In-Game Character vs. Roleplay Questions

[Dasair]

Greetings~

 

I'm completely new to RP in FFXIV, only been playing the game itself for a few weeks, and I have several questions and curiosities as to how the roleplay community here works when distinguishing things such as what is IC, what is a game mechanic, and how these things are viewed. 

 

I just finished reading the RPer's guide, by the way, so I won't be asking about anything about the main story, the Echo, or Aetherites, but I am curious about things such as leveling and have questions for Heavy RPers who seem to always be IC. (Incoming long-winded questions.)

 

First of all, is level of a character considered at all when you RP?  I assume by asking that it's not something that 'exists' in Hydaelyn (no one is going to say things like "I'm level 34, are you still level 22?" or whatever).  Leveling itself is mostly just a game mechanic (though if I'm wrong, please correct me, this is all assumption).  However, I suppose I'm more interested in if someone plays their character advancing their skills simultaneous to the character's actual In-Game level, or if the character is OOCly level 50 in 8 classes, with all the skills of whatever they're working on, and the player simply chooses to play them as 'unlearned' for the character's sake.  Actually, are levels a factor at all, either ICly or OOCly?

 

I suppose an important reason I'm asking is because I started MMO rp where in-game level and character skill and ability did coincide (yet the level number itself was purely mechanic), but migrating to another game, I found this wasn't something that RPers did at all.  In fact, in another community, I found RPers actually were leery of low level characters, because they thought of them as 'throwaway' characters, and sometimes would just ignore them.  But that was a completely OOC community thing, and something I found interesting that I never would've known without asking.  So I've been interested in the differences between RP communities since.  Honestly, I've been playing through the game with the character I want to RP with, but in part to experience the game and learn the lore to get a better feel of the world.  At the same time, I want to RP as a character still learning, definitely not at 'level 50 Black Mage' tier, so I'd be interested to hear if anyone was in a similar place, and how they handled it.  (currently, I'm holding off on most other classes but his main one though, getting his skills to coincide OOCly in level with the IC appropriate skills he has.  Such as, low level if he knows only a little, 0 if he knows nothing, etc.  His main class is an exception, mostly so I can play the game itself.)

 

I also know that a lot of RPers apparently disregard class altogether, it seems?  May I ask what your reasons are for this, and why, if you do?  I can only guess that some classes are 'approximates' perhaps, maybe they have certain abilities that lend themselves to interesting emotes for a situation, or even it could be more of an 'appearance' reason, where one class can wear the clothing your character would wear, however, that class isn't the same as what your character ICly would be.  I'm interested in how you guys handle these things, and what you feel is most important.  :>

 

Ideally, I would love to be IC all the time, but as a newb to the game, I feel like I can't do that yet without gathering all the lore I can manage to find together, in order to learn about the world my character is in (and things he might know!).  And for that, I need to OOCly play through the game first.

 

What are your views on various In-game character distinctions, and what you actually roleplay your character as? 

(and kudos for reading all that, gods.)

[Maril]

I've met people of both camps - Personally, I prefer to not count any of my classes as IC, going for a complete segregation that draws inspiration from what is available - If you were to put Sastra into a class box, she would somewhat fit into archer but then not entirely, she's sort of a hunter/survivalist/trader mix. I find that that kind of viewpoint is far from rare in this game, though I can't say if or not it is the majority that follow this playstyle. Levels to me do not exist at all either, and I put more weight on furthering my characters skills through roleplay than through for example a background story. 

Why i do this is.. Honestly a tricky question, I was taught how to RP in WoW 5-6 years ago where there by far was not the amount of differences in the RP styles as you see today but rather a sense of that everyone roleplayed this one way, and those who RP'ed in different ways were sort of looked down on by the rest of the community (though I think in and among themselves they had plenty of fun). These days there's a better understanding/acceptance of the different styles, which I guess can make it more difficult to navigate for newcomers. I'd say that the way I was taught just from a natural point relies heavily on ignoring game mechanics, so choosing for example emote-fights over duels, creating your own spells (within reason) over linking the skills from your hotbar, walking into a field and imagining that there's a campfire there over only using the locations that you can see etc - and the game itself serves more as a visualization of the roleplay, with the established lore as the big framework of the canvas. 

 

And I would say that the kind of style I am (hopefully) describing is not really so suitable for constantly being IC in, and I'd even say that being Always IC and roleplaying with someone who isnt always IC also poses some challenges - Such as figuring out when other people are IC, as we have no addons for that here (yet). At the end of the day it comes down to what you feel like doing, and then potentially you can find an FC with a similar style which would make things easier.

[Aaron]

From what I've seen levels as you speak aren't taken into account for RP. I've seen rp fights where the lvl 50 guy lost to the lvl 12 guy based on the fight etc. However some I've met do take level into account (if they're a higher level they think they should win, or if both are equal they resort to something like rolls or ties) but those are the minority. 

 

Word of advice I'd suggest lurking around areas like the Quicksand to get experience with rp. It's what I did since I never rped in my life till around June when I got the game and for some reason liked my character so much I wanted to give him a personality. 

 

But in the end imo I feel learning rp through doing it is more effective than asking as you can get your own style early on. Don't worry though normally everyone is nice OOC and if you do something a little drastic or wrong they'll send a polite /tell. So in reality I wouldn't say much needs to be studied but you should just work out a base for your character and then find a way to get it out there. Most rpers who are new generally get a name for themselves in ravers like AS. It's what I did.

 

Hope this helps. I tried to keep it short cause I don't want to sound like some teacher.

[Dasair]

(Reply to Sastra)

 

Thanks!  That helps a lot, actually.

 

I've been in both places, where, on the one hand, I really love the creative freedom that you can get by not having to be bound by leveling mechanics, and so forth.  For instance, I have a blast coming up with ways that the spells we are given and know exist can be utilized in different ways beyond just messing up aggressors.  And how they can be construed in new ways.   Furthermore, my character is likely to know some book-binding, which isn't actually a real class in the game, where the closest is weaving?  But not really that at all, somewhat like you mentioned about Sastra being a hunter, with 'archer' as the closest equivalent.  On the other hand, I find something fun and interesting, maybe even fulfilling for a character learning to actually pick up skills as they are presented.  But the roleplay struggles they get in learning such a skill would still be something that either side would play out the same (either constantly IC or not), and if one were to divorce themselves from the main story (as I figure almost everyone does), or the class quest stories at all, they'd need to break character in order to get through the quests to have the class skills.

 

I'm pretty open as far as most rp styles go, and with mechanical limitations, I figure there is a lot to be imagined.  The main thing I enjoyed about 'being constantly IC' was moreso the 'walk-up' factor, where if your character saw another one, then they ICly saw that person and could engage them, which would make for a number of twists and turns in RP never otherwise expected.  But you also brought up the point of not knowing whether someone else is IC or not, so that's a little out the window.  Honestly, I think it'd be rather difficult to always be IC in a game like this for that reason, which was part of why I was curious how others even manage.

 

I have seen people make use of their search info in order to differentiate, but again, not everyone uses the same things.

 

And thanks again for the reply!  I appreciate it, this gives me a better idea of what to expect.  :>

[FreelanceWizard]

There's a wide variety of opinions on level and RP, as you're about to see.

 

Personally, I feel that, outside of special circumstances (such as NPCs in a plot), level puts a cap on "RP power." So, if you're a level 5 newbie Thaumaturge, it's not appropriate in my mind to assert OOCly that you have the same power level as a master of the Discipline. However, I have no issue with people lowering their effective "RP power" from what their level would indicate, so long as they're consistent about it. I have no issue with someone who loves the game RPing their level 50 Dragoon as an unpracticed newbie having just picked up the spear, a street rat, or an itinerant trader with no combat expertise whatsoever. The important thing is consistency. When the chips are down, the itinerant trader shouldn't suddenly realize he's packing a Gae Bolg Novus and 50 levels of Primal butt-kicking just because the Character window shows that.

 

By way of example, L'yhta currently has several high level DoW classes. However, I'm quite explicit that she's not anywhere near that level of power ICly. She views and refers to herself as a "sorcerer," a person who practices all three Disciplines of Magic, and is RPed as having minimal expertise in the Disciplines of War even when she's augmenting her skills with magic. I have no problem asserting that she's quite powerful magically, since she's been RPed since beta 4 and has all three of those classes at 50. I do, however, note that she's less powerful than specialists in different magical arts. She's not as good at healing as a person whose concept is being a healer, and she's not as talented at blowing things up as someone who specializes in Thaumaturgy, all other things being equal.

 

Naturally, this doesn't say anything about IC assertions. It's certainly fine for a character to talk up their power, and that can certainly be a fun aspect to RP.

 

In terms of ICness, I'm very nearly always IC. You can assume that you can walk up and engage her IC whenever you might see her about, and she can explain why she might be walking about with a lance, a bow, or a staff.

[Jancis]

The biggest hurdle for me on the level front is I'll typically take the character for being a new player and kind of green to the community. I realize it can be an alt, but that is usually cleared up after talking for a bit. It's more of an OOC "how much time am I going to devote to this new player" and "how far am I willing to participate" as opposed to how powerful their character is suppose to be. I probably wouldn't try to fight them if the topic came up.

 

But otherwise at a glance for myself: NPC civilians are kind of a 1-10, guards/sailors 10-20, elite guards 20-30, veteran military 30-40, then there's people like us hero-types or super bad guys in the 40-50... just as a very rough comparison to the in-game level system.

Yay we're special! The cream of the crop!

 

A different kind of "level" I also dabble with on a persona is the character's age. Typically someone who is older and has survived to reach those semi-golden years (more middle-age really) I would consider more of a veteran fighter/caster/etc-er than a young adult and overall stronger.

Example I've seen at competition events before is the 30something fighter will "stand down" and yield impressed by the rambunctious 20something upstart as opposed to being completely out of breath and beaten to a pulp, collapsed unconscious like a knock out fight.

 

Or at least give them more leeway in the part of I was an axe swinger for years and while working for so-and-so learned quite a bit about hand-to-hand combat, or whatever said extra skills are.

 

And the examples above with L'yhta is lovely because I enjoy the whole JoaT vs One Specific mastery. Kind of the idea that every character has 100% to give to anything so it is 80% conjurer/20%arcanist, 50%lancer/50%leatherworker, 70%healer/10%alchemist/10%weaver/10%chef.

 

It also goes a long way to feeling better about win vs losing. We're on a level way over the common man, but to each other... we're all pretty much peers one way or another.

[Val]

First of all, is level of a character considered at all when you RP?  I assume by asking that it's not something that 'exists' in Hydaelyn (no one is going to say things like "I'm level 34, are you still level 22?" or whatever).  Leveling itself is mostly just a game mechanic (though if I'm wrong, please correct me, this is all assumption).  However, I suppose I'm more interested in if someone plays their character advancing their skills simultaneous to the character's actual In-Game level, or if the character is OOCly level 50 in 8 classes, with all the skills of whatever they're working on, and the player simply chooses to play them as 'unlearned' for the character's sake.  Actually, are levels a factor at all, either ICly or OOCly?

 

I don't personally consider the level of a character when I RP, because that's the game and has no bearings on the actual RP itself. I don't take into account game mechanics, stats, or pretty much anything related OOC that the game dictates into the IC world. I don't see the point, really.

 

As far as advancing their skills the same way the in-game character is, for me I feel it's entirely unrealistic for someone to claim to be the best at, or even very proficient in, everything. It'd also take a lot longer for someone to be able to say they're a master at a skill/style/whatever than the half month it would take to actually max it out in game =)

 

At the same time, I want to RP as a character still learning, definitely not at 'level 50 Black Mage' tier, so I'd be interested to hear if anyone was in a similar place, and how they handled it.  (currently, I'm holding off on most other classes but his main one though, getting his skills to coincide OOCly in level with the IC appropriate skills he has.  Such as, low level if he knows only a little, 0 if he knows nothing, etc.  His main class is an exception, mostly so I can play the game itself.)

You can honestly RP your character however you want. Do what's fun for you! I have a character that is very skilled in black magic and arcanum, but he is absolutely ATROCIOUS at any sort of physical combat. Lifting two handed weapons with both arms, especially the large ones, is certainly out of the question! It's the way I balance him so that, while he's incredibly powerful in one aspect, he's incredibly weak in another. 

 

I also know that a lot of RPers apparently disregard class altogether, it seems?  May I ask what your reasons are for this, and why, if you do?  I can only guess that some classes are 'approximates' perhaps, maybe they have certain abilities that lend themselves to interesting emotes for a situation, or even it could be more of an 'appearance' reason, where one class can wear the clothing your character would wear, however, that class isn't the same as what your character ICly would be.  I'm interested in how you guys handle these things, and what you feel is most important.  :>

Class is disregarded altogether for MOST classes because, according to class story lines (as far as Jobs are concerned), the character you run around with as the main story line character is kind of a special snowflake and can do whatever he wants because he's the #1 in the world. Kind of like Neo in the Matrix, super powered and able to do whatever he wants. But.. uh.. .. Maybe that's a bad analogy, but I'mma stick with it. 

 

My character, Val Nunh, is a Dragoon OOC but honestly lacks the discipline or even the care or desire to ever be a dragoon IC. He certainly couldn't handle monk, would never be a paladin, and is too dumb to learn to cast spells. He doesn't fit any of the requirements for any of the classes, so I stuck him with Dragoon since his Miqo'te tribe was from the Shroud and he learned to fight with a spear--albeit loosely. His main skill is with his daggers, which (thank god) we will be getting rogue soon and I'll be able to actually use something like that. This kind of goes back to what I said earlier, though. Game mechanics, to me, just don't accurately represent our characters. They tend to put limits on any sort of artistic freedom we'd have with them as far as combat is concerned.

 

What are your views on various In-game character distinctions, and what you actually roleplay your character as? 

(and kudos for reading all that, gods.)

 

You know that leather jacket-wearing character that thinks he's the best thing in the world despite secretly having a heart of gold, but doesn't want to admit it? That's what I RP Val as. He doesn't really fall into any one "class" distinction, and he doesn't do all those ridiculous Dragoon jumps because, and let's face it, those things are useless in actual combat (unless you're fighting a dragon--you know, things Dragoons are supposed to fight). Small targets, in which most players are, can easily out maneuver a straight-aimed jump. So, he fights defensively with his lance long enough to read his opponent and get a feel for their style, then attacks offensively using either it or his daggers.

 

I hope this helped at all!

[Aaron]

Took me 3 months to 50 my PLD :cry:

 

How you do it in half a month :frustrated:

[Dasair]

Wow, this is great, thanks for all the replies.  

 

It's nice to see all the different playstyles, and how you all consider levels in relation to characters, if at all.  I do appreciate the little 'typically speaking' kind of chart that Jancis provided for NPCS, I find that somewhat useful to consider as a gauge.  The general consensus seems to be levels largely don't matter, but the point Freelance Wizard made about not giving a character credit for something that the in-game mechanics haven't granted them yet is interesting.  

 

So was the point Val made about completely disregarding all character mechanics!  Thinking back, though I've RP'd in a number of mediums, I don't think I've ever crossed rp in a game where the mechanics themselves were completely disregarded.  But that makes a lot of sense, insofar as what Val was saying about a character not fitting into any class, and merely settling on one for aesthetics.  I know when I played more in GW2, usually the character HAD a class or specialty, however, people would occasionally make alt / copy characters which were, for all RP intents, the same character, just play them as a different class to have access to either different armors, weapons, or skills for aesthetic 'flavor'.  But then again, GW2 doesn't have cross-classing like FFXIV does, so the whole 'multi-class' thing was never an option.

 

It's really neat to see how much freedom is considered the norm here (while sticking to the lore, of course) and makes me feel a bit easier about just playing the game through without it interfering with RP possibilities. :>  All of this definitely helps~

[Naunet]

I will occasionally take in-game classes into flavor consideration for a roleplay character, but I never consider level as a mechanic. Lots of characters I'll get to a certain level for a particular outfit and then just do nothing but RP on them. In TERA, 90% of my characters were level 11, made solely for roleplay. I spent absurd amounts of time on them and feel completely justified in giving them any level of power I may want (or lack of power). My main generally will be level capped, but that's got no bearing on the character, and though I may level other characters over time, it also doesn't represent them either.

 

When it comes to class and class mechanics, it depends on whether or not I'm wanting to go for a more combat-flavored character. I tend to prefer roleplaying more "normal" people, average joes who tend to have to deal with craziness from other characters. But sometimes they'll have combat training, or latent psionic powers, or they're a survivalist or whathaveyou. I pay close attention to the details behind class abilities and use what lore is made available through that to build upon combat strategies and create new concepts, as well.

[Jana]

My character is an adventurer with the Echo, so she's already more powerful than most. But to get the title I wanted to use for her, I needed to level all of the combat classes to 50 and then complete the Relic quest with each and every one. While Jana is a very strong character, it'd be going way overboard (as well as WAY over the line for most, if not all, RPers) to say she's obtained the maximum amount of power possible for every combat discipline.

 

Most people have already said it in a better way, but I think you should be free to play your character's combat expertise however you want, no matter their level! It won't matter in some situations anyway; my 50-All character has been beaten at a dice-based combat tournament by someone who went and unlocked PGL at level 1 to be able to use the stances!

 

On the flip side, like some people have also already said, I'll approach a very low-level character as a "new adventurer" by default unless they tell me otherwise. Part of it comes from my approach to MMO RP: I rip through as much story as I can to take in the lore before I begin RPing, so seeing someone brand-new leads me to think they might not know much about the world around them just yet.

[Roen]

I am in the camp of "I don't regard the level of the character what-so-ever in RP". It is a purely game mechanic for me.

 

Same goes for jobs. There *are* more jobs than just those your characters can take up. My bard is a chocobo trainer IC!

 

And I also know some players who level really slowly because RP is what they enjoy, not leveling, not running dungeons. Roleplay. Am I going to say that they can't play an aged wise powerful mage because they are still level 20? Heck no! I would be depriving myself of some great opportunities to run stories with them. I had my level 50 paladin get badly beaten up by a level 16 Brass Blade. That same Blade most recently beat up a level 50 Bard as well, for a story arc. That Brass Blade is probably never going to see beyond level 30, because he was created to be an NPC (I am looking at you FC!) and the time investment needed to level up someone who would just basically fill roles in a story as needed would be a total waste of their time.

 

And yet to disregard them as lowbies? Some great scenes would have never happened.

 

So yes, I am a firm FIRM believer in that levels should not be taken into account when roleplaying. Let your imagination soar!

[Aaron]

Yea. . Aaron literally sucks at everything outside of dual wield sword fighting (Thank god for NIN coming now I get the visuals). But if you call him a Paladin or something he'll stab you. In a sense he's just nothing but something. Swords he's second to none in ability but tell him to face a average Joe hand to hand and he'll be lucky if he wins. He can weild an axe but he lacks the whole attitude for it being quiet and such. He cant use a lance he thinks their just daggers on a stick. Magic is completely out the question.

 

Off hand note ima be a rich ass Paladin selling tank runs for people leveling NIN lol.

 

1.Get Coin

2.Get fancy new shit for PLD

3.Get NIN now with gil.

4.Fate Grind or some shit after hype.

 

Nothing but profit. Im becoming Crooked Tarot.