Favorite Starting City-States

[Mitsuki]

We'll go with the main three for now. Ul'Dah, Gridania, or Limsa Lominsa.

I have to say that I'm absolutely in love with Gridania. That's my ideal type of environment - just green all over. I've recently discovered the snowy Coerthas Central Highlands, and the music immediately stood out. Gridania happens to be my starting city-state, so it makes sense that I spend a lot of time here. Definitely my favorite.

I like Ul'dah as well. I did get used to this map during the beta gameplay, and that's what initially made a big impression on me. Actually come to think of it, I never got to see Gridania or Limsa Lominsa during the beta. So yep, Ul'dah stood out for me.

Limsa Lominsa is nice as well, but I hate the map. I get lost every time I stop by there. Glad it wasn't my starting city-state. Outside of Limsa though, absolutely breathtaking. Especially Costa del Sol. I need to explore that area a bit more.

Feel free to post about the other city-states.

 

[Ethics]

(I agree that the highlands are great.)

Ul'dah through and through for me, love the environment, music, people and classes offered there. Gridania would be my second choice, even though it was my first city I began in. Limsa is pretty, but it ends there. The pirate talk is terribly difficult, the map is convoluted....

So, yeah; Ul'dah.

 

[Six]

My starting city was Ul'Dah, this made me get to know this place a lot better than any of the other places. It's not my favourite city though, even though I know Ul'Dah and my way around better than Gridania at times still, Gridania is my favourite city. So calming, and green. Love it.

I don't care for Limsa at all, it's confusing, not that appealing to me, and like Pockets said, the pirate speak...

 

[Thief of Hearts Joker]

Personally for me I love Limsa Lomsia, its by the ocean, the town is full of miqo'te prostitutes (you'll notice it if you look around and read some of the bubbles LOL), I love the music and areas around Limsa.

Even though I started in Gridania I love Limsa more :3

 

[Roshidon]

Mines probably gonna have to be Limsa Lominsa. I love being on the ocean (probably living in jax, florida had an influence on that) and I love the surrounding tropical areas, especially Rain Catcher Gulley. I think the idea for Limsa Lominsa is pretty great, it's right over the water so it's probably very peaceful and would be hard to attack since it's made out of freakin stone spires and probably atleast partially covered by shallow reefs.

Uldah - Great city, honestly is more confusing than Limsa for me if not for maps I'd get lost.

Gridania - Another great city, probably my second favorite.

 

[Linnaete]

I was somewhat disappointed with the city states on offer, and I think playing this game after exploring to completion all of Guild Wars 2's amazingly large and wonderfully bizarre starting cities, it was to be expected. For a lack of better way to articulate it at the moment, I'll cut to the chase and just say that I was expecting FFXIV's cities to be grander and seamless, but for some reason they feel rather plain and restrictive.

Ul'dah is perhaps my favourite of the three. It feels most like a bustling metropolis, and it's aided by a great musical score, but the map is only slightly confusing indoors.

Gridania is nice and tranquil, but it's not my idea of a starting city, and it feels like a small village settlement. You can probably infer from this that I am not much of a country girl when I say that it's too green. xD

Limsa Lominsa's pirate talk was actually quite fun to begin with! When I began, I started reading out the dialogue in a dodgy accent that leaned more towards Scottish than pirate. Even though it is my starting city, Limsa's map isn't very fun if you're traversing it by foot. It's not that complex, but the way certain routes are laid out, it's a bit unnecessary to have to take so many turns just to get to the very bottom of the Lower Decks map.

Here's hoping in an expansion they give us imperial occupied Ala Mhigo, and Ishgard to explore.

 

[Dionysos]

Limsa Lominsa feels like home for me. I love the other two cities too, but since I 'grew up' in Limsa, I feel more attached to that place.

I'm very fond of the reformed pirates idea (or not so reformed, as many jokes in the city reveal). Personally I love the pirate speak and do not find it difficult to follow at all. Then again, I quite like pirates and after playing AC IV: Black Flag earlier this year and being interested in the Golden Age of Piracy in general, I'm probably acclimatised to that sort of thing now.

I also do not find it difficult to navigate. I do, however, think it is unnecessary that we have to run around in odd loops, like Livi described. That said, this is the individual character of this city. Since they built it on stony cliffs, stumps, and coves then it does make sense I guess. There are bizarre city plans in our real world determined by the natural environment, so I can forgive this one since it makes some sense.

I do wish that the cities were a bit larger on the whole. They do seem rather more like towns, or even villages. They do not feel like populated cities. If I think of Limsa Lominsa, I do not think there is a single house in the whole city. There are buildings for the various guilds, etc, but I do not think I've met a single house on the side of a street or anything. Where does everybody live? Outside in the various villages and farmsteads? That seems to be the case. I'm willing to overlook this though since I still find the city quite stunning.

 

[~Griever~]

Definitely Ul'Dah for me. I think it has the best structure, best atmosphere, best music and it just feels like home; though that's probably because it was my starting city in the first place.

Limsa and Gridania both have things I like and I actually prefer some of the classes you can obtain from them over the classes in Ul'Dah, but if I had to choose one city I'd have to stay in permanently I'd choose Ul'Dah.