Averis

Very nice, indeed. Great job! Looking forward to seeing more.

Guess I can answer my own post. It's really interesting to read the responses others have posted. Even though I've been involved in MMO role-play for almost 10 years, I'm always learning and each community is a little different. When creating your character, how do you balance between being too boring and too snowflake? Creating characters has always been something that I really enjoy, but it's a bit different creating a character for a predefined setting than one that you have created yourself. It's a good kind of challenge, though, and I think it has helped me with my own personal stories. Limits can force you to be more creative instead of going with easy answers. Like others have said as well, I try to have a balance of positive and negative traits. I probably usually lean more heavily on the negative type traits, though. Humans are inherently imperfect and I think that works well when creating a character. But they shouldn't be so "messed up" that they can't function, especially if you plan to interact with others. But I know that I have a lot of flaws and I'm usually observant of others around me, so I try to recognize those traits and add those that I think will help give my character that "human" and believable aspect. When it comes to their background I try to give them reason for being an adventurer within the lore. I usually start with fairly humble beginnings and then add events that lead them to going out into the world. Since it's a character in a game, I want to have reasons to actually play the game and RP, so I often take class and skills into account as well. I look for ways to put them in that position to be X type of adventurer. So, for me, it's also a balance of gameplay and character development. I'm not the most outspoken person IRL, so my characters tend to be a little understated, but I try to add a little bit of spice. I can easily fall into a trap of creating an overly flawed character and I've found that can lead to frustrating role-play. Like in real life, I don't think people want to be around someone that is always negative, quiet or complaining. So having some redeeming facets like kind or funny is the balance to the negative traits. When role-playing with others, what character traits, personalities or actions have you found to be interesting and enjoyable to RP with and/or what have you seen just not work or appear too boring to engage your character? I was in a heavy RP guild in EQ2 for a while and I learned a lot during that time and had some really memorable moments, but one thing that really turned it sour was when some of the members took things too seriously, they were basically inflexible. During a group event one of the members hit a mob that was a friendly faction to another player in the group. It broke out into an OOC fight and made many people feel uncomfortable. In this case, I think it would have been better to have RPed the conflict instead of blaming the player. So I think it's important to walk into RP with a general attitude of playing along and being flexible. It's important to realize the the other players are still human and instead of flipping out about something they did (unless they are griefing you) try to approach it as an RP challenge. This goes back to the character development too, I try to setup my character so that when she starts the game I don't have any set plans for how she will develop. That usually comes later as I see how those I interact with can affect her or how the game story pans out. That's not to say that those that have a full story planned are going to cause problems, but I think it's always best to be flexible. Think of it like a group activity, let the others around you enrich your ideas instead of using them only as extras for your stage. I think the social aspect of MMO role-playing is what makes it most unique to other forms for story crafting. It's organic and just like life, you never know what will happen next, and just like life you shouldn't attempt to think that you can perfectly direct it. Be open to randomness and think of how your character will change or react to it. Just like sending a child off to school, when I develop my character I try to give them the tools to make it on their own, but beyond that I let the events of the game and the role-play shape them as I would in real life if I personally faced similar things. Where do you find the line and when do you think it can be easily crossed while still being within the lore? What kind of advice would you give given your past experience. Like I said above, I think taking it too serious can cause problems. That's not to say that you can't be really into your story or the lore (I know I am), but, when interacting with others you need to leave room for them. Other things I become weary of are characters that have specific skills or looks that aren't actually in the game. It might not be lore-breaking, but I'm likely not going to remember that your character had a wooden leg and a tattoo etc. While that may feel limiting to some, I think it's just better to assume that people won't remember those details unless they interact with you regularly. Having to always point out that you have these unique features can be a bit jarring, but there are ways to work it into your RP that can work, it just takes a certain kind of understanding that not everyone will remember those details so I wouldn't make that a focus. Number one advice is to have fun. You won't please everyone. Always try to be courteous of others role-play, but if something isn't fun for you then just nicely exit stage left and move on instead of trying to force it. Or you could stick around and observe and maybe you'll learn something new that can enrich your role-play.

Guess I can answer my own post. It's really interesting to read the responses others have posted. Even though I've been involved in MMO RP for almost 10 years, I'm always learning and each community is a little different. When creating your character, how do you balance between being too boring and too snowflake? Creating characters has always been something that I really enjoy, but it's a bit different creating a character for a predefined setting than one that you have created yourself. It's a good kind of challenge, though, and I think it has helped me with my own personal stories. Like others have said as well, I try to have a balance of positive and negative traits. I probably usually lean more heavily on the negative type traits, though. Humans are inherently imperfect and I think that works well when creating a character. But they shouldn't be so "messed up" that they can't function, especially if you plan to interact with others. But I know that I have a lot of flaws and I'm usually observant of others around me, so I try to recognize those traits and add those that I think will help give my character that "human" and believable aspect. When it comes to their background I try to give them reason for being an adventurer within the lore. I usually start with fairly humble beginnings and then add events that lead them to going out into the world. Since it's a character in a game, I want to have reasons to actually play the game and RP, so I often take class and skills into account as well. I look for ways to put them in that position to be X type of adventurer. So it's also a balance of gameplay and character development for me. I'm not the most outspoken person IRL, so my characters tend to be a little understated, but I try to add a little bit of spice. I can easily fall into a trap of creating an overly flawed character and I've found that can lead to frustrating role-play. Like in real life, I don't think people want to be around someone that is always negative, quiet or complaining. So having some redeeming facets like kind or funny is the balance to the negative traits. When role-playing with others, what character traits, personalities or actions have you found to be interesting and enjoyable to RP with and/or what have you seen just not work or appear too boring to engage your character? I was in a heavy RP guild in EQ2 for a while and I learned a lot during that time and had some really memorable moments, but one thing that really turned it sour was when some of the members took things too seriously, they were basically inflexible. During a group event one of the members hit a mob that was a friendly faction to another player in the group. It broke out into a fight and made many people feel uncomfortable. In this case, I think it would have been better to have RPed the conflict instead of blaming the player. So I think it's important to walk into RP with a general attitude of playing along and being flexible. It's important to realize the the other players are still human and instead of flipping out about something they did (unless they are griefing you) try to take it as an RP challenge. Don't try to be the center of the show. It's important to realize that this is a group activity and everyone should have their chance. Just like a group conversation in person, it's courteous to let everyone have their say. This goes back to the character development too, I try to setup my character so that when she starts the game I don't have any set plans for how she will develop. That usually comes later as I see how those I interact with can affect her. That's not to say that those that have a full story planned are going to cause problems, but I think it's always best to be flexible. Think of it like a group activity, let the others around you enrich your ideas instead of using them only as extras for your stage. I think the social aspect of MMO role-playing is what makes it most unique to other forms for story crafting. It's organic and just like life, you never know what will happen next, and just like life you shouldn't attempt to think that you can perfectly direct it. Be open to randomness and think of how your character will change or react to it. Where do you find the line and when do you think it can be easily crossed while still being within the lore? What kind of advice would you give given your past experience. Like I said above, I think taking it too serious can cause problems. That's not to say that you can't be really into your story or the lore (I know I am), but, again, when interacting with others you need to leave room for them

You always hear about "Mary Sue" characters, those that just seem perfect in every way, but what about characters that try too hard to be normal "Everyday Jane" or understated? When creating your character, how do you balance between being too boring and too snowflake? When role-playing with others, what character traits, personalities or actions have you found to be interesting and enjoyable to RP with and/or what have you seen just not work or appear too boring to engage your character? (Please be general. Don't call people out) This isn't about the "right" or "wrong" ways to role-play, but more about developing characters, their backgrounds and what makes them tick. Obviously things that break lore go without saying, so I'm referring to when it is within the lore, but still too far on either end or just right etc. Some characters may try too hard to be interesting while others may have nothing to say at all. Where do you find the line and when do you think it can be easily crossed while still being within the lore? What kind of advice would you give given your past experience.

Hmm... I want to take my time and not rush like I've done in past launches, which is sometimes hard when everyone else around you seems to be in a race. Anyway, some of my initial goals will be: -Get an Airship pass so I can move about easily. -Get some Conjurer levels so I can have Cure etc -Get a Chocobo so I can explore easier. All the while I'll be trying to seek out a nice, close-knit and friendly RP shell. So far most of the ones I've looked at are closed, too big, too dark or not fully RP... So I may be playing alone for a while as I try to settle in.

I'm with those that say we should not ban it. Yes, it's a tired subject for those of us that have been here since it started, but there will be a lot of new members coming along and confused about the two server choices. It might be best to actually have a sticky post somewhere about why we have two servers etc. As for posting replies to these posts, I think the best we can do is offer why we made our own personal choice on the matter (hopefully without knocking the other choice) and offer they try both and do research. But to outright lock or ban a topic like this is not, in my opinion, the best way to go about it. Especially when it would likely give new members a bad first impression.

To be fair, you also can't expect Crystalline to not explain their view on things that people are saying, especially if they are incorrect. It wouldn't do them any favors to let something go unexplained.

Haha, true. Just glad to see you here again. Yup, I'm really excited to get back into FFXIV. I'm pretty happy that they decided to reboot the game. I hope to play it for many years. I'm not ashamed to admit that I even ordered the CE AGAIN for ARR, though maybe I should be. Haha.

HEY... I know you! You thought you could sneak in here unnoticed, eh? Welcome back! We should talk...

As someone that's been around this forum towards the beginning, I can say that I have heard "things", but to be honest, I don't remember what they were. I know that people have had some issues and have singled out some members of Crystalline, but the truth is, from my perspective, this is really pretty normal. We can be a dramatic bunch, many of which are either OCD(like myself) and/or very passionate. As such I try to take things people say with a grain of salt and go at it from what I personally experience. I don't think there is anything wrong with holding off on accepting new members right now. If people look at that as elitist then they will likely have thought that for another reason anyway and are probably not the type of people you want to deal with either because once in the LS what would be the next thing to happen that they would call elitist. I've never seen elitism in this community as much as I've seen people throwing that word around just to label people that didn't agree with them. I would still stand by that way of doing things today. It should never be about numbers and if people can't wait for things to happen slowly then they really probably weren't that invested in the first place. It's not about being elite, it's about being fair to all involved. Rushing people into the door only to have them feel like another number is really not fair to anyone. It was, sadly, short lived. The other co-leaders are now playing something else. It would have been interesting to start it up again.

All I can say is how I deal with such a decision. The way I look at it is that playing on the legacy Balmung server is no different than coming to an MMO a bit later after launch and playing on the unofficial RP server that's already been established. I always prefer to play where the majority of the RPs have already congregated. You're going to find elitism within any community no matter what. New and old role-players and MMO gamers will be on both servers. And also note that many legacy players are not decked out level 50s with a ton of pre-established friends. I'm a legacy player with a character that's all of 21. I have no linkshell and only have a few acquaintances that I know from other games here. I'm planning to start over with a new character on Balmung and I know of several others that are doing the same. I think you may find that there will be more new players on all servers than veterans. Which also means there will be plenty of new linkshells etc to get involved in. One final thing. I think that anyone new to this community should look at the mentor thread and see how friendly and helpful this community is, new and old players alike: http://ffxiv-roleplayers.com/showthread.php?tid=2099

And I'm a legacy player (with a "high-level" character of all of 21) that's starting over with a new character on Balmung. I've seen a lot of others doing the same. I think the idea that the legacy server will have more high level players than new or low ones is really not going to be true or an issue. Just my opinion. But as others have said, this has been discussed already at length. The community will be split over this, there's no getting around it at this point. It's no one fault either.

These results so far are pretty interesting. The males lean heavily towards the tall end while the females are a little more spread out, but lean slightly to the shorter side. I guess that shouldn't be too surprising, but it's still interesting.

I always have a problem picking height when a game gives the option. Too tall and you stand out, too short and you might feel awkward. How you want your character to come off can sometimes be portrayed by how they look. People might assume a short character is cute or innocent and a tall one is powerful and commanding etc. So I'm curious, what height will you set for your character? I would have liked to split the poll down to race and gender, but that would not fit. So if you'd like to reply with your race/gender etc, that would be interesting.

Yeah, ditto, the Arcanist news is good to hear. I can already see the millions of carbuncles.

Kinda a side topic to this, but I wonder if we should/could get an additional line added to the information under our avatars to the left for the server we play on. IE Posts: 124 Joined: Jun 2010 Linkshell: None / Seeking Sever: Balmung <-------- Reputation: 6

Time in the game is really screwy. There is actually an Eorzean clock in the game. So the year would actually pass a lot faster than reality, of course, yet holidays happen according to our Earth seasons. Then you have the fact that the in-game year usually doesn't advance till the devs say it has based on story events. It could take a couple real years before they move the in-game year forward. So you can't realistically RP time in-game based on what the game gives you. Seems the best way to go about it is based on Earth time. I don't think anyone will hold anyone to a strict time system. I think the more confusing aspect is the day and night cycle when role-playing.

So many in their 20s... sigh. :dodgy:

Though my main will likely start as a conjurer, I'm aiming to make her an Arcanist when it becomes available, since I don't think it will be in phase 4. I always wanted to level my summoner in XI, but was never able to get the summons etc. It didn't help that people needed a WHM more often either.

I definitely can empathize. I usually use beta as a time to really dial in on my character and I can be pretty obsessive. I can spend a lot of time in the character gen just trying out different settings. "60 or 70, 60 or 70?" But I seem to often get to a point where either I become too overwhelmed with my obsessiveness and crash or that the character basically comes into their own so that any changes start to feel like it goes against "who they are". This becomes especially true when I really start to get their story down. So, certainly try another "version" of your character, but I think when you sit in the character gen and there are no other player-characters around but yours, you may find that what you wanted in the first place was "right" all along. I also love Miqo'te and would play one too, but I managed to curb that desire pretty quickly in ARR when I saw how much that darn tail clips the animated clothes and weapons... :frustrated: But now my Hyur has kinda come into her own and I really want to see how her story progresses.

Yes, please don't macro a paragraph to each skill you use. I remember this often in FFXI. It's cool the first time, but then kinda gets old quickly to see the same saying over and over. :frustrated:

I'm trying to find the best place to put my imaginary village for my character. I'm wondering how far does each main city extend its territory? IE, If I said that my character was from a small village somewhere between Coerthas and the Black Shroud, would she be a citizen of Ishgard, Gridania or neither? I'm wondering, I guess, how common or not is it for a village to be part of a city state?

I can confirm that this has been posted a couple times. If you have access to the beta forums it might be listed under the "Player Feedback Status List"

I have a bunch of 1.0 characters, levels range from 1 to 20. So I don't have a huge investment in any of them. The one character that I did have an RP story for etc I have long since "benched" for various reasons. If you wanted to re-imagine your old 1.0 character I don't see a problem with that as long as that character wasn't integral to other people's characters. I'm actually starting over with a new character with a whole new story. She will have been one of those that had to deal with the rebuilding of Eorzea. As for the gender question... I think you'll find that many players and role-players play opposite gendered characters. I personally have played and role-played female characters for years, and I'm doing it again this time. It's a fun challenge and spices things up a little. Just don't dance on mailboxes in your character's smallclothes.

Yeah, I know, I only plan to keep one or two. The others are mostly placeholders. I'm not going to delete them all, just one, anyway. I was just concerned with the whole legacy thing that I'd be stuck with them for a while and unable to make a new character on that server. Yup, I actually managed to figure that out, like, 2 minutes after I posted. >.< Thanks for the help, guys. :love: