Of openers and rotations

[nilh]

Thanks Frizze and Teiren!!

I understand better now (at least not so concerned/confused about the long list of skills and buttons to hit). Some of the guides for openers are pretty confusing, and just as confusing is the relatively paltry information on the basic rotation (speaking about monk here). When you are new to the game and have to learn the dungeons, it's not easy to put everything together in the proper sequence. I often end up not hitting the cooldowns and utilities.

[Frizze]

When you are new to the game and have to learn the dungeons, it's not easy to put everything together in the proper sequence.

Biggest piece of advice i try to give new people is to ask for help when they need it(dont be afraid to say you dont know something - we all had to learn at some point), and not get stressed out about the things they dont understand yet. This game like every MMO is huge, complex, and can be hugely complex if you let it.

Yeah, some classes are much easier to learn basic sequencing on then others. Black Mage is literally a 4 button class for a long stretch of levels(fire 1 for damage, transpose to stance switch, blizzard 1 for mana regen, thunder 1 for extra DoT damage - sequence is essentially Th F F F F Tr B Th B Tr F F F F for almost 30 levels and switching from single target to AoE only even means swapping F2 for F1), and you slowly start adding/changing some of those in the later stages until everything shifts radically at level 58-60. My understanding of monk is secondhand and limited, so i wont say anything class-specific thats likely to be wrong and confusing. But one piece of advice i can give that is more universal - if you arent feeling comfortable with your rotation you can always practice. Easiest way is to get to know a striking dummy for a little while. Many FCs/people have level 50 or 60 ones in their yards. You cant "kill" them(their hp bar just refills when depleted), so you can practice going through the moves as long as you want until youve got a good feel for them. They dont really simulate positionals well, and a real fight usually has some mechanics to worry about, but if you have the moves down youre well on your way. Then like Teiren said knowing the fight is key. Between knowing your moves and the fight mechanics, youve got 95%(roughly) of the toolbox, THATS when the theorycrafting(openers, cooldown management, etc) becomes relevant if you need to be the absolute best.

Anyway, if my rambling barely coherent thoughts have been at all helpful then im glad to have shared them. Continue having fun, and never be afraid to ask questions.

[nilh]

Biggest piece of advice i try to give new people is to ask for help when they need it

No not at all rambling Frizze, it's all clear and useful. In fact most players I have come across in FF14 dungeons have been pretty cool/patient, and decently skilled (cf. swtor where you still have clueless people dying in pubs after all these years - prolly cos its an FTP game). But by the same token I rarely see people in FF14 stating they are new or explaining mechanics in DF.

Have been practicising on the dummies at Dravania Forelands (I am the only one there usually). I need more practice.

I also just posted a question on Form Shift in the Monk thread so yea, thanks!