Do I really have to miss out on such a great story-driven game?

[Arazehl]

I have tried, but I just feel so guilty when I mess up and ruin a dungeon for others. I end up feeling so bad about that I leave the FC. I have lost count now of the number of FC's I've joined and left for that reason.

My FC wouldn't let you feel guilty. They would cheer you onward and boost your spirits. That's the kind of people they are.

[Mirinda]

My FC wouldn't let you feel guilty. They would cheer you onward and boost your spirits. That's the kind of people they are.

That's a lovely thought, thank you. (almost tempted to role a new char 'across the pond' )

[Risvertasashi]

Just one more quick thought. You only ever have to do a given dungeon/trial for story once. Until SE adds an NPC system to all of them, if you can just get through them once, the rest of the time you can play solo. And it's almost certain that all new story dungeons will let you use the Trust system, so once you catch up to that point you should be in the clear.

Good luck, and I hope you're able to enjoy the game despite the dungeons.

[Archaell]

Buy a second monitor or tablet then watch a guide before each dungeon and write down bullet points. Read the notes before / while doing the dungeons / bosses.

You can do the same for skills. Just make a quick reference to follow.

Bad memory can be overcome with preparation.

[Avenger]

Fights in ffxiv are all about learning generic mechanics (like don’t stand in the fire, stack when stack markers appear, usually stand behind the boss unless you are a tank, kill adds quickly) as well as specific mechanics for fights, and then just doing your job. If you can make a genuine effort to do those things, you are doing as well or better than typical dps players on duty finder, so don’t worry if you die occasionally. Or frequently. You will get better with practice.

Also the easiest way to make dungeons easier, besides repeating them, using videos or guides, or doing ones that are lower level or ones that you already know, is to make sure that your gear is up to date. I find that I get a lot more dps commendations with better gear. I see a lot of players with bad gear, often lower level or wrong accessories, and that makes things harder.

[Pepsi_Plunge]

Try to find one or two people on level 80 to help you out and carry you through the dungeons. This should be enough to finish Stormblood and once you reach ShB you can then do the 71 dungeons with the trusts.

[Stepjam]

Honestly, dungeons are not a big deal. Generally the mechanics are simple and forgiving. Rarely should you have a dungeon that is anyhting to stress over. Especially for old content since most players will be overgeared.

I feel you just gotta run more of them and you'll realize they are nothing to stress over.

[Ursa_Vonfiebryd]

You and my old FC leader are peas in a pod. Easiest thing to do is just focus on leveling your character. Once you hit lvl 80, you can pretty much solo anything lvl 60 and under and 2-man the lvl 70 stuff. 71+ you can do with Trusts.

Leveling is slightly harder to do if you cut out roulettes but with Palace of the Dead/Heaven on High, Squads (15-50), levemetes and Fates, its nearly soloable with Palace/Heaven being extremely forgiving, skill-wise.

For everything else, just throw up a Party Finder. Plenty of us are bored and certainly don't mind helping out, especially with the Trials. In extreme cases there's Shareplay but that should only be with people you trust. Try not to sweat it too much. Thankfully the story bits are often short. Once their done, they're done.

[EveK]

It's also worth more explicitly clarifying here that the option to do dungeons without syncing your level down is called "undersized party." More importantly, as the name suggests, this allows you to do the dungeon with less than four people. So you could even go in solo to explore it (or even complete it if your level is excessive enough). And if you do find people you're comfortable doing them with, you could limit it to just you and them without having to fill out a four-person party with random others.

[Leyra]

I just restarted and have a dread of doing the dungeons. I always avoid dungeons and pvp in every game I play. So despite getting into ARR at the beta stage and when it went to full release, when I got to the run of dungeons between level 15 and 20 I quit the game.

I would love to play this game without dungeons but know that isn't an option. Thing is I really like the rest of the game. Questing is really enjoyable and I especially enjoy the fetch quests (I know right, a lot of you will think I'm nuts for that). I also enjoy gathering and especially the crafting system.

So with a new char what would you advise as a planned gameplay to learn to tolerate or even enjoy dungeons? Thanks