Bastok... Why so consistently bad?

[Charla]

Because people have a fetish with Tarutaru's and people with Huge egos tend to lean towards Elvan?

And don't forget the "I wanna be the guy with the highest str!" kids.

[Yutuyu]

Bastok is really poorly described on the character creation screen and very few people switch cities after they pick one for their "main" character.

They mention bastok being newly formed, a bit about its technological prowess, but nothing specifically eye-catching.

In San d'Oria they mention San d'Orians being good with swords, so this probably catched a lot of people's eye. Swords are after all one of the most popular weapons in MMORPGs. Windurst probably mentions skill with magic; so bastok just doesn't seem to appeal to people practically?

[Tulun]

Ahh, but the Bastok stories provide a back story of the Shadowlord in the original game & from the looks of the trailer and current quest/missions in WoTG.

I always thought the Galka focus on Bastok mission story was interesting, for that exact reason. Shadowlord is a badass enemy; I hope they make him a truly epic fight, unlike the current unchanged since... level 55? incarnation we currently have

I mainly and only think Bastok is last due to population. Bodies matter, simple as that. It's not like we get machine guns that give 10,000 conquest points a kill to make up for it ^^

Plus Zazarg + Zeid have already made appearances... as a DRK, I'll be eager to see if Zeid is a bit cooler than he was in Zilart haha.

[Kaslo]

Number 1 reason:

People don't like slavery... close minded bastards...

[Silka]

- Windy and Sandy have an awesome piece of music in the starter areas... Bastok... not so much.

Aww I think Gustaberg music is wonderful- there is a live performance version that I think I found with the CoP soundtrack.. not sure- but it's beautiful.

Anyways, on my server Bastok really isn't as bad as people try and make it out to be. We're not consistently last- I don't pay too much attention to standings anymore, but it seems all the nations get their chance to shine in first.

[6souls]

Number 1 reason:

People don't like slavery... close minded bastards...

I agree. I hate those damn Tarutaru, but I guess its not so bad, they did keep the Elvaan reigned in for quite awhile.

[Starless]

San d'Oria is only first because there's a elvaan face with long silver hair reminiscient of Sephiroth. Seriously, kids either want to be a "powerful knight" or a "great wizard". San d'Oria and Windurst each market those, respectively. Bastok markets (pun not intended) an expansitionistic, slightly steampunk republic, not unlike the United States in the early 1800s.

[Izzy]

- Windy and Sandy have an awesome piece of music in the starter areas... Bastok... not so much.

Aww I think Gustaberg music is wonderful- there is a live performance version that I think I found with the CoP soundtrack.. not sure- but it's beautiful.

Anyways, on my server Bastok really isn't as bad as people try and make it out to be. We're not consistently last- I don't pay too much attention to standings anymore, but it seems all the nations get their chance to shine in first.

Gustaberg music is one of the most beautiful pieces of game music I've ever heard for just being a regular zone/not epic fightscene piece.

[Gregorio]

A.) I love Bastok's town and Gustabergs music. Reminds me of being a noob and makes me happy.
B.) I still think Bastok is the easiest town to naviagte and move around in.
C.) When chosing a home nation to start the game, as people have said, not many people want to be in such a non-mythical place. I'd be willing to bet most people wanted to be a PLD or a BLM when they first started playing the game, and both are associated with other nations.

[Vedder]

Obviously it's because RMT love fish ranking and the Fisherman's Guild is in Windurst. Thus, Windurst rules and Bastok fails.

[Atlasion]

B.) I still think Bastok is the easiest town to naviagte and move around in.

This is true. I still don't know my way around Windurst..

I think most people feel a certain nostalgia towards their starter city. I started in Bastok, and I love gustaberg music. Some people probably feel the same way about Ronfaure music as its also quite calming ( I cant remember what Windy's is like).

I think Bastok use to do ok on Phoenix. I remember us being 2nd for a while. Think we're doing shit now though, heh.

[Priran]

B.) I still think Bastok is the easiest town to naviagte and move around in.

Oh boy, this again.

For what it's worth, every time I visit Bastok I find myself walking back and forth between two points 5 minutes apart. It has a simple layout but nothing of note is near a zoneline.

[Catrina]

San d'Oria is only first because there's a elvaan face with long silver hair reminiscient of Sephiroth. Seriously, kids either want to be a "powerful knight" or a "great wizard". San d'Oria and Windurst each market those, respectively. Bastok markets (pun not intended) an expansitionistic, slightly steampunk republic, not unlike the United States in the early 1800s.

And I guess there arent nearly as many Tidus/Squall (and Tiduus/Tiidus, etc clones) fanboys as Legolas/Sephiroth clones'. Tarus are something distinct, they look unlike any other race, even the ugliest taru is cute, great for roleplaying talking and walking mannerisms, and awesome magic users for those that don't go for aesthetics.

[Casey_]

B.) I still think Bastok is the easiest town to naviagte and move around in.

Oh boy, this again.

For what it's worth, every time I visit Bastok I find myself walking back and forth between two points 5 minutes apart. It has a simple layout but nothing of note is near a zoneline.

homepoint @ bastok markets mh and the OP npc and AH are basically right there, but for a visitor.. not so much <.>

[Septimus]

This is an interesting thread. I think that it should stay in the Advanced Discussion area as long as it stays on track.

Seriously, I cannot figure out why things are so bad with Bastok's players.

[bebeci]

Heh, how many bad Galka players have you seen?
I think the mind set back in 2004 was 'omg, galka is the largest and probably best race', then a majority of the people played the job/race wrong.

edit - There are exceptions, but I have memories of bad macros, Valkurm Dunes, and Galkas.

[Skyylya]

i alway's preferred bastok. It's a smaller city so travelling from place to place wasted less time than say the labrynth that is windhurst. As for sandoria I just never needed to go there since i did goldsmithing it made sense that i was housed in bastok.

I would say that as far as crafting goes more people are sandoria and windhurst because most people use those crafts, woodworking/bonecraft/cooking/cloth/leather are in my opinion probably the most used crafts and I could be wrong but most people house in the nation of their main craft...that do craft.

I could be completely wrong of course, but that's the first thing that jumps into my mind as to why those nations have more people/success

[Not Kuno]

i alway's preferred bastok. It's a smaller city so travelling from place to place wasted less time than say the labrynth that is windhurst. As for sandoria I just never needed to go there since i did goldsmithing it made sense that i was housed in bastok.

I would say that as far as crafting goes more people are sandoria and windhurst because most people use those crafts, woodworking/bonecraft/cooking/cloth/leather are in my opinion probably the most used crafts and I could be wrong but most people house in the nation of their main craft...that do craft.

I could be completely wrong of course, but that's the first thing that jumps into my mind as to why those nations have more people/success

There is no h in windurst.

[Intense]

Ive always found it ironic that Windurst is so huge and spread apart when the people who built it are tiny.

I remember initially picking Sandy over Bastok cause at the time, Bastok reminded me of Tatooine and I thought it was ugly. Im not sure why I picked Sandy over Windurst though.

Like all others, starter music makes me feel all nice and nostalgic! Especially Ronfaure.

[Skyylya]

i alway's preferred bastok. It's a smaller city so travelling from place to place wasted less time than say the labrynth that is windhurst. As for sandoria I just never needed to go there since i did goldsmithing it made sense that i was housed in bastok.

I would say that as far as crafting goes more people are sandoria and windhurst because most people use those crafts, woodworking/bonecraft/cooking/cloth/leather are in my opinion probably the most used crafts and I could be wrong but most people house in the nation of their main craft...that do craft.

I could be completely wrong of course, but that's the first thing that jumps into my mind as to why those nations have more people/success

There is no h in windurst.

it is adjacent to the U key and in the path going from N > U though, i just didn't really proof-read anything.