FFXIV: catch all

Well I finally got the issue with my account subscription figured out but trying to decide if I continue or not. I’m still having fun at lower level but am hearing the high level dungeons and raids are difficult rhythm games. Is it really that bad?

Dungeons are casual content and IMO get more fun as you level, since you can use more of your job's abilities. 8-player raids have two difficulties: normal (for the story) and Savage (completely optional and done for the challenge). Normal tends to be a step up in difficulty compared to dungeons, but are still casual enough that anyone can clear them. There are also 24-player raids that are also a step up from dungeons, but are casual content played for the story (and the cool looking gear that drops).

I'm not sure where you might have heard that the game is a rhythm game later on, but the phrase I hear used to describe Savage raids is that "they're a dance" because each person needs to learn the mechanics and how to handle them correctly, so you're learning the "steps to the dance."

Generally speaking, the game has difficult content for those who want that challenge, but that content is also completely optional if that doesn't interest you. You can always work at improving your skill at the job(s) you choose to play, but if you just want to play through the story you'll have access to dozens and dozens of dungeons, raids, and boss fights that offer a lot of spectacle without necessarily grinding your face in the mud.

I learned that Steam and PC subscriptions don’t mix. I was trying to play from SteamDeck, ended up linking my S- E account to my Steam account, and… nope. Can’t unlink them, either.

Does that mean you’ve permanently lost your account? How were you able to link them in the first place (I didn’t realize that was something you could do)?

beanman101283 wrote:

Does that mean you’ve permanently lost your account? How were you able to link them in the first place (I didn’t realize that was something you could do)?

I can play on PC (non-steam) and PlayStation as normal. I just can’t play on Steam.

Got it. It's always been the case that PC licenses can only be Steam or non-Steam, and that they can't mix. They recently tightened the rules on using the Steam version without a Steam license and vice versa though I don't recall the details since I don't use the Steam version.

6.2 patch notes are out. Lots of content coming out next week! Lots of nice little QoL adjustments too.

I won't be logging in for hours yet, but I'm already expecting to be utterly paralyzed over what to get to first.

It'll probably be MSQ -> Raids -> Side stories -> Island Sanctuary for me. I reserve the right to change my mind at any time, though.

I ended up barrelling through the MSQ, because I was convinced...do I need to spoiler tag things that didn't come to pass? I don't think so, I had thought the promised Big Shift in the MSQ would be that they'd slip enough of a time skip into our trip to the Void to allow Alph and Ali to grow up, and my fear of this potentially being spoiled drove me onward. Tonight it's going to be Raids, with the aim to get tokens for head, hands, or feet, and then 2 accessories so I'll have the iLvl to attempt the EX this weekend--based on how the Normal trial went, I expect EX to be no joke.

I finished the Trial last night and the immediate aftermath, and still have some MSQ to wrap up. Both the dungeon and trial are a lot of fun. So much FF4 goodness throughout. I'm guessing we won't have an optional Trial series this expansion, but they'll instead all be part of the MSQ. I didn't have any particular expectations for the story this patch

When I do the raids I'll be going after the chest piece first - because of the awesome glowing effects they have this time around

The chest was my plan initially, but while the glow is undeniably neat, that sort of heavy plate armored look is not my main aesthetic, so it can wait a week.

Oh, and I should own up to some light hypocrisy again, because I have and will heap scorn on squealing reactions to E-List Marvel character cameos and the Mouse necromancing eerie CGI marionettes out of well aged and sometimes deceased Star Wars actors, I did squee in a very undignified manner when the dungeon boss announced "My name is Scarmiglione!"

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/3VVdFIL.png)

Got that chest piece Trying to get the new tomestones in time to grab an accessory, then I'll be hopping into the new Extreme. Hit me up in Discord/in-game if you want to hop into Party Finder together this weekend for that.

FF14 is a Final Fantasy theme park, so I think it's reasonable to be excited to see FF14's take on classic characters, creatures, and bosses. I'm really digging all the FF4 references in this expansion, and I'm excited to see their take on the other archfiends.

Nice! My plan went off without a hitch: 1 accessory from P5, 2 hats from P6-7, and 1 accessory from P8, so I'm sitting at iLvl 602. I was called to MT 3 out of the 4, and the only one I think I really need help with, of all things, is P5. The large tankbusters are funny to me, they feel very much like the devs saying "You're supposed to move these away from people, dumbass!"

Reached the second to last duty of the patch content for Shadowbringers, and was discussing with my group the fact that this content was coming out right about when we started. It's been an interesting journey, and our fourth who comes with us (someone who's been raiding for a while, and has been a longer-term friend of mine) has recommended we stop watching the videos, as she'll guide us through any quirks that aren't immediately apparent. So far that's been going fine? As a tank, not knowing the name of tankbusters makes it a bit more difficult, but it does mean I look at the names of the skills and go, "Well, The Bitter End certainly sounds like it could be a tankbuster!"

Still no clue what I'll do once I reach endgame, as I now can see that in the not-too-distant future. So far while the boyfriend and I have been waiting for our third group member to catch up on MSQ I've been leveling all of my other classes, and generally finding myself liking the changes to skills that have been coming in Shadowbringers (I am normally fairly keen to have lots of alts, so playing all the classes instead means I have everything to at least level 70).

I recently passed 120 days of playtime, according to the game. I will probably get Monk to 90 this weekend, or at least very close. That leaves only Astrologian and Black Mage to unlock and level.

While I am certainly nowhere close to having done all the content in the game, I am at the point in the game where the options in front of me are all very clear and defined. I'm so used to big games feeling like an endless sea of content that it's a novelty to feel like I'm familiar with everything currently on offer. I've been leveling the various jobs for so many years that it's going to feel like a whole different game not having that always going on in the background of my in-game activities.

Once i'm done leveling jobs, I'll probably finally spend real time on Blue Mage content, Eureka, finish an ARR relic weapon, and go after the cosmetic rewards from the Ishgard Restoration. Not to mention the latest PVP season's rewards, the upcoming Variant Dungeons, going back to clear old Extremes...

Not gonna be bored anytime soon!

Anyone want to try out Palace of the Dead for IGWJD?

jdzappa wrote:

Anyone want to try out Palace of the Dead for IGWJD?

Sounds tempting. I've never done a serious run at it.

Sure thing, let's do it.

What would be a good day/time for everyone? IGWJD is the weekend of October 22nd and 23rd. I'd probably prefer that Saturday in the afternoon, but I'm open to suggestions.

Palace of the Dead can have a party of up to 4 players, so if we have more than that we can always break into smaller groups. With 4 players, the first 100 floors are fairly straightforward. If you've never done PotD before, there are story quests you need to do at floors 50 and 100.

We can also coordinate/use voice chat in Discord in the Critically Acclaimed FF14 thread under the MMO channel.

Saturday afternoon works great for me! Anytime from noon to 6-7 pm would be perfect.

That may be a worthy time to try DC travel, since you all are on Aether, yeah?

Correct, Aether!

Would Saturday October 22nd at 12pm Pacific work for folks? I'm open to other suggestions if the majority of folks would prefer something else, just putting something out there to get the discussion going.

I'm down for noon! That will allow me to run some strategy multiplayer later that evening.

Okay! Since no one else has chimed in, I'll go ahead and plan for October 22nd at 12pm Pacific. I've put an entry onto the IGWJD spreadsheet. Feel free to put your name down if you want to join, but also feel free to just show up. We'll plan to use voice chat in Discord, and see what kind of PotD shenanigans we can get up to. Hope to see folks there!

I'm in! We should be done in 3-4 hours right? Reason I'm asking is I'm trying to plan a strategy multiplayer game for that evening.

Yeah that shouldn't be a problem. There are also easy stopping points every 10 floors, so you're not locked into anything for very long.

Okay, throwing that in my Google calendar.

So quick question - can I try out new jobs during Palace of the Dead? I've heard you could but wanted to make sure I wasn't confusing that with some other content. But I'm happy to stick with my boom pow black mage. Got to 35 last night so I think I'm high enough level to unlock it.

You have to have at least unlocked the class outside of the dungeon. The way it works is that in Palace of the Dead, on floor one you will start at level 1 in that class, and level all the way to 60 as you progress deeper in the dungeon. That's independent of your level outside of the dungeon, of course.

The other wrinkle is that, if you've unlocked the class but haven't yet migrated to the job at level 30, as you level to 60 in the dungeon you'll only have your class abilities, not your job abilities. So in your case, make sure you've done all your class/job quests up to 30 in order to get your job stone and be an actual Black Mage, not just the Thaumaturge.

Hopefully that makes sense, let me know if you need something clarified.

Totally makes sense! I'm close to unlocking BM so I'll just go that route. Also, I have a hard stop at 2 pm but I'm sure I can bow out and you guys can continue if you want.