Overwhelmed by server choices!

[Damian]

Hello guys! So I had a 1.0 character and left the game, I have come back many years later to a totally different experience. However I have fallen into a bit of an overthinking rut regarding which server to call home. The MSQ being so gigantic and time consuming I do want to make a good choice...

 

I am not a committed role player at all. I am INTERESTED but I also am intimidated and don't know where to start. I like the IDEA of a living city where people are doing things and I have the OPTION to participate, I don't think I would until I have maximum level and appropriate glam to support my character etc. The Crystal Data center doesn't have the best reputation. Anecdotal gossip aside, I compared the numbers of active users and it is the least populated of the three US centers.

 

My main fear is, if I roll on Crystal I won't be able to find anyone to do content with. I was asking some folks in Balmung and several expressed frustration in "nobody running content". I know these things tend to get hyperbolic, but it seems like Aether is the guaranteed way to see all the content the game has to offer.

 

So WITHIN this conundrum is another layer decision:  Balmung/Mateus being the active RP servers and not having the road to 70 vs The preferred servers which DO have it. I am not too worried about leveling combat classes but I don't think I will ever be able to level crafting without 2x experience. I am aware that you can jump into other servers if you want to hang in the city: but I am just not sure its "worth it".  I feel like I will get sad being on a small empty server and just delete the character.

 

Thank you for reading, I wonder if you have any thoughts regarding this.

[Kirakira]

Hey, Damian! Probably the most least qualified person to respond, here~

 

5 hours ago, Damian said:

I am not a committed role player at all. I am INTERESTED but I also am intimidated and don't know where to start. I like the IDEA of a living city where people are doing things and I have the OPTION to participate

I thought I was anxious around people before, but now that I have almost no contact with anyone outside of those I work with, I swear it's gotten 12 times worse. I get the intimidation, even if it is over a completely different reason. My experiences have led me to the belief that the people in FFXIV are very, very fun to be around. There are a lot of great people out there, and they're nothing to be afraid of. With the lore being how it is, you can practically make your character whoever you want them to be. There's a lot of freedom out there, and there's absolutely no rush in getting it all sorted out. It's your pace.

5 hours ago, Damian said:

The Crystal Data center doesn't have the best reputation

In regards to what? There are a looooot of people out there that are into all sorts of different things, and I think it's unfair to judge off of what you read instead of what you experience. Like I said, I've met a lot of nice people on here (AND I'm on Balmung!).

 

5 hours ago, Damian said:

My main fear is, if I roll on Crystal I won't be able to find anyone to do content with

I know people are still doing content. We don't all run at the same pace, right? Maybe check with a few more folks and check party finder and whatnot. One of my friends is constantly in and out of raids (and she's on Balmung!). I'm definitely not qualified to speak further here, but I feel that if she's able to find people to run content with, then there are folks to run content with.

 

5 hours ago, Damian said:

I don't think I will ever be able to level crafting without 2x experience

I couldn't tell you how many times I told myself I'd level crafting but.. never did. It's definitely doable, and I'm sure you could do it.

 

5 hours ago, Damian said:

I am aware that you can jump into other servers if you want to hang in the city: but I am just not sure its "worth it"

You can visit other servers in the same data center, yes. You're not sure if it's worth a loading screen to go hang out somewhere else? I don't understand this bit.

 

5 hours ago, Damian said:

I feel like I will get sad being on a small empty server and just delete the character.

So don't pick a small empty server! Are there even any of those? I'm only really familiar with Famfrit, Mateus and Balmung.. all of which I've met some fantastic people (broken record, sorry..) and had some wonderful experiences.

 

Ultimately, and this is obvious, you should pick what makes you happy. You could always just work on an alt somewhere you were curious about and get to know the server yourself. Run the content. See if you like it. You can listen to other people and how they feel about things all the time, but how will you know if it doesn't fit what you're looking for unless you try it yourself, right? What's the worst that could happen here? You lose a couple hours of time?

Edited April 2, 2020 by Kirakira
Because I can't spell.

[Damian]

Thank you Kirakira for your thoughtful response. Yeah I will do just that, I made a character on each of the servers in question and I am kinda feeling them out just getting to like level 20 on each one.

 

So far Mateus seems to be a really good fit. It has plenty of people chillin in Ul'dah having fun, and the economy seems better for selling, which makes sense because Balmung has been closed to new players for quite some time.

 

I had a lot of hope for Diablos because the name is badass and they have preferred status, but its very nearly empty compared to Bal/Mat. So my fear is, I put in all the effort to raise an omnicrafter and nobody really wants or needs the things I can make. I guess one factor is housing: I am sure its near impossible to get a house on Bal/Mat but I am so far behind on content I can hardly even fathom something like owning a house anyway. I will be happy with an apartment I can put some aquariums in.

 

My character isn't really a multi-job concept: she is JUST a knight, so I really only plan to level PLD/DRK and maybe DRG just to have a damage dealer but I don't actually like playing dps.