Option to hide other players completely

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Originally Posted by EnigmaticDodo

...it'll just hide NPCs to try and accommodate players as priority. This is in particular annoying at the moment where NPCs will just be invisible unless I somehow find them by trial and error.

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I know exactly what you're talking about but I haven't found it to be a hindrance as the NPCs with extra dialogue are generally right next to one that'll progress the quest. Just shuffle yourself to the left or right and they pop right in and are prioritized when hitting the confirm button (at least on controller).

You could always turn down the amount of models rendered in settings and see if that helps but honestly this complaint pops up every patch day and goes away within a day or two at most.

In the past they would instance the zones they expect to have the highest traffic when the new MSQ content was released to reduce the load. Considering the congestion and the amount of lag I had in The Lochs and Azys Lla, I wish they had done it again. My system usually handles congested zones (from large hunt trains) fairly well but I was feeling it today.

Maybe they're using the patch as a stress test to see how much load the zone servers can handle as they prepare for next expansion? They've been using 3 instances but if Endwalker has another burst in player population like Shadowbringers did, they may decide to increase that number.

It is annoying, but there is a simpler method than moving the camera around until the NPC's pop in. Holding X on your keyboard will prioritize the NPC icons (sorry I don't know what it would be for gamepad if there is an option there). Ground icons are a bit... harder since people cover them. If for some reason you changed the keybind for Target Filters, you can find it under Keybind - System.

It'd be wonderful if we could limit the player characters manually, but I doubt we'll ever get that, at least not any time soon :(

I know this doesn't solve the annoying issue caused by SE's coding, but it might help a bit in the long run.

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Originally Posted by Jojoya

In the past they would instance the zones they expect to have the highest traffic when the new MSQ content was released to reduce the load. Considering the congestion and the amount of lag I had in The Lochs and Azys Lla, I wish they had done it again. My system usually handles congested zones (from large hunt trains) fairly well but I was feeling it today.

Maybe they're using the patch as a stress test to see how much load the zone servers can handle as they prepare for next expansion? They've been using 3 instances but if Endwalker has another burst in player population like Shadowbringers did, they may decide to increase that number.

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It's kinda weird that they used 3 separate instances for the Rising Stones of all places, but left Azys La and The Lochs as a free-for-all. Rising Stones was the start and finish, but I would guess that most of the traffic would be through those 2 zones. But I'm not a tech guy at SE, so...I guess I'm just not meant to understand it.

The X key on PC does something along those lines. It makes PC's non-targetable and shows NPC names.

Open System Configuration, click Other, then reduce Character and Object Quantity to Minimum. This will make most players disappear so that you can see the quest events easier on patch day.

Blizzard solved the problem in WOW of NPCs being impossible to interact with when a mass of PCs are hiding them ..sometimes as yesterday deliberately by placing their stupidly-huge mounts on top of the NPCs .. without everyone having to poke through obscure corners of the game settings .. perhaps SE should look at what Blizzard did in the WoD expansion, before FFXIV 2.0 was even a thing!

And no, this wasn't instancing/layering/phasing, they simply made the area around the NPC a no-go area for PCs .. so simple!

I think they should give quest related points/NPCs priority over ANYTHING else. Then we wouldn't have issues like this popping up every patch week.

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Originally Posted by EnigmaticDodo

I would figure that this is possible, since they have it working for player characters. It'd solve the same issue that pops up in hunts if the hunt monsters had the same treatment.

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I know they increased the priority of some of the A ranks(at least in Il Mheg they did...I almost never lose sight of Mudman or Pauly since they addressed the issue)

OP, title could have been worded differently. It makes it sound like you want an option to disable the social component of a massive multiplayer online game, when the problem you are describing is completely different and valid.

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Originally Posted by Avatre

I know they increased the priority of some of the A ranks(at least in Il Mheg they did...I almost never lose sight of Mudman or Pauly since they addressed the issue)

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The more players, chocobos and minions in the area, the closer to the center of the mob you need to be for it to render.

Setting the character and object quantity to maximum allows you to be further from the center, but doesn't solve the problem.

If there are less people showing up then this issue happens less and that's probably why you noticed a difference.

This would be great for the old-school "Leap of Faith" Golden Saucer gate..

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Originally Posted by EnigmaticDodo

It'd be nice to have an option to hide all players, save maybe party members, friends, or FC members.

I ask due to the apparent load limit in place and how it interacts with a lot of players. If you're not aware, it'll just hide NPCs to try and accommodate players as priority. This is in particular annoying at the moment where NPCs will just be invisible unless I somehow find them by trial and error.

I'm irritated by this due to trying to get extra NPC dialogue for story purposes, but I'm sure many folks have also experienced something like this with hunts. In that scenario, it will just make the monster you're in combat with go invisible and then have fun figuring out if an AOE or some kind of attack is pointed your way.

ADDED EDIT: Tried out Leap of Faith and my god, you can't see anything! I'd love for a hotkey toggle to be put into the game!

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Isn't there an option to zone out players depending on your settings?

Imagine fighting a world boss but you can only see yourself and the boss. How awkward.

I've had that happen with the big Fate in Kholusia.

This would certainly make Leap of Faith easier for Lala.

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Originally Posted by Drkdays

Imagine fighting a world boss but you can only see yourself and the boss. How awkward.

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Awkward but great. No more piles of dead bodies

Yeah they really need to adjust how it prioritizes what disappears. idk how they'd do that or if they even can, but the fact that it prioritizes rando players over the thing you're literally attacking is... kinda nonsensical
Quest NPCs and enemies should be >>> other players, especially when they aren't even in your party