targeting system

Seriously, this FF14 needs whole lot make over for targeting a mob. U need to click a spell or skill then click on a mob that moves incrediblely fast and jumps up and down, makes harder to click on, (not to mention miskatenly clicked on to yourself) and next thing u find is dead.
Why SE makes battle so user unfriendly?
any suggestion?

I'm not a game developer, but on keyboard both targeting modes suck in my opinions, and I would like a quick <bt> text command, I could type in chat bar really quick.

I thought there was an auto target feature in game at some point, I can't seem to get it to work anymore. Considering my only problem is targeting in battle... I have no issue picking the first target.

This has been an absolute nightmare for me. It was frustrating in FFXI and it's even more frustrating in XIV. To those that have mastered it, awesome. But it's certainly not new-player friendly. Often times I'll stand facing clear straight at an enemy, will press ENTER, and it'll target something that's completely off to the right. Why?

Yes there are specific keys that target NPC's or PC's etc... but when you're just smashing through enemies in Leves with a party, and there's a cluster of enemies it's so incredibly annoying trying to target and by the time you do, and lag kicks in for drawing weapon and attempting to do something the enemy is already dead.

Also, please put numbers next to party members in the member UI. I know 4-8 players isn't difficult to manage, but if I see a player in trouble, I'll identify his/her position in the party and press the correct Function key to target them. 0.5 seconds can matter when it comes to supporting another member and anything to make it easier is much appreciated.

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Originally Posted by RedAffinity

This has been an absolute nightmare for me. It was frustrating in FFXI and it's even more frustrating in XIV. To those that have mastered it, awesome. But it's certainly not new-player friendly. Often times I'll stand facing clear straight at an enemy, will press ENTER, and it'll target something that's completely off to the right. Why?

Yes there are specific keys that target NPC's or PC's etc... but when you're just smashing through enemies in Leves with a party, and there's a cluster of enemies it's so incredibly annoying trying to target and by the time you do, and lag kicks in for drawing weapon and attempting to do something the enemy is already dead.

Also, please put numbers next to party members in the member UI. I know 4-8 players isn't difficult to manage, but if I see a player in trouble, I'll identify his/her position in the party and press the correct Function key to target them. 0.5 seconds can matter when it comes to supporting another member and anything to make it easier is much appreciated.

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It targets things from right to left, or left to right depending on how you are standing and then makes its way inward. You can fix this by utilizing target types(enemy, party, friendly etc..) If you are using ALL then yes, it will scroll through all targets.
Can't blame lag for late attempts. However, I will admit a /assist "name here" macro would be beneficial for sure.

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Originally Posted by SydeBeheln

It targets things from right to left, or left to right depending on how you are standing and then makes its way inward. You can fix this by utilizing target types(enemy, party, friendly etc..) If you are using ALL then yes, it will scroll through all targets.
Can't blame lag for late attempts. However, I will admit a /assist "name here" macro would be beneficial for sure.

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I really appreciate you clarifying.
I had the system down in FFXI, after 4 years as naturally frustrating the design is, It worked. You're absolutely right it's a similar system but it's either not as precise, or it's slightly changed. Regardless it's a nightmare when you have an area that contains numerous PC's and NPC's grouped closely together.

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Originally Posted by RedAffinity

I really appreciate you clarifying.
I had the system down in FFXI, after 4 years as naturally frustrating the design is, It worked. You're absolutely right it's a similar system but it's either not as precise, or it's slightly changed. Regardless it's a nightmare when you have an area that contains numerous PC's and NPC's grouped closely together.

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I can probably agree the reasoning behind this, is because of two separate reasons. 1. This game features graphics that are a bit more abstract, and (in the past) had multiple members in a party, almost as much as an alliance in ffxi. If you look at ffxi's alliance system, healers were responsible for only there party members, in this game a healer is responsible for up to 15 members! On top of that, pty vs. pty is a theme in this game, so you have allot more going-on on screen.
2. The movement mechanic feels a bit clunky, when i shift left or right to face a new direction, my character will do this weird movement, almost like he coming to an abrupt stop, sometimes this movement fools me, and i actually feel like I am about to shift the opposite direction, I can safely say this has bothered me with targeting in the past, and can be frustrating. If you look at ffxi, you will see that movement is very fluid, and doesn't have any extra unneeded animation applied to the switching of direction.

The targeting in XIV is still not how I would like it.

1.) I hate the fact that I continue to target a monster, even after it has been defeated. I remain locked on until it actually vanishes.

2.) I thought that, when multiple mobs were attacking you, once the one you are currently engaging is defeated, one of the other mobs that are attacking you would become automatically targeted and locked on. This seems to work some of the time, but not always.

3.) Targeting, when in ENEMY or ALL, modes, should cycle first, between mobs that are attacking you, second between all other mob npcs, and third (if in ALL) between other targets as it currently does.

The key issue with targeting is to allow a player to easily target the most immediate threat in order of natural importance. When deciding which of the mobs to target, when multiple mobs are attacking you, the system might choose either the easiest or hardest for the player. That is open to discussion still but in any case targets should be selected in the order I've described above (imho).

Further more, <bt> and /assist are both tools that would help with targeting immensely!

My two cents: I loath, hate, abhore, this most insane targeting system. Not to mention that in getting dead because of it, you lose 1/2, and 1/2 again of your HP for 15 minutes. Most unfriendly game. Graphics great, but looking out my window and cutting my throat with a rusty spoon seems a lot more fun. One more MMO for the trash heap... hugely disappointed after such excellence in FF games.