I'm feeling demoralised

I played yesterday and was sent to do a big fight with lots of npcs running around.

All of a sudden, I found it nigh impossible to reliably target enemies.
I haven't had this problem so far, and now I feel like the game has asked me to do something and not made it possible for me to do it.
I pressed A, it targetted the NPC. I pressed cancel and tried again, still targeted the npc.
I tried cancelling and pressing my attack moves, but no matter what I did, I couldn't hit the monsters. I felt like i was unable to do anything and they were killing the monsters instead and I felt completely humiliated.
I looked online and it gives all these really complicated button combinations to apparently cycle through targets but a lot of the tings I tried just didn't work.

why is teh game like this? at the very least, if I press an attack move, then surely the target should switch to a target that I can hit??? nd when I'm in an area full of enemies, I as a dps class, should surely automatically target monsters instead of npcs?

In this situation, after having been put in that situation and feeling completely helpless and stuck, I don't feel like playing this game any further. I am ready to quit right now.
The only reason I'm posting this now is because people have told me this game gets really good.

Using a game controller instead of mouse/keyboard?
If so, see:
https://www.reddit.com/r/ffxiv/comme..._general_tips/


Navigation and Selection of Different Target Types

There are a handful of ways to target the various things you encounter. Ill go over some of the main buttons that can be use to quickly select what you need to.

Enemy Targeting

"Tab Targeting" on the PC refers to tapping the Tab button to cycle through on screen enemies.

• When using a controller, this is achieved by pressing L1 and R1 WHILE you have L2 or R2 pressed.
  
• Tab targeting will cycle left and right (L1/R1) through the enemies on screen.
  
• Tab targeting will make Hard selections, not soft.
  
• You do not need to have a target already for this to work. Pressing it with no target will select the first enemy to your left or right.
  
• The problem most people run into with this is that the "Left and Right Cycle" does not care if the enemy is engaged or not. It also does not care how close you are to the enemy. It is an absolute, X Axis of your screen, pixel by pixel, Left and Right of the currently targeted enemy.
  
• To overcome this little difficulty, I tend to point the camera strait top down, so that the only enemies that it is able to cycle through are the ones on screen, which should only be the ones you are fighting.

"Enmity List Cycling" is the PC Equivalent of selecting an enemy name directly from the Enmity List

• Pressing L1+ Up and L1 + Down will cycle up and down through the list of enemies in the Enmity List.
  
• Enmity list cycling uses soft targeting.
  
• This is especially useful for selecting enemies with a certain amount health (Burn the lowest? Start on the highest?), or getting back on the boss after getting off adds.
  
• If no enemy is selected, pressing either up or down will start the cycle from the very top of the list. If an enemy is selected, it will cycle up or down from the selected enemies name.

Friendly Targeting

Party List Cycling

• Pressing Up and Down on the D Pad will cycle up and down through the party list.
  
• If you do not have a party member targeted, the list will begin to cycle from your name, regardless of if you press up or down. Otherwise it will move up or down from your selected target.
  
• Cycling up and down cycles with soft targets. (Note For Scholars: Using Embrace from your hotbar with a soft target will not switch back to your hard target, or create a hard target after casting. Eos/Selene's skills don't count as your action, so they do not trigger this effect, and the target will remain a soft target.)
  
• With Automatic party sorting enabled, this will allow you to directly target your MT and OT with 2 or 3 Taps on the Down dpad, Or Up twice to select your pet. (With no previous party member selected)

Alliance List Cycling

• Pressing L1 +Left or L1 + Right on the Dpad will cycle through the 2 Alliance lists if they are available. If no alliance member is selected, it will start on the lowest letter Alliance, on the First tank in the list.
  
• As of right now, there isn't a huge need to target alliance members. But this seems the most reliable method if need be.

In Practice (A Summation)

DPSing -

• Try to mainly use Tab Targeting (L2/R2 + L1/R1) to quickly snap between different enemies. Especially if there are only a few on screen.
  
• Use L1 + up and Down for more control over what you're targeting. Most useful when there are a bunch on enemies on screen, and Tab Targeting is unreliable.

Tanking -

• Tab targeting can be a bit easier for a tank, since (in most cases) the mobs should kind of line up and circle around you. Tabbing left and right isnt as bad.
  
• Enmity list cycling is helpful for quickly grabbing that mob that you lost hate on. Since a running Mob can be difficult to Tab Target, L1 + Up and Down will guarantee that the mob you've lost is the mob you're targeting.

Healing -

• Pressing Up and Down to select your party members will be your primary targeting method.
  
• Get used to Hard targeting your tank, and then using soft targeting to heal other party members. Doing this will make sure you're always ready to heal the tank after healing others.
  
• Scholars, learn to use embrace with Soft targeting to double the amount of healing you have control over.
  
• Use party targeting along with DPS Targeting styles to lay down some damage when you get a chance.

thanks, but that is what i'm talking about, it all seems so complicated and doesn't make me feel better about logging in again.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by triadne

thanks, but that is what i'm talking about, it all seems so complicated and doesn't make me feel better about logging in again.

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Forget everything you just read, hold R2 and press L1 to cycle through enemies only. It's really not that hard.

The above is really neat but not that essential in the beginning.

But, I have to say, I had similar problems when I started playing with a controller.

well i hold r2 to get to my moves anyway! so i press r1... hmm, i think i can get my head round that.
i wonder why my moves don't cause me to target a monster though.. that would surely be more intuitive. i mean for a fast paced game, that's what i'd expect

Quote:

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Originally Posted by triadne

well i hold r2 to get to my moves anyway! so i press r1...

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I think that's the idea behind it. You have to hold R2 to initiate combat anyway. I'm sure you'll get used to it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by triadne

i wonder why my moves don't cause me to target a monster though.. that would surely be more intuitive. i mean for a fast paced game, that's what i'd expect

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It runs the opposite direction, basically. You have to select your target before a targeted move will work.

I eventually resolved this issue by learning how to write macros.
now I don't have to fiddle about wrestling with the game to try and target the enemy right in front of me.
I mean, in a game about fighting enemies, and I press on one of my basic attacks, it really should not require me to press multiple buttons to target the enemy first. it should be the most natural thing in the world that when I'm stood in front of an enemy and i press an attack , it should attack the enemy. it should automatically target the enemy just like auto attack does.
of course, having auto attack as one of my main buttons is a terrible waste of space.

my macro does the following.

target enemy
autoattack
truethrust

I honestly think it is bizarre that I had to do that.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by triadne

I eventually resolved this issue by learning how to write macros.
now I don't have to fiddle about wrestling with the game to try and target the enemy right in front of me.
I mean, in a game about fighting enemies, and I press on one of my basic attacks, it really should not require me to press multiple buttons to target the enemy first. it should be the most natural thing in the world that when I'm stood in front of an enemy and i press an attack , it should attack the enemy. it should automatically target the enemy just like auto attack does.
of course, having auto attack as one of my main buttons is a terrible waste of space.

my macro does the following.

target enemy
autoattack
truethrust

I honestly think it is bizarre that I had to do that.

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While I'm glad you found a solution, keep in mind that as you grow macros will be severely underpowering you. They were designed specifically to be less effective in combat for a variety of technical reasons I won't bother you with unless you want them.
Keep at it though and eventually you'll get the muscle memory to play like it's second nature!

Thanks ^_^
So, from what I've read, the limitation of macros is due to the fact that GCD is 2.5 and the macro can only give 3 between each ability. I don't intend on doing those sorts of macros in future, so is that all I need to be concerned with?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by triadne

Thanks ^_^
So, from what I've read, the limitation of macros is due to the fact that GCD is 2.5 and the macro can only give 3 between each ability. I don't intend on doing those sorts of macros in future, so is that all I need to be concerned with?

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That's not the only reason.
First of all while the default GCD is 2.5 seconds like you said, you'll come across skill speed on your gear which will lower this. You may also end up being slowed (though rarely) by some enemy so it'll be longer! So even if you could set a macro wait command to 2.5 seconds, it'd need constant editing as the situation changes.

Secondly, by design, skills are queued up as you use it. There's a native skill queue that will allow one skill to be preset as the next one to execute once your current skill is complete. This allows the game to give you a more seamless attacking experience as you string together your combos and skills in general. Macros cannot use this skill queuing. And I don't just mean the list of skills you want to put into your macro, I mean the macro itself. You cannot be in the middle of a GCD or even an oGCD animation or else the macro will simply fail to execute. The worst is when people put text in their macros "Raising x" or "Provoking the mob" or something and you just see them say it like 5 times because their macro won't go off as they want it to.

Back when ARR launched (or perhaps it was during a beta) one of the developers addressed this by saying they want players to actually play the game and press their buttons. They don't want a game where you press one button and you'll just flawlessly perform the proper skill rotation for 30 seconds. As such they ensured that while you CAN use battle skills with macros, you probably shouldn't.


FFXIV has a lot going on to it, and simply learning the control scheme seems to come quick to some, and slower to others. Usually depends on what kinda other games the player is used to, I feel like.
If you keep at it, you'll get the hang of it. It looks like you're pretty early on too? Says lancer level 15, so as you learn more skills while leveling up, you'll probably get a better taste3 for how the flow works in targeting, attacking, switching targets, etc. The lower levels can almost be kind of a bore by later level standards! Please look forward to it.

so if i understand correctly, just having the macro for making true thrust act as my autoattack opener, then it won't be an issue? i am pressing the button with my own timings, i can see my gcd by looking at my other moves. i don't tend to queue my skills ahead of time anyhow. plus i'm not looking for ultra efficiency, just playing for myself. as i get used to altering targeting, i may find the need to remove the macro as it does tend to pick the closest enemy and i don't always want that.

it just solves the major issue i had when joining a fight with lots of friendly NPC's. i almost quit due to that, because i literally couldn't target the enemy i wanted. the game kept targetting the npc.

You can set up targetting filters in your character menu so you will only ever target enemies when your weapon is drawn.

https://i.imgur.com/JoCl7Uk.png

Keep in mind if you then need to interact with an item you'll need to put your weapon away first.

Alternatively just hold LB and press up or down on the DPAD to target up and down the enemy list

I could be mistaken, but i think your macro is longer then it needs to be. I am under the impression that using one of your weaponskills on an enemy also turns on auto-attack. So just a target and True Thrust would have the same effect(and as a shorter macro, less prone to failing to work).

Macros are not very good in this game and you'll feel it later on if you lean too heavily on them.

Also, consider cone-camera targetting.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by triadne

I my macro does the following.

target enemy
autoattack
truethrust

I honestly think it is bizarre that I had to do that.

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That's because you don't have to do that.

Pressing L1 while holding R2 will always shift your target to an enemy.

Then using True Thrust on that enemy will mean you also start autoattacking.

There's no need for the macro OR the autoattack button. Plus there's a risk that True Thrust won't trigger properly when you use it via the macro.

Additionally, once you get up to a high level you get a trait that causes the True Thrust button to change to a stronger skill in particular circumstances, and the macro could mess with that.

If you don't want to let it go, put it on a back hotbar as an emergency button, and remove the autoattack command line. Use the un-macroed True Thrust skill on your main hotbar.

To be fair, I'm glad macros don't work the way they did in XI. Gear swapping was a nightmare mid battle. Hmm. But then again, XIV doesn't have interesting gear. :|

well I stopped using the macro anyway. it was a gateway that helped me learn how to target better.

p.s. any idea why I can't start a new topic in general discussion?

For everyone saying "why would you need it to auto target something?"

Switch to a melee job, and actually try the macro you're all hating on:

/targetenemy
/ac (melee attack)

Now run around in a group of low level enemies pressing this macro and notice how much more fun and natural this feels compared to awkwardly cycling through targets. It's just to demonstrate how much better it would be if there was a checkbox option like "If I don't have a target when trying to cast a spell, just target the nearest enemy for me, thanks".

Don't you hate when you're AoE spell casting on a group of enemies but the one you're targeting dies so you have to awkwardly cycle through tab or try to click one of them to keep casting? It feels bad and ruins the flow of combat. It's AoE, it doesn't matter which mob I'm targeting just let me choose something to keep bursting!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by triadne

well I stopped using the macro anyway. it was a gateway that helped me learn how to target better.

p.s. any idea why I can't start a new topic in general discussion?

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That's because your in-game level isn't high enough - your in-game level decides how restricted the forum is to you (level 50 and above have the least amount of restrictions). SE implemented it back when ARR launched to avoid the spamming and nonsense that the Beta test forum suffered from, especially in General Chat. This old thread lists the posting restrictions on the forum and the relevant in-game level needed to overcome them.

According to that thread, you need to be level 25 or above to create a new thread in a section other than New Player Help or the technical support/bug reporting sections (like General Chat). So keep at it adventurer, you'll soon reach it! :D

Well, I started with pad too and I found that if you press left/right arrows on D-pad you can switch between enemy list, while up and down arrows allow you to switch through the party list. This in combo with target filtering, but honestly I don’t remember what kind of settings I used since u switch to K/M, that I suggest to use. :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ReiMakoto

You can set up targetting filters in your character menu so you will only ever target enemies when your weapon is drawn.

https://i.imgur.com/JoCl7Uk.png

Keep in mind if you then need to interact with an item you'll need to put your weapon away first.

Alternatively just hold LB and press up or down on the DPAD to target up and down the enemy list

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I use the filters just below that screenshot. Hold L1 and press a face button to quickly change filters. So L1 + A (cross) only targets Enemies. L1 + X (square) only targets interactable NPCs and objects, L1 + B (circle) only targets players. and Y (triangle) targets everything.

You can set them up however you want

This way you can always target what you want super quick.. Like when a hundred people are crowded around Sjeros and you want to get in Bozja. L1+X and done. or trying to target a tank outside your party when he's surrounded by trash mobs. L1+circle. done.

I've taken my targetting one step further as I have my L3 and R3 buttons and set to macros 98 and 99. which are just "/target <f>" so I can snap back to a boss or other focussed target quickly
and "/as <t>" to quickly target whatever my current target is targetting.. Which is another way of quickly targetting the tank in another alliance group. press R3 to target the boss and L3 to target his target ( typically whoever has aggro)