Does FFXIV’s combat make zero sense to you? Durmin’s here to help.
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0:00 – Introduction
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1:15 – The HUD
7:39 – HUD Customization
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10:20 – Combat Basics
13:45 – Abilities
18:01 – Combos
19:57 – More Abilities
21:14 – Directionals
22:08 – Danger Puddles (Enemy Abilities)
26:01 – Retreating, Death & Status Effects
27:49 – Enmity
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29:44 – Roles
30:29 – Tanks
34:49 – Healers
36:49 – Damage Dealers
38:25 – Can you play this game solo?
40:49 – Which jobs are best?
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42:26 – Progression
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47:59 – How To Follow What’s Happening (tl;dr)
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50:13 – Wrapping Up
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Edited by Daniel Floyd
♫ “Pray Return” by Chris Logsdon
https://lnkfi.re/pray-return
#PlayFrame #FFXIV #FinalFantasyXIV
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so, one little thing, you can actually evade auto-attacks, it's somewhat pointless tho except in solo POTD runs, it's very important for survivability when soloing on jobs like MNK
Ahhhh! 35:55 To clarify, the healer's second Priority is themselves, not the DPS, although the argument can be made that it's actually their top priority, before the tank. Can't keep the party alive if you're dead.
Small thing I don't know whether you mentioned (watched the whole video, but was playing FFXIV while doing it, so I might have missed it)
When playing with mouse and keyboard, there are two control-styles. The standard is tank controls (meaning left doesn't make you walk left, but instead makes you slowly turn counter clockwise etc.) because it seems like a lot of other mainstream MMOs like WoW and GW2 are using that. I don't know how well it works in those games, but in FFXIV you will probably have to change it at some point.
The alternative option called "legacy-controls" is just standard over the shoulder controls. You press the key for the direction you want to go in and you go in that direction.
Trying to dodge "danger puddles" later on with tank controls is something you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy. That's for the already mentioned reason of you only being able to turn really slowly and for the additional reason that walking backwards is a lot slower in tank controls.
I've tried a lot of the classes, and Rogue was the one I couldn't get past a job class quest >.<
me who's played FFXIV for 2 years now and has 2 lvl 90 jobs: hmm yes interesting
it's so weird being an "MMO illiterate" despite having played a lot of old school JRPGs… I mean, I get what Dan is explaining, but all this new or slightly different information at this speed even when there is just one player and one enemy on screen is still overwhelming for me. Yet, I finally understood one of the things that confused me the most! (that attacks and defenses, both from player and enemies are passive, calculated on your rolls and not on your position or skillful "clicks")
I was really nervous when I tried out a Healer for the first time, but once I got comfortable with it and levelled to a point where I had some good skills, it's actually a lot of fun
Ive never really gotten into MMO's. I played WOW barely,
started FF14 ages ago and never got anywhere. I feel like one of the biggest issues I had was an understanding of the basic mechanics. (And no one to play with)
Thank you for these educational tidbits!
The server time is useful for people who want to organize things with people across multiple time zones because it gives everyone a time that they don't have to convert manually. Source: I used to be part of a group that helped players with dungeons in another mmo that didn't have server time (or a looking for group tool during it's heyday) and converting times zones was a constant pain for everyone.
SOME MINOR CORRECTIONS:
-There are 19 jobs, not 17. (I forgot to include the recent Endwalker additions!)
-"Actions" would have been a more accurate term than "Abilities", but you get the idea.
I looove the UI customization and just quality of life and accessibility options the game provides in general. the UI team really makes the game super convenient to play while still retaining its skill ceiling and difficulty. Dan mentioned his legally blind friend that apparently has skills like a monster in a previous episode and it really rings true, I've a friend with only one working hand and he's beaten ultimates – aka the MOST DIFFICULT content in the game – with his one working hand
if you do decide to do a Job crash course (which I'd love to see~! would be fun to hear your take on all the classes) I'd highly reccomend having said crash course be with the job at level 50, 60, or 70. Because a lot of classes are just kinda the same thing pre-50 (especially most of the tanks), so 50, 60, and 70 tend to be (varying based on class, obviously) the levels where that class finally gets the ability(ies) that give it its nieche.
I can understand the tanxiety but honestly I think it's the easiest role. A lot of the time, you can set the pace of "every enemy nearby" and use your cooldowns (and if you don't know what you're doing, good news! Veterans are getting bonuses because of you). Bosses have some surprises for you but there's a lot of boss mechanics that you aren't targeted by, and if you do get hit, you can afford a lot more mistakes than other party members.
Oh speaking of: watch out for the swirly red and black penalties on characters who stand in danger puddles in dungeons. This is called Vulnerability, and it stacks, making mistakes more and more lethal.
I'm not the target audience for this video, but I love that you've made as many of these FFXIV videos as you have. I love anything that makes this game more accessible or visible to people who otherwise wouldn't play it. It's a really special game, and you're doing a fantastic job showcasing it!
I've played through the main plot line "solo" with no significant problems. Since I'm playing the free version, I can't join free companies, so I have to have random players help me in dungeons. My only complaint isn't rude players, it's quick players. I assume most of them have played through the dungeon before, as they know where to go, and they have a tendency to try to get through it as fast as possible. But I like to stop and look around at the scenery, plus there's occasionally plot-relevant textdialog that I want to experience, which can be a problem when I've gotten done readinglistening to it, and everyone else has moved further on.
Wow…. this is awesome! And needs to be a whole mini series "Durmin teaches you how to FF XIV" For all the people the playframe power to compel people t get games brought into the game.
Already figured most of this out, but the one bit I could not figure out how to do is… how do you get the hot bars to stop showing the empty boxes? I couldn't find the toggle for that.
More notes: You can set it to display all three clocks at once if you want. The minimap can be zoomed in and out with the +/- symbols on it ( I recommend zoomed out as far as possible) and can be un/locked to north with the gear symbol… you can (and should) increase the size of your main map window by dragging the bottom right corner of it and repositioning the window. The partylist symbols, when you target a specific enemy or boss, show that target's aggro to each partymember on their job symbol, starting with A, then 1, 2, 3 … There is also an aggro bar next to the numbers, which may not be as useful if the tank has had aggro for a long time, as the others tend to shrink. If you haven't died (which resets aggro), you can kinda gauge your relative output with some exceptions (some tank actions have naturally higher aggro, and some heals, mainly large Area of Effect heals)
I'd like to comment on the Healer priority list. Tanks are actually not your highest priority on the heal order, the Healer is. While the Tank may be the one consistently taking damage, if you find you have to heal yourself (the Healer) or the Tank, it is generally good practice to heal yourself first. A Tank's kit gives them options to survive even at the brink of death, and even if they die, you can still revive them. But if you die, the rest of the party will eventually run out of damage mitigation and HP to finish the fight.
So always prioritize the Healer's survival first. And a lot of times, that means you have to heal yourself before anybody else.
When I played on the free trial back when it was capped at 35 I played every single job available to me to 35
Except fishingIt was fun.That steppy cactus is the second funniest move cycle I have seen in a game, behind only the incredible mini-Gobbue half-panicked run animation.
I watched the whole thing despite being 70 levels in the game, so it's good, useful advice.
It's hard to remember when you weren't as good at the game, so I appreciate you taking the time to parse the various parts of the MMO out.
watching this 6 months into the game having no idea about the enimity symbols on the enemy list: 👁️👄👁️
"Every job in the game has an almost completely unique array of abilities." This was once true. These days the differences between the abilities of jobs in the same role are minimal, especially for healers and tanks. They've stripped most of the uniqueness from the individual jobs.
Yes, unfortunately, the jobs ARE all perfectly balanced, to the point where it doesn't make much difference which you play. It can still be fun, but I wish they hadn't taken away the variety the game used to have.
I've just finished the Endwalker main story, which is… unusual for me, as I generally get distracted by something else and end up finishing the story just ahead of the next expansion releasing.
So now might be a good time to leave my tanxiety behind for a while. I've practically only been playing Paladin for the last 8+ years, so the plan is to try familiarize myself and progress with a healer and a damage dealer while waiting for the next story content update.
This game sounds like a fascinating rabbit hole from top to bottom.
I just need to get the Endwalker benchmark test to work on my computer, then I might at least give it a shot…
This gives such a nice insight in the game's combat mechanics! Very clear and fun to watch!
And the free reign for optimizing your HUD is soooo satisfying!
The job gauges being intrusive by default is an understatement, lol. as an ow the edge knight, I put my darkside icon in the same place you put the stance icon, but I moved my stance/bloodgauge to right above the secondary crossbar, in the middle of it, making it look like it blends with it; far more natural and less intrusive plus it's easy to notice it when I look at my crossbar… which is good… because my chocobo brain keeps forgetting to turn on tank stance after entering a dungeon.
Combat is just pressing your 1 2 3 combo over and over.
I have a wish/suggestion for when you get to the post release content of ARR.
Can you please talk about the timeframe between updates and what people did in between these? A bit of historical context would be really cool.
HUD:
– Blue segment of EXP bar represents rested EXP — x1.5 EXP for EXP equivalent to the amount represented by the segment. It being blue tells you that it's enough to get you to the next level, it will be a dull brown if not.
Combat:
– Active skills here are called "Actions" and passive skills are called "Traits". Actions are further divided into Weaponskills (use Attack Power and Skill Speed), Spells (use Attack/Healing Magic Potency and Spell Speed), and Abilities (stats used depend on skill). Of the three, only Abilities do not trigger the global cooldown all skills go on whenever you use any of them, instead having their own cooldown timers. Sometimes Abilities share cooldown timers with other Abilities; when this is the case the relevant Abilities will say so in the description.
– If your target is out of range, a tiny red X will appear at the bottom left of the skill icon if it doesn't cost anything. Otherwise the cost (MP or some other resource) listed at that same spot will turn red instead.
– Latency can affect your ability to get out of danger puddles in time. For example, I live in Southeast Asia but play in North American servers so my latency's pretty bad; I have to be out of danger puddles nearly a full second before it vanishes to avoid damage.
My favourite thing about "danger puddles" is that I don't believe they really ever give you any tutorials about them; but you learn real quick what each one is for. Stacking 'puddles', tank busters, 'moving' puddles all make a lot of sense, and allow you to make quick reactions even when those indicators change slightly, such as triple stacks or ice puddles. And because of the game teaching you just the basics about puddles, as soon as you realise that you only take damage if you are in the puddle when it diappears, you can strategically evade them even in new boss fights, even with new damage puddle types.
Moving onto job types. As someone whos recently been grinding up WHM, I can say that as scary as tanking is, as long as you are pulling what you are comfortable with, and your healer isn't struggling with that pull rate, you should not worry about knowing the dungeon because 80% of the time, there will be someone in the party who does know the dungeon. And as Dan has said, 14's community is very forgiving, (and due to how easy it is to switch jobs, they will likely teach you things about your job that you weren't sure about. Like how useless Cure 1 is after getting Cure 2, and how amazing Holy is) And the same can be said for healing. I had no idea how to play one 2 weeks ago, and now I'd say I'm at least semi-competant at it, and have only struggled when either the tank goes over my comfort level, or their own.
Finally, as for what jobs to play, I fully agree with Dan! Play whatever you think is coolest, every job is viable, and the only time you may be asked by a group to change your job is right at the very end game content if they have made a very specific stratergy to defeat the hardest of hard endgame post-game content. Though, I would suggest playing any of the other 3 healers before the new Sage Job from EndWalker as your first healing job, mainly because of Sage being level 70, dungeons & Trials will bombard you as a Healer at that point. And then there is Blue Mage, which I would only suggest playing as a fun secondary job (not your main job) due to it being a limited job (meaning it can only level to 70) and how they get their abilities.
I'd argue highest priority for healers is keeping themselves alive
the jocat crap guide is strong in this one
the way you explained it, is emnity different from aggro? you seemed to imply it has more to do with rhe amount of aggro you produce. I only ever played WoW and it seems very similar. Not really a bad thing just interesting
I wonder if the relative nice-ness of the community is because of the pay wall. In my experience, most jerks and trolls would not be willing to ply their trade at the cost of anything to themselves. Only those who WANT to be in the FF14 community are in there.
And thank you for explaining how you can walk into a cloud if cactus needles and take no damage: the mechanical attack only matters for an instant. Having the animation of the attack not matter seems to fit FF14's form over function mentality. (And it HAS been mentioned often about fashion and aesthetics being the true endgoal)
Judging by Dan's ending tips it seems like the little I played of wow a long time ago did actually thoroughly train me to follow mmorpg action forever. I don't know if I'm impressed or upset xD I have been imprinted!
10/10 – as a non FF player I really enjoyed this bonus vid. GG Dan, you are a real MVP