Should I come into RP totally new to the game?

[Ash Styles]

Hello! I'm interested in getting Final Fantasty 14, but with it being subscription based and expensive to get everything I pretty much know I'd put most of my time in the RP part of it if i could. So i wanted to know: other than reading whatever lore catch me ups that are provided here should play a regular server first to A) get a better understanding of the game and its mechanics And B) to make sure whatever I think up actually works well with the story?

Thanks for any input that can be provided! I'll also take any general tips for rping and all that if you have any. I've seen one of the guides on here for it but I'll take whatever.

[Unnamed Mercenary]

Jumping into RP without knowing everything can be a divisive topic among the RP population at large. There are plenty of people who've done just that! And many others who didn't want to get into RP until having completed at least the base game (2.X content to lv50's Main-Scenario dungeon/credits). 

 

What I'd suggest is make a trial account first. Trial account playtime is technically unlimited, but restricted to lv30 in all classes among some other restrictions like no market board access, trading items, creating a linkshell (chatgroup), or creating/joining a Free Company (a guild), etc. A full list of trial limitations is available here: https://support.na.square-enix.com/rule.php?id=5382&tag=freetrial Then you can get a feel for the game, sort out some character details without seeing -too- much, and get a taste of the lore firsthand. Within RP in FFXIV, there are people who have character tied to the battle system and those who are not. You'll find plenty of each and with varying levels of lore-strictness. I find there's usually a group for everyone, but finding those people can take a little bit of a search in some cases. My personal experiences were that many people tend to RP as not-the-main-character (or their friends), and tend to RP as more low fantasy/power levels, but I've seen many others who RP out the main story and its events or play more high fantasy/powered characters. 

 

When it comes to character creation, if you've got ideas or need any assistance in trying to make a concept work within the lore, the Character Workshop forum is a great place to start. The RPC is not the only place you'll find lots of RP resources as there are also many people on twitter, tumblr, and discord as well. I recommend checking out Sounsyy's lore compilations over on tumblr: https://mirkemenagerie.tumblr.com/post/167534982764/mirkemenagerie-update

 

Regarding servers, a lot of RP is mostly done on Balmung and Mateus in the Crystal datacenter, but these servers may be restricted for new character creation. With the World Visit game feature though, you can hop right over to them!