NPC's in duty support are broken

[KalaniaV]

I started playing FF14 for the first time and when I was playing by myself with no one else I had a decent experience levelling up to lvl 60 in A Realm Reborn. I'm playing Bard by the way. The NPC's in duty support were great I did not wipe or die once due to them making any mistakes. However the same cannot be said for all expansions after. All the Main Story Quests dungeons/trials that allow NPC's in duty support caused me to die because the boss one shots one of the npc's because it stands right into the mechanic/not countering the mechanic causing me to restart the boss fight again and again. I don't wish/want to play with other people. Has anyone else encountered similar issues with the NPC's in duty support?

[Jeeqbit]

Sometimes they will pick a specific spot to stack at (the middle) and if you have the stack marker and don't go there it can kill you.

They don't usually stand in a mechanic (although it can happen), but they will choose specific positions for a mechanic so if you choose the same one it's possible it can hurt both of you.

If you are a tank, some tank busters cleave so it helps to not be in front of a boss.

The fight only resets if you die. If the others die they get a rez unless none of them can rez.

[KalaniaV]

Thanks for the help. I think I'll group up with real players instead because I know the player base is far more welcoming than other MMO's.

[Jeeqbit]

There are a lot of reasons for that.

1. Dungeons are so easy that a single person who knows what they are doing can carry the lion's share of the burden while everyone else is dying and getting hit by things.
2. A single mechanic doesn't usually kill you. You usually have to get hit by two things with no heals in between.
3. Mechanics are well-telegraphed, usually by markers you have seen before so you start to understand what they mean.
4. Almost all content including dungeons is designed to take 20 minutes on average, which isn't very long compared to many games.
5. If everyone dies in a dungeon it's easy to get back to the fight and it doesn't usually happen a second time because people adjust to what went wrong.
6. There is no time limit on the boss fights, so there isn't pressure to perform well.
7. They can tell you are new instantly because of the sprout or returner (flower) icon, so they expect mistakes.
8. They get put in a dungeon with you using a "roulette", which matches them into duties people are in a queue for. Most people only queue for something when they are new to it, so people doing a roulette are used to being matched with a first timer and are used to certain mechanics getting first timers always, so they are unlikely to be upset.
9. There are rewards for helping a first-timer, such as tomestones or extra experience gain.
10. If they say anything rude, it's reportable. Simply being rude and making you feel emotionally hurt is against the rules and people often get banned for doing it if they are reported.

You can be assured that no "seriously challenging" content is a part of the story. That is all optional (unlocked through blue quests, but blue quests unlock a lot of other features too). Difficult content you might unlock by accident will be named (Extreme), Minstrel's Ballad, Coil and (Savage), but they are not normally queued for because people expect preparation and guides to be watch for them.