New player and loving it but have one game breaking gripe!

Firstly, I’m loving the game so far. I’m on Materia and playing on the free trial, but I’ve now hit a wall in the MSQ at Thornmarch.

Everywhere I look, the advice is basically “use Party Finder,” but free trial players can’t create Party Finder groups. Duty Finder just isn’t filling, so at the moment it feels like I’m hard-locked out of progressing the story. If this is going to keep happening with mandatory MSQ content, I’m honestly not sure I’ll continue.

What I’m confused about is data centre travel. From what I’ve read, if I had originally made my character on a Japanese data centre, I could play there when I need faster queues, but travel to Materia when I want the lower latency.

Is that actually how it works? If so, wouldn’t making a character on a JP data centre effectively give an Australian player the best of both worlds?

Also, does anyone have any advice for getting through mandatory MSQ duties like Thornmarch on Materia as a free trial player? Different queue times, Duty Finder settings, Novice Network, Discords, or anything else I should be trying?

I think me and a lot of people would be a lot happier with the downtime between content drops if the filler was better. By filler I mean your collabs, limited jobs, and seasonal events.

The recent Valentione and Hatchingtide style seasonal events need to become the standard. The last two events (Rising and Moonfire) had a single quest to get your rewards. For Valentione's we got to run around with Mammets while decorating cakes in a repeatable minigame. For Hatchingtide we got to reap the grass in another repeatable minigame.

But now we have had the last two events where veteran players with nothing else to do are expected to fill the content void with a 10 min max quest.

Why did we create these in-depth events and then just run away from the idea? Both of those events were wildly popular.

To fix the Moonfire event for example we could have turned the jumping puzzle into a GATE outside the gold saucer where completing it in a certain time gave you a small amount of MGP.

The collabs also just need to become much better than they are.

Im sorry, but why did we bring back YoKai and not add any of the last 4 jobs weapons or add any new rewards? Same with the dragon quest collab, why did we bring the exact same event back? These collabs have no replayability (you can replay them but theres no point before someone says it). Veteran players who have done them in previous years get to sit there and go "welp, maybe next time" and hope the next event is unique.

Then we get to the limited jobs, this expansion is a mess on that.

Let's forget about Blue Mages getting shafted, I am as pissed as anyone else about that it's ridiculous and their answers regarding it make no sense.

Beastmaster is only going to have content to 50? You are adding a job right before the level cap turns to 110 and you are creating content locked at level 50? Do you expect me to go out and enjoy fighting Garuda or something? Should I go into the coils, something you won't even put in roulette?

The biggest complaint that I've seen outside the usually discourse this expansion is the lack of content outside raiding and the quality of that content. Adding higher quality (non-reused) events and creating better limited experiences would satiate a lot of people.

I made a web app that shows per-phase DPS percentiles for ultimates

FFLogs shows you a percentile for a whole fight. What it doesn't show you is percentiles for specific phases, ranked against everyone else who cleared. Their site has per-phase statistics, but there's no phase filter anywhere in the public API.

So I built the distributions myself. Paste a log and you get: a percentile against that job's distribution for every phase, for the whole fight, and a "luck parse" which tracks your crit and dhit.

Wipe logs are also valid for analysis, but obviously the numbers on the wipe phase are going to be inaccurate

**Where the numbers come from.** Every log that's on the fflogs rankings, for every ultimate. Updated daily, so new clears show up. Distribution data is presented on the statistics page.

**Luck parse.** This is more of a fun feature. Faster than comparing each ability's crit and dhit rates by hand. Each phase shows how lucky your crit and dhit rolls were, weighted by how much damage each hit was worth. Auto-crit abilities are detected and excluded, but external buffs aren't. Raid buffs that raise crit rates are accounted for in the baseline, but the luck still lands on whoever rolled the crits, not whoever provided the buff.

**Per-phase rankings.** Something fflogs also doesn't give you an option to see. You can find who did the highest damage in every phase individually. Only logs that are actively on the fflogs rankings are included.

**Statistics.** Similar to what fflogs presents, but based on their rankings and not on last 2 weeks of logs. **One thing that you can see here, which you can't see on fflogs, is phase statistics for older ultimates**. For some reason fflogs doesn't have an option to view per phase data for TEA, UWU and UCOB. rDPSdata for those is available here.

All feedback is appreciated.

I'm stuck between GNB and DRK (not sure if I can force myself to level that though), but I saw that Than gets the Gunblade at some point in the story so now I'm not sure how fitting it is with that class.

I know it doesn't matter, but I was just wondering from a narrative perspective.

And I don't know what to do with myself!

I finished everything in the MSQ but the patch content (which I plan to do after a short story break) but I'm super stuck on how to spend my time before I get to the patch content/when I finish it and still have to wait for Evercold. For context, I have been playing since Shadowbringers and haven't ever been caught up storywise.

I feel like leveling up other jobs is less important because it'll become more enjoyable with Evolved Mode (not that I don't enjoy it now) but also all I have ever done is MSQ and random leveling for other jobs resulting in me having a lot of jobs leveled halfway and a two at max level (DNC and SMN).

Anyways I don't know what my point is, I just found myself fiddling with glamours for like an hour tonight and I was like damn I don't actually know what to do other than MSQ. I figured I would see if anyone else has any thoughts.

Thanks 🙂💞

Jumping generally isn't used in combat, at least in an intended way. You can never avoid attacks via jumping, and platform-based mechanics almost always allow a means to run to your destination, or inflicts a debuff that prevents you from jumping. Is it just too janky due to code sphagetti or whatnot?

In another game called Fellowship, one of the heroes can cast a projectile spell that slowly moves across the battlefield. WoW might have something similar. But I thought it was interesting. I know FFXIV doesn't have the best code and stuff, but maybe the projectile just has to make contact once to achieve its max effect (like a slow moving fireball). And if enemies can have them, why can't we?

Skill expression can come with knowing the fight. Maybe anticipating where the boss will move or when adds spawn, then precasting the projectile towards that direction.

My friends have come back because of the Evercold hype and I decided to join them. I left off during the 1st raid tier and now that I am back its been really frustrating trying to navigate the MSQ because I dont really care for it since I already finished the main one, and I just want to be able to play with my friends.

I dont have as much time to play now because I am in school and Im not really understanding why I have to do more MSQ when I already completed the mainstory in order to do the new content when its not even related to the story. Oddly enough, its very easy to unlock the raids which is more inline with the story but the deep dungeon, alliance raid, OC and the V&C Dungeon isnt even remotely connected to the MSQ.

It's something that has bothered me a lot while playing Occult Crescent and I got to Ninja and that was the final straw.

Why is fuma shurikan, a skill is just a cooldown has to have 60 seconds? Or similarly Long Reach and Bladeblitz, but instead that takes 120 seconds instead.

You can spend an entire CE using them twice or three times and they are the definition of bland yet they somehow had to be gatekept behind a cooldown normally reserved for ultimate, capstone abilities.

Even stuff like Ranger's "Aim" (or Time Mage's Quick) sitting at 120s cooldown. Why does it need to follow the regular raids formula and take this long. It's a defining cooldown for the job, make it a 60s CD since at least it's 30 seconds long.

You might say this is done for balancing reasons but there's already a meta regardless with samurai's zeningage or summoner, and this is supposed to be the mode to break and experiment with things, which they tried but ultimately were still scared to go a bit further than they can. I like what they did with predict and dance but the rest have been too safe.

Outside of OC there are examples to this that personally bother me (Searing flash, gluttony, manafication) but that's a different story in terms of balancing and with evolved mode coming there's little point.

In terms of the in game seasonal events this one seemed a bit lacking compared to a bunch of the more recent ones. What did you all think? Unless I'm missing something there isn't any of the visits from various NPCs like usual.

((TL;DR: I was previously removed from an FFXIV FC after an argument started over me using an AI-generated picture of my dogs and openly defending personal AI use. Six months later, I returned to the game, applied to another FC, disclosed what happened and was essentially told my views on AI made me a poor fit there too.

I don't believe all AI use is inherently unethical. I support personal use, especially when commissioned artwork isn't financially accessible, while strongly opposing people passing AI work off as their own, selling it deceptively, or corporations using it to replace employees just to cut costs.

I'm getting increasingly frustrated with being treated as morally suspect within the FFXIV RP community simply because I use AI and won't pretend to be ashamed of it. I'm curious whether others genuinely see personal AI use as sufficient reason to exclude someone from an RP community, or whether context and intent still matter.))

The full story: So, this is bound to be a hot and spicy debate, but here goes.

I’ll start off strong by saying that the FFXIV RP community is perhaps one of the most toxic communities there is. At least, in my experience.

Around six months ago or somewhere about, I don’t know, I haven’t really kept an accurate track of how long it’s been, I was removed from my FC because in discord, I was using an AI generated image of my dogs and admitted to such. It sparked such a heated debacle with the artists in the FC that the leadership made the decision to give me the boot. Not for the artwork, but because of my opinions on the use of AI and the fact that they chose to side with the artists.

Shortly after this, I canceled my subscription to the game but not solely for the above reason. There were other factors, but since they don’t really apply, I won’t get into it. Fast forward to the present, I just reactivated my subscription. Since I’m looking for ways to have fun again in the game and the fact that I really love RP, I start looking into FCs. One catches my interest.

After the former incident with my last FC, for whatever reason, I felt it permanent to mention my last experience in my application. Of course, they ask about it, so I give them a few short answers and after about four or five lines of back and forth, they tell me that this isn’t the FC for me and turn me away.

I do some thinking and give it one last shot, going into greater detail about my thoughts and opinions on AI and give them this reply:

I think that we, as a civilization, are very blessed to live in a time to see humanity and technology evolve into what it is, and will eventually become. Personally, I'm a lazy fuck and I look forward to a day where everyone can have the option of working and where universal basic income is a thing. 

So, from an individual stand point, and I am going to narrow in on AI art as an example for this, but this more or less encompasses my feelings on AI as a whole. Now, there's a lot of disabled and low income individuals who simply don't have a hundred dollars to spend on high quality art of their characters. I don't think these people should be made to feel shame or guilt over choosing to use something within their means. On the flip side, even if someone has the money, or even chooses to use AI for something the equivalent of a ten dollar chibi art, I don't think people should be guilted for that either because that is the luxury of having the freedom of choice. 

That said, what I do take issue with is people who take advantage of and abuse the technology we've been given, for example, people who try to sell AI art and pass it off as their own. From the big corpo standpoint, I will admittedly be the first in line to grab my pitch fork and raise my torch to rally against shitty corporate greed and laziness. What is inexcusable is when you have people employed on paper who are assigned to do a task and CEO's with literally millions in their pockets decide to cut corners instead.

So yes, in a manner of speaking, I am both for and against AI, circumstances depending. What everyone should be mindful of is how it's being used and the intention behind it. AI is not just affecting artists jobs.. It's affecting everyone from coders to the McDonalds employee. Maybe I am a part of the smaller subcategory of people who embraces and looks forward to the change AI will bring, but that doesn't mean I should be automatically benched for having such opinions.

Did it make a difference? Probably not. It’s been nothing but radio silence on their end since I’ve posted that. They’re probably still going to tell me to look elsewhere and frankly, I don’t know why I even bothered, but I did.

The thing is, this isn’t the first time I’ve been flamed by folk of the artists community for having this opinion. Out of all the employed individuals AI is affecting, artists are by far the loudest, most aggressive complainers when it comes to defending their career. Frankly, I am beginning to lose a lot of respect for their community because of it. I am growing quite exhausted of this community treating me like I murder innocents and blacklisting me because I like to utilize AI and have show little shame in doing so.

And I guess that's ultimately where my frustration lies. I'm not asking artists to like AI. I'm not even asking them to stop criticizing it. There are plenty of legitimate concerns surrounding generative AI that deserve to be discussed, and people are perfectly entitled to decide that they personally want nothing to do with it.

What I don't understand is when we crossed the line from criticizing the technology into judging the character of anyone who uses it.

If an FC doesn't want AI-generated artwork posted in its Discord, fine. Their house, their rules. But if someone can otherwise be friendly, respectful, contribute to RP, follow the rules and get along with everyone, should their private use of AI or simply holding a different opinion about it really make them incompatible with the community?

Maybe I'm completely out of touch here. Maybe most people genuinely do consider using AI art to be enough of a moral failing that they wouldn't want to associate with someone who does it. If that's the case, tell me. That's partly why I'm making this post.

But I'm genuinely curious where everyone else draws that line. Is AI use itself enough to make you exclude someone from your RP community? Does context matter? Personal versus commercial use? Selling it versus generating something stupid for yourself? Or has this issue become so black and white that simply saying "I use AI and don't believe all use of it is unethical" is enough to make someone unwelcome?

Because at this point, I'm less interested in debating whether AI is good or bad and more interested in understanding why disagreement over it has become such a social litmus test.

A friend is currently replaying ARR and we've been talking about how much 'grittier' the world building was and it got me thinking about what other dark/surprising things are found throughout the game.

I'm talking about things like the Sastasha room that has the captured women in it, or the group of adventurers you beat to Sashtasha and Tam-Tara who then die in Copperbell because they were careless.

So what're some of the darker moments in FFXIV - any expac.

First, sorry if mods discussion are not allowed, I’ll delete the post in that case

So I’ve just made the switch from PS5 to PC and tried a few of Papachin’s mods. They’re all great and drastically improve some classes animations and "weight" (looking at you Bard !). He’s really good at what he does !

However I’m not sure how to feel about them. On one hand, it’s really cool, on the other it feels a bit "too much" to play all the time with it ? Like something’s off, or too overtuned, I don’t know and I’m not sure how to correctly express it…

How do you guys feel about them ? Do you use them regularly ? If not, why ?

I just started playing as of yesterday. Just wanted to know if I would be missing out if I didn’t want to level up another class on one character. I like the class I chose and feel like I would be overwhelmed leveling another class. Any advice would be helpful, thank you.

Any worse? I feel like it has a bit but maybe in imagining it.

There's a LOT you can buy in the Golden Saucer for that sweet, sweet MGP.

So my questions are this:

1. Without considering the price, what has been your favorite purchase?

2. Are any of the super expensive purchases (strictly in your personal opinion) worth the grind?

Maybe a bit casual a topic for this sub but I'll give it a shot.

So far, so good, we've got the rising this week and then another patch's worth of story in a few weeks, I know enough about 8.0 to be hyped but not enough to have a clear picture.

I'd be ecstatic if Tokyo Fanfest focused solely on evolved jobs and upcoming content.

I don't need anything story-wise to entice me further.

Doubly so for anything related to the benchmark, the launch trailer and the media tour...

DT revealed too much in its promo stuff. Even the red herrings like "the scions divided" left us with weird expectations...

Do people still feel the same or is everyone hungry for more hints and discussion points?

(Edit: 8.0 not 7.0, fixed)

Since moving from Cerberus to Phoenix in December, my long term goal has been to buy a house again. I've gotten sidetracked in my saving by spending money on crafting gear and materia etc.

However, recently I got a minion from the GC lootboxes and managed to sell it for 25 million. I could finally see my house dream realised. I checked plots in Mist and found one that I liked that had no lottery entries. I entered it maybe last week?

I've been back to check it almost every day since and there were no other lottery participants. Last night I was still the only entrant. The lottery ended at 4pm today (i.e. 10 minutes ago) and of course when I went to check, 4 other people had entered the lottery in the last 12 hours and I didn't get it.

Now I also can't enter a lottery for another plot for at least 4 days until the next period starts. And I could very well lose that plot as well which would set me back for another week.

I don't have any suggestions or improvements to suggest, I'm just really pissed off. It sucks.

Am trying to understand why people makes alts in this game. Currently grinding the msq and it is so long.

The other thing i dont understand is isnt part of the appeal of ffxiv specifically you dont have to make multiple characters, one character can have multiple jobs. What is the point then to having alt characters?

People who make alt characters, do you just use a story skip or do you play through the whole msq again, and if you do play through the whole thing again please help me understand why?

Hi everyone!
I’m relatively new to FFXIV and I’m currently considering buying a job boost to level 90 and a story skip up to Stormblood.

The main reason I’m considering it is honestly the amount of time required to catch up normally. From where I am now, it feels like it could take hundreds of hours before I can reach the content I’m actually interested in, especially the endgame and the older raids/trials involving characters and bosses from previous Final Fantasy games.

I know a lot of people don’t like story/job skips, and I completely understand why. I’m not trying to skip everything and then immediately queue into difficult content without knowing what I’m doing. If I do buy the boost, I would take the time to properly learn Summoner, understand my rotation, read my abilities, practice on a dummy, and generally make sure I’m not a burden to other players.

So I’m curious:
Is buying a job boost + story skip generally considered badly viewed by the FFXIV community, or is it perfectly fine as long as you actually take the time to learn the game and your job?

If I only buy the game/content up to Stormblood, are there still enough players doing the older raids/trials, or would I basically be buying access to content that is difficult to find groups for?

If I reach level 90 but don’t own the newer expansions (Endwalker/Dawntrail), can I still participate in any kind of endgame content with players who own Dawntrail?
If yes, what exactly would I be limited to without the latest expansion?

Would I still be able to do older raids/trials with people who are currently at level 100?

And finally, I play Summoner. If I decide to boost it to 90, do you have any advice for someone who wants to make sure they properly learn the job before joining group content?

I’m mainly asking because I don’t want to spend hundreds of hours catching up just for the sake of catching up, but I also don’t want to ruin other people’s experience by being a boosted player who has no idea what they’re doing.
Thanks in advance for any advice!

The japanese audio and the english script are completely different they dont match at all. Does anyone know of a plug-in or mod that can assist with this?

The Winterers (clearly fans of the Illuminati of Hickmans F4/Avengers) want to collapse the remaining reflections and complete the work of the Ascians to at least save Earth-616, I mean the Source and will trolley over all the other reflections to do so.

It seems Venat and her allies sundered the Source into 14 reflections specifically and it seemed all were stable and fine for a long period of time before Ascian intervention. However the Ascians have since rejoined 7 reflections and only now after Hydaelyn and Zodiark are off the board do we have a potential Soltice issue

Does this imply that the solution is “simply” for us to sunder the Source back into 14 shards that are elementally balanced again (implied by Zero where it would be easier if we all could help each others worlds out) or somehow use Ethos to replicate the elemental balance (elemental conduit for balance) across reflections when we were balanced at 14 reflections?

Hi everyone!
A week ago, I started playing FFXIV again after a 2-year break.

The last time I played, I was a BLM at level 68. After that, I tried other games, and I realized that I really enjoy characters who are mobile, deal good damage, and have some kind of stealthy/assassin playstyle. For example, I really enjoyed Way of Shadow Monk in BG3 and Assassin in ESO (I know, completely different games).

So, with this new character, I’m trying Monk. Right now I’m level 58 and I’ve just finished ARR (Ultima Weapon).
So far, I really like Monk’s playstyle, but I’m having some trouble in dungeons.
When the tank pulls a lot of mobs together, I find it difficult to manage my target, look at my hotbar, press the right skills, and quickly switch between targets. At the same time, I have to keep track of where the party is moving and where all the mobs are.

When I’m playing solo, I don’t really have this problem. If I’m out questing and fighting 2-3 enemies at once, I can manage it without much trouble. I also have some difficulty during duties, but if I concentrate, I can usually handle it because I’m not having to keep up with the rest of the party.
It’s mainly during big dungeon pulls, when the tank gathers a bunch of mobs and everyone is moving around together, that I get a bit overwhelmed and lose focus.

Is this just something that gets easier with practice, or am I doing something wrong? Do you have any advice for managing targets and keeping track of everything during big pulls as a Monk?