I started playing FFXIV a while ago and I have played for a few months now, but I haven't got to end game yet because the contents just get more and more frustrating to do and it feels really discouraging. What I feel really frustrated about is how dungeons and trials get more difficult but they never explain what you are supposed to do.

For example this trial I just did for the first time, (No spoiling anything) the boss does this thing that divides the map into 2 colors, and you get a debuff put on you. I was totally confused and I tried to read the boss's dialogue and I tried to read the tool-tip on the debuff, but none of them said anything useful, and the debuff just instantly killed me after a few seconds. I didn't get any chance to heal or shield or do anything to react. I only figured out you were supposed to walk to the other side's color every few seconds to change the debuff when the boss did it for the last time and the duty was almost over. This is okay in low level dungeons because you can just derp through mechanics and figure it out eventually, but in higher level contents where the punishment is so harsh this becomes just frustrating because as new player the game is basically designed to make you fail by not telling you what you are supposed to do so you just die a lot and you are useless, especially when people in the party don't explain the mechanics, which is understandable because a lot of people are doing roulette and just want to get it over with.

I understand if it's max level end-game content like big raids and big bosses where you need to plan and work with your team to clear stuff, but the lack of help on filler contents really makes progression just plain irritating. Why should I even bother trying in these contents if I would just be dead most of the time anyway because the game doesn't tell you what you are supposed to do?

I think it would be a really good improvement for new players if the duties tell you what you are supposed to do. Like the example I just give, if I move my mouse over the debuff, instead of saying something useless like "the power of A color shines on you", it could say "the power of A color shines on you, it will kill you in N seconds, absorb the power of B color to dispel this debuff". This would be very nice and clear!

And another boss that I just remembered is this one where you have to pick up white balls and use them or else the boss will blow you off the map. Again when I did it the first time I didn't know when I was supposed to use the white balls so I kept dying a lot. It could be improved by flashing a sign or with dialogue or some other cue to tell players what exactly are they supposed to do instead of letting them be clueless and useless. I hope Square Enix team would consider making this improvement to give new players especially people doing a particular duty for the first time a better experience.