How latency-friendly is FF14?

I've been trying FF14 on and off for a bit.


I live out in a very rural area, so satellite is my only option.


How latancy-friendly is FF14? We're talking 1000ms latency.


Comparison: World of Warcraft is pretty friendly. I don't do Mythic+ or normal raiding. (Just LFR) But I DPS, heal, and tank without much problem. (Healing is the hardest.)


What I am finding in FF14 is a lot of telegraphed attacks I can't get out of in time. And even if I do, it still registers a hit. (The server and I are seeing different things.)


So I try to learn a fight and figure out when it is going to throw down something that I need to start moving out of. It's hard, but I am trying.


Are there upcoming mechanics that are one-shot? Impossible for me to move out of and killable?


I don't play to do anything beyond dungeons and world PvE. (And large group activities)


Should I give up now? Or can FF14 work with my handicap?

No it's unplayable I suggest getting Google Fiber. You'll get stuck on Titan and can't Dodge Landslide.

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Originally Posted by BroFists

No it's unplayable I suggest getting Google Fiber.

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I live out in a very rural area, so satellite is my only option.

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Originally Posted by BroFists

You'll get stuck on Titan and can't Dodge Landslide.

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Oh yeah, he's one of my banes. If he is tanked on the edge and you are close enough to him, he won't knock you over.

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Originally Posted by BroFists

No it's unplayable I suggest getting Google Fiber. You'll get stuck on Titan and can't Dodge Landslide.

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Ahh yes, they can totally get Google fiber when their only option is satellite. Very helpful.


@op - with 1000ms latency you will unlikely be able to overcome the handicap. That will be pretty much unplayable.

How rural are we talking? My ISP has horrible throttling that translates into frequent latency spikes, so I got a phone specifically for its data plan and that works fine (110ms). If you're even further out then your only option is to wait 1-5 years for Project Kuiper or Starlink or another LEO satellite provider.

If there's no way to get down below 500ms you're going to have a really bad time with this game, unfortunately.

This game will already be irritating by around 150 ms ping and beyond frustrating by 250 ms ping. I would not recommend it if you can't keep below 300 ms. It doesn't have the best of ping protection, and has only one data center for the whole of the Americas, as compared to the usual 3-5 for NA seen in other large MMOs.

Phone plans seem like your best chance here. Barring that, though, I'd probably end up sticking with WoW as a main and picking side-MMOs based on the ping to their nearest datacenter and their ping-friendliness. No matter how ping-friendly XIV were, though, it's a bit unrealistic to expect any real-time game to be able to compensate well for a full second's latency, especially if you plan to heal or tank.

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Originally Posted by Snowdove

How latancy-friendly is FF14? We're talking 1000ms latency.

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I wouldn't bother continuing playing, at least end game instances. The EU servers were in Canada at release and I had about 90-100ms and I'd just get hit by things when I was clearly out of it. When they moved it to Mainland Europe I got 40ms and all problems were gone.

WoW has some latency compensation code but FF14 has none and it shows.

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Originally Posted by Snowdove

What I am finding in FF14 is a lot of telegraphed attacks I can't get out of in time. And even if I do, it still registers a hit. (The server and I are seeing different things.)


So I try to learn a fight and figure out when it is going to throw down something that I need to start moving out of. It's hard, but I am trying.

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This is what I would suggest if someone was like, in the 300 ping range. Boss moves happen on a predictable timeline, so to some extent you can compensate for high-ish ping by knowing the fights very well.

But 1k+ is another ball game. I've noticed when FF14 lags a lot, it also has problems just getting skills to fire. But if you play a DPS role, you could at least just get carried through harder main story stuff that has oneshot (or near enough) mechanics, and play the game socially outside of that.

So, honestly, I don't think it looks like a very good prospect. Maybe with some luck, Starlink will become a thing sooner than later (and hopefully won't be too expensive compared to existing satellite internet service?)

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Originally Posted by Snowdove

I've been trying FF14 on and off for a bit.


I live out in a very rural area, so satellite is my only option.


How latancy-friendly is FF14? We're talking 1000ms latency.

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That is going to be problematic. Up to 200-300 ms latency should be viable, but more than that and you will have problem with some mechanics.
You will get hit by AOEs that you don't see in time, and some of those hit HARD.

You can probably get through the MSQ and the mandatory dungeons and trials with some work, but the harder fights will likely be nearly impossible for you.

More friendly than most mmorpgs on the market.

I tilt just from them not having east coast servers and clipping double weaves cause of it. I definitely wouldn't play at 1000 ping

its pretty damn unfriendly ngl and its usually not your fault, this game is garbage when it comes to that

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Originally Posted by MistakeNot

That is going to be problematic. Up to 200-300 ms latency should be viable, but more than that and you will have problem with some mechanics.
You will get hit by AOEs that you don't see in time, and some of those hit HARD.

You can probably get through the MSQ and the mandatory dungeons and trials with some work, but the harder fights will likely be nearly impossible for you.

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That's sad news to hear. I notice a lot of the fights have AoE that target right under you, and have an effect that is large enough to make it impossible to run out of in time. WoW generally doesn't do this, though their recent patch has added some. Usually, telegraphed attacks are where the boss faces or some random area that you have a shot at avoiding, or are usually (but not always) small enough to get out of in time.


FF14 is to beautiful to look at and has a great story. I'm trying hard to make it work.

This is one of the least latency friendly MMOs I've ever played.

Editing to add, in my ~15 years playing wow, I had a smoother experience with higher ping (300-500 range for me was pretty common for a lot of that time) than I have with 30-200 ping in FFXIV. The ping difference just from playing on EU servers instead of NA for a while netted me a heap of frustration in getting hit by things I thought I was out of and having to wait an age and a half to be sure my dots were actually on the thing I was targeting. 1000 may be... unfriendly to you. For dodging mechanics, at least. I'm not sure how bad it would really be though. If you're patient and not shooting for endgame progression it might be doable.

The game can be played well with latency, since a lot of stuff is charge up attacks. My friend plays on his cell phone connection, and he's able to do really well despite it, enough to where him and his raid group are currently on The Epic of Alexander.

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Originally Posted by Snowdove

FF14 is to beautiful to look at and has a great story. I'm trying hard to make it work.

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If you don't mind passing on the majority of battle content, ie anything not required for the story, you could still play the game socially, for housing, crafting, etc etc. For the required battle content, I'd recommend playing a DPS role so your death isn't a big deal. You may also consider Bard, Machinist, or Dancer in particular, as they can move all the time and by staying on the move, you can dodge at least some AOEs without ever seeing them.

If this doesn't work or isn't the gameplay you want... well, can always try again when Starlink is live or some other better internet option becomes available...

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Originally Posted by RyuDragnier

The game can be played well with latency, since a lot of stuff is charge up attacks. My friend plays on his cell phone connection, and he's able to do really well despite it, enough to where him and his raid group are currently on The Epic of Alexander.

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This isn't comparable. Cellular networks can be very, very low latency. Before the servers moved out of Canada, sometimes I got better latency through my tethering my phone than I did through my cable internet.

Where cell networks don't shine is bulk data throughput. ie downloading large patches. But when it comes to response time they can be very good for gaming (probably less so in high population/signal saturated areas, though)

if it helps at all, you could probably somewhat get by just playing tanks to offset the fact you're going to get hit by just about everything. you could probably reasonably do that up until you start reaching some of the later stormblood encounters where receiving a vuln stack after getting hit by something becomes very commonplace from there onwards. anything that isn't a tank and you may end up holding up your groups a lot

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Originally Posted by 3c-33

anything that isn't a tank and you may end up holding up your groups a lot

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That is what I am afraid of.

I have satellite internet to with ping of 300 and always getting hit by AOEs when shows I should have dodged them but still die from being hit. If your not going to run ultimate or savage content should be ok.

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Originally Posted by hynaku

I have satellite internet to with ping of 300 and always getting hit by AOEs when shows I should have dodged them but still die from being hit. If your not going to run ultimate or savage content should be ok.

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There's a caveat here. Unless you're lucky enough to get a paladin and/or red mage, a dead healer can block a lot of content from being completed. Even regular dungeons.

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Originally Posted by hynaku

I have satellite internet to with ping of 300 and always getting hit by AOEs when shows I should have dodged them but still die from being hit. If your not going to run ultimate or savage content should be ok.

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You have satellite internet and you're doing okay? That's good news.


You're not getting 300 ms latency, though. Minimum is 650. That's speed-of-light issues.


No ultimate or savage content. No way that is happening.

I have been using Starlink exclusively sense April, had AT&T cut my DSL and Phone Line at the end of August..

It works in Savage Content(haven't tried Ultimates yet as work has been pretty hectic but I'm sure it will work great for it also.) there is a catch though right now and it is something they are working on, the game doesn't' like it when you are in a sort "dead" zone for Satellites I'm sure for users who are closer too the Northern side of the US(Where more satellites, are in orbit) It works great. Last batch of sat's they launched + all future launches will have the Laser Interlinks(Will fix satellite hop connection issues.)

My ping sits around 35-45ms(live in Northern Cali , so might have something too do with that)

you wont be able to dodge attacks or weave cooldowns
but you only need like 2 aoe buttons in this game anyway

I used to play on NA servers back when EU data centers were still located in Canada and had ping around 200. Also have an alt on JP DC with around same ping. My normal ping on EU is from 70 to 110, which is okay.

From experience I would say that FF14 is somewhat friendly as long as your ping is below 300, but at that point it's already on the verge of being uncomfortable for some instances where very fast reaction is required. 1000ms sounds like a nightmare for high-end content. If you aren't planning to do Savages and Ultimates it still can be playable, but I suspect that your healers might cry in the process.

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Originally Posted by Snowdove

What I am finding in FF14 is a lot of telegraphed attacks I can't get out of in time. And even if I do, it still registers a hit. (The server and I are seeing different things.)

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This is hands-down the most latency-unfriendly aspect of the game. I have that issue myself and it kept me from raiding for years. Even now, after starting back up with The Raidz, I still get killed due to lag, which can be incredibly frustrating for both me and the healers. The best we can do is anticipate things as far in advance as possible and not move out of the way "just enough" as that often isn't actually where the game registers us, right?

As long as you're sticking to DF/PF and let people know about the lag, it's completely doable and enjoyable.

One piece of advice I give a lot of folks for this game; do what you feel like doing at the time. It's 100% ok to get sidetracked playing an arcade game at the Gold Saucer instead of grinding tomestones if that's what you want to do. If your lag gets too frustrating at times, go pick flowers, race your birdie, help those poor beastmen, sit on the beach in La Noscea, or whatever tickles your fancy at the moment.

Lets put it this way:

I was able to play FFXIV on a shitty laptop on a military base in the middle of Afghanistan (satellite internet) during 2.0.

Was I doing any high end raiding? Absolutely not. Titan Hard mode? Barely. I had to move 2-3 seconds BEFORE the mechanics happened.

What this did was make me get really good at memorizing the fights, and KNOWING the mechanics not simply reacting to them.

My bad internet days would normally push my ping close to 400ms, while even 300ms is already frustrating to deal with. Strictly single weaving with some clipping here & there it’s outrageous

I can’t imagine playing with a 1000ms ping. That’d be like playing a guessing game.

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Originally Posted by Snowdove

I've been trying FF14 on and off for a bit.


I live out in a very rural area, so satellite is my only option.


How latancy-friendly is FF14? We're talking 1000ms latency.


Comparison: World of Warcraft is pretty friendly. I don't do Mythic+ or normal raiding. (Just LFR) But I DPS, heal, and tank without much problem. (Healing is the hardest.)


What I am finding in FF14 is a lot of telegraphed attacks I can't get out of in time. And even if I do, it still registers a hit. (The server and I are seeing different things.)


So I try to learn a fight and figure out when it is going to throw down something that I need to start moving out of. It's hard, but I am trying.


Are there upcoming mechanics that are one-shot? Impossible for me to move out of and killable?


I don't play to do anything beyond dungeons and world PvE. (And large group activities)


Should I give up now? Or can FF14 work with my handicap?

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While FFXIV is more ping friendly than games like BDO or New World, 1000ms is probably way too much. Because as you progress through the game the fights become more like a dance requiring you to learn like ... choreographed danced moves. And if you can't move the way you need to then it will be very hard for you to progress. Anything under 300ms is okay but at 1000 it will be very hard for you unfortunately :(

I feel so bad for you, ugh.

Seriously Japanese devs need to get their heads out of their asses when it comes to netcode, they're extremely far behind. Anyone who is even a tiny bit a fighting game enthusiast will tell you how awful their netcode is.

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Originally Posted by _Pigzig

you wont be able to dodge attacks or weave cooldowns
but you only need like 2 aoe buttons in this game anyway

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What makes you say this ? I'm very very curious..

on my Black Mage I can double weave very easily on Starlink, and even triple weave if weather is clear enough(rarely happens cause of were I live though)

Have done a lot of Savage content and have very easily evaded mechanics, the latency is low enough I can keep up with people very easily, the issue right now though is literal coverage which they have been working on, but having too deal with other Satellite Net providers has proven too be a bigger headache vs actually creating the constellation..

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Originally Posted by Folanlron

What makes you say this ? I'm very very curious..

on my Black Mage I can double weave very easily on Starlink, and even triple weave if weather is clear enough(rarely happens cause of were I live though)

Have done a lot of Savage content and have very easily evaded mechanics, the latency is low enough I can keep up with people very easily, the issue right now though is literal coverage which they have been working on, but having too deal with other Satellite Net providers has proven too be a bigger headache vs actually creating the constellation..

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Starlink has comparable latency to cable. It's not really the same as old-school satellite that can easily be over 1000 ms - which I believe is what the threadmaker was going to be stuck with. If they were able to get a more modern solution, then hopefully latency's a nonissue.

Well it appears your only option it to get a long ethernet cable, dig a trench all the way to the city, and plug into the router at a Denny's or a Waffle House.

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Originally Posted by Aluja89

I feel so bad for you, ugh.

Seriously Japanese devs need to get their heads out of their asses when it comes to netcode, they're extremely far behind. Anyone who is even a tiny bit a fighting game enthusiast will tell you how awful their netcode is.

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Do any online games play well with 1 second latency?

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Originally Posted by Aluja89

I feel so bad for you, ugh.

Seriously Japanese devs need to get their heads out of their asses when it comes to netcode, they're extremely far behind. Anyone who is even a tiny bit a fighting game enthusiast will tell you how awful their netcode is.

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While Japanese devs do often have issues with netcode (Not exactly surprising: Japan itself if small enough to allow them to simply not care about that most of the time. What for if players in within the country will have 5-10ms latency anyway?), I don't know a single online game, be it western or asian, that is okay with 1000ms ping. If anything, FF14 is among the frendliest ones because even with ping close to 300ms you're still able to perform adequately in high end content with the condition of being attentive and careful, and 300ms is in no way a good latency.

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Originally Posted by Pells

Do any online games play well with 1 second latency?

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Good netcode doesn't have latency as you know it. It predicts a frame ahead of time what you are going to do since you were pressing a button before it even registered anyway.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NLe4IpdS1w

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Originally Posted by Halivel

While Japanese devs do often have issues with netcode (Not exactly surprising: Japan itself if small enough to allow them to simply not care about that most of the time. What for if players in within the country will have 5-10ms latency anyway?), I don't know a single online game, be it western or asian, that is okay with 1000ms ping. If anything, FF14 is among the frendliest ones because even with ping close to 300ms you're still able to perform adequately in high end content with the condition of being attentive and careful, and 300ms is in no way a good latency.

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Good netcode will still alleviate a lot of the latency issues, since it's against a system(a heavily scripted one a that) and not a user it's even easier. But other users might see them jump around a bit since it has to keep recorrecting.

Not friendly one bit once you start getting packet loss and lagging hard enough your swifts turn into hard casts you'll want to uninstall real quick.