Is it possible to put too much pressure on yourself?

Having gotten involved in some discussions lately, I have to ask, is there such a thing as putting too much pressure on yourself? This started in another thread, but I didn't want to take away from current discussions, so here I am. Under my pen standards for myself, I'm averaging about 5.3k in damage as NIN on O9S with my static. I regard myself as a garbage player because of those numbers. My question is two fold.

Is it possible that I'm being too harsh on myself? (I have reason to believe that my numbers are bad made on other discussions I've been involved in on the forums)

The other question is, is it possible to put too much pressure on yourself, whether it's in casual or raiding content?

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Originally Posted by KaivaC

Having gotten involved in some discussions lately, I have to ask, is there such a thing as putting too much pressure on yourself? This started in another thread, but I didn't want to take away from current discussions, so here I am. Under my pen standards for myself, I'm averaging about 5.3k in damage as NIN on O9S with my static. I regard myself as a garbage player because of those numbers. My question is two fold.

Is it possible that I'm being too harsh on myself? (I have reason to believe that my numbers are bad made on other discussions I've been involved in on the forums)

The other question is, is it possible to put too much pressure on yourself, whether it's in casual or raiding content?

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Yes. If your just doing normal content, there's no reason to stress over damage numbers or rotations. As long as your staying alive and dealing the damage, your helping your team out. Always remember that FFXIV is an entertainment product.

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Originally Posted by Edax

Yes. If your just doing normal content, there's no reason to stress over damage numbers or rotations. As long as your staying alive and dealing the damage, your helping your team out. Always remember that FFXIV is an entertainment product.

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Admittedly, it does bleed into casual content for me as well. If I miss a trick on a dungeon boss, I get incredibly frustrated because I just hurt my team because of that. I regard my damage numbers in dungeons in much the same way as I do in raids. If it comes to my attention that I'm doing less than what I think should be my numbers, I try to push myself harder because it feels like i regressed.

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Originally Posted by KaivaC

The other question is, is it possible to put too much pressure on yourself, whether it's in casual or raiding content?

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This is something I'm certainly guilty of. I am very patient with other people's mistakes, but I have very little patience for my own. It doesn't matter what content it is. I am very unforgiving for my own mistakes. While this attitude towards my own performance keeps me on my toes it can be damaging because I end up ruining my own fun by internally overreacting to even just minor mistakes. It's not healthy to be like this.

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Originally Posted by KaivaC

I'm averaging about 5.3k in damage as NIN on O9S with my static. I regard myself as a garbage player because of those numbers. My question is two fold.

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I'm no expert on nin but I do know that personal dps can only take you to a certain point. If your static isn't lining up their buffs with one another that can very noticeably affect dps. Also given that you're melee you will suffer more from lack of uptime compared to ranged dps, so your positioning for certain mechanics could be affecting your dps as well. Adjusting positioning assignments could increase your dps.

Of course your personal dps could be better but doing the above would help, and it's something you should do anyway if you have the luxury of coordinating with a static.

I'm actually in perfect positioning with my static since we stick with two melee, two ranged. The one thing that hurt me the most in our initial prog runs was in the opener when the boss would suddenly turn to cast his Damning Edict. That particular attack lines up exactly with when I'm about to hit trick attack, and I used to just have one second to react and hope I can get it off in time. I've been having to use true North for this fight more often than I'm comfortable with,but my uptime is pretty good with our current setup.

Don't be to hard on yourself! You are capable of mistakes as well as getting better often I'm pissed at myself for simple mistakes and it does nothing but mess with your self confidence...I tend to forget to enjoy the game becuase Im a try hard lol so don't forget to have fun too

It is very possible, and from what I've seen you are way too hard on yourself and need to take a step back and breathe.

Yes. Even in casual content, it can be fun to outdo yourself.

If it's no longer enjoyable -- anywhere -- and something you see as an obligation, you're pushing yourself too hard.

As for how it can work against you, go back to when you first figuring out how to manage positionals and how you'd end up clipping gcds by focusing too hard on the positional. Extrapolate.

Honestly I am in the same boat as you. If I so much as miss a geirskogul or miss align a jump in normal content I beat myself up even though I am probably doing some of the best dps if not the best dps because other ppl know to chill in easy content. This results in me being very stressed and disappointed in my runs. The only thing that has helped lessen this issue is just not playing my main class in every day content. For some odd reason I cannot take a deep breath as a drg, but if I switch out to nin or rdm I find myself having more fun. Perhaps try this and see if it helps.

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Originally Posted by Anselmet

Honestly I am in the same boat as you. If I so much as miss a geirskogul or miss align a jump in normal content I beat myself up even though I am probably doing some of the best dps if not the best dps because other ppl know to chill in easy content. This results in me being very stressed and disappointed in my runs. The only thing that has helped lessen this issue is just not playing my main class in every day content. For some odd reason I cannot take a deep breath as a drg, but if I switch out to nin or rdm I find myself having more fun. Perhaps try this and see if it helps.

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Having an alt you enjoy playing "badly" is a great break, for sure. Running through a dungeon as a "helpful" scholar, pulling wave after wave of mobs, throwing rescue on the tank to make sure they keep up, and somehow figuring out how to survive it all without caring about 50% overhealing is a great break from playing a dps. I just don't ever make people suffer with it in extreme or savage. Or letting the sam main tank because the tank got a sad when they pulled early is a lot of fun, too.

Especially if the tank gets locked out.

Ooh! Or running a 4 healer dungeon.

Just make sure "badly" still aligns with your role's pillar while also stealing someone else's. You're fine to pull out a bizarre tank or healer as long as the job gets done [meaning, big pulls and everyone's alive] but there's wiggle room in exactly how you make that happen. DPS classes have a little less flexibility in terms of being stupid-yet-doing-your-job though.

Actually just roll an overhealing healer. You have a blank check to do whatever you want as long as people don't die, instant queues, and especially if you've unlocked mentor roulette an endless supply of shitshows to participate in. You can swap between overhealing tank god and overhealing damage demiurge as you desire.

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Originally Posted by Anselmet

Honestly I am in the same boat as you. If I so much as miss a geirskogul or miss align a jump in normal content I beat myself up even though I am probably doing some of the best dps if not the best dps because other ppl know to chill in easy content. This results in me being very stressed and disappointed in my runs. The only thing that has helped lessen this issue is just not playing my main class in every day content. For some odd reason I cannot take a deep breath as a drg, but if I switch out to nin or rdm I find myself having more fun. Perhaps try this and see if it helps.

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I leveled up to 70 as a Dragoon, but I switched over to Samurai because it's far less stressful. Dragoon's Nastrond mechanic runs on a timer, both when active and when building it up. If you don't do thing just right, you'll loss the ability to use Nastrond or lose a chance at using Nastrond 3 times. It's very frustrating and forces me to choose between dodging a boss' mechanic or realizing the full potential of my Dragoon. I recommend giving Samurai a try, since they simply just build up their resources and it doesn't expire over time. This means your always ready to roll, even if the boss has disappeared or caused you to dodge his mechanics. It's so much more stress free by not having those timed mechanics that boost damage.

Always thinking you played like garbage is a good motivator for improvement. 5.3k is honestly on the low side. Set small goals for yourself each week like try to do 200 dps more every time you enter the fight and you will start doing decent dps in no time

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Originally Posted by KaivaC

Having gotten involved in some discussions lately, I have to ask, is there such a thing as putting too much pressure on yourself? This started in another thread, but I didn't want to take away from current discussions, so here I am. Under my pen standards for myself, I'm averaging about 5.3k in damage as NIN on O9S with my static. I regard myself as a garbage player because of those numbers. My question is two fold.

Is it possible that I'm being too harsh on myself? (I have reason to believe that my numbers are bad made on other discussions I've been involved in on the forums)

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Yes, I think it's absolutely possible. I know for me personally, harshness almost never produces improvements: it just makes me angry at myself, or possibly embarrassed. Just as constructive criticism and encouragement are key factors to getting the most out of, say, employees in the workplace, so too are they essential for getting the most out of ourselves. Harshness really has no place in the discussion, in my estimation.

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Originally Posted by KaivaC

The other question is, is it possible to put too much pressure on yourself, whether it's in casual or raiding content?

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I'd again suggest yes. I think it's possible to put too much pressure on yourself in any situation, but it holds doubly true for a game that's intended, first and foremost, to entertain. As an example from my personal life, I have a PhD in mathematics. During my time in the graduate program, I became aware that several of my fellow students were placing so much pressure on themselves to succeed, that they were literally taking medicine intended for people with PTSD. They were giving themselves panic attacks.

I'd go further and suggest that self-imposed pressure is generally a bad thing, regardless of how much there is. If I'm not doing something, odds are there's a reason for it, even if it's a reason I'm not aware of. Maybe I'm not motivated at work because I don't enjoy what I'm doing; maybe I'm struggling to keep up with daily chores because I'm not getting enough sleep; maybe I'm struggling in O9S because I simply don't have the memory and reaction times for it. In each of these cases, doubling-down and placing pressure on myself generally distracts from the real issue, hiding it behind a veil of self-criticism.

So, that's why I personally almost never place pressure on myself. Though there are times when I feel it's warranted, such times are rare, and always one-off instances rather than patterns. Instead, when I'm struggling with something, I look instead for the root cause. I've found that to be far more productive and enlightening.

To the OP, yes i do believe so. I love Dark Knight, the lore, the actions, the the role (though at first i was as upset as many others that it was not a DPS). However i hate Tanking. Not that i don't respect and admire those that do, i just fear my own ineptitude will cause issues in dungeons, sadly it's the trash pulls that stress me out most. I don't have the confidence to pull big, and i know others want to be done aS fast as possible so i don't bother.

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Originally Posted by AppleJinx

Always thinking you played like garbage is a good motivator for improvement.

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I've found it unhealthy way to demotivate and frustrate yourself.

Nothing wrong with assuming you can improve, then you're always on the look out for the small details you can push further on, but assuming you're rubbish and play terrible is disheartening. If you always have that attitude, somewhere along the line you think "what's the point in trying, I'll always suck".

Noticing you're doing fine is encouraging. Then you want to push further and do better than fine and be the best and that starts looking like a realistic goal.

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Originally Posted by AppleJinx

Always thinking you played like garbage is a good motivator for improvement. 5.3k is honestly on the low side. Set small goals for yourself each week like try to do 200 dps more every time you enter the fight and you will start doing decent dps in no time

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No, it really isn't. Now thinking "Hmm, what can I do better?" is one thing, but thinking you're always rubbish (aka failing) is quite another, and is very unhealthy. Take it from me, that thinking you're always rubbish mentality almost got me sectioned under the mental health act (and still having to get professional support for it). If you think that's healthy, then I don't know what to say...

I kinda get this on my MCH, where I’ve looked at all the guides, upgraded my gear as best I can with what’s available and I still pull off shoddy numbers. I run out of ways I can think of to improve myself and yet I’m still sub-par, it can be very frustrating and no amount of asking myself what I’m doing wrong? Is going to help.

I feel like this is very much a dps exclusive issue too, tanks and healers have such basic rotations, put debuffs/DoTs on and spam your high dps skill. So it’s very easy as a tank or healer to achieve your best numbers. But dps jobs get so many skills abilities and oGCD attacks that you have to use in a very specific order with very specific timing and minor mistakes can cripple your numbers.

And yes I know healers and tanks have their stress from mitigation and healing, so you wouldn’t want to pile on complex rotations too. But a lot of fights are so mechanic heavy that this is really not just a healer and tank thing anymore, dps do as much stuff as them in a fight while having to keep their rotation in order.

If you feel like you're putting too much pressure on yourself, then you're already on the losing side of the battle. It isn't healthy, nor is there any enjoyment to be found. This is what people in very important careers do because it actually affects their lives, and even for them it isn't healthy. This is a video game my friend, and you should be having fun.

I am guilty of this as well, and it's a big reason why I do not do savage raids, especially as a DPS which I don't play at all in this game. And on the flip side, it is a big reason why I love 24-man so much because it's a theme park with mechanics you still need to pay attention to. No one is under the spotlight in 24-man. Nobody.

So my suggestion to you is if you want to continue to do harder content, then you're going to have to learn to take that pressure off of yourself. Believe it or not, it's actually bringing your numbers down. I guarantee that your numbers will remain respectable, if not go up if you go in there with confidence and just have fun.

Yes. Now stop making these bloody "woe is me" threads and just chill out.

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Originally Posted by AppleJinx

Always thinking you played like garbage is a good motivator for improvement. 5.3k is honestly on the low side. Set small goals for yourself each week like try to do 200 dps more every time you enter the fight and you will start doing decent dps in no time

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Originally Posted by Liam_Harper

I've found it unhealthy way to demotivate and frustrate yourself.

Nothing wrong with assuming you can improve, then you're always on the look out for the small details you can push further on, but assuming you're rubbish and play terrible is disheartening. If you always have that attitude, somewhere along the line you think "what's the point in trying, I'll always suck".

Noticing you're doing fine is encouraging. Then you want to push further and do better than fine and be the best and that starts looking like a realistic goal.

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Originally Posted by Paladinleeds

No, it really isn't. Now thinking "Hmm, what can I do better?" is one thing, but thinking you're always rubbish (aka failing) is quite another, and is very unhealthy. Take it from me, that thinking you're always rubbish mentality almost got me sectioned under the mental health act (and still having to get professional support for it). If you think that's healthy, then I don't know what to say...

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Just wanted to add my two cents here...

I call myself garbage about...6/10 as a joke. The intent is to not let myself get a big head and rest on my laurels, or basically as a reverse Dunning-Kruger. At the end of the day though, I know what I've accomplished, and I know that I'm not absolute garbage bin material (at least recycling bin).

I don't use calling myself garbage as my drive to improve, however. Maybe reverse Dunning-Kruger (Kruger-Dunning?) isn't entirely too healthy, either, but I agree that constantly beating yourself down as your drive to improve isn't the best way to go about things.

What AppleJinx said in her second sentence though I agree with completely: set small goals for yourself to improve. Maybe not numerical (200 dps per) but definitely mechanical. As an example, this tier on RDM my goal has become to not waste mana (meaning, avoid overcapping at all costs). This involves me getting creative with spending mana before bursts and working harder to time them with the minute-to-minute burst windows.

Simple, mechanically understandable steps forward should be the focus. Numbers will follow.

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Originally Posted by KaivaC

Having gotten involved in some discussions lately, I have to ask, is there such a thing as putting too much pressure on yourself? This started in another thread, but I didn't want to take away from current discussions, so here I am. Under my pen standards for myself, I'm averaging about 5.3k in damage as NIN on O9S with my static. I regard myself as a garbage player because of those numbers. My question is two fold.

Is it possible that I'm being too harsh on myself? (I have reason to believe that my numbers are bad made on other discussions I've been involved in on the forums)

The other question is, is it possible to put too much pressure on yourself, whether it's in casual or raiding content?

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Relax and don't let yourself get stressed about it.And if your party are being rude about it just leave them,they're not worth your time

Tho I will admit I did have similar thoughts but as a tank after a level roullette run in Qarn which started my "tank panic" phase for a while but as the time went by I calmed down and put it behind me

As long as you're doing damage,learning the mechanic and keeping yourself alive,you're helpful to your team,no matter what others would tell you

And remember at the end of the day,XIV is just a video game.And video games are made to entertain you so make that your number 1 goal cuz as long as you're having fun then thats all that matters

Tho to reiterate on what said before,Samurai and Dragoon are much less stressful DPS jobs...especially Samurai.So I recommend you give those a shot

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Originally Posted by AppleJinx

Always thinking you played like garbage is a good motivator for improvement. 5.3k is honestly on the low side. Set small goals for yourself each week like try to do 200 dps more every time you enter the fight and you will start doing decent dps in no time

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This honestly could also work the other way around as a demotivator cuz eventually if the stress piled too much it would only make their anxiety worse and if they ended up being depressed than motivated,they're more likely to stop playing rather than keep going

A better way in my opinion,even if it's a bit similar to what you said,is even when you do good you say "I can do better" rather than devaluing the progress you have made thus far.

No one magical becomes the best(or decent), it’s just a game. Chill out, practice and over time you’ll get better. You have multiple avenues of ways to improve from pov,guides etc this pressure to preform the best is all in your head. Set improvements goals weekly like someone said +200 dps every week on your best and study the encounters. Also have your expectations within reason assuming your group logs as it’s week 4-5 and ninja requires optimizing.

The more you play, the more you practice, the more you study, the better you'll become. Don't expect instant results, though. Dedication, time and patience is all you need. Admitting that there's always room for improvement is something that even the best of the bests think. It's a long road for the vast majority.

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Is it possible that I'm being too harsh on myself?

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Yes, as always. If you're not going to use it as a tool for improvement, then it's gonna cause more harm than good.

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The other question is, is it possible to put too much pressure on yourself, whether it's in casual or raiding content?

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Yes. When you ask me to check your DPS in normal, then you're taking it too seriously and you're with that constant pressure of "I need to do this perfectly". Line-up matters, kill speed matters, buff alignment matters, knowing the fight like the back of your hand matters, having the right gear matters. These are the things you need to take into consideration before you pull the trigger and snap at yourself.

I honestly don't know what you're expecting. Like I told you before, you won't become amazing overnight. Like I said above, it's a long road and it will take quite a bit of time and practice.

As a personal experience, as you may know, I keep all that drama for myself. When I have a terrible raid night I may dread it a little but withdraw, study the streamings, review the guides, talk to my static and I aim to address the issues that were there. If there's something I'm missing, I ask for their feedback. Group effort is group effort, and they are the first ones that should know about your concerns. If they are okay with everything, as long as you all clear, then it's all gucci, call it a day and go sleep in peace.

Here's the core of the problem that I'm having at present, which is why this problem is continually circulating in my head (and probably driving me barmy in the meantime). I have received plenty of help on NIN, and I've gotten to the point where I'm doing pretty good. Now, I've been told before by someone - I honestly don't remember who anymore - that unless I'm hitting green logs and above at all times, I'm basically a garbage player, and unless I'm consistently hitting at a minimum, orange levels, I'm not really good at the game. That's my driving point that is frustrating me. The other part of this problem is that I had a peer who started at around the same time that I did, and at present, they are so much better than me by a hugely long shot, and that is driving me up the wall that, as it stands, I am not going to come close to those levels.

When I say in the past that I've spent entire playtimes just doing nothing but practicing and training prior to the release of Alphascape, keep in mind that I have a tendency to play for about 15-20 hours in a single setting when I have absolutely nothing to do, which tends to be most weekends. Now, what having 5k as a NIN says to me, personally, is that I am bad. Based on conversations I've had with various individuals, those numbers, which most raiders were easily surpassing in Sigmascape, tell me that I am bad.

The fact that I can only hit green-purple in casual content, tells me that I am bad.

Maybe I just have the wrong mentality, but again, because of past conversations I have had, this is what I have come to believe. I dunno, maybe I'll just drive myself to the point where I just can't be satisfied until I'm averaging orange or purples, but then, that's a crazy goal to set, now isn't it? I dunno what to do. I can't fall back because then I'll fall behind. I'm quite sure people would agree that at present, I'm playing terribly as a raider at this level, yes?

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Originally Posted by KaivaC

Here's the core of the problem that I'm having at present, which is why this problem is continually circulating in my head (and probably driving me barmy in the meantime). I have received plenty of help on NIN, and I've gotten to the point where I'm doing pretty good. Now, I've been told before by someone - I honestly don't remember who anymore - that unless I'm hitting green logs and above at all times, I'm basically a garbage player, and unless I'm consistently hitting at a minimum, orange levels, I'm not really good at the game. That's my driving point that is frustrating me. The other part of this problem is that I had a peer who started at around the same time that I did, and at present, they are so much better than me by a hugely long shot, and that is driving me up the wall that, as it stands, I am not going to come close to those levels.

When I say in the past that I've spent entire playtimes just doing nothing but practicing and training prior to the release of Alphascape, keep in mind that I have a tendency to play for about 15-20 hours in a single setting when I have absolutely nothing to do, which tends to be most weekends. Now, what having 5k as a NIN says to me, personally, is that I am bad. Based on conversations I've had with various individuals, those numbers, which most raiders were easily surpassing in Sigmascape, tell me that I am bad.

The fact that I can only hit green-purple in casual content, tells me that I am bad.

Maybe I just have the wrong mentality, but again, because of past conversations I have had, this is what I have come to believe. I dunno, maybe I'll just drive myself to the point where I just can't be satisfied until I'm averaging orange or purples, but then, that's a crazy goal to set, now isn't it? I dunno what to do. I can't fall back because then I'll fall behind. I'm quite sure people would agree that at present, I'm playing terribly as a raider at this level, yes?

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The more you think about it, the more frustrated you are going to get...and you will only do worse from there. Stop for a moment. Breathe. It's okay. Maybe it's time for you to take a break from raiding if it's stressing you out this much. It's unhealthy. Seriously.

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Originally Posted by KaivaC

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Yes, you have the wrong mentality and seriously do need to get out of your head. There are so many factors and differences that determine how you do and how your team preforms, regardless of when you and your friends picked up your classes. If your expecting high purples and orange from something you've just recently pick up then you're setting your bar way to high. Honestly do you know how %tile work? As you're going up against people who have put in years of work into a class. I'm not saying it impossible but your bar and expectation are well above reason and comparing yourself to an entirely different class and person is ridiculous and crazy at best.

My honest advice is to stop comparing yourself to others and look at your own growth, work with your team and continue to improve. Also if parsing etc is getting you down why not just not look, I mean till you start optimizing for a fight why not just focus on your rotation and when your good and ready then do so. There is a level of maturity needed when it comes to these things and if your just chasing high purple/orange then I don't know.

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Originally Posted by KaivaC

Here's the core of the problem that I'm having at present, which is why this problem is continually circulating in my head (and probably driving me barmy in the meantime). I have received plenty of help on NIN, and I've gotten to the point where I'm doing pretty good. Now, I've been told before by someone - I honestly don't remember who anymore - that unless I'm hitting green logs and above at all times, I'm basically a garbage player, and unless I'm consistently hitting at a minimum, orange levels, I'm not really good at the game. That's my driving point that is frustrating me. The other part of this problem is that I had a peer who started at around the same time that I did, and at present, they are so much better than me by a hugely long shot, and that is driving me up the wall that, as it stands, I am not going to come close to those levels.

When I say in the past that I've spent entire playtimes just doing nothing but practicing and training prior to the release of Alphascape, keep in mind that I have a tendency to play for about 15-20 hours in a single setting when I have absolutely nothing to do, which tends to be most weekends. Now, what having 5k as a NIN says to me, personally, is that I am bad. Based on conversations I've had with various individuals, those numbers, which most raiders were easily surpassing in Sigmascape, tell me that I am bad.

The fact that I can only hit green-purple in casual content, tells me that I am bad.

Maybe I just have the wrong mentality, but again, because of past conversations I have had, this is what I have come to believe. I dunno, maybe I'll just drive myself to the point where I just can't be satisfied until I'm averaging orange or purples, but then, that's a crazy goal to set, now isn't it? I dunno what to do. I can't fall back because then I'll fall behind. I'm quite sure people would agree that at present, I'm playing terribly as a raider at this level, yes?

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This mentality is really bad for your mental health especially when it seeps into regular normal content.

I'd personally recommend you take a little break and rethink this a bit.Put raiding aside for a while(especially savage raids and extreme trials) and try to relax with some sidequests maybe or heck....play a different game for a little bit then come back

Personally,once you come back, I recommend you pick a DPS other than ninja

Like I said before,with samurai and dragoon you barely need to worry about that much optimization compared to the Ninja.For dragoon really all you need to worry about is keeping the dragon gauge up to power your jump attacks and execute Wheeling Thrust+Fang and Claw which is easy to do.And for Samurai you got even less things to worry about

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Originally Posted by Lilseph

Yes. When you ask me to check your DPS in normal, then you're taking it too seriously and you're with that constant pressure of "I need to do this perfectly". Line-up matters, kill speed matters, buff alignment matters, knowing the fight like the back of your hand matters, having the right gear matters. These are the things you need to take into consideration before you pull the trigger and snap at yourself.

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Guilty as charged. I have asked several trusted people to lemme know this information in normal dungeon runs. Maintaining a high DPS number while being able to provide my utility and doing mechanics is the most important thing to me, whether it's in a dungeon or a raid. My personal highmark at present is 5.9k in The Burn, which I still think is bad, but that's just me, I guess.

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Originally Posted by Gin_Gray

Yes, you have the wrong mentality and seriously do need to get out of your head. There are so many factors and differences that determine how you do and how your team preforms, regardless of when you and your friends picked up your classes. If your expecting high purples and orange from something you've just recently pick up then you're setting your bar way to high. Honestly do you know how %tile work? As you're going up against people who have put in years of work into a class. I'm not saying it impossible but your bar and expectation are well above reason and comparing yourself to an entirely different class and person is ridiculous and crazy at best.

My honest advice is to stop comparing yourself to others and look at your own growth, work with your team and continue to improve. Also if parsing etc is getting you down why not just not look, I mean till you start optimizing for a fight why not just focus on your rotation and when your good and ready then do so. There is a level of maturity needed when it comes to these things and if your just chasing high purple/orange then I don't know.

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Truth be told, I came back from my previous break specifically for raiding. Didn't even come back for Monster Hunter, and that was the biggest piece of content I'd wanted to do when I took a break (it was about a month away when I stepped away from FFXIV). To be fair, I can't help but compare because I need to know what I'm doing wrong.

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Originally Posted by MetalSnakeXI1

This mentality is really bad for your mental health especially when it seeps into regular normal content.

I'd personally recommend you take a little break and rethink this a bit.Put raiding aside for a while(especially savage raids and extreme trials) and try to relax with some sidequests maybe or heck....play a different game for a little bit then come back

Personally,once you come back, I recommend you pick a DPS other than ninja

Like I said before,with samurai and dragoon you barely need to worry about that much optimization compared to the Ninja.For dragoon really all you need to worry about is keeping the dragon gauge up to power your jump attacks and execute Wheeling Thrust+Fang and Claw which is easy to do.And for Samurai you got even less things to worry about

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NIN, MCH, BRD, BLM, and MCH had been the other jobs that I tried prior to my break in which I had used in raiding. Never really gave SAM a try, but because of their reputation, I didn't bother with the job in a raid setting, save for a few times where I just didn't care about damage numbers. SMN was my main, but I gave up on that when I realize that I wasn't as good as I had believed (back in my little elitist phase that some of the regulars here remember). I started NIN on my main because I hadn't tried it, but I like the job enough that it's become my main DPS. I have a pretty core understanding of the job...I don't have a core understanding of why I'm slacking as much as I am at the moment. I fear that if I take a break again, I will not clear out this tier, as the only fights I still haven't cleared in the previous tier are still Neo Exdeath and God Kefka (and will likely never clear now that everyone has moved on).

Quote:

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Originally Posted by KaivaC

Here's the core of the problem that I'm having at present, which is why this problem is continually circulating in my head (and probably driving me barmy in the meantime). I have received plenty of help on NIN, and I've gotten to the point where I'm doing pretty good. Now, I've been told before by someone - I honestly don't remember who anymore - that unless I'm hitting green logs and above at all times, I'm basically a garbage player, and unless I'm consistently hitting at a minimum, orange levels, I'm not really good at the game. That's my driving point that is frustrating me. The other part of this problem is that I had a peer who started at around the same time that I did, and at present, they are so much better than me by a hugely long shot, and that is driving me up the wall that, as it stands, I am not going to come close to those levels.

When I say in the past that I've spent entire playtimes just doing nothing but practicing and training prior to the release of Alphascape, keep in mind that I have a tendency to play for about 15-20 hours in a single setting when I have absolutely nothing to do, which tends to be most weekends. Now, what having 5k as a NIN says to me, personally, is that I am bad. Based on conversations I've had with various individuals, those numbers, which most raiders were easily surpassing in Sigmascape, tell me that I am bad.

The fact that I can only hit green-purple in casual content, tells me that I am bad.

Maybe I just have the wrong mentality, but again, because of past conversations I have had, this is what I have come to believe. I dunno, maybe I'll just drive myself to the point where I just can't be satisfied until I'm averaging orange or purples, but then, that's a crazy goal to set, now isn't it? I dunno what to do. I can't fall back because then I'll fall behind. I'm quite sure people would agree that at present, I'm playing terribly as a raider at this level, yes?

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This gives me the distinct impression that a break would help you out more than anything else.

yes you can put pressure on yourself, get a copy of you and place it on top of you, then feel your own pressure

Quote:

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Originally Posted by van_arn

This gives me the distinct impression that a break would help you out more than anything else.

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Except...it didn't. I was actually legitimately gone for a little bit - I came back because Alphascape was announced. Started up a brand new character and mained on NIN. To be fair now, I might have misunderstood how the percentiles work, as someone mentioned earlier. That 9% percentile that I've been so upset about has jumped up this week to 18% with me not having no new logs...but it's still a grey. And again, I have to reiterate, it bothers me that I haven't cleared a full raid tier yet. Or really, even touched the final fight of the tier.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by KaivaC

Except...it didn't. I was actually legitimately gone for a little bit - I came back because Alphascape was announced. Started up a brand new character and mained on NIN. To be fair now, I might have misunderstood how the percentiles work, as someone mentioned earlier. That 9% percentile that I've been so upset about has jumped up this week to 18% with me not having no new logs...but it's still a grey. And again, I have to reiterate, it bothers me that I haven't cleared a full raid tier yet. Or really, even touched the final fight of the tier.

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You don't have to. Only do what you want to do without overextending.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by van_arn

You don't have to. Only do what you want to do without overextending.

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...well, shoot, you've backed me into a corner now. I don't have a retort to this lol.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by KaivaC

...well, shoot, you've backed me into a corner now. I don't have a retort to this lol.

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*shrug* I went through a similar phase in my own past. I ended up limiting myself to the first two floors of savage (due to the necessary time/care-ness) and joined a sprout FC on a preferred server, since I personally enjoy hanging with sprouts and watching them fall off ledges on Shinryu.

I enjoyed my Twintania/Savage days, but I personally feel I get a better return on my time being a fool with sprouts (and making sure they don't end up as auto-attacking dragoons) than I did wiping continuously for 8 hour sessions.

To underscore just how absolutely I do exclusively and exactly what I want, sam main btw.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by van_arn

*shrug* I went through a similar phase in my own past. I ended up limiting myself to the first two floors of savage (due to the necessary time/care-ness) and joined a sprout FC on a preferred server, since I personally enjoy hanging with sprouts and watching them fall off ledges on Shinryu.

I enjoyed my Twintania/Savage days, but I personally feel I get a better return on my time being a fool with sprouts (and making sure they don't end up as auto-attacking dragoons) than I did wiping continuously for 8 hour sessions.

To underscore just how absolutely I do exclusively and exactly what I want, sam main btw.

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But SAMs are good in the right hands..

I kid, I kid, I know what you are saying. I guess I'm just more perturbed that I'm not viewed as a good player in the raiding/casual community because of grey parsing. I dunno, I could give the other jobs (aside from SMN and MNK) a legitimate try at 70, but gearing would take at least four weeks plus some Suzaku runs. Plus, I know for a fact that if I do level the other combat jobs to 70, I will definitely find myself with pretty much nothing to do, hence why I really haven't touched any of the other jobs yet on my main. I dunno, I just feel like I need to be on the same level as a few folks that I have followed in the past.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by KaivaC

But SAMs are good in the right hands..

I kid, I kid, I know what you are saying. I guess I'm just more perturbed that I'm not viewed as a good player in the raiding/casual community because of grey parsing. I dunno, I could give the other jobs (aside from SMN and MNK) a legitimate try at 70, but gearing would take at least four weeks plus some Suzaku runs. Plus, I know for a fact that if I do level the other combat jobs to 70, I will definitely find myself with pretty much nothing to do, hence why I really haven't touched any of the other jobs yet on my main. I dunno, I just feel like I need to be on the same level as a few folks that I have followed in the past.

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Sounds like this is a good cycle to sit out of Savage, stop caring about how others see you, and mull over your options. Maybe one of those other classes you level will speak to you on a deeper level than nin.

Feels like you're going in circles. Almost exact thing happened last time before you announced you're deleting your character and all the like, yadayada. Maybe you really need a real break if this keeps you here, making these threads and makes you stressed or whatever you are. It's not fun if you stress about a game that should make you unwind instead.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Luciel-Nyx

Feels like you're going in circles. Almost exact thing happened last time before you announced you're deleting your character and all the like, yadayada. Maybe you really need a real break if this keeps you here, making these threads and makes you stressed or whatever you are. It's not fun if you stress about a game that should make you unwind instead.

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To be fair, another part of that break was a result of an argument away from the forums that I rightfully lost friends over because of my stances and stubbornness, so I went with what I felt was the best option for everyone involved in addition to a personal situation that had gotten way out of hand. Truth be told, I probably should just stop making these types of threads in general and just deal with my raiding insecurities in silence lol.

I know all too well the feeling as i strive to always do the best i can and if fail mechanics (or rotations by being flustered) i take it very hard.
I have since then focused on not raiding this tier and help friends instead on story content.