So new! Many questions!

[banndsand]

Outdated memes aside...

 

Hello everyone~ I'm banndsand and we haven't met yet, but I am planning to play the heck out of this game once my exams are all over. In the meantime, I was hoping I could ask some questions about the game, the community, etc. I tend to ramble on, so I'll put some TLDR parts after each question.

 

 

1. Balmung and Gilgamesh. Playstyles and personnality.

After looking over these forums, it has become clear to me that Balmung has more RPers in it than Gilgamesh, but I was wondering if anyone has a rough idea of the ratio of RPers to non-RPers in each server. A friend of mine also told me that Legacy servers can be quite difficult to enter as a new player, and that there are some... *whispers quietly, looking suspiciously from side to side* elitists... on some of these servers. Does Balmung, being a Legacy server, present those characteristics as well? I really have no patience for people who like to make fun and look down on others rather than attempt to be nice and possibly help out, which is part of why I love RP communities in general, as they tend to be very nice and welcoming. So I figured maybe Balmung is the exception to the Legacy thing, if that even is a thing, which I'm still skeptical about.

TLDR: What is the ratio of RPer to non-RPer on each server, and is one more open to newbies than the other?

 

2. Race representation?

FFXIV: ARR being a game in which having alts does not prove to have many, if any, advantages (flexible class system! Yay!), I am finding it difficult to decide which race to play. I'm trying to decide between Miqo'te, Lalafell and Roegadyn (I hope I spelled that right), and have some character ideas for each. What I would like to know is how much each race is played (on each server mentionned previously, if possible), so I can take into account the probability of seeing clones. I've looked at some somewhat dated analyses based on polls, and saw that across all servers, Miqo'te and Hyur are perhaps the most played races, with Roegadyn being the least played. Is this situation similar in Balmung and Gilgamesh? I heard Lalafell was making a comeback. Also if I could know which sex is most played for each, that would help as well.

TLDR: What are the most and least played races on Balmung and/or Gilgamesh specifically?

 

3. Any tips for someone new to the game, somewhat new to FF lore and a bit less new to RP?

 

 

Thanks in advance for any answers you may provide. I'm looking forward to playing with you all (or, I suppose, with the portion of you which is on the server I end up making my home). 

 

And last, less important, question: Would it be weird if I made a proper introduction thread once I start playing, or should I just use this one?

 

Thanks again! (You're going to hear this a lot from me, I'm Canadian  )

[Faye]

Hello there, welcome to FFXIV and the RPC!

 

1. I don't really believe Balmung has any more elitists than any other server. In fact, given it has the largest population of role-players, it may be one of the most relaxed servers when it comes to gameplay. Most of the Legacy players are actually typically as kind and helpful as anyone else.

 

2. There are a million Miqo'te, everywhere, male and female, despite supposedly being rare IC. So if you want to go for something more unique, I'd suggest a Roegadyn or Lalafell, Lalafell probably being slightly more popular. I'd say male Roegadyn are probably the hardest to come by out of those options.

 

3. Just make full use of this site! There's lore info here on the wiki and forums both, and people here are glad to answer any question or offer insight. And for the last question, it wouldn't be weird if you wanted to make a more proper introduction thread, though this one could also suffice!

[banndsand]

Thanks for the warm welcome and helpful answers!  I appreciate it.

 

I'm glad to hear that Balmung follows the trend of most RP servers of being more relaxed and kind. I found it really weird when a friend told me to avoid legacy servers like it was the plague. Maybe just a bad experience with a few people.

 

Yes, I have heard that Miqo'te are everywhere! I found it very strange when I was reading info on them and saw that the lore says there aren't many. Guess you just can't stop the popularity of people with feline features! And Roegadyn males? Really? I'd have thought it might be the females that would be harder to find. In any case, very useful information.

 

I certainly intend to make use of this website in proportion with my time spent in-game. I love poring over lore and player-made stories on RP hubs like this one. And with a community this quick at answering questions, I get the feeling I'll enjoy my time here.

 

I shall have to think on whether I will make a dedicated thread. Probably not, as I seem to be getting welcomes on this one anyway.

[Mugi]

Hey there, and welcome to FFXIV!  It's always good to see more new folks comin' in.   As far as  your questions go, uh...

 

 

1.)  I don't think any kind of census was ever taken on this (and I can only speak for Balmung), but I can say with certainty that everywhere you go, there WILL be RPers and nonRPers mingling together.  There are certain areas where you see more RPers (such as bars/taverns in the game), but there seems to be a relatively even split?  I generally assume there's usually more nonRPers afoot.  I think both servers are fairly open to new folks, the hardest part would be getting a new character on the server during openings.  Balmung's openings tend to be really late at night (like anywhere between 11PM PST-5AM PST, depending on the day of the week).

 

FYI, there will always be elitist players on a server regardless of which one  you choose, but in my experience, Balmung has the friendliest and helpful of the lot.

 

2.)  Lalas are making a comeback, but other than that, miqo'te and hyur are the most prominently played races in the game (particularly for Balmung).  Gender distribution between those two races is kind of even, from what I've seen?  That aside, you should pick what -you- want to play.  If you've got a great idea for a character and it's going to be miqo'te, then shoot for it.  If you want a Roe, then go for the gold! o/

 

3.)  Have fun, get ready for whacky adventures, and don't be afraid to approach folks.  The Final Fantasy series generally has lore focused on crystals and magic with a focus on character development, so expect to see some of that here.  There's a ton of lore and information regarding the game on the site, as well as many folks who can help you ease into RP in the game.  The world is your oyster! o/

 

I hope you enjoy your time in the game!  It's a good way to unwind from exams. =w=)b

 

Edit: Oh, someone already beat me to it. But yes, basically what Faye said.

[Iex]

Roe females humorously are one of the more popular combinations of race and gender.

 

However, the other two have beat me to the punch on a bunch of things.

 

Try to ignore the population of the races when you are creating a character, you are creating something for yourself rather than everyone else. Oriel hit the nail on the head.

[banndsand]

Thanks for the welcomes.

 

By openings do you mean openings to create a character, or simply to log in as a new or existing character? If it is the latter then that is rather worrying. I'd have to play primarily when I usually have classes...

EDIT: This question has been answered by my inability to make a character. Why did I have to pick the weekend to start playing? lol

 

And of course, I don't expect there not to be any elitist players. I just find that with RP communities there tend to be significantly less.

 

I understand it is important to play the character one wants to play, regardless of outside opinions. I'm just really accustomed to making a character of every (or almost every) race in most MMORPGs, and I likely will end up making a character of each of the three I mentionned eventually, but I want to try having a main, and it irks me sometimes if I run into a twin. Though thankfully the character customization in this game is rather vast. And, at least in terms of colours, I seem to have slightly unusual tastes.

 

I will have to do plenty of research on these crystals. (Talking about crystals makes me want to play Crystal Chronicles again. Siiigh.) And I'll have to get used to approaching folks. I tend to be rather shy when it comes to RP. Unless my character is the flirtiest thing ever, then I guess it's no problem. But that doesn't always go over well...

 

 

Roegadyn females are common? You learn something new every day, I suppose. The last race of giant-like characters I played was in a game where the giant race had little clothing options, and thus were rarely played, so I suppose I'm just used to giants being extremely rare. It'll be like a dream come true to see them all over the place.

[Faye]

And Roegadyn males? Really? I'd have thought it might be the females that would be harder to find. In any case, very useful information.

 

You'd be surprised! As Grave mentioned, female Roegadyn are actually fairly popular! A lot of people seem to have a thing for big, buff Amazon women (and the fact they have the largest breasts in the game doesn't hurt).

[Madda]

Roe females humorously are one of the more popular combinations of race and gender.

 

Madda's far seen more of any other race than Roe. Miqo being the highest pop, followed by Hur, Lalafell, and then Elezen.

[Kage]

Female roegadyn are one of the most beautiful choices to have in this game. My opinion is that possibly people chose it for that reason etc.

[Oli!]

If you're not playing the Lalafell Master Race you're doing literally everything wrong and should start over.

 

The Highlander Not-As-Masterful-But-Still-Pretty-Okay-I-Guess Master Race is fine, too.

 

 

 

 

I feel like I've seen your name before.

[banndsand]

I feel like I've seen your name before.

 

That's possible. I use the name "banndsand" just about anywhere I go on the internet.

[V'aleera]

Welcome! While it's a little dated, I believe this is fairly relevant to your second question: http://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/pr/blog/000506.html

[banndsand]

Welcome! While it's a little dated, I believe this is fairly relevant to your second question: http://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/pr/blog/000506.html

Unfortunately I have already seen that, which is why I wanted to know more specifically how the population was split on Balmung and Gilgamesh, rather than all the servers as a whole.

Thanks anyway, though.  Still a very useful resource nonetheless.

[Kage]

Unfortunately we don't have any information like that to give you.

 

There is this site xivsoul.com but it's accuracy can't be confirmed. It goes through lodestone to do its statistics.

[banndsand]

Unfortunately we don't have any information like that to give you.

 

There is this site xivsoul.com but it's accuracy can't be confirmed. It goes through lodestone to do its statistics.

Oh, that still gives a pretty decent idea, though. Thanks.

[banndsand]

Getting into Balmung is proving more difficult than anticipated, as this is my third day trying. If anyone has any tips for times to hit the server with new characters, that would be awesome.

 

So far I've checked the website (here) at every interval, with no luck. I've also kept the game open on the server selection part of character creation and refreshed the server list every few minutes for as long as I'm at my computer, but this has not proven fruitful either, and makes it difficult to do much of anything else. I was hoping my bum luck was just because it was the weekend, but I've been up since 3AM PT trying and have yet to see a window.

 

I heard a good time is right before maintenance. Does anyone know when the next one might be so I can be prepared?

 

Thanks.

[Unnamed Mercenary]

I usually have the most luck between 2AM-6AM PST for making new characters, but with winter breaks from a lot of schools happening in the holiday season, that could get a little hard.

 

We're likely to have another maitenance within maybe....3-4 weeks? The Tokyo Fanfest is soon, so one after that is possible. (give us the Odin Trial SE!)

 

One thing you can do (if you haven't already) is design your character and save the appearance. That way, it's a much faster process to try getting into the server.

[Kage]

Unfortunately, possibly, you tried during the weekend and very start of the week. If you still can't get in by trying at 4am PST during these weekdays the server is unfortunately very congested.

 

You've got your character creation appearance data all saved right?

[banndsand]

Yes. Everything is saved. I wrote down names, birthdays and patron deities to make it quicker.

 

I've had my client open since this morning, refreshing the server list at the end of the creation process every few minutes.

 

Unfortunately the christmas break is why I can stay up so late and get up so early to do all this.

 

Are server transfers a possibility? For instance making a character on another server and transferring it to Balmung. Or would that be just as restricted?

[Berrod Armstrong]

Yes. Everything is saved. I wrote down names, birthdays and patron deities to make it quicker.

 

I've had my client open since this morning, refreshing the server list at the end of the creation process every few minutes.

 

Unfortunately the christmas break is why I can stay up so late and get up so early to do all this.

 

Are server transfers a possibility? For instance making a character on another server and transferring it to Balmung. Or would that be just as restricted?

It'd be just as restricted! Try tomorrow morning between the hours of 8AM and 10AM EST!

[Aysun]

Setting an alarm to create your character early in the morning U.S. time is the way to go!

[Gegenji]

Yes. Everything is saved. I wrote down names, birthdays and patron deities to make it quicker.

 

I've had my client open since this morning, refreshing the server list at the end of the creation process every few minutes.

 

Unfortunately the christmas break is why I can stay up so late and get up so early to do all this.

 

Are server transfers a possibility? For instance making a character on another server and transferring it to Balmung. Or would that be just as restricted?

It'd be just as restricted! Try tomorrow morning between the hours of 8AM and 10AM EST!

 

It'll also cost money for the transfer! I get up early for work, so I was lucky enough to slide Chachan in before heading off in the morning... around 7AM EST. Keep at it, you'll be hanging with us soon enough. :thumbsup:

[banndsand]

Hm alright. Thanks everyone.

 

Do you think it would be worth keeping my client open throughout the day or is it a zero-possibility until tomorrow morning?

[Warren Castille]

It's remotely possible refreshing during the day will find you a spot, but it's not fun to keep trying that. Seconding the idea to set an alarm for super-early and trying then.

[Unnamed Mercenary]

Yes. Everything is saved. I wrote down names, birthdays and patron deities to make it quicker.

 

I've had my client open since this morning, refreshing the server list at the end of the creation process every few minutes.

 

Unfortunately the christmas break is why I can stay up so late and get up so early to do all this.

 

Are server transfers a possibility? For instance making a character on another server and transferring it to Balmung. Or would that be just as restricted?

 

Creation and transfers go hand-in-hand. ...except a transfer would cost money. It'd be a trade off of getting some of the PvE content done and paying to move when it's open, or starting fresh on Balmung when it's open.  

 

...I can say from experience that our datacenter (all of Aether should be shared for Duty Finder/Instances) that tanks and healers have faster queues that any DPS. (Which is pretty normal, given how many of each are possible). We do have many friendly people who are happy to help do said duties though!