As the usual cycle goes, we're set to have a large influx of new people lost and looking for ways to either join us in playing or just general questions to aid their enjoyment of the game. I'm writing this as a quick training-wheels guide for people who may have a small-to-large interest in joining to play the game, even if it's not with us.
Commonly Asked Questions
Q: How is the leveling in this game? I don't have a lot of time!
FFXIV might be just the MMO for you then! The way they've built the base vanilla game is a traditional themepark MMO. It's not too difficult and has a focus on its story as can be expected from a Final Fantasy game. The trouble a lot of people run into is wanting to get into the game but dealing with any amount of anxiety on being able to commit to doing content with others due to personal schedules. You should be able to safely leave that at the door here. You can get to the level 50 cap almost entirely soloing. You'll be required to do the dungeons and primals via the Duty Finder, but even that's something you can do on your own without help from anyone else. As usual with these games, once you get to the endgame content, things will change pretty significantly---but that's only if you want to keep going. If you just want to see the story and world though, you can enjoy the ride in about as much time as you could any other JRPG.
Q: How do I join the Giant Bomb guild?
Head over to the Discord: https://discordapp.com/invite/ZdCCysj
Ask in the #ffxiv channel. Someone will likely be on that can send you an invite.
On the off chance nobody is around, there's also this thread, which is still useful:
Q: I loved FFXI, will I like this?
Maybe?
Mostly likely---probably not... Most of the people who loved FFXI really loved FFXI and most of the things that title did are nowhere to be seen in the revamp of FFXIV (there were quite a few parallels in 1.0 though, so I'll just let that simmer). The same type of logic could be applied to people who really love World of Warcraft and want to switch over. You have to be willing to let go of a lot of things you like about those games in order to enjoy this one (though this game is more similar to the modern age of MMOs that WoW set as a standard). The era of Everquest-esque MMOs (FFXI) has long since passed. If you want to play Final Fantasy XI, my advice is to go play Final Fantasy XI, not this. Hell it's still going, why not go enjoy that if it's what you want?
Q: What class/job should I chose? What do you guys need?
We don't need anything other than people who want to play the character and job they want at the pace they want. Now if you're talking about endgame content, that's always changing so whatever answer I could give you today will be almost irrelevant in a month. So, just find something you're good at and enjoy and chances are you'll find a place for yourself. Do note that this game uses the standard trinity MMO design so whatever you choose will be subject to the Tank/DPS/Healer demands (i.e. tanks are almost always in highest demands and DPS are typically in the least demand). That's really only a problem if you're not in a Free Company going it alone though, so again---pick what you like and play the hell out of it.
What I WILL advise is trying out every job. You don't have to cap them all, but dabble in each one to see which really does anything for you. Every class and job is accessible on a single character. After you find one, stick with it.
Q: I want to be in a static? Why don't the leaders organize it!? Why don't the leaders do "X" for me?!
This turned into a weird one from some of the more hardcore people that stumble into the Company and I've had to go out of my way to plaster it on every outlet we have that we're not that kind of guild. That being said we do have a handful of groups that tackle the high endgame stuff but they're only together due to naturally forged friendships over the past five years, so it's simply not realistic for someone to just jump in expecting to immediately play with them (honestly, you'd be surprised how many people who just invite themselves along or at least feel entitled to it). The leaders and officers are here to moderate assholes and help people with as much stuff as they reasonably can while enjoying the game for themselves, not babysit egos.
Do note that if you're an obstinate or obnoxious person (constant arguments, slurs and personal insults to look edgy, etc.) you're gonna have a bad time---or a least a very short one with us. The officers and leaders have a one warning policy. I don't do warnings, so if I'm around I'll just ban you on the spot.
Q: I have a question but don't want to look stupid in the Free Company Chat
Just ask it! There's all manner of people playing at any given time and they're either as lost as you or are more than willing to point you where you need to go. We've yet to have people mistreat each other in that manner, at least inside the Free Company.
Q: I can't join Ultros. It says the world is full!
Due to the game being a victim of it's own success, it seems the devs still haven't managed to adequately address the server problems that the game will occasionally have during peak play hours. It's certainly gotten a lot better but it does still happen from time to time. This tends to cause problems for some people who try to register their characters on our server during the day (Primal Data Center > Ultros World).
Ultros is still open to new characters though, the trick is to just register at the right time of day. Usually this is later in the night or very early in the morning. During the day you may have to come back in half-an-hour increments until you're able to get on. There are certain times of day where they specifically open up the servers for new characters: (3:00 a.m./ 7:00 a.m./ 12:00 p.m./ 5:00 p.m./ 10:00 p.m. (PST).
Our server isn't the absolute largest but it's still a pretty popular one, with communities like NeoGAF and 4chan residing here as well.
Q: I want to know more about the lore! What happened in 1.0?
Unfortunately there hasn't been a fantastic consolidation for the game in that capacity yet. That stated, this is the internet full of all manner of players willing to supplement that deficiency. There's plenty of ways to find more about the story in this game if you know exactly what you're after.
Official Lore Thread: http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/forums/646-Lore
Final Fantasy Wikia: http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Final_Fantasy_XIV
1.0 Story:
http://ffxiv-roleplayers.com/showthread.php?tid=1615
http://www.finalfantasyxivcutscenes.com/
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1f1RVGK0nY9VC0nM779rmZrEVd43XZy5xIC0X_2SXWp8/
Q: You didn't answer what I needed! Where do I find an answer?
Shoot me a message and I'll find what you need. You can also head over to reddit if you can't get in touch with somebody directly. So far, it's probably the largest and most useful community outside of the game in terms of sheer information for FFXIV. Also, use the Discord link above to hop in and start chatting with us.
http://www.reddit.com/r/ffxiv/comments/28vn5j/what_did_i_miss_patch_notes_universal_summary/
http://www.reddit.com/r/ffxiv/comments/2a8mmn/so_you_just_hit_level_50_in_patch_23/
http://www.reddit.com/r/ffxiv/ (use the mega thread that's always posted at the top to ask any question you want answered)
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