Joining the Giant Bomb free company [*Updated 10/29/2019*]

There are people active. I just resubed a few days ago.

@mordukai said:

I honestly expected about it to die off after about a month.

*four years later*

@snakelinksonic: I took a chance and switched servers and found the fc house. Was great to see people there as soon as I came to house there was someone there. I already made more progress in 3 days then I did in three months.

Great pictures.

Picked this up on the Steam sale started playing and Ultros is constantly full, I couldn't make a character after almost a week of waiting. I'm playing on Lamia now and just got my first Chocobo mount (level 25). I really don't want to pay to switch servers and I don't even know if or when the server will be open for me to switch over or start from scratch again so I don't have to pay.

I always have a great experience playing with the GB community in other games. Maybe I'll pony up the transfer fee eventually but I don't see myself doing it anytime soon.

:( bummer

Aw, I didn't know about this until now! I'm on Jenova.

Most servers have been really clogged up lately with the recent release of the expansion. My server (Jenova) is considered mid-pop generally and I never had queue times, but ever since the expansion came out I've had queues logging in to the server. Good to see the game getting popular!

@sticky_pennies: Oh yeah that makes sense. I forgot the new expansion just came out.

I just bought Stormblood! I have a lvl 50 Bard, but with all the new stuff I want to start over. Are you all still active?

Is the FC still active? I made. Character on Ultros but am having trouble finding the FC house in the spot mentioned in the original message.

I'd also like to know if people are still playing. I used to play with you guys a while ago, but stopped to get back into WoW. While I've got another 6 weeks for BFA, I'm looking about getting back into FF14. Are people still playing? Am I still in the guild? I'd love to jump back in if people are still going!

@derekthered: We're still alive! The FC house has moved since then though. We're now at Ward 15, Plot 2 in the Mists.

@sombre: If you have been kicked for inactivity you can go up to the FC House placard and re-send an application and get right back in.

Do I need to do anything to get back into the guild? I might still be in, but I last played 2 years ago so I'm expecting I've been kicked

I recently got back into it after a year or so break and there is usually a small handful of GB folks pokin around. As far as other players it's not as populated as it used to be but I have had generally no issues queuing for duty's or just seeing folks running around. Seems to still have a decently sized active player base in my experience.

What marmalade said. We usually go through every few months and clean out people who haven't logged on in a while, but it's easy enough to just find the house and jump back in if you've been purged. We're mostly all still playing. Not as much as someof us used to, but all of our regulars still find time throughout the week to raid/craft/etc. Also, our discord is mostly where people organize runs for new people who need to clear content, so that kind of stuff is specific to the "lfg" channel.

Awesome! Just resubbed and redownloading on my new PC. Can't wait to jump back in. I can't say how long I'll stay with BFA on the horizon, but I'll definetely be playing a lot in this next month or so :D

Can't wait to see you all again!

Just sent in an app to rejoin. Saw a few people at the house but I think they were AFK!

I know you guys get these a lot, but here's another check as to the activity of the FC. I'm on balmung currently but would make the move to ultros if I knew I could be in a FC with active duders

hey ! here s a code for the started edition if anyone wants to try the game out :R4WU NLR7 7XH6 WU36 RTX4

@barky: It's still pretty active w/r/t chat when I log in! You can always join the Discord too, it's pretty busy.

I always feel so tied down to my house, and I am. I'm probably never getting a large anywhere else so I can't change servers I guess. Stuck on mine!

@vortextk: If you're on our data center, that won't matter too much soon. You can come visit anytime.

I'm not! On goblin, which will be in the new data center.

@vortextk: Bummer. Ah well.

Hey guys, I really want to get into FF14 but I don't know anyone playing it. What server is this guild based on? I'd love a community to get involved in. The only problem is I'm living in the UK, do you know what ping is like or if many other EU players are involved?

@elgibbons: If you only intend on doing casual play, you'll be fine with us. We're on the Ultros server of the Primal data center.

If you think you'll likely be doing raids, they recently put servers specifically in the EU and a lot of our EU guildmates decided to go play on that data center instead (i.e. the Chaos data center).

Hey all! I have a Free Company (guild) on the Coeurl server if anyone is interested. I was also thinking about starting a cross-realm linkshell for the GB community, if that doesn't already exist.

My name in game is Geek Lazer.

@flies: If someone wants to start one up, we definitely don't have one yet. I don't have the time to manage one these days so if you want to get that off the ground, definitely go for it. I do see a potential roadblock in in that we can only have one CWLS active at a time, which means a lot of people can't join if they're already part of one (e.g. I couldn't join because my raid group is currently using one). They might expand it one day, but it's a real limitation right now.

@snakelinksonic: That is true. I guess we can sit on that idea and see if there is a demand for a CWLS.

I'm a FFXIV noob who just picked the game up on ps4 sale and am on Ultros. Wanted to say thanks for the add to the FC! Looking forward to figuring the game out and having some fun.

New player as well, but not new to MMOs and I usually play solo. I already stated a character on Primal Exodus, but I guess I'll humor the idea of teaming up.

Any room in the fc? Just started playing again this week

@pardalis: Always room, the list is swelling again pre-expansion, but there's always someone to clear out who hasn't logged on in years in case we hit the limit.

Usually what people have trouble with is actually making a character on Ultros, but the restrictions are all over the place and usually depends on the time of day you make a character.

Just started FFXIV up, waiting to start a new character until Ultros is open haha. I might start in Gridania though, I'm a sucker for lush forest settings. Looking forward to joining the FC, I'm literally brand new to this game so I'll definitely need some help at points

@chapanoid: The discord is very helpful if you're just starting out. Feel free to join: https://discordapp.com/invite/ZdCCysj

I think the biggest pain for people over the next few weeks will just be getting on the server. Let us know if you need help with anything.

For anyone looking to raid right now or in Shadowbringers ping @Chihaya once you get in Discord. We raid Saturdays from 20:00 - 22:00 EST.

Raid group KITE is part of Kite Co., a wholly owned subsidiary of VinCo Heavy Industries.

--

Kite Corporation Space Transportation

Bringing you the best in space-based logistics since 2013!

Hey, duders.

Downloaded the trial and gave this a shot over the weekend. Made it to 21 on a Gladiator and have some questions:

1) Maybe BDO has spoiled me at this point when it comes to combat, but FFXIV feels really slow in this regard. Does the pace ever pick up? I have, like, 5 abilities and they are ALL ON THE GCD. The class abilities are there but I hardly use 'em outside of instances.

2) Questing is super dull. Every 5 levels I get a guild quest that sends me on a mission that's mildly engaging. The rest of the time I'm not sure what to do. Running around in a level appropriate zone sometimes gets me some quests, but most of the time I'm doing bounty quests (whatever they're called in-game) or FATEs. Honestly super lost.

3) The map design is awful. At least, in the handful of zones I've been in so far. Is this just a FF/JRPG thing? Does it get better later on?

Sorry if this comes across really negative, but I'm finding it really hard to get into this. I did, however, discover the Golden Saucer and ended up playing mahjong in-game for most of Sunday, lol.

@zomgfruitbunnies:

1. This is a common complaint from people coming in from other MMOs. It's typically remedied for most people post-level-50 once you get your first "whole" toolset and a handful of off-GCD abilities to weave in between rotations/combos. I have heard some still say it's too slow from them, but usually it's just the first thirty levels that tend to be the worst for people. It's very rare that I still see people complaining about the slow pace after that point, but that start can be a bigger chore for some than others.

If it still seems sluggish to you in the 50-70 range, you may just be in the camp for whom the game will always be a little slow for.

2. Have you been doing your main-story quests? They have a unique icon and will always have this border:

There should also be a little guide in the top left that tells you what current main story quest you're on. If you run into a situation where you're under-leveled to take the next story quest, there's a few ways you can catch up. I typically run the highest-level dungeon I have available to myself a few times and that's usually enough to level. There are are also roulettes you can run via the duty finder that give huge EXP bonuses and things like Palace of the Dead.

Either way, the main story quests gate almost everything in the entire game, so you should prioritize it over everything else.

Your every-five-levels quests are simply your class quests, which also have their own unique story that progress up to level 30, at which point it transitions into a job, which usually give you a new trait or ability every five levels as well.

3. It's definitely gotten better, but no---the map isn't the greatest and it will get even goofier once quests start asking you to account for things like altitude. You tend to just get used to it after a certain point and it stops working against you.

@snakelinksonic: That... sounds rough. Not being able to get an accurate feel for the combat until level 50 seems like a bummer.

You're totally right about the main quest thing. I progressed it some more last night and more quests started opening up in places I've already been to. And dungeons sure give a lot of EXP.

I was reading a topic on the FFXIV subreddit yesterday and it seems the general consensus regarding ARR questing is that it sucks ass. From HW onward it's supposed to get a lot better. The thing I current find the most annoying is the sheer amount of running around between different steps of the same quest. Even with teleport it still feels like a chore.

Looking to make a character on Ultros, but it's always congested :/

@zomgfruitbunnies: A suggestion I would make is to go play around with Deep Dungeon when you get a chance. It's not a perfect solution, but it's effectively the quickest way to see how a class works with all or most of its abilities the further you progress in, as it has its own unique leveling system. It also gives decent EXP outside of the dungeon.

Honestly, the A Realm Reborn quests are different for everybody. This is a discussion that comes up each time a new expansion comes out and people find themselves trying to power through it. For many people, there's enough world-building and setup in there to where everything is justified, for others it's a long bloated slog in their way to get to the good stuff. The legacy players have a much better opinion of it because we were fed the content at a controlled and digestible pace, but it can be rough for a new player getting 200+ main story quests dumped in their lap to even get to the first expansion.

The developers know it's an issue, but they haven't really committed to a long-term solution outside of players buying a jump potion to immediately level to 50 and through the A Realm Reborn story quests.

Also, unless you're just super-determined, I wouldn't count on getting onto Ultros for a few weeks. Our server is essentially locked right now. They do open it up, but it's never very long, and we don't know when it happens. It's so packed they're giving people bonus incentives to leave to less populated servers and set up roots elsewhere. For your own sanity, I'd just keep playing wherever you are now and transfer over when the expansion wave settles down.

@zomgfruitbunnies And, as I know many, many people have already said (maybe even in this thread) time and time again: There is no reason to rush and you'll probably regret it in the long run.

Otherwise, you get to the "end game" as quick as you can.. and then just grind on the same content over and over again to get the flavor-of-the-month gear. And you'll wish you had something to do other than that.

If you can, find a friend or two, or other new people on here or in the game and progress through the game together (even though you can't do story quests together, which is dumb.) Try different jobs, try some crafting, level some stuff with those people etc etc.

@seikenfreak: @snakelinksonic: Oh, I'm not in any particular hurry to hit level cap or anything. People have said the story is fairly good so I do want to see as much of it as possible. It's just the quest design being notably archaic in certain instances getting in the way of enjoyment. If I'm going to be sent across zones to talk to someone, at least toss in some things to be done along the way. Going back and forth between cities and areas only to click on npcs for conversation just feels bad. People give WoW a lot of flak these days for one reason or another, but it knows how to tell stories through its quests and manages the flow extraordinarily well.

I'll be back home in Vancouver come next week for about a month, so naturally more hours to dedicated to some games. The internet here in Shanghai is great for domestic sites and stuff, but it's choppy at best when connecting to NA and EU. We'll see how far I get juggling three MMOs and working at weird hours at the same time.

:D

Y'all I'm so excited to be an absolutely miserable Dancer amidst a sea of equally miserable dancers.

@efesell: Why miserable?

I wish they had created hybrid jobs and made it one. Game is getting stale.

Edit: I should say, I don't know much about Dancer other than them showing/explaining it I guess and me being like.. meh seems generic/boring.

@seikenfreak: Sorry, miserable as in it's going to be a lot of people, myself included, submerging into a new relatively complicated looking DPS at level 60.

Ah I see.

Like previous expansions (and MMOs launches in general), I expect the servers to go down for emergency issues a few times over the next week. The pre-order "Early Access" window is the standard pay-us-to-stress-test-the-servers deal. And it'll probably feel like a choppy connection. I remember having the issue before like Actions not always responding and such. Subtle enough that I thought I was crazy but then after a couple weeks it seems to go away.

Edit hot off the press: Comment by someone I'm talking to sort've on the inside: "Devs are saying there are way too many people coming back to the game for the servers they've got setup"

Yeap, expect a shit show.

I mean I don't think they've launched anything without big server problems yet and I don't expect this to change.

My only hope is that they didn't put quite as many immediate brick walls for people to get timed out on as with Stormblood, but nah server wise everything will be fucked for a few days.

Yeah I haven't found Ultros on the list for realm transfers, but it might be connected to the servers buckling/these asshole DDoS attacks. Hopefully that'll be resolved soon :/

@vinyl: The servers have been super stable honestly, this time it's just Too Many People.

@efesell: sucks :( Given the server situation, maybe it's time for a sister GB free company on another server? I'm pretty new (lvl 54) so I probably don't have near enough gil but if there are interested duders maybe we can poll for interest