Am I at a disadvantage

[Crimsonrake]

Hello,

I have just started playing on PS4. I am enjoying it thus far the controls although feel clunky at first become quite intuative after a few hours.

Having played quite a lot of end game mmo in the past on PC that is where the real enjoyment of this type of game is for me, am I at a disadvantage playing on the console as opposed to keyboard and mouse? can you still perform as well in a raid enviroment sat on the couch with a controller as you would sat at a pc?

I know you can play K+M on ps4 but one of the reasons i got the PS4 version was to be able to play it semi casually sat on the couch etc.

Thanks in advance any help is appreciated, dont want to sink too many hours in to find im handicapped because im on console.

//Rake

[sheepysheepy]

certainly harder to play to full potential, but not a huge deal for such a basic game


awkward casting and moving simultaneously,
can't use parsers,
some classes you're gonna want more than 16 skills available so switching bars can be clunky,
you're gonna want a smartphone or laptop next to you for teamspeak/mumble or similar,
placing your pets/shadowflare/sacredsoil etc. involves changing camera angles and stuff instead of clicking on the floor,
and obviously its gonna take ages if you actually need to type something.

[Alphras]

I know a lot of people that either play on console or play on pc with a controller and have no problem in any content. That being said, make sure that you can use TeamSpeak (or similar) if you want to go raiding.

[Shmunkster]

I play on PS4 (originaly PS3 - PS4 is superior in so many ways) and I think the "handicaps" are as much about the player as the set-up

HotBar - limited to 16 can be a pain. But you can mitigate this. Its only a tap of R1 to change. And if you place key actions in the same place on your HB then if you're n the wrong one you won't cause any disasters if you R1'd out of synch. Example, as WHM, I have Cure1, 2 and 3, and Regen all in the same place on my HBs. The other skills differ (I only work on 2; one DPS, one Heals
Placement - this is clunky, I won't deny. Not only for Pet placement, but also DPS Limit Break. Its not a deal breaker, but it does mean you need to pick your moment to do the faff
Typing - You must get a keyboard if you want to communicate effectively with people you aren't voice connected to. I have a wireless keyboard, work perfect. I just start typing and the cursor goes straight to the chat box. Only thing that is a little sh1tty is changing the chatlog (ie from FC to LS etc).
Movement - I think is a little better. With the controller you can 180 and run, instead of back-stepping.
Skills/Spells - It becomes muscle memory anyway, so I think by end game you are good, unless your co-ordination is pants. Also sometimes the HB helps with rotations better. ie With my MNK I have my Rear and Flank on separate groupings, and my buffs, and my specials....kinda helps me not eff-up my stacks

I main WHM, but have my MNK at 50 too, and some other randoms - and levelling my PLD to 50 currently - so have experience on most job types. I experience no "handicap" - and actually, as you get used to the game you will adjust your HBs over time, and your camera angles and what not to your needs.

[ruskie]

No you are not at a disatvantage. They have made an incredibly well done user experience with the controller. It takes me prob a second or so to place a LB - usually it's more waiting if the tank just moved or such than anything else. Chances are you are already looking at the right spot anyway so the move is a tiny deal.

As for 16 slots... You do need to consider if you rely on a rotation on how to well place it - why I tend to readjust my crossbar once I get access to all skills and evaluate when and how I'll need each. Important stuff on face buttons, less important stuff on d-pad, primary skills on first bar(healing, main single target dps skills), less important on second(AoE dsp stuff, healer dps skills, support skills(bard songs)).


> awkward casting and moving simultaneously,
No, not really. Awkward only for the skills that are on the d-pad side of things in a normal left controlls movement, right camera setup. So you still have access to 8 skills you have that many - I tend to assign the face buttons to the most important skills and all secondaries(usually damage CDs) to the d-pad buttons...


> can't use parsers,
Prohibited either way so irrelevant in this discussion.

> some classes you're gonna want more than 16 skills available so switching bars can be clunky,
Switching is fast other than that at times something get's stuck or a slight delay - so far both bard and whm have no issues with 2x16 setup, with sch/smn I have a third bar for pet placement - but again nothing game braking

> you're gonna want a smartphone or laptop next to you for teamspeak/mumble or similar,
Either this or use ps4 chat if you can find a group of people that are all on PS4.

> placing your pets/shadowflare/sacredsoil etc. involves changing camera angles and stuff instead of clicking on the floor,
PS4 has a touchpad that can be used to do this but it takes an insiginifcant time anyway once you get used to it(test in a few times and you'll see), need to place it under you and your team - just look straight down, place it anywhere else you just look there and slightly adjust the angle until perfect.

> and obviously its gonna take ages if you actually need to type something.
Only reason you should hook a usb keyboard it your PS4 - typing

I have played on PS3 and now on PS4 - when you get used to it you will be on par with the rest, there's a few forum posts about how to optimize your layouts and stuff. Like have shared and not shared crossbars for weapon skills and only load the non shared bars when you draw your weapon and a few other suggestions ideas. With the 2.5s global cooldown you have more than enough time to switch bars and so on.

My main issues in Bard is that I will run out of TP usually very fast so it certainly isn't slowing me down game wise.

[Naryoril]

> you're gonna want a smartphone or laptop next to you for teamspeak/mumble or similar,
Either this or use ps4 chat if you can find a group of people that are all on PS4.

> and obviously its gonna take ages if you actually need to type something.
Only reason you should hook a usb keyboard it your PS4 - typing

I play on PC and stopped playing after patch 2.1. With the PS4 release a bunch of friends started playing it on the PS4 (what else would they play on that console ) so i resubbed.
The chat was an issue, but we found a solution that works for us: The PSN party chat works cross platform between PS4 and the Vita. So i have a Vita lying next to me with a headset with an integrated mic hooked up and we chat like this. I just need to remember to touch the vita's touchscreen from time to time so it doesn't go into standby and disconnects me


About the typing: Afaik you can hook up your tablet or smartphone somehow and use that to type too, at least for apple products, i don't know about Android or Windows Phones.

[LetBloodline]

to all "limited 16 bar" stop dish out false information. With the crossbars L2+R2 and R2+L2 we have 32 quick access buttons

[Silpion]

I skim read the responses, but i would say if you feel at a disadvantage, get a keyboard and mouse for the PS4 for raiding and use the controller for the rest of the time. alternatively like me get it for the PS4 and PC then switch depending on the task, Steam have it on offer i think as well.

You can also use an Ipad with the PS4 app as a keyboard but this does mean your picking up and putting down the controller quite a bit.

[Floppytop]

I don't think you will find any disadvantages but you will how ever need to play around with quiet a few of the settings to make it more pleasant for you it mainly personal preference stuff.

I would however activate the extra cross bars which is R2+L2 and L2+R2 which gives you and extra 16 moves with out having to change cross bars I found this a god send tbh I only really fill it with rarely used moves buffs or long CD's but it still makes room on your main cross bar.

I am healer mainly so I have all my heals and short CD's on my main crossbar and have dps and pets on the extra one works a treat for me

[Garlyle]

As mentioned, there's some settings that you will likely need to poke around with.

That said, I actually prefer playing on console to PC - partially because my laptop isn't super amazing (although it performs far better than I ever would have hoped), but also because a controller feels far more natural in my hands. If you have a keyboard plugged in, you're fine for communications; raid groups MIGHT want you on teamspeak or other Voice programs but you can handle that when the time comes.

As mentioned, the only place where it's really awkward is in placement for pets (for Summoner/Scholar) or caster limit breaks (which is so rare it's not really much of an issue).

Even the hardest content currently in the game has been cleared by console players (and not just PS4, but PS3, where the low system power/networking strength does cause a small handicap).