FFXIV is like a puzzle.

can you play FFXIV without copying outside mechanics/strategies?

You only need strategy for higher level content like Extremes, Savages and Ultimates. Even then you can set up a Party Finder group for blind runs to learn how you want. There's no real need to use YouTube.

I am sorry I did not see that correction to be made in the first message :-) thank you for your patience.

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Originally Posted by BeuBlass

I'm using WordTune to make sure I understand what I'm saying. I have a learning disability. That's all I'm willing to say.

If FFXIV were a puzzle for a group of 4-8 adventurers to solve, would the game itself be enough to find all the pieces? Although the box says it's an MMPORG, I can only find people who suggest or refer to YouTube or Google to find answers. Then why do I have to pay subscription fees if I just cheat by copying what other people have done? Is it really worth it to buy a strategy game for the sole purpose of copying the strategy? Limsa Lominsa is the only city to start a Tank, DPS, and Healer group to play through the game together. Even though job quests are solo, there are ways to communicate with team members, like Discord. To get through the dungeons, I get lots of help. Rather than learning how it works, what boss spells do, and how to react and strategize, I'm 'carried' through dungeons etc. While duty support and stuff are helpful, NPCs aren't very social when it comes to designing strategies.

You can play solo up to a point and take things slow enough to talk it out to yourself, but that's not MMPORG, isn't it?

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As an online game its normal for players to help each other. Community and all that. However, while some players might play game on one screen, walkthrough on the other, its not unusual to play content mostly blind, we don't all use guides for everything.

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Here's my kindhearted question: can you play FFXIV without copying outside mechanics/strategies?

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I've ran the MSQ entirely blind, occasionally getting help from other players and doing likewise in return. I've blind progged numerous High End Duties with Min iLevel, both Extreme and Savage. A guide is not a requirement, its a choice. If you want to play high end content without a guide you can, there are plenty of people who also want to play without guides. Look on PF or create your own blind prog groups and you will get them.

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Originally Posted by BeuBlass

Idea: I Speak from a 'static' team perspective. It might not be so easy to fix PUG or others you never met.

From level 1 to level 90 I read in parts of the game how they keep reminding me to learn to crawl before running. From the beginning, I think the game is designed to teach players HOW to strategize? If there is only one person in a team with a strategy and it is not shared with the rest of the group, what purpose is it? K'lyhia from the Arcanist NPC Job even made up names for strategies. I see/hear some folks say "Strategy is more relevant at extremes". So if you only strategize at extremes, then crawling is obsolete?

I am sorry I did not see that correction to be made in the first message :-) thank you for your patience.

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If your static only wants guided runs, find a static thats more in tune with what you want to do. You can easily create static or semi-static groups through your FC or discord groups. PF does also work, sure its harder to get good groups but I often have a lot of fun joining them. Just needs a little patience.

Can the game be played without relying on outside resources? Yes.

There definitely are players who will approach content 100% blind but you have to do some searching to find them. As you said, once someone has completed content guides start to appear online and most players would rather follow someone else's experience and advice than figure things out for themselves.

The bigger puzzle for the game isn't the boss fights in the dungeons, trial and raids. It's learning all the different systems for all the side content. Can a player figure out that there is something special about the quests that have the Blue unlock icon instead of the normal icon? Will they stumble across the auto-translate feature and figure out how to use it to communicate with players who speak a different language? If they enjoy crafting and gathering, will they know that there are special tomes and books that must be purchased to gain access to special materials and recipes? What about learning the ins and outs of the housing system without talking to other players and reading outside sources?

Possibly the biggest challenge of all would be how to create the ARR relic weapons. Parts of the process are not guided in game. It was designed to be a community challenge to figure out what to do. Players these days are automatically referred to the outside guides but it would be interesting to see if a current group of players could figure it out on their own without that outside help.