Dealing with Panic and anxiety during high end content

[MetalSnakeXI1]

This is something that I'm particularly really really really bad with

Specifically with savage raids in particular.

Today I finally found a good party to clear O8S with,yet my stupid incompetent ass squandered this opportunity so badly by constantly panicking on Forsaken 2 and losing my sense of direction once I finish dropping the last aoe from the melee dance

I felt like a scum of the earth and legit wanted to die when that happened,I memorized this fight to a T,I did so many retries to the point the whole fight is itched in my mind to the point where it's even playing in my head as I'm typing this.Yet I was that one anchor that dragged our party down and I absolutely have zero excuse for it.

Yes it is a video game but I absolutely hate wasting other people's time especially those who came in legit trying to help me.

Even if I got over my panic and anxiety,once I finish O8S I'll probably quit high end raiding for a long while,I don't think I'm cut for neither Alphascape savage nor the two Ultimate fights.

[KaivaC]

To be fair, O9S is far less stressful than O8S. Kefka/God Kefka was the final raid boss for Sigmascape, so it stands to reason that he would be tougher than the previous 3 fights. Alphascape does the same thing - O9S to O11S aren't that bad. It takes time to really get into a groove and learn to take things with confident. Don't give up. Just give it some time, practice, and I have no doubt I'll be seeing you on the rare occassion I go into the PF

[BlitzAceRush]

This is something that I'm particularly really really really bad with

Specifically with savage raids in particular.

Today I finally found a good party to clear O8S with,yet my stupid incompetent ass squandered this opportunity so badly by constantly panicking on Forsaken 2 and losing my sense of direction once I finish dropping the last aoe from the melee dance

I felt like a scum of the earth and legit wanted to die when that happened,I memorized this fight to a T,I did so many retries to the point the whole fight is itched in my mind to the point where it's even playing in my head as I'm typing this.Yet I was that one anchor that dragged our party down and I absolutely have zero excuse for it.

Yes it is a video game but I absolutely hate wasting other people's time especially those who came in legit trying to help me.

Even if I got over my panic and anxiety,once I finish O9S I'll probably quit high end raiding for a long while,I don't think I'm cut for neither Alphascape savage nor the two Ultimate fights.

I don't raid, but in this game and others I've felt the same as not wanting to be the one to fail, and I have been the one to fail at times and it can feel horrible, sometimes no matter how prepared you are you'll make a mistake but getting up and trying again is where be build ourselves not in not falling in the first place.

My advice to you would be, if you enjoy raiding, don't give up on it, try to stand back up if you ever feel you've made a mistake, I know you said you don't like wasting peoples time, but the learning experience is part of the journey in raiding and hopefully they understand that.
To me, attempting something and failing isn't a waste if you try again.

[Tyssyn]

I really feel you there. I don't do savage content because I know I will not do well at it. I don't react fast enough, and I tend to zig when I should have zagged, even knowing a fight really well. If I were with people who I play with all the time, I'd feel more comfortable. It's the same reason I don't heal or tank in randoms, I just don't feel like I am good enough at either and hate to waste people's time.

[Edax]

This is something that I'm particularly really really really bad with

Specifically with savage raids in particular.

Today I finally found a good party to clear O8S with,yet my stupid incompetent ass squandered this opportunity so badly by constantly panicking on Forsaken 2 and losing my sense of direction once I finish dropping the last aoe from the melee dance

I felt like a scum of the earth and legit wanted to die when that happened,I memorized this fight to a T,I did so many retries to the point the whole fight is itched in my mind to the point where it's even playing in my head as I'm typing this.Yet I was that one anchor that dragged our party down and I absolutely have zero excuse for it.

Yes it is a video game but I absolutely hate wasting other people's time especially those who came in legit trying to help me.

Even if I got over my panic and anxiety,once I finish O8S I'll probably quit high end raiding for a long while,I don't think I'm cut for neither Alphascape savage nor the two Ultimate fights.

If your not having fun, don't do it.

[TheGrimace]

(Don't worry about it.)

If you stress out so much with Savage content, avoid it unless you have a bunch of chill friends. No one should have to get so uncomfortable that they feel like that doing anything. Yeah, you may miss out on getting the best gear available for a certain time period, but you'll keep your sanity. This is a game and it should be something you do for fun, not something you do to add unnecessary stress to your mind.

[Fyce]

Having played mostly with what people would consider to be "average groups", I can say that passed a certain point, personal improvements are quite difficult to make. It's a bit a case of "you have it or you don't". Forcing yourself through it has low chances of making you suddenly "get it".

When you said that you had no excuses, that's false, you absolutly do. Everyone has their strenghts and weaknesses. And since you seem to do what's in your power to reduce the impact of your weakness in raids, then it's fine. Someone not trying to improve wouldn't be okay, but that's not your case.

So, with these two points adressed, here are a few pieces of advice if you still want to try going further:
1. Find a party willing to assist you in trying stuff. This is difficult, but if you manage to find the right people, and everyone agrees to make it a training session for you then you don't have to worry about failure anymore, as success is not the objective.
2. Try different settings. If orientation is your weakness, ask to place points/waymarks, try new camera settings, legacy/normal moving method, camera height, etc.
3. Try to find your sweet spot when it comes to content difficulty. Maybe the 4th stage of a tier is simply asking too much from you? Not every fight requires the same skills nor awareness. As other said, try the first one or two fights of a tier, and then take your decision.
4. Learn from your mistakes, but also from other players' ones. This is something I see almost never happening in "average groups". Not only people just go back right in after failing something, and often fail again from a lack of self debriefing, but they also don't learn from other people's mistakes, which sometimes lead to the same mistake being made from different players.
5. Be open with your mates. At this level of play, people do understand that differences in skill level plays a big role and that some may need more time than others. And unless you end up with some nasty players, they should have some patience and may even suggest some alternatives to make it easier for you. So, do communicate on that. And if you can be on a vocal server, it's even better. Voice over tends to make people more kind and accepting.

Finally, once you've tried a bunch of things, don't be afraid to think that you've reach your limits. Again, everyone has limits. Me, for example, I know that while I'm doing mechanics correctly, I will drastically fall being in terms of my execution regarding my rotation (I'm a WAR), thus my DPS, because I lose track of my muscular memory when I raid lead heavily (and my group does need heavy raid leading...). I've tried countless methods to improve on that, but I can't do much more. That's my limit. That's my weakness.

[MetalSnakeXI1]

When you said that you had no excuses, that's false, you absolutly do. Everyone has their strenghts and weaknesses. And since you seem to do what's in your power to reduce the impact of your weakness in raids, then it's fine. Someone not trying to improve wouldn't be okay, but that's not your case.

So, with these two points adressed, here are a few pieces of advice if you still want to try going further:
1. Find a party willing to assist you in trying stuff. This is difficult, but if you manage to find the right people, and everyone agrees to make it a training session for you then you don't have to worry about failure anymore, as success is not the objective.
2. Try different settings. If orientation is your weakness, ask to place points/waymarks, try new camera settings, legacy/normal moving method, camera height, etc.
3. Try to find your sweet spot when it comes to content difficulty. Maybe the 4th stage of a tier is simply asking too much from you? Not every fight requires the same skills nor awareness. As other said, try the first one or two fights of a tier, and then take your decision.
4. Learn from your mistakes, but also from other players' ones. This is something I see almost never happening in "average groups". Not only people just go back right in after failing something, and often fail again from a lack of self debriefing, but they also don't learn from other people's mistakes, which sometimes lead to the same mistake being made from different players.
5. Be open with your mates. At this level of play, people do understand that differences in skill level plays a big role and that some may need more time than others. And unless you end up with some nasty players, they should have some patience and may even suggest some alternatives to make it easier for you. So, do communicate on that. And if you can be on a vocal server, it's even better. Voice over tends to make people more kind and accepting.

Finally, once you've tried a bunch of things, don't be afraid to think that you've reach your limits. Again, everyone has limits. Me, for example, I know that while I'm doing mechanics correctly, I will drastically fall being in terms of my execution regarding my rotation (I'm a WAR), thus my DPS, because I lose track of my muscular memory when I raid lead heavily (and my group does need heavy raid leading...). I've tried countless methods to improve on that, but I can't do much more. That's my limit. That's my weakness.

It's a bit hard to find a static group to raid with and most of the time the difference in timezone makes it harder for me to raid with people I know,not to mention that I don't wanna keep them busy or force them into it.And my luck on the party finder has been really bad lately

Im highly grateful for the advices tho so thanks a ton,sorry for the mopping episode I had

(Don't worry about it.)

If you stress out so much with Savage content, avoid it unless you have a bunch of chill friends. No one should have to get so uncomfortable that they feel like that doing anything. Yeah, you may miss out on getting the best gear available for a certain time period, but you'll keep your sanity. This is a game and it should be something you do for fun, not something you do to add unnecessary stress to your mind.

If your not having fun, don't do it.

The thing is,I did have a lot of fun with raiding before and occasionally I helped a dozen people clear Neo Exdeath

But God Kefka was unlike any raid I've been a part of in FFXIV because one mistake on the forsakens will not just kill you but the entire party with you as well

I only did savage raids for Deltascape and Sigmascape because of how much I love both FF5 and FF6 and while I did have fun learning both........the shock and amount of things to handle all at once in God Kefka caught me by a surprise even after memorizing the fight and making it to enrage.


I'll try to at least clear up my mind and give God Kefka one last shot because for me now it's an obstacle I need to overcome.

I will take a break from high end content raiding for a while after this but I need to push through God Kefka if only for the personal reason of overcoming my anxiety for this particular fight

[Fyce]

It's a bit hard to find a static group to raid with and most of the time the difference in timezone makes it harder for me to raid with people I know,not to mention that I don't wanna keep them busy or force them into it.And my luck on the party finder has been really bad lately

Yeah, as I said, it's the most difficult thing to do. But it doesn't have to be a static. Sometimes, people join simply because they are bored and are willing to give a hand.
The best bet would probably be to find a Discord server for your Datacenter and ask people there if some of them could help. You can give them a link to this thread too to explain the situation.
Unfortunatly, the official forums are terrible for that. They really should rework the "Worlds" sections.

[LalaRu]

Savage is content dedicated to who wants that extra challenge for improving him/herself.

In this case, o8s may be your trial to overcome your panic.