hello guys :) question

So i'm kinda new (almost two weeks of playing and lvl 54). i was wondering if the end game is all about 3 dungeons for tomes and nothing else? for casuals because well i have time to play 5-6 hours a day but i can't manage to go and join a static for raids since all i see is them running static at night 10-12 pm and well i have a job early in the morning.

i do like to raid and thats what motivates me because i like clearing content. but is there anything else to do besides raiding and crafting? the only thing i really hate is crafting in a game. i know theres pvp but its broken. and theres saucer dunno what it is actually but will look up for it.

idk im just in my 30 free days and idk if i want to sub just to log in and do dailies (3 dun) and log out. imo thats not worth a sub

Statics can run at any time in the day, they aren't limited to 10-12pm. You can always start your own.

In my opinion, if you aren't raiding, I don't see this game as having much to interest you. That said, plenty of people enjoy the game who do not raid doing things such as crafting, gathering, dungeons, leveling alts, and gold saucer stuff.

so basically the raiding part is the fun part of the game? i wish i could but damn real life strikes a few during the day and i might or might not be on to play. i guess console games or free to play games are the real way to go i guess. ;/

don't think like that. You can have the time of your life and never raid. I got addicted to this game before I even knew what a raid was.

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Originally Posted by Ramadok

so basically the raiding part is the fun part of the game? i wish i could but damn real life strikes a few during the day and i might or might not be on to play. i guess console games or free to play games are the real way to go i guess. ;/

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I wouldn't look at it like that.

First, you can always join pick-up groups (PUGs) through party finder. This will be much more difficult and in my opinion less rewarding, but it is an option.

Second, this just my opinion, that I don't find the other parts of the game as fun, but many people do. Raiders are considered to be a rather small part of the community.

Third, as I mentioned, you can always create your own static or continue to search one that meets your needs better. We all have real lives and there are undoubtedly others in similar situations with similar time constraints as your own. You just need to look for them.

Playing in a static is very rewarding, because you create great relationships with your static-mates. It is significantly more rewarding than PUGs.

Imo, the main difference between MMOs and other games is the ability you have to meet and interact with people and socialize in a living world. You don't have to be a raider in order to enjoy that.

If you're the type of person that just sticks to yourself and only joins groups in order to serve your own personal needs, then yes I don't see this game being of much interest to you outside of raiding.

Disclaimer: This is a short answer and my personal opinion. Casual end game is about two things. 1) Cap your weekly tomestones (aka lore). No reason you can't run expert once a day. 2) Get your weekly lockouts done. For example, void ark & alexander. I view these two things as bare minimum to keep yourself competitive in gear. I also do daily beast tribe quests. Where things get a little more extensive is doing crafting and gathering red scripts and leveling up additional jobs. They are time consuming but totally doable with out a static. Once again, that is just my two cents.

5-6 hours every day and consider yourself a casual... That's a lot of free time. ^_^

Out of curiosity I pulled up your Lodestone character profile to gain a better understanding of your concerns. You have just enough pugilist to unlock bard and nothing else. You are at level 54 with no HW gear from any dungeons or content beyond the ARR stuff. I am fairly certain they by level 54 the MSQ gives you a HQ bow of at least i120 for getting into HW.

My suggestion is to slow down and enjoy the game. Run dungeons and see the different mechanics (They all show up in some form at end game anyway) and enjoy the story. Yes there are an awful lot of fetch quests and stuff to slow you down but there is a really good story in this game too and each patch builds on the last. The dungeons themselves have interesting stories too. Beyond that though there is a lot of different things to do in the game. (Example being roulettes and beast tribes and hunts) Yes there is content that needs to be changed or removed but on the whole this game is very much a MMORPG that will require you to grind out gear at the end. It is the nature of MMO's to force you to do this so they can work on new content.

Also, try out some of the other classes and jobs when you have a chance. AS a DPS understanding what a Tank or Healer go through can only help if you decide to get into the raiding end of things and you may find that another job is a better fit for your play style. Also it is easier to get into a raid group if you have a few options of jobs for them to pull from.

But in the end, regardless of what the game has in it, if you are not having fun then it is not worth subbing for. I do hope the game is one you will enjoy and if not I hope you find one that fits your play style.

also, can you actually be pretty decent geared without raiding? i mean is there a huge difference between raiding and casual (tomes and stuff) in ilvl and dmg output?

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Originally Posted by Ramadok

also, can you actually be pretty decent geared without raiding? i mean is there a huge difference between raiding and casual (tomes and stuff) in ilvl and dmg output?

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Raiding gear only needed for raiding the rest of the game content can easily be done in the tome gear.

thanks for your time. yes im taking the game really fast and i will probably going to take it slowish. and yeah i do play a lot but the free time is around the time that no one raids (mosly my fc) in the early afternoon. but you're right i should consider other stuff to entertein myself more!

thanks for the clear guys i really appreciate your time

Lexia is right about the gear. That being said the Lore gear is only 10 ilevels off of the current max without upgrading it. (currently only possible by doing Savage) But my guess is that they will repeat what they did with Void Ark and give you a weekly token that can be exchanged for the item you need to trade in with the Lore gear to upgrade it to i240. The only difference is time to acquire. SE's philosophy seems to be that they offer more than one avenue to gear up from raids to tomes to tokens so that you can find the path that works for you. And as far as the story goes you only need like i180 to get into the Antitower to get through the current MSQ end. Anything beyond that is optional.

Also don't forget to use your DF for the bonuses and PF if you are looking to get through some specific content like Sephirot (a very fun fight with good music). And I hope you find a good group of people to play with during the times you are on.

I play for social aspect and glamour. Also collect minions and mounts! I cannot play regularly so have no static but I can usually find groups on df or pf to do most things :)

Excluding raiding, crafting and pvp you are left with story, seeing instances, gearing up, leveling alt jobs, housing and collecting. I do all of these even after reaching level 60 but it's up to you to determine what counts as end game.

Story is one of the main selling points of this MMO. Main scenario quest line, Moogle Mail quest line and Hildibrand quest lines are the longest ones but there are other side stories scattered around Eorzea. There are also daily quest hubs hosted by various beast tribes which have their own story line. You progress through it by gaining stages of reputation.

You should also try out all the instances this game has: dungeons, trials, Coil of Bahamut raids (50), Crystal Tower raids (50), Void Ark raid (60), Alexander raids (60), The Diadem and Guildhests. Even if some of them are older, they might have interesting mechanics and story attached. All the ones I mentioned are doable without a static except maybe the Extreme and Savage versions released in the most recent patch. If you like a challenge without actually raiding then the trials Thordan Extreme and Sephirot Extreme are your best bets. Remember to write "practice party" in the Party Finder description to find like minded people for the first tries.

Gearing up is done in different ways. You can gather tomestones by doing daily roulettes (mainly expert dungeon roulette) and buy pieces. Or, you can do normal mode Alexander raids by queuing up in Duty Finder. They are not so hard that you need a static. You can also do a long quest line for a unique weapon. If you want gear for multiple jobs then Void Ark, esoteric tomestones and the two newest dungeons are fast ways to get good enough gear.

If you lack any cross class skills or you want to try some of the Heavensward jobs, you could level alts. I know it's not endgame but I figured I should mention it. Every job has it's own quest line so it's tied to the story aspect of the game.

Housing is another long term type of content. Currently it is very limited in availability but there are plans to add more houses. The small houses cost 5 million gil at the most, excluding any ransom another player might ask to release a house. Housing is one of the few gil sinks in the game and is tied to crafting. You don't have to be a crafter to decorate your house but then you have to find other ways to pay for the initial fee and furniture. Gathering, farming materia, ventures and treasure maps are all good ways to make money without crafting.

Last but not least there is collecting. It can be mounts, minions, titles, achievements, chocobo bardings and ranks, glamour outfits, logs (fishing, hunting and sightseeing), commendations, faction reputation, Triple Triad cards, Orchestrion music rolls or rare furniture. These goals take you through various types of content (seasonal events, level 50 instances, The Hunt, beast tribe dailies and quest lines to name a few) and can keep you busy for years. Some of the collectibles are only available for a limited time in game.