Dravus

It doesn't really change much, since many role-players are going to want a plausible reason to do something as drastic as travel to a completely different world assuming they follow the lore to any significant degree. Whereas those who are desperate to involve their characters in anything and everything will claim that they can do whatever they so wish.

I'm not the sort to mince words so to be blunt, FFXIV's RP community is at times not a particularly pleasant one. It can be very difficult to get involved with something meaningful without first having to endure a series of bitter disappointments. I enjoy the game well enough, though if RP alone served as my interest then I would have ditched FFXIV years ago. I've been playing since the days of ARR and although I've encountered some brilliant people that motivate me to stick around it took a lot of effort and luck to encounter them. The key is to be persistent. A lot of people who claim to desire RP will, unfortunately, mess you around. I've had people chat excitedly for hours about their plans only for nothing to ever manifest. I've had people approach me, claim to be interested in my character and then vanish the moment I made it clear that I was not interested in engaging in ERP with them. I've had people swear up and down that they like to adhere to the game's lore only to have them suddenly unload some weird, implausible scenario upon my character. I've had people invest in mutual character story-lines for weeks or even months at a time only to one day vanish abruptly because they found someone different to interact with. I've had people suddenly stop interacting with me because they found out that I was British. (!?) The list goes on. As the posts above suggest, it isn't an isolated problem. Even now, whenever I try to expand my network of contacts it feels like an uphill battle. For every new, lasting connection I make there's half a dozen failures. It's easy to feel as though you're the one who is to blame. That you're doing something wrong. Yet in reality, that often isn't the case - a lot of role-players are just not particularly stable, reliable or pleasant individuals when it comes to FFXIV. You have to wade through a lot of bad to get to the good. Though it isn't a completely hopeless situation. The good does exist. You'll eventually find like-minded individuals to hang around with. You have to be very proactive and typically also have to be the one to initiate things. Which can admittedly be exhausting at times. As for your chosen race? Go for what makes you happy. Anyone who immediately brushes you off because you choose to play a Lalafell isn't worth your time in the first place.

As far as physical capabilities are concerned, we need to note that their physiques vary considerably compared to the other races. Cid is roughly the same size as a Midlander, albeit a bit more thickly muscled. Nero is taller and similar to an Elezen. One of the Garlean NPC's aboard the Prima Vista uses a Highlander model and then there's Zenos and Varis who are even taller and physically imposing. They're hardy and disciplined as a consequence of the harsh environment they've been forced to adapt to with a fondness for efficiency to boot - so even accounting for their lack of ability to manipulate aether, they're still not going to go down easily in a fight. Even putting aside the fact that magitek can do a lot of what aether can do, it's not as if every Eorzean can wield aether to a significant degree or be well trained enough to go toe to toe with a seasoned, disciplined enemy soldier. Furthermore, there's their enhanced spatial awareness by virtue of their third eye. You're also not likely to encounter many Pureblood Garleans to begin with, realistically. The vast majority of soldiers serving Garlemald are conscripts after all - with a smattering of Garlean Pureblood soldiers here and there. As for the existence of Garlean Purebloods who can manipulate aether, aside from being exceptionally rare it kind of defeats the point of playing a Garlean Pureblood in my opinion since it just involves eroding away one of the things that makes them so unique and engaging. It makes for some pretty intense situations where you cannot simply have your character teleport about on a whim. Though saying that, there's examples of short range teleportation used by Pureblood Garleans as a consequence of magitek...

I doubt anybody would be in opposition to such a move.

The story outright highlights that the Warrior of Light is, at present, the only one who can travel to the First and back to the Source at will. It's a major story point and even serves as part of the ongoing plot threads to be resolved in the future. Perhaps as early as 5.1. Let's not beat around the bush. Those of you who have already decided to have their character travel to the First are likely to do as much no matter what. Nobody is stopping you - they're simply pointing out that it isn't as plausible as is being presented by some and it also isn't something they're interested in engaging with. If you want to bend or break the established lore, go ahead - just don't pretend as if you aren't doing just that. Not everybody is on board with the 'anything goes' approach to role-play, after all.

I don't subscribe to the idea that anything and everything should be embraced. Everybody is free to do as they please and nobody is saying otherwise - they're simply stating that they're not going to do as much themselves and have no interest in interacting with those who do. On my end, I adhere as strictly to the lore as I can because I enjoy what is readily available to 'normal' inhabitants of the setting and don't feel the need to thrust my character into situations that require a huge amount of stretching and end up putting them centre stage in regards to the overarching narrative. It seems to be whenever someone points out that they're not fully on board with something they're subtly branded an 'elitist' even though the reality is far more nuanced than that. Regardless, overlooking small things like the night and day cycle is in no way equal to having a character venture to a completely different world. I also don't believe that a setting being odd in some ways justifies a policy of 'anything is plausible'. Especially when what is 'plausible' is completely subjective.

It's not really a 'moot argument', especially when a decent amount of role-players avoid taking the approach where anything goes. I doubt anyone here is surprised that there's people role-playing on the First with little regard for the logistics - though I'll say that despite running around the zones frequently since launch the amount of role-players that I have seen has been fairly low so far when compared to the amount that I've seen in the older zones. There's also the simple fact that it takes away from the narrative and the struggles of the inhabitants of the First if there's a bunch of Source characters showing up to go adventuring. I'm sure the site's image tab will soon be flooded with players eager to show off their character running around in the new zones, though. At any rate, it is my firm belief that not every character needs to be involved in every single element of the game's ongoing story. Yes, it's a high fantasy game and that's part of the charm though the story is written in a particular way and a lot of us prefer to stick to what is established as plausible in terms of the world building. Coming up with a contrived excuse to join in with something just because it happens to be shiny and new isn't to everybody's tastes, either. Especially when the biggest heroes in the setting cannot jump to and from the First on a whim. At the moment, the only exception is the Warrior of Light - and I'd wager most people aren't playing as the ultimate hero of the setting. I'm fairly certain the situation will change in due time. It's just a matter of patience, really.

I'm in favour of people just playing a character native to the First if they really want to role-play there. It's going to be awkward if every other role-player running around Norvrandt happens to be from the Source. It just serves to cheapen things. On my end, I don't think I'll be acknowledging any world hopping unless it is handled very well and the character is stranded there and faces substantial difficulty with adjusting to what is effectively an alien world. Sadly I suspect many will seek to show up to attend an event in the First and then immediately jump back to the Source with minimal difficulty so they can attend a different event there the next day. Each to their own, I guess, but it just seems counterproductive to me.

I was in the exact same place up until recently. My advice? If you can, try and focus on finding people who are invested in the game as a whole rather than those who claim to only be interested in role-play. The former tend to stick around more than the latter. Another obstacle is to avoid those who over-commit. If you see them offering to interact with as many people as possible, chances are they won't have the time to actually interact with your own character to any meaningful degree. I tend to let people come to me these days as being the one to reach out all the time proved to be exhausting - especially when so many role-players aren't open and honest about their commitments, desires and level of lore adherence. It can be tough to find people to click with - but it isn't impossible. I do believe there's an element of luck involved, though. At least insofar as being in the right place at the right time to stumble upon something that just 'works' for you.

Anyone claiming that their character is a Warrior of Light is basically claiming that their character is one of the most important people to exist in Hydaelyn. If you really want to do it, nobody can stop you - but the negative reactions are usually justified. Most role-players will either ignore characters along those lines or brush them off as being delusional. I've yet to see it done well - because it's the sort of concept that simply serves to alienate more people than it pleases. It's also inherently selfish by its very nature. It's the equivalent of joining a theatre group and loudly proclaiming that you will play the leading role and everybody else has to resign themselves to being stage props. You could potentially find other people to team up with to also play fellow Warriors of Light yet it'll end up with quite the awkward echo chamber - usually one involving those present stroking each other off and highlighting just how much more important and skilled their characters are compared to everybody else. To be blunt, the sort of role-players who want to play such an influential figure are also the sort to be easily prone to drama, so more often than not things crash and burn rather quickly when there's more than one in the same room. You'd probably find a lot more people to team up with and interact with by simply playing a veteran adventurer. You'd have the 'skilled' angle covered without treading on other people's toes and it'd make it much easier for other role-players to get involved with your character.

There has yet to be a content patch that I haven't been excited for. 4.5 is no different. I'll likely tackle the Return to Ivalice finale first since I'm a huge fan of Ivalice in general. After that it'll be the MSQ's. Doman Mahjong is a pleasant surprise. It'd be nice to see it - and Triple Triad - take off as IC hobbies for many characters.

I'm mostly interested in the doughnuts. They'll make for an excellent dessert item to display all year round.

My concern is that there's been a notable rise in the amount of role-players who don't tackle content to any large degree...and of those who do, it isn't unusual for them to flake out for various reasons. If it happened once or twice, that'd be one thing - but some of us end up experiencing it more often than not despite frequent attempts to set things up. Even accounting for being a large server, many have been forced to look to the cross server system to secure contacts for PvE/PvP and now we're set to be cut off from the servers we leaned upon for that. That aside, I've spent a lot of time in Eureka and couldn't help but note that I rarely encountered players there from Balmung. I wasn't implying that there aren't any role-players who tackle the PvE and PvP side of the game - because there are. I figured that went without saying. Yet right after the announcement that Aether was set to be cut loose from Balmung and Mateus a number of people decided to transfer. More will likely do so in the coming months. There's also serious talk about establishing Jenova as the replacement Balmung on Aether. How that plays out remains to be seen, though in my experience people tend to take the path of least resistance. Balmung isn't going to die out. Mateus isn't going to die out. Though at this point only time will tell how much of an impact the move is going to have and whether the better choice for some is to head to Jenova or some other Aether server set to not be sent to Crystal. Which obviously comes at the cost of cutting ties completely with Balmung/Mateus...but getting ready access to the servers with a large number of PvE/PvP focused players.

I'm excited about the expansion itself...though the news that Balmung and Mateus are being disconnected from Aether has soured things for me. I enjoy role-play, yet I also invest heavily in the game itself. Aether as it is now gives players on Balmung and Mateus ample access to a duty finder and party finder that is active and fairly competent. We're set to be grouped with a number of smaller servers and will lose access to what are the 'go to' servers for PvE/PvP focused players. I'm not particularly pleased about that as someone who dabbles in every aspect of the game. Balmung's cheap pricing is also likely to be negatively affected due to the ability for players from other servers to temporarily visit, buy things from our markets and then head back to their own servers.

Being open and honest about taking liberties with one's character is for the best. It helps avoid needless drama and it prevents both parties from wasting their time if they have conflicting stances on such things.

To be blunt, a lot of people would simply roll their eyes and avoid anyone embracing such a plot point. If you want to tell a story involving a character that is exploring a new land for the first time then...there's no reason not to simply have them hail from somewhere like Hingashi and make up a reason as to why they're venturing to Eorzea. That's pretty much the basis of my own character and it doesn't involve taking any liberties at all, so the pool of role-players I can interact with isn't artificially limited. Just because you can do something, it doesn't necessarily mean that you should. Nobody can stop you, though you're likely to get more meaningful opportunities and contacts by role-playing something fairly grounded compared to something extremely exceptional.

I wouldn't say it's dying so much as it's stagnating. I don't really post here much these days and there's a lot I could say on the matter but I'll try to keep it brief. The most obvious cause of the stagnation is the server being locked down. That prevents fresh faces from popping up outside of the occasional returning player and makes it difficult for various Free Companies to recruit additional members. This is even more apparent when accounting for niche concepts. I've also found that a lot of role-players are unfortunately prone to baggage in the form of needless drama and/or manipulative, flaky behaviour...so I doubt that I'm the only one who is very selective about who I choose to interact with these days.

I'll be blunt. Ditch anyone who strings you along and manipulates you when you try and smooth things over with them. It may be painful to cut them loose but in the long term you'll be happier and healthier for it...especially if it's souring the game for you and causing you stress. Unfortunately there's a lot of role-players who are manipulative and lack much in the way of empathy and social skills. I've seen even close friends suddenly drift apart based on a lack of acknowledgement of any issues - sometimes no matter how much you try and smooth things over with someone they'll just continue to be blind to their problematic behaviour. Basically, if you've reached a point where you're consistently feeling like you need someone to stop doing something because it's hurting you and they aren't listening...then it's time to move on. There's thousands of other players that you can befriend and get to know - you won't be starved for opportunities!

“It is time to bring about a new era for Garlemald - one of peace and prosperity. Not solely for her native people but all those brought beneath her glorious banners. The question, then, is whether you stand with me or against me. I am so terribly weary of seeing good men and women on both sides of the battlefield cut down like pigs. We have more in common with one another than many would like to admit. We all have comrades in arms. Dreams. Families. Have you the desire to break the cycle of hatred? To truly make this troubled world work for all of us? If so, I cordially ask that you join me.” - Cato pyr Eligar - - - - OOC: I have been wanting to do something like this for a very long time. With confirmation that the story of Garlemald is as politically driven as I hoped it would be, it is time to put my plans into action. I am reaching out to all role-players who want to explore the possibility of having their character team up with a Pureblood Garlean who, whilst loyal to his homeland and people, is very eager to see an end to needless bloodshed and hatred. Such a lofty goal cannot happen overnight and will no doubt rely heavily on the advancement of the MSQ’s. Yet with all that said, the first steps can be taken right this instant. So consider this a call to arms. Who wishes to join me? I suppose it may go without saying, but I am seeking the sort of role-players who adore political intrigue in their role-play. Naturally there will be those who seek to oppose my character, so rivals and enemies are also welcome to get in touch! All I ask of my role-playing partners is that they are literate, reliable and portray characters that feel like they could be a plausible part of the game world. A willingness to spend time outside of housing districts, cities and taverns is a major plus as well. If this sounds intriguing, feel free to contact me via PM or in-game as Cato Eligar. If you take the latter route, bear in mind that I may be AFK!

If somebody didn't like my writing style or found it to be jarring, I'd prefer that they told me outright. I've had bad experiences in the past where people strung me along, pretending to be engaged and interested in my long term character plots only for me to waste hours and hours of my time investing in them only to find out they were lying. It led to me taking a break from role-play altogether and I only recently plucked up the courage to return. I don't think people should go around with a smug attitude looking down on how other people role-play but at the same time I don't think the approach where any and all feedback is considered 'bad' is healthy either. Many role-players simply aren't going to click with one another. We all have our preferences. We all have our pet peeves. I can't stand interacting with characters that speak like modern day American teenagers, for instance. I find it incredibly immersion breaking - and whilst I wouldn't bash people for doing it, I'm not going to bend over backwards to stick around and interact with those characters on a long term basis. I'll also outright excuse myself from the presence of anybody taking extreme liberties with the game's established lore, simply because I don't care to interact with someone's take on the 'Warrior of Light' or a canon NPC. FFXIV has people coming to it from all sorts of different backgrounds, both in terms of role-play experience and real life cultural elements. European role-players, in particular, often get branded 'frigid' or 'blunt' for the way that they post on a forum or in a chat channel. I've had it happen to me more times than I care to count, but I'm not changing my posting style as a result because the people I care most about interacting with are absolutely fine with it and they see the more casual side of me when I befriend them. There's countless role-players on Balmung. I feel like things would be a lot better for everybody if more people were just open and honest with each other. It's absolutely fine to find frequent spelling errors to be jarring, so long as you're not mean about it. You don't necessarily need to grit your teeth and never, ever speak up about it for fear of 'offending' someone. You just need to be prepared for a potential overreaction or cold reception if you do offer constructive feedback. It's no different to the sort of reactions you may find in the PvE or PvP side of the game. I've seen people rage in Rival Wings in response to someone speaking up at the start and suggesting that the 'every1 go mid' strategy is flawed and not nearly as effective as it used to be after the latest round of balance changes. I've seen people flip in response to a gentle reminder to use their cooldowns during large pulls in a dungeon so that the healer isn't strained more than they need to be. Nobody is obligated to take advice given them to heart. Yet at the same time, I don't feel as though everybody needs to keep their mouth shut either. All feedback should be constructive - and so long as it is constructive, there shouldn't be much of an issue. The person receiving it can either take it on board, or they can carry on as they were. Meanwhile, the person who offered the feedback in question can either politely excuse themselves or make their peace with the situation and continue as they were. Now, personally, I'd be happy to overlook someone's errors if I could understand what they were saying and their character intrigued me. I've never met a role-player who didn't have teething problems. Everybody makes errors from time to time, myself included.

If it is making you feel uncomfortable, then you need to address it sooner rather than later. If left unchecked it could easily mutate into a situation that makes you feel burned out on role-play altogether. That you recognise the red flags is a good thing, though - you simply need to confront the individual in question and let them know you feel discomfort in regards to how the interaction between your characters is playing out. The two of you should also - ideally - be able to maintain a friendship even if it doesn't involve any further role-play. There's people I absolutely adore as friends but don't necessarily interact with in a role-play environment simply because it doesn't make sense for our characters to interact or our styles are vastly different. Think of it in the same way as how you might not necessarily go out and watch movies with a particular friend but will happily dine with them instead.

Hello! I portray a nineteen year old Garlean Pureblood in-game who is currently aligned with Garlemald. He is sympathetic to the plight of those who suffer under Garlemald's rule, yet at the same time he is loyal to his homeland and people due to seeing firsthand the best of what they have to offer. Thus he attempts to take a stance of neutrality on the world stage over becoming an outright defector, clinging to the hope that someday he will see a true, lasting peace. Recently he has come to spend a considerable amount of his time within Kugane, appreciating the city's neutral stance towards his kind. He can often be encountered purchasing exotic goods from the market stalls, feeding stray cats in and around the city, gazing up at the Prima Vista in admiration or tinkering with some manner of device related to engineering in one of the city's workshops. He has a fondness for fishing, felines, swimming, history, engineering, theatre, art, literature and fine cuisine. He is a friendly, well spoken fellow who is fairly easy to approach and converse with - though he does have a more frigid side to him when faced with those who seek to do him harm or spit on his attempts to be more open minded than many of his brethren. I am the sort of role-player who favours lore adherence and story/character driven interaction, particularly that which leads to venturing out into the game world. Those who have characters who would be friendly - or at least neutral - towards a silver tongued, friendly Garlean are highly desired. I am also in the market for finding a reliable mercenary to serve as his personal guard as he explores Othard. Such an individual would be paid well in coin! Potential rivals and outright enemies are, however, also welcome to approach me - so long as they recognise that nuances exist and that not every Garlean associated with Garlemald is a ruthless soldier, cackling maniac or worthy of immediate execution upon being spotted. In short, my character is not antagonistic and he is currently living in a city that is neutral towards his homeland. Of course, it's a completely different story if he ever ends up being found within Eorzea...or Doma. I fully expect him to earn a much more fiery 'welcome' there if he ever sees fit to visit either region! Then again, he would likely do his best to disguise himself beforehand...though such things are not without risks. Now, hopefully this manages to pique someone's curiosity! I can be contacted in-game as Cato Eligar, though I may very well be AFK. Sending a direct PM using this site is the ideal route!

I have mixed feelings about Kefka. I'm a huge fan of Final Fantasy VI - though given the way that the Omega storyline works it means we'll no doubt get a cool, theatrical fight against him just like we had a cool, theatrical fight against ExDeath. Yet their impact on the overall plot will be minimal and likely ignored outside of the little bubble that raid side stories take place in. Coil, at least, was actively tied to the overall story. As much as I appreciate references to previous titles and doses of nostalgia we're getting that in spades with both raid storylines this time around.

Yeah, Omega is closed - and it has been for a few months now. It's not impossible that it will open up again at some point in the future since it supposedly isn't nearly as bloated as Balmung is. I initially planned to move over to Omega myself for a number of reasons but ended up settling down on Cerberus instead. I won't rule out moving over to Omega if it ever opens up but I can attest to Cerberus being a pretty swell and friendly place. There's pockets of role-play, too - though it's not nearly as open and obvious as it is on the likes of Balmung, Mateus and Omega. As it stands your only path to Omega at present would be to just create a character there and start from scratch since character creation is not disabled there. Only character transfers. If you do transfer, though, keep in mind that there's a 90 day limit on it. I overlooked it myself when I first left Balmung and figured I'd be screwed if Omega opened up before the 90 days were over. As it stands, though, it didn't open up at any point during that 90 day period.

- A lack of willingness to actually commit to anything. It's so weird that many role-players love to talk about potential plots and character interactions but never actually commit to them. - An obsession with romance and/or erotic role-play at the cost of anything else. This is particularly irritating when those involved only ever seem to commit to something if it serves to advance their relationship arc. - Individuals in positions of leadership who claim to be open to constructive criticism yet grow cold and distant even when a reasonable issue is brought to their doorstep. - Individuals who act like because someone is pleasant to them that individual could never do something unpleasant to somebody else. - A lack of willingness to actually talk any potential issues out in a calm and civil manner before they fester. I've seen trivial problems become dire due to such idiocy. - Individuals who get online and then immediately rant about real life issues. It's fine from time to time but when it's every single day it just comes across as an attempt to fish for sympathy; plus a lot of people have issues but choose not to reveal them at the first opportunity. - Individuals who only seem interested in role-play if it involves their character being in a prominent position, particularly during events. It took me a while to realise that such was the case with a few former friends. Tying in with that, role-players who only seem to treat other people's characters as convenient props to be used and thrown away at will. - Individuals who seem very quick to retcon major aspects of their character or background, especially if it's on a whim and not in response to some new lore being revealed that may work better with what they had planned.