Did anyone feel overwhelmed playing this?

[Spawn of Sephiroth]

So, I downloaded the free trial on my PS4. I loved XI online and played online so much I couldn't tell you how many hours I had in it. However, for some reason, I just feel overwhelmed with this game. There is so much covering the screen, the HUD is crowded to me and not exactly the most user friendly mini maps on screen. I played for about 15 hours and I just had to stop. I tried and tried but for some reason I just can't play this and not feel wierd. I really wanna play this, I've watched and seen some awesome things on this game.

[DarkMatta]

You can rearrange the HUDs to suit you. You don't have to have all that you currently see.

[McLovin']

You get used to it and it wasn't so bad once I knew what everything did. (played on ps3)

You'll get the hang of using the triggers to quickly select what menu you're looking for. It's pretty well done imo.

[Dat Matt]

About 40% of my screen is covered with ~Stuff~ so I get what you mean. I've changed my layout to suit what I need though, so most of it is how you like to customize it.

[Pike]

When I played the beta for this game I felt overwhelmed but it was because I was coming from the standpoint of having put years into a different MMO, so switching to a new one felt very awkward.

I liked the UI, though!

[Loony BoB]

Initially I found it a lot to get used to, but now I find myself loading up my screen with endless buttons because I am a massive fan of having easy access to ~everything~. Keybinds help, but sadly there are only so many keys I can bind.

[Rin Heartilly]

I know what you mean, I was overwhelmed too when I first started but I got used to it pretty quick because I've played other mmos like WoW, GW2 and Rift. I have both the ps3 and PC versions, I find the PC easier to set things up.

[Pheesh]

I felt (still feel) that the game was very unintuitive in a lot of ways which made it seem overwhelming and harder to get used to than other MMO's I had played. Although I eventually figured everything out there were always lingering problems for me which is one of the reasons I stopped playing.

[Loony BoB]

I guess it's just part and parcel of MMOs. If you can figure everything out from the start, it's easy to get bored. I quite enjoy those rare moments that I discover something I'd not noticed before.

[Freya]

Reviving this cause yeah.

I'm so overwhelmed at this game so far. I just started so I haven't really played much but trying to read up about it to understand it has confused me more.

We need a faq, do we have a faq?

[Loony BoB]

The problem with an FAQ is that there is just way too much to put in there and way too much that would need constant editing due to the changing nature of the game. The best thing to do is join a good, friendly Free Company and just keep asking questions in FC chat. This also helps with integrating into the community a bit!

[Shauna]

If only we knew of a nice, friendly FC who are willing to help newbs.

[Freya]

You think that answering: "Your stat terms stand for: Vitality - Increases maximum HP" Because I at first thought PIE was well... pie. WHOOPS! And Your classes terms for WHM stand for White mage etc etc is too much? xD

I didn't know why I couldn't play dragoon right away so I had to look it up and apparently it's a job after you level other classes? That's completely new to me coming from other MMOs. I found a guide that listed some basic class/job info

"Base Class: Lancer
Requirements: 30 Lancer/15 Marauder
Weapon: Lance
Main Stat: Strength
Abbreviation: DRG"

I think EoFF could use something like that. I feel like i'm cheating on eoff when I find stuff else where haha. But now I know I need to level a lancer and marauder and I should work on my main stat being strength.

A friendly FC is good and all, and while I am and will be asking questions, having that info so I can learn on my own wouldn't be a bad idea....

Edit: Heck our classes (http://home.eyesonff.com/content.php/367-ff14-classes)page is just.. well not very informative.

[Loony BoB]

Oh, geez, see, I didn't even think of the abbreviations. There is way too much to detail in this game. Like, seriously. :( I honestly think the best way you can do things is to just keep asking questions. The abbreviation one is a question I've not seen before and therefore probably wouldn't pop up on most FAQ, because... not frequent enough. D:

It's definitely not cheating on EoFF if you use sites like Gamerescape or XIVDb or XIVGardening or FF14Angler or whatever. Wiki sites and database sites are the bread and butter for this kind of thing, and as much as I would love to see a full-on Wiki for FFXIV at EoFF, it would never compete with the wikis that are out there already and are updated by hundreds of people so that they are always up to date. When it comes to wiki stuff, XIV-dedicated sites rather than FF-dedicated sites are always going to be the winners.

EDIT: The classes page is a great example of why we shouldn't really have a classes page. We could never hope to keep up.

[Freya]

You only have so many classes and they only add more, they don't remove them. That shouldn't be hard to just have the abbreviations and basic main stat. It'd help newbies like me who are already eoffers and go here for our information. I guess i'll end up having to take on that content task, as an editor, as I go through this game! Basic class info shouldn't be too hard to add :lol:

[Loony BoB]

You only have so many classes and they only add more, they don't remove them. That shouldn't be hard to just have the abbreviations and basic main stat. It'd help newbies like me who are already eoffers and go here for our information. I guess i'll end up having to take on that content task, as an editor, as I go through this game! Basic class info shouldn't be too hard to add :lol:
Problem is, the things stats do change as the developers balance things out, and even the classes to unlock jobs have changed in the past. It's more complicated than you might think! Patch 3.2, due around Jan-Feb (I hope), will likely change what VIT and/or STR does for tanking jobs, for example.

Honestly, I have no objection to anyone providing guides at all, but I think as you get into how large the game is you'll realise why we rely on Wikis with public editing systems more than we rely on static pages. =x

Perhaps there is a half-decent intro guide out there somewhere but every damned major patch there are so many more questions you might ask. xD

[Fynn]

That's the thing - you don't have to go into every little detail in a newbie guide, since you really don't need the specific stats when just starting that. And since this thread exists, that means we could sure use one.

Even though I haven't started the game yet, I'll try to aid Freya in the construction of that part of our site. I've seen a lot of info abobut the game and think I understand the system a bit already. With a bit of research, nothing is impossible.

[Ayen]

I'll let you know if I ever get around to playing it. My backlog could drown an army.

[The Summoner of Leviathan]

Considering the size of the Fat Chocobos I'm kinda surprised we didn't already have a guide or anything. If anyone has questions I can provide answers. I might be a filthy casual but it is not hard to get a hold of me out of the game, lol.

[escobert]

When I first played the free trial a long while ago, I felt very overwhelmed. This time around, not so much! I also like my starting area much more this time around.

[Zeldy]

I'm a little all over the place at times with the controls, the damn map and like journal im constantly opening and closing on accident like a right noob. I'm hoping I improve xD I think the touch pad on my PS4 controller is whats causing the problem - I'll blame that.

I'm new to MMOs, I wasn't really overwhelmed, I'm really enjoying it! Plus, I also am quite spoilt by certain people who help me~ xD

There is no way anyone can feel overwhelmed if they're in the FC group, just ask away~ :3

[theundeadhero]

If I remember right you can turn off the touch pad to make it a lot easier. I think that's what I did because I was having the same problem but now I don't.

[Zeldy]

If I remember right you can turn off the touch pad to make it a lot easier. I think that's what I did because I was having the same problem but now I don't.

I do use it occasionally to help with the map - the map is my other problem! I HATE that damn map!

But I think I'm missing something to make it easier xD