Valde

I know this, and have encouraged many to use the RPC for posting character profiles and FCs as well to both increase visibility and help alleviate the difficulties of searching through a Discord to find active and excellent FCs. I'm only one voice among many, and I'm hoping with your incoming face lift people will feel more at home on the new site than this one and it'll encourage more activity. I personally have never used forums all that much, but I do still stop by to keep an eye on things and to try to catch any fresh faced people for Mateus and invite them to the Discord

This. Even casually dipping into Mateus' community has convinced me that they're happy and proud of their community -- as they should be. They have what they enjoy. Is it exactly like Balmung? No. But then again, if it was, they'd just come right back when Balmung opens again. The whole point of having sustainable server communities is to have those unique identities and rp styles so that people have options in finding what they want. It's good if someone has a bad time on Balmung, or Gilgamesh, or Mateus, or Siren/Jenova, or whatever other small server, and can go 'this server isn't working for me, I'm going to try a new one.' It allows people a chance to find their people, and sometimes a fresh start can help alleviate burnout. Going to chime in, many of the people on Mateus are absolutely happy to be here. I was formerly on Balmung before I dived entirely onto Mateus due to the inability of friends to join me on Balmung, and the extreme housing issue on Balmung (Not that Mateus doesn't have its own issues). I'm on the Mateus RP Hub Discord, a 1200+ strong Discord for Mateus folks to advertise and connect, and we grow daily. Though I've encouraged many to utilize the RPC personally, it seems that the community and Hub has really focused on Discord and centralizes around that. It could help explain the very hard difference you see between RPC representation. Many have expressed they still feel like the RPC heavily caters to Balmung only (Though I've pointed out numerous things that prove that wrong). Can't really help perception at this point. I will say, whatever Balmung/Mateus rivalry may have once existed is not tolerated within the Discord. We are all RPers. RP on Balmung, RP on Mateus, we're all weirdos writing pretendy words at keyboards.

Welcome to Mateus! You're going to find a nice busy RP community here that's growing every day. The server has gone from one of the lowest population on the Aether Data Center to a Standard server quite quickly and still sees new people every day. As a roleplayer, and as someone who may want to be social, I want to go ahead and invite you to the Mateus RP Discord Hub here: https://discord.gg/gGTet8P It's a very active and large group of players and a great place to network and ask any questions you may have. Welcome back to the game!

For moments like this in RP your best bet is to refocus on what you want out of your character/story RP-wise, and then coalesce that into hooks that other people can jump in on. After that looking at what groups are available and messaging people is the best way to drum up RP. However keep in mind that drumming up RP is easier to do than getting consistent RP. If you're looking for the magic answer or advice for finding great RP and writing partners in the world of Roleplay then I'm going to disappoint you now: There's no singular answer. You have to be patient, get a read on people, and understand that RP attracts many different people from many different walks of life for many different reasons. Finding a group, or even a singular person, that you gel with and that isn't inconsistent or flakey is the common arduous task that many of us face when looking to create heavier or long-term roleplay. So be patient, understand that it make take a while to find someone or a group, and don't be afraid to take a break. And while you have that writing itch, write! Write singular stories, one sided affairs, hooks and ideas, and show them to people. It makes you nice and shiny for when that right person walks along and wants to mix their pretendy words with yours. Additionally as others have said: Use other sources aside from In-Game. The RPC here is great, and there are Discords/Skypes as well. If you ever decide to roll an alt on Mateus we have a bustling Discord community you'd be welcome to join. Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/gGTet8P

Just going to throw this out there in case anyone reads this thread and takes it as the state of things, especially on Mateus, I want to point out that this is not a common thing. I'm sorry to hear that the OP was bugged to the point that they felt harassed but I can only wonder what sorts they were interacting with to get that response. Mateus has a great community hub on Discord with many encouraging people, helpers, mentors, and knowledgeable lore individuals. It's also a great place to find RP events and new RP partners. If you're new to Final Fantasy 14 and have found these forums, or are just new to Mateus and are searching for a community hotspot to meet new people and make friends, or find an FC, please be sure to check us out. Discord Invite Link: https://discord.gg/uW4UF8H

Just checking in here, welcome to RPing! I understand it can be a big wide and intimidating world so I wanted to extend an invite for you to join us in the Mateus RP hub: https://discord.gg/HPbYNFU We have lots of resources for the new RPer, or veterans, and it's a great way to connect with people in the game and to ask any questions you may have. If you have any problems feel free to contact me at Valde#3202 on Discord, or Malchior Levinstrike in game. I look forward to seeing you around in the community!

WIP: See Wiki for full details: https://wiki.ffxiv-roleplayers.com/pages/Malchior_Levinstrike

I absolutely agree with this sentiment. Take some serious consideration before you jump over. I was leveling an alt for a week, watching the Discord and people in it for two weeks, and very strict before I took the plunge to transfer my main. If I hadn't invested so much time into the character I may have left him on Balmung, but I made the jump in the end. I'm not going to say Mateus is an amazing godsend. It's still an RP community and it some respects its still cutting its teeth. But if you're concerned about RP activity, newbie friendliness, veterans returning, or aren't sure where to go with Balmung closed down? Mateus is happy to welcome you. We all are. Rhys (The thread creator) and many others have made huge efforts to create a place that's sort of a central 'hang out' in Discord for the Mateus players, and she's gung-ho about driving community events as well. If you are the sort who wants to be part of a budding community, if you enjoy bringing people together, if you're concerned about transferring, please. Come check us out. We're happy to discuss whatever questions you may have.

Absolutely. The Hub is aimed to be a community center for those RPing on Mateus. There are no restrictions, no limits, nothing. New, returning, veterans, we want anyone and everyone who thinks they'd find use out of the Discord to come in and contribute. If you have questions about the game, about RPing, about Lore, we all aim to answer and help. And if you're an FC leader, LS leader, or enjoy making events we doubly want you because without the support of the leaders in the Mateus RP community this effort doesn't go nearly as far. Just as much we're encouraging our FC and LS leaders to come and be active here on the RPC, as this is a fantastic tool for those returning to the game or flying solo to find a group to RP and play with on Mateus. I've personally transferred from Balmung to Mateus for a few different reasons and can say that I do not regret doing so, and have found Mateus to be a wonderful and welcoming new home.

Hi there! I followed some friends to Mateus from another MMO. They landed there about a month or two before I did, and they both now co-run FCs and have both personal housing and FC housing. One friend's FC got a mansion last night! They were so excited, and I was excited for them after hearing how hard it is to get housing in FFXIV. Anyway! I'm a little more gunshy and being brand new to the FF IP, I've been learning the lore while crafting a character, and I've already had several strangers ask to RP after reading my status message when running around areas the RPers congregate. I've been around the MMO block a few times (20 years worth) and I have to say this is one of the easier RP communities to step into. Others make you feel like you're pulling your teeth out trying to put yourself out there for RP. So it's definitely novel. Here's the Mateus RP discord link: Mateus RP HUB: https://discord.gg/HPbYNFU And it's very active. I daresay a community on discord seems to work better than going through forums and enjin accounts like past ones. Good luck jumping in! I super appreciate this message. I'm subbed to the game currently and likely will make an alt to play around over there (I'll be more active doing so after I've chewed through the 4.1 content) but your reply is heartening and I've forwarded that Discord Link to them as well. I appreciate your time and feedback!

So the last reply to this was about a month ago, and I have some friends who are interested in returning to FF14. Due to the Balmung lockout and their feeling that Omega is sorta dead, they're interested in how things are on Mateus. Does anyone have a Discord link they can hand out, and is the server still growing and active?

So just browsing around initially here are some thoughts and feedback I have. I speak from a preference for minimalist and utility design, so ymmv. LS/FC The Linkshell/FC Hall are organized as flat threads rather than the gallery option that's set up on the current RPC. Though the tags on the threads do help a ton, I really enjoyed the alphabetical display the RPC currently has with the FC/Linkshell icons and if that'd be possible to keep I think that helps attract members and gives a bigger representation of an FC rather than the simple 'Thread Title + Tags' that the newer website has. Updated: Exploring further I found the tabs will take you to the LS/FCs in the same format. So perhaps the LS/FC Forum Halls are unnecessary/redundant with those tabs in place? Unless the LS/FC forums are going to be repurposed for another thing. Wiki Clicking the Wiki link takes me directly off the website to the Wiki, which to me seemed unintuitive compared to the rest of the features that opened up under the tab I clicked. If the Wiki could be an aside that people clicked to visited rather than listed with the rest of the tabs (Maybe even featured above the forums with a small blurb and link to it) I feel it'd make more sense given how that tab operates compared to the rest. tl;dr: Other tabs keep you on the RPC website, wiki tab takes you to another website, might want to separate it. Gallery Man is this improved! Loads faster, easier to look through. Only thing I might mention is that the artwork title is only displayed at the upper right like you're viewing files on a computer rather than a full gallery. If there's a way to have the Artwork title displayed closer/more prominently to the piece itself that would look fantastic. Browse This tab doesn't seem to do anything? Might need to be culled Activity This and the latest threads box on the Forum page seem to perform very similar functions (Though slightly different as the Activity tab seems to focus on posts specifically). I'm personally unsure if this is enough of a difference to warrant a separation on the website and might consider culling the Activity tab as well.

Scarlet Fencer! If you check it's actually 'The Red'

What this has become is some outspoken individuals who have weak communication skills voicing fears and desires in a way that's causing conflict. That's it. Despite this others are still going to continue to help. Despite this the server is going to remain locked. Good ol' Matty boy is going to be the best bet for fresh RPers for some time to come, and given the state of Balmung it's unlikely to see any stiff competition anytime soon. A good 3-6 months of no one being able to move onto the largest server and an expansion that's likely to bring old and new players back who might be willing to jump fresh and we're going to see some heavy population growth regardless. RP is RP no matter where it's at. Balmung has its venomous loudmouths, Mateus will too and it'll thrive despite it. The best thing anyone can do to someone who's being a negative piece of flotsam is to ignore them.

Roleplayers are the minority, even here on the Balmung server. Being generous and giving us a third of the stake on the server, that's maybe 8000-9000 players out of 26k. Trying to shift 15000+ players to another server by labeling the biggest one as an RP server rather than taking a few of the smallest and attempting to spread the niche players there is pretty backwards, imo. You're not going to shift people easily. SE has made it so moving is disincentivized due to the cost and opportunity cost of housing. SE has generated half this problem themselves, and they'll need to create heavy incentives for Non-RPers to shift off (Which they are doing, thankfully).