Hello! New to FFXIV and rather overwhelmed

[sima]

As someone who was in your position 4 months ago? Whew, yeah, it's like drinking from a firehose pretty much, 'cause it's a totally new game, with new lore, and you want to get it right. The best advice I can offer you is choose something that you find aesthetically pleasing and would love to use- a blank slate. Leave the concept on the table for now as very general and vague. Then, just focus on leveling up, getting through the MSQ, and scouting / lurking the community. You can take your time with fully developing your character over the month it'll probably take to do all this- and honestly, your design will probably change a few times with all the lore you'll be digesting from doing the MSQ (not to mention playing with the all the classes your character can actually be). Reading the lore is vastly different from living it, too. In essence, you're taking the time to 'bake' the character to be ready for RP and giving yourself leeway to learn everything you can, too! 

 

This is pretty much what I did- my first month was spent mostly OOC, figuring out how I wanted to do Kasi. By the end of that month, Kasi's original concept had changed maybe 3 times in pretty drastic ways (like originally I wanted to do Bard, but ugh, I ended up hating the job)- but then, there was a clear direction in mind, and everything fell into place. As soon as the stars align, and you know where you want to be, finding linkshells and free companies is as easy as pie!

 

Thank you so much for the advice. Hearing that you were in this position only a few months ago is reassuring. I can imagine my design changing and being reshaped quite often. Already I'm having second thoughts about the original ideas I had when posting this thread, haha. I've never really dealt with creating OC's in the manner required for RP such as that in FFXIV. It'll be fun figuring it all out.

 

Playing my character OOC for some time in order to come to grips with the game and "living" the lore sounds like a plan. 

 

I fret over the smallest things, like which class to start as. The sole reason for my worry being the city-state that'll be tied to my character. If only for the fact that I want with an icon that looks nice next to whichever GC my character becomes a part of. I'm ridiculous.

[Saransetseg]

 

Hiya! Welcome. Glad to know I'm not the only newbie around here!

 

I'm totally up for the idea of roleplaying or playing with somebody as new as I am. I'll be sure to give you an add whenever I create my character. Getting into Balmung is proving... difficult... hahaha.

 

Woohoo! And far from the only newbie I think. Like your situation I have only the most basic of a basic outline figured out for my character, who essentially is just a wannabe archaeologist looking for other people interested in the search of artifacts, adventure, knowledge, and yes, treasure. I haven't even found a linkshell or FC yet. As for getting on Balmung, just keep trying! I'm sure you'll get in soon!

[Thunderbolt300]

As someone who was in your position 4 months ago? Whew, yeah, it's like drinking from a firehose pretty much, 'cause it's a totally new game, with new lore, and you want to get it right. The best advice I can offer you is choose something that you find aesthetically pleasing and would love to use- a blank slate. Leave the concept on the table for now as very general and vague. Then, just focus on leveling up, getting through the MSQ, and scouting / lurking the community. You can take your time with fully developing your character over the month it'll probably take to do all this- and honestly, your design will probably change a few times with all the lore you'll be digesting from doing the MSQ (not to mention playing with the all the classes your character can actually be). Reading the lore is vastly different from living it, too. In essence, you're taking the time to 'bake' the character to be ready for RP and giving yourself leeway to learn everything you can, too! 

 

This is pretty much what I did- my first month was spent mostly OOC, figuring out how I wanted to do Kasi. By the end of that month, Kasi's original concept had changed maybe 3 times in pretty drastic ways (like originally I wanted to do Bard, but ugh, I ended up hating the job)- but then, there was a clear direction in mind, and everything fell into place. As soon as the stars align, and you know where you want to be, finding linkshells and free companies is as easy as pie!

 

Thank you so much for the advice. Hearing that you were in this position only a few months ago is reassuring. I can imagine my design changing and being reshaped quite often. Already I'm having second thoughts about the original ideas I had when posting this thread, haha. I've never really dealt with creating OC's in the manner required for RP such as that in FFXIV. It'll be fun figuring it all out.

 

Playing my character OOC for some time in order to come to grips with the game and "living" the lore sounds like a plan. 

 

I fret over the smallest things, like which class to start as. The sole reason for my worry being the city-state that'll be tied to my character. If only for the fact that I want with an icon that looks nice next to whichever GC my character becomes a part of. I'm ridiculous.

 

Figure it this way- the community isn't going to be going anywhere if you take that month to cook. When you're set and ready to go, just toss up a Making Connections- that's pretty much your gas pedal right there! A Making Connections post is a lot more effective too when you have a pretty good idea of what other types of characters who would interact with your own fairly well. 

 

As for city-states? Yeah, that can get a bit murky. You can change to a different class once you hit level 15 (as well as Rogue, which you can't access at creation) though so it's not too hard to start as one class for the city-state allegiance, and then move over. Still, Gridania, Ul'dah, and Limsa aren't the only city-states; there's also Ishgard to the north (which is featured prominently in the game towards Heavensward), and Ala Mhigo (which was conquered and will feature prominently in Stormblood). There's also the Garlean Empire as another potential origin point for RP characters. There's a ton of options there, though they may not all look very pretty on the character sheet. 

 

I can totally appreciate wanting to keep it nice and clean and consistent.  I did the same for Kasi.

[Virella]

^ We have so many places your character can be from!

 

Your OOC starting city has zero influence on gameplay, nor people will care. Virella is Ishgardian, she started out in Gridania OOC. Avelyn is Ala Mhigan, she started out in Limsa. Really, don't sweat it!

[sima]

Woohoo! And far from the only newbie I think. Like your situation I have only the most basic of a basic outline figured out for my character, who essentially is just a wannabe archaeologist looking for other people interested in the search of artifacts, adventure, knowledge, and yes, treasure. I haven't even found a linkshell or FC yet. As for getting on Balmung, just keep trying! I'm sure you'll get in soon!

 

Your character sounds great! I think ours would get along quite well. Mine will be an Au Ra from the Dhoro tribe, who are described as being elusive and choosing to avoid other clans. Since he has experienced little interaction with people outside his clan (including other Au Ra) he's extremely curious about the races and cultures of Eorzea. Think Ariel from The Little Mermaid, only about 7ft tall and with horns, ahaha. Reckon he will be a bit awkward, too, as he was a lookout for his tribe and his main source of socialising was exchanging information through chain of command or reporting sightings as opposed to regular conversations. A character interested in knowledge and adventure sounds like someone he'd love to spend time with - as much as his terrible social skills allow hehe.

 

I don't know anything about FC's or Linkshells. I know that FC's are essentially guilds but I've no clue about the latter. I guess it's something to figure out later. :+)

 

The struggle of getting into Balmung is real. I don't know if I should just wait and try to get in during a specific timeframe or keep doing what I'm doing right now, which is sit on the server select window in character creation and refresh it every now and then.

[Thunderbolt300]

The only sure fire way to get into Balmung is via the server transfer for $18, sadly. A new character must be 72 hours old (not played) in order to be elligible for transfer. It's pretty much impossible to create a character on the server directly, unless you get ridiculously lucky right after a maintenance window. Your time is probably a little more valuable than that. 

 

Not the best news, I know... I had to do the same thing.

[sima]

Figure it this way- the community isn't going to be going anywhere if you take that month to cook. When you're set and ready to go, just toss up a Making Connections- that's pretty much your gas pedal right there! A Making Connections post is a lot more effective too when you have a pretty good idea of what other types of characters who would interact with your own fairly well.

 

Sound advice - thanks! I'll be sure to make a post there when I've got things figured out. I've snooped around in the sub-forum already n it seems like a great place to start.

 

Also, thanks for the info on the city states that aren't yet included in the game as starting areas! Is it common for people to RP their characters having a Garlean background? That's the empire that's trying to conquest Eorzea, right? Roleplaying a defector sounds pretty interesting.

 

 

I can totally appreciate wanting to keep it nice and clean and consistent.  I did the same for Kasi.

 

^ We have so many places your character can be from!

 

Your OOC starting city has zero influence on gameplay, nor people will care. Virella is Ishgardian, she started out in Gridania OOC. Avelyn is Ala Mhigan, she started out in Limsa. Really, don't sweat it!

 

Hooray! That's definitely cleared up the worries I had. In the end I'm settling with rolling an OOC Arcanist for the clothing. I think it fits, since Limsa Lominsa is a marine city state and an Au Ra would've had to travel via sea in order to reach Eorzea, though it's totally possible (and extremely likely) that I'm wrong.

[sima]

The only sure fire way to get into Balmung is via the server transfer for $18, sadly. A new character must be 72 hours old (not played) in order to be elligible for transfer. It's pretty much impossible to create a character on the server directly, unless you get ridiculously lucky right after a maintenance window. Your time is probably a little more valuable than that. 

 

Not the best news, I know... I had to do the same thing.

 

A friend was telling me how difficult it is to get into Balmung and this pretty much reinforces what they were saying. Dang. Is there a schedule for maintenance, or is it something that is only carried out when necessary? 

 

I suppose I wouldn't mind paying a transfer fee if I view it like an investment. Pay x amount for countless hours of potential gameplay down the line n all. Is it actually impossible to get in just by trying at a random time during the night/early morning or something? Wondering if I should keep trying for a while longer or just play elsewhere then transfer.

[Thunderbolt300]

Try to go in order here...  

 

Yeah, there are definitely characters out there that RP with an Ishgardian, Ala Mhigan, and even a Garlean background. In the case of the Garlean characters, there's a mix of both defectors, refugees, deserters, and even loyalist spies. The sky is the limit, pretty much! You've got the right of it though- the Garleans are the big baddies.

 

You're also correct- the original Au Ra refugees arrived via sea in Ul'dah, and the port they put in at is connected to Limsa. It's not a big stretch at all, I think.

 

Maintenance happens on a need-to-work basis. There wasn't a maintenance today, for example. Beyond being ridiculously lucky post-maintenance, it's pretty well impossible to create new characters. I, personally, played elsewhere and then transferred over 4 months back. You can move multiple characters at once for that $18 fee too. You've got to figure that not only is it an investment, but that also your time spent trying to get into Balmung is worth money as well (ex., if you get paid $18 an hour at work, an hour of your time is worth $18- so if you're going to spend more than an hour's time trying to get into Balmung, it's "cheaper" to just pay for the transfer).

[Unnamed Mercenary]

Getting into Balmung is tricky. As others have said, you can try waiting for just before maitenance starts (I'm talking like "one minute until we kick everyone off" close) or you can babysit the launcher for the exact moment it comes back up, which is usually early because maintenance windows rarely take up all of the time unless something is going wrong. (Source: literally my job for another company that has daily maintenance every night).

 

It's usually far less hassle to transfer a character or more onto Balmung, depending on your subscription. Unless you're paying for the very cheapest option which only allows a single character, you can transfer up to 8 characters from one server to another. They must all be on the same server to the same server for this to happen. If you're on the free 30 days or trial currently, I'd recommend playing through the MSQ on an open server. That way, you aren't wasting subscription time trying to get into the most difficult server to enter. Balmung's active population is typically much larger than even the second most populated, the last time I saw someone pulling numbers.

[sima]

Getting into Balmung is tricky. As others have said, you can try waiting for just before maitenance starts (I'm talking like "one minute until we kick everyone off" close) or you can babysit the launcher for the exact moment it comes back up, which is usually early because maintenance windows rarely take up all of the time unless something is going wrong. (Source: literally my job for another company that has daily maintenance every night).

 

It's usually far less hassle to transfer a character or more onto Balmung, depending on your subscription. Unless you're paying for the very cheapest option which only allows a single character, you can transfer up to 8 characters from one server to another. They must all be on the same server to the same server for this to happen. If you're on the free 30 days or trial currently, I'd recommend playing through the MSQ on an open server. That way, you aren't wasting subscription time trying to get into the most difficult server to enter. Balmung's active population is typically much larger than even the second most populated, the last time I saw someone pulling numbers.

 

I'll only have one character, so I guess I'll only need to transfer one. If I were to transfer just that character, would I be faced with the same issue when trying to create another character on the server further down the line? If so, I suppose I could make a few placeholder characters and transfer them all.

[Unnamed Mercenary]

Getting into Balmung is tricky. As others have said, you can try waiting for just before maitenance starts (I'm talking like "one minute until we kick everyone off" close) or you can babysit the launcher for the exact moment it comes back up, which is usually early because maintenance windows rarely take up all of the time unless something is going wrong. (Source: literally my job for another company that has daily maintenance every night).

 

It's usually far less hassle to transfer a character or more onto Balmung, depending on your subscription. Unless you're paying for the very cheapest option which only allows a single character, you can transfer up to 8 characters from one server to another. They must all be on the same server to the same server for this to happen. If you're on the free 30 days or trial currently, I'd recommend playing through the MSQ on an open server. That way, you aren't wasting subscription time trying to get into the most difficult server to enter. Balmung's active population is typically much larger than even the second most populated, the last time I saw someone pulling numbers.

 

I'll only have one character, so I guess I'll only need to transfer one. If I were to transfer just that character, would I be faced with the same issue when trying to create another character on the server further down the line? If so, I suppose I could make a few placeholder characters and transfer them all.

 

Yes. Unlike WoW or other MMOs, having one slot in use on a FFXIV server does not allow you to have the other slots available. (Which is kinda silly since you can only be logged into one at a time anyways, but it wasn't designed to accommodate such a feature.)

 

So if you think there might even be the -slightest- chance you'd want an alt or may want another character or anything else, make a placeholder now and transfer them all. Every character gets a free fantasia or two just for playing, so you can completely change their race/gender/appearance completely. (Although SE will still charge you for namechanges down the line).

[sima]

Yeah, there are definitely characters out there that RP with an Ishgardian, Ala Mhigan, and even a Garlean background. In the case of the Garlean characters, there's a mix of both defectors, refugees, deserters, and even loyalist spies. The sky is the limit, pretty much! You've got the right of it though- the Garleans are the big baddies.

 

You're also correct- the original Au Ra refugees arrived via sea in Ul'dah, and the port they put in at is connected to Limsa. It's not a big stretch at all, I think.

 

Oh, I guess it makes sense that the Au Ra refugees arrived in Ul'dah. I remember checking out a map in one of the threads linked earlier in this one, which showed the nations within the game world. Othard was located to the south east, making Ul'dah the closest Eorzean coast. I was thinking that my character could've taken interest in the aspect of travelling, or may have grown fond of the non Au Ra crew/travellers on board - being from a Xaela tribe which avoids contact with others - and chose to continue on to Limsa Lominsa.

 

I've taken up a lot of your time, apologies. One last thing, though: do you know whether Ul'dah or Limsa Lominsa sees more RP activity? I'm torn between deciding which of the two city states my character should start out in IC. Limsa Liminsa is where I originally intended, but I'm unsure if there are groups or characters in other city states which might merge well with his personality. I guess that's probably something I should go about finding out myself through FC or connection threads...

 

Maintenance happens on a need-to-work basis. There wasn't a maintenance today, for example. Beyond being ridiculously lucky post-maintenance, it's pretty well impossible to create new characters. I, personally, played elsewhere and then transferred over 4 months back. You can move multiple characters at once for that $18 fee too. You've got to figure that not only is it an investment, but that also your time spent trying to get into Balmung is worth money as well (ex., if you get paid $18 an hour at work, an hour of your time is worth $18- so if you're going to spend more than an hour's time trying to get into Balmung, it's "cheaper" to just pay for the transfer).

 

That's a smart way of looking at it! I figure I'll do just that. Start out on an open server then transfer over. Thank you!

[Thunderbolt300]

Pshaw. Believe it or not, I make most of my posts from work. It keeps me occupied and breaks up some monotony in the office. It's no sweat at all- keep asking questions as long as you've got 'em! 

 

Far as RP activity goes, Ul'dah wins out by a landslide. There is RP in Limsa at the Drowned Wench, but it's nowhere near the scope, quantity, and 24-7-rampage of Ul'dah's Quicksand. That being said, this is purely just walk-up RP- you can make some connections via this means but it's by no stretch required in the least bit. I, personally, have never RP'ed in either location, but am able to find plenty of RP off the beaten path just traveling around and arranging encounters with other players regularly. It really depends on what you'd rather do or are comfortable with. 

 

Recurring encounters with the same characters will happen more commonly with a FC, Linkshell, or through creating / responding to Making Connections threads. This is the means I primarily rely upon for getting into RP, and I've found it to be surprisingly effective.

 

If I had to compare the two, I'd say that walk-up RP is your on-demand, one-shot RP in general, where you can get some instant-action whenever you need it. FC / Linkshell / Connections RP is your more long-term, storyline-driven stuff that has a lot of lead time to build up, but ultimately pays off with more consistent output. The two certainly aren't mutually exclusive either.

 

This is why I say... just make the character you want. You can survive any number of ways here and sate your RP appetite regardless!

[sima]

Pshaw. Believe it or not, I make most of my posts from work. It keeps me occupied and breaks up some monotony in the office. It's no sweat at all- keep asking questions as long as you've got 'em! 

 

Far as RP activity goes, Ul'dah wins out by a landslide. There is RP in Limsa at the Drowned Wench, but it's nowhere near the scope, quantity, and 24-7-rampage of Ul'dah's Quicksand. That being said, this is purely just walk-up RP- you can make some connections via this means but it's by no stretch required in the least bit. I, personally, have never RP'ed in either location, but am able to find plenty of RP off the beaten path just traveling around and arranging encounters with other players regularly. It really depends on what you'd rather do or are comfortable with. 

 

Recurring encounters with the same characters will happen more commonly with a FC, Linkshell, or through creating / responding to Making Connections threads. This is the means I primarily rely upon for getting into RP, and I've found it to be surprisingly effective.

 

If I had to compare the two, I'd say that walk-up RP is your on-demand, one-shot RP in general, where you can get some instant-action whenever you need it. FC / Linkshell / Connections RP is your more long-term, storyline-driven stuff that has a lot of lead time to build up, but ultimately pays off with more consistent output. The two certainly aren't mutually exclusive either.

 

This is why I say... just make the character you want. You can survive any number of ways here and sate your RP appetite regardless!

 

I see, thank you! I think I'd be suited to more permanent forms of roleplay as opposed to oneshots with people I meet randomly. I like the idea of RPing with a group of people over a long period of time as it lets me witness the growth and progression of other characters, as well as allowing others to see the growth of mine. Knowing that I'm in good hands in terms of RP quality is also a plus. I'm pretty new to it, so knowing I'm RPing with people much more experienced would be pretty reassuring. Large, over-arching stories aren't something I've dealt with before and it sounds extremely fun.

 

I really appreciate your patience in helping me out with all this. I've dragged this thread out to the extreme with all these questions, haha. Thank you again.

[Saransetseg]

 

...I think I'd be suited to more permanent forms of roleplay as opposed to oneshots with people I meet randomly. I like the idea of RPing with a group of people over a long period of time as it lets me witness the growth and progression of other characters, as well as allowing others to see the growth of mine. Knowing that I'm in good hands in terms of RP quality is also a plus. I'm pretty new to it, so knowing I'm RPing with people much more experienced would be pretty reassuring. Large, over-arching stories aren't something I've dealt with before and it sounds extremely fun...

 

This is pretty much what I'm looking for too! Once you get on server we will have to add each other! We can figure out how/if we would know one another and everything too if you would be up for that! we seem to be in very similar situations!

[sima]

This is pretty much what I'm looking for too! Once you get on server we will have to add each other! We can figure out how/if we would know one another and everything too if you would be up for that! we seem to be in very similar situations!

 

Sounds like a plan! I'd totally be up for it.

 

At the moment I'm going through an identity crisis in making my character, aaaah. Just when I thought I had a fairly good idea of what I wanted to do with him, I'm back to having no idea.

 

 

I'd love to get involved in RP as soon as possible, but I'm a bit hesitant about it. Because I've only just created my character and haven't planned everything out or mapped out a backstory etc., I'm worried that if I jump into RP with him now only to drastically change things about him, it might cause weird conflicts. Stressful stuff!

[Saransetseg]

 

Sounds like a plan! I'd totally be up for it.

 

At the moment I'm going through an identity crisis in making my character, aaaah. Just when I thought I had a fairly good idea of what I wanted to do with him, I'm back to having no idea.

 

 

I'd love to get involved in RP as soon as possible, but I'm a bit hesitant about it. Because I've only just created my character and haven't planned everything out or mapped out a backstory etc., I'm worried that if I jump into RP with him now only to drastically change things about him, it might cause weird conflicts. Stressful stuff!

I relate to this so much! It's like that silly evil Kermit meme;

Me: alright I finally have a great basis and idea for my character and their personality! Also me: start over, there's like a million better ideas.

 

If you want to bounce some ideas back and fourth feel free to pm me! I wouldn't mind being a springboard for some ideas!

[sima]

I relate to this so much! It's like that silly evil Kermit meme;

Me: alright I finally have a great basis and idea for my character and their personality! Also me: start over, there's like a million better ideas.

 

If you want to bounce some ideas back and fourth feel free to pm me! I wouldn't mind being a springboard for some ideas!

 

RIGHT. That Kermit meme perfectly summarizes the battle going on in my head rn.

 

Ahhh, thank you! I was hoping I'd be able to find somebody on here who I could message for feedback or inspiration. You can lay your ideas on me should you feel like it as well!

[Saransetseg]

I relate to this so much! It's like that silly evil Kermit meme;

Me: alright I finally have a great basis and idea for my character and their personality! Also me: start over, there's like a million better ideas.

 

If you want to bounce some ideas back and fourth feel free to pm me! I wouldn't mind being a springboard for some ideas!

 

RIGHT. That Kermit meme perfectly summarizes the battle going on in my head rn.

 

Ahhh, thank you! I was hoping I'd be able to find somebody on here who I could message for feedback or inspiration. You can lay your ideas on me should you feel like it as well!

 

Sounds great! I should have time to PM you when I get home from work later! Hopefully you're able to get on Balmung soon as well!