Whenever I play an MMO, great combat is what I look for first and foremost. To me, Combat can make or break great games – get it right, the gameplay will speak for itself, get it wrong, every other part of the game is worse off for it. Now that I’ve played past the first set of credits, let’s review the very beginnings of Final Fantasy XIV’s combat.
ACR Episode 1: https://youtu.be/z8U-N1VADCw
Thanks for your support! Take some timestamps!
Episode 1 Recap: 0:00 – 1:24
Intro: 1:25 – 2:17
Your Comments! : 2:18 – 5:25
Learning to Love Combat: 5:26 – 7:14
My Favorite Encounters: 7:15 – 9:33
Post 2.0 Credits: 9:34 – 12:32
Questing: 12:33 – 13:00
THE Hildebrand: 13:01 – 14:15
Refusing a Carry?: 14:16 – 16:26
Outro: 16:27 – 17:03
source
The music in this only gets better from here… You're in for a treat
There is only 1 way from arr and its all the way
if you're in the mood for tough spicy fight, search for min ilevel no echo EX fights in party finder. You might find some new friends doing hard content. I already can't wait for the next episode. Great video
For the music, you've seen (or heard) nothing yet
From what I learned since 2.0, is that the game really doesn't tell you for newer players, unless you look up very old patch notes for each and EVERY content released back then.
Also, if you want close to the full experience of how Coils and extreme were, just play it scyned.
15:41 This advice is true though
:^)
There is probably going to be a lot of comments talking about it, but Hildibrand was a questline introduced in 1.0 and was originally supposed to be a way for animators to experiment with facial expressions, however, the quest was so popular that they brought it back for the patches following 2.0 and beyond.
In order to queue for the more difficult fights like the Coils and savage raids, you should use Party Finder rather than Duty Finder. In Party Finder, you can specify which raid/duty/trail/extreme you want to do and other people can join in to help or run it synched with you. The latter fights in Coils are basically savage, so you never/rarely find it in Duty Finder.
Also, super fun video! Great to listen to your experience!
As someone who has played for almost a year now and is caught up in the MSQ that end of ARR as it used to be sure was a let down. I enjoy the reworks to Castrum, Prae, and the trial. I haven't yet been able to do the two solo duties yet as I haven't gone into new game plus but it sounds like they are a blast as well.
The trials and raids around here is also what got me hooked. Like you I had some trouble stopping myself from skipping text at times especially in the Post ARR content (I really should go through it again with new game +). The advice I give my friends who are currently around the point you are at is to treat the solo MSQ as a visual novel. If anything it actually becomes more talking focused as you go through. It feels like the devs realized they were much better at that part of the quest compared to the go kill 4 monster types and so just doubled down. All of this does mean though that there are days where I just didn't feel like pushing the MSQ but thankfully there is so much other stuff I could do in the game during those times. Now while that does sound like a bit of a downside I would say it 100% pays off, that is why I want to go back through the Post ARR content which in my mind right now was the toughest part for me to get through. I know there are some story beats in there that I missed that would have made later events hit harder. Basically, take your time and enjoy the MSQ when you can. Don't force it as it all really does pay off in the end.
And yes, as others have mentioned the music gets incredible later on. I am someone who normally plays with no game sounds at all as I usually listen to my music / watch youtube on the side. For FF14, however, I have all of my sounds on and don't regret a minute of it.
Heads up on the Coils of Bahamut – those are the only "Normal Raids" that are NOT in the "Normal Raid Duty Roulette," meaning the only people who get in there are directly queueing for them. I don't even know if they're in the Mentor Roulette.
This was done because they were deemed significantly harder than the other "normal raids" and as such the devs didn't want to totally ruin the roulette queue, but also didn't want to have to go back and nerf them into the ground.
For pretty much all the harder content in the game (EX trials, Coils of Bahamut, Savage raids and the like), if you don't have a group of people already to run it, you'll want to use the Party Finder, found under the Social tab. This is different from the Duty Finder, in that the party gets assembled manually instead of getting randomly queued. EX trial queues will pop if you duty finder queue for them because they show up in Mentor Roulette, but everything else you'll pretty much never get into using duty finder.
I feel bad for you trying to duty finder queue for Coils or the EX primals, but I feel like a lot of players have made that mistake before. The game isn't exactly up-front with the idea that people queue for those separately, and apparently depending on the data center you're on this will vary as well – I've heard that JP data centers actually DO regularly use Duty Finder for even Savage level content, but that's not something I can confirm.
Hildibrand is great – it came about because they needed a testing ground for animations, and you can see at least some of that extra animation work get put to good use later on in the game (though rarely in ways quite as over the top as Hildibrand himself).
I noticed that you seem to use the standard movement controls instead of legacy controls. It's a personal preference really (I don't remember which one is closest to WoW's it's been years)
The main difference is that in legacy controls pressing S will turn your character around as such I find it easier to dodge AoE's with it.
But I also have a few FC friends that swear by standard movement so maybe give legacy a try, but in the end go with what you're confortable with.
Edit: one thing you need to know for the future is how people get parties together for extremes.
Now, you can queue in using the duty finder and depending on the fight you may find a party. But most of the time you'll use party finder (pf) it should be on the party tab on the bottom left ?
Here's the thing for extremes and up. Unless you create a blind run (where you go in without having watched anything) the standard expectation is that you have at least watched a quick guide on the fight. It can be a bit of a shame but finding people willing to run old content blind is almost impossible and most of the time at least in my opinion, watching a guide improves the experience for me, making sure I'm not dying every single time.
I tried really hard to get into this game. The world building is so bad, the story is honestly a drag. And the combat is so clunky it's hard to enjoy. 3 sec server tick time. Osrs has a .6 sec tick time for Christ's sakes. I tapped out at 53, after I finished ARR.
11:35 Oh God you're supposed to kill the nail, you're doing 0 damage to Ifrit during that phase.
Yeah the Music is amazing. I have some tracks in my workout playlist. Btw about the inventory, theres an option to show a single bigger tab instead of 4 small ones
I'm finishing up shadowbringers and now I know why they said it's the best story of all the final fantasies.
14:26 "…and chose to walk."
Hmmmm…
HMMMMMMMM…
Nice video ^^ It's always fun to see people reach the end of ARR and how they feel about it.
Also, for Bahamut Raids, nobody ques for it because back then, raids only had 1 difficulty, which is Savage. Currently, they make a Normal and Savage version so that way, everyone can experience the story without being a hardcore raider.
Typically for high-end content like this, people use the Party Finder and get 7 other people who are at a similar prog point and using the same strats. If you want to get as close as you can to how a raid was originally released, you'll need to get 7 other people and make sure to turn on Minimum Item Level on the Duty Finder Menu before queing. If you que without this option, then even though you get scaled down, you still get a lot of bonus stats, which may be why DPS was high enough to cheese certain things in Garuda.
If you want to do Bahamut or any other old raid on Extreme/Savage difficulty, I'd recommend trying to find friends or a group to do content with, otherwise you may be in PF for a while, unless you say you are doing it unsynced ^^
So the thing to note here is that for anything above normal mode content, normal queues arent gonna cut it. You will have to use Party Finder. As for the Binding Coils of Bahumut raids, they are the equivalent of Savage level raids in the expansions, the naming convention just wasnt invented at the time. Also those specific raids arent exactly a good indicator of what later raids will be like as they all start having standardized mechanic markers and stop having trash mobs. They become just an arena with a boss.
Retainers:
As long as you've purchased the game (ie NOT free trial) you can hire 2 retainers at the marketplace of any hub city. Talk to the retainer vocate near the marketboard. The quest to unlock is titled "An Ill-conceived Venture".
Not only do they act as extra storage, you can send them out to gather materials or make money for you.
heck ya, i never get tired of seeing people enjoy the journey as i did. have fun
"Slow down, life is to be savored" – A large bear creature from a parallel world
Glad you're enjoying the game so far! You're definitely coming at it with the right attitude, there's no need to rush. You're coming up on probably the toughest portion of the game to get through, the post ARR MSQ. It is poorly paced but trust me it will pay off! The devs have tried to trim it down, but the general consensus is that they probably could have cut more. Just wanted to say I hope you stick with it and I love the content.
It's great listening to you talk about all the things you like so far, knowing everything you already like gets better with each xpac.
Really excited to see what you'll think of later expansions, story beats, fights, and a lot of the other side content too.
It's always really fun seeing people delve into one of my favorite games, especially something that, even after years of playing, still has complete systems and content even /I/ have completely ignored!
dude, make a discord, un 100% sure that poeple here in the comment section would love to help you run all the raids and trials unsync
Glad to hear you're sticking with it, and welcome to the fold! One of the reasons why ARR isn't so nearly as optimized as the other expansions was because they basically had no budget. Going into Heavensward can come with a bit of culture shock–the anime voice actors are replaced with British theater, film and radio actors, which might be tough to adapt to at first, but lends an air of gravitas to the proceedings. But with the greater budget coming off the back of a successful game, much MUCH more of the cutscenes are voiced. You'll still need to do a lot of reading, but it's not nearly as eye-glazing.
Good luck on your continuing adventure, and if you keep documenting your journey, I'll keep watching it.
So glad I subscribed. I can’t wait for more of your Eozean adventures!
"The best advice comes from those who came before you" Yes, look to those who walked before to lead those who walk after. Awesome video looking forward to more
FFXIV does such a tremendous job with its new player experience and old content compared to other MMOs of its age. All of the designs make sense. All of the content is still relevant. All of it is easily digestible with the duty finder. Other players are genuinely nice about sprouts watching cutscenes and enjoying themselves.
Coming from WoW, it's a night and day difference. WoW doesn't give a single fuck about its new player experience or its older content. It's all abandoned at the first possible moment, never to be seen or run again until you want some transmog and solo it all in 8 seconds. FFXIV does it right.
well.. the music gets better and better alongside the game and story (it's subjective of course but to me, music is the thing that got me to try and then later into the game). by the way, from your first episode, i totally understand how you felt when you say, the game didn't "hook" you the first time you tried it, it happened to me too, i started towards the end of Stormblood and couldn't really get into it at that time and couldn't even get pass post-arr, but a year later, in the middle of Shadowbringer (because i have friend playing XD) and finally got hooked with the help of my friends and later my husband. the only advice for this game is to have patience, go thru the game like reading a visual novel (with combat elements), like what the chinese say "slow down and smell the flowers along the way", enjoy the music, enjoy and learn the story and that got me hooked til now, i still log in even if just to afk at a location just to enjoy the music and the antics of other players XD
Edit: oooh yes and those hilarious side stories, they are available for all expansions (because i know the ShB one is dropping real soon) and yes if you know Anime style comedy, you will know Hildibrand.
What a good video! Glad you're enjoying the game so far, you're reminding me of when I started playing the game and I was amazed at how good the soundtrack was for the trials.
Also a little note for EX trials, Coils and future Savage raids for when you unlock em. Those aren't included in the normal roulettes so queue times can be really high (or just straight up Unending in Bahamut's case) so it is best you get a group through party finder or bring some friends for those, especially for Coils and Savage. If you do get friends for it, it's ok to ask for it to be done synced if you want the challenge, just make sure everyone is on the same boat. Back when I was on my free trial I managed to beat all Extreme trials with duty finder so it is possible! I very much agree with you that the feeling of beating a hard fight is amazing but it will take some time to get the queues to pop.
Totally shameless plug but for retainers, I did a short video on unlocking them: https://youtu.be/kNM2lhq7jdg Feel free to delete if you don't appreciate shameless plugs on your content space!
yeah the trio elementals trials is fun but Shiva extreme trials will blow your mind
Yes! Hildegard! I love when I get a new Hildegard quest line! Don't they make you want to bust a gut laughing? I'm in Post-Shadowbringers, and am hoping to find another one soon.
And taking the game at your own pace? That is exactly what you should do. Also, if you want to, joining a FC can also make the game more fun.
If you decide to go for Coils of Bahamut, there's at least 3 sets of 5 raids for it. I'm on the second set, and some of them are pretty difficult. Don't be afraid to look up "How To"/playthrough videos here if you are finding a trial difficult. You can also look up what quests unlock what. Or even what events. Some places you can't unlock until you get to certain floors of different Deep Dungeons.
Beast Tribe quests are also fun to do, and really worth it. You get special currency that you can use for your retainers, and the higher level Beast Tribe quests give you currency for that Beast Tribe's store.
I think that you'll also really like the FATEs you can do when you reach Shadowbringer. They're the SHARED FATEs tab you see when you click on the Travel menu. Not gonna give any spoilers about them.
I am enjoying your videos, and definitely recommending them to people thinking about joining FF XIV.
Keep an eye on seasson events next one is on june 9 you will surprised that there are specials quests made just for those events, they give you emotes, glam gear, mounts etc, you wont be able to get them when the event ends until next year on mogstation but the will cost real money. A common proud mistake is that they totally skyp those free stuffs cuz they dont read the Lodestone web page.
Tried using party finder for coils? Usually if u write i need a clear for the first time, people join fast to help with story progress. Although fair warning, this raid is very hard at sertain bosses
Dope. Keep it up.