Relationship system?

[Joeoj]

I've been open for this ever since that April Fools joke from the FFXIV community team themselves from back in the day.

It would be a fun little side thing to do, and I'd happily take part!

Source: Final Fantasy XIV: Official Blog -- Introducing the "Favour" System!

It's a wild joke to including Garuda as an option lol
Anyway I'm glad I'm not only one who likes the idea.

[Khryseis_Astra]

It's entirely dependent on two things.

1. Is it purely optional for those who don't care to engage with it?
2. Are the actual romance options desirable to all player tastes and preferences?

This. I could see them doing it in a way that’s totally separate from the MSQ, maybe with some bonus dialog here and there that gives a nod to the relationship when the relevant character is involved. Similar to how certain dialog is different for you if you’ve leveled certain classes or done certain content chains, but people who haven’t leveled those classes or completed a certain quest line just get the default dialog. That bit could be a tremendous undertaking though, depending on how many characters you could choose from, so I could see it just being totally not acknowledged by the MSQ at all.

For the second point, while there are some characters I’d love to see a romance option for, it would be nice if there was a friendship track included too. Especially for the Scions… the twins would have to be limited to friendship track assuming they never age them up to adulthood. But we could still hang out with them, maybe teach Alphie to swim, or spar with Alisaie. If you don’t want to romance the adult Scions, then you could have the option for just hanging out with them. Ideas I’ve thrown around before: stargazing with Urianger, tea over books with Y’shtola, bar hopping with Thancred, getting tacos with G’raha, etc. Just something beyond the current stock dialog you get if the characters are standing around in the world… these are, at minimum, supposed to be our colleagues and friends. It would really make the game feel more alive to have more interactive options with notable NPCs.

I’d especially like to visit some NPCs that have been hidden away since their part in the story has faded. Or visit some of the world leaders. (Although Hien would probably be my top option for the romance track! lol)

That probably would be the best choice, allowing the player to make their own romance options instead of trying to make any existing NPC be part of it, simply because you have 100% control over their appearance and personality, or how they would inevitably have to add virtually EVERY NPC into the system to make sure somebody doesn't miss out on their favorite waifu or husbando, no matter how obscure they are.

I could see them doing something like this too, maybe using your retainers. Create your own, or be able to use an NPC model ala whatever they use for the All Saints Wake masquerade (since some are custom and can’t be created with current character creation). Probably would be the easier way to go about it: wouldn’t have anything to do with the rest of the game, so totally optional, and they’d just have to create one system based on appearances, while not having to design custom dialog for every potential NPC in the game.

[RedLolly]

The Favor System April Fools joke was really early in FFXIV's life, and I remember being bummed it was an April Fools thing. FFXIV was so early in its story that it seemed possible.

[Burmecia]

would romancing NPCs work with EB system?

no shaming polys, just thinking out loud

[NecroprincessCleo]

would romancing NPCs work with EB system?

no shaming polys, just thinking out loud

I don't see why not it works in some games where you build a friendship bar/ and can get in relationships with npcs, there one game you can marry the entire towns population lol

[Kelg]

I don't really want this. I feel like it would just be another fluff content that soaks up some of the dev resources and is largely pointless like Island Sanctuary was. There's also the fact that people would cry about Lalafells being able to take part in it, or even them making Lalafell npcs you can date, it would just not be a great idea I feel. You could always just write fanfiction about how your WoL takes Y'stola on dates or just go rp date another player, since it is an MMO after all.

[NecroprincessCleo]

I don't really want this. I feel like it would just be another fluff content that soaks up some of the dev resources and is largely pointless like Island Sanctuary was. There's also the fact that people would cry about Lalafells being able to take part in it, or even them making Lalafell npcs you can date, it would just not be a great idea I feel. You could always just write fanfiction about how your WoL takes Y'stola on dates or just go rp date another player, since it is an MMO after all.

its not like they are putting resources into combat or really anything outside of the savage/Ultima stuff anyways but true on the lalafell part honestly i want to see the actrual numbers they can blurr out alot of it just just show us on average how much game makes a month, and how much they are putting into the game because it looks like they're putting less in than even some indi games, what they do put in seems only to go to 2% of the game over all

[FeyFavilla]

I would much rather like to see a friendship system - maybe like we sort of have with the custom delivery NPCs. Could make daily quests similar to beast tribes where you do partner missions, be that visiting someone or doing a short form version of an existing dungeon or whatever, to raise their closeness. But romance is not a good idea for an MMO.

For one these are established NPCs that need to be cohesively written, so having to figure out how any of them would be in a romantic scenario would cause a lot of backlash from the players regardless of how they are written, because it will likely clash with how most imagine it might be.

Then there is the issue with certain NPC ages, thinking about the twins in particular - but I know there are a ton of others and, as someone mentioned, Lalafell will be an issue due to how intensely childlike they look, regardless of their in-universe standing. Being a better friend to them might work but a romance, especially with how the MC and VISA are currently hounding any form of digital media, would almost certainly get FFXIV put on the blacklist. Same as allowing same gender romances.

Honestly the longer I think about it the more it feels like it would cause drama and anger.
A spin-off game maybe? Dating sims are super popular, it would make more sense to have that kind of thing outside of the mainline game. But the general idea of having some more development for the main cast would be nice.

[Joeoj]

I don't really want this. I feel like it would just be another fluff content that soaks up some of the dev resources and is largely pointless like Island Sanctuary was. There's also the fact that people would cry about Lalafells being able to take part in it, or even them making Lalafell npcs you can date, it would just not be a great idea I feel. You could always just write fanfiction about how your WoL takes Y'stola on dates or just go rp date another player, since it is an MMO after all.

Some players liked the idea of Island Sanctuary, but it failed because the content wasn't something players wanted. That means its failure is a result of quality rather than the idea and system itself.
I think It's the same with the romance system.
Because there is a need for it, whether it becomes pointless or not would depend on how good the content is, not on the idea and system itself.

Also, It is unnecessary to include Lalafell and the twins as options, and I think it's possible for players who want the system to agree with it.

I bileve It's not a bad or strange idea for an MMO to have a romance system.
Games like Warframe and SWTOR have them, and they're both popular.

Although I agree that unfairness should be minimized, it's difficult to add something that everyone likes.
For example, while some players don't like raiding and others don't care about the writing and the stories, we pay the same amount of money. Every change XIV made cost resources, which were paid by players who wanted them and who didn't.
I think as long as the romance wouldn't be forced to players who don't want, and not hurt their headcanon, I think it's fine to consider the addition of the romance.
The dev has been working to make the game fair for all players, so I bileve it isn't impossible.

It seems like a good chance to make content for RPers, casual players, or even people who didn't play MMOs but are interested in the characters. Maybe they could add companion quests like regular RPGs and some MMOs, where protagonists learn more about characters or help them solve problems.

it should be completely optional and wouldn't go beyond friendships. After that, players can choose to unlock a romantic scene, which ought to be optional and not included in the MSQ.
In that case, players wouldn't be forced into unwanted romance with NPCs, and it wouldn't bother NPC shipping.
I believe it might also be beneficial to characters who don't have enough development, like Y'shtola.

[Shistar]

Unrelated to the discussion, but this gif cracks me up every single time. Thank you for keeping it alive lol