I agree with some of the constructive criticism in the original post. Folks shouldn't roleplay as 2nd Lt. just because the in-game mechanic says that's what they are (I play Osric as a Chief Sergeant, and use the Search Info box to denote that). The "weekend warrior" approach undermines any attempt to roleplay as a soldier, and "special commando" status should not be an excuse to sit around in taverns all day.
That said, as someone who roleplayed as a stand-alone Immortal Flames regular (read: NOT an adventurer) for quite a few months (read: no fellow IF folks to consistently RP with, no GC-oriented FC of IF regulars, etc.) there are quite a few points that I take issue with.
When I started out, I decided that I wanted to roleplay as a Ul'dahn soldier who'd inadvertently found himself drawn into the political struggle between the Royalist and Monetarist factions of the Syndicate.
The very first issue I ran into while leveling was gear. This was back before the glamour vanity system was in place, so I couldn't run around dressed as an IF soldier while progressing through the story (this is still an issue for new characters). So I told myself that I'd wait until I could dedicate the proper time to roleplaying instead of leveling, and that I'd save up seals for an outfit while I did so.
The second issue I ran into was this: without other people to play off of, roleplaying a regular gets tedious fast. You're essentially on your own, writing for yourself; you just happen to be throwing that writing out there into a public space for others to witness and maybe, just maybe, interact with. At the same time, you don't really want to go out of your way to contrive chance meetings with fellow regulars outside of your off-duty hours (that doesn't really feel dynamic, and as a soldier you have a schedule to abide by, so finding yourself out of your usual way is a rare occasion).
The third issue I ran into was "what exactly should my character be doing with most of his time?" I wasn't going to go the "standing around a Thanalan outpost" route; that would cut meaningful interactions down to almost nothing because for some reason roleplaying outside of a city, tavern, or residential area is anathema to most roleplayers. That same phenomenon is why, when I finally decided to go the Full Metal Jacket route of "I'm training recruits, duh", I opted to do so within Ul'dah as opposed to, say, Drybone. No one roleplays on a regular basis at Camp Drybone, despite it being an excellent location for such. So Osric ended up as a Chief Flame Sergeant who'd crossed the Monetarists, so they stuck him in a time-consuming post at home to keep an eye on him.
Last but not least, the issue of uniform. While the Flames are by far the most visible of the three Grand Companies when it comes to soldiers out in the field, there arises of the issue of just what constitutes the uniform. Case in point: Sidimund's outpost at the Forgotten Springs. They give every indication of being regulars (as opposed to irregulars), and yet their "uniform" differs.
![[Image: 767_s.jpg]](http://ff14.tabibun.net/npc/img/npc/767_s.jpg)
When I saw they were standing around wearing unattainable brown Sipahi-esque turbans and shirts, I more or less threw my hands up into the air and cried, "open season".
So I took a Flame Private's Jerkin (which I have YET to notice a NPC wearing), and Flame Private's Jackboots, threw on a Sipahi Turban (trying to break that public perception of "fly-mask means Brass Blade"), and opted for goatskin armguards and a fuma hakama for aesthetic purposes to bring the ensemble together. Was it strictly uniform? No. Did I have reasonable/feasible/plausible IC justifications for it? Yes ("what do you mean, our suppliers ran out of materials because they're all going to spring skirts for the ball?"). Did it make my character a "special snowflake" to walk around not in a Sergeant's shirt (despite that he looks awful in it and a pot helm)? Depends on your perspective, especially considering that the outfit was, more or less, a Flames outfit. Â
I imagine Osric used to get a lot of flak from his direct superiors for not being "in uniform".
He's an irregular now (moreso than most, helloooooo black ops). His duties more often than not require him to not be in uniform. As a final note, I skipped over the Ul'dahn Soldier set and went straight for the Officer one. Is it an officer's set ICly? No, I'm taking the same approach with ranks and applying it to gear: the Soldier set looks awful due to darker tones, whereas the Officer's pops more.
tl;dr:
1. Playing a standalone GC soldier is difficult due to lack of command structure owing to the nature of RP.
2. Playing a GC soldier in a GC-oriented free company is difficult because most FCs are irregular organizations by default. Those that come close to being "regular" are still, by the nature of free companies, somewhat independent of the overall hierarchy.
3. Folks who are not level 50 are going to have a hard time dressing up in the appropriate gear. This is understandable and something that has to be tolerated.
4. Folks who are 50 might dress up in GC gear that isn't, strictly speaking, "uniform." This should be looked at on a case-by-case basis.
That said, as someone who roleplayed as a stand-alone Immortal Flames regular (read: NOT an adventurer) for quite a few months (read: no fellow IF folks to consistently RP with, no GC-oriented FC of IF regulars, etc.) there are quite a few points that I take issue with.
When I started out, I decided that I wanted to roleplay as a Ul'dahn soldier who'd inadvertently found himself drawn into the political struggle between the Royalist and Monetarist factions of the Syndicate.
The very first issue I ran into while leveling was gear. This was back before the glamour vanity system was in place, so I couldn't run around dressed as an IF soldier while progressing through the story (this is still an issue for new characters). So I told myself that I'd wait until I could dedicate the proper time to roleplaying instead of leveling, and that I'd save up seals for an outfit while I did so.
The second issue I ran into was this: without other people to play off of, roleplaying a regular gets tedious fast. You're essentially on your own, writing for yourself; you just happen to be throwing that writing out there into a public space for others to witness and maybe, just maybe, interact with. At the same time, you don't really want to go out of your way to contrive chance meetings with fellow regulars outside of your off-duty hours (that doesn't really feel dynamic, and as a soldier you have a schedule to abide by, so finding yourself out of your usual way is a rare occasion).
The third issue I ran into was "what exactly should my character be doing with most of his time?" I wasn't going to go the "standing around a Thanalan outpost" route; that would cut meaningful interactions down to almost nothing because for some reason roleplaying outside of a city, tavern, or residential area is anathema to most roleplayers. That same phenomenon is why, when I finally decided to go the Full Metal Jacket route of "I'm training recruits, duh", I opted to do so within Ul'dah as opposed to, say, Drybone. No one roleplays on a regular basis at Camp Drybone, despite it being an excellent location for such. So Osric ended up as a Chief Flame Sergeant who'd crossed the Monetarists, so they stuck him in a time-consuming post at home to keep an eye on him.
Last but not least, the issue of uniform. While the Flames are by far the most visible of the three Grand Companies when it comes to soldiers out in the field, there arises of the issue of just what constitutes the uniform. Case in point: Sidimund's outpost at the Forgotten Springs. They give every indication of being regulars (as opposed to irregulars), and yet their "uniform" differs.
When I saw they were standing around wearing unattainable brown Sipahi-esque turbans and shirts, I more or less threw my hands up into the air and cried, "open season".
So I took a Flame Private's Jerkin (which I have YET to notice a NPC wearing), and Flame Private's Jackboots, threw on a Sipahi Turban (trying to break that public perception of "fly-mask means Brass Blade"), and opted for goatskin armguards and a fuma hakama for aesthetic purposes to bring the ensemble together. Was it strictly uniform? No. Did I have reasonable/feasible/plausible IC justifications for it? Yes ("what do you mean, our suppliers ran out of materials because they're all going to spring skirts for the ball?"). Did it make my character a "special snowflake" to walk around not in a Sergeant's shirt (despite that he looks awful in it and a pot helm)? Depends on your perspective, especially considering that the outfit was, more or less, a Flames outfit. Â
I imagine Osric used to get a lot of flak from his direct superiors for not being "in uniform".
He's an irregular now (moreso than most, helloooooo black ops). His duties more often than not require him to not be in uniform. As a final note, I skipped over the Ul'dahn Soldier set and went straight for the Officer one. Is it an officer's set ICly? No, I'm taking the same approach with ranks and applying it to gear: the Soldier set looks awful due to darker tones, whereas the Officer's pops more.
tl;dr:
1. Playing a standalone GC soldier is difficult due to lack of command structure owing to the nature of RP.
2. Playing a GC soldier in a GC-oriented free company is difficult because most FCs are irregular organizations by default. Those that come close to being "regular" are still, by the nature of free companies, somewhat independent of the overall hierarchy.
3. Folks who are not level 50 are going to have a hard time dressing up in the appropriate gear. This is understandable and something that has to be tolerated.
4. Folks who are 50 might dress up in GC gear that isn't, strictly speaking, "uniform." This should be looked at on a case-by-case basis.
![[Image: 1qVSsTp.png]](http://i.imgur.com/1qVSsTp.png)
