FFXIV: catch all

cube wrote:

Uh, pretty much everything endgame(and therefore good gear) requires the MSQ to be finished.

The MSQ's plot is really good, though.

Wait, are you playing this AND WoW at the same time?

I seem to have found a dead spot around mid 30s for my character's level progression... I can't find any quests to do...

Any thoughts?

Also, I paid and got my characters moved over to the GWJ server, do I need to apply for the free company, or can you send me a request?

I assume you're in the Central Highlands?

When I couldn't find any quests I'd try to fill out my Challenge Log with fates, dungeons and levequests.

Demosthenes wrote:
cube wrote:

Uh, pretty much everything endgame(and therefore good gear) requires the MSQ to be finished.

The MSQ's plot is really good, though.

Wait, are you playing this AND WoW at the same time?

Played through vanilla MSQ and HW when I was on two different WoW breaks.

I now just jump on for a couple of weeks every other major patch and catch up on the MSQ.

Gating main story content with fairly substantial item level requirements sucks. I'm currently grinding my ilvl up to 230 so I can run the Baelsar's Wall quest.

I did the Aery today for the first time, and all the story involved. This game is so, so good when it is firing on all cylinders. Just a huge leap forward from what I've played in the genre, in terms of presentation and balance of complexity and difficulty.

My SMN is now 56, next MSQ is 57. Guess that'll wait for tomorrow. The abilities SMN gets after 50 make the class feel a lot more dynamic and interesting.

Because I spent such little time at 50, I haven't done more than a couple dungeons required for the high level roulette. Should I go back and do those? Not sure I have time to do an extra roulette per day, but it seems like it might be prudent.

Also, I know Red Mage is coming, does anyone know what the other classes are going to be for the expansion? I'm a little sour on PLD and wanna see if the new tank might be more appealing.

Blind_Evil wrote:

Because I spent such little time at 50, I haven't done more than a couple dungeons required for the high level roulette. Should I go back and do those? Not sure I have time to do an extra roulette per day, but it seems like it might be prudent.

I'm not sure at what point you start getting lore and scripture tomestones for completing those dungeons (e.g. is it only once you hit 60? I don't know), but I was in that same spot until I hit 60. As I've chipped away at that list, I'm finding each one to give quite a bit of lore and scripture due to the first time completion bonus.

Once you unlock everything, I basically see it as another way to farm lore and scripture, which you'll need for gear at level 60. It also provides a targeted way to complete one of the Book of Wondrous Tales items (again, once you hit 60).

Essentially, I don't think you need to worry about running daily dungeons until you hit 60. MSQ and a smattering of side quests will take you all the way there. Then you can use those roulettes to farm tomes and/or level up other classes.

I figured out why I wasn't finding any more quests to do... I was so far behind on the story missions.
Once I powered through a bunch, I suddenly had a lot of quests to do.
However, as I'm level 40, I'm going to save them for when I get the level 50 classes, if I can.

I added a header image for the forum thread. Hope you all like it! If you have any suggestions for other images, let me know.

Taharka wrote:

I figured out why I wasn't finding any more quests to do... I was so far behind on the story missions.
Once I powered through a bunch, I suddenly had a lot of quests to do.
However, as I'm level 40, I'm going to save them for when I get the level 50 classes, if I can.

It's not worth saving any quests, really. You'll get gear and experience, and everything's gated in some way behind the MSQ.

doogiemac wrote:
Blind_Evil wrote:

Because I spent such little time at 50, I haven't done more than a couple dungeons required for the high level roulette. Should I go back and do those? Not sure I have time to do an extra roulette per day, but it seems like it might be prudent.

I'm not sure at what point you start getting lore and scripture tomestones for completing those dungeons (e.g. is it only once you hit 60? I don't know), but I was in that same spot until I hit 60. As I've chipped away at that list, I'm finding each one to give quite a bit of lore and scripture due to the first time completion bonus.

Once you unlock everything, I basically see it as another way to farm lore and scripture, which you'll need for gear at level 60. It also provides a targeted way to complete one of the Book of Wondrous Tales items (again, once you hit 60).

Essentially, I don't think you need to worry about running daily dungeons until you hit 60. MSQ and a smattering of side quests will take you all the way there. Then you can use those roulettes to farm tomes and/or level up other classes.

My ninja is already 60, I wanna get at least three or maybe more classes there by June. I can't ignore the huge experience bonus from the daily roulettes so I'm religious about them, and that got me to 60 when my MSQ progress was only at 52.

I don't think I'm gonna bother gearing up much at 60. I don't realistically think I'll be doing any serious raiding or whatever, and all the stuff will be out of date as soon as Stormblood hits, I imagine.

Sadly, you'll need to gear up if you want to progress the MSQ past the 3.0 content. Unless, of course, Stormblood rejiggers the quest rewards and requirements for the 3.1+ content to shuffle you through it. Heavensward did something similar with the 2.1+ stories.

ClockworkHouse wrote:

Sadly, you'll need to gear up if you want to progress the MSQ past the 3.0 content. Unless, of course, Stormblood rejiggers the quest rewards and requirements for the 3.1+ content to shuffle you through it. Heavensward did something similar with the 2.1+ stories.

I think it is likely they will do that.

It hadn't occurred to me before, but that probably means 3.1-3.55 will be more time consuming than 2.1-2.55 since I did all those patches post rejiggering. I want to catch up before Stormblood but it will depend on how much I want to play other stuff between now and then. (Hmmm... probably should invest a good chunk of time before Persona 5 comes out.)

Blind_Evil wrote:

I don't think I'm gonna bother gearing up much at 60. I don't realistically think I'll be doing any serious raiding or whatever, and all the stuff will be out of date as soon as Stormblood hits, I imagine.

As ClockworkHouse indicates, unfortunately patch 3.5 includes an item level block on MSQ progression when it comes time to run Baelsar's Wall. There are some other ilvl restrictions in the earlier 3.1+ patch content, but nothing very difficult.

The Baelsar's Wall ilvl requirement is 230, which is the toughest one I've hit so far and requires some grinding. I'm at ilvl 225 right now, so getting close... save up those tomestones!!!

Meh, I guess I just need to get there to understand. I was under the impression that I couldn't do anything to get endgame tokens until I finish the 3.0 stuff?

Also, didn't get any response in the PS4 thread... Any recommendation on a wireless keyboard for PS4? No longer close enough to the TV to use my wired one.

Blind_Evil wrote:

Meh, I guess I just need to get there to understand. I was under the impression that I couldn't do anything to get endgame tokens until I finish the 3.0 stuff?

Also, didn't get any response in the PS4 thread... Any recommendation on a wireless keyboard for PS4? No longer close enough to the TV to use my wired one.

re: tokens - I can't recall when you start getting tometones of lore or poetics.

re: PS4 keyboard recommendation - sorry I missed that! I'm using the Logitech K400 Plus. You just plug the USB receiver into the PS4 and it works! It has a trackpad on it, which is nice for moving the mouse around on the rare occasion you need to in FFXIV.

You start getting tomes when you hit the level cap, but the kind of tome you get depends on the dungeons you run.

For a keyboard, I use this chat pad: Collective Minds Chatboost Chat Pad with Battery Pack https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00QU93WW8...

For those of you having issues getting to i230+, the Garo pvp event is a fast way. If you que Frontlines as a free-lancer, it's only a couple mins. Then you get at minimum 1,000 wolf marks on your roulette completion (win or loose). Some of the i235 gear from the vendor is only 2,000 wolf marks. So two frontline roulettes or a few matches in a row at you got some i235 gear (including weapons).

You can use your tombstones on the cheaper jewels and get armor/weapon this way. The stats are more pvp focused, but it's still i235. Then run weeping city when it's unlocked for free i230 pve gear if you want.

I geared through Alex and the extreme roulettes (which drop weapons) while saving up tombstones. But the i235 pvp gear is so easy to get I have almost 3 sets. It's roughly 15k wolf marks for full body and weapon. I was getting 15k per week at 3-4 matches a day when working on the garo mounts.

That sounds pretty sweet. The different mechanics for PvP and it being, well, PvP makes that a pretty intimidating route to gear up.

Finished up the Great Gubal Library last night and ventured forth to Azys Lla. Such a good dungeon. Someone talk to me about how this is the secret best Final Fantasy.

Blind_Evil wrote:

Someone talk to me about how this is the secret best Final Fantasy.

Right? I feel like with Heavensward, especially, they just knocked it out of the park.

ClockworkHouse wrote:
Blind_Evil wrote:

Someone talk to me about how this is the secret best Final Fantasy.

Right? I feel like with Heavensward, especially, they just knocked it out of the park.

The first non-Tactics Final Fantasy game I've enjoyed playing since VIII.

I've been enjoying it, but also wanting to grind out to the heavensward content, so I'm missing a lot.
Also, I'm out all next week, but can I coordinate with someone to get a couple of character invites to the free company next week?

GoldenDog wrote:

For those of you having issues getting to i230+, the Garo pvp event is a fast way.

Oh, awesome. I've been wanting to dip my toe into PVP. This sounds like a great way to do it!

ClockworkHouse wrote:
Blind_Evil wrote:

Someone talk to me about how this is the secret best Final Fantasy.

Right? I feel like with Heavensward, especially, they just knocked it out of the park.

Yes. I've tried convincing several people I know that FFXIV is the under-the-radar, best modern entry in the series.

ClockworkHouse wrote:

That sounds pretty sweet. The different mechanics for PvP and it being, well, PvP makes that a pretty intimidating route to gear up.

Don't think of Frontlines as intimidating. People will trash talk sometimes, but it is very informal. The Feast is competitive, Frontlines is like kindergarten. I have seen some really bad pvp'ers so no matter what you won't be the worst that's out there.

For one map you do damage to the crystals and try to avoid combat. The objectives are more important. For the second one you tag a data center and defend it or move forward to attack another one. Just stick with the group and you'll be gravy.

Everyone has their own limit break called Adrenaline. Use it on the crystals for that map. Otherwise burn it on other players for a nice one-shot during the data map.

Under action and traits you have pvp only skills. Drag them to a bar like your other skills. These are useful for pvp, but not necessary in frontlines if you're not trying to be the best. Definitely needed for the Feast 8v8.

Ran my first Frontlines last night. It's was a little chaotic for me, as I had no idea what I was doing, but I started to get the hang of it by the end of the match. I really enjoyed it, and the run pushed me over the limit on Wolves Marks and Tomestones of Scripture so that I'm now at item level 235 and can continue the MSQ!

re: PVP-only skills, thanks for the heads-up! I didn't go in prepared for it at all, I guess!!!

Kinda random question. I'm curious to try a non-magic ranged dps, bard or machinist. Looking over the bard stuff... Is it just me or do all the songs sound really underwhelming? None really sound worth the 10% damage loss. Am I missing something?

Question for those experienced in both damage dealing and tanking: do fights in dungeons feel a lot slower when tanking?

Recently got SMN up to 60 and I've been playing my 60 NIN in the lv50 dungeons. Then I've been running the roulette on my WAR (now 38) and while it's more engaging than PLD, the combat feels slow. This is unexpected. I feel like everything with WAR is on the GCD and with NIN and SMN, I always have off-GCD abilities to manage.

Blind_Evil wrote:

Kinda random question. I'm curious to try a non-magic ranged dps, bard or machinist. Looking over the bard stuff... Is it just me or do all the songs sound really underwhelming? None really sound worth the 10% damage loss. Am I missing something?

They aren't if you're playing solo. They are meant for the group content.

First off, Foe's Requiem doesn't cause damage loss, and it decreases magic resistance of enemies by 10%, so it's like a 10% damage increase for each mage in your group (plus a bit of extra damage for those healers who bother to do damage). If you're in a group with mages there's no reason not to use Requiem.

The other two songs that restore MP and TP do cause damage loss and are obviously more situational. If your healer is struggling with MP or your tank is struggling with TP, the damage loss is well worth preventing a wipe.

Then there's Wanderer's Minuet which is more of a mode change. It isn't worth it when you first unlock the skill, but when you unlock the other skills that complement Wanderer's you'll want it on all the time.

Oh and I guess there's Swiftsong which you can use whenever. And don't forget Battle Voice!

For the first time ever in my time with FFXIV, I'm completely caught up on the main story line! I managed to complete the 3.5 MSQ last night. Not much else to report other than that I can't wait to see how they close the loop on this bit of story.