Bastok... Why so consistently bad?

[Alistaire]

I moved to San D'Oria for a couple of reasons. Home city doesn't really matter a whole lot but when your home city has things like:

-best noob xp area of the 3 main towns
-abjuration uncursing
-riverne xp scroll quest
-closer access to more worthwhile areas than other towns (oubliette, krt, the most-used bcnm area)
-more convenient layout (outpost <-> armor storage npc <-> moghouse)

You really just end up choosing San D'Oria over the others cause while it doesn't really matter, it does matter enough to have those little advantages than to...not have them.

I'm sure if they weighed conquest per capita it would even things out a bit. Not that they'd want to do that, but it would do the trick. There just aren't as many Bastokans and therefore not as many conquest points/event standing accumulated.

[Starless]

-best noob xp area of the 3 main towns

I'd have to argue with you there, and say that Zeruhn Mines is definitely the best noob area.

And Catrina, I can't think of anyone on Sylph server with a name like Tidus or Squall.

[Conrad]

I like Bastok, but I'm much more interested in changing my allegiance to another country. However, when you have every OP, you're less inclined to want to switch...

I would like to do the Sandy/Windurst storylines, but as long as Ronfaure, Saruta, and Tavnazia stay non-Bastokan, I'm not interested.

[Gregorio]

I like Bastok, but I'm much more interested in changing my allegiance to another country. However, when you have every OP, you're less inclined to want to switch...

I would like to do the Sandy/Windurst storylines, but as long as Ronfaure, Saruta, and Tavnazia stay non-Bastokan, I'm not interested.

Same. Hell I wouldn't even mind not having the outposts while I do the Sandy/Windurst storylines...but still not having them when I transfer back to Bastok is what keeps me from changing nations. Having every outpost is soooo nice and I don't wanna deal with walking/choco everywhere again.

[cassiraa]

I changed to Bastok because it was the last storyline for me to do [started sandy, did windy, then Bastok last] But I stayed because of the layout.

Bastok has the closest Mog House to Outpost Warp of any nation.

[Lordwafik]

I love my bastok's easy layout.

Bastok's OP is more useful to bastokians than any other nation, because it provides bastokians with an easy warp to Konshtat Highlands, but provides any other nations a long walk to bastok.

A key factor to San d'Oria's popularity that many people forgot, is that FFXI was introduced then this was huge :

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...cL._AA240_.jpg

A vast amount of people who were sandy back then became an elf ranger or warrior so they can re-enact the movie's feel, also to note the same kind of vibe that Raunfare has

If you look around on your servers, you'll still see remnants of "Legulas" "Legolas" "Legerlass" "Lagulus" etc.

[Ashira]

When I first started Windy was huge, then Sandy slowly started outdoing. Then when the GSes were EVERYWHERE, Bastok OWNED THE WORLD. All of our GS chose Bastok as starting nation; and right around that time too a lot of players switched nations to Bastok for second or thirds.

Now it's back to Sandy/Windy here, but Bastok had a good run on Odin for a while.

[Lordwafik]

Forgot to add , Sandoria is first in the selection screen, and because a lot of "rush gamers" just spam enter and try to play first, they automatically pick sandy .

[Crosis]

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

Most people I know agree Bastok has the best nation music and Gustaberg IMO has the best music of any old school zone.

Sarutabaruta music is awful.

[Sagacious Sundi]

Forgot to add , Sandoria is first in the selection screen, and because a lot of "rush gamers" just spam enter and try to play first, they automatically pick sandy .

This is true. I have met a good amount of San d'Orian Hume F1A WARs throughout the years.

As for the city navigation argument, it just seems to be which you get used to. I would personally say it's Windy (connection to ALL other areas, 'cept Heavens Tower, in each area rocks), but I know that place by heart.

Oh, and as for music, I'd say all home nations/newbie areas' music are good, except for Sandy which has what could possibly be the worst track in the whole entire game, from original to WotG. Music-wise: Ronfaure > Gustaberg/Saruta, Windy > Bastok >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>Sandy

[HAcoreRD]

On my server, our prosperity and morale bars are empty. Only Fort we can defend is Gustaberg.

[Tulun]

It's a shame they didn't play up the technological feel.

I think a train / tram (that is still in the dats) to gusgen mines would have been an awesome addition.

Plus, it would make sense... need to get your ore to your nation faster for processing >.> and Bastokers could hitch a ride north.

[sb]

I started playing during one of the events where Bastok has cherry blossom trees lining its streets. I remember thinking the town was beautiful. It's a shame they don't keep Bastok that way. It really is pretty town when they have the Cherry Blossom Tree models in it.

[Khajit]

I gotta disagree on the "best" starter area thing there. I've heard people report making over 400k back in the inflation era on thier first time going 1-10 period in saruta. I myself made something like 100-200k per job I took to lv 10 in saruta.
Bastok has been winning at random on my server alot lately and the weeks that this happens coincide with a giant gilseller ban happening just before then.

I myself sercretly was from bastok on my original character I played with before my freind got the worldpass to quetz. My first impression that ther was a giant angry galka trying to thinkup a valid excuse to smash me. I also got the distinct impression that the armour on him wasnt for his own protection so much as to have easy acess to something hard to smash people against. I went out to gustaberg after being lost for an hour and not noticing the big giant gate. Whee.. I seem to be in a mad max movie after the apocalypse. one i got the worldpass anddecided to no be a bastokan and go for a more "freindly" atmosphere.
As far as the whole windust being too long and complex my freinds and myself have note that the people that find it impossible to navigate are all non-windurstians.
EDIT: on a side note.. WTF is an "ErinTribal?"

[Lordwafik]

http://tinyurl.com/d2zrg is erintribal.

[Zilong]

-best noob xp area of the 3 main towns

I'd have to argue with you there, and say that Zeruhn Mines is definitely the best noob area.

And Catrina, I can't think of anyone on Sylph server with a name like Tidus or Squall.

I can name 3 right off the bat with Sephiroth though.

[Khamsin]

I gotta disagree on the "best" starter area thing there. I've heard people report making over 400k back in the inflation era on thier first time going 1-10 period in saruta. I myself made something like 100-200k per job I took to lv 10 in saruta.

I always made a ton of money everytime I levelled a new job in Sandy. My levelling routine is:

1-6: West Ronfaure
7-whenever I get bored of soloing: Ghelsba

I hate La Theine and south West Ronfaure. I don't understand why anybody would ever level there, other than BST. But in Ghelsba, you get tons of fire crystals and all the mobs are close together. Outside, you have to run for miles to find your next mob, and you get trash.

Back in the day, fire crystals were worth a lot, and I'd always come back to town with my inventory full of fire crystal stacks.

[Kirschy]

I'm not sure why no one has mentioned this... but back in the RoZ (and even CoP sorta), Conquest Points were pretti useful. All Bastok CP items work when you are out of your nations control, and you gained more CP by xping in areas out of your control. It was a win-win situation for Bastok to be in last often. (Also Sea is considered to be out of your control, so Bastok items are always active there with signet on.) When Nation Aketons were released, your nation needed to be first in order to purchase one(I believe?). Bastok was first the week after they were released(On Fenrir anyway.)

Silly minor points that dont mean anything:

-On the original PC Installation CDs, there are 4 each has the symbol a starter town + jeuno. Bastok is #1.
-Cid(Final Fantasy icon) lives in Bastok~
-I believe it was a party sent from Bastok that killed the Shadow Lord.
-I believe Bastok had major wins in it's wartime with Sandy little to no major loses.
-The XP Papers that drop in Dynamis were both from Bastokan generals =p

[Zilong]

-I believe it was a party sent from Bastok that killed the Shadow Lord.

Who's the retarded fuckwad that created the Shadow Lord?

Your nation is a fucking failure.

[BRP]

-I believe it was a party sent from Bastok that killed the Shadow Lord.

Who's the retarded fuckwad that created the Shadow Lord?

Your nation is a fucking failure.

Both San d'Oria and Windurst are responsible in that they did not mettle in things that didn't effect them until much later, that's a big theme in the game. In the same way USA letting World War II go on for so long, in the end, it would have consumed them too.

If it makes Bastokians happy, Bastok goes have the most superior and strongest military force at the moment(outside Jeuno of course). However, they rely greatly on exports.

They have a very small population of players, that's why they lose at these sort of things.