Perspective of a new player

[the]

Good video that addresses same issue so I'm not the only one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TOjfMOlGlg

Currently 24

PSA:If you are a new player, look up on how to fix the horrible default UI on youtube

What I think can deter new players (even more if they are new to MMOs)

-The UI and scaling of font is a mess. I had to turn off name display because the font for it is too large and covers too much of the screen in populated areas. All HUD displays like duty list, hotbars, and a few more I can't recall right now are way too large. The default placement for the players HP bar is way too low and there isn't really a need for enemy HP/MP bars to be in the middle of the screen especially when there are the mini overhead hp bars.

-Quest pacing is off. You are immediately overwhelmed by not only the layout starting zone but the amount of ! symbols cluttering your minimap. I had a FF14 beginner guide youtube videos running in the background while I played and all of them said "only do the main story quest". They didn't mentioned fates and hunter's log to meet the minimum requirements between main storyline quests. There is ALOT I mean ALOT of walking at the start with the quests; I swear a majority of the quests were kill 3-5 mobs then proceed to do alot of walking to turn them in then repeat. There's less walking after getting the teleport ability but even then you are forced to use the very unintuitive toggled minimap to know where the f to go. Sometimes the quest markers does not reflect the floor level of where the turn in should be, not a big deal for me but this could bother others.

-Skill progression for rogue is off. You're damaging rotation for 1-25 is pressing two buttons with no flexibility, you just press skill 1 to make skill 2 hit harder the then repeat. You get more defensive/utlity of cooldowns and some CDs but they are on such a long CD lowest 40(a 3 second stun-highest 2m). It would be better if they provided the third damaging ability in place of the second defensive CD (either second wind or that 20 reduction of damage thing).

tldr version for what I think would deter new players: UI is a cluster♥♥♥♥, overwhelming quests and text clogging up the screen/minimap, skill progression and pacing 1-25 only has 2 dmg abilities



The good:

-The music is really good
-Combat is alright so far (animations remind me of xenoblade chronicles)
-Cutscenes and good dialogue even for small sidequests.
-Boss fights look amazing and the reason why I'm pushing myself through the slog of leveling
-Community is very helpful.
-Autoloot and 100 percent drop rates for quest items

[Zalgo]

UI is completely customizable, if you are willing to take the time with it, you can completely change up how it is displayed through the HUD customization menu (Even size down them pesky hotbars).

It is highly discouraged by the community to do the side quests. When they discuss the quests that you should do, it's ones that unlock mechanics (Plus sign by the Quest marker), Hildibrand (Literally perfect comedy), and job quests. Other than that, highly recommended to do the Main Quest and sprinkle it with some of the quests I have listed.

Skill progression for all classes are off because they aren't your actual class. The Rogue eventually upgrades into the Ninja JOB, which is your true class. Ninjas are known to be VERY complex classes and are some of the more difficult DPS characters to play thanks to the Mudra mechanic.

Combat gets significantly faster once you get access to oGCDs and Job mechanics that are unlocked as you progress. Certain jobs can make it even faster than WoW at times.

He is right about Bosses, their have been no real bad bosses within the game despite the fact their are A LOT of them. Some of the best bosses will have the best visual design out of any MMO.

Cutscenes and Dialogue become much more defined by expansion content, but vanilla content is actually pretty good for an MMO.

Overall OP, I feel like the way you wrote down the goods, you are almost downplaying the qualities for it. I know that isn't the true purpose of the thread, but I feel that a more subjective approach with more logical reasoning could do wonders to make your opinion well known among the community. :D

[the]

Originally posted by Weeb:

UI is completely customizable, if you are willing to take the time with it, you can completely change up how it is displayed through the HUD customization menu (Even size down them pesky hotbars).

It is highly discouraged by the community to do the side quests. When they discuss the quests that you should do, it's ones that unlock mechanics (Plus sign by the Quest marker), Hildibrand (Literally perfect comedy), and job quests. Other than that, highly recommended to do the Main Quest and sprinkle it with some of the quests I have listed.

Skill progression for all classes are off because they aren't your actual class. The Rogue eventually upgrades into the Ninja JOB, which is your true class. Ninjas are known to be VERY complex classes and are some of the more difficult DPS characters to play thanks to the Mudra mechanic.

Combat gets significantly faster once you get access to oGCDs and Job mechanics that are unlocked as you progress. Certain jobs can make it even faster than WoW at times.

He is right about Bosses, their have been no real bad bosses within the game despite the fact their are A LOT of them. Some of the best bosses will have the best visual design out of any MMO.

Cutscenes and Dialogue become much more defined by expansion content, but vanilla content is actually pretty good for an MMO.

Overall OP, I feel like the way you wrote down the goods, you are almost downplaying the qualities for it. I know that isn't the true purpose of the thread, but I feel that a more subjective approach with more logical reasoning could do wonders to make your opinion well known among the community. :D

The post is to mainly give point out reasons to what would cause a new player to quit FF14. I feel like these things can be easily changed via changing the default UI, changing order of skills given while leveling, quests would be tricky. It should be looked at from a perspective of a new player who saw an awesome stream of a boss fight or a review on the new xpac. I myself am looking forward to hitting 50 to play samurai. I try to read all the text for the main questlines but these gripes make me lose interest. I think the text clutter from names/areas/objects are caused by translation from japanese text which has less characters. A simple transparency for out of focus text or hover over text display would help greatly for the clutter.

[Zalgo]

Originally posted by shmoney shbagsh:

Originally posted by Weeb:

UI is completely customizable, if you are willing to take the time with it, you can completely change up how it is displayed through the HUD customization menu (Even size down them pesky hotbars).

It is highly discouraged by the community to do the side quests. When they discuss the quests that you should do, it's ones that unlock mechanics (Plus sign by the Quest marker), Hildibrand (Literally perfect comedy), and job quests. Other than that, highly recommended to do the Main Quest and sprinkle it with some of the quests I have listed.

Skill progression for all classes are off because they aren't your actual class. The Rogue eventually upgrades into the Ninja JOB, which is your true class. Ninjas are known to be VERY complex classes and are some of the more difficult DPS characters to play thanks to the Mudra mechanic.

Combat gets significantly faster once you get access to oGCDs and Job mechanics that are unlocked as you progress. Certain jobs can make it even faster than WoW at times.

He is right about Bosses, their have been no real bad bosses within the game despite the fact their are A LOT of them. Some of the best bosses will have the best visual design out of any MMO.

Cutscenes and Dialogue become much more defined by expansion content, but vanilla content is actually pretty good for an MMO.

Overall OP, I feel like the way you wrote down the goods, you are almost downplaying the qualities for it. I know that isn't the true purpose of the thread, but I feel that a more subjective approach with more logical reasoning could do wonders to make your opinion well known among the community. :D

The post is to mainly give point out reasons to what would cause a new player to quit FF14. I feel like these things can be easily changed via changing the default UI, changing order of skills given while leveling, quests would be tricky. It should be looked at from a perspective of a new player who saw an awesome stream of a boss fight or a review on the new xpac. I myself am looking forward to hitting 50 to play samurai. I try to read all the text for the main questlines but these gripes make me lose interest.

Ehh as I have mentioned in that last post, persevere and you get rewarded.

I got interested in the game all thanks to a boss fight video for one of the expansion content and was impressed on the visuals for the MMO.

Same problems you have listed, but I felt that the good qualities were good enough for me to press on and I am now pleased to say that I have been enjoying my time greatly.

[arejang]

Some really good tips here. I'm actually going to look up how to change my UI next chance I get. It didn't bother me particularly except when player nameplates overlapped with a quest npc making interaction difficult. But I hadn't really considered what I could do to improve it. So I'll see what's up on Youtube for this.

I'm currently a level 48 marauder/warrior. The boss fights keep getting better so maybe that much can serve as motivation. Some of the primal fights feel like raid bosses from my earlier WoW days.

Most of what makes combat better, at least from my perspective, is often devoted to dungeons and more specifically boss fights. All of the additional skills I learned along the way mostly don't play a crucial role in the regular mobs you clear for most of the MSQ, though you're free to throw them into the random encounter or fates to keep things interesting.

You'll hit regular strings of quests throughout the MSQ that scream filler. You're basically the errand boy, going form place to place with not much exciting going on. Something I've recently begun doing is skipping the dialogue for these, and reading the journal entry instead. The quest journal gives a good 1-2 line summary of what is going on and serves as a decent barometer for when to slow down and pay attention to the dialogue, and when you're mostly participating in a string of filler quests and can safely click-skip through padding content. You'll catch some self-aware humor along the way if you pay attention, where the writers for these quests acknowledge you've been doing a lot of nothing to get this one mcguffin.

And yes, the running simulator sucks balls. It gets better when you pick up the mount, and then get the mount speed upgrades while you naturally complete MSQ quests. But I'd kill for some additional aetherites in zones.

I think most of the pros that you mentioned are what keep me going too. I can't praise the music enough. It's fantastic, and I love it. It's that and the boss fights that keep me going. The story is serviceable for now. Nothing particularly impressive, but it's not the worst. I still chuckle at the occasional witty or self-aware humor.

[Vega]

First time I played this game, I was an Arcanist and I had no idea what I was doing. I picked it up later, I'm at 130+ hours now, trust me, now I think I know what I'm doing. I never had a problem with the UI but thinking about it, I'm going to take a look at the settings, I actually don't like character names being displayed.

I don't have any video(s) open while actively playing but admittedly I do have FFXIV wiki open on my second monitor when I'm seeking info on..crafting as well as those Grand Company item requests (forgot what they were called). And you bet your ass i used levelling guides for crafting jobs.

Here is something I recommend for new(er) players - join a free company. Join a large one - more people that are active, more people that will talk. Also double edged sword in that regard but it's up to you. Having a competent FC does wonders for your experience.

Music is godly, specifically "To the Sun", "On Westerly Winds", "I am the Sea".

[Cyiel]

I made multiple changes with the UI. My UI doesn't show player's name and their health bar. In dungeon it only shows their health bar if they are not at 100% HP. It clearly give a better vision of the battlefield.

[DriftNick]

Originally posted by Weeb:

UI is completely customizable, if you are willing to take the time with it, you can completely change up how it is displayed through the HUD customization menu (Even size down them pesky hotbars).

Completely customizable? try to change Flying Text, all you can do is turn it off or change the text size, ends up being a bunch of spam on your screen that is often shown twice (buffs you gain being in the buff bar and in the Flying text).

[the]

Originally posted by Pharnham:

Must just be a personal preference thing. I'm a new player, but I didn't bother with any guides ... and I certainly wouldn't ever use a video lol! At the same time that you're playing? That's just crazy.

I didn't find the number of quests overwhelming at all, and I didn't mind any of them. I did them all. Maybe I didn't feel overwhelmed because I wasn't trying to watch a video and play the game at the same time. I didn't need to, since I was learning about the game ... you know ... by playing it.

I found the text in the chat box too small, and the minimap too small, and I wanted my hotbars moved. It took me about five minutes total to figure out how to fix all that and then get it done.

I find it an excellent MMO with really nothing to criticize so far.

I want to level as efficient as possible to experience current content before becomes outdated. I also have a job/responsibilities so time is limited. If I was playing a single player game, I always take my time and try not to use guides unless I hit a wall for a few hours trying to find one item/secret to progress through the story

[arejang]

Originally posted by shmoney shbagsh:

Originally posted by Pharnham:

Must just be a personal preference thing. I'm a new player, but I didn't bother with any guides ... and I certainly wouldn't ever use a video lol! At the same time that you're playing? That's just crazy.

I didn't find the number of quests overwhelming at all, and I didn't mind any of them. I did them all. Maybe I didn't feel overwhelmed because I wasn't trying to watch a video and play the game at the same time. I didn't need to, since I was learning about the game ... you know ... by playing it.

I found the text in the chat box too small, and the minimap too small, and I wanted my hotbars moved. It took me about five minutes total to figure out how to fix all that and then get it done.

I find it an excellent MMO with really nothing to criticize so far.

I want to level as efficient as possible to experience current content before becomes outdated. I also have a job/responsibilities so time is limited. If I was playing a single player game, I always take my time and try not to use guides unless I hit a wall for a few hours trying to find one item/secret to progress through the story

Of all the games to use guides on, this is one of those games. I don't care what Pharnam did for his run. As you continue through the MSQ, I think it will become increasingly helpful to watch a short 2-3 min video on each dungeon and trial you attempt. There are dungeon and boss mechanics that aren't always clearly explained to you, and of course the game expects you to fail your first several attempts figuring out what to do and what not to do, but you'll find a lot of those runs are accompanied by party members who have run what will be your first attempt several times already. They will appreciate it if you read up on what you're about to face ahead of time so they don't have waste runs explaining things. The people I've run with have all been super nice and patient with me as the newbie tank, but if they see that it's my first time running the dungeon (it's obvious when they're waiting on me for every cutscene lol), and I'm already aware of all the boss mechanics, it's bonus positive impression on them. And it's less time wasted for you on needless wipes on what would be otherwise easy bosses. All of the video guides I've watched so far have been spoiler-free, so no worries about ruining any of the narrative elements either.

Play as it's fun for you for the single-player content, but when it comes to group content like the trials and dungeons, it takes a literal 2.5 minutes (or less if you're watching videos at 2x speed like I do). Be proactive in using guides and watching videos to help make your experience smoother, and don't listen to people who ridicule other players for using guides. That's just dumb.

While I try to play most single-player games blind (I like discovering things and figuring things out on my own), for MMOs or any game that requires cooperative play, I go through as many guides as I find relevant. Youtube is particularly good at recommending videos on topics I hadn't thought about and I don't shy away from those either.

Anyway, I want to reiterate that I really liked reading your impressions of the game so far. I think all of your critique is fair and something that I also agree with for the most part, both the good and the bad.

[Drakon]

Originally posted by arejang:

Originally posted by shmoney shbagsh:

I want to level as efficient as possible to experience current content before becomes outdated. I also have a job/responsibilities so time is limited. If I was playing a single player game, I always take my time and try not to use guides unless I hit a wall for a few hours trying to find one item/secret to progress through the story

Of all the games to use guides on, this is one of those games. I don't care what Pharnam did for his run. As you continue through the MSQ, I think it will become increasingly helpful to watch a short 2-3 min video on each dungeon and trial you attempt. There are dungeon and boss mechanics that aren't always clearly explained to you, and of course the game expects you to fail your first several attempts figuring out what to do and what not to do, but you'll find a lot of those runs are accompanied by party members who have run what will be your first attempt several times already. They will appreciate it if you read up on what you're about to face ahead of time so they don't have waste runs explaining things. The people I've run with have all been super nice and patient with me as the newbie tank, but if they see that it's my first time running the dungeon (it's obvious when they're waiting on me for every cutscene lol), and I'm already aware of all the boss mechanics, it's bonus positive impression on them. And it's less time wasted for you on needless wipes on what would be otherwise easy bosses. All of the video guides I've watched so far have been spoiler-free, so no worries about ruining any of the narrative elements either.

Play as it's fun for you for the single-player content, but when it comes to group content like the trials and dungeons, it takes a literal 2.5 minutes (or less if you're watching videos at 2x speed like I do). Be proactive in using guides and watching videos to help make your experience smoother, and don't listen to people who ridicule other players for using guides. That's just dumb.

While I try to play most single-player games blind (I like discovering things and figuring things out on my own), for MMOs or any game that requires cooperative play, I go through as many guides as I find relevant. Youtube is particularly good at recommending videos on topics I hadn't thought about and I don't shy away from those either.

Anyway, I want to reiterate that I really liked reading your impressions of the game so far. I think all of your critique is fair and something that I also agree with for the most part, both the good and the bad.

I honestly dunno how I'd survive without Mizzteq's guides when I first started, always helps to know mechanics before starting a dungeon.

[arejang]

I've only a passing knowledge of Mizzteq. I've seen some videos reference her impressions on the latest expansion (which I'm still very far away from), and I've seen a couple guides she posted on dungeons I looked up. It swaps between two or three people that are linked to the ff14 wiki so I don't always get her videos. But of the ones I have seen, she seems concise and to the point which I like. Just tell me what to do, lol.

[Zalgo]

Originally posted by arejang:

I've only a passing knowledge of Mizzteq. I've seen some videos reference her impressions on the latest expansion (which I'm still very far away from), and I've seen a couple guides she posted on dungeons I looked up. It swaps between two or three people that are linked to the ff14 wiki so I don't always get her videos. But of the ones I have seen, she seems concise and to the point which I like. Just tell me what to do, lol.

Used to watch MrHappy's guides when it came to raids. Now it's not as reliable since they tend to get a bit long and a bit.... too detailed in comparison to MizzTeq's more concise 4 minute videos.

[Drakon]

Originally posted by arejang:

I've only a passing knowledge of Mizzteq. I've seen some videos reference her impressions on the latest expansion (which I'm still very far away from), and I've seen a couple guides she posted on dungeons I looked up. It swaps between two or three people that are linked to the ff14 wiki so I don't always get her videos. But of the ones I have seen, she seems concise and to the point which I like. Just tell me what to do, lol.

Most of her guides are short in length, perfect to watch them whilst queuing for the dungeon. I normally search up the name of the dungeon in YouTube and her videos usually pop up first for me.

[Irrelevant]

As a new player I have only some minor things that annoyed me. The "guild" window and the member list are the worst I've every seen. Those are a grbadge beyond compair. On top of this I would've loved more voice acting going from spoken cutscences to read only feels a bit like stop and go and sometimes new players tend to get to a point where they think... okay only voiced interactions are important... well what a bummer ^^. Outside of this I even made peace with the 2 year long GCD ^^.

[AlexInFall]

Currently at 50 hours. Almost level 50. I have to say that this game is very easy. You just need to take your time to actually read otherwise you will hate it. There are a ton of things to do and in every way possible the community is nice enough to help you out. I was able to join a guild and meet 10 friends in discord that play daily. Been hanging with them every since. Just my opinion 1 through 25 took me no time to get through as a healer. All things aside this is just my perspective. I have no problems with any of what was mentioned in that video.