Hey there!
If you're looking for a good way to test the water out, I'd defintiely recommend grabbing the FFXIV trial. It does have some chat/trading/leveling restrictions, but it's a perfect way to get a feel for the game and give you first-hand experience.
I'll also try to edit in responses to each of the numbered questions.
If you're also looking for a quick lore primer that can answer some early questions, check these out too!
Eorzean Lore Starter Kit
-Racial Lore Compilation
-Class/Job Lore Compilation
-Hydaelyn Geography Lore
-Settlements in Eorzea Pre-Calamity
-Eorzean City-states' Political Structures Lore
-Eorzean Units of Time and Measurement Lore
What Year Is It? Time Passage in FFXIV
If you're looking for a good way to test the water out, I'd defintiely recommend grabbing the FFXIV trial. It does have some chat/trading/leveling restrictions, but it's a perfect way to get a feel for the game and give you first-hand experience.
I'll also try to edit in responses to each of the numbered questions.
- FFXIV operates on both polar ends of customization. The character creator is going to feel extremely limited if you're more used to Korean MMOs that give you sliders and options galore. On the flip side, this also means that your character's animations are gonna look fairly decent most of the time, even if there might be a bit of a sameface problem. Where FFXIV shines is really in gear options. We have a -lot- of outfits, many of which can be dyed. The glamour system isn't as robust as other MMOs, but hardly needed if you're roleplaying in noncombat zones. It's getting a big update when the 4.2 patch comes out later this month!
- They exist. I know at least on Balmung, we have had some instances of people harassing RPers or trolling them. It's usually pretty limited and not the average experience. Mateus and Omega (for EU) are probably about the same. More trolling generally happens in the /shout chat channel, which is a zone-wide chat. You can filter/disable it as needed.
- Groups come in two (possibly more soon) flavors in FFXIV. These are your Linkshells (chat-only groups, limit 8) and Free Companies (aka guilds, limit 1). Like the other chat channels, you can filter them as wanted. For a good idea of what some of them look like, check out our Linkshell Hall and Free Company Hall! The RPC regularly goes through "hall cleanings" every 2 months so most should be active. (I've actually gotta do this....eventually.) Do note on a trial account, you can be invited, but you cannot make either.
- It varies. Some people keep all their RP organized with Linkshells. Some stick to FC-only RP. Others only do open-world stuff. I'd say most people use a mix of everything to find what they like. Depending on which server you roll on, coordination may happen on other sites as well, like enjin. Or may be coordinated in various Discord servers.
If you're also looking for a quick lore primer that can answer some early questions, check these out too!
Eorzean Lore Starter Kit
-Racial Lore Compilation
-Class/Job Lore Compilation
-Hydaelyn Geography Lore
-Settlements in Eorzea Pre-Calamity
-Eorzean City-states' Political Structures Lore
-Eorzean Units of Time and Measurement Lore
What Year Is It? Time Passage in FFXIV
