Basic Etiquette tips for people new to FFXIV (or MMOs in general)

[HiirNoivl]

^_^ Hi guys!

I learned a lot in my first years playing MMOs. Sadly, I had a lot of negative experiences, some of them self-inflicted. So I decided to make a guide based on what I learned, that's focussed mainly on what a person can do to make his or her experience in the world more pleasant for themselves and others.

Please read and comment.

Hiir's Guide

[Vergil_Renata]

Great guide, Hiir.
(Sharing!)

[HiirNoivl]

Aw thanks. ^_^ It didn't take me long! Let me know if you want something added!

[Fleurette]

Oh, wow, Hiir, this is awesome! I especially liked this part:

Moving on: Remember how to move on from trouble spots in your relationship with your FC. Once issues have been discussed and worked out, it's time to let go. Try to have a positive, welcoming attitude afterwards, and don't forget to apologize for anything you may have done to contribute.

There are so many people who forget that problems can simply be let go after they're discussed and (mostly) resolved; resentment's only going to affect you, not necessarily the other person involved. This very situation happened at the beginning of this beta phase when a friend in the FC I'm in got harassed by another player who used to know us all, but made their own linkshell--this person was saying really bad things about our friends in the company and our friend just had to say, "you know what? there's no need for me to watch old wounds that are still festering!" and just ignored him--we all agreed: it's a shame he's still talking about problems from over a year ago and can't let go of his resentment. This is a game; there's no need to have lasting resentments over petty issues involving linkshells and FCs. If people are going to keep angrily coming back with drama, you just stay level headed and say something like, "I'm sorry you feel that way, but I can't talk to you when you're this way. Maybe when you're calmer and have thought things through."

In general, this is a really well-written guide and I applaud you for writing it--so many people forget to do these simple things that could make the game that much more friendly! I had an idea where maybe there could be a section involving playing with people who speak other languages--that's always a really great opportunity to reach out and be friendly! like, let's say you're playing with a mostly english party and one french player, and you remember enough french from highschool to thank them for their help or to have a small conversation with them--it might make them really happy to see someone make the effort to speak their language and connect them to the rest of the party! (This happened to me in real life: I was at epcot and we went to the japan section where the girls working there were japanese and were expected to speak english. I had a conversation with a few of the girls in japanese and their faces just lit up! It was an amazing feeling! My Japanese wasn't perfect or anything, but they appreciated the effort of it in a place where they're expected to simply assimilate to that one language.) I mean, yeah, there is auto-translate, but I always feel that it's a little more personal to actually attempt to speak that other language if you know it. Not, like...swearwords or google translate or anything, but actual learned conversation starters/pleasantries.

But this is a very cool guide--I wish it could get stickied to the top of the GD forum or something but i think that requires dev team permissions. I'm definitely going to spread the word about this guide, though. I was reminded of a lot of things and we should all try to make FFXIV an even friendlier game to be playing!

[JillyBean]

Perfect guide - I really hope everyone would read and abide by it. It's made of nothing but win-win.

EDIT: I'm thinking really, this could be applied to forums and real life as well.

[Mamakat]

Great guide! I hope a lot of people read it and take it seriously I really liked the part about answering people and saying hello back when you say hi. It's really frustrating when you log in and greet the ls and get crickets lol

[Niqote]

Oh I have one ^_^
Crafting~!

When you need an item crafted but need assistance, go out of your way to look up the recipe and have the materials ready rather then expect the crafter to know what it is that you want.

If you can not find all materials and the crafter is providing it for you, offer them something else in exchange.
Eg. Player1: I have all mats but the cotton yarn +1
Player2: Don't worry, I have it, just bring me the other mats.
Player1: Ok thanks, I'll give you some extra lighting crystals in leiu if that's ok?
Player2: Sure, np.

If you are crafting something more difficult, for example a HQ lvl 45+ item, let the person know if you are confident or not in the success. Make sure you both understand what is priority.
a) Getting a HQ at all costs or b) Getting a NQ if HQ is just not possible this time.

Manners go a long way, remember to say please and thank you.

[Pwnagraphic]

This guide needs more boobs!

[Neasa]

Oh I have one ^_^
Crafting~!

When you need an item crafted but need assistance, go out of your way to look up the recipe and have the materials ready rather then expect the crafter to know what it is that you want.

A billion times this. I don't mind crafting you something, but don't waste my time! This happens way too often.
Bonus points for telling me the mats/synth (Even after you've traded me them) as I have a hard enough time finding my own mats in my inventory and my short-term memory sucks.

Manners go a long way, remember to say please and thank you.

Also this.

[Genjuro]

Good primer.

One of the worst things that I've found with other games is the lack of communication. Both 11 and 14 had very courteous people. Even if they never had the time to do something, there was always an answer. Everytime I'd ask a question on say WoW, SWTOR, Aion, or Age of Wushu all I heard was dead silence.

It's very possible that everyone was on ventrillo or something but if I asked in chat, most likely I don't have access to ventrillo and chat programs. Maybe I just got unlucky all 4 times, who knows.

Also one of my pet peeves is people asking for assistance and not being prepared. If you're asking for assistance on the Ifrit battle, I expect you to have everything up to the battle done. I should just be able to enter the instance, do the battle, and be on my way. I used to guide people around, and I do sometimes if I'm bored, but it's quite a chore.