A touchy subject

[sciencerob]

So let me begin this with saying that I have played FF all through my childhood and up to present (I will be turning 29 this week). Among my other hobbies is hiking and most specifically Pathfinder (D&D). I usually DM and love the roleplay aspect of it.

 

I'm only telling you this to get to my main point. I started a couple weeks in beta P3 and really love it, but the idea of roleplaying my Lalafell speaks to me as a pathfinder player. So i joined this forum to see where the servers would be so that I could try out roleplaying upon the new launch.

 

This in turn connects us to the touchy subject. Server choice. I don't know which to pick... primary or secondary as I see the regulars refer to it. It brings me some anxiety to play on a legacy server that is connected to a possibility of elitism, potential lower population size.

 

Yet it seems Balmung is most RP'ers will go so then I'm worried if I go to Gilgamesh I won't be able to experience a true RP experience on FF14:ARR. I especially think the idea of roleplaying a family (ie. distant cousins/mother-son/etc...) would be awesome.

 

I keep going back and forth... quite unsure of what to do.

 

Which leads to my final point, which is why I created this topic (as my first post no less): Is it not possible to have a discussion(perhaps a meta thread?) on this subject? The few scattered discussions I found are what I need to make any informed and measured decision rather than act upon my gut feeling at a time.

 

I just want to be able to read this forums discussion on the matter without it being locked after a few pages... I might be able to come to a decision that way.

[Vict'a Aldrini]

Not to over simplify, but why not roll a character on each server? The one thing I love the most about character creation in this game is that it saves the settings which you can apply to a new character you roll. So if I roll my character on Gilgamesh and find out that it severely lacks on RP, I can roll my same character (looks and all) on Balmung with the exact same look/name. Granted I'd be starting from level 1, but the game is fun to play and level up in so that isn't much of a loss. 

 

Just my 2 cents.

[allgivenover]

Why not just try out both and see what's a better fit for you?

 

Personally, I'm a new RPer to the scene, but I've already managed to make a lot of connections to veterans and other new players alike. Also there was a poll held recently where people were asked to vote which server they were "choosing", that thread was eventually locked as well, but it did give us some interesting information.

 

http://ffxiv-roleplayers.com/showthread.php?tid=2601

 

The poll results show that of the people that voted on this website, 81 are going to Balmung, and only 14 are going to Gilgamesh. If your goal is to shoot for as healthy an RP community as you can manage to include yourself in, with as many opportunities to build connections with other RPers that you can manage? Then Balmung is the smart choice.

[Vict'a Aldrini]

Jinx. You owe me a coke(I know it doesn't fully fit the Jinx rules, but why not). 8-)

[Alothia]

Our primary server is Balmung. I can mostly assure you that the community of Balmung is excellent, RPers and non RPers alike. We are ready and willing to open out LSs and FCs to new players, and hope that you will join us there.

 

The main reason for the secondary server is simply for it to be a home for people who don't want to come somewhere where the community is already established. Some people believe that there will be a disadvantage to rolling where there are people with 50s.

 

I can't sway your feelings either way. Whichever choice you make a fine one and I'm sure you will find a welcoming community wherever you are most comfortable.

[FreelanceWizard]

I'm going to try to summarize all the arguments I've seen for each of the two servers, and I'm going to try to do it objectively. (Nevertheless, I expect someone will be unhappy with my summary. )

 

Balmung

• It was the original RPC server after the server merges in 1.x, so it has an existing RP community and a character continuity, along with the structure and events that can bring.
  
• The existence of 1.x characters combined with the addition of new characters means it will have an active economy and game experience at all levels from launch.
  
• It has a reputation as the "unofficial RP server" among 1.x players, so it is likely to have more RPers than an average server.
  
• The fact that some people are actively opposed to Legacy-tagged servers produces a barrier to entry that may repel non-RPers.
  
• The existence of characters at high levels means that there will be ample people to provide advice and assistance in gameplay to low level characters.
  

 

Gilgamesh

• It's a fresh server, so there's no existing community or character continuity, nor any baggage those might have.
  
• It is well known in the beta community that Gilgamesh is the RPC's other RP server choice, so it will have more RPers than an average server.
  
• As a fresh server, the economy will grow with the server, as will the game experience. The player base is guaranteed to be concentrated at low levels at launch, which should maximize gathering and crafting income and grouping opportunities at those levels.
  
• The barrier to entry caused by some players' opposition to Legacy-tagged servers means it will probably have a higher population than Balmung.
  
• Because the character base is low level, you're much more likely to be able to achieve server firsts than on a Legacy server.
  

 

Note that 1.x had a microscopic population of active players. Regardless of the server you choose, new players will absolutely outnumber all 1.x players by a substantial number.

 

As others have said, I would recommend making a character on both if you're not sure. I've personally (as someone who played 1.x for all of a week after launch before uninstalling it and relegating my CE box to a monitor stand ) decided to play on Balmung because I personally believe it will have a higher population of RPers per capita.

 

EDIT: Oh, right, one other thing to note -- in beta 3, many people who are planning to play on Balmung in phase 4 and launch played on Gilgamesh because, for testing, Balmung was locked for a while to new characters and people naturally didn't want to remake their test characters.

[Xerek Devereux]

Population can fluctuate even after the poll.  For example, our entire Free Company has moved from Balmung over to Gilgamesh, where we've set up shop.

 

I wouldn't be afraid of Gilgamesh being barren of RPers.  As suggested above, create a character on each and see what you like.  Or alternatively, take a look at our Linkshells forum.  If you find one in there you like, go to their server.

 

Hope that gives you food for thought. ^^

[DSCH]

I haven't decided on a server yet either. I'm leaning a little more toward balmung, so whether I see you in-game or not welcome to the forums.

 

 

EDIT: and thanks for this

Balmung

It was the original RPC server after the server merges in 1.x, so it has an existing RP community and a character continuity, along with the structure and events that can bring.

The existence of 1.x characters combined with the addition of new characters means it will have an active economy and game experience at all levels from launch.

It has a reputation as the "unofficial RP server" among 1.x players, so it is likely to have more RPers than an average server.

The fact that some people are actively opposed to Legacy-tagged servers produces a barrier to entry that may repel non-RPers.

The existence of characters at high levels means that there will be ample people to provide advice and assistance in gameplay to low level characters.

 

Gilgamesh

It's a fresh server, so there's no existing community or character continuity, nor any baggage those might have.

It is well known in the beta community that Gilgamesh is the RPC's other RP server choice, so it will have more RPers than an average server.

As a fresh server, the economy will grow with the server, as will the game experience. The player base is guaranteed to be concentrated at low levels at launch, which should maximize gathering and crafting income and grouping opportunities at those levels.

The barrier to entry caused by some players' opposition to Legacy-tagged servers means it will probably have a higher population than Balmung.

Because the character base is low level, you're much more likely to be able to achieve server firsts than on a Legacy server.

I like the thought of experienced players/RPer that could assist and advise some on Balmung.

[Nel Celestine]

It is a touchy subject indeed.  The only advice I can give is this.  Think for yourself, research the topics we have here and test the waters of both.  See which appeals to you more.  Remember, "Server Firsts!" won't mean anything after the first time it's happened.  So unless you are planning from the start to be in an 18hr a day Endgame LS, Server Firsts won't be happening for you.

[Versillis Capulet]

For me personally it's hard to answer this. My original 1.0 character ended up getting moved to Balmung when the servers were merged. This did not bother me as I am a full time RPer and part time Raider. Now in Beta 3 I did in fact make a lowbie on Gilgamesh to see if there was any entry level RP happening at all in Gridania, however (probably as I started in the morning) there was hardly anyone there, it was like a ghost town. 

 

You could do what I plan on doing which is come phase 4 looking at both servers and judging the population, most people who plan on rolling on a server will likely do so in the betas, so it wouldn't hurt to make a lowbie on each and see which one seems to have a nice pop. Now Balmung will have a larger stabilized base of rpers as it carries over from 1.0 but still, Gilgamesh has the potential to be very nice indeed.

[Averis]

All I can say is how I deal with such a decision. The way I look at it is that playing on the legacy Balmung server is no different than coming to an MMO a bit later after launch and playing on the unofficial RP server that's already been established. I always prefer to play where the majority of the RPs have already congregated. You're going to find elitism within any community no matter what. New and old role-players and MMO gamers will be on both servers.

 

And also note that many legacy players are not decked out level 50s with a ton of pre-established friends. I'm a legacy player with a character that's all of 21. I have no linkshell and only have a few acquaintances that I know from other games here. I'm planning to start over with a new character on Balmung and I know of several others that are doing the same. I think you may find that there will be more new players on all servers than veterans. Which also means there will be plenty of new linkshells etc to get involved in.

 

One final thing. I think that anyone new to this community should look at the mentor thread and see how friendly and helpful this community is, new and old players alike: http://ffxiv-roleplayers.com/showthread.php?tid=2099

[projektai]

I wouldn't worry too much about Gilgamesh having a lack of roleplayers.

 

Consider that every server will most likely have some roleplayers, but Balmung and Gilgamesh were actually voted on by the entire community, I'm very sure you'll run into a plethora of roleplayers there.

 

So if you're one of the players who are nervous about joining a Legacy server, or have an aversion to it, why not join Gilgamesh to help the community there grow even stronger?

 

:moogle:

[Martiallais]

One of the main reasons I believe this is still touchy is because it keeps coming up so frequently.

 

Of course, all of this is from someone who is new to this community and has spent more time lurking than posting. So, take my post with that in mind please. Also, the community is made up of people from both servers IMO. As long as that remains, there shouldn't really be a problem.

 

With that being said, a lot of the Balmung community (like an overwhelmingly surprising number) have been incredibly welcoming and patient (Gospel and Merri can attribute to me sending lots of PMs with questions) with new people. Coming from games like WoW, GW2, and TERA....like I said, surprising is really the only word for it. Anyone who has spent some time in those RP communities can likely attest to people being entrenched and not always overly welcoming to anyone who didn't want to get with the 'established' program and fall in line or just anyone who was new.

 

From my understanding, there was a fairly small number of roleplayers who had to be consolidated onto Balmung from other servers (which had a vote similar to the one which was held recently). They want more people coming to legacy server to play with, which no one can fault them for. Especially considering they have characters with history and stories and interactions behind them as well. 

 

Now, on the other side of things are our good friends who want to try and establish something new. And in case anyone attempts to read sarcasm there, it's not present, Rock and I are good friends who chat and joke around together a lot but will be playing on separate servers. /disclaimer

 

No one can blame them for wanting to start fresh and build a brand new community from the ground up, for whatever reason. And while it's not a popular point at all, one that I made in another thread on this topic still stands....sometimes, believe it or not (for those who haven't experienced it in other games/RP communities yet), it can be better if everyone isn't playing in the same sandbox (so to speak), as hard as that might be to imagine. Options can be good, they offer alternatives and different experiences, not to mention it gives the community somewhere to go in the event that a legacy server ends up being full. Afterall, who wants to spend days itching to get started playing and roleplaying waiting for news on if the cap on a server may or may not be lifted.

 

Plus, Gilgamesh was the chosen 'test' server for a lot of RP'ers so there's a feeling of familiarity as well as a way to avoid the potential perception of what people may think the environment on a legacy server may be like (see my point earlier about established/entrenched RP communities).

 

TLDR; There's pros and cons for both sides (I feel silly for repeating it heh), and at the end of the day you have to weigh what you're looking for in an experience. I firmly believe both servers will do great and at the end of the day, once the game launches the issue will settle itself down as everyone'll be too busy having fun. Also, in case this thread does (hopefully it doesn't) break down like the prior ones, I could hunt down one of the longer threads (I think it got up to 20 pages long?) to help you further, if needed. But I imagine you'll see the same points from both sides that have been stated previously.

[C'io Behkt]

I think the choice between them will eventually become one more of culture and less of game economy/mechanics, particularly as time equalizes the numerical differences which cause contention.

 

For my choice, it is my belief that the unique events surrounding this game and its relaunch have created an incredible community culture among the 1.0 players which is both welcoming and accepting, a rarity in MMO RP. (Zarek says "surprising," which is another good word for it.) The amount of time and effort spent on this site to catch new people up with the game's story and lore, the amazing organization and cooperation between the IC linkshells (with published meeting minutes!), and every post and PM I've had the privilege of receiving from the 1.0 players convince me that I need to be a part of that unusual culture with all of these fantastic people. To me, that's what the essence of MMORP really is, the people, not the game system.

 

Characters on both servers will have their chances to create, their chances to contribute, and their chances to make their marks upon Eorzea and the community, so in the end, the only difference I see is that Balmung will carry forward that 1.0 culture while Gilgamesh is still much more of a wildcard with the possibility of inheriting a culture from a different game, depending on the player composition there. It's not a bad thing; as much as I'd like for everyone to be together in the same sandbox, particularly for the long haul when the numbers dwindle a little on both servers, I also understand that certain cultures are not for everyone, so it may be for the best to have them separated. I'm lucky in that I know the Balmung culture is the one I thrive best in. (Which was not the case in GW2, but was the case on my server in WoW, but not on the other servers in WoW, etc.)

 

And since culture is such a subjective thing, I also advocate that you try both in equal measure to see which suits your preferred style better. Don't ever believe the grass is greener until you experience it for yourself. (An axiom for any server-divided rp community, I feel.)

[Sygrina]

I already posted my feelings on this in the last thread, but I had several friends who were scattered across other servers until I said I was playing on Balmung. All of them had chosen servers based purely on their names, like Cactuar and Ultros. They were very recognizable things from FF, so it was a snap decision.

 

 

And all of my friends from those servers, to a man, remarked on how Balmung had significantly fewer people with names like "Kitty Mewmewmew" or "Siton Miface". Yeah, it has its share of those names, plus Strifes and Leonhearts, but apparently there was enough of a difference that they were shocked by all the "real names" on Balmung.

 

 

My fear is that any server named after a recognizable villain, monster, or whatever, is going to draw a lot more people who go for "lulzy" names and griefing RPers. Gilgamesh has appeared in several Final Fantasy games, and may even appear in XIV given all his dimension hopping, so its a pretty recognizable name. Balmung, being a weapon that's not named Excalibur or Masamune, isn't.

 

 

Yeah, I know you're gonna have people stripping naked and dancing in front of you no matter which server you're on, but my friends hadn't even looked at Balmung until I told them I was playing there. You might think this will negatively impact the server's population, but the 1.0 players who are gonna transfer have transferred, and all that remains are new players.

 

 

When you google "FFXIV roleplay", this is the first site that pops up, and then you see Balmung is the primary RP server. So really that's more wheat for the server as a whole, so to speak, and less chaff with Lalafell named "Pedo Bait."

 

 

I'm also really glad character gen randomizes the list of servers it suggests, as that also rules out people just picking the server at the top of the list. That was a problem when Secret World's first RP server was renamed from Faerie (after many complaints about the implications) to Arcadia, as the server quickly filled up thanks to people just picking the top choice.

[Asyria]

Forget all the arguments.

 

Balmung and Gilgamesh are both gonna rock because we all want them both to.

Yes Balmung might have more people (at launch), but Gil is gonna have more enthusiasm (because people not only want a fresh start but also a great fresh start).

 

So it's really just a choice between established awesome and fresh awesome.

[Xerek Devereux]

Forget all the arguments.

 

Balmung and Gilgamesh are both gonna rock because we all want them both to.

Yes Balmung might have more people (at launch), but Gil is gonna have more enthusiasm (because people not only want a fresh start but also a great fresh start).

 

So it's really just a choice between established awesome and fresh awesome.

 

This x 100.  Keep in mind that while Balmung will have the 1.0 legacy characters, Gilgamesh may be drawing in vet RPers from other games.  I know a lot of current Guild Wars 2 players going to Gilgamesh, including a decent amount of our Free Company.

[Isilme]

I am Legacy, and see my recent post if you're curious as to how I feel about the Legacy community. Legacy players aren't just rpers, and they're not just rpers who played the old version of this game. They are rpers who stuck together and stuck it out through the WORST mainline Final Fantasy game in the franchise.

I wish I was exaggerating, but as bad as your favorite FF chewtoy is, it was at least PLAYABLE, had CONTENT, and had a STORY. 1.0 was very, very grim at launch.

 

These are people who are good enough that they all stayed together, solely to stay with each other. Even the ones who disagree, and argue with each other, chose to stick with the community. I think that speaks volumes.

 

Now, that being said, that's EXACTLY why I can understand people wanting to go to Gilgamesh too. Because there is a certain fun in starting out together, struggling through the hardships, and having to build things from scratch. You'll definitely have an easier time of it, not having to contend with an utterly broken game.

 

Basically... I don't think there is a wrong choice here. Creating on both servers isn't a bad idea. There's sure to be a big rp event shortly after launch, and that should give you a good idea of which community suits you best.

[ArmachiA]

Coming from games like WoW, GW2, and TERA....like I said, surprising is really the only word for it. Anyone who has spent some time in those RP communities can likely attest to people being entrenched and not always overly welcoming to anyone who didn't want to get with the 'established' program and fall in line or just anyone who was new.

 

To jump in on this, I have to say TERA was the worst, most exclusionary RP community I have EVER EVER come across. We started the game a few months after it launched, there weren't many of us willing to try it, but we had a stable guild of ten or so people. Trying to get ANYONE in the established community to RP with us wa like trying to pull teeth. It was a shame too, I met a really nice RPer in the field who told me where the Tavern RP was and then walked me to it and I was all "Wow, what a great start!"

 

NOPE.

 

Most of the time, if you spoke, even if you spoke DIRECTLY TO THEM, they would flat out ignore you in favor of someone they knew already. For real.

 

If FFXIV's Balmung server is even 10percent better than Celestial Hills than this is a good place to be. Holy cow, it was bad.

 

________

 

As an aside I'm considering rolling an alt on Gilgamesh, but would any FC have me knowing it was an alt and that I have a guild of my own to run so I wouldn't be on like alllll the time? [but I would be on, as I don't work so I got time ]

[FreelanceWizard]

Most of the time, if you spoke, even if you spoke DIRECTLY TO THEM, they would flat out ignore you in favor of someone they knew already. For real.

 

I'm reminded of Moon Guard, where that was basically how it was done. If you were in with the OOC channel, you could get RP easily; if you weren't, you were simply ignored. Silvermoon City was probably the worst, where simply being a particular class (say, Paladin) and not being in the right guild was enough to block you from RP.

 

You can always count on me to RP with you, though. Or with anyone. Even if you interrupt an IC conversation. Even if it's off to the side. Even if it's in the middle of a forest and there's beastmen around. You may not necessarily like the IC reaction, but I'll at least react if you give me a moment. Based on what I've seen, I expect most if not all RPers on both Balmung and Gilgamesh will be the same way.

[Martiallais]

Coming from games like WoW, GW2, and TERA....like I said, surprising is really the only word for it. Anyone who has spent some time in those RP communities can likely attest to people being entrenched and not always overly welcoming to anyone who didn't want to get with the 'established' program and fall in line or just anyone who was new.

 

 

To jump in on this, I have to say TERA was the worst, most exclusionary RP community I have EVER EVER come across. *snip*

 

For what it's worth, I think I got lucky with this (TERA) as I found a great, larger guild (despite having some prior bad experiences with them that left a 'Never again' taste in my mouth). They were open and generally funloving & easy to get along with. I wasn't quite as lucky in the other games.

[ArmachiA]

You can always count on me to RP with you, though. Or with anyone. Even if you interrupt an IC conversation. Even if it's off to the side. Even if it's in the middle of a forest and there's beastmen around. You may not necessarily like the IC reaction, but I'll at least react if you give me a moment. Based on what I've seen, I expect most if not all RPers on both Balmung and Gilgamesh will be the same way.

 

I'm quite looking forward to seeing you around Balmung, actually. You are one of my favorite people on the site

 

[jusss sayinnnn]