How do you get in to this game? A pathetic plea for help.

[RuleofThree]

Is it just me, or does anyone else experience this too? I'm level 70 in all jobs, all gathering classes but fisher (level 67), and 70 in all crafting but alchemist (53rd) and weaver (0th, but will start once Alchemist is done.) As far as a casual standpoint, there is nothing left to do - though clearly, we are mid patch update, so that will change...for like...a week, until I'm done and there is nothing left to do again. This leaves me with savage, which is a friggen beast of a nightmare to get in to.

I try to pug it, but pugging more often than not leads to a genuine group that is honest to god trying, but just can't do it, and calls it a day (this is one a good day), or a pug with one hardcore gamer that likes to yell 'Welp...trap party' after one run, and then quitting, leaving us to wait for a new person for 20 minutes to an hour. Yet, I can't join a static because 1) They don't need my job type, or 2) You don't meet some mysterious dps requirement, or 3) You don't have the best gear.

1 is acceptable. 2, I don't like, but will live with, efficiency is life; and while I'm sure I could meet these requirements - I'm better than your average filthy casual, I am not sure I want to play with a group that treats this game like a business, and will off you the moment you are 1hp under the dps requirement. 3, however...

...three is making FFXIV feel more like the real word when finding jobs, in that: I don't have the best gear because I can't find a group that will accept me to run the expert/savages that drop the best gear...yet I can't find a group to help me with this, because I don't have the gear I'm expected to have.

So then, where does a person get a start in this end game? Thankfully with the patch update. Gear will be outdated? But then probably not, because I suspect the new savages (Clearly I haven't read the patch notes yet to confirm or deny) will just drop items to 'improve' the savage gear from sigma. I hope this is not the case, because with new patch out. No one will be running sigma savages with new content.

I mean...hell..I have cleared Shinryu Extreme...I know how to do it, and do it well. But there is never a party finder for it, and getting in to it via duty finder is impossible. Even if there is a party finder for it...it's minimum iLevel is 360. So, until I can finish my mendacity gear, I can't even do [i]that]/i]...and the minimum iLevel for Shinryu is what? 330? I get that you want above average gear to get it done fast...but really?

I've cleared delta savage 1 and 2 as well, with a pug. Could find people to work on 3, but with the introduction of sigma. delta was abandoned, and this whole mess started.

Anyway, this was more than a rant than a plea, I guess...but advice would be welcome. Aside from the troll post of 'git gud hahaha.'

[MuseTraveller]

I don't know what to suggest you beyond making your own PF (which you probably did) or finding FC/group of friends who would run the more difficult content with. :/
I fully understand the struggle though. I constantly feel bellow ilvl for what PF seeks and quite frankly just gave up. I will farm the primals in 5.0 when they will be a face roll.

Maybe just take a break from the game for a bit.
Or try clearing PotD or HoH?

[Rufalus]

But then probably not, because I suspect the new savages will just drop items to 'improve' the savage gear from sigma. I hope this is not the case, because with new

Nah they just leave stuff behind and there's no indication of this changing. Sigma gear will henceforth only be for glamor or desynth. Everyone has the same starting point with a new raid. If can't find a good raid group then pretty much stuck farming the alternative which is eureka... there will be new armor upgrades in patch 4.45 eureka pyros.

[Deathgiver]

It sounds like you're either trying to gear out while playing fairly casually, or trying to gear out multiple classes before really getting into end-game. 360 gear has been available for almost 8 months now through tomes, and almost 4 months through drops in 24 man, and anything higher is just bonus damage outside of uwu. There is literally no need to be running the hardest tier content to gear out to run the hardest tier content. As of tomorrow you'll be on equal footing with everyone else, with the highest immediately available coming from crafted gear.

As far as actually finding a group, check your data center and server discords, r/ffxivrecruitment, or just watch pfs. It might take some time to find a group that's a good fit for you, but if you actually enjoy the endgame it's worth being persistent.

[RuleofThree]

360 gear has been available for almost 8 months now through tomes, and almost 4 months through drops in 24 man

Point taken. I took a bit of a hiatus during the better part of half of these months precisely because rant I'm making now. Before I left. I had savage gear from O1S and O2S for every job, and still could only get pugs for O3S. We can all agree that O1S and O2S were not hard in the slightest, and while many pug raids failed. I'm imagining statics blitzed through these two rather earsily. O3S however..? No...no it would take some pretty good luck to find a random bunch of 8 people to get past this. O3S bumped up difficulty enough to require at least verbal communication. As a healer, I knew my part quite well, but as we all know, savages don't give a crap if you know what you are doing, it only cares if everyone knows what they are doing.

Too good for pugs, yet despite half my gear being savage gear, and materia'd, not good enough for static material. So, like second poster said, I stepped away to let my frustration cool. So yea, mendacity is the answer to get to 360..but until patch, that was a 2 and a half month wait to get fully geared. Now that the 450 cap is removed, maybe i can get healer in mendacity fast enough to find a chance to enjoy savage gear..but I doubt it. I haven't even touched sigma savage, and now that the third installment is out, likely never will, since it's outdated content. I feel boned.

So...the short answer of you question is: I'm a person that wants to seriously get in to end game, but is forced to be a casual.

Frustrating.

[Deathgiver]

Now is the time to get into a static. Start of tier always has more available spots than even 1 month into a tier. Once groups have been running together a few weeks, there's usually very little movement in their rosters.

[ChaoticCrimson]

Now is the time to get into a static. Start of tier always has more available spots than even 1 month into a tier. Once groups have been running together a few weeks, there's usually very little movement in their rosters.

Yeah, early patch is a great time for new static groups to form. Just before 4.2 dropped I made a post on the forums here under the threads for my server explaining I was new to raiding and went over my experience and what I was looking for in a group. I was lucky enough to get a response quickly, and I've been with the same group ever since. As long as you group up with others who have the same mindset and expectations, I suspect you shouldn't have many issues.

As for other content, I can't say for sure what to recommend without knowing your full experience with the game. Is there something you haven't done much of or even tried? For example, I wasn't too interested in the treasure maps until recently. But then I got roped into a group once, and now we try to set up groups at least once a week and spend a good few hours just hanging out and helping each other get some nice goodies and make some gil. Trying out something you might not have thought you'd be interested in before may not always lead to those same results, but then you never know until you try. And if it doesn't catch your interest after a bit, at least you can say you tried something different.

[RuleofThree]

Yeah, early patch is a great time for new static groups to form. Just before 4.2 dropped I made a post on the forums here under the threads for my server explaining I was new to raiding and went over my experience and what I was looking for in a group. I was lucky enough to get a response quickly, and I've been with the same group ever since. As long as you group up with others who have the same mindset and expectations, I suspect you shouldn't have many issues.

As for other content, I can't say for sure what to recommend without knowing your full experience with the game. Is there something you haven't done much of or even tried? For example, I wasn't too interested in the treasure maps until recently. But then I got roped into a group once, and now we try to set up groups at least once a week and spend a good few hours just hanging out and helping each other get some nice goodies and make some gil. Trying out something you might not have thought you'd be interested in before may not always lead to those same results, but then you never know until you try. And if it doesn't catch your interest after a bit, at least you can say you tried something different.

In a literal sense, I have obviously not done everything that is pretty much an impossibility in FFXIV, as there is just too much to actually complete everything. For example. I have yet to do all the Coils savage, because no one does them, even unsynced. However, it is very safe to say I have done a lot. I do maps, I have all the Zeta Relics, I am one phase away from having all the Lux animas, and barring patch of course, have done every dungeon/trial/24-man raid possible, with exception of course...to savages. Even then, most expert trials (such as Shinryu) I have had the fortune of running once...for completion...but farming them for the mount is an exercise in futility, cause no one wants to farm Shinryu...unless you have raid level gear, or close too..for that fast completion. I mean...I am iLevel 350 on white mate, 340 on everything else. minimum iLevel is 330, so it's not like I'm under powered. Also, I realize mendacity is 360...but I just came back to this game two months ago after equipping all jobs with OS1 and OS2 gear, but never getting to complete O3S. So mendacity is being grinded the hell out of, but it's slow. This sucks, a lot, cause I am a collector...I want all the mounts. I am aware that mounts are obtainable in Alexander...but again...outdated content.

Speaking of collection. I have a HUGE chunk of cards for triple triad, simply because I entertain myself trying to get them, when I'm bored...and I'm bored a lot. I don't even play Triple Triad..save to play the NPCs, so I can get the achievements. I have all minions that drop from a dungeon - again, save for any that drop in savage content. I have the perfect chocobo breed for chocobo racing. etc. Like...literally the only thing left for me is to get in to end game raiding. The only thing I haven't done, it feels like, is getting married in game...heh.

No, I have not done Eureka yet, but if I can't find help to do savages, I might have to start doing that mess just to pass the time. Though even there, I hear without a group, you are screwed.

[DrWho2010]

also if you can't find pf's for things you should consider starting them yourself. Don't be afraid to!

[whiskeybravo]

Hmm. Best advice I can offer is to just keep trying until you find the right opportunity. I'm bringing some guys back that haven't raided since Deltascape, fresh 340 only a couple of weeks ago. So I had to lower my "Requirements" a bit while looking for the last member just because I don't have much to show any would-be candidates. I ended up getting a bard that's only been playing the game 2 months, so we'll see how this goes! Lol

Seems like there are always groups looking for healers, so maybe you just need to lower your expectations a bit and find a newer group LFM? I find it hard to believe there aren't any groups out there willing to give you a shot. Worst case the group struggles to clear any content, but you still get experience and confidence out of it to roll in to another group. Just like in my scenario, if the bard doesn't work out after a few weeks, hopefully I at least get some current "data" on the rest of the group which will hopefully aide in finding a replacement. That's just kind of the nature of raiding in this game, sometimes it doesn't work out. Could be for any number of reasons, (not always performance related). Next man up.

And as others have suggested, you can also build your own static. It's not any easier but at least gives you some control over who you raid with. (this is a better option if you have a core group of members you can rely on/build the group around)