Coming from WoW - Questions/Concerns

[Zomkei]

Edit: Welp, nvm got ninja'd.

[Sucuri]

All I am going to say is, I quit WoW a few months ago, gave this game a try in the trial. The game was on sale for 50% off, so figure hell, 10 bucks to "demo" a full version of the game for 1 month, that is cheaper then another $15 for WoW, why not.

I am glad I did. The trial really doesn't give you a taste of the game at all. Oh, by the way,
https://store.na.square-enix.com/pro...rn-pc-download
It is on sale again

[Edvardelis]

Macros interfere with your ability to "queue" actions so they go off in order. As such, they are used for one-off spells like combining {Swiftcast} with a pet summon so you don't have to wait for the long casting time. They are also useful for controlling pets outside of the pet bar.

Tank classes tend to be simpler mechanics wise compared to DPS classes because they have additional things to worry about while in combat.

Some of the DPS classes get crazy with buttons at level 60 due to the number of abilities that get weaved in between GCDs. Others, like Black Mage (BLM), don't have a whole lot of buttons but have two separate timers to juggle and can suffer heavily on movement... and the game loves to force you to move.

Also, as a healer, if you don't want to stand around if no one needs a heal, you can always turn on {Cleric Stance} and start doing DPS along with everyone else.

[Niwashi]

You have to keep in mind that SE considers FFXIV a "beginners MMO" which REALLY eases the players into the whole MMO deal, so it all starts very basic and uncomplicated.

This probably comes from being a genre departure. Since most of the Final Fantasy franchise consists of single player RPGs, but this one is an MMO, there are a lot of FF fans who get it having never played an MMO before. If every other video game you've ever played pauses the combat whenever you're choosing a skill to use (as the single player FF games do or at least can), then even the slow-paced combat in FFXIV's early levels can seem hectic at first. SE deliberately keeps the early levels slow and easy to give new players a chance to get used to dealing with real-time combat, as well as keeping the early dungeons easy enough for players who are just learning the concept of party roles.

But it does speed up quite a bit (or at least seem to since you'll have more going on) as the game progresses. It's just adding that speed and complexity gradually. (And some jobs get more complexity than others.)

Soon after level 20, you get 2 free retainers with a combined 200 additional item slots.

It could be as early as level 17 if you're on-level with your Main Scenario Quests (though it is true that many players are over-leveled at that point, so it might end up being after 20 in that case). Retainers are unlocked from The Scions of the Seventh Dawn. And two of them give a total 350 extra item slots (it's 175 each).

[Atoli]

It could be as early as level 17 if you're on-level with your Main Scenario Quests (though it is true that many players are over-leveled at that point, so it might end up being after 20 in that case).
And two of them give a total 350 extra item slots (it's 175 each).

Wow, I'm stupid
I even went to count the rows and columns to get the 5x5 per bag, and then missed that I have a second page with 3 more bags and the crystals on my retainers xD
Sorry about that. Yes of course, it's 350 extra slots!

About the quest: I assumed it had to be past 20 since the OP played the game to 20 and had not encountered retainers yet. And I did the quest just this morning myself on my alt, which was 23 at the time without having done any sidequests, so I just assumed that was the natural level you'd be at. I guess SE cranked up the exp gain by a lot to make it easier for new players to catch up

[Averax]

You can edit a post to bypass the character limit.

Combat/classes: Game starts off pretty slow, at endgame you'll have a bunch of ogcd abilities to weave in between your GCD, and it'll feel very fluid. Skill Speed also makes things flow faster

Mobility: Uh, you can teleport to any major city. Unless you meant like a blink ability, in which the closest you can get is with the black mage spell "Aetherial Manipulation" which lets you zip to a friendly target.

Macros: Yeah you can macro pet stuff, you'll want to make sure to set them on "Obey" rather than "Sic".

Gathering: Gathering is totally worth it.

Storage: Storage is a pretty big issue here. Basically if you can't immediately use it, or use it on an alt, just pitch it or sell it.

[Tulzscha]

Oh, by the way,
https://store.na.square-enix.com/pro...rn-pc-download
It is on sale again

Welp I'm sold, ya'll make some good points but nothing beats trying it out myself (for half off). Thanks everyone! Time to level my Arcanist some more, wooo.

[Sucuri]

Welp I'm sold, ya'll make some good points but nothing beats trying it out myself (for half off). Thanks everyone! Time to level my Arcanist some more, wooo.

Feel free to hit me up in game, were are on the same server

[Joe_Schmoe]

Mobility: Is there much of it for the different classes? It's nice having Sprint available right away for every class, though awkward when it completely drains the resource most classes use for combat. Is there anything else like charges or teleports or what have you? That stuff is fun.

Keybind Sprint far, far away from your main buttons so you don't hit it on accident during a fight. Voice of experience.

As far as teleports go, you have to unlock "aetherites" at various locations in order to be able to instantly teleport to them later. To teleport, you have to pay gil, how much depending on how much distance you want to travel. There's also chocobo porters (I refer to them as 'chocobusses') that are cheaper, but it's gonna be a longer (1-5 mins.) ride. You must unlock these the same way you unlock aetherites. Always a good idea to keep some extra money with you for this reason, and not burn a big hole in your pocket. Again, voice of experience.

Gathering and Crafting: Seems much more involved in FFXIV than I'm used to and very confusing at first. For gathering in particular I find it very strange that it's treated as a separate class and I'm unable to fight enemies while gathering (as I have no combat abilities whatsoever).

Is gathering worth it or are you better off buying everything you need?

How useful is crafting throughout leveling and in the end game?

This is a pretty generic question but just what is gathering and crafting like in FFXIV, especially at max level? The whole system right now strikes me as frustrating so I haven't done much of it, but I may just need to spend more time researching, idk.

VERY much worth it, if you can handle all the micromanaging involved. One, unlike WoW, where it's choose "craft all" than go AFK someplace. Here, you REALLY ARE crafting (you can "craft all" in this game, just like in WoW, but it's not as effective). A much more prouder achievement than just assembly-lining your stuff. Wear 'em with pride! Second, this game has an additional gear level called HQ (high-quality), which is better than the stuff you buy in shops or earn during quests (but not as good as the stuff you get in dungeons/raids), that can be crafted. Again, much more worth it to go with the homemade gear that to settle for store-bought. You definitely get out of it what you put into it.