Ceoile Stendan

X'an and Evie watching the sun rise at Costa del Sol, while wearing their new Moonfire bikinis.

Kadi and her girlfriend Vikki, attending the Eternal Bonding of some friends of theirs.

A misty sunrise in the Shroud.

And, now, for the good news. I camped on a vacant lot in the Goblet all evening last night; when I finally logged off around 2am, it still hadn't unlocked. I got up around 6am, and logged back on (I hadn't moved from the spot) -- when I logged on, the plot was still unoccupied, and it was unlocked! Thank you, all, for your advice and encouragement!

I came to FFXIV from SWTOR last year. SWTOR has its own issues (of late, a general lack of love and developer support from Bioware), but at least housing is straightforward. Strongholds (houses) are their own instances, so, for example, every single player on a server can own a Tatooine stronghold, because each one is a unique instance. Overall, I really like FFXIV 95% of the time. Housing is in the other 5%.

I've finally been able to scrape up enough gil to think about buying a house! Yay! I've since discovered the joy of trying to buy a house on Mateus. Ugggggh. At any given time, there might be three to six unoccupied plots across the four housing areas. And, as I learned last night, unoccupied plots have a hidden timer on them, and can't actually be purchased until that timer winds down. As far as I can tell, on a well-populated world like Mateus, you have to either be bloody lucky in checking a plot when it's just come off of its timer, or you have to camp on a plot for an unknown period of time (hours, at least, it seems) to get one. My understanding is that there are other worlds in which getting a house isn't a problem at all; it's a function of Mateus now being near capacity, as it became the de facto second RP world after Balmung. Not having a house isn't the end of the world, of course; I do have an apartment. I just feel like I've spent two months grinding on gathering, to raise the gil, and now it doesn't matter. Any advice? Commiseration?

Just a bard and her harp.

X'an Stormblade, pirate queen (on the left), with her beloved first mate, Evie.

Back in one of my guilds in SWTOR, we would do "Bikini Ops Runs." It was particularly appropriate for Karagga's Palace, in which you're trying to escape a Hutt's stronghold.

Keep fanning, Cabana Girl.

V'kadia, the adorable Miqo healer.

I can trace it back to my childhood: playing make-believe games, and telling stories, with my toys -- puppets, LEGOs, action figures, and more. I then discovered Tolkien when I was 11, and D&D a few years later. From the very start, when I was playing tabletop RPGs, I was doing more than rolling dice and killing orcs. I would come up with backstories for my characters, and loved to have conversations with the other players IC. I've played tabletop RPGs for many years, and for me, that sort of roleplaying has always been a part of the game. For me, my characters' backgrounds, relationships, and motivations are every bit as important as their in-game exploits. I finally got drawn into MMOs a few years ago, by a good friend who'd become my RP partner in a D&D campaign.

Yes, this is what got me to pretty quickly subscribe. Unless you're in the same location as another player, it's pretty much impossible to start up a conversation, because you can't initiate a /tell or a group. You can't join a FC, though you can join a Linkshell, but it might difficult to get someone to give you an invitation to a Linkshell, because of the /tell limitation. It's not impossible, as others said, but you may well feel very frustrated by the limitations.

I finished up the Seventh Astral Era MSQ tonight. The long cinematic story at the end was very cool...though, related to my struggles on "The Reason Roaille":

Given the fact that he has a pair of very sharp shears in his hand, it's even funnier (and scarier).