Sitting staring at a timer

[Watchman816]

Not sure if this is the correct place for this, but if not I give up. This game is incredibly frustrating. I started playing because I had read that it was 99% soloable. I like MMOs and enjoy grouping, but one of the most hated things for me is sitting and staring at a timer waiting for a queue to pop. I also read that once you get through a realm reborn and move on the game gets a lot better. So here I am, completely frustrated as I am yet again waiting forever to get into a group just to complete a dungeon so I can move on with the story. Earlier today it took nearly an hour to get into a trial just to continue on with the story. I get that this is an MMO, and I do really enjoy grouping, but I feel that forcing someone into a group for an old story line that apparently very few people are doing is kind of BS and not really inviting to new players. I really hope this isn't the theme all the way to 90 and through the entire story because this is getting old and really making me want to go play something else. At this time I'm really regretting spending money to buy the full game and wish I hadn't.

[EorzeaWanderer]

What is the exact name of the duty you are queuing for? Depending on what it is, we can give you some advice on getting a group more quickly. A few duties are not as simple as going through the Duty Finder.

EDIT: (Now on PC, so more easy access to information about your character.) I see that your character is on the Maduin world. Maduin is part of the new data center, Dynamis. The way queues work right now is that you are put into a pool of other people queuing on your data center only. Dynamis consists of ONLY new worlds right now, and is on the lower end of the population spectrum. You might want to investigate using the data-center travel feature if you are experiencing long waits for Duty Finder duties. Dynamis is certain to grow over time, and the act of you queuing on your home data center of Dynamis helps other Dynamis players out as well, but if it's frustrating you to the point of wanting to quit I would use data-center travel to any of the other NA data centers (Aether, Crystal, or Primal), where your queue situation is certain to improve.

You might also consider leveling a tank or healer job to your point in MSQ, as they get much faster queues than DPS in general.

An alternate take to the above, is that on Dynamis another route for you to take is to really buckle down and embrace the MMO aspects, finding a Free Company to join and/or a group of friends in-game who often play at the same time as you. When I joined my FC at around level 15, I never queued for a duty alone again. You can check Community Finder, Novice Network in-game, or just Shout for help queuing in Limsa. Even just that last idea will get some takers I bet.

[Watchman816]

Thanks for the tip on the data-center travel feature, I'll give that a shot. Right now I'm waiting to get into the howling eye on hard, 25 minutes in.

[EorzeaWanderer]

Thanks for the tip on the data-center travel feature, I'll give that a shot. Right now I'm waiting to get into the howling eye on hard, 25 minutes in.

Okay good, that duty is supported by players queuing for Trials roulette, so Duty Finder is the way to go in lieu of the other techniques I mentioned earlier. Good luck to you!

[Watchman816]

So I tried the data-center travel feature, 8 minutes to get into the next trial to continue the story. MUCH better. Thanks again, I actually didn't even know the travel feature existed. I'm feeling much better about this game now. Have a terrific week!

[SassyAssassin]

You can also open a party finder for whatever you need, just say you are new and need the dity for story progression.

[Jeeqbit]

I started playing because I had read that it was 99% soloable.

The required dungeons are soloable using Duty Support except level 70 ones (they will be within the next 6 months or so though). Technically, you could solo those as well by leveling to 90 without the story and then buying level 90 gear from the market board.

What is not soloable is the required 8-person trials and the 24-person alliance raids at level 50. There is no Duty Support for these either. You may manage to solo the lower level ones with the method I mentioned before, leveling to 90 ahead of the story and getting level 90 gear.

8-person trials for the story are usually uneventful. They are made very easy to the point they are usually 1 attempt, occasionally 2 attempts and nobody usually talks. The mechanics are either obvious or if it's common to die to something, then the others who know what to do just resurrect you.

The required 24-person raids, we are very overgeared for now so most of the mechanics don't hurt and everything dies really fast. The higher level 24-person raids can kill you a lot, but those aren't required for the story and people who know what to do just resurrect you and then you beat it. It's normal for someone to not know what to do, because the game matches everyone in with someone whose first time it is most of the time.

I like MMOs and enjoy grouping, but one of the most hated things for me is sitting and staring at a timer waiting for a queue to pop.

This exists in this game, although it is mostly something that affects you when doing content for the first time. Once you are through to level 90 and beat all the content, it stops being a thing unless you are a DPS. Tanks and healers get quick queues for "Duty Roulettes".

Earlier today it took nearly an hour to get into a trial just to continue on with the story.

On average, it can take up to 40 minutes when it's your first time unless the content is new. But this can vary depending on the time of day (for example, playing in the middle of the night for the North American region). You are also playing on a new data center which has the lowest population at the moment.

I get that this is an MMO, and I do really enjoy grouping, but I feel that forcing someone into a group for an old story line that apparently very few people are doing is kind of BS and not really inviting to new players.

It is not true that "very few people" are doing it. There are lots of new players doing it all of the time and lots of veteran players queue for Duty Roulettes which match them up with people who need to clear it. Despite this, the queues can still be long sometimes.

I do suggest avoiding to queue for anything with (Extreme) or Minstrel's Ballad in the name, because these are only part of one roulette that not many people queue for and the queues can take hours or days. These are not part of the main story though, they are just something you get from blue sidequests.

[Frizze]

The DC travel function, along with your DC filling up more over time, is certainly a helpful trick to have up your sleeve. SassyAssassin mentions another powerful one, which is the Party Finder tool. The game never directly points you towards it, but you unlocked it ages ago. Basically it allows you to advertise content you would like to run and pre-build a party to do so with. Other players get a bonus for helping first-timers do most types of content, so these groups can sometimes fill very fast. This can also be used to form groups planning to use one of the alternate rulesets the game supports - including the "unsync'd" setting that would potentially allow you to tackle some of these older instances with 1 or 2 higher level players using their full power to easily defeat the enemy.