well hidden.

When I first started playing I was scooped up almost immediately by a random Free Company. Which was fine. They were great people and if I could remember the name I'd happily try and return to them. However, this time around I was looking for something more specific that I just can't seem to find.

Most MMOs have some sort of guild search feature or, at the very least, a dedicated recruitment channel. FFXIV does not. From what I've seen, you either have to wait around in a hub for a random invite or you need spam that you're looking for a Free Company in a channel in hopes that someone will pick you up.

If I could make a suggestion it would be to include a Recruitment system, which Free Companies can opt into or out of through FC management. Give it a tag list similar to that of Fellowships (is the guild for PvP? Raiding? RP? Socializing? Leveling? A combination of them?). Can also have a section for what the guild is looking for (jobs/roles, activity, progression, etc). Also have the FC be manually relisted every month so dead FCs don't populated the system.


Alternatively! If I have just completely missed the feature, please let me know so I can scrap this post.

[Jeeqbit]

1. The Free Company Listings (all FCs that exist): https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/freecompany/

2. The Community Finder (actively recruiting FCs): https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodes...inder/?type=fc

3. In the game, you can use Player Search or right-click people in front of you, look at their Free Company information and if you like it, click Apply.

[Gember]

1. The Free Company Listings (all FCs that exist): https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/freecompany/

2. The Community Finder (actively recruiting FCs): https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodes...inder/?type=fc

3. In the game, you can use Player Search or right-click people in front of you, look at their Free Company information and if you like it, click Apply.

While this is all correct, I think finding a FC on the lodestone is kind of its own issue. Most people seek guilds inside of the game, and most don't go seeking community finder. Most new people don't know of its existence. Right clicking random players to see what kind of FC they are in is also player unfriendly. Why would someone do that when seeking an FC? I think for the most part they would like a recruitment board they can check. Like a mix of community finder, party finder, and fellowship weekly timers put into one, inside of the game. I would think a system like that would help people find FCs easier.

[Gurgeh]

It shouldn't take much to:
- make the community finder page for FCs perpetual.
- make those community finder pages linkable from within game. Say from the examine screen and portraits.

By all means set an expiry on the community finders 'recruiting' listing.

[DapperGent]

1. The Free Company Listings (all FCs that exist): https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/freecompany/

2. The Community Finder (actively recruiting FCs): https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodes...inder/?type=fc

3. In the game, you can use Player Search or right-click people in front of you, look at their Free Company information and if you like it, click Apply.

Thanks for the information!

While this is all correct, I think finding a FC on the lodestone is kind of its own issue. Most people seek guilds inside of the game, and most don't go seeking community finder. Most new people don't know of its existence. Right clicking random players to see what kind of FC they are in is also player unfriendly. Why would someone do that when seeking an FC? I think for the most part they would like a recruitment board they can check. Like a mix of community finder, party finder, and fellowship weekly timers put into one, inside of the game. I would think a system like that would help people find FCs easier.

This nailed it on the head. I count myself among the new people who had no idea on how to look for a FC (outside of standing around hubs and begging/hoping to be picked up). There's really no direction for new players when it comes. Heck, even the discord group I'm in (which is filled with veteran players) didn't know any other way to look for a FC or recruit for one. (They're all on Balmung or Mateus). Having something in game would be great. Even just a link to the Lodestone (which I'd rather have it all in game) would suffice.

It shouldn't take much to:
- make the community finder page for FCs perpetual.
- make those community finder pages linkable from within game. Say from the examine screen and portraits.

By all means set an expiry on the community finders 'recruiting' listing.

I copied you without realizing it. But yes, this!

[Rayne6665]

Id like a option to auto decline random free company invites cus I go solo lol at least ask me first. majority of the time I decline every fc invites xD

[Jeeqbit]

Having something in game would be great.

They should have an FC finder in the game, but as I mentioned, right-clicking people to view their FC and Apply is technically how they implemented it and it does get used. It actually allows you to apply to an FC and get added to it without any interaction whatsoever which makes it good for social anxiety.

Even just a link to the Lodestone (which I'd rather have it all in game) would suffice.

The blue button at the top-right of a lot of windows under the Social menu in the game link to this, and it is also linked in the System menu under Official Sites.

The menus themselves are congested and have only ever been added to, and never condensed or made more efficient. So they are a lot to navigate for a new player at this point.

[DapperGent]

But does it explain that any where? If players are having social anxiety, they're probably not clicking on random people to look at their Free Company to try and apply to it. They're likely either running around or being a wallflower, avoiding contact.

Clarifying a bit. I meant that having a link that says "Free Company Search", or something like that, which would lead to the correct page on the Lodestone.

Overall though, it still needs a fixing. Even if it's just a few tweaks.

[Nero-Voidstails]

well FC also need a bigger impact to because there is alots of player who doesn't have any either

[DapperGent]

What do you mean? Do you have any ideas on how it can be more impactful?