Have you improved since you first started playing?

Playing on PS4, I sometimes used to save videos when I first started. I was browsing through my Capture Gallery when I came across an old run of my first Chrysalis attempt.

I used to Aero the enemy and spam Cure until I got the Freecure proc for Cure II, otherwise casting Stone II... outside of Cleric. It was very enlightening to see my old habits and how I've improved since then. My Divine Seal and Regen love me to pieces nowadays.

How have you improved since first playing? I'm curious to know!

To be honest, I have no idea. There's no way to get feedback in this game unless someone tells you you're doing it wrong but there's no guarantee that person knows what is correct either or just want to be confrontational. This is why meters are important but SE seem so afraid to put any into the game due to claims it will cause harassment. Funny enough the lack of meters is exactly what causes lots of harassment because of my previous point.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Kio

To be honest, I have no idea. There's no way to get feedback in this game unless someone tells you you're doing it wrong but there's no guarantee that person knows what is correct either or just want to be confrontational. This is why meters are important but SE seem so afraid to put any into the game due to claims it will cause harassment. Funny enough the lack of meters is exactly what causes lots of harassment because of my previous point.

---

It's a two edged sword - introduce metering and the next thing you'll see is posted performances all over the place, public shaming the lower figures.

I think personal improvement can be judged without this. You know how much effort you've put into learning your class - rotations etc.
You know how much effort you've put into learning boss mechanics.

But it's not only this - what is improvement?

Are you going more out of your way to help people?
Are you more patient with others in the group who may be struggling a bit
Do you not rush off ahead when a new player is in your 8 man group and take time to give them tips during the run?

Improvement is a wide description, and rightly so.

Well, I can tell you this: the first time I attempted Ttian HM for my BLM relic, I spent more time dead than alive. I got carried, basically, but not for lack of trying. Nowadays, I find it a relatively easy trial.

A player that's been playing longer than me: (paraphrasing) And I have no idea how to put items/abilities on your hotbar as opposed to your Xbar.
Me: Hold L1 and press down the right analog stick to turn on the virtual mouse. L2 to left-click and R2 to right-click. Hold L2 to click and drag.
Him: Wooot thanks man.
Me: ;]

(Paraphrasing here. Can't remember much)
Healer: I'm new here (Aurum Vale)
Me: Okay sec
Me: Don't stray too far off. Lots of monsters around here. Easy to pull them.
Me: Basically, stay behind me at all times.
Healer: Kk
At the 1st boss
Me: Sec
Me: See the fruits? When you get 2 stacks of......... can't remember the name, eat one.
Me: Healer, this boss casts bad breath. Keep dispel handy in case I screw up.
At the 2nd boss
Me: Sec
Me: Remember the cyclops FATE boss in Coerthas Central? This boss is exactly like him.
Healer: Never seen him but ok
Me: This boss has no telegraphed AoE. You have to watch his cast bars to see what he does.
Me: Stay at his back at all times.
Heading to the 3rd boss
Me: Sec
Me: Kill the eggs quickly before they hatch into adds. Watch for bad breath healer.
At the 3rd boss
Me: Same as the 1st boss, but every so often he "lays eggs".
Me: Eggs > adds > boss

Yeah, I think I'm improving :]

Yes. I used to just wait till content got easier before doing them and now I'm doing weekly end game raids like a normal MMO slave.

When I first started the game as Archer, I used to have the habit of locking target on random mobs outside of Gridania and spin around them and backing off at the same time to avoid getting hit too frequently. Leveling painfully slow that way before I understand the usefulness of FATE later on.
Then I picked up Conjurer for abit after knowing I can crossclass Cure for solo-ing before 30. I used to have a lot of problem selecting someone on the party list to cast Cure so when I got Medica I spammed that one instead because targetting allies and Cure was too hard for me. 8D

Those were the days, now I bard hard by playing the corresponding song and DPS standing still as well as can stance dance as healer after a significant APM improvement in the game.

Yeah, I've absolutely gotten better since I started playing...

I used to get destroyed by things like Titan normal and had a far slower reaction speed to things happening as a WHM. I was pretty much the heal-only person for the first four months of playing, then I started figuring things out like Divine Seal + Regen and abusing Asylum every chance I got to buy myself more time, and now I am extremely comfortable with DPSing as a healer in dungeons. (To the point where these past few weeks, I ended up in two separate runs of Amdapor Keep HM where the tank bailed on the group, and I ended up healer tanking through the rest of the dungeon while STILL DPSing.)

My Bard performance likely improved by a ton over time as well, as I adjusted to using Wanderer's Minuet.

I still can't play melee classes to save my life though.

I m getting slightly better, but to be honest, most things just getting easier. Back then, there was much more challenging content.

Remember the time, where Titan Hard was actually hard? Pepperidge Farm remembers.

Yes, without a hint of doubt. I still remember how I was back in early 2.X.

The ladder stretches away below me to the point of vanishing. And also stretches away above me to the same.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by SpiritMuse

Well, I can tell you this: the first time I attempted Ttian HM for my BLM relic, I spent more time dead than alive. I got carried, basically, but not for lack of trying. Nowadays, I find it a relatively easy trial.

---

I remember that on my bard at the time. Took me a couple of months before I survived through the whole fight. Usually killed me in last phase. Now and even back then after a while it was one of my favorite to help carry people through.

From 2.0 to now? Hell yeah I've improved vastly! However, there's so much room for me to improve more and I aim to do so.

I think I'm getting worse with every new patch. Just stopped focusing or caring much when the new patches land cause, it's essentially more of the same with different visuals and it numbs my brain into not giving a great deal about how I perform in battle-oriented content.

Yes, by a landslide.
When I first started playing my monk, I sucked at positionals and the rotation in general. (My memory is crap even on a good day.)

What's a poor newb to do? Well, write down the buttons on a piece of paper, color-code them, then stick them in front of my face right near my TV of course!
I'm much better at the rotation now that muscle memory has finally set in. :3
Even after I came back after a year hiatus, it didn't take me too long to get back into the swing of things.
*pats self on back*

Mhm...yes. Many things are obvious from reading the tooltips, even though english isn't my first language and I didn't know what flank and what rear was until a tooltip said:"From behind" and then below "Rear potency". Then it clicked.

Later learned about that circle below the mob and that it indicated where flank and rear was, so I no longer needed to look at the mob itself. That was helpful.

Then of course rotations becoming muscle memory, which means less screw ups. Leveling all roles gave me a bit more insight in what each job can and can not do and how I should react in turn - like, holy spamming during blood price makes for a sad DRK. Experience also made me a little more confident in knowing my limits for pulls and the like.

I really don't know where I stand now, so...I'll just keep re-evaluating every now and again.

I sure hope so, things like
-quick nock usually being 'better' than wide volley
-active use of CDs
-keeping an eye on party to be proactive with songs
only came over time to me

My internet certainly has (started around 450 ping on "I was out of that over a GCD ago..." Titan HM/EX.

If anything I've gotten lazier about giving perfect positioning for my melee when tanking dungeons. Probably some improvement in regards to making sure my oGCDs, especially as dps, are used on cooldown despite mechanical distractions. Some improvement to CD timings as tank when entering a fight for the first time (quicker to figure out a defensive rotation). A bit less cautious as healer, without allowing deaths. Though, was already a Cleric main by Halatali at the latest... Not a huge amount of change, but definitely some.

Yes, the slow GCD took some getting used to but once I adapted to it and got more oGCD abilities and understood how they worked, I improved drastically.

I think I've gotten worse, but thats because I no longer do extreme modes or raids.

I know I have. There is still room to improve in the DPS department, I admit sometimes I'm a little lazy and don't push it as hard as I could but where I've made the most improvment is becoming more independent. For a long time I used to rely on my FC mates for everything; I was terrified to try anything new alone, now I can do new dungeons, primals, Alex, 24 man, trying out jobs other than bard (I stil won't subject strangers to my tank/healer attempts though), so many things I was missing out on.

It feels good to be able to keep up on the story and other content instead of waiting weeks or even months to work up the courage to ask someone to hold my hand through something.