Playing WITHOUT Macro/Gearswapping/Windower Possible for 90% of the game?

[Succubus Nirriti]

Asking, if its possible to play and enjoy 90%+ of the whole game without using macros, gearswapping, windower, or a combination of any of those three, and still be able to play most of the game?

Yes, I understand the el... I mean the veterans will absolutely insist on everyone becoming coding engineers but Id rather do without, also same about gearswapping. someone on a trial. If most of the game is balanced around ""meta"" being "YOU MUST macro and gearswap" Id rather not get the game in the first place. And by the way, when I say "most of the game" Im asking 90%+ thats not "elite content" (lets call it EXTREME/SAVAGE, since it might resonate with a few XIV players would had the joy of trying that out).




Thank you!

[BattleTree]

i just restarted with my brother. with the addition of up to 5 npcs on ur team u can call u can do anything solo. lol. if u wanna do skill point parties and be all hardcore then ull need macros. ext. but im enjoying a ton of the game without. and i have 5 lvl 99s. its an old account im returning to after 10 years. so i know the old days off early 2000 when it was as harcore as it could be.

[Succubus Nirriti]

TYVM, just the answer I was seeking. Leveled a few of my planned classes to 30, so far so good with the trial. Alright, ill mark your post as the answer. Pretty sure others will wonder too so ill keep the topic up.

[legomike666]

im pretty sure the whole game is meant to be played without that stuff :)

[Succubus Nirriti]

Originally posted by legomike666:

im pretty sure the whole game is meant to be played without that stuff :)

Reading online, I was getting the impression (on ALL forums) that it was a mandatory thing (as if it was the equivalent of gimping your party's chance of success by a serious margin if you didnt). Maybe in the past it was. Alright. :)

[legomike666]

in game macros are all you need :)

[Succubus Nirriti]

Originally posted by legomike666:

in game macros are all you need :)

My question was about WITHOUT any form of macro/gearswapping entirely.
That is of course, maybe only except the most elite content.

[legomike666]

my mom gets by just fine forgetting to make macros we are not big into endgame though so cant speak for that

[Succubus Nirriti]

Originally posted by legomike666:

my mom gets by just fine forgetting to make macros we are not big into endgame though so cant speak for that

You play a (good) MMORPG with your mother? Thats so wholesome.

[legomike666]

:)

[SainguinPixels]

I think you have a serious misunderstanding of the macro system that the game itself uses. As in, it was made by the developers and the game was made with the intent of using the macro system.

Windower and other addons are a different story.

But not using the built in game macros is just making the game harder to play for no good reason. It's like choosing to do a naked run in Dark Souls or something. You can do it if you want extra challenge, but you're willingly ignoring part of the game.

Macros are pretty easy to setup, literally takes minutes, and they're insanely useful for smoother combat and ease of access to your spells and abilities.

If you don't want to use external tools, like Windower, that's 100% your choice and there's nothing wrong with that.

But not using macros is just ignoring part of how the game was intentionally made.

[Pulptenks]

You can get through the story without it, depending on your class. I'd say something basic is probably best if you really intend not using any macros. Like a Warrior / monk, maybe dragoon. But other classes will prove to be difficult without macros. Forget mages as well, magic lists will overwhelm your reaction times.

But if you plan touching anything 99, you most then likely handicap yourself seriously. Adoulin is sort of difficult with basic 119 gear, a lot of monster level 120+. So you'd need to get at least an Ambuscade set to finish the story by the end. So I'd say not 90%, more like 70% of the game content.

Don't need windower, don't need gearswap. A vanilla experience is entirely possible, but I "Strongly" recommend macros, it's not so difficult in all honestly.

In fact you want to learn some more about macros, here's a quick explanation and a link to the resources.

Examples for basic macro: https://ffxiclopedia.fandom.com/wiki/Macro

/ma "Cure" <stpt> or <stnpc> <-- Casting Magic Ability among party or across npc / player character

/ws "Fast Blade" <t> <-- Doing a Weapon Skill

/ja "Berserk" <me> <--- Job ability, those are self cast 99% the time

Example for casting with equip set: https://ffxiclopedia.fandom.com/wiki/Equipment_Set_Macros

/equipset 1 <<<--your precast set (fastcast)
/ma "Cure" <stpt> <wait 1> <---time will vary based on spell/gear
/equipset 2 <wait 2> <--- This is your cure potency set
/equipset 3 <--- this will be your idle set

The timer depends on your fast cast %, <wait #> can vary from 0.2 to 1.5, but cure is pretty quick on it's own.

Most people will advocate for Windower because it became the meta before Equipsets were actually added to the game, but a Vanilla experience is entirely possible.

[Thief_Garett]

I played the game for 5 years without knowing what windower was. Actually it was while I was on PS2. You can still set macros ingame easily. Its actually pretty easy. Just set it up to show universal translator if you are wanting your character to say or tell anything.

[Cuponoodle]

without windower and ashita yes

without basic vanilla game game macros built and used as intended...why?

[it's a gabe]

This thread will likely be locked due to me necroing it, but I'm curious: did you get it somewhere in the end? It doesn't seem like you have it on Steam, but did you get it somewhere else?

I have to say, while many seem to praise gearswapping as FFXI's differential, I always thought it looked like a massive hassle if you play the game casually. Just the thought of it made me stop playing a few times over the years.

As for macros, they may seem like a hassle but are actually rather easy to set up. It takes a moment to understand the system and get them working properly, but once you do it's alright. That said, I haven't used them in ten years or so as I uninstalled and installed the game again on different machines over time. Dealing with skills and spells isn't that troublesome if you sort them manually, for one. There's a handicap to using the combat menu for sure, especially as you won't be able to combo reliably, but it shouldn't be a huge issue if you play casually with trusts.

[Black Captain]

Macros are tedious to set up without a guide and to wrap your mind around. But they exist to make your play experience easier. They are a shortcut to doing something impossible in the amount of time a macro can.

I never liked the idea of gear swapping and that’s why I can my get into ffxi hardcore like that (you don’t need to gear swap in story content or with certain melee builds). But macros literally make the game playable. It’s actually more tedious without macros.

Newer games try to steer away from this archaic philosophy of complexity, but that’s what makes ffxi unique and a deep game.