What it says on the title.
If you're having trouble with boss tells and mechanics feel random, chaotic or unpredictable, it's probably because of one or more of these reasons:
You can't see the enemy cast bar. The default HUD is quite bad. Go into System > HUD layout, then get the Target Info (Progress Bar) element and put it IN THE DEAD CENTER OF YOUR SCREEN. You can also increase it's size.
The enemy cast bar is the number one element that you need to pay attention to in a fight. It contains information that gives you a hint of where the boss is gonna hit (i.e. Left, Right, Forward, Backwards). It can be used as a timer for when you gotta stop greeding and disengage. It tells you in which point of the fight you are. If your cast bar is not in the most visible position of your screen, put it there.
You don't know your rotation well enough and are staring at your ability bars. You're not supposed to be looking at your abilities. You are supposed to be looking at the boss model and animations, the cast bar, debuffs, and other relevant elements that are related to solving mechanics.
If you feel the need to constantly stare at your abilities other than a quick glance to see if you got a proc or to check a cooldown timer, go hit a target dummy until you don't need to look at it anymore. You can also use an enlarged, unbound ability bar to put your cooldown abilities, so you can keep an eye on the timers without having to look down. It's like learning to type without looking at your keyboard.
You don't understand how snapshots work. If you are waiting for the orange floor markers to appear to start thinking about moving, you are going to get hit most of the time. Even if you play at low ping. FFXIV is not a game that relies on reaction. Think of it as a puzzle, where you have to figure out where you have to go to before the area of the hit is declared. Normal content tends to be quite lenient about this, but you need to learn it regardless or you're gonna keep getting hit. Watch this video for a straightforward demonstration.
Continued below:
Continue reading...
If you're having trouble with boss tells and mechanics feel random, chaotic or unpredictable, it's probably because of one or more of these reasons:
You can't see the enemy cast bar. The default HUD is quite bad. Go into System > HUD layout, then get the Target Info (Progress Bar) element and put it IN THE DEAD CENTER OF YOUR SCREEN. You can also increase it's size.
The enemy cast bar is the number one element that you need to pay attention to in a fight. It contains information that gives you a hint of where the boss is gonna hit (i.e. Left, Right, Forward, Backwards). It can be used as a timer for when you gotta stop greeding and disengage. It tells you in which point of the fight you are. If your cast bar is not in the most visible position of your screen, put it there.
You don't know your rotation well enough and are staring at your ability bars. You're not supposed to be looking at your abilities. You are supposed to be looking at the boss model and animations, the cast bar, debuffs, and other relevant elements that are related to solving mechanics.
If you feel the need to constantly stare at your abilities other than a quick glance to see if you got a proc or to check a cooldown timer, go hit a target dummy until you don't need to look at it anymore. You can also use an enlarged, unbound ability bar to put your cooldown abilities, so you can keep an eye on the timers without having to look down. It's like learning to type without looking at your keyboard.
You don't understand how snapshots work. If you are waiting for the orange floor markers to appear to start thinking about moving, you are going to get hit most of the time. Even if you play at low ping. FFXIV is not a game that relies on reaction. Think of it as a puzzle, where you have to figure out where you have to go to before the area of the hit is declared. Normal content tends to be quite lenient about this, but you need to learn it regardless or you're gonna keep getting hit. Watch this video for a straightforward demonstration.
Continued below:
Continue reading...