Difficulty of normal content.

[LilithKha]

The issue with mechanics and encounter difficulty in FFXIV is that, at its core, all mechanics are flawed. When I first started playing, I couldn't wrap my mind around how if you are still in the orange circle when it disappears, but before the actual damage animation happens, you are dead. To me, this was just so dumb and still is. I should not be dying to a mechanic before the animation occurs, this is the 1st giant flaw and is really at the base of everything. I don't understand why SE designed it this way or what stops them from changing it. It feels so bad since there is a massive disconnect in terms of your fate, which was already decided before the damage animation even came out. Everyone has had this happens: you are running away from the orange line, you get out and think you're safe, and then the damage animation actually comes out a second later when you are already way clear of it, but you still die... On top of that, the way the servers in FFXIV work, if you are close to the edge of a damage mechanic (orange circle, line, etc.), you never really know if you are safe or not; sometimes the server lets you live, other times you die. Second, I view all FFXIV combat encounters as a dance. It is not so much reacting to the fight and outplaying mechanics; it's just knowing what comes next and where to stand. Outside of the 1 mechanic that's reused in every fight to spread, it's all this horrible choreography of knowing where to stand to avoid the next orange line or circle that will only appear for a fraction of a second to a few seconds before you evaporate with no outplay besides knowing where to stand. I haven't ever found satisfaction in the way this all works, and it only becomes more and more frustrating when they add more of these types of mechanics on top of each other.

If you cannot find satisfaction in the core mechanics of combat in this game, maybe the combat content isn't for you. If you refuse to learn, there is nothing this community can do for you. You have had 100 levels to figure it out, and since you haven't, maybe it's time for you to find another game to play and leave this one to those of us that actually enjoy it.

[TDawnstar]

If you cannot find satisfaction in the core mechanics of combat in this game, maybe the combat content isn't for you. If you refuse to learn, there is nothing this community can do for you. You have had 100 levels to figure it out, and since you haven't, maybe it's time for you to find another game to play and leave this one to those of us that actually enjoy it.

It's not "core mechanics", it's called trash network code.

[LilithKha]

It's not "core mechanics", it's called trash network code.

The game is built around lag and snapshotting because of limitations of the engine and the netcode they use. There is not a single instance that has been released in dawntrail that suffers from any sort of unfair snapshotting or lag delays causing issues, unless you are actually playing at like 500 ping. In that case, you are going to have problems with lag in any game, not just XIV. That is what I mean by core mechanics. If you do not understand how these things work this late in the game, it is 100% a skill issue, and the developers will never change this because it is baked into the game and design. If you have a problem with it, leave. Seriously. No one will miss your whining.

[caffe_macchiato]

The game is built around lag and snapshotting

the developers will never change this because it is baked into the game and design. If you have a problem with it, leave. Seriously. No one will miss your whining.

I've been getting a kick out of watching AVGN videos because almost every single "sh-tty game that sucks ass" has lag and bad hitboxes. They remind me so much of FFXIV. It's such a massive deal-breaker for most games and has been for forty years. It's utterly baffling why someone would overtly, unironically defend it. Even World of Warcraft doesn't have this issue and it was made 20 years ago. The Final Fantasy XIV community needs to get a grip on reality and acknowledge that there are some things that aren't perfect in their game. Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd. is a multi-billion dollar corporation that can afford to fix this. It is not a small indie company and Naoki Yoshida is not your friend.

[LilithKha]

The Final Fantasy XIV community needs to get a grip on reality and acknowledge that there are some things that aren't perfect in their game.

Dude, you are the one that needs to get a grip on reality. This has been a complaint with XIV since 1.0. There is a reason the developers haven't fixed it. Would it be great if it was fixed? Absolutely. The technical debt that this game has from the original engine it was built in is astronomical, and it's a miracle that it plays as well as it does, and that such good content can be released in 2024. Complaining about this solves absolutely nothing, since there is nothing they can do. Ffs the reason why we don't have glamour dressers as housing items it because they are coded so deep into the game to be exactly where they are that if they did it, it would literally crash data centers.

I am the last person to pretend that CBU3 or Yoshi-P are my personal friends. They have absolutely screwed up plenty of times in the past. Endwalker's boring normal content and job homogenization over the years are the two biggest offenders in my book. I have been vocal about the disappointing lack of job changes this expansion, and I've been especially vocal about my main, BLM, being absolutely gutted this expansion. The story is also incredibly mid this time around. There are many valid criticisms of this game, it is far from perfect and I agree that their netcode is not the best.

Complaining about it will solve absolutely nothing, though, and pretending that the devs have their head in the sand about it shows that you have a very poor understanding of the way this game is designed. And it's hard to fault you for that when looking over your profile, you really haven't done any particular engaging content that would require you to understand the underlying systems. It is absolutely on you to pretend that you know what you're talking about, though.

[KristianFortNox]

It's a core mechanic tho, You need to look at the boss Animation if they raised up their arms or leg. You need avoid that side or inside.

[roasche]

If you're that bad at the game, level up your trusts and go in with them. The past 2 expansions have been cake walks, to where even YoshiP was falling asleep doing dungeons. Holy moly, the entitlement of expecting SE to dumb down things because you're too scared of failing is not their problem, that is a YOU problem.

You can use "anxiety" all you want, a lot of people have it too and still learn to fail then get back up. It's not always about you, or the minority. DT difficulty is perfect where it's at and I hope they keep making good mechanics that trip players up that cause them to fail but learn. You can learn if you ACTUALLY TRIED to learn.

We are level 100 at this point. If you've even remotely learned from all the dungeons, normal raids, past savages, trials, etc, you wouldn't be complaining or using it as an excuse to have a "learning cap" or "skill cap". I understand anxiety, as I am medically diagnosed with that and bipolar disorder but I still push through and learn. I fear failing but I do. Take the little steps and fail with trusts, then fail with friends, then fail with randoms. Learn that it's not that bad to fail, it's not the end of the world if you cause a wipe. This is a game, not a job or life, learn to enjoy it or go play something you do enjoy. There is content for everyone and some may not be for others.

[VioletCatastrophe]

You can use "anxiety" all you want, a lot of people have it too and still learn to fail then get back up. It's not always about you, or the minority. DT difficulty is perfect where it's at and I hope they keep making good mechanics that trip players up that cause them to fail but learn. You can learn if you ACTUALLY TRIED to learn.

We are level 100 at this point. If you've even remotely learned from all the dungeons, normal raids, past savages, trials, etc, you wouldn't be complaining or using it as an excuse to have a "learning cap" or "skill cap". I understand anxiety, as I am medically diagnosed with that and bipolar disorder but I still push through and learn. I fear failing but I do. Take the little steps and fail with trusts, then fail with friends, then fail with randoms. Learn that it's not that bad to fail, it's not the end of the world if you cause a wipe. This is a game, not a job or life, learn to enjoy it or go play something you do enjoy. There is content for everyone and some may not be for others.

I totally agree. It's honestly really infuriating to me when people use 'anxiety' or other medicalizations as an excuse. I have a lot of shit going on. Anxiety just one of them. Learning this game, getting good at it, and feeling accomplished for beating hard content... that's actually really good for my anxiety. It is nice to have a controlled place to get that feeling of autonomy and agency that helps assuage anxiety. Or maybe raiding in groups and communicating despite being autistic, it's beneficial to me. I could oh so easily point to my alarming litany of messed-up-ness and be like 'yeah sorry I just can't do it I'm literally incapable' but in reality the issue would be myself.

Like honestly, people need to quit with the victim complex, recognize that they are not the only ones with problems, and then do better. I can think of countless raiders I have played with, and myself included who would be delighted to mentor a player who wants to improve. Nobody is born good at FF14, the concept of that alone is absurd. The ones who are good had to learn how to be good.

Maybe it hurts to realize just how behind the curve you have been in the game this entire time. This content genuinely is not hard. You just had your lower skill level masked by trivial content in EW and to a lesser extent ShB. What you are seeing now less not an unfair jump up, it is an appropriate iteration of the difficulty curve, one which is long due, and if you are struggling this is your sign to find the right resources to improve to keep up. But demanding that SE instead revert content back to the absolute snoozefest of EW is absolutely unacceptable and entitled - most players are having an absolute blast, and you don't get to ruin that for everyone else.

[Jinglypockets]

It's not "core mechanics", it's called trash network code.

It's a core mechanic resulting from the limitations of their network code. It's how the game works -- you watch the castbars and the ground telegraphs rather than the animations. It's a weird, annoying quirk of the game, but it's 100% predictable and it doesn't make the game any more or less challenging.