I'm feeling demoralised

[triadne]

I played yesterday and was sent to do a big fight with lots of npcs running around.

All of a sudden, I found it nigh impossible to reliably target enemies.
I haven't had this problem so far, and now I feel like the game has asked me to do something and not made it possible for me to do it.
I pressed A, it targetted the NPC. I pressed cancel and tried again, still targeted the npc.
I tried cancelling and pressing my attack moves, but no matter what I did, I couldn't hit the monsters. I felt like i was unable to do anything and they were killing the monsters instead and I felt completely humiliated.
I looked online and it gives all these really complicated button combinations to apparently cycle through targets but a lot of the tings I tried just didn't work.

why is teh game like this? at the very least, if I press an attack move, then surely the target should switch to a target that I can hit??? nd when I'm in an area full of enemies, I as a dps class, should surely automatically target monsters instead of npcs?

In this situation, after having been put in that situation and feeling completely helpless and stuck, I don't feel like playing this game any further. I am ready to quit right now.
The only reason I'm posting this now is because people have told me this game gets really good.

[Kirika-]

Using a game controller instead of mouse/keyboard?
If so, see:
https://www.reddit.com/r/ffxiv/comme..._general_tips/


Navigation and Selection of Different Target Types

There are a handful of ways to target the various things you encounter. Ill go over some of the main buttons that can be use to quickly select what you need to.

Enemy Targeting

"Tab Targeting" on the PC refers to tapping the Tab button to cycle through on screen enemies.

• When using a controller, this is achieved by pressing L1 and R1 WHILE you have L2 or R2 pressed.
  
• Tab targeting will cycle left and right (L1/R1) through the enemies on screen.
  
• Tab targeting will make Hard selections, not soft.
  
• You do not need to have a target already for this to work. Pressing it with no target will select the first enemy to your left or right.
  
• The problem most people run into with this is that the "Left and Right Cycle" does not care if the enemy is engaged or not. It also does not care how close you are to the enemy. It is an absolute, X Axis of your screen, pixel by pixel, Left and Right of the currently targeted enemy.
  
• To overcome this little difficulty, I tend to point the camera strait top down, so that the only enemies that it is able to cycle through are the ones on screen, which should only be the ones you are fighting.

"Enmity List Cycling" is the PC Equivalent of selecting an enemy name directly from the Enmity List

• Pressing L1+ Up and L1 + Down will cycle up and down through the list of enemies in the Enmity List.
  
• Enmity list cycling uses soft targeting.
  
• This is especially useful for selecting enemies with a certain amount health (Burn the lowest? Start on the highest?), or getting back on the boss after getting off adds.
  
• If no enemy is selected, pressing either up or down will start the cycle from the very top of the list. If an enemy is selected, it will cycle up or down from the selected enemies name.

Friendly Targeting

Party List Cycling

• Pressing Up and Down on the D Pad will cycle up and down through the party list.
  
• If you do not have a party member targeted, the list will begin to cycle from your name, regardless of if you press up or down. Otherwise it will move up or down from your selected target.
  
• Cycling up and down cycles with soft targets. (Note For Scholars: Using Embrace from your hotbar with a soft target will not switch back to your hard target, or create a hard target after casting. Eos/Selene's skills don't count as your action, so they do not trigger this effect, and the target will remain a soft target.)
  
• With Automatic party sorting enabled, this will allow you to directly target your MT and OT with 2 or 3 Taps on the Down dpad, Or Up twice to select your pet. (With no previous party member selected)

Alliance List Cycling

• Pressing L1 +Left or L1 + Right on the Dpad will cycle through the 2 Alliance lists if they are available. If no alliance member is selected, it will start on the lowest letter Alliance, on the First tank in the list.
  
• As of right now, there isn't a huge need to target alliance members. But this seems the most reliable method if need be.

In Practice (A Summation)

DPSing -

• Try to mainly use Tab Targeting (L2/R2 + L1/R1) to quickly snap between different enemies. Especially if there are only a few on screen.
  
• Use L1 + up and Down for more control over what you're targeting. Most useful when there are a bunch on enemies on screen, and Tab Targeting is unreliable.

Tanking -

• Tab targeting can be a bit easier for a tank, since (in most cases) the mobs should kind of line up and circle around you. Tabbing left and right isnt as bad.
  
• Enmity list cycling is helpful for quickly grabbing that mob that you lost hate on. Since a running Mob can be difficult to Tab Target, L1 + Up and Down will guarantee that the mob you've lost is the mob you're targeting.

Healing -

• Pressing Up and Down to select your party members will be your primary targeting method.
  
• Get used to Hard targeting your tank, and then using soft targeting to heal other party members. Doing this will make sure you're always ready to heal the tank after healing others.
  
• Scholars, learn to use embrace with Soft targeting to double the amount of healing you have control over.
  
• Use party targeting along with DPS Targeting styles to lay down some damage when you get a chance.

[triadne]

thanks, but that is what i'm talking about, it all seems so complicated and doesn't make me feel better about logging in again.

[Payadopa]

thanks, but that is what i'm talking about, it all seems so complicated and doesn't make me feel better about logging in again.

Forget everything you just read, hold R2 and press L1 to cycle through enemies only. It's really not that hard.

The above is really neat but not that essential in the beginning.

But, I have to say, I had similar problems when I started playing with a controller.

[triadne]

well i hold r2 to get to my moves anyway! so i press r1... hmm, i think i can get my head round that.
i wonder why my moves don't cause me to target a monster though.. that would surely be more intuitive. i mean for a fast paced game, that's what i'd expect

[Payadopa]

well i hold r2 to get to my moves anyway! so i press r1...

I think that's the idea behind it. You have to hold R2 to initiate combat anyway. I'm sure you'll get used to it.

[Iscah]

i wonder why my moves don't cause me to target a monster though.. that would surely be more intuitive. i mean for a fast paced game, that's what i'd expect

It runs the opposite direction, basically. You have to select your target before a targeted move will work.

[triadne]

I eventually resolved this issue by learning how to write macros.
now I don't have to fiddle about wrestling with the game to try and target the enemy right in front of me.
I mean, in a game about fighting enemies, and I press on one of my basic attacks, it really should not require me to press multiple buttons to target the enemy first. it should be the most natural thing in the world that when I'm stood in front of an enemy and i press an attack , it should attack the enemy. it should automatically target the enemy just like auto attack does.
of course, having auto attack as one of my main buttons is a terrible waste of space.

my macro does the following.

target enemy
autoattack
truethrust

I honestly think it is bizarre that I had to do that.

[Canadane]

I eventually resolved this issue by learning how to write macros.
now I don't have to fiddle about wrestling with the game to try and target the enemy right in front of me.
I mean, in a game about fighting enemies, and I press on one of my basic attacks, it really should not require me to press multiple buttons to target the enemy first. it should be the most natural thing in the world that when I'm stood in front of an enemy and i press an attack , it should attack the enemy. it should automatically target the enemy just like auto attack does.
of course, having auto attack as one of my main buttons is a terrible waste of space.

my macro does the following.

target enemy
autoattack
truethrust

I honestly think it is bizarre that I had to do that.

While I'm glad you found a solution, keep in mind that as you grow macros will be severely underpowering you. They were designed specifically to be less effective in combat for a variety of technical reasons I won't bother you with unless you want them.
Keep at it though and eventually you'll get the muscle memory to play like it's second nature!

[triadne]

Thanks ^_^
So, from what I've read, the limitation of macros is due to the fact that GCD is 2.5 and the macro can only give 3 between each ability. I don't intend on doing those sorts of macros in future, so is that all I need to be concerned with?