I have anxiety running dungeons, why the pressure?

[Frizze]

Remember: Everyone but serious chads stand in dumb stuff sometimes. It's OK!

Correction. Everyone EVEN serious chads stand in dumb stuff sometimes. You can be excellent at sight-reading mechanics and still wind up on the wrong side of a tell. You can know a fight perfectly and still move into or out of a danger zone a half second early/late and get snap-shotted. You can spend months learning one of the hardest fights in the game(dying hundreds and hundreds of times because someone stood in the wrong place) then go into an easy duty and derp about whether the attack youre about to be hit by goes on your left or the bosses left. So again, EVERYONE stands in the dumb stuff sometimes. It's still OK. Just keep trying, and eventually you should get it just fine.

[Carin-Eri]

Correction. Everyone EVEN serious chads stand in dumb stuff sometimes. You can be excellent at sight-reading mechanics and still wind up on the wrong side of a tell. You can know a fight perfectly and still move into or out of a danger zone a half second early/late and get snap-shotted. You can spend months learning one of the hardest fights in the game(dying hundreds and hundreds of times because someone stood in the wrong place) then go into an easy duty and derp about whether the attack youre about to be hit by goes on your left or the bosses left. So again, EVERYONE stands in the dumb stuff sometimes. It's still OK. Just keep trying, and eventually you should get it just fine.

But what if you don't?

I've been playing the game for slightly over a year now and if there is one thing I've learnt, it's that I don't seem able to memorize mechanics. More often than not I run content with friends, and they give me advice (and are very patient) - but often have to remind them that they've almost definitely provided me with that advice before, probably the last time we ran whatever content it was and I made the same dumb mistakes.
Sad thing is, it's undoubtedly good advice. The problem lays in the fact that, regardless of the source of advice (friends, video/written guides etc), no matter how hard I try I just don't seem to be able to apply said advice to my actual gameplay. And it's a bit embarrassing really, as I'm teamed with people who don't die to said mechanics at all and have progressed on to Savage content (which I sit out).

Its disheartening to be honest - I love the game in itself, but have to concede that even after a year.... I'm just really bad at it, and I've realised that I've started playing a little less as a result.

[Frizze]

But what if you don't?

I cant speak for everyone. Speaking for myself, i can tell you that i never get mad at people who try. The person who afks/purposefully dies and refuses a res/etc? That guy i can get mad at. You say that you cant memorize mechanics. Do you have a feel for why this is? Do you recognize the most basic markers(stack/spread)? Is it possible that you dont have a good enough feel for your class rotation(someone focusing too much on which button to press next can make it harder to notice the mechanic that means you have to move)? Is your class even suited to your natural playstyle?

Ultimately, most content in the game will be perfectly clearable whether one player struggles or not. And you yourself say that you sit out on the harder content, so you arent subjecting people who need better performance to your struggles. So i stand by it still being fine if you mess up. Though i also acknowledge how frustrating that can be.

[Carin-Eri]

I cant speak for everyone. Speaking for myself, i can tell you that i never get mad at people who try. The person who afks/purposefully dies and refuses a res/etc? That guy i can get mad at. You say that you cant memorize mechanics. Do you have a feel for why this is? Do you recognize the most basic markers(stack/spread)? Is it possible that you dont have a good enough feel for your class rotation(someone focusing too much on which button to press next can make it harder to notice the mechanic that means you have to move)? Is your class even suited to your natural playstyle?

Ultimately, most content in the game will be perfectly clearable whether one player struggles or not. And you yourself say that you sit out on the harder content, so you arent subjecting people who need better performance to your struggles. So i stand by it still being fine if you mess up. Though i also acknowledge how frustrating that can be.

I generally learn the rotations well enough to not be completely useless in that respect at least. And I'll note that I've avoided playing healer or tank roles as don't want to play a job where the team are relying on me for anything. But no - I generally don't recognise basic markers etc and if/when I do I react too slowly.
As I said, I sit Savage content out when friends play it - that isn't to say they don't occasionally invite me but, being aware that I'd be as much use as a handbrake on a canoe, I decline the invitations.

What is it about the game that you like?

The MSQ first and foremost - and whilst my poor performance does impact on that too, it doesn't really reflect on anyone but me in that setting.
Spending time with friends, most of whom either encourage me or simply keep their thoughts to themselves at this point.
My house

[Eisi]

The MSQ first and foremost - and whilst my poor performance does impact on that too, it doesn't really reflect on anyone but me in that setting.
Spending time with friends, most of whom either encourage me or simply keep their thoughts to themselves at this point.
My house

Do you perceive the gameplay part that's tied to the MSQ as a burden? Is the MSQ interesting to you in spite of the gameplay?

[Carin-Eri]

Do you perceive the gameplay part that's tied to the MSQ as a burden? Is the MSQ interesting to you in spite of the gameplay?

No. Its more the fact that it took numerous attempts and reducing the difficulty level to Easy or Very Easy more often than not.

[Eisi]

No. Its more the fact that it took numerous attempts and reducing the difficulty level to Easy or Very Easy more often than not.

Have you ever felt like you learned anything in the game to the point where you didnt even have to think about it anymore you just did the right thing?

Like for example looking out for orange markers and not standing in them anymore shortly before they disappear.

[Frizze]

I generally learn the rotations well enough to not be completely useless in that respect at least. And I'll note that I've avoided playing healer or tank roles as don't want to play a job where the team are relying on me for anything. But no - I generally don't recognise basic markers etc and if/when I do I react too slowly.
As I said, I sit Savage content out when friends play it - that isn't to say they don't occasionally invite me but, being aware that I'd be as much use as a handbrake on a canoe, I decline the invitations.

So what i was going for wasnt how optimally you perform. It was more how well you know your kit/how practiced you are with it/how efficient is your button layout(to a lesser extent). The forum lists you as a dancer, and for some people dancer is a very easy class to play because the "rotation" is just 1-2 and follow the procs. For other people dancer is a nightmare to play because they arent planning ahead/rehearsing for what to press next. The class is reactionary. Some people do better with a class like Dragoon where the "rotation" may be 12 buttons long but they know that theyll always press those buttons in the same order. Hell, my class is Black Mage whos "rotation" is "use Fire 4 as often as you can"(yes, this is oversimplified a bit). I dont need to think at all about what i SHOULD be doing(splosions!), and indeed im practiced enough that i could do the rotation on a target dummy with a blindfold on and not mess up for quite awhile based on timing and spell audio. This frees me up to focus on mechanics, fight knowledge, and pre-planning where to use some of my resources. Its possible that some amount of dedicated practice time could make this better for you, just as its possible that another class could potentially be a better fit. If you do decide to try other classes, i would say to at least consider adding a tank to the list of class tryouts. In "normal" content, tanking is a lot easier then you might think. As a rule, tanks have very easy damage rotations. If your tank stance is on, two aoes is usually all you need to remain the center of attention. And from there, the thing you need to learn is how to rotate your defense tools. And thats it. Most mechanics in normal content happen to DPS or healers, not to tanks.

With all that said, it is also possible that you have simply reached your limit. If thats the case, then only you can weigh the enjoyment you get from the game versus how frustrating the fights can sometimes feel for you.

[Eisi]

Its disheartening to be honest - I love the game in itself, but have to concede that even after a year.... I'm just really bad at it, and I've realised that I've started playing a little less as a result.

What is it about the game that you like?