What’s the secret to success in this game?

I measure success through three gauges. These are… Wealth, Technical Progress (Level), and People Connections. Let’s examine them one by one…

Wealth… It’s not just gil, but all of your property, from a single piece of ore to a beautiful orchestrion. Everything you own counts.

Technical Progress (Level)... This is your raw level in your classes. In virtually all mainstream MMORPGs, your progress in the game is measured through your raw level. But also please, take into consideration how quickly you get there. If it takes you a year to hit max level, you don’t have good technical progress.

People Connections… Not just mere friends but also your “allies”, for lack of a better word. A perfect example of someone with good people connections is a leader of a thriving Free Company.

So tell me, dear friends, what is the secret to success in this game with regards to the aforementioned “gauges”?

Please take this seriously. No troll posts please.

Just play the game long enough and you will eventually do and get everything.

Patience, being a good person and reliable to your friends and time.

Patience and time are tied together being that it takes time to obtain the means to earn gil. (leveling gathering/crafting) The third thing.... well it boils down to you and those you choose to be around. Hang around rude or mean players you'll earn a bad reputation, whereas you offer to help others and be involved with your FC or groups you gravitate towards and you'll make a lot of friends.

If you're playing the game happily, then there isn't anything in the game that can measure your success.

I don't have anything you mentioned in your post. I have a poor crafter's budget. My house purchase nearly left me broke and 95% of the décor is self crafted from mats gathered through time rather than gil; I just started SB a few days ago, and live in a VERY tightly knit FC with only 2-3 members I consider true companions, yet I am very happy playing this game right now.

If I was to measure my success from a rating of 1-10, I would give it a 10. Do you want to know why? It isn't because of anything I previously mentioned. It's because I wouldn't change any of it for the world.

To say something entirely different:

Have fun

There is only one viable (and meaningful) gauge of success in this game, and that is, how much fun the individual gets out of playing.

A player who has everything and done everything in the game and feels no real sense of fun, joy or achievement is the poorest (as in riches) and most unsuccessful player imo.

There's no grand secret. Like most things in life, MMORPG success is about time, effort, and initiative.

The secret to success is learning when you are wrong and being strong enough to want to correct it

the secret to success is reading your ability tooltips

The key to success, not just in this game but any MMO really is....just being content. knowing what you enjoy and just enjoying your time. I'm no regular logger onner but for the time I do spend here, I'm content and happy.

Wealth: I have only 100k or so gil to my name and only a small apartment decorated mostly with things gotten from retainer ventures, quest things and somethings I picked up along the way. Along with some gifts from friends. It's not much by any means, but I'm happy with it and what I have.

Progression: I never set foot in any kinda savage or EX content, much less an alliance raid or even really finished the Stormblood MSQ yet. I'm I-level 350 and level 70 in one class and could care less about touching another class. Maybe its cause I view this game as a secondary MMO but even if it does take me a year to finish the MSQ. I'm okay and content with it. It's not going anywhere after all.

People Connections: I'm no Queen of the Server by far, and that just works for me. I have around 6 close friends that I know and trust and enjoy spending time with. They're sorta my anchor here cause without them I would have stayed retired when I first quit originally back before 3.0

Success is a matter of prospective, most would not consider me successful by far, but for who I am and how I approach this game, I consider myself very successful.

False promises from SE that pull people back in?
I am joking of course but for myself it would be the interaction or just having fun. Try to not take things to seriously

Barring having the necessary personal skill, being successful or not entirely depends on meeting the right people.
Get the right group and raiding savage will be smooth sailing.

Thought you had all the secrets when you were scamming people out of Gil and bragging about it.

Being happy in anything that you do in-game. That's the luxury you can afford with ff14 that you can't in real life. You get to choose freely what you want out of this game and that, imo, is success.

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Originally Posted by Hypnotic13371337

Just play the game long enough and you will eventually do and get everything handed to you.

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There, I fixed your quote.

Hmmm Know all jobs, how they work so you can improvise, learn mechanics, and have fun -.-/

Success has a different meaning for everyone, especially when it comes to games and MMOs.

I have known players in EverQuest 1&2 who have done nothing but raid, and their vision of success in those games was clearing a raid tier on content, or just getting that special drop.

I have known players who see success in doing goals each day.

For myself, I honestly don't have a real 'success' bar to get to. I'm not a great raider or dungeon delver by far. I like to help people, and I enjoy RPing. I guess ... my success is just having fun each time I play.

My secrets to success is to not having high expectations, having patience, and most importantly, enjoying the adventure as WoL.

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Originally Posted by Super_Bee_Brian

People Connections… Not just mere friends but also your “allies”, for lack of a better word. A perfect example of someone with good people connections is a leader of a thriving Free Company.

So tell me, dear friends, what is the secret to success in this game with regards to the aforementioned “gauges”?

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Very seriously. From your previous posts and things you've talked about, I think you truly believe friends and connections are important - but also that you might not be going about it in a great way.

From your early post about your FC, where you said you were investing all your time into these people and why wouldn't they stay, but I think you may have actually been making them uncomfortable with what you felt was welcoming behaviour, and then feeling like they owed you something because of it.

From the deleted thread where you talked about how you could just get people to give you stuff for free.

And then the "importance of friends" thread you started... by talking about how your friends are important to your experience because they give you stuff.

There seems to be a pattern here, and it's not one that will make you seem like a good friend to others, however much you talk about friends being important in an MMO.

Maybe you do have genuinely wonderful friendships, enjoy each other's company and you're as generous with them as they are with you. But that's not what I'm hearing from you in your posts.

Player connections are important but the way to build them is by helping others. Be generous. Don't make it about what you can get from them. Can you give them something? Help them through a dungeon for MSQ progress? Give advice? Do your daily roulettes together? Play the game with them, and let the connection form naturally if you get along well. Don't insist there has to be a connection just because this is an MMO and you've teamed up with them.

Look at the responses to your friendship post. They're about community and relationships and talking to other people. That's what makes friends important in the game. Not how much free stuff you can get from them.


Relationships are hard, and it's something I've had to learn to some extent. If if doesn't come naturally, you have to actively think about what the other person might be feeling.

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Originally Posted by Super_Bee_Brian

[What’s the secret to success in this game?]...

Please take this seriously. No troll posts please.

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Originally Posted by Super_Bee_Brian

There's nothing to worry about because it will NEVER be up to me. I'm simply saying that IF it was, I would make nonroleplaying against the rules of the game. Nothing irritates me more than catboys without lore-friendly catboy names

There's nothing to worry about because it's not really up to me.

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I'm retracting my advice. I'm not capable of helping in a lore-friendly fashion.

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Originally Posted by Iscah

Very seriously. From your previous posts and things you've talked about, I think you truly believe friends and connections are important - but also that you might not be going about it in a great way.

From your early post about your FC, where you said you were investing all your time into these people and why wouldn't they stay, but I think you may have actually been making them uncomfortable with what you felt was welcoming behaviour, and then feeling like they owed you something because of it.

From the deleted thread where you talked about how you could just get people to give you stuff for free.

And then the "importance of friends" thread you started... by talking about how your friends are important to your experience because they give you stuff.

There seems to be a pattern here, and it's not one that will make you seem like a good friend to others, however much you talk about friends being important in an MMO.

Maybe you do have genuinely wonderful friendships, enjoy each other's company and you're as generous with them as they are with you. But that's not what I'm hearing from you in your posts.

Player connections are important but the way to build them is by helping others. Be generous. Don't make it about what you can get from them. Can you give them something? Help them through a dungeon for MSQ progress? Give advice? Do your daily roulettes together? Play the game with them, and let the connection form naturally if you get along well. Don't insist there has to be a connection just because this is an MMO and you've teamed up with them.

Look at the responses to your friendship post. They're about community and relationships and talking to other people. That's what makes friends important in the game. Not how much free stuff you can get from them.


Relationships are hard, and it's something I've had to learn to some extent. If if doesn't come naturally, you have to actively think about what the other person might be feeling.

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I don't care about the well-being of my friends. All that matters in the end is what I can get from them. However, in order to get something from them, I must give something in return first. Which means even though I don't care about them, it still becomes a mutually beneficial relationship because I am forced to give something.

I'm clinically psychopathic and only care about myself. But that's okay because in the end, to get something from people, I am forced to do something for their benefit as well.

No one is getting taken advantage of here. God set up the world in a way where I, Bee Brian, need to maneuver in the social realm in a way that'd benefit everyone in order for me to sate my sadistic desire to use others in my scheme.

I play on a roleplaying server and one of these days, I'll "IC" hire people to conquer Ul'dah with an actual financed army.

Just kidding. lol

FYI, I'm on my phone and can't edit my post. Consider the ridiculous one deleted. Sorry about that.

Well... that's kind of the thing I'm talking about. Is that how you interact with people in the game as well? Make grand 'joking' statements (that people might not find as funny as you think they are) and then turn back and go "just kidding, lol" and expect people to forget you ever said the other thing? It doesn't work that way. Every time you make a 'joke' like that, I'm more put off by it - do you really think that's a funny thing to say? How can I be sure your first post wasn't the truth and the "I was joking, just ignore that" isn't just damage control? Just reading it makes me feel uncomfortable and that you're not someone I'd want to spend time with, because what you seem to consider humour is more repulsive than amusing to me.

If you're losing friends and FC members in the game, and that concerns you, take another look at how you speak to them and about them. I don't think I'd be staying in your FC for very long.


Also, when you start a discussion asking us to be serious, no trolling, and then come out with a speech like that... well, can you see why other people on the forum might be seeing you as the one trying to troll?

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Originally Posted by Iscah

Well... that's kind of the thing I'm talking about. Is that how you interact with people in the game as well? Make grand 'joking' statements (that people might not find as funny as you think they are) and then turn back and go "just kidding, lol" and expect people to forget you ever said the other thing? It doesn't work that way. Every time you make a 'joke' like that, I'm more put off by it - do you really think that's a funny thing to say? How can I be sure your first post wasn't the truth and the "I was joking, just ignore that" isn't just damage control? Just reading it makes me feel uncomfortable and that you're not someone I'd want to spend time with, because what you seem to consider humour is more repulsive than amusing to me.

If you're losing friends and FC members in the game, and that concerns you, take another look at how you speak to them and about them. I don't think I'd be staying in your FC for very long.


Also, when you start a discussion asking us to be serious, no trolling, and then come out with a speech like that... well, can you see why other people on the forum might be seeing you as the one trying to troll?

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I recognize not everyone appreciates my humor but most of the time, people just laugh it out instead of complaining. I usually hurl random, ridiculously undeserved insults to people and just tell them I'm kidding. 9 out of 10 times, they'd just laugh.

But seriously, I struggle with my FC. People are very unpredictable. Others become loyal even though they were jerks to me in the beginning. Others were very nice to me in the beginning then leave the next day. It's a never-ending battle.

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Originally Posted by Super_Bee_Brian

I recognize not everyone appreciates my humor but most of the time, people just laugh it out instead of complaining. I usually hurl random, ridiculously undeserved insults to people and just tell them I'm kidding. 9 out of 10 times, they'd just laugh.

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This can be to do with understanding social cues. You might assume laughing = all good, but it's not that simple. People can be simultaneously uncomfortable with what you said, but laughing to be polite, or because you seem intimidating and they don't want to get on your bad side, so they won't speak up against you. (and either way, starting to wonder when they can get away and find some actual friends who are nice to them and don't throw insults around for fun.)

If your constant mode of interacting with people is "insult them and say you didn't mean it", the people who will stay will be of a particular type of personality that thinks that's okay, but you'll drive away a lot more people than you'll appeal to. And the people you don't appeal to will probably be thinking you're a very unpleasant person.

Saying you were joking doesn't just erase what you said before.

If you define "people connections" as a measure of success, you're undermining your own chances of actually succeeding.

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Originally Posted by Iscah

This can be to do with understanding social cues. You might assume laughing = all good, but it's not that simple. People can be simultaneously uncomfortable with what you said, but laughing to be polite, or because you seem intimidating and they don't want to get on your bad side, so they won't speak up against you. (and either way, starting to wonder when they can get away and find some actual friends who are nice to them and don't throw insults around for fun.)

If your constant mode of interacting with people is "insult them and say you didn't mean it", the people who will stay will be of a particular type of personality that thinks that's okay, but you'll drive away a lot more people than you'll appeal to. And the people you don't appeal to will probably be thinking you're a very unpleasant person.

Saying you were joking doesn't just erase what you said before.

If you define "people connections" as a measure of success, you're undermining your own chances of actually succeeding.

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60% of all the gil I've received in the game came from other players freely giving them to me. I've also developed strong bonds with a certain few. Honestly, I think despite my weakness in the FC department, I've been successful overall

But of course, nobody is perfect. I'm not perfect myself. I've lost just as many friends that I've gained.

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Originally Posted by Iscah

This can be to do with understanding social cues. You might assume laughing = all good, but it's not that simple. People can be simultaneously uncomfortable with what you said, but laughing to be polite, or because you seem intimidating and they don't want to get on your bad side, so they won't speak up against you. (and either way, starting to wonder when they can get away and find some actual friends who are nice to them and don't throw insults around for fun.)

If your constant mode of interacting with people is "insult them and say you didn't mean it", the people who will stay will be of a particular type of personality that thinks that's okay, but you'll drive away a lot more people than you'll appeal to. And the people you don't appeal to will probably be thinking you're a very unpleasant person.

Saying you were joking doesn't just erase what you said before.

If you define "people connections" as a measure of success, you're undermining your own chances of actually succeeding.

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Anyway, I just wanna say thanks for your advice. Much appreciated. Your posts were helpful.

First there is a problem with your success requirements. That is that until a few years ago there wasn’t as many ways to get exp quickly I speak as someone who has played this game since it about 2 or 3 months after it launched. So while I spent more time getting my classes to where they are now than some of the newer people it doesn’t mean I am not successful. With that out of the way my advice is patience and diversity. I say that because it is easy to get burned out grinding a class as a opposed to switching between your favorite and your second favorite and so on and so forth. I hope this helps.

I'm surprised the most obvious answer hasn't been given yet.

The secret to success is to not play the game. You must LIVE IT. Every waking moment must be spent in the game. It must become your reality.

This will get you the most wealth, progress, and people connections. True story.

It's the community. It's very polite and generally friendly. It's also unique. Most of the "successful" MMOs have established brands but none are really based on Japanese stuff as much as this. And Japanese culture has integrated a lot in the past few years in the West, so I guess that helps. Events help, like the Fan Fests and the devs are a lot more open than many other companies.

I value people connections above all else. I've got some amazing friends that I've known many years from both here and its XI predecessor. real meaningful friends as well not the superficial friendships people seem to form these days like the op. or at least is the impression I get from him.

Over the years I've been on holidays with friends I've met in mmos. seen many new places and tried many things. skiing, kayaking, rally driving, even some long ass hikes and climbs. I've been to there weddings and couple of funerals. visisted them in hospital when they were sick. had several of them come and stay for a while. one year had 31 people squashed on the floors of my house for a new years linkshell party. in which we all spent a day playing paintball.

to me all of those people are more valuable than anyting else in xi/xiv. and its the few that still play xiv that are the only reason I stay subbed.

friendship seems to have lost its meaning as well these days. it's like people who go hey I got 1,000 friends on facebook im so cool and popular.. really. then why are you depressed and lonely all the time??

you cant really measure success on progression or levels either really. if you got more level 70 jobs than I do that doesn't make you more successful. it just means I have no interest in playing some jobs. my drg has never been touched since slotting fire on it in 1.0 natalan parties.. the 3 hw jobs are still locked I really don't care for them. and progression is largely worthless anyway. it's incredibly common to hear people say they're sick of the endless treadmill grind because gear has no value and as such it can't be used as a measure of success.

in a more analytical approach though is FFXIV really a success? expansions pull in new players and things sure. but they don't stick around very long. player retention is horrencous. the game technically has tons of content yet players feel theres never anything to do.. weekly raid drop few tomes... that's it bored now till Tuesday...

I'd almost envision it to trying to fill a bucket with loads of holes in it... you might be able to pour enough water in to fill the bucket but have you really succeeded when it'll be empty again in a minute...

it seems a growing opinion that the game really isn't good. it's not terrible either but its not good. see more and more people saying the only reason they stay subbed is for there social connections... my social circle used to be around 50 people in this game. now it's probably a dozen tops...

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Originally Posted by Dzian

in a more analytical approach though is FFXIV really a success? expansions pull in new players and things sure. but they don't stick around very long. player retention is horrencous. the game technically has tons of content yet players feel theres never anything to do.. weekly raid drop few tomes... that's it bored now till Tuesday...

I'd almost envision it to trying to fill a bucket with loads of holes in it... you might be able to pour enough water in to fill the bucket but have you really succeeded when it'll be empty again in a minute...

it seems a growing opinion that the game really isn't good. it's not terrible either but its not good. see more and more people saying the only reason they stay subbed is for there social connections... my social circle used to be around 50 people in this game. now it's probably a dozen tops...

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Depends how you're going to define success of a game. Successful for whom? The publisher? The developers? The players? (which players?)

Short term success? Long term success?

This is always such a tricky question because there are so many metrics to measure it by.

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Originally Posted by MomomiMomi

Depends how you're going to define success of a game. Successful for whom? The publisher? The developers? The players? (which players?)

Short term success? Long term success?

This is always such a tricky question because there are so many metrics to measure it by.

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Yeah that's kinda what I was getting at :-)

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Originally Posted by Super_Bee_Brian

I measure success through three gauges. These are… Wealth, Technical Progress (Level), and People Connections. Let’s examine them one by one…

So tell me, dear friends, what is the secret to success in this game with regards to the aforementioned “gauges”?

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For wealth, I am the type that likes to earn the rewards when I can reasonably get them. If there is an "Adventurer in Need [role]" bonus on a daily roulette, I'll take it. If I commend someone to encourage then and get some small rewards from the challenge log. I'll take it. I'll do side quests for the gil and exp, even if some don't view such rewards as significant. I am the type who believe that a little goes a long way. I have wonderful Moogle-themed houses for my active Excaibur and Gilgamesh characters after making use of the Gil I earned throughout the months I sated my thrills of combat and sold some stuff from the MB. And I am the type that like to earn the mounts from the Extreme trials. At the end of the day, as the saying goes: "How bad do you want it?"

For technical progress, as long as one learns the basics and applies them in combat, it should be sufficient enough for the normal cases. Examples include tanks keeping aggro on enemies, healers healing when big hits happen, and dps using their sequential combos. However, there is going to be an overlap in most cases with the next gauge because going beyond the basics requires teamwork to output more dps and make fights end faster. For example, tanks and healers supplement more dps using their additional tools to support their offensive and defensive capabilities. Also, DPS should use their tools to lower their own enmity when necessary to keep the dps high for the whole team. I put myself in the middle, I know the basics of each role and apply them in most dungeons, trials, and normal raids as usual. However, I only go further to apply more dps if the rest of the team is good enough to handle and survive the more dangerous mechanics. I don't have the will to break out of my own comfort zone that often to go further in harder content. But I'm satisfied with what I learned and contribute with what abilities the role I use contains.

For people connections, it is kind of iffy because it is up to the players how they want to communicate with each other and work together. I am antisocial in real life. However, I make an effort to say hi to others, encourage my allies, give advice when necessary, and work together as a team in the FFXIV game. The best raiders in FFXIV really push their limits of how to work as a team gameplay wise (and sometimes even as real friends.) I like and respect that. At the end of the day, are you satisfied with your teammates and how would you communicate with others in future battles to improve yourselves and enjoy the game at the same time?


Aside from the three gauges, I have one that personally and professionally applies to me. I try not to take things for granted and take advantage of any significant opportunity I see or earn. As a song and a saying goes, "you don't know what you've got until it's gone."

At this point in writing, I personally think Character Development is the key to success, or which I feel most satisfied with. i.e. from a rookie adventure to a expertise in whichever role he/she plays. And if you RP, your backstory and character progress in the story from that would probably made some RPers happy.

But of course there are other aspects for different players who regards them as success (Content clears, gil accumulation, social aspects etc)

In short, different players have different goals in this game.