FFXIV is a double-edged sword for me. I love playing with other people and enjoying social aspects of the game, but, as a new-ish player, everything is just that -- new! I enjoy the excitement of a new boss or mission. However, there are always those in the party who have done said boss or mission multiple times previously, thereby granting them wisdom I simply do not yet possess.
For example, tonight I entered my first Titan battle. A friend I've made on the server offered to help as healer, so we got into the duty fairly quickly. However, I promptly fell off the edge after the second Titan jump. I had no idea one could fall! I felt, predictably, very foolish. Our second wipe was due to us not attacking the heart (I definitely was, so I am not sure if that was actually my fault). The third was because I didn't attack the gaol -- a stone encasement that randomly wraps around a player. It wrapped around our healer (the helpful friend I'd dragged into the fight, yeah). After that one, one of the other party members stepped in to offer some "critiques." At that point, I fully understood what to do, and we did not wipe again -- I just needed a couple of trial runs to make sure I understood it. Honestly, I am not sure how else I am supposed to learn, but I am expected to enter the battle as a new player with utter omniscience.
Many players I know read up on the battles or watch YouTube videos of how to do each fight. To me that seems a bit like cheating and definitely wasteful of my off-game time, plus doesn't it suck some of the fun and surprise out of it? It only took us ~20 mins to complete the Titan fight, even with three wipes. I just don't think it's a huge deal to let new players play through without making them feel silly. Perhaps this game would be a bit more lighthearted with a group of friends who were just messing around and having fun together. /shrug
At any rate, I do have a couple of new friends I've been playing with in-game and I am thankful for that. Hopefully, I will continue to build something of a community and, eventually, I will just reach a level where fun is the only option. Haha -- totally kidding, I know it only gets worse in end-game.
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