QoL Suggestion for New Players: Boss Pull Wait for Alliance Raid Cutscenes

I’ve been playing FFXIV for many years, and for most of that time alliance raids felt respectful — in my experience, groups waited 90–95% of the time so new players could watch cutscenes before the pull.

Over the past year, though, I’ve noticed that slipping away. With the most recent relic step sending so many players into older raids, it’s become especially noticeable. In 17 of my recent runs, only once did the group wait. When people are asked to, it’s increasingly common to see “no” in chat, or for the boss to be pulled even faster.

I’d like to suggest a small fix: use the same system that already exists at dungeon starts, where everyone is held briefly while cutscenes play. Applying this to boss fights in alliance raids would prevent arguments, preserve new players’ experiences, and only add a minor delay for veterans. Even allowing players to move up to the boss’s door while waiting would keep things feeling smooth.

I don’t think most people are intentionally unkind — but the effect is the same, and it can sour a new player’s first impressions. This is a multiplayer game, and our actions affect each other. If a small system tweak could help balance convenience with courtesy, I believe it would go a long way.

I've seen it pulled about the same rate as they always were even 10 years ago, when I was doing the relic.

Most people seem to do a Ready Check, regardless of how respected it is. But that isn't really needed. You can just look at the names in the party and alliance lists, and if any of them are shaded, it's almost always because they are far away in a cutscene. Rarely, there are one or two raids where they are next to you, but then you can see the cutscene icon in the crowd if anyone has one.

But it is one of those things that you'd think would have crossed their minds when doing alliance raids themselves, given how it comes up every time.

It seems bizarre to me that when you might have waited 5 or 10 minutes to get into the raid or dungeon, how once you are in you can't bear to wait even 10 seconds for the sake of helping others make the most of their experience. I know it's only a tiny minority who are so selfish, but it only takes one. I've seen dps pull a raid boss because they didn't have the manners to wait, even though everyone else was fine with it.

I think you are just highlighting an issue that annoys you. I come from Wow and the difference here is night and day regarding courtesy. To date, I have only came across one particularly rude player in the few months I have came back to FF. Please don't put the player base down, when the reality is that they are streets ahead of some other MMOs. I like the non confrontational atmosphere in the duty finder at low end.

If a player is pulling so fast that much of the Alliance is struggling to get there, or players are enjoying the CS and missing most of the fights, that's all reportable griefing. I've only had it happen once, but the GM told me it absolutely counted as such since it was one jerk player repeatedly making everything harder despite our requests to slow down.

What the game needs to do is stop putting final boss cutscenes in instanced content

Seriously can anyone tell me when the last time a pre boss cutscene was more than “boss spawns in and roars at player before fade to white”………..stone vigil?

Just get rid of them, they add nothing to the game

Boss should just one shot kill the current agro'd player if someone's still in a cutscene. The early puller gets to be a floor tank and joins the fight with a weakness debuff.

If square did not want people to pull the boss early they have the solution in MSQ roulette the scenes are unskipable

if peps are upset that people do not wait for 2 people that are watching the boss get out of his seat it's kinda petty

but I have seen bad actors pull early when more than half the raid was not there and that's just stupid...... and should be considered griefing
dps getting tank busters because tanks not there is the person that pulled Early's fault.

ideal world people would let peps pulling early die but we have seen that it is big contention point ypyt

Or they could just stop putting cutscenes in multiplayer content like normal people.

Maybe it's more noticeable currently, due to forcing us into AR for relics. Especially if you get CT. I'm not going to early pull myself but I'm not shedding any tears if it happens. I don't care if a new player doesn't see the CS there. It's my 100th+ run of this stupid damn raid. But then, relic is done, so I'm never touching AR again unless forced back into it. Starting to feel the same about Alex raids in NR tbh.

I agree, I'd like something like this to be implemented. I don't get a *lot* of early pullers but it's still annoying when it happens. Though one time a Machinist pulled during cutscene in Orbonne and every single other (present) member of the Alliance just stood back and watched them die. And then clowned on them when they started whining in the chat. A magical moment I hold dear to my heart.

Square has solutions to stop the wait, if they cared they'd do it. No I don't care about new player experiences, see line 1.

There isn’t anyone telling new players to not watch the cutscene. Missing the initial 20 seconds of the pull is commonly only missing an initial raid wide damage, or a single tank buster. Let the new players watch the cutscene.

It’s not the new players asking to watch the cutscenes either. The new players are just vibing.

It’s the “veterans” who are trying to control behavior of everyone. It’s also the “veterans” who shame in alliance chat. I was in a WoD the other day. Some DPS aggroed the boss accidentally with a dance flourish, and apologized. A tank got it off the DPS. A mentor/veteran proceeded to mark the tank and continue to bully the tank for the duration of the fight, even telling the /a to blacklist the tank! A few players came to the tanks defense explaining it was the DPS who aggroed, but the crown mentor wasn’t having it. They were so fixated on their narrative.

It’s not the pulling that caused the drama, it was the mentor who needed to control everything.

this is far less of a big deal, imo, since you aren't locked out of the boss room anymore(I'm not exactly sure when that change was made, but it was a good one).

anyone who needs to, should just watch the cutscene, and teleport in when the cutscene is done. the people who can't wait 15 seconds can just handle the first 15 seconds of the fight without you.

Bro. The content is ancient and they're missing like, what? A raidwide and a tank buster? Boohoo. I'd have been actively annoyed if people had waited for me on my first run of, say, Rabanastre.

I always skip boss cutscenes myself, because I dont feel comfortable to watch it, while a lot of people are waiting for u.