What is a “raid” in FFXIV? Can... I actually dream of raiding in FFXIV?

[Omedon]

Hi, it’s me again, the guy returning to FFXIV for the first time in like 5-6 years and would rather ask questions here than on the official forums.

So... coming from WoW... I have a very specific definition in mind for raiding: It’s either 1) manual group assembly instanced content for guilds on a schedule or 2) an absolute clusterf*** of 20 automatically assembled people doing boss fights that vary in how hard it’s meant to be based on what philosophy of accessibility or lack thereof the devs have decided to swing the pendulum to on a given patch cycle.

One of those paths (the manually assembled one) has just never been and never will be my jam, and the other has become so toxic and uncomfortable in recent years that, automated and accessible assembly aside, it’s just not fun.

So that’s my definition of raiding that I bring to FFXIV as I fall deeper and deeper in love with it. And now it occurs to me that FFXIV has a raid finder, and a raid duty roulette, and my friend is telling me that the nature of FFXIV raiding is far more intuitive to pick up, that it’s just “a bigger dungeon,” and I have to ask...

What is raiding in FFXIV, and can I reliably look forward to it, at some level, as a non-FC-affiliated, “unschedulable” casual but not unskilled player? Is raiding a thing I can... actually plan to do eventually? What does “raiding” look and feel like in FFXIV?

Thanks in advance for any and all helpful replies!

[RohanV]

Here's a breakdown:

* 8-man Normal/Hard Trial - A single boss like Ifrit or Garuda. Use the automatic group finder.
* 8-man EX Trial (extreme) - As above, only more difficult with more complex mechanics. Need a premade group.

* 8-man Normal Raid - This raid is usually divided into 4 wings. Each wing is pretty much a single boss fight. You can do this in the group finder.
* 8-man Savage Raid - Like the above, only more difficult. Need a premade group.
* 8-man Ultimate Raid - For the really, really good people. Definately need a premade group.

* 24-man Alliance Raid - This is more like a traditional raid. It can be a mess, or it can go smoothly. The current one is pretty smooth. Since FFXIV has battle-resses, you can often recover from deaths. You use the group finder for this.

Basically, a casual person should be able to do Normal trials, Normal 8-man raids and the 24-man raid. The 8-man raid probably has the most difficult mechanics. EX, Savage and Ultimates are the province of the more hardcore, though you can try dipping your toes in.

Personally, I don't bother with EX, Savage, etc. I stick to the lower end. It is a lot less toxic than WoW's LFR, and you do have to execute mechanics. But it's generally more forgiving than WoW raids.

[Omedon]

Here's a breakdown:

* 8-man Normal/Hard Trial - A single boss like Ifrit or Garuda. Use the automatic group finder.
* 8-man EX Trial (extreme) - As above, only more difficult with more complex mechanics. Need a premade group.

* 8-man Normal Raid - This raid is usually divided into 4 wings. Each wing is pretty much a single boss fight. You can do this in the group finder.
* 8-man Savage Raid - Like the above, only more difficult. Need a premade group.
* 8-man Ultimate Raid - For the really, really good people. Definately need a premade group.

* 24-man Alliance Raid - This is more like a traditional raid. It can be a mess, or it can go smoothly. The current one is pretty smooth. Since FFXIV has battle-resses, you can often recover from deaths. You use the group finder for this.

Basically, a casual person should be able to do Normal trials, Normal 8-man raids and the 24-man raid. The 8-man raid probably has the most difficult mechanics. EX, Savage and Ultimates are the province of the more hardcore, though you can try dipping your toes in.

Personally, I don't bother with EX, Savage, etc. I stick to the lower end. It is a lot less toxic than WoW's LFR, and you do have to execute mechanics. But it's generally more forgiving than WoW raids.

That’s a very thorough answer and I really appreciate it! That does sound way better than WoW’s definition of raiding which has this split of “premade or a total s***show!”

I guess the only question I have left on this topic is does every raid come with a “self enabled” duty finder iteration, or is FFXIV ok with having certain story beats exist entirely in the realm of premade/scheduled groups? Main reason I ask is it’s been recommended to me that I do the ARR raids to see the story. Can I queue for older raids and expect a group due to roulettes or whatever?

I tried looking at a wiki for this but it was hard to decipher.

[Aoyi]

That’s a very thorough answer and I really appreciate it! That does sound way better than WoW’s definition of raiding which has this split of “premade or a total s***show!”

I guess the only question I have left on this topic is does every raid come with a “self enabled” duty finder iteration, or is FFXIV ok with having certain story beats exist entirely in the realm of premade/scheduled groups? Main reason I ask is it’s been recommended to me that I do the ARR raids to see the story. Can I queue for older raids and expect a group due to roulettes or whatever?

I tried looking at a wiki for this but it was hard to decipher.

Yes you can

When you use the duty finder to complete all the story required raids (or any raid you want to queue for), it will fill the rest of the group with people in the random duty finder.

Edit: As a bonus, it actually gives all the other people in that raid some extra currency for helping you get your first clear.

[Omedon]

Yes you can

When you use the duty finder to complete all the story required raids (or any raid you want to queue for), it will fill the rest of the group with people in the random duty finder.

Edit: As a bonus, it actually gives all the other people in that raid some extra currency for helping you get your first clear.

I’ve noticed all the little incentives for the community to actually be welcoming and, well... let’s just say they seem to work and it’s a very different vibe from WoW!