Getting the most out of your Pad. (A guide for the controller capable among us.)
I was a hardcore WoW raider, back in the Vanilla days. I spent many hours in the depths of Ahn'Qiraj, and Naxxramas. Playing that MMO for so long I became almost obsessed with the how you could successfully translate this kind of gameplay to a gamepad. Ever since the original Halo took the world by storm with its great gamepad controls, it's always been a pet hobby of mine to see how other genres, that seem Mouse and Keyboard monoliths could be adapted to alternative control schemes, without sacrificing much in the way of raw gameplay. In other words, without feeling dumbed down, not only does Final Fantasy XIV have outstanding gamepad controls, but they managed to make some of the most fluid, stress free controls I could have imagined, the only thing keeping them from being used to their fullest potential is a comprehensive understanding of some of the more subtle quirks Square Enix failed to elucidate.
I've searched around the web, and on these very forums, for tips and tricks for getting the absolute most out of your gamepad play and I have been left wanting. My goal here is to bring some of these mysteries out into the open, in a comprehensive manner.
I will dictate here the wisdom I have accumulated over the 100+ hours I spent with the game pad, to the exclusion of every other system of control. I invite anyone here with extensive gamepad knowledge to lend their advice here as well.
1: Spell Apathy.
When first starting out with your gamepad. Make it a point to spread out. When you first make your character, put your sprint, chocobo, and prehaps even entire COMBO actions on another Bar entirely. No, not the L2 bar, on Set 1. But Set 2, or 4, whatever you like. This seems extremely counter-intuitive, and I agree, but one thing it does teach you, the player, is practiced intent. While this might seem like a headache at level 3, by the time you're level 50, you will be swapping bar sets instantly, and on reflex, rather than fumbling around trying to get to that next spell in your rotation, or that potion you need to survive. At first it seems really useful to keep all of these things on your initial bar, you soon discover that all this is doing is teaching you bad habits. For those who may not be aware, the Gamepad controls have 8 sets of hotbars, with 16 spell slots a piece. That's A LOT of wiggleroom for experimentation. It's very simple to access these. By simply holding R1/RB, and using the face buttons, and D-Pad, you can access any one of these 8 sets of hotbars. Tapping the R1/RB button will cycle through these hotbars in order, depending on whether or not you have anything bound to that particular bar. I actually HIGHLY advise AGAINST doing this at all. This is one of the weakest functions of the gamepad, it's much more efficient to memorize where on the gamepad a particular function is by Holding R1 and pressing the corrosponding button.
2: Targeting Filters.
Learn them, and ABUSE THEM. They are your golden ticket. When selecting a target, one can often become befuddled with the array of dizzying places that thing will go before it settles on your desired target. But the magic trick to targeting in Final Fantasy XIV with a pad is to make use of targeting filters. You do this by holding the L1 button, (or Left Bumper for my PC inclined brethren,) and pressing one of the Four face buttons. Square, X, Circle, Triangle. If you pay careful attention to the HP bar at the bottom of your screen, you will find that it will change depending on the button pressed. For instance, if you hit L1+Circle, you will see this change from "All" to "Enemies". You can even make completely custom filters in the Character Options menu. This is probably the most important thing you will ever learn while playing on a pad. Trying to cycle through your targets in a crowded environment, like a Raid without this knowledge will earn you a sour reputation. Learn this, and you've effectively mastered 60% of Pad Game.
3: Focus.
One of the most frustrating things I encountered about the pad, is while fighting different sets of enemies, the target reticule would snap back to a completely different target without my consent. I thought "This has to be some kind of bug! This is getting me killed, and it's frustrating!" I didn't know what was going on, and it happened so rarely, that I couldn't find a cause for it. This tip is kind of an admission of not completely understanding the mechanics. But I discovered by accident that the first target you attack is marked as your "Focus" if you only attack your singular focus target, you won't encounter many problems. But if you need to say "pacify" an monster for a levequest, you will find your reticle constantly jumping over to that target YOU JUST took out, instead of the new monster you're fighting. The solution is to tap X over the new monster while the targeting reticule is placed over your new quarry. Simple.
4: Targeting woes.
One thing I have discovered that dramatically reduces the amount of mistargets (after applying knowledge of filters) is WHY your character targets certain things first. The answer is quite simple. Your character will target the closet thing the avatar(your character) is PERSONALLY looking at. You think, "Oh! If I pan the camera THIS way, and hit X, my character will target that enemy/sign/NPC." But that's not how it works at all. Your character will first target things within his PERSONAL field of vision. Once you wrap your mind around this, targeting becomes EXTREMELY less frustrating. You will find yourself running up to a particular monster and tapping X and targeting the EXACT monster you were hoping to 99.8% of the time. My game changed instantly once I discovered this detail, and it made the game unfathomably more enjoyable on a gamepad, giving it a more action oriented feel with the more melee oriented classes and Jobs.
And thus, one thing leads to the next.
5: CLICK FILTER.
GOD DAMNIT. This thing is amazing. Under the targeting tab, in the character settings menu, there is an option called "Click Filter". No explanation is given as to what this wonderous option even does. Through experimentation alone did I deduce its value, and it's extremely important. The first thing that confused me about this option was its name, hence why it was ignored until about 2 days ago. "Click" filter. I'm not clicking, I'm on a pad. I'm pressing buttons. Truly, is this not what any unassuming person would think? That's not something you do with a pad. You don't click.. you "Button." Enough rambling, here's the jist. If you're a damage dealer, you want to set this on enemies. If you're a healer, you want to have this set on party members. Period. What this accomplishes is very simple. If it is set to enemies, you WILL target the closest enemy your character is facing by pressing the X button. Pressing X again will lock that target as your focus. While focused, you can heal/sleep/stun OTHER enemies/friends, and then IMMEDIATELY return to your original target, hence "Focus". Learn this, pad users. The value of understanding these last two points WILL DRAMATICALLY improve your game in high intensity situations. Instead of fumbling with the Up and Down buttons of your D-Pad to target friendlies in the heat of combat, simply looking at them and hitting X will INSTANTLY target them.
6: The All-Powerful L1 Button.
The L1 button is quite a nifty thing. I have spent hours experimenting with this button, and the different uses it has are pretty extensive. Here are some of the most useful functions I have discovered for this button.
~L1+Select= Hide the user interface. This is amazing for Screenshots(!!!!), and generally enjoying the world.
~L1+Start= Takes a Screenshot.
~L1+Face Buttons= Targeting Filters. USE THEM.
~L1+Right Stick= Camera Zoom. Up = Zoom in. Down = Zoom out.
~(With your map completely open,(Not transparent))L1+Right Stick= Map Zoom.
~L1+R3= Free Mouse. Holding L1 and clicking the right stick will allow you to control the an on screen cursor, that lets you manipulate objects on the user interface with more precision.
These are some of the functions I have discovered. I'm sure there are more. Experimentation is key with this button. If you know any more, let me know.
7: Mounts.
While mounted, clicking the left stick in will automatically dismount you. If you have something targeted, it will camera lock with that target, even while on a mount. This is incredibly frustrating and I hope it's removed. Nothing personal against the target lock, but dismounting should be a PRIORITY, not locking onto an enemy or random object I can't even interact with before I dismount.
Bonus Tip:
Nostalgia Mode.
Remember those classic 'SNES/Playstion One' Final Fantasy games? Where you had to hit A/Circle to interact with the environment/advance menus and X/B to cancel? Relive those fond memories by remapping your Playstation 3/Xbox 360 controller's interact button to Circle/B. This is how I play, and it's been a treat. Not only to make this game feel a little bit more like those classic games, but also to have a game on a console with such robust controller customization.
