Dungeon Anxiety

Ive only been playing for a week now. I started as a Conjurer, not knowing that it would make me a healer, as a matter of fact I didnt know anything about the game or dungeons to begin with. So last night i did what is I believe the 5th dungeon in the storyline quests, the tank was kind of reckless and since im new and not that skilled as a healer i couldn't keep up. i left and joined another party did the whole thing over and it went fine. We did get wiped twice at the main boss, which was most likely my lack of skill but we got it in the end. Now I am at the second boss fight that requires the duty search thing and im really anxious and actually stopped playing. It kind of sucks because i cant really enjoy those parts since i feel like I'll probably let people down or something. Do you guys have any advice for me to feel more confident or maybe know if there is a thread with groups of people that are skilled and take in a noob like me to help get through those dungeons? Thank you.

i would help you if we were on the same server, there is always the party finder which allows you to set conditions and write a message explaining what kind of party you are looking for, and people choose to join

I didn't even know there is a party finder. is it when you do the duty search to do the dungeon? And thanks, that's nice of you. I really do appreciate all the advice and help from people, its allot to learn in this game, but its mostly so much fun.

no party finder does not search for members, it's something where you list the type of party you want, list the dungeon, and can describe what exactly you are searching for

other players will check the party finder, see what you wrote and decide if they wish to join

it is under social in the menu

Ok, thank you so much. I will try that next time. Especially since writing takes forever on the ps4 when you dont have a keyboard, which I dont.

Are you talking about Titan story fight? Queue for it and I'll help you :P

Edit: Whoops, bed time

Party finder isn't much use for dungeon groups, people will generally only check it for endgame farm groups, and almost nobody specifically chooses to do low level dungeons, they just do them for roulettes.

Honestly, the best thing you can do is stop caring what people think. Everyone was new and undergeared once, and a player who can't adjust their playstyle to cater for that is as much of a problem as the new person. Tell people you're new and it's your first time, and if they don't like it they're free to throw a tantrum and ragequit while you get to requeue instantly.

When I first started playing, I definitely had anxiety about queuing dungeons. No one wants to wipe the party, of course. I used to get so nerved up that I would withdraw my queue before it popped. Now I am the go to healer in my FC for anything besides Final Coil of Bahamut. Like Jimbo said, everyone was new once. Many players are understanding of that, and will take it easier, explain battles and such. All you can do is try your best, the more you play, the more comfortable you'll become with your class. As you learn your class, you will react faster to situations, know your toolkit better, and be able to focus more on battle mechanics. Most important, though, is have fun. Even if you can't clear a battle, learn something from it, and take that with you next time. We're all just playing a game.

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Originally Posted by JimboTCB

Honestly, the best thing you can do is stop caring what people think.

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^
You will learn that the playerbase is made up of 95% moaners, who, even if you made no mistakes at all, would still complain lol
Everyone knows EVERYTHING better than anyone else

so just go in, have fun, and if they don't like it, so be it.
You might get lucky and find some people who can help you and offer constructive advice on how to do things, or you might get 3 people who say nothing at all, or just complain that you pulled too quick, too slow, too many, too few, lost aggro, or just about anything imaginable.

FWIW when I first start tanking, I never kept aggro on anything, everything ran wild and I had no clue wtf was going on lol.... so even if you go in and things go badly, who cares, you're not the first and won't be the last :)

The anxiety is normal. I still get anxious going in as healer cuz my latency may kill people.

But bear in mind this - the other 3 could well play healer themselves, but they chose not to. They chose to not shoulder the healin responsibility because they are just as scared as you - and that is what makes you better than them because you stuck with it, and so you really are the one with leverage on them, not the other way round.

So, don't fear!

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Originally Posted by SuggaBerry

the tank was kind of reckless

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^THIS irritates me more than anything else in this game. Most people (tanks that big pull lower dungeons) do not understand how the level sync item sync works and thus, believe that they are super in i130 gear in satasha or haukke mannor normal. The sync doesn't make your gear better, infact, it makes it worse than dungeon pinks as far as I've hear, but either way, you still have to treat lower dungeons as if you were that level.

Also, just ignore people, they will complain about anything you do .... 1 person will complain your not doing dps ... then another will whine about you dpsing and want you only to heal... it is a never ending cycle, the only thing you can do is ignore them and if something goes wrong on your end, apologize and move on.

:D

I dpsed from the start so never got nervous in duty..then I levelled healer..I know exactly what you mean, trust me you will build confidence and it will pass:) now I've picked up tanking..thats a new kind of anxiety and for my first run of each dungeon I always ask people I know to go with me. But I'm getting less nervous about that now I am becoming more familiar with how it works. Keep going!

Op, the fact is this game is challenging. Some of those story trials are really hard. You might die. Most people will understand you are new. Don't worry about it and just keep practicing.

Please buy a cheap USB keyboard or steal the one off your pc. It helps so much. I join dungeons to have fun and meet new people and it's very frustrating to be trying to help a new player and get little to no response.

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Originally Posted by SuggaBerry

Do you guys have any advice for me to feel more confident or maybe know if there is a thread with groups of people that are skilled and take in a noob like me to help get through those dungeons? Thank you.

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Oh hi, you're on my server! If I'm in game, send me a tell and I'll help you out ^_^ I love helping new people, and I'd gladly run those story fights with you. My FC is really friendly and helpful, so it wouldn't be hard to find other people to help out.

It sounds like you did fine to me! Some tanks are reckless. Some reckless tanks are reckless because they're also new to the game and don't know any better. If you say something, they might listen. If they don't, leaving is totally valid. Other tanks are reckless because they're jerks. When you say something to them, they might reply in a hostile way, or they might blame you for them dying despite it being entirely their fault. When I run into those, I usually just leave. Or, if the rest of the party is nice, vote-kick them and get a new tank.

In 4-player dungeons, healers have the most critical role in boss fights. If the tank dies, the party might wipe, but it's recoverable if they get raised fast enough. If the healer dies, unless one of the DPS happens to be an Arcanist/Summoner (who can also cast Raise), it's definitely a wipe since the healer is down for the count.

Healing might not be right for you, and that's totally okay. You might enjoy DPS more. One of the great things about FFXIV is that you can change classes at will and level all classes up as high as you want. In fact, for every class that isn't your absolute highest class, you get a permanent +50% experience bonus, so it's easier to level up new classes. DPS have less critical roles than healers or tanks, so there's less pressure on them. I'm not saying they're less complex, but they're definitely more forgiving if you mess up.


Some quick advantages/disadvantages to the different roles:

Healers (CNJ/WHM, SCH[comes from ACN, but ACNs aren't healers])
Advantages: In low level dungeons, there's not that much healing to be done outside of boss fights, so there's little pressure. Throw out heals sometimes, DPS sometimes if you want, and it'll be fine. They have short queue times for dungeon queues. They are generally the most appreciated role and tend to get most of the commendations when the party does well.

Disadvantages: If you die in a 4-player dungeon, the party will almost always wipe shortly afterward, especially during boss fights. This means there's more pressure on them not to mess up and die. Because healers need to focus on the party's healthbars, it can be hard for new healers to notice stuff they need to do, like dodge AoE attacks (this can be mitigated by focus-targeting the boss in a boss fight (Shift-F) - that lets you see what the boss is doing even if you don't have the boss targeted). Reckless tanks who are jerks often blame the healer when they pull too many enemies and die (note: it's never the healer's fault in this case, so when it happens (and it will happen), don't let it get to you. The tank is just being a jerk).


Tanks (GLD/PLD, MRD/WAR
Advantages: Shortest dungeon queue times (often instant the second you click the button). Right now, Tanks practically always get the "adventurer in need" bonuses when doing roulettes because they are the least common role and most needed role.

Disadvantages: Tanks set the pace of dungeons, but that means they get a lot of crap from other players when they go too slow and when they go too fast. If they go slower than a DPS wants to go, the DPS will often attack first making it hard for the tank to keep up, especially early in the game. Tanks are expected to keep the attention of the enemies from the very beginning, but they don't have great tools to do so until halfway through the game (level 30 for WAR, level 40 for PLD). Tanks are also expected to know everything about a dungeon (even the first time they do it) and to explain it to anyone else who is doing it for the first time. These are all reasons why tanks are the least common role and the most needed.

DPS (ACN/SMN, ARC/BRD, PUG/MNK, ROG/NIN, LNC/DRG)
Advantages: Least critical role. You could be terrible at your role and people would barely notice in early game content. You don't have to lead and you don't have to worry about what other party members are doing. You just have to follow along and attack things.

Disadvantages: Very long dungeon queue times. And I really do mean that.




EDIT: Oh, and I second the above commenter. I strongly recommend getting a USB keyboard. They're not expensive, easy to find (Best Buy, Staples, Amazon, etc), and this is a social game. Half the fun is interacting with other players.

If you got 18 dollars, transfer to either Leviathan or Cactuar, and I'll personally enroll you in FFXIV 101, and teach you anything you want/need to know. I don't mind helping ppl.

I really wish people would stop citing DPS being non-critical as an advantage. Just because the tanks and healers CAN carry you through most content doesn't mean we like doing it. And we DO notice when folks aren't carrying their weight.

Saying "Oh, you can slack off on DPS and nobody will care lol" is why we have so many shitty DPS.

If u get qeued in with endgame players on ur low level dungeons they usually tend to write u off ( any low level healer ) as their own heal bot lol
If u ask what do i do guys
They usually motion just stand there and heal us.

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Originally Posted by Yumi_umi

If u get qeued in with endgame players on ur low level dungeons they usually tend to write u off ( any low level healer ) as their own heal bot lol
If u ask what do i do guys
They usually motion just stand there and heal us.

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Well shame on any vet that does that. New players are a vital part of the game, and they're as much a paying player as the rest of us. I go out of my way to help the newbies and make sure they know what's going on, especially if they seem to be struggling, and if a seasoned player doesn't have the time or patience for that, they ought to stay out of low level dungeons or see themselves from the instance.

Thank you everyone for your advice, it definitely made me feel better.

I was in the exact same boat as you, except as a tank. Never played an MMO in my life, and knew literally nothing about how this game worked, especially in groups. I just figured the sword-wieldin dude was the most basic, easiest to pick up class so I went with it. No idea what a tank was when I picked it, but luckily I had done enough research by the time I got to my first dungeon to at least have a basic understanding what my role was supposed to be there. Still died, and sucked really bad, but we got through it. I stuck with tanking even though I hated it all the way through the main storyline and as far as Leviathan HM and Labyrinth of the Ancients. Labyrinth broke me, though, and my first run of that back when it was new content was my last run as a "main tank". Didn't run any dungeon content for a very very long time, until I picked up Monk and fell in love with it.

Going to be perfectly honest here - if you don't actually like healing, you may want to level up another class and go with that while you're still relatively low level, rather than suffer through more of the game in a class/role you didn't plan on playing. Endgame content really raises the bar on what is expected of you, and you will be absolutely miserable as a healer who only heals because it was what you picked at the start. If you've found out since starting that you do actually like healing, though...kudos on you and just have fun!

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Originally Posted by Urthdigger

Saying "Oh, you can slack off on DPS and nobody will care lol" is why we have so many shitty DPS.

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I care and I will say something but usually get ignored. A lot of dps are leveling for the sake of leveling and don't care at all about optimizing. I had one SMN tell me flat out they macro all three spells to one key and just don't care about their dps. They just wanted to watch Netflix, hit one key and that's it. Unfortunately that's often the norm. Tanks and healers tend to take their role more seriously since the rest of the party can't clear if they are that bad. It just isn't worth making a big deal out of it because it makes the run stressful over how total strangers want to play and it's easier to just move on.

If it makes you feel any better those bad dps get eaten alive when they try to tackle endgame and don't know how to play their own class. I've seen groups humiliate dd for letting the Paladin do higher dps. People do run parsers but you can also tell when things die slow and see when the dps are letting their buffs drop. People may not announce the numbers but they'll let the entire group, their fc, and linkshells know if someone is being out-dps'd by a healer or tank.

I actually like being a healer and I would love to actually learn to get really good at it. Its just discouraging when someone cusses you out and is rude to you.

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Originally Posted by SuggaBerry

Ive only been playing for a week now. I started as a Conjurer, not knowing that it would make me a healer, as a matter of fact I didnt know anything about the game or dungeons to begin with. So last night i did what is I believe the 5th dungeon in the storyline quests, the tank was kind of reckless and since im new and not that skilled as a healer i couldn't keep up. i left and joined another party did the whole thing over and it went fine..............

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Can I just say don't let people get to you in this game or any other MMO,
I have Anxiety and my game was terrible while I was around people that judged me or pointed out how bad I was while I tried learning fights,
I couldn't join primal ex farms in party finder because of the pressure of messing up.
but when I left my first FC at turn 10 and joined a new one my game improved massively and now I'm at the last phase of turn 13 and have 5 of 6 EX primal mounts.
Surround yourself with people who are willing to take time for both you and them to learn fights, its a game at the end of the day just have fun and take every fight as a learn experience even if you don't clear it.
That is what made me a better player.

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Originally Posted by SuggaBerry

Do you guys have any advice for me to feel more confident or maybe know if there is a thread with groups of people that are skilled and take in a noob like me to help get through those dungeons? Thank you.

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I'm on Faerie as well, so feel free to reach out.

Try not to stress about dungeons; most people do understand that a new player might not know all mechanics from the start, and part of the point of these dungeons is to teach you the basics of playing with others as you level up.

It's perfectly normal to get some anxiety when you're doing something for the first time, especially for tank and healer roles because their mistakes don't often go unpunished. That being said, you're still low level and those dungeons are really not difficult encounters. It's only going to get a lot harder when you reach endgame, and if the stress is going to effect your performance to the point where you have to "stop playing" then maybe you should try out a dps instead.

To the OP: relax. Like Chii above said, we've all been there, and it can be especially tough for those playing tanks or healer, especially when you're new to the job of your choosing.

Remember that even experienced players occasionally mess up and make mistakes, the best thing you can do is to learn from them and move on, hopefully with a smile.

A good FC or LS is of tremendous help, naturally. Join one you're comfortable with, and last but not least, be ready to listen to constructive criticism but do -not- let performance anxiety get to you.

Sooner or later, you're also bound to run into somebody whose attitude or style of play doesn't mesh well with yours, no matter how well or quickly you're doing your thing. Don't let that bring you down, be civil while standing firmly your ground.

And last but not least -- try to have fun. Best of luck!

I would recommend just letting everyone know you're new and ask them to tell you about anything you should know. Most people are cool and are willing to explain things. Plus you're a healer which is the most sought out class in the game.

If you enjoy playing healer, I would practice learning how to do a lot of DPS moves with it.

As someone who plays tank, it annoys me to no end when the healer adheres to a strictly "Healer Only" attitude; standing there for 95% of the battle literally doing nothing, with an occasional regen and cure cast.

Healers get some of the best nuking abilities in the game, and it's a waste if the healer doesn't use them. Makes runs much more efficient when all four members are dealing damage.

So my advice: Start practicing in lower leveled dungeons on allowing the tank to get to half health without heal. Then when it dips below, start casting cure, then resume DPS-ing.
The tank may complain, but reassure them that no mob in the game is going to do a 2000-damage-hit out of nowhere (unless they stood in an Sabotender AoE with a deer-in-the-headlights look on Cutter's Cry), so they will be fine.
Tanks get buffs to help themselves with their missing health. Bezerk + Bloodbath + Storm's Path spammed makes a Warrior virtually invulnerable to death when dealing with small numbers of enemies. So they can sustain themselves without constant "topping off the gas tank" with cures every time a tank dips below 3999/4000 health.

More time for you to DPS, and overall more efficient dungeons.
Do know that this advice is meant for runs that you have previously done, as I would never expect a healer to go into constant DPS mode on their very first run through a particular dungeon.
And boss fights can be tricky with this, but practice makes perfect.

I know I'm late to the party and that most of the good advices have already been said, so I'll only say this. If you need help with anything, be it dungeons, questions or anything really, feel free to look me up on Faerie. I was in the same spot as you are a few months ago and so many nice people went out of their way to help me, so it's only natural to pay it forward.

If you like healing, keep it up and never give up, you'll get the hang of it.

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Originally Posted by Voldemort

As someone who plays tank, it annoys me to no end when the healer adheres to a strictly "Healer Only" attitude; standing there for 95% of the battle literally doing nothing, with an occasional regen and cure cast.

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When I play my SCH I stance dance like a boss :o I have Eos's Embrace on my mouse so I can manually click her if needed and there is always more than enough time to Lustrate > UnCleric > Heal/Aldo.

It takes some getting used to, but it makes things fun and it is kind of boring just healing all the time ... Especially when you get a tank that takes no damage, those are my favorite! :3

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Originally Posted by Lilyanna

When I play my SCH I stance dance like a boss :o I have Eos's Embrace on my mouse so I can manually click her if needed and there is always more than enough time to Lustrate > UnCleric > Heal/Aldo.

It takes some getting used to, but it makes things fun and it is kind of boring just healing all the time ... Especially when you get a tank that takes no damage, those are my favorite! :3

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It's nice to see other proactive healers. Many players can't seem to grasp that a bolt from heaven will not randomly strike their tank to near-death.

It sounds like you just got through Brayflox and if that is the case you are doing fine. Brayflox is the first dungeon that seems to give people issues, particularly tanks. The monsters hit hard and it is easy to accidentally pull extra mobs. I had an archer that loved to backflip into mobs we hadn't aggroed yet. >_<

If you are online during PST evenings you can look for Aneira Llywach. She loves to help with healing advice.

I see you are already leveling arcanist. If you are doing any caster class you will also want to level thaumaturge up to 26 for swiftcast which will be your favorite cross-class skill ever.

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Originally Posted by Sagittarian

It sounds like you just got through Brayflox and if that is the case you are doing fine. Brayflox is the first dungeon that seems to give people issues, particularly tanks. The monsters hit hard and it is easy to accidentally pull extra mobs. I had an archer that loved to backflip into mobs we hadn't aggroed yet. >_<

If you are online during PST evenings you can look for Aneira Llywach. She loves to help with healing advice.

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Aneira is on Shiva... My alt on Faerie is Tomo Sensei. I've leveled at least one of each job type. I main both Scholar and White Mage on Malboro, so I'm pretty conversant. I was told that I sucked the first time I healed a dungeon. I stopped healing for a while until I unlocked Scholar, and then I loved it (which you can do, given your level).

If you'd like, I could add you as a friend to my alt later tonight. I have a Towers run on Malboro, but I can swap characters after that, if you'd like.

Early game content is there specifically so you'll have breathing room to screw up. You DO have one of (if not the) most important jobs in the party, since you essentially take up the mantle of correcting people's mistakes. Having played through both WHM and PLD, and currently leveling WAR (and hearing stories about SCH), I do believe your class (WHM) is probably the most difficult in the game.

That said, there's really no reason to be afraid to screw up. If all else fails, just target and spam cure on your tank. Once you get better at judging your healing capacity, you can start stance dancing and get all the commends your party has to offer for being awesome.

I'm a DPS at heart, i love the bloodshed, so to speak :) but unfortunately, there's no giant weapon wielding dps classes in the game yet and Dragoons just don't count. So the Warrior class began to look appealing but it's a tank class and I had some anxiety about it myself as tanking is a significant responsibility compared to a dps class who really only needs to "carry the torch" during those dps checks.

But now I'm enjoying tanking, as it let's me boss people around and act like a arrogant cunt. (lolsarcasm) but seriously, just keep playing and practicing and you will get the hang of things: your class, the dungeons, and the playerbase. And best of luck to you!

You just need to learn to not feel obligated to care about other people's feelings when their being stupid. But warn them you're a new player and to take it slow.

2nd. I suggest you listen to Voldemort's post. Learn to switch between cleric stance. When your tank is above 50% hp...25% when you get really good. Cleric stance up and DPS. When their at 50% or 25%[when you get really good]. Take it off and heal them up. Healer DPS makes runs go super fast. But I wouldn't do it until you're use to switching between party members and targets. Because yeah...WHM can cure, but they can get some pretty good "Deeps" too.

and oh. If you do decide to switch over to a dps. Don't take that one post seriously saying "no one will notice". People -WILL- notice and WILL point you out. I do it all the time.

I still have dungeon anxiety.

I have health conditions and some days my reflexes make it so stance dancing as WHM is kinda dangerous. So it becomes a gamble of "are they going to be a jerk, or not care?"

Another thing that might help you is to read the tool descriptions. Which is in actions and traits from the menu. Understanding how things work will maybe be a big confidence booster. Assuming you haven't done so already.

Just wanted to say thanks again to all the encouraging words and helpful tips everybody has given me on here.
I did end up simultaneously leveling up arcanist/summoner so now I am basically doing story line quests as a white mage and switch to summoner to do dungeons, including story line dungeons.