A casual trying to get into the raiding scene

Not sure if this belongs here, but I want to reach as broad an audience as I can. So I'm a casual player, but only out of necessity. I work shift work which doesn't allow me to play on a set schedule like every Tuesday-Friday. Due to this, I haven't been able to get into a static and I've been playing since beta 3. I've tried this forums recruitment pages, and other popular forums as well, and only get 1 or 2 hits at best. So I do the roulettes, get my gear, and for what? At the most I get into a learning party that disbands after a few wipes only to do it again, over and over, never to get past the green and purple puddles of SephEx. Frustrating isn't even the word. I want to raid. I know my schedule is a problem or I would've had a static by now, but I also know that I can't be the only one in this situation. I've transfered servers, left FC's, and even sacrificed sleep ( I work 12 hours and have to wake at 2am when I'm working days). I've watched countless videos, completed the SSS for A5S, but after all that I am still no closer to ever getting in that place until it becomes irrelivant and goes to DF, which lets face it, may still never be cleared. So if you take the time to read this (and thank you if you did), and you are willing to let a filthy casual into your static, or you are in the same boat as I am and have the same desire to tackle the hardest content in the game with a group of people that will progress the same as you, drop me a line, give me suggestions, or just say hi. Thank you.

Even if your schedule was more forgiving, finding one is a crap shoot, so I wish you the best of luck. Finding 7 other people that are serious, willing to improve, and can make it on time is the true end game..

Start adding players of similar mindsets to your friends list or an LS if you haven't done so already. I've been able to build up some Feast premades activity on Cactuar, far less popular than raiding, but it is exhausting. Most players (people, rather) will wait for someone else to take initiative so you're going to have to be doing that a lot with people.

I wish you luck man. Its rough out there even for those with good schedules

Have you tried the recruitment page on reddit? Unfortunately, your schedule is going to make it difficult. I wish you luck though mate. :)

My advice is to form your own static, it might take some time, but this way you can make the raiding schedule fit your work schedule. You can try and ask a free company member, a linkshell member or a friend to introduce you to a raiding static, just know that finding and keeping a static via PF is harder then a FC. FC members are less likely to leave after few wipes and tend to plan more trial and error attempt for the following days, while with a PF group, majority of the time its a group of strangers who have no problem leaving after few wipes or kicking you out.

I wish you luck and hope that you find what you are looking for.

just a friendly type active fc of some sort, there is plenty of them. in odin there is the sleepy crew. i am sure there is others on other servers. look around. some FCs like to organize in-house activities and try to include everyone. that is what you need.

To be frank the end game raiding content isn't really worth the time investment needed without having a static group. I'm in the same position as you are OP with not having enough flexibility to dedicate to a static and the fact is we'd have to basically give up so much on other resource gains to do raiding, such as getting gil for repairs etc, that it becomes an on and off sort of thing for raiding. Not to mention the game always wants us to tome grind and do casual raids like Void Ark to get materia.

You've described yourself as a casual raider which isn't entirely accurate. A casual raider is someone who comes at raiding casually, not reading up or getting to know their class and role and winging it either with a static or not. Your problem is entirely time and scheduling. Unfortunately raiding requires a minimum of known time set aside to do content with a static. You can go random and do pug's in pf or df but your results will be what you described, sub-optimal. There really is no solution other than actually being able to commit to a time for a static.

I wish the OP luck in getting a raid party.
Personally, I am a casual who has no interest in attempting hard raids because of the drama, and frustration I have experienced when I attempted raiding in the past. I made it through Bahamuts turns, and that was enough for me. When 3.0 hit, I swore raiding off altogether and have never been happier. I only did Bahamut because I wanted to see the end to 1.0's story.
I have no interest in getting BiS gear. Perhaps, I would like the new bird mounts at some point, but I'm willing to wait until the content becomes face-rollable, so I don't have to experience the whining or egos that I've seen in the past.

At any rate, good luck OP! I hope you find or can create a raid party!

Thanks for the responses and suggestions guys. I'm going to keep up the good fight and hopefully I'll find one. I've used reddit recruitment sub, my server page on this forum, and 3 facebook pages. My FC just got a few 60's in it, so I'll try to get them on board. Thanks again guys.

I'm going to be real here rather than some yes-man sycophant.

You say that you really want to raid and have transfered servers, left FC's, and even sacrificed sleep to try and get into the raid scene.

And, you apparently play enough to have multiple 60 DoW/M classes.

I don't know if PLD is your main -- I hope it isn't. But based only on what I can see, you haven't been capping your lore (or worse -- you've been splitting your lore between multiple classes when you don't have access to Midas gear). You didn't meld your gear. You didn't purchase many i220 HQ crafted pieces which are sometimes better than un-upgraded lore gear. I can only wonder if you have any concept of how to gear your job -- a skill that usually goes hand in hand with knowing how to play your job.

I've done recruitment for statics before. I'm more than willing to give a casual a shot. But, I look at your profile and it doesn't paint the picture of someone who is trying.

And, lastly, while I understand it's harder to PF these days and probably even moreso on a NA server, I look at your achievements and I wonder where this passion to raid is. You've barely done any of the content in the game -- content which doesn't require a static or stable playing time but still contributes greatly to your end-game experience.

I frequently try to help players like you -- players who claim to be good enough individually to clear content but just haven't been able to find 7 other capable players. I would say that their skills of self-evaluation are more often than not inaccurate.

not on pc so can't see lodestone but if I see someone without melds that tells me they are not even trying

Fair enough, but if I'm not doing raids, what class do I meld? Why waste my melds on a class nobody will need? Can you see my inventory? I have materia ready to go. Don't say I'm not trying based on things you don't even know. And so what if I main a pally? I have lots of 60's cause I like playing other classes. But if you judge people based on the loadstone and not on seeing what they can do, more power to ya. Not anybody I'd want to play with anyway.

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Originally Posted by Shug

But if you judge people based on the loadstone and not on seeing what they can do, more power to ya. Not anybody I'd want to play with anyway.

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You should have really just one job you're trying to gear for raid. All other jobs should be getting the crumbs of your main class.

They're not judging you to rag on you. They're making a observation, and telling you what they can see and what that might mean to a potential raid leader.

Instead of just telling everyone you're saving materia.

Tell them what lore prices you buy. Do you spread them out over multiple jobs? That was a legit question you didn't answer. And i'd argue it's pretty important.

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Originally Posted by Shug

But if you judge people based on the loadstone and not on seeing what they can do, more power to ya. Not anybody I'd want to play with anyway.

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Getting into raiding has a lot of analogs to a getting a job. As a wannabe raider, you're an unknown element and a huge risk to groups looking for members so you want to put on your best suit per se. No melds (and 820 accuracy jeebus) is one of the first warning klaxons that you're not willing to go the extra distance to shell out even for cheap T4s on jobs you want to main.

Of course first impressions aren't everything but it certainly sours future negotiations. Keep trying though, but unfortunately the MT position is typically the most stable position in raiding groups looking for reps.

I might catch a lot of flak for this but i'm gonna say it anyway:

Raiding is not for casuals. If you are a casual player trying to enter something catered to midcore/hardcore, you will be wasting your and other people's time unless you change your focus. As what people said earlier in this thread in different ways, you are most likely not taking this serious enough. Granted, this isn't the ONLY reason you aren't getting groups, but this is important to note anyway.

Ok, cool. I was taking that all wrong. Sorry I got defensive. I'll meld my pieces on asap and start to focus on gearing more. This is really good info on the type of things people are looking for. And I know paladin isn't everyones top choice to MT, so I'll see what people seem to want more and focus on getting better on drk or war as well.

If you are serious about getting into raiding, you definitely want to concentrate on a single class and gearing it to a sufficient level. Only speaking for my own server, there doesn't seem to be anything in particular demand, I see just as many PFs recruiting for tanks/Heals/Brd+Mch/caster etc

I'm sorry to say though, you'll have to grow a thicker skin if you want to raid. Some genuine points were raised, that from the info people could see that you'd need better gear, and you instantly went on the defensive. People that can't take any constructive criticism are the hardest to raid with. If every time someone suggests something to you in raid you take it as a personal insult, it's unlikely to work out.

If my first response to my raid leader or static mates was similar to your response to my first post, I would probably have problems finding a static, too. Being mature enough to discern suggestions and take criticism is pretty important to coexisting in a group with 7 other people.

The things I pointed out were not baseless and also not meaningless. If you don't want to meld grade V materia on i230 gear, that's understandable. Grade IVs are cheap enough that any dedicated raider who is going to be shelling out a good amount of gil for food and potions should have no problems buying them.

And, maining a PLD is perfectly fine. I only said what I did because if your PLD was an alt and your main was another class that was fully melded and geared with the BiS lore pieces, then I'd gladly retract my criticism. But if PLD is your main then you either haven't been capping lore or have been spending it on multiple classes -- both of which are not ideal.

So today, if I'm picking between you and somebody else who is fully geared in pre-savage BiS lore / i220 HQ crafted items, fully melded, has cleared a lot more older content even unsynced, and is more receptive towards advice, who do you think I'd pick?

You are right Pheonix, after thinking about those comments, I felt like a jackass and apologised. I understand now how a loadstone profile can give off an impression of someone, and I had not considered it before today. There were a few weeks I didn't cap and the past 2 weeks I've been grinding for my 220 chest since I didn't have enough gil for the crafted one. But I see how that can translate to someone that I'm not very committed, and I will change that from now on. I figured I could some 240 from A5S since I haven't cleared it yet, but if I'd have capped, it would be that much easier to do so.

Pretty sure it was said already (too lazy to fish through comments x.x;;; ), but, from experience...

I can't really sign on to a static, either - some Fridays/weekends I'm around and some Fri-Sundays I'm traveling, and it's usually a crapshoot - same with random nights during the week.
However, a random learning party in PF turned into a "Lets do things!" LS, some time ago - and it sorta of became a random/unofficial static - we just did whatever when someone asked if people wanted to do XYZ and after a while, we got to know each others habits, like a static (albeit took a bit more time than a true static, but still). I havent' been active in that LS since my FC definitely fleshed out to 7-8-ish people (from like.... 4), but....

You would probably be well to find chill people of like mind (I guess advertise it in the PF) and create a "lets do a thing!" LS, like this, so they're not all potentially randoms (except to fill spots, I guess), so you can still have practice with the same people to do raids with but not always be required to be on at a certain time (downside is not having enough people on at any given time, but if the LS is large enough, you would have a bigger pool of people to be on at that time).

You're right Graylle, and I'm sorry for getting all pissy with you.

Thats a good idea too Saseal. Instead of advertising static, just a LS instead. I'll give it a shot next time I'm on while I do my beast tribes for the day.

no content in this game requires gear higher than i220 with a few lore pieces on. it makes it /easier/ yes. but otherwise, midas normal gear with a few grade 4 melds and a seph e wepx will see him up to A7S.

obviously its not the "best" he can do related to his gear, and its not beneficial to be at that level, but if he plays his class right, he will be fine with that type of gear




On topic, you arent the single one person in this scenario, there are many other people that also do not have asteady schedule. Alot of them are in statics and have cleared many of the content ingame, so it just takes patience and more or less, luck to get into a static with how your schedule is, just keep trying

I didn't see this mentioned earlier, but timing can be very important to finding a static as well. We are in a bit of a content lull right now, and a lot of groups are fairly solidified. The best time to look for a static is the 2 weeks prior through the 2 weeks after a new raid tier comes out, as that is when players tend to shuffle around the most. So if things don't go well right now, do your best to cap your gear on whatever class you want to raid on, and try again when Alex part 3 hits.

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Originally Posted by dejavutwo

I didn't see this mentioned earlier, but timing can be very important to finding a static as well. We are in a bit of a content lull right now, and a lot of groups are fairly solidified. The best time to look for a static is the 2 weeks prior through the 2 weeks after a new raid tier comes out, as that is when players tend to shuffle around the most. So if things don't go well right now, do your best to cap your gear on whatever class you want to raid on, and try again when Alex part 3 hits.

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If things don't go well right now, do other stuff like ex primals (all of them), know all their mechanics. Basically know all the mechanics for all the fights and gain a network.

Regarding gear, if you're uncertain which class you want to raid on, you can let your lore accumulate to around 2000 (i.e. buying things only to keep from hitting the cap). Then when you have a prospective spot in a group lined up, you can instantly boost that job's gear.

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Originally Posted by Shug

But if you judge people based on the loadstone and not on seeing what they can do, more power to ya. Not anybody I'd want to play with anyway.

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You've ignored one important point of him:

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Originally Posted by Brian_

You've barely done any of the content in the game -- content which doesn't require a static or stable playing time but still contributes greatly to your end-game experience.

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With that he means for example your list of finished trials. There is much missing you should finish before you want to do Savage.

I'm on your Server so i have no qualms helping you when I can. Also If you Set up PF's, make friends or join a PUG Raid LS. I'm sure you can beat at least A5S and SephEX. With your limited time it's better for you to take the lead instead of waiting for the right train as it may not come. I'm sure there's tons of others in your boat.

Everything else about applying yourself has been said already and again I'd also be down to help you when I can.

I was probably vague on some points because I didn't want it to be a TLDR wall of text.

SE recycles a lot of their raid mechanics. So, even if you go back and do the content unsynced -- and this shouldn't be difficult for you since you'd be able to offer free poetics bonus to relic grinders -- being even vaguely familiar with old mechanics can only help you.

For example, A6S recycles T8's mine mechanic. A7S recycles Ifrit EX's searing wind mechanic. A8S recycles the tether and ball mechanic from T13. Raid content in general has a lot of common mechanics like tank busters / tank swaps, prey / charge mechanics, baiting, stack / spread / pass mechanics, etc. The more experience you have with a mechanic the faster you adapt to whatever new iteration SE throws your way.

Im on your server and would love to see if we can work together to maybe create a static. I have a few friends and family members who are interest. Send me a PM once your online

unless you do it with people you know well, your FC (even with them is not a given token that you will be accepted) the only other possibility is DF, when is available, THAT is the true challenge, at least for me, doing anything via DF with whoever is there, is a personal challenge, but that requires from you a LOAD of patience and understanding that, after 1 wipe, people leave and/or insult you, you know it requires too many efforts to pass and nobody wants to put efforts, not to mention waiting time in Queuing...so yeah..good luck

Graylle, I never thought about that. I always see people putting unsyc'd coil runs up, I'll just have to make sure they know I've never done it and make sure they're ok with that. And Krystal, I'll be on tonight so I'll look you up. And Anima, thanks.