Gameplay New Player Questions

Ok, I have a couple noob questions. I’ve been playing for about a year and have gotten through MSQ, and I enjoy doing the raids and groups but all of you do not enjoy me being there. I’m horrible. But I am trying to get better, so I’m hoping for some help on two points.

1 Negative/Bad spell effects - While I accept that most who are doing groups have done these fights hundreds of times and effectively have them memorized, I haven’t. But I do understand the spell effects. The large ones you can get caught out of position and can’t get out in time. But many, MANY times I do get out (or in if required) and I still get hit. And I’m not talking on the border, I’m talking like several steps in or out of where I need to be. So, I’m assuming the only alternative to this is memorization and somehow not be in the cast area in the first place? What do I do to get better in this circumstance?

2 Semi-Random effects based upon the boss - As I got into the larger level groups I noticed that there are some effects that are variant based upon the boss. How they hold their arm, or perhaps the color effect of some spell (youtube video’s help me with this). My problem is, how do you even see the boss? Especially in 24 man groups, there is so much effect going on, not to mention summoner pets, I can’t even see the boss. Is this also just memorization that you all have?

Thanks.

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Originally Posted by Joiry

1 Negative/Bad spell effects - While I accept that most who are doing groups have done these fights hundreds of times and effectively have them memorized, I haven’t. But I do understand the spell effects. The large ones you can get caught out of position and can’t get out in time. But many, MANY times I do get out (or in if required) and I still get hit. And I’m not talking on the border, I’m talking like several steps in or out of where I need to be. So, I’m assuming the only alternative to this is memorization and somehow not be in the cast area in the first place? What do I do to get better in this circumstance?

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You need to have avoided an attack by the time the cast bar ends. Once the cast bar ends, the attack registers, even if the animation has not gone off. To help with this, I recommend going to System and then HUD Layout and moving your target bar lower down so that you can see what the boss is casting. To account for latency, it is wise to have avoided it by 75% of the cast bar. There are a few exceptions to this where it goes with the animation, but only a few in the entire game.

You can avoid attacks a lot quicker on a PC by using legacy type with "activate standard type auto-fly/auto-dive" disabled https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/game_...sic_modechange

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2 Semi-Random effects based upon the boss - As I got into the larger level groups I noticed that there are some effects that are variant based upon the boss. How they hold their arm, or perhaps the color effect of some spell (youtube video’s help me with this). My problem is, how do you even see the boss? Especially in 24 man groups, there is so much effect going on, not to mention summoner pets, I can’t even see the boss. Is this also just memorization that you all have?

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I recommend that you turn down the battle effects https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/uigui..._bteffect.html

Own - Show All
Party - Show Limited
Others - Show None

For a general markers guide and what they do, you can read through this https://imgur.com/a/c9oxF1d

There is also a command to make those summoner pets smaller so that they dont block your view as much. I think its /petsize all small or something like that

Random advice:

At no point should you be staring at your keyboard/controller or hotbars themselves during a fight. You need to be looking at the boss, the boss' cast bar/timer, telegraphs on the ground for damage avoidance, and have awareness of where your character and others are located on the field of battle.

Pressing buttons needs to be straight up muscle memory in order to be effective. You get the feel for the GCD, so you know when to make that next GCD action go off, you weave in oGCDs by muscle memory, and an extremely brief glance at hotbars tells you when to hit your next cooldown. I've only leveled Summoner and Bard so far, but both of those jobs also have audio cues to indicate when certain abilities should be used, allowing you to maintain focus on the action and not look at a hotbar. I'm assuming all jobs have these audible cues.

Hey, I'm not saying I never look at bars... just that not looking at bars is the ultimate goal. Like, if you're the LeBron James of FFXIV, you look at the action 99.5% of the time, and the hotbars 0.05% of the time.

It also can help to place your action bars within your field of view if you find relying on muscle memory to be difficult. This way you can see what needs to be pressed next without really taking your eyes off the aforementioned aspects of combat.

Good luck!

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1 Negative/Bad spell effects - While I accept that most who are doing groups have done these fights hundreds of times and effectively have them memorized, I haven’t. But I do understand the spell effects. The large ones you can get caught out of position and can’t get out in time. But many, MANY times I do get out (or in if required) and I still get hit. And I’m not talking on the border, I’m talking like several steps in or out of where I need to be. So, I’m assuming the only alternative to this is memorization and somehow not be in the cast area in the first place? What do I do to get better in this circumstance?

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It took me a bit to get used to it coming from other MMO's, but in almost all cases, a boss's action is triggered when the marking on the ground disappears, not when the boss actually does whatever the move is (which is usually a few seconds later). If you're still standing in the "bad" zone when the marker is done, you'll get hit even if you move into a "safe" spot before the action actually occurs. Likewise, if you're in a "safe" spot when the telegraph goes away, you can actually then move into the "bad" area and still be okay. There's only very select few instances in the game where that doesn't apply, but it's useful as a general rule of thumb.

One more thing I found that helped me was changing the camera angle depending on what race I play...put slider to around 75 for most races. The default is set around 35 which centers your character more but it makes it so you can't see the boss very well and the boss will be too high on the screen.

You can also press CTRL + arrow up/arrow down to adjust our camera field of view more up and down to view more of the boss accordingly. I found this to be a big help when fighting.

Also worth checking your connection speed - I play from UK on US server (Aether DC) and there is a noticeable 1-2 second delay for Boss moves to show on my screen compared to more local folk so I learn to move with the group rather than watching out for telegraphs. If everyone is suddenly running to the other side of the boss arena, I don't stick around to see why :)

1. This depends on when you get out of the range area. Main thing is pay attention to the casting bar of a foe's attack instead of the animation as some have delays. Further, make sure you are out of the area. It is not so uncommon you can think you are out of an area when you are really close to an attack zone.

2. I'll admit the 24 man groups can be challenging for a first timer. But a few things. If you are playing as a DPS or Tank you should be making sure your target is on the boss. There are a few instances where you are required to target something else but the majority of the time you can just leave it on a boss. Healer doesn't have so much of a need as you will be more focus on keeping other alive. Other thing is just good old repetition. In time you will come to figure out via memory what a boss does, what to expect for the level and also how to distinguish all the things popping up. Tab scrolling, while not perfect, can help also. Lastly be sure you are adjusting you camera angles as needed to wider views.

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Originally Posted by Joiry

but all of you do not enjoy me being there. I’m horrible. But I am trying to get better.

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Thats not true. Don’t mind what other people think about you. Its all about learning mechanics and having fun. Everyone dies at some point in the game :) I recommend MTQcapture for normal trials and EX trials, alliance raids and normal raid guides. She explains the mechanics thoroughly and has everything you need to know, what to do and what not to do. (correct me if im wrong anyone) but yeah have fun and good luck! ^^

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Originally Posted by Rayne6665

Thats not true. Don’t mind what other people think about you. Its all about learning mechanics and having fun. Everyone dies at some point in the game :) I recommend MTQcapture for normal trials and EX trials, alliance raids and normal raid guides. She explains the mechanics thoroughly and has everything you need to know, what to do and what not to do. (correct me if im wrong anyone) but yeah have fun and good luck! ^^

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I need more people like u in my life <3