Greetings from a Newb

[Cheshire]

Hello, all!

 

I'm Cheshire (but you can add the 'Cat' if you'd like, lol ) from the ol' U.S of A. I'm 26, Male, and this is only the second MMORPG I've ever played (the first being DC Universe Online).I just recently bought Final Fantasy XIV for the PS3 about two days ago and I've loved every bit of the little bit that I've played. But imagine my surprise when I learned that the RPG in this MMORPG was not just for flavor-text. So naturally I had to do some research into this "secret world" and immediately I knew I had to join in (or at the very least, attempt to join in). Nonetheless, I feel like I'm rambling already so I'm going to limit my response in conjunction to the 'Welcome Desk Template' I saw posted.

 

 

MMORPG Background

As stated before, the only MMORPG I've ever played was DC Universe Online for the PS3. I've never got into the keyboard and mouse world of gaming, so so far my experience into this world has been limited to just a controller.

 

RP Experience

I've done a lot of forum RPs for about 8-9 years (Proboards, jcink, etc.). Pen and paper RPG has been a huge staple in my life and is a nice form escapism for me. I'm pretty excited to experience how that translates with an actual avatar.

 

Character Ideas/Info

I'm looking into probably making a Femal Hyur of the Highland variety. I don't have very much in terms of background information when it comes to this character, but I do have a good idea of what her motives, personality and overall attitude will be like. For starters - and please excuse this cliche troupe I'm about to stamp upon her - I'm planning for her to be that character with a longing to "start over" in life. Meaning, she's going to be an individual who made a lot of mistakes and enemies in her past that she's trying to escape from. I see her as being a woman at one point used her rough upbringing as an excuse to behave in the way he used to; finding pleasure in the pain of others. But after coming to realize through both loss and pain that she gained nothing internally from these actions, she decided to take a step in a new direction. I imagine this character to be someone who is trying to find her place in the world. Some form of purpose that reassures her that she can be happy if she's open enough to the idea.

 

This is just an idea that I gathered together from several other characters I've played over the years. I haven't made the character in question yet...still contemplating whether this is a personality I want to apply to a Female Hyur or a Male Lalafell. Either way, I'd love to hear some opinions you might have for a first-time like myself. I'm pretty sure the "lone survivor" character is a pretty heavy staple among the game, but I'm willing to adjust to better fit.

 

How did you learn about the coalition?

Browsing about while I was looking for more information into this RPG aspect of MMORPGs. I saw that this was one of one of the only sites with a pretty organized, popular standing within the FFXIV community. I admit, I didn't want to jump into something only to get my head chewed off by folks unwilling to put up with an amateur with zero knowledge on all of this. But everybody here seemed nice and helpful and very informative on what's going on, so I took a leap of faith and decided to jump into this new realm (pun only slightly intended).

 

What kind of a role-player are you aiming to be? Light, medium, or heavy?

Just starting out, I wouldn't be surprised if I was only limited to the Light option of this all, but I would love to steadily progress towards Heavy if it's at all possible. I'm in no rush to do so, so I guess I'm just going to take one step at a time with this.

 

Anything from real life you're comfortable with sharing? (Work, school, hobbies, etc)

Can't say I have the most exciting life in the world. I love Magic: The Gathering, videos games and just a slew of other random things lol. I've got a full time j.o.b. so hopefully that won't cause a problem in the near future.

 

 

I sincerely hope the information I provided wasn't overkill...it's been a while since I had to do a 'welcome' post. I only have a few questions and then I'm going to seriously stop babbling.

 

--I have a mouse and keyboard (albeit, crappy ones) that I can hook up to my PS3. I assume they're necessary to participate in RPing?

 

--I'm reading into the lore of everything and, I must admit, it can get a bit confusing and hard to remember. Other than just reading, what would you say is a good way to keep track of a lot of the history in the game?

 

--I absolutely love the story so far, but from what I've read about with Light, Medium and Heavy players, I'm not sure if pursuing some of the story will turnoff a lot of RPers who dismiss it from their own canon. So will following the storyline to FFXIV severely disrupt my RPing with other people? Meaning, should I even bother with side-quests and the like if I want to establish something within the community?

 

--Once I finally do make my character, where's the first place I should probably head?

 

--Last question, and forgive me, but I'm still not entirely sure what a Linkshell is/does.:?

 

Thanks for taking the time to read this behemoth (another slightly intended pun) of a post. I'm really looking forward to jumping to this completely new aspect of RPing. I keep hearing there are several "official RPing" severs out there, so I'm going to look deeper into that. Hopefully I'll be seeing some of your guys in-game, and hopefully I won't be too much of a hassle with my newbness. :thumbsup:

[Zhavi]

You embrace those puns! That way I won't feel so bad when I groan at you for them. Welcome to the RPC! If your character has had a rough past, mebbe she (or he) could have had run ins with mine in the past (mine being a snippy little shit of a 19 year old who has wholeheartedly embraced her crooked upbringing and future as a small time -- for now -- criminal), assuming yours has been in and around Limsa Lominsa. And yeah, everyone is helpful here, I have yet to see someone be anything less than polite to those with questions.

 

Keyboards and RP:

RP means typing, as I'm sure you're well aware. I've seen people be pretty fast with the ps3's ui keyboard thingy, so I think that's up to you. Most mmo rp tends to be relatively quick (or, I dunno, it always has been in my experience), so I would recommend the keyboard. But who knows! I'm sure there's people out there who are capable of doing the letter at a time thing for rp.

 

Lore:

Keep the wiki handy for quick references, and play the game. Seriously, I keep having to google things all over the place (I played beta for 1.0, held off on purchasing after reviews of the final version came out, just picked up 2.0 like. . .a month ago?). If it comes to a point where the rp is fast and you don't have the time to google, just be vague. Also you can let your rp partners know ahead of time that you're still learning the lore and to please let you know if you stumble. I sincerely doubt someone will rip your head off about it. If they do, well, you can always choose not to rp with them.

 

Story:

I don't know if this will help you, but as an example I'm totally divorcing my character from the in game story. So, pretty much, when I'm questing or leveling it's totally out of character. That aside, the biggest problem with incorporating quests is that some of them paint your character as The One, which can make it difficult to blend in, so to speak. However, I do believe there are people who have taken the main storyline and have built it into their rp (there's a fc I think that uses it), so it's definitely possible!

 

What I say is just experiment. Ask questions, consider how quests are phrased and how you might include them without it becoming a matter of "my character killed Ifrit!" You know.

 

What now?:

After character creation you have options. 1)be in character while questing, which might be a little difficult while you're getting to know the lore. 2) consider the quests ooc. 3) go ic and ooc depending on what you want at the time.

 

Speaking from a strictly rp-divorced-from-story standpoint, I'll tell you what I tell everyone: use the wiki and these forums as a way to see other characters. If you see a character you like in the wiki or in game, message the player. Introduce yourself. Tell them you liked their character (details nice, but optional), and ask if they'd like to rp (either at that moment or at a later time; sometimes it's easier to set up a time). Talking to people OOC is probably the best way you have to find and establish rp partners who will hopefully be with you for the long haul.

 

Linkshell:

It's a strictly communication-style device that allows you to talk to a specific group of people anywhere and any time without having to commit to a FC (free company, guild, you know). It's handy for organization. Some are used IC, some are used OOC, some have a mix of both.

 

Happy rping to you, and I hope to see you in game! (balmung! balmung! balmung!)

 

One last thing: people have reported that there's a lot of times when the servers will be closed to new character creation. These are always temporary. People have said that AM server time is the best time to join either server (though Gilgamesh seems to be open more frequently than Balmung), so always try at off-peak hours for the servers when trying to join.

[Cheshire]

First and foremost, thank you for your response and reestablishing my faith in the puns, lol. I'll definitely have to print out some pages of the lore (if only because my laptop just died and I have to use this computer across the house that's old as dirt and doesn't have a printer ).

 

I definitely see myself only incorporating a few snippets of the story with my character, but nothing too substantial. I think I'm better off just making a supporting role character than one with a overcomplicated history that's going to lead her to some grand enlightenment...at least not yet, lol.  

 

And meeting with a 19yo snippy little shit sounds outstanding, :lol:  Plus it'll give me reason to further plan out the travels that my character has gone through.

 

Balmung does seem to be pretty popular amongst RPers. Hmm *strokes beard*

[Brynhilde]

Hi Cheshire,

 

Zhavi pretty much covered everything in that excellent post. But if you're concerned about Hydaelyn's lore, there's some great resources online. Here, here, here, and here. Some of these links detail the story of version 1.0, the initial release of FFXIV.

 

In terms of incorporating the official story into your character's story, it really depends how you do it. For example, some people have their characters be Warriors of Light, others don't. I personally don't because, as Zhavi said, it makes my character feel too much like 'The One' for my tastes. But there are plenty of story elements you can use for your character, if done right.

 

Lastly, Balmung is the server most populated by role-players, by far. Gilgamesh is second. It can be tricky to get on to either of these servers, but you can get on if you keeping trying.

[Cheshire]

Thnx for the information, I'll definitely try and pull out as much as I can from the links provided.

 

Also, I finally broke and decided to join the Balmung server like everybody else (peer pressure, lol). My character's name is Eliza Cinderstorm. Once I buy this new keyboard today, I should be ready