How To Meet People & Make Friends In FFXIV

Final Fantasy XIV has got a vibrant community full of people to interact with. But, if you’re an introvert like me, this may be easier said than done, and getting to know people – especially as a new player or someone who’s shy – can be a problem. That’s why I’m going over some cool ways for you to interact with the community and find the best way for you to make FFXIV friends!

If you’re a new player who’s still going through the MSQ, you’ve probably noticed by now that it’s kind of a lonely journey up until the max level. There are two things you can do to battle this odd stage of your gameplay. One is fully committing to the story so you can spend a lot more time interacting with others, while the other one is taking it slowly and spending more time trying to socialize regardless of the pending MSQ. I can’t really tell you what to do as this decision is up to you and your own circumstances, but it’s important to recognize that you’ll have a lot more time for other people once you’re through with the story – and you’ll make yourself invulnerable to any potential spoilers!

City-states are a terrific place to start your journey of making friends, and as you may have experienced already, Limsa Lominsa and Gridania are awesome places to hang out. That’s why setting up your free Home point in Limsa, for example, is a really good idea! There are plenty of ways to start interacting with others, but the most important thing is your attitude. You’ve got to make an effort – waiting for others to come to you may never help you make more friends. Emoting other people, commenting on their glamour, asking about their glamour pieces, minions, titles, mounts or anything else they’ve chosen to represent their character is something they’re bound to want to talk about. Find someone who looks interesting and ask them how they customized their character. More often than not, people will respond very positively to that!

Hanging out in the city-states without any purpose to it is one way to do it, but you’ll soon find out that there are plenty of events, both planned and spontaneous, that happen where the people are. You’ll often find Bards and Dancers performing famous songs, people roleplaying, and a lot of stuff happening that you can participate in. There’s even a forum for FFXIV roleplayers where you can get informed about all kinds of events, RP venues and community-organized stuff in-game!

If you’re in a dungeon, be the one to say hi (although from what I’ve experienced so far, most people will say something anyway). Setting up a macro that says something like I hope everyone’s having a good day so far!” can be a surprisingly easy way for others in a dungeon or trial to chat you up, and even decide to do more content with you. Everyone loves nice people, so make sure to be one of them!

Joining a Free Company is what you’ll hear a lot as a default for making friends, and while I truly believe that, there are some things to keep in mind. When you’re applying for one, it might be better to go for the smaller FC’s, as you won’t be lost in numbers and there’s a higher chance to be noticed and make friends. (My FC on Lich is always open for awesome new people, so feel free to pop in there. Even if you’re not on my World, we have a super friendly Discord full of people from many different worlds, and if you’re looking for friends, this might be where you find them.) Also, there are plenty of other ways to apply for an FC, like getting over to Limsa and asking in the General chat if someone is recruiting, or going over to the Community Finder website and cherry picking your ideal FC!

If you’d like to form your own community though, you may choose to create your own FC, but that will require you to be a bit more proactive about finding members. If you don’t know where to start and how to do it, I also have a quick guide on creating your FC!

This may not be an option for everyone, but I found that streaming can help you make some wonderful friends along the way. If you’re willing to put yourself out there in such a way, you may find some awesome people willing to do content with you, help you out, and become your really good friends in-game. If you’re not a streamer though, and you’re not willing to become one, hanging out in other people’s streams that don’t have a bolt-speed chat roll can help you meet other players within the community and make friends without ever displaying your face to them!

As I’ve recently managed to acquire an FC house, I realized that house hunting is a great way to make friends on that journey. This may not be a thing anymore when Endwalker hits the servers, but for now, standing in front of Placard and clicking without ever talking to people is a tiresome business. If you’re house hunting, it may not be a bad idea to chat other people up, as you may end up seeing the same people over and over again in front of different Placards, until one of you grabs a house plot! If you’re on a house hunting journey right now, before it changes, check out the guide that I made to help you get to your dream home faster!

Speaking of houses, entering the housing district and visiting other people’s digital homes can be a wonderful experience, and a nice way to make friends. If you’ve got a house, be sure to hang out around it, and not just in it, as you might get to meet your neighbors that way. Also, some houses are open for visitors and you can even say hi to them and tell them what you think of their house, which can lead to new friendships quicker than you can imagine! Just remember to always be polite and remember you’re walking into their digital nest, so respect their space and be a good guest!

Regardless of whether you’re the one needing help, or asking for help, getting into a sprout-mentor relationship is one of the best ways to find a friend to run around with. From joining the Novice Network, to becoming a Mentor yourself and helping others, there might be someone out there for you who will either ask for help, or provide it for you, that you’ll connect to!

When it comes to crafting, gathering and other non-instanced activities, there are plenty of ways for you to befriend someone. You could start a conversation while fishing next to someone, or while you’re farming mats together. Even buying mats from someone continuously can get you to form a great relationship with your seller, you just never really know, so give it a shot if you haven’t yet!

The FFXIV community is largely oriented around Discord, and the Balance Discord is one of the best places to go to ask questions, get information, and find new friends out of the game. Learning how to play your job with the help of others, and not just through guides found online, is a great way to both interact and get some viable advice that isn’t straight out of the book! I’ve been loving these resources and people within this Discord are quite nice, so if this seems to be your thing, definitely check it out!

Finally, if you’ve tried everything under the Eorzean sun and nothing seems to be working, maybe you’re on the wrong World. Sometimes, doing a bit of research and finding out what the right World for you is could be worth both your time and money. As a newer player, you hardly ever know what kind of World you’re landing into. If you think you’ve made a mistake, it’s better to correct it and go where you’ll feel more comfortable, than to stay and feel lonely and disconnected from the community!

That’s pretty much all I’ve got for you when it comes to practical advice on how to meet people in FFXIV. Be sure to share some of your own experiences and encounters in the comments, as it may help others get creative and find their new gaming buddy, or a lot more! If you’re more of a visual person, and you don’t mind getting easy wins in-game, you can check out all of this in my video – and subscribe for more awesome FFXIV stuff!