Edit: Gwuh, did I post this in the wrong section? Apologies in advance!
As much as I'd like to make this out into some kind of auction-house styled post, I would much rather get to the point as soon as I am done wasting time on this sentence.
Hi! The common moniker is Reppu! But not a sword, or a bag. The reason why I am here today, aside from continuing to observe the "FFXIV Roleplaying Community", is to simply put a question out here my and my odd number of fellows have been asking each other;
'What server should we play on?'
While this is a null-and-void question depending on if we ever get an official RP server, I try to avoid banking on 'what ifs'. Thusly, I am here today as a representative of a small (10 or so?) roleplayers of varying degrees of experience (ranging from seven months to fourteen years) trying to find a place to buckle down.
Now, I have been silently observing the debate between Balmung (Legacy) and Gilgamesh (2.0), and I have noticed something I think is a common misconception on both sides, that I would like to clear up through some personal research and just actually asking the question as needed;
"4chan is joining Gilgamesh!"
This is actually not quite true, at least not in the way many people believe. /vg/, specifically, is mostly joining Ultros, with a splinter group joining Cactuar. If anyone from 4chan is joining Gilgamesh, they're not from /vg/, which means they're from /v/.
And if they're from /v/, who are adamantly poisoned against FFXIV and would like nothing more than to see it's utter doom? Well...
Moving on from that, this is just me wanting to offer a bit of clarification on the subject that I am under knowledge of seeing as a sort of falsehood, at least from public knowledge you can get by simply visiting /vg/.
Now, if I'm wrong and there's proof stating /vg/ or, unfortunately, /v/ are going to Gilgamesh? Do correct me!
As such, from what I have personally gathered, Balmung was the 'original' Roleplaying Server, a community vote to unite the scattered roleplayers, and then some people decided they wanted a Non-Legacy option. While it's unfortunate the community has split again, I don't really want to be split between it! Thus why we're looking for our 'home', today!
To this, I would like to voice my personal concerns, gather clarification from any parties willing to offer it, and then hopefully come to a decision within the next day or two so I know where we're hunkering down. As such...
~Balmung~
As the originally voted roleplaying server, Balmung seems to be poised to boast an overall smaller population, but a larger concentration and server percentage of roleplayers. As a legacy server, Balmung is expected to have some economical chaos until things settled down, as well as having people with higher-level characters right out of the gates. Both are short-term 'issues' and can largely be ignored.
Balmung's perks from a roleplaying point of view are a concentration of veterans who can offer much insight on Eorzea, and FFXIV as a whole. These are people who, largely, weathered the storm and are passionate about getting back into things. An established community, composed of people who originally were passionate enough to unite the roleplayers of FFXIV once before. As such, there is no denying the passion of the 1.0 crew here.
Balmung's perks from a mechanical point of view are having veterans of FFXIV who are also avid roleplayers, meaning that there's no lack of people who want to play the game, as much as they want to roleplay in the game. There is also a -far- less likely chance of being 'trolled out of immersion'.
Balmung's flaws from a mechanical point of view will largely be the level diversity causing a bit of a hiccup at first. It is also worth noting the early-gil influx will make it pretty much hell on Non-Legacy characters if this is abused in any remote way, but this is also still just a minor, short-term issue.
More likely is Balmung will have a higher concentration of Arcanists, due to Legacy players no doubt wanting to add three more 50's to their rosters, and thusly there will be a -huge- lack of server diversity for some time. This is probably the biggest 'flaw'.
Balmung's flaws from a roleplaying point of view is the 'Veteran Syndrome', as I'm going to coin it. There's the realistic, but not guaranteed, chance of 'heroes of light' using this status as a way to lord over those who were not present for a giant dragon kicking people around. Not only is this an annoying thing to consider, it's toxic.
However, this same thing can be taken as a perk if it is not used to lord over people. In the end, due to a 'mighty' 5 year gap between, both sides would be considered the same generation of heroes. Just, one side has a bit more experience and got roasted by a really angry dragon. The 'mentoring' aspect can be a rather charming roleplaying experience, if used responsibly.
The potentially 'biggest' flaw for Balmung in both a roleplaying -and- mechanical point of view, is the population size. I, personally, would like to hit the ground running and get my own thing going with my fellows. I tend to be oft thrust into a leadership position, and I do plan on weaving an experience for people to enjoy. As such, I also have no lacking of people wanting to experience the game, from it's casual first steps, to it's 'hardcore' endgame. As such, wanting to establish a 'new brand' on Balmung will likely be a -lot- more difficult. But, roleplayers who just so happen to want to raid is my goal!
Of course we'd be willing to tip our hats into a company with a similar mindset. Boy would I be happy not being a pillar of leadership again!
In the end, Balmung offers stability, but less opportunity?
~Gilgamesh~
Let's just start this right off...
Gilgamesh's roleplaying perks are very obvious; a new beginning, and a chance to firmly root yourself in the community. You will have little to no difficulty getting your 'own thing' going, due to all of the new players and a lack of 'bonds' already formed.
Gilgamesh's mechanical perks are being able to grow with the server economy, a much larger diversity of classes due to everyone starting from scratch, and a TON of people making it easier to recruit people and get things going.
And now, we bring out the bat.
Gilgamesh's roleplaying flaws are the concentrated percentage of roleplayers will (likely?) be significantly lower than Balmung, to the point that 'open world' RP may very well be a dead dream. This is not to suggest that Reddit (who are only guilty of being silly, not really toxic) will 'troll' people out, and the unfounded '4chan is going to come to Gilgamesh!' rumors, have anything to do with this.
It's simply a fact there are no lacking number of groups vying to 'claim' Gilgamesh. There will be a 'war', and it's hard to say if it will end peacefully, or settle into a friendly stability. Ultimately, Gilgamesh's biggest flaw in a roleplaying point of view is that roleplaying will be a lot more difficult in a public manner. And roleplaying kept behind the veil, is a bad habit roleplayers desperately need to break from.
Gilgamesh's mechanical flaws are mostly focused on the population; Server lockouts need to be considered, and 'fierce competition' to the point of toxic levels is common on the bigger MMO servers. Beyond this, you can't really 'guess' too many mechanical problems for Gilgamesh. If there is one to keep note of, the diverse population will be a bit more dangerous for roleplaying companies with raiding pursuits. You'll likely have to comb your recruits a bit more to ensure you won't have a toxic mishap.
In the end, Gilgamesh offers opportunity, but less stability?
~In Conclusion~
Now, all of this is just my formed opinions based off what I've read! So, in conclusion, I will state what we are looking for, and leave those who are willing to offer their two cents, to do so.
What we want: To roleplay, and to play the game.
To be more specific from such a generic thing to say, we're looking to firmly root ourselves in the roleplaying community, and help push it to be the best it can be, if it's not already at this point. We don't want to be 'lost in the crowd', but we're not vying to steal the spotlight as well. We want to be part of a 'family', as it were. The less resistance, the better. It shouldn't be a chore or a job to make sure roleplaying flourishes, it should be fun!
For the gameplay side of things, to experience the story yourself is far better than just watching a video of reading a blurb. As such, be it casually pushed or as hardcore as possible, we want to see what the game has to offer, from the smallest 4 man to the largest 24 man. Content is to be devoured. The more like-minded individuals who also love to roleplay, the better.
So, for ten or so individuals, few legacy, most not, what would you suggest?
Thank you for your time, and see you in Eorzea!
As much as I'd like to make this out into some kind of auction-house styled post, I would much rather get to the point as soon as I am done wasting time on this sentence.
Hi! The common moniker is Reppu! But not a sword, or a bag. The reason why I am here today, aside from continuing to observe the "FFXIV Roleplaying Community", is to simply put a question out here my and my odd number of fellows have been asking each other;
'What server should we play on?'
While this is a null-and-void question depending on if we ever get an official RP server, I try to avoid banking on 'what ifs'. Thusly, I am here today as a representative of a small (10 or so?) roleplayers of varying degrees of experience (ranging from seven months to fourteen years) trying to find a place to buckle down.
Now, I have been silently observing the debate between Balmung (Legacy) and Gilgamesh (2.0), and I have noticed something I think is a common misconception on both sides, that I would like to clear up through some personal research and just actually asking the question as needed;
"4chan is joining Gilgamesh!"
This is actually not quite true, at least not in the way many people believe. /vg/, specifically, is mostly joining Ultros, with a splinter group joining Cactuar. If anyone from 4chan is joining Gilgamesh, they're not from /vg/, which means they're from /v/.
And if they're from /v/, who are adamantly poisoned against FFXIV and would like nothing more than to see it's utter doom? Well...
Moving on from that, this is just me wanting to offer a bit of clarification on the subject that I am under knowledge of seeing as a sort of falsehood, at least from public knowledge you can get by simply visiting /vg/.
Now, if I'm wrong and there's proof stating /vg/ or, unfortunately, /v/ are going to Gilgamesh? Do correct me!
As such, from what I have personally gathered, Balmung was the 'original' Roleplaying Server, a community vote to unite the scattered roleplayers, and then some people decided they wanted a Non-Legacy option. While it's unfortunate the community has split again, I don't really want to be split between it! Thus why we're looking for our 'home', today!
To this, I would like to voice my personal concerns, gather clarification from any parties willing to offer it, and then hopefully come to a decision within the next day or two so I know where we're hunkering down. As such...
~Balmung~
As the originally voted roleplaying server, Balmung seems to be poised to boast an overall smaller population, but a larger concentration and server percentage of roleplayers. As a legacy server, Balmung is expected to have some economical chaos until things settled down, as well as having people with higher-level characters right out of the gates. Both are short-term 'issues' and can largely be ignored.
Balmung's perks from a roleplaying point of view are a concentration of veterans who can offer much insight on Eorzea, and FFXIV as a whole. These are people who, largely, weathered the storm and are passionate about getting back into things. An established community, composed of people who originally were passionate enough to unite the roleplayers of FFXIV once before. As such, there is no denying the passion of the 1.0 crew here.
Balmung's perks from a mechanical point of view are having veterans of FFXIV who are also avid roleplayers, meaning that there's no lack of people who want to play the game, as much as they want to roleplay in the game. There is also a -far- less likely chance of being 'trolled out of immersion'.
Balmung's flaws from a mechanical point of view will largely be the level diversity causing a bit of a hiccup at first. It is also worth noting the early-gil influx will make it pretty much hell on Non-Legacy characters if this is abused in any remote way, but this is also still just a minor, short-term issue.
More likely is Balmung will have a higher concentration of Arcanists, due to Legacy players no doubt wanting to add three more 50's to their rosters, and thusly there will be a -huge- lack of server diversity for some time. This is probably the biggest 'flaw'.
Balmung's flaws from a roleplaying point of view is the 'Veteran Syndrome', as I'm going to coin it. There's the realistic, but not guaranteed, chance of 'heroes of light' using this status as a way to lord over those who were not present for a giant dragon kicking people around. Not only is this an annoying thing to consider, it's toxic.
However, this same thing can be taken as a perk if it is not used to lord over people. In the end, due to a 'mighty' 5 year gap between, both sides would be considered the same generation of heroes. Just, one side has a bit more experience and got roasted by a really angry dragon. The 'mentoring' aspect can be a rather charming roleplaying experience, if used responsibly.
The potentially 'biggest' flaw for Balmung in both a roleplaying -and- mechanical point of view, is the population size. I, personally, would like to hit the ground running and get my own thing going with my fellows. I tend to be oft thrust into a leadership position, and I do plan on weaving an experience for people to enjoy. As such, I also have no lacking of people wanting to experience the game, from it's casual first steps, to it's 'hardcore' endgame. As such, wanting to establish a 'new brand' on Balmung will likely be a -lot- more difficult. But, roleplayers who just so happen to want to raid is my goal!
Of course we'd be willing to tip our hats into a company with a similar mindset. Boy would I be happy not being a pillar of leadership again!
In the end, Balmung offers stability, but less opportunity?
~Gilgamesh~
Let's just start this right off...
Gilgamesh's roleplaying perks are very obvious; a new beginning, and a chance to firmly root yourself in the community. You will have little to no difficulty getting your 'own thing' going, due to all of the new players and a lack of 'bonds' already formed.
Gilgamesh's mechanical perks are being able to grow with the server economy, a much larger diversity of classes due to everyone starting from scratch, and a TON of people making it easier to recruit people and get things going.
And now, we bring out the bat.
Gilgamesh's roleplaying flaws are the concentrated percentage of roleplayers will (likely?) be significantly lower than Balmung, to the point that 'open world' RP may very well be a dead dream. This is not to suggest that Reddit (who are only guilty of being silly, not really toxic) will 'troll' people out, and the unfounded '4chan is going to come to Gilgamesh!' rumors, have anything to do with this.
It's simply a fact there are no lacking number of groups vying to 'claim' Gilgamesh. There will be a 'war', and it's hard to say if it will end peacefully, or settle into a friendly stability. Ultimately, Gilgamesh's biggest flaw in a roleplaying point of view is that roleplaying will be a lot more difficult in a public manner. And roleplaying kept behind the veil, is a bad habit roleplayers desperately need to break from.
Gilgamesh's mechanical flaws are mostly focused on the population; Server lockouts need to be considered, and 'fierce competition' to the point of toxic levels is common on the bigger MMO servers. Beyond this, you can't really 'guess' too many mechanical problems for Gilgamesh. If there is one to keep note of, the diverse population will be a bit more dangerous for roleplaying companies with raiding pursuits. You'll likely have to comb your recruits a bit more to ensure you won't have a toxic mishap.
In the end, Gilgamesh offers opportunity, but less stability?
~In Conclusion~
Now, all of this is just my formed opinions based off what I've read! So, in conclusion, I will state what we are looking for, and leave those who are willing to offer their two cents, to do so.
What we want: To roleplay, and to play the game.
To be more specific from such a generic thing to say, we're looking to firmly root ourselves in the roleplaying community, and help push it to be the best it can be, if it's not already at this point. We don't want to be 'lost in the crowd', but we're not vying to steal the spotlight as well. We want to be part of a 'family', as it were. The less resistance, the better. It shouldn't be a chore or a job to make sure roleplaying flourishes, it should be fun!
For the gameplay side of things, to experience the story yourself is far better than just watching a video of reading a blurb. As such, be it casually pushed or as hardcore as possible, we want to see what the game has to offer, from the smallest 4 man to the largest 24 man. Content is to be devoured. The more like-minded individuals who also love to roleplay, the better.
So, for ten or so individuals, few legacy, most not, what would you suggest?
Thank you for your time, and see you in Eorzea!