Is there any way to play the game as DPS? Or just end subscription?

[Imoye]

Long DPS queues are the case in every single MMO. Doesn't particularly bother me as I just browse the net or do other stuff in-game while waiting. Anyways, MMOs are definitely not for you if you aren't willing to wait in queue. I must say that ex-rulette queue is usually sub 10 minutes, same with WOD and most of the more recent content. This is actually the MMO with the best queue times out of all MMOs I've played.

For leveling purposes you simply do fates/leves while waiting for the queue. Low level content is bound to have longer queues, that's just how it is.

I hear you, I really do, but everyone wanting to play DPS is not something that will change, and is out of SE's control. This is really more of a personal issue that you have. Either join an active FC or get a bunch of friends, or simply quit if it bothers you that much. Such is simply the nature of MMOs, and I think the genre is not for you if you can't handle queue times.

[Risvertasashi]

I will say that I'm surprised that, given the abundance of DPS in other MMOs, Square chose to go with only a 1:1:2 ratio. On the flipside, at least for CT they wised up and made it only require 1 tank while having 5 DPS slots? It would be nice if it were 1:1:3 instead -- games that use this ratio still have a shortage but it's better -- but I think that ship has sailed.

Anyway, to the OP:
There are some MMOs that only have DPS jobs. So there's no queue issues or such. Have you tried them? Might be worth looking into.

[h0tNstilettos]

A good MMO is one where you are playing in a world where other players exist in the world at the same time, and if you want to party with them that is an option, not a requirement. I'm waiting for the day a proper MMO like that comes along that does not force party play, at least until endgame, so then things would be more enjoyable. This would solve many of the problems MMOs like this face.

As for this particular issue, putting the challenge log on an infinite loop would solve the problem. This way once you finish whatever category it immediately starts back over. So then you repeat the requirements again for the reward. The challenge log cannot be abused if you still have to meet the requirements again. So I see no reason for the weekly limit unless it has to do with a prevention method for botters. If so my reply is to just let them bot. Not many people know how to do that, so I don't think it's worth hampering the game for the majority that do not bot just to prevent a couple people from leveling up with bots.

The queue times on Balmung are pretty quick. I usually go tank or healer for dungeons, but if I queue expert roulette as a dps, its about 5 mins. At most it will be 10 but that's rare. Syrcus tower and WoD are practically instant queue for dps. LotA is a bit longer since it requires more tanks.

Honestly though it sounds like to me that you just need to take a break if you are not having fun with this game. After all, the reason why we play games is to enjoy them.

Maybe I should switch servers, lol.

I don't know what you expected as a DPS, long queue times are a normal thing for them because they are the most played role. Plus dungeons shouldn't be soloable there is enough solo content in the game to levelup. And even if fates are not your cup of tea there are leves. if you ran out of charges do something else SE didn't make this game to beat it in one day.

SE has already said they are implementing a way to solo dungeons, mainly the 4p dungeons. The idea they talked about is hiring NPC party members from your grand company. This is needed due to dead low level content because leveling up is so fast in this game that compared to other MMOs, FFXIV has a much higher ratio of endgame to pre-endgame player pool. This was an issue that was widely predicted and talked about around the first months of the game. As for queues, 30 minute queues for dps have only happened twice since the game launched. Once was at some point in 2014 when the population was dying before SE announced release date of Gold Saucer. Once that was announced the population rose again and queues were back to normal, now queues are down again. Typical dps queue times on Leviathan had always been 15 minutes at most, but usually 8 minutes average.

Playing with friends will generally speaking solve this issue - as long as some of you are willing to play as tank/healer while others dps.

It's a multiplayer game, not solo, making friends is kind of part of what makes the game actually work.

Friends do not help when they are all busy doing their own thing and 80% of them no longer play or rarely get on.

You're choosing to ignore all the things that you can do while waiting for DF, so that's really your problem if you don't want to try to utilize the most effective way of leveling outside of a dungeon. If your FC isn't willing to help then maybe it's time to find a new one. You're playing an MMO, a genre that revolves around interacting with other people. If you're trying to circumvent that aspect of the game, then why are you here in the first place? Make friends that are willing to help you out.

And your "I'm not going tank or healer" statement only exacerbates the problem that you're experiencing. DPS DF queues are long partially due to that very reason. That said, if you've never experienced this problem in 14 years then I don't know what MMOs you're playing.

I'm not choosing to ignore anything. Hunting Log, Challenge Log, leves, all have limits. You can't do them infinitely. For challenge log you have to wait for reset. For leves you have to wait for allowances. For hunting log, once you reach the amount for each enemy that's it. As for Fates, the experience amount vs time to complete is extremely minimal. Only a Fate party would make Fates viable. As for the tank and healer thing, you forget what an MMO is. An MMO isn't "You're required to play all roles including ones you hate." An MMO is play the role or roles you like, and the class/jobs you like. It's the developers job to make sure this is possible. Another reason your tank/heal comment makes no sense is because you can't level your DPS classes by playing a healer or tank. That would only level the healer or tank you are playing. If each challenge log category would reset upon completion this would no longer be an issue as there would always be a decent way to progress when waiting long time on queues.

I just leveled WAR/BLM/PLD to finally get my crown. Did it all via FATES/farming/leves - mainly because I was trying to get my Choco to Rank 10. I play very off and on and tend to spend a lot of time crafting, messing with my house, and other stuff. It didn't seem to take too long. I'm just not sure if by 'decent method' you mean 2-3 days or if a couple of weeks. Then again I played FFXI so 3 weeks to go from 1-50 seems like an instant.

In any case I would disagree with "not playable" and "waste of time" assessment -- it just doesn't match your more hurried style of play.

None of this has to do with how long leveling takes. It has to do with being able to play the game while waiting on queue and getting some kind of decent progress for whatever I'm leveling. Hunting log and challenge log are examples of decent progress outside of duties, while Fates and leves are horrendous and almost pointless, though leves are excellent 15 and under. By decent I was referring to the amount of experience or tomes you get. All of the duties that give a decent amount have insane queue times. So if I'm going to wait 30 minutes there needs to be a way to make some decent progress while waiting.

My goal is to also get all DoW/DoM class to 50.
Find me in-game; I can help.

If I don't unsub I will. ^_^

Must not have played FFXI then.

30 minute waits would've been a *blessing*, as opposed to 4 hours sitting in Jeuno/Whitegate waiting for a party invite as a DPS.

No, I never played FFXI. I've played Everquest, Maplestory, WoW, Runes of Magic, Allods Online, Atlantica Online, Dragon Saga, Shaiya, and a few other less popular ones whose names I don't remember. Sure, Everquest, WoW, and Maplestory are the only big name MMOs listed, but an MMO is still an MMO and that's still a decent selection. Never played EQII, Eve Online, Aion, Tera, Guild Wars 2, SW:ToR, or a couple of the other big ones.

It's mathematics. Each group needs 1 heal, 1 tank and 2 DPS. SO, each tank and each healer queueing can only "host" 2 DPS. which means that in a perfect world, there'd be the double the ammount of players playing as DPS than there is of tank/healers.

HOWEVER, in FFXIV we have
- 2 tanks (PLD and WAR)
- 2 healers (WHM and SCH)
- and *6* DPS (NIN, MNK, DRG, BRD, SMN and BLM)

So, yeah, there are much much much more than 2 DPS for each tank or heal. That being, all those DPS need to wait till there's a tank or a heal available for you, quite possibly on a first-come-first-serve basis. So, there's nothing much to be done to help that, short of stimulating people to play more as tank/heal.

maybe Heavensward and the DRK will help with that. Since it's gonna be all the craze

I know why the queues are long. The length is not the problem. It's actually being able to do something for decent progression while waiting.

Another whining post. Ive been playing DPS only for 18 months now and never get pissed by the queues. You just need to find something else to do during the wait: crafting etc. Or try to make friends and go as a full party. The solution is on your hands no need for SE to fix anything that cant be fixed (maths)

No the solution is not on my end. Queue times are not the same each server. My reply to your insult is a mix of things I have replied to others in the above quotes this post.

[magdahmhara]

Waiting for certain FATEs to pop takes longer than DF, lol.

[StouterTaru]

Must not have played FFXI then.

30 minute waits would've been a *blessing*, as opposed to 4 hours sitting in Jeuno/Whitegate waiting for a party invite as a DPS.

That's why you start your own party, so you can sit with 2 other dps trying to get a tank or healer to join a party without a Brd.

[PArcher]

Just going to say, if you want BiS...youd better start making friends. All jobs have BiS gear from Final Coil, and you need to go with people you know (and are able to farm) to have a chance at farming it for the gear you want.

That being said...this IS an MMO...going solo is not the point at all. Playing with others, making connections, getting things done as a team is.

[h0tNstilettos]

Lol @ thread tag.

Well i reckon you better start tankin or get used to them DPS ques boi lest you know whats good for ya

I'm not a 'boy' lol.

The gear for DRG might be a problem, but you can level perfectly well to 50 solo, through levequests, your hunting log, and FATEs. It's not difficult. In fact, doing such solo levelling is a good thing to be doing while you're waiting for your DPS queue.

I can tell you didn't read all of the OP. -_- I already do that stuff, but that stuff has limits. Once you reach those limits there's nothing to do. Hunting log you kill required number of enemies, then there's nothing more to do. Same with challenge log as you have to wait for reset. Leves are limited to allowances. FATEs are not viable without a FATE party due to amount of experience vs time that is so minimal it is pointless. That's why people party for FATEs if leveling. Can't party while queuing unless those people are going to run whatever you're queuing for with you.

Be Social. Join Linkshells. Group with people from them. Problem solved.

Who said anything about not being social? I clearly said I'm in an FC. I'm also in various link shells. As I said party finder is a dud and everyone in FC, friendslist, link shells, etc are either too bored with low level content and always seem to be busy doing something to avoid doing them, or many no longer play or get on much.

Long DPS queues are the case in every single MMO. Doesn't particularly bother me as I just browse the net or do other stuff in-game while waiting. Anyways, MMOs are definitely not for you if you aren't willing to wait in queue.

For leveling purposes you simply do fates/leves while waiting for the queue. Low level content is bound to have longer queues, that's just how it is.

I hear you, I really do, but everyone wanting to play DPS is not something that will change, and is out of SE's control. This is really more of a personal issue that you have. Either join an active FC or get a bunch of friends, or simply quit if it bothers you that much. Such is simply the nature of MMOs, and I think the genre is not for you if you can't handle queue times.

This is not true. I have played various MMOs over my 14 year history of MMOs, including Everquest, WoW, Maplestory, and numerous others. Never had any issues in any of those games or else I wouldn't of played MMOs for 14 years now. Even FFXIV never had an issue with long queues most of the time. This is only the 2nd time this has happened since launch. Once was sometime during 2014 the queues dipped to long queues before returning to normal after Gold Saucer release was announced. Now they've dipped again.

Anyway, to the OP:
There are some MMOs that only have DPS jobs. So there's no queue issues or such. Have you tried them? Might be worth looking into.

No, I've never tried that. Sounds interesting though.

Just going to say, if you want BiS...youd better start making friends. All jobs have BiS gear from Final Coil, and you need to go with people you know (and are able to farm) to have a chance at farming it for the gear you want.

That being said...this IS an MMO...going solo is not the point at all. Playing with others, making connections, getting things done as a team is.

I never said anything about not having friends or not being social. As I said in the OP no one wants to do low level content or always have something to do to avoid them, or never online, etc. The issue was about having something to do for decent progress while waiting to be able to group with people, such as duty queues.

[Welsper59]

This is not true. I have played various MMOs over my 14 year history of MMOs, including Everquest, WoW, Maplestory, and numerous others. Never had any issues in any of those games or else I wouldn't of played MMOs for 14 years now. Even FFXIV never had an issue with long queues most of the time. This is only the 2nd time this has happened since launch. Once was sometime during 2014 the queues dipped to long queues before returning to normal after Gold Saucer release was announced. Now they've dipped again.

Wait what? WoW didn't have this same wait? You mean my waiting 45min or longer for a queue in Cata was a lie!? The average was 20-30min for practically all of WoWs existence, depending on xrealm, since the DFG tool was introduced in WotLK. And they had/have MILLIONS of active players... yet you still wait that long, for the same reasons you wait that long now. I think you're really cherry picking your arguments or memories here. Either that, or you're experiencing the reverse now from what practically everyone else experienced before. FFXIV has always had issues with queue most of the time, it's the few times that didn't have a problem (when new content is introduced). After a couple weeks, the queue goes back to normal... long (by a given server standards). You need to hop servers to ones that have active players around the time you do play, if it's that important of an issue.

As for the lack of things to do, there are many things you can do. Gather? Craft? Spiritbind? There are many other options available for you to do, but it's your own personal likes and dislikes that cause your own boredom or lack of interest to do them. SE can't help you there lol. If you willingly refuse these options, then... oh well, tough ****. It'd be like my case where I hate grouping in DF for most content, so I tend not to do it, and thus won't even finish relic books, so tough **** for me. Seriously, it comes down to your own personal problem. There's next to nothing that SE can realistically do to help you there, when you take into consideration how things work. I mean think about why you would believe WoW was somehow different.

[Able]

1. Find new friends and a new FC
2. Do fates and hunting log while waiting for queues
3. Get a friend to WHM holy spam leves for you in Mor Dhona. Get from 45 to 50 in three hours, probably less.

It seems as if you have an answer for every solution anyone has offered you. If you're really that frustrated with the game, it's best to unsubscribe and uninstall. I leveled all of my DPS classes with ease.

[TheRogueX]

A good MMO is one where you are playing in a world where other players exist in the world at the same time, and if you want to party with them that is an option, not a requirement. I'm waiting for the day a proper MMO like that comes along that does not force party play, at least until endgame, so then things would be more enjoyable.

LOL, no. A good MMO is a game where grouping is the way to go, but that soloing through the central questline is a possible option. What you're looking for is a single-player game that has optional co-op. There's tons of those, and most of them don't have monthly fees. Also, you say 'does not force party play, at least until endgame' but your initial complaint was about all queues, including endgame queues.

Maybe I should switch servers, lol.

That is a viable option. Perhaps the server you are on is just full of boring players.

As for queues, 30 minute queues for dps have only happened twice since the game launched. Once was at some point in 2014 when the population was dying before SE announced release date of Gold Saucer. Once that was announced the population rose again and queues were back to normal, now queues are down again.

"Population was dying"? Ooookaaaay.

Friends do not help when they are all busy doing their own thing and 80% of them no longer play or rarely get on.

Make some new friends. I never have trouble finding groups; I'm in 8 linkshells, 6 of which are non-hunt.

As for Fates, the experience amount vs time to complete is extremely minimal. Only a Fate party would make Fates viable.

That's a lie. I leveled both WHM and NIN recently, mostly via FATES and Challenge Log. I pretty much never used dungeons to level. It almost sounds like you're just in too impatient.

If each challenge log category would reset upon completion this would no longer be an issue as there would always be a decent way to progress when waiting long time on queues.

No, all it would do would be make things worse because then people could race through all classes/jobs... only to get super bored because they have nothing do to. Then they'd come to the forums and complain and threaten to quit.

Hunting log and challenge log are examples of decent progress outside of duties, while Fates and leves are horrendous and almost pointless, though leves are excellent 15 and under. By decent I was referring to the amount of experience or tomes you get. All of the duties that give a decent amount have insane queue times. So if I'm going to wait 30 minutes there needs to be a way to make some decent progress while waiting.

FATES. Seriously. FATES are excellent. I have no freaking clue what you're talking about, re: FATES. On a good day in Coerthas, you can get 15-20k per FATE, and they pop one after another after another. You don't need a group. You don't need a queue. Just go.

It's actually being able to do something for decent progression while waiting.

FATES.

No the solution is not on my end.

Yes, yes it is. It is completely on your end.

Who said anything about not being social? I clearly said I'm in an FC. I'm also in various link shells. As I said party finder is a dud and everyone in FC, friendslist, link shells, etc are either too bored with low level content and always seem to be busy doing something to avoid doing them, or many no longer play or get on much.

*snip*

I never said anything about not having friends or not being social. As I said in the OP no one wants to do low level content or always have something to do to avoid them, or never online, etc. The issue was about having something to do for decent progress while waiting to be able to group with people, such as duty queues.

Find new friends. Find new Linkshells. Find a new FC. Move to a different server.