Quote Originally Posted by einschwartz View Post
2 years into FFXIV, I still have not unlock the ARR Hard Mode dungeons.
I had no reason to do them back when I was progressing ARR-HW. No reason to unlock them now except to clear quest markers; which is low below in my to-do list right now.

I do not like Alliance Raid.
Only done the first two from HW and Rabanastre from SB. Did them once just for the sake of trying it then never step into it again. Reason: I get disoriented. They're confusing for me. I even watch guide beforehand but I get overwhelmed with the many mechanics and just noped out from proceeding. Even when I had a friend who willing to do call outs for me.
I want to try enjoy it. Maybe I just need to run enough times to be accustomed to them. But the anxiety, man.
I enjoy running the alliance raids(though i loath LotA and Syrcus for the sheer volume of my ques they take up). I know it feels like a lot of mechanics when youre new, but if you break it down it really isnt that much. You have 4 bosses with typically 3-5 mechanics each(some less, a few more). When the runs are new you experience all of them. Now that we outlevel everything by a ton, you tend to not see too much from the second half of most of the fights. So thats like 1.5-2 dungeons worth of mechanics. Learning all 9 instances at once? A bit daunting. But one at a time? Much more doable. And as a healer, the most important thing is just to keep up on heals and res the fallen when you can. Or you could put this off, and in 6ish weeks join us on the front lines exploring the new alliance raid. No one knows the mechanics yet, so its clearly not your fault if you mess anything up. And being there from the beginning, getting some gear upgrades while theyre still relevant, and hopefully being engaged with the story might just get you past the anxiety.