Part of the draw of an MMORPG like Final Fantasy XIV is that you’re doing stuff with other players! However, at first, that’s not exactly everyone’s cup of tea, and that’s fair and fine.
Maybe you’ve never done co-op content online with strangers, or your friend that usually carries through it is away for the weekend. Or you just want to play the critically-acclaimed story that makes the Final Fantasy franchise so famous (and Final Fantasy XIV one of the best MMORPGs out period). Plus, with bots now available in all main story dungeons, you only have a few touchpoints with other players.
But chances are you’ll need to hop into a duty with others eventually. For instance, almost all trials don’t have bot support yet, meaning you’re required to play with other players. Or down the line, if you’re like me, you could also just be sick of the often horrendously slow bots that don’t heal and don’t have “damage over time attacks.”
To help further your prep, we have a quick checklist of ways to get ready for your first multiplayer FFXIV dungeon, raid, trial, or otherwise.
First off: Deep breath. It’s gonna be fine! With a little prep and some positive mental attitude, you’ll be breezing through with allies in no time.
Do Your Job
In a dungeon, everyone needs to do their part. It’s easy work, though - just do your “job,” which is the FFXIV name for “class” or “fighter type.”
The first task is to make sure you’re caught up to your job quests, which offer experience, gear, and even abilities. They also do a good job of introducing your job’s general foundation and concepts, given attention is paid to the dialogue. At level 30, you’re offered a “job stone,” which is literally a requirement to access high-level abilities and passive talents.
As you go along and earn abilities, make sure you read your abilities – and make sure you don’t forget that you earned certain ones at all (which I’m guilty of). As you read them, you’ll likely get an idea of how certain abilities and talents mesh together into a smooth routine, known as a “rotation.” You may have different “rotations” for single-target combat versus large groups in dungeons. Most importantly, rotations grow more complex but also stronger as you go along.
It’s important to at least get the gist of it. Everyone slips up from time to time, especially thanks to enemy attacks that require movement, but having a general idea of your rotation and the toolkit you’ve been given is truly empowering.
During progression, I also personally find it worth my time to test my abilities on a Striking Dummy, found throughout the game and ensure everything I want to use is accessible on my keyboard (or controller). It takes about 10-15 minutes, but it makes a world of difference, especially as more abilities start showing up. Along those lines, make sure you’re comfortable with your HUD (heads-up display, or where all the buttons, bells and whistles on your screen are), which is highly customizable and even switchable between four custom settings. It makes a world of a difference in being able to see enemies, attacks, and just the world around your character.
If you’re still not sure what to do, IcyVeins and The Balance are well-beloved resources for learning how to play your job, and you can search or ask groups for HUD inspiration.
Hall of the Novice For Your Role
Beyond executing your rotation alone, multiplayer content does have some baseline expectations; Healers and Tanks are named such for a reason, after all. But frankly, Final Fantasy 14 does aim to be a ground-level MMORPG, and so it offers Hall of the Novice as a resource to ease you into the multiplayer experience.
Hall of the Novice is a series of bot duties that trains you in wider concepts of multiplayer duties. There’s a path of several tasks for each role: DPS, Tank, and Healer. With a few rare exceptions (please don’t actually play your ranged DPS/caster all the way away from your healer), it does a solid job of covering what players generally expect from each other.
You get some solid level 15 gear throughout the duties, plus a Brand New Ring, which gives a 30% experience boost up to level 30, once you complete all the duties for a role – and trust me, you really want that ring. Even if you don’t end up doing your duties as multiplayer opportunities, this is reason enough to head in and do these duties.
In the La Noscean building offering Hall of the Novice, there’s also a “Visitor’s Log” with a list of common multiplayer duty terms that you’ll see used throughout the game. It’s worth a read!
Let Your Party Know
Even with the influx of new players, Final Fantasy 14 is known for its (relatively) friendly player base. Of course, while often nice, they aren’t psychic. Sometimes the “sprout” you see in dungeons isn’t accurate, as it can indicate a newcomer to a certain job, and sometimes they’re actually alts for older players.
Therefore, the widespread recommendation for entering any new duty is to just… say so!
It seems obvious, but FFXIV is a tower of building blocks that you earn with each duty. Every time you enter one that’s new to you, you’re learning a new set of mechanics, whether it’s a new mix-up of old ones or something entirely unfamiliar. Therefore, you should have the room to learn and adapt! Everyone dies a few times in new duties.
Most tend to be kind enough to understand this, and many will even go as far as explaining certain mechanics before entering difficult segments. Or, if you’re a tank or healer, that communication will ensure your group pulls groups of enemies to your speed and comfort level.
“Just tell your party” is definitely also applicable if you’re learning a new job and especially a new role.
Just Do it! Don’t Worry!
Please, let me assure you. It’s really not that hard. I promise.
To reiterate something I said earlier, FFXIV is designed, especially nowadays, as one of the most approachable MMORPGs out there. And as I also mentioned, it’s a series of building blocks that you’ll pick up and eventually feel comfortable standing upon. The best way to learn and get comfortable around other players is by diving in with those players.
I’m not saying this as a seasoned FFXIV player who’s been high-end raiding for two years and plays Black Mage, the infamous not-moving class, with unprecedented stubbornness. I’m saying this as someone who was, just over three years ago, also starting out as a newcomer, mildly intimidated that I would have to be dodging things and hitting enemies in front of other players.
You will mess up. You will get hit, you will mess up your rotation, you will die a time or two or more. Everyone does. Trust me, you should see the first week of even “casual” endgame duties. It’s a hilarious mess.
Just try it; more than likely, the players you’ll be with probably have your back. (And they definitely have damage-over-time abilities, which the bots don’t.)
If you have any tips or questions as a veteran or newcomer, chime in below!
