The faults of just starting

[kazaran]

There are peopel that will help. I have helped many shouting to get af done, or catch up on GC's and so have others. It will take time for the community to rebuild to FF standards. More of the loud casual gamers will learn, be rude and get blocked, the community as a whole has a limited tolerence. Willing to help as logn as you do not over spam shouts (trying to out do everyone else" be patient, and thank them.

[Rahsch]

Yeah, I kinda like how you build reputation with people and they will know if your a good person or a bad person when it comes to groups down the line.

[drivendawn]

"SE needs to give me a reason to log in to play their game but they aren't due to how everything is so based on having set groups to go through content."
THIS

[Riv]

Welcome to FFXIV.

[Fleur]

I feel for you, OP, hang in there! And welcome to the game.

The difficulty in grouping can be daunting, for sure. I believe it will be much better in 2.0, as there will be lots of new players and also returning players of a variety of experience levels (plus, I am hoping that there will be more content for solo players and small groups).

Though not a newbie myself, I find myself in a similar situation as you. I started playing at launch and then quit after about a year. I recently returned to the game though, and most everyone I knew was gone. I found myself flying solo, and decided to just roll with it as I'll be switching servers in 2.0 anyway. There is actually a lot to do!

So, if you find getting groups now takes too much time or is too frustrating, you might want to consider this pre-2.0 play time as preparation for 2.0 -- getting a leg up, so to speak. Do your leves, and don't forget to work on a gathering and/or crafting class. You can save up some gil and make things that are useful to both you and future newbies you may meet! In the early days of FFXIV, I sure met a lot of nice people by making things for them with my smithing. I'd also suggest you do some side quests. These are solo, and though you may need a battle class to do them, you will get XP for whatever class you are when you turn them in.

Of course, there are a lot of things, mostly level 50 and job related, that can't be done solo. But if you're getting discouraged trying to find groups, sometimes you may want to just fly solo and remind yourself that things will improve in 2.0. I wish you luck! ^_^

[Mikita]

Pick Up Groups are not always bad.

I've had my share of bad PUG experiences, but those were not really because someone in the party was unskilled -- it was because someone thought someone was unskilled or playing wrong, and started showing their frustration in the party chat log. That ruins it for everyone, and I would not ever want to play with those angry people again.

On the flip side, PUGs and random parties (like behests) can be a great way to meet new people, some of whom may eventually become good friends.

I still join the occasional PUG because I have faith that there are many great people on my server who I have yet to meet.



Oh, and to me at least, reputation extends here to the forums. Yesterday I was crafting in Ul'dah and someone I recognized from their forum posts was shouting for help to complete a quest. I've never spoken with her before, but her posts here are always helpful... so a couple friends and I filled out the party just to help out with the quest.

Nice things can still happen. ^^

[Lux_Rayna]

Join a Linkshell. Just do it. Your life will change.

But you have to get off your bum and look for one. Shout for one in uldah even. Check forums for linkshell recruiting threads. Just join one. That is a guaranteed pool of ppl that will help you, answer your questions, and keep you squared away. You see all those ppl walkin around at lvl 50, in full af, sporting relics maybe? Yeah. They got there because of their linkshells. See the kats showing darklight? Yeah..they got there cuz of their linkshells. Without a linkshell you're not getting anywhere. And you can't expect random passerby to treat you to whatever you'd like. Linkshell man, linkshell.

[Punainen]

All the time. Unfortunately this game is very casual oriented meaning almost everything in it is going to be solo (thats just the way MMO's are these days, who wants to play with other ppl?) Although in the end there are getting to be allot more end game things that require you to party up with other ppl although unless you are in a LS its hard to find a group because there is a very strong mentality that is set in the minds of almost every FFXIV player that "If your not in my LS than f**k off." But if your in a LS than people are very helpful and kind to you. My advice would be since you just started to spam leves to lv. your first job than after that you can start dungeons and end game stuff like hamlet, primals etc...

Imho in order to enjoy this game to its fullest you should learn Japanese because the Japanese community is very kind and friendly and informative, unlike everyone else. Thats just me though.

:/ That's not totally true. Sure, some people are jerks, but not all of them. I try to help out people who are new and not in my LS. I've done several Darnus runs after I already beat it just to help some strangers. And I've helped like that other times as well. But a lot of people are busy doing their own thing, that doesn't make them jerks, it just makes them busy.

[Leep]

Thank you all for your responses. I will note and reflect upon them as I set foot more into the realm of Eorzea.