Am I playing the game wrong?

[MagicalChase]

I am a new player (highest char @ 36) and I feel like I'm not getting what I should from the game.

1. I gain so much experience that I level way ahead of the MSQ which results in being synced, which in many cases removes the functionality of the spells I've earned. It also deters exploring the world and doing other quests as I detest having spells available then having them turned off. That is such bad form. How can I prevent this?
2. The game is too easy, near zero risk of death. I believe I've completed 4 or 5 different dungeons at this point and they've been super easy. Open world game play is even easier thus far. Is there a hard mode so a decent challenge can be achieved?
3. I have transitioned from rogue to ninja and lancer to dragoon thus far. In both cases the game play didn't change. I thought the new jobs would be more transformative, did I miss a quest (or quest chain) that would have made it be more game changing?

Thanks

This is the result of years of streamlining. It is literally designed so nobody could possibly be left behind. The result of this is you also have people at end game who have 0 clue how to play the game.

[TaleraRistain]

Unless you want to ignore side quests, then you'll want to level more than one job. Use MSQ for main and alternate(s) for the side quests. Back when ARR was current, there was an experience drought around level 47 and we had to turn to FATEs to level since we couldn't get the next MSQ quest. But the MSQ has been cut in places and experience boosted, so you're going to be ahead if you try to do both MSQ quests and side quests and possibly daily roulettes on one class.

Something to keep in mind about dungeons is that you're probably getting high levels in synced down gear who way over-ilevel the dungeon. They're making 4-man content able to be run with the Duty Support system soon. I'm planning to go back on an alt with at-level gear to see what the experience is like without higher levels powering through them.

Class to job doesn't change your rotation much. It will adjust as you gain levels and add more skills.

[Fayt1203]

Early game needs a revamp and I do not envy new player experience today.

I actually envy them a little bit they do not have to go through all those pointless pointless msq and all the back and forth (there is still back and forth but not as much) like many others that had to do before the revamp they did back in shadowbringers

[Jojoya]

I am a new player (highest char @ 36) and I feel like I'm not getting what I should from the game.

1. I gain so much experience that I level way ahead of the MSQ which results in being synced, which in many cases removes the functionality of the spells I've earned. It also deters exploring the world and doing other quests as I detest having spells available then having them turned off. That is such bad form. How can I prevent this?
2. The game is too easy, near zero risk of death. I believe I've completed 4 or 5 different dungeons at this point and they've been super easy. Open world game play is even easier thus far. Is there a hard mode so a decent challenge can be achieved?
3. I have transitioned from rogue to ninja and lancer to dragoon thus far. In both cases the game play didn't change. I thought the new jobs would be more transformative, did I miss a quest (or quest chain) that would have made it be more game changing?

Thanks

What are your expectations from the game? If you're trying to use other games as a basis for what you should be getting, you'll end up disappointed. This game is a rather unique blend of story-driven JRPG and MMO that plays very different even if has elements common to other MMOs.

1 - The game is designed so a player can reach level cap on a single job doing only MSQ and its required duties, and without the benefit of any XP bonuses other than some rested XP. Most players will suggest leveling two jobs at the same time to soak the extra XP you'll get from bonuses and side content.

2 - The MSQ is story mode and intended to allow players of most skill levels to complete it without difficulty. Because the open world is primarily a vehicle for the MSQ, the content within it is likewise easy (hunt S ranks and the end game boss level FATEs have a bit of a learning curve for mechanics at first but that's as hard as open world will get). If you're looking for more skill based challenge, you'll want to do instanced content like Palace of the Dead solos and Savage raiding at minimum ilvl.

3- Classes and their subsequent jobs are the essentially same thing. The split is because of code they couldn't easily get rid of from the original 1.0 game when they were making ARR. You will see a game play difference between the two at higher levels since you lose access to the job specific actions if you don't equip the job Soul Crystal. Before level 50, there's little difference since you will have only obtained a few job actions and would still be mostly using class actions. The one time the change is transformative would be going from Arcanist (DPS) to Scholar (healer) and that's a transition YoshiP has said they would not do again.

[kaynide]

This is the result of years of streamlining. It is literally designed so nobody could possibly be left behind. The result of this is you also have people at end game who have 0 clue how to play the game.

I mean, if they are able to clear the content and get enjoyment out of the game, I'd say they're playing it right.

Most players don't even touch the content where they'd need significant competency beyond maybe doing normal mode trial series once for the story.

[Jeeqbit]

1. I gain so much experience that I level way ahead of the MSQ which results in being synced, which in many cases removes the functionality of the spells I've earned. It also deters exploring the world and doing other quests as I detest having spells available then having them turned off. That is such bad form. How can I prevent this?

Syncing down when doing old dungeons is a part of the game. It's like if you want to do content from a previous expansion, you get to do the rotation from that expansion as well, so that you haven't missed out on it just because you didn't play when it released. At level 50 you are playing the ARR rotation. At level 60 you are playing the Heavensward rotation. At level 70 you are playing the Stormblood rotation. There have been small or big changes to them over the years depending on the class, but a lot of the essence remains.

The best way you could prevent this is by not over-leveling and the only way you would be likely to avoid that is to not do any content other than the main story quest. If you started on a Preferred world with the "Road to 80" buff, it doubles quest experience making it unavoidable.

Leveling is so easy in this game that it's not what really gates you, the main story is what gates all of the content, area access and the dungeons and raids they contain.

2. The game is too easy, near zero risk of death.

All story content is easy. All dungeons are easy. The trials and raids are easy as well, although there are optional challenging versions of these that you can unlock. The challenging versions contain certain names or tags.

(Extreme), (Unreal) or The Minstrel's Ballad
(Savage) or "Coil"
(Ultimate)

The only ones that are done regularly are the latest ones at level 90 and older ones are either done "unsynced" (where level 90s go into them with their level 90 gear and destroy them easily), or by small niche communities who like to do them gear synced with the "Minimum IL" and "Silence Echo" settings. Occasionally you can find a party in Party Finder with these settings, sometimes using the term "MINE" to indicate Minimum Item Level, No Echo. Without these settings, it can still sync to an item level where it's easy and applies an echo buff when you die which boosts stats, making it even easier.

3. I have transitioned from rogue to ninja and lancer to dragoon thus far. In both cases the game play didn't change. I thought the new jobs would be more transformative, did I miss a quest (or quest chain) that would have made it be more game changing?

All the transformation does is add new abilities and traits. A ninja gains tricks and abilities to do while doing their original rogue rotation. That is ignoring the completely different story and aesthetic surrounding it - I think that dragoons and the concept of them jumping a lot is fun while lancers are boring because they just poke things.

[Gamedad]

Very good information here. It looks as though I have a decision to make. While there are some very nice positives to the game, being so easy and down syncing are strong negative factors. You're supposed to be an adventurer but there's precious little "sense of adventure" being created. Personally, I'm a lot about the journey, a little less about the destination when playing a game. You can accelerate experience gains but still have some steel to the battles, the 2 are not mutually exclusive. Can I be tolerant of the game play for 20-30 more levels? I'm not sure.....

good, usable information and feedback, much appreciated!

[Equitable_Remedy]

Am I playing the game wrong?

Yes, you are.

1) Being ahead of the MSQ in level doesn't harm you in any—there is no cost to you. You are synced down in instanced content, but consider the two alternatives. You could be exactly on level with the MSQ—and you would have exactly the same set up abilities available. You could be below the level of the MSQ and potentially have fewer abilities available. If you detest being synced down (as somehow different than just not having the levels in the first place), this may not be the game for you.

2) Dungeons and open world are, by design, accessible content. Savage, Ultimate, PVP, etc. is more challenging endgame content. If you want constant risk of death while leveling, this may not be the game for you.

3) Yes, comparing two melee DPS classes are low levels is not a huge change (ninjutsu seems quite different from what DRG is doing even at that level, but that's obviously subjective). If you need classes in the same role to play extremely differently from each other at low levels, this may not be the game for you.

Obviously, I enjoy FF14, which is why I continue to play it. I'd recommend giving it a try (FF14 is definitely a slow burn relatively to other MMOs given the very long MSQ structure), but if the game isn't enjoyable for you, just find a game that is. It's not the case that every game will be enjoyable for every player—that's ok! Have fun with whatever you find fun!

[kaynide]

@Gamerdad: This game is definitely easy compared to a lot of games I play. The story is the absolute thing here. While the trials and fights are fun and generally well made by MMO standards, they're nothing compared to the complexity you can experience in a solo game. Honestly I would compare this game less to other RPGs or action games and more to games like.. I dunno... Mario Party.

If you like MMOs but don't really know what to try, I'd say go for Guildwars 2.

I wouldn't call it particularly difficult, but it is genuinely has a lot more fun gameplay elements than FFXIV... story is solid, but not as good as FFXIV.

GW also feels a lot more rewarding when played skillfully. It also has a lot of options for horizontal progression- experimenting with builds etc. It's my alt MMO when FFXIV feels "dry".

[Kolsykol]

@Gamerdad: This game is definitely easy compared to a lot of games I play. The story is the absolute thing here. While the trials and fights are fun and generally well made by MMO standards, they're nothing compared to the complexity you can experience in a solo game. Honestly I would compare this game less to other RPGs or action games and more to games like.. I dunno... Mario Party.

If you like MMOs but don't really know what to try, I'd say go for Guildwars 2.

I wouldn't call it particularly difficult, but it is genuinely has a lot more fun gameplay elements than FFXIV... story is solid, but not as good as FFXIV.

GW also feels a lot more rewarding when played skillfully. It also has a lot of options for horizontal progression- experimenting with builds etc. It's my alt MMO when FFXIV feels "dry".

GW2 is pretty good I played it in Beta and then after launch for a while and have jumped back into it every now and again.
Biggest thing I dislike is no holy trinity dungeons kinda turn into a mess, the combat also feels very floaty and I am not a fan of weapon swaps ( really dislike that in ESO too ).
The profession ( job ) balance is also completely out of wack it's not balanced at all.

But overall it's a fun MMO just very different.
I enjoyed it more as a solo MMO tho.