Waltz Disclaimers

¤ Celebrating 10 Years as a Free Company ¤

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Spoiler Policy

Many of our members have been playing Final Fantasy XIV for years and the story has become very important to them. We ask that our members provide their fellow Waltzes the opportunity to experience the story on their own in their own way without having the content spoiled. As mentioned in Section 3 of our Membership Charter, we encourage of our members to keep all Free Company communications spoiler-free. Note: We have applied this policy to any content from the Shadowbringers expansion onwards.

Waltz defines a “spoiler” as anything that has not been shown to the public or released by Square-Enix themselves. Here are some of our “spoilers” definitions:

Any story content (including side quests);
Fight mechanics;
Dungeon boss names / dungeon names;
Names of trials / trial bosses; and,
NPC names.

Having said that, we also want our members to ask for assistance in Free Company Chat with the trials and duties throughout all parts of the game. Instead of asking for help by using the name of the dungeon/trial, please try to use the level of the duty instead.

“Would anyone like to do the level 71 one dungeon with me for the first time?” Instead of, “Would anyone like to do Holminster Switch with me for the first time?”

Or, “Queuing for the level 80 trial,” instead of, “Queuing for Hades.”

Context vs. No-Context Spoilers

We recognize that mistakes can happen and that occasional spoilers may be mentioned in Free Company communication. If a simple spoiler is mentioned with no context, they will be overlooked. For example, if an NPC name is revealed in Free Company chat with no context, it is fine and will not be treated as a "spoiler;" however, if there is more detail provided about the NPC that relates to the above spoiler definitions, it will be treated as a spoiler.

"It's pretty awesome that at Waltz Estate you meet the NPC Istari Xiomar! You have to /say his name out loud to get his attention" versus just "Istari Xiomar."

The former in the above example would be defined as a spoiler.

Free Company Chest & Discord

Free Company Chest Access

The Free Company Chest is meant to be a place where members can share items, crystals, and other materials with each other. The Free Company leadership team will try to ensure important things like crafting crystals, chocobo food, glamour materials, etc., are stocked at all time but any help with this by members is greatly appreciated. In order to support the growth of our Free Company and continue to supply our members with these important items, we encourage a free-access system where anyone can have what is in the FC Chest.

“Demi” ranking members will have access to the first compartment of the chest.
"Meteor" Ranking members or higher will have full access to the first two compartments of the Free Company Chest, as well as the crafting crystals and materials.
"Comet" ranking members or higher will have full access to all compartments in the chest, as well as crafting crystals and materials. In addition, the third compartment of the Free Company Chest is reserved for rare materials to be used by members of "The Crafting Emporium" Free Company program.

Regardless of Free Company rank or program, all items in the Free Company chest are part of a free-access system. If you are a “Demi” ranking member and you would like something from a restricted compartment, please reach out to “Meteor” or higher members and they will get it for you. In addition, please remember that these items are meant to be shared and are for everyone, so please only take what is needed.

The Gil in the FC chest is only meant to fund FC events. Any contributions to this are welcomed and appreciated.

Free Company Discord Access

In order to build upon our community and strengthen our relationships with our members, The Black Waltz has supplied a free-of-charge Discord server for day-to-day use. This Discord server is not monitored by Square-Enix or its affiliates. The Black Waltz Discord Server is a platform in which our members can communicate via voice or text not only while playing Final Fantasy XIV together, but also outside of the game. As a result of this server being an independent body outside of Final Fantasy XIV, The Black Waltz has created guidelines in addition to our Membership Charter to protect our members' social experiences and privacy while using the service:

Ensure your Discord username in The Black Waltz server matches your in-game character so you can be easily identified. Choosing to use only your character's first name is perfectly acceptable.
Respect other members who may be in the channel. Please do not shout / talk over another member who may be trying to speak. In addition, ensure that you are not intentionally ignoring others or shouting unnecessarily.
Create an inclusive social experience by trying to include everyone in the conversation who may be listening in. Allow time for others to speak.
Be friendly and kind - uphold the values of our Free Company.
Utilize appropriate rooms for the content you are doing together. For example, if you and some friends are doing a dungeon, utilize one of the "Dungeon" voice rooms.

Failure to follow these guidelines may lead to a suspension / removal from The Black Waltz Discord.

Waltz Member Grant

The Black Waltz Free Company Grant (hereafter referred to as “The BW Grant”) exists for situations where members need a little "top up" to their Gil in order to purchase something they would be unable to otherwise due to being short a small amount of money. This service is meant to supplement a member’s own Gil to help them acquire something rare that would benefit them and / or the Free Company.

Any Gil requested from The BW Grant does *not* have to be paid back to the Free Company.
Members who use The BW Grant must have been in the Free Company for at least 90 days.
Members who use The BW Grant are ineligible to use the service again for 60-days. Note: Players that wish to create a Free Company Estate room but lack the funds to do so may use the service without the 60-day restriction. This option is only available once per player.
The amount requested from The BW Grant must not exceed 30% of the total cost of the item, or be greater-than 1,500,000 Gil. Example: A small property has come on the market for 3,500,000 Gil and a Free Company member wants to purchase the property; however, they are short 1,000,000 Gil. Since 1,000,000 is less-than 30% of 3,500,000 Gil and less-than 1,500,000 Gil, the request may be approved.
Funds cannot be requested for miscellaneous items or glamour items that are for a members’ personal collection that can be acquired through other methods. The Crafting Emporium can provide heavy discounts on a lot of these items already!
The BW Grant cannot be used to purchase Black Waltz Lottery tickets or items that are for future Free Company events. Note: If a member would like to participate in a duty-based event that fellow Free Company members have organized last-minute, but they do not meet the item-level requirement for the duty, The BW Bank may be utilized to purchase higher-level gear to boost them above the requirement.
Several items can be purchased with one BW Grant request. Example: Gear purchased to increase a members' item level so they may participate in a last-minute duty with other Free Company members.
Use of the service must be requested through the Black Waltz Leadership Team and all requests are handled privately. Once approved, the Leader will provide the funds to the Free Company Member and will be reimbursed from The BW Grant.
Players’ “alt” characters are ineligible to use The BW Grant.
Any and all requests, whether approved or denied, are up to the discretion of the Leader through which the request was made.
If a member has willingly and inappropriately taken advantage of The BW Grant, they may never use the service again.

Disclaimer: Due to how in-demand housing is in Final Fantasy XIV, if a member utilizes the bank for property and is unable to acquire the property (someone else has won the lottery), the Gil must be returned to The BW Bank until another property becomes available. Returning the Gil removes the 60-day restriction on using the service. Furthermore, this program was created to help bring our community even closer and is funded by donations and Free Company auctions. Any Gil donated to the Free Company via the Free Company Chest is contributed to this program.

Inactivity Guidelines & "Ranks"

We recognize that Final Fantasy XIV is a video game and that members may want to take a break for an extended period of time. Our Free Company is very active overall, and we have implemented a fair policy when it comes to members who are inactive. We utilize the various ranks within the Free Company to measure the health of our community:

General Ranks:

Flare / Ultima / Amplifiers: Free Company Leaders
Manaward: Monthly Good Samaritan Award Recipient
Comet: Free Company Gardeners
Meteor: Active Member of the Community
Demi: New Member or Inactive for 7 or more days.

Inactive Ranks

Lvl. 20 Death: Members offline for 10 or more days and have not indicated if they are going to return. When this member reaches 20 days of inactivity, they are removed from the Free Company.
Lvl. 50 Sleep: Members who have informed one of the Free Company Leaders that they are taking a break from the game and will return eventually. Members with this rank are protected from removal for 50 days.
Umbral Soul: In Memoriam

Inactivity Guidelines and Recruitment

Our Leadership Team has reviewed our Inactivity Guidelines and have found them to be fair; we want to balance the potential influx of new members with current members that periodically take breaks. If a member needs to take a break for a while, please inform one of our Free Company Leaders so that they give you the Sleep rank. If no Leader is informed, that member may be removed at the 20 day mark.

All new members must apply to the Free Company via our website application so that we can be assured they have read our Membership Charter; our Charter provides general expectations that protect the community and members within it. Friend referrals do not have to submit an application as long as the person referring them has ensured they have read the Charter.

In the event that our Free Company has reached member cap (512) and we have no members within the inactive timelines that we can remove, applicants will be placed in a waiting list based on the order they have applied. Applications are sent to our Free Company email and are received in order of submission. All applicants will be provided with a response within 24 hours indicating that we are currently at cap, but will find them space as soon as possible. Each applicant will be provided a link to our Free Company Discord so that they can still be a part of the community while waiting for an invite in-game.

Invites will be sent when space is available in the order the applications were received. We will do our best to find everyone a home. <Waltz> is a special place and it makes sense that our community is bursting with activity.

Previous Members

Members who have been removed due to inactivity are welcome back at any time. If our Free Company is not at cap, previous members can just reach out to any Waltz Leader for an immediate invite back to the Free Company. If our Free Company is at cap, previous members will have to re-apply on the website and will be placed on the waiting list (if there is one); however, they will be given priority when a space becomes available.

Waltz Mana Point Raffle

Community Engagement brings us all together

Our F.C. recognizes that the strength and health of our community lies in our members. For this reason, we wanted to come up with a way to reward those who participate in our community events - this is how our "Mana Point" Raffle was born.

Alongside the first Lottery or Powerball night of each month, we conduct a "Mana Point Raffle." Mana Points, aka "Tickets," are given out to any member who participates in a scheduled Free Company event over the course of the previous month. These "tickets" are recorded by our Free Company leaders in a shared spreadsheet and then used during a /random draw. Mana Point rewards can be anything from hairstyles, minions, glamour items, mounts, etc.

Members can hold multiple tickets each month, too! Basically, the more scheduled events a member participates in, the more "Mana Points" they get for that month. This translates to more chances for them to win a reward!

What is a "scheduled F.C. event?"

We define a scheduled Free Company event as any event that is recorded on our monthly calendar, with a few exceptions. Attending Waltz University Classes, Map Night, Mount Farms, etc., all earn Mana Points. You can also earn a Mana Point simply by donating a map for other F.C. members to use during Map Night.

Sometimes during the year, there will be a "call to arms," where Mana Points are rewarded for helping, contributing, or donating. An example of this would be our annual Holiday Giveaway - anyone who donates an item gets a Mana Point!

Disclaimers and Member Services