Devyn Piper

We've just had a fairly large discussion about this. Unfortunately, the best way to get to Balmung is the transfer. I did that recently, myself. The creation window is extremely small, especially with a new expansion recently released and it being summer vacation for those players currently enrolled in school (at least in North America). I found it much less frustrating to pay for the transfer than to continue waking up in the middle of the night just to be disappointed that I'd missed the window. For the recent discussion, see: http://ffxiv-roleplayers.com/showthread.php?tid=12737

It doesn't look like ANYONE knows how to get it. My guess is that it will be available through obtaining a higher rank in the Immortal Flames and that it isn't available yet since the higher ranks haven't been unlocked yet.

Oooooo.... there are some really nice looking DK weapons there. The "Arondight" might fit what you're looking for. Or any of the "guillotine" weapons.

Note sure if you looked here already, but many of the weapons have user uploaded images on the Lodestone: http://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/playguide/db/item/

I'm still new enough that I probably don't have access to 99% of the dungeons out there but once I do this is something I'd very much like to participate in. Oh, and good luck with your derp herping!

Oo, I like the second one and the last one especially. Keep being bored at work, 'cause you're keeping me from the same fate

Thank ya both! Feel free to say hello if you see me about. I promise I'll be around in one guise or another.

Yeah, they have basically zero incentive to lift the block since people (like me!) are willing to give them money to get around it.

Welcome indeed! I, too, tried the Gilgamesh route without much success. So far the difference on Balmung is beyond night-and-day. As a new face here myself I'm making a point to work on meeting others, so don't be surprised if you hear from me in-game soon.

Went through this recently myself. Ended up doing a transfer, as several days of trying immediately after patching/during the "time window" yielded no results (and I was really tired of waking up at 3am just to be disappointed). Fortunately, the ownership restrictions were irrelevant to me, as I am a new player anyhow. If you're going to do the transfer remember that the transfer fee is good for multiple characters - so long as they are all on a single server and all being moved to the same destination server. I successfully transferred three characters over last week. I do have a thought on how to alleviate the gil limit for those who are further along than I was. This is pure speculation, but it should be possible to create a couple of alts for yourself, pass the gil along to them somehow (using a friend you trust or maybe selling things to yourself on the market for obscenely high prices) and then using the character transfer to move them all over to Balmung. You'd have to wait the three days for those alts to be old enough to transfer, but you obviously spent more than three days building up all that gil, so it seems worth it to me. Again, not 100% sure that would work as I didn't have that issue with my characters but it might be worth a try for someone desperate to bring their hard-earned cash with them.

Well, you deserve it! There's some really impressive stuff in here!

Welcome! I'm pretty new and working on building up contacts myself. I'll see if I can't track you down in game some time.

Sounds like we're in the same boat! I'm new to Balmung myself and wouldn't mind making a new contact (or several). If you care to see my own quick bios... Here ya go: http://ffxiv-roleplayers.com/showthread.php?tid=12714

[EDIT: Devyn's backstory has been changed rather significantly since I put his original concept up here. Since that blurb is now inaccurate I have removed it.] Hello, one and all! Me: Male Human Mostly new to FFXIV. RP wise, I'm a bit of an old hand with RP experience in Ultima Online, City of Heroes, and various messageboard and tabletop games over the years. It's probably a carryover from my CoH days but I'm something of an Altoholic. I have, at the moment, three characters. All are on Balmung now thanks to a server transfer and all are fairly low level (under 20 at the time of this post). Aryk Rhaal: Male Highlander A refugee from Ala Mhigo, he was still a boy when he and his mother fled the city just ahead of the conquering empire. He has since taken up sword and shield and finds most of his work as a bodyguard to a lalafel merchant (played by a friend of mine once he gets into the game). Having lived in in the desert near Ul'dah for most of his life and spent time on the bloodsands he's a bit rough around the edges but seeks to make a difference in the plight of the common folk of Ul'dah and its surroundings. Ryssfarr Swarhundsyn: Male Sea Wolf Son of an experienced sailor, Ryssfarr was raised aboard ship and trained as a man of the sea. He found that his heart, however, lie elsewhere. While serving aboard a trading ship early in his teens, Ryssfarr became acquainted with a middle-aged elezen woman who was taking passage on that same vessel. She was a scholar, and introduced him to the worlds of lore and magic held within the tomes she'd brought with her. He was entranced, and though he continued to follow in his father's footsteps the spare moments he stole exploring those books during the weeks of that voyage stayed with him. Now a young man old enough to choose his path for himself, Ryssfarr has quit the sea and begun to study in earnest to become an Arcanist. He does stand out a bit, though. Devyn Piper: Male Midlander Since I'm somewhat new to FFXIV and entirely new to Balmung I'm looking to make some friends in the RP community here. If there's an RP FC out there that thinks one of my characters would be a good fit, even better! I look forward to meeting you all!

Excellent, thank you! Now I know how old my character is.

I don't know if this was addressed elsewhere already - it's a tough question to use the search function for... The game says it's been 15 years since the fall of Ala Mhigo and 5 years since the cataclysm but it's been saying that since ARR came out. Is there a general consensus among the Balmung RP community as to how long it's actually been since those events?

Awesome, my question was asked and answered before I got the chance to pose it. $18 is more than worth it to get on a server with an active RP community as far as I'm concerned. Not saying it doesn't suck that we can't just create a character there - I've checked the servers right after the updates the last few nights in hopes that it would be unlocked without any luck - but it's better than not being able to get in at all.