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Huntn

macrumors Core
Original poster
May 5, 2008
23,396
26,521
The Misty Mountains
Guide Updated:
*11Sep- Added Linkshell info in Social section. Expanded Level Milestones. Added Questing section. Added Combat Section and Threat Meter (under Combat). Added Travel Section.
 

VBS6935

macrumors newbie
Jul 25, 2010
2
0
Pitt Meadows, BC
Some info I found helpful

Some stuff I found here and there (sorry didn't note the source) that I found helpful as a newbie. Great guide.


• Obviously, you can use ctrl-home to resize elements. If you are playing with a gamepad/PS3, you can use R3. You can use the right analog stick to nudge elements, as well.
• You can use the screenshot tool (PrintScr, L1+Start) to take a picture of your screenshot. Then you can use an image editor to count pixels to make sure your elements align.
• Your character settings are stored here on Win7... "C:\Users<USER>\Documents\My Games\FINAL FANTASY XIV - A Realm Reborn" You'll see a folder for each character (FFXIV_CHR0000000001AAAAAA). (Since it's hard to know which folder goes with which character, I create a txt file that's named after the character and stick it in the folder.) You can copy all your settings between characters by copying all the *.DAT files from one folder to another.
• I used hotbar 8 to put some key one-line macros. (Macro 1 may seem odd, but its use is to cancel an already running multi-line macro.) I map spaces on this hotbar to specific keys to make my life easier.
Macro 1, mapped to "`": /echo Cancelling Macro
Macro 2, mapped to "F": /assist <f>
Macro 3, mapped to "CTRL-F": /follow <t>
• When editing macros/hotkeys/HUD, you can make it easy to get back into the related menu by putting an Edit Macro/Keybinds/HUD icon on one of your bars.

Item and action help boxes are used if you want to have tooltip help for items and actions located in a fixed location on-screen. You have to enable that in the character settings.

The focus target is one of the most useful ui elements in the game for dungeon or raiding runs. Make a target a your focus target with SHIFT-F, and it will appear in the focus target element.
It is useful for targeting your tank and using the "/assist <f>" macro command to target whatever your tank (focus) is targeting.
Finally, notices are for link shell or friend invites.

Can anyone tell me how you set it so the vertical hotbars are shorter?
It's an option in the Character Configuration - UI Settings somewhere. On one of the last tabs it basically reads "Hide unused action buttons" or something like that.


When I play games as beautiful as this, I like leaving as much real estate as possible to actually SEE the screen. *The default positions have most of the UI elements slightly inwards, so my first step was to push everthing to the edges, into the corner. *The default action bars are 2 stacked on top of each other, but when I push the rest of the stuff to the sides, I can free up some leg room and put them side by side. *I have my most-used skills on the left bar, so that one button push will activate them, and the less common ones can be clicked on the side. *I would like to permanently remove the Menu Icons on the lower right, but I haven't gotten that far yet.

The biggest change I've made is to add a vertical taskbar to the upper righthand corner. *Up there I've moved all of my non-hotkey skills, or skills that have a longer cooldown that might not be connected to my main job, which at the moment is Paladin.

I've got sprint up there, in addition to my two mount choices. *A small gap and there's Return and Teleport, a small gap then Protect/Stoneskin, a small gap and then Raise. *It seems to be working out really well, giving me at-hand options without taking up space for things I might need at a moments' notice.

The secret to premium space management is overlapping.



In your character creation above your head slot there is a button for Equipment Sets. They save lives.

Read the tutorials! It's in the character menu above your gear on the top-left. It's the little folded corner paper icon. Once you click it, click the + symbol to save whatever you're currently wearing as a set. The default name is the class you are and the level of your weapon, but I believe you can rename it in case you ever need multiple sets for the same class. You can then drag that set from the list to your action bar if you want to have an easy way to swap to it. If you want to update your gear set easily, you can click the two circular arrows in the top-right of your gear to update the currently equipped set to whatever gear you are now wearing.


EDIT: Just figured out you can in fact Drag and Drop your Gear Set Lists into your hot bar. Just thought people should know if they didnt already.
Indeed! I haven't bound them or anything but I've got a vertical sidebar with nothing but commonly used gear sets and chocobo commands.


Hey, someone else who likes A & D set to strafe! I always set mine up that way, as well. Much nicer control scheme overall.

I also tend to change auto-run to the W key, that way I can start running with one press and stop with another and I don't have to worry about either holding W down to run or hitting a completely separate key to auto-run.
 

Huntn

macrumors Core
Original poster
May 5, 2008
23,396
26,521
The Misty Mountains
Thanks, I'm a newb so this is just low stuff I'm discovering. I'll look this over and see how to incorporate it. Thanks again! :)
 

Huntn

macrumors Core
Original poster
May 5, 2008
23,396
26,521
The Misty Mountains
Well, it will be three servers I've leveled a character up to about 20. The first one was any N.A. server I get onto, the second was Goblin because rumor was that the server that my guild is on (Excalibur) would be locked for a while. But it opened this morning. I created a toon there and got myself up to Level 15 in about 10 hours...

As a Conjurer, the events in this MMO are so well scripted. There is a big event at about Level 15 involving a black mage, and boy does this game make you feel good about your character, not one but two ceremonies! :D
 

Huntn

macrumors Core
Original poster
May 5, 2008
23,396
26,521
The Misty Mountains
Some stuff I found here and there (sorry didn't note the source) that I found helpful as a newbie. Great guide.


• Obviously, you can use ctrl-home to resize elements. If you are playing with a gamepad/PS3, you can use R3. You can use the right analog stick to nudge elements, as well.
• You can use the screenshot tool (PrintScr, L1+Start) to take a picture of your screenshot. Then you can use an image editor to count pixels to make sure your elements align. (ADDED)
• Your character settings are stored here on Win7... "C:\Users<USER>\Documents\My Games\FINAL FANTASY XIV - A Realm Reborn" You'll see a folder for each character (FFXIV_CHR0000000001AAAAAA). (Since it's hard to know which folder goes with which character, I create a txt file that's named after the character and stick it in the folder.) (ADDED)

You can copy all your settings between characters by copying all the *.DAT files from one folder to another.
• I used hotbar 8 to put some key one-line macros. (Macro 1 may seem odd, but its use is to cancel an already running multi-line macro.) I map spaces on this hotbar to specific keys to make my life easier.
Macro 1, mapped to "`": /echo Cancelling Macro
Macro 2, mapped to "F": /assist <f>
Macro 3, mapped to "CTRL-F": /follow <t>
• When editing macros/hotkeys/HUD, you can make it easy to get back into the related menu by putting an Edit Macro/Keybinds/HUD icon on one of your bars.

Item and action help boxes are used if you want to have tooltip help for items and actions located in a fixed location on-screen. You have to enable that in the character settings.

The focus target is one of the most useful ui elements in the game for dungeon or raiding runs. Make a target a your focus target with SHIFT-F, and it will appear in the focus target element.
It is useful for targeting your tank and using the "/assist <f>" macro command to target whatever your tank (focus) is targeting.
Finally, notices are for link shell or friend invites.


Can anyone tell me how you set it so the vertical hotbars are shorter?
It's an option in the Character Configuration - UI Settings somewhere. On one of the last tabs it basically reads "Hide unused action buttons" or something like that.


When I play games as beautiful as this, I like leaving as much real estate as possible to actually SEE the screen. *The default positions have most of the UI elements slightly inwards, so my first step was to push everthing to the edges, into the corner. *The default action bars are 2 stacked on top of each other, but when I push the rest of the stuff to the sides, I can free up some leg room and put them side by side. *I have my most-used skills on the left bar, so that one button push will activate them, and the less common ones can be clicked on the side. *I would like to permanently remove the Menu Icons on the lower right, but I haven't gotten that far yet.

The biggest change I've made is to add a vertical taskbar to the upper righthand corner. *Up there I've moved all of my non-hotkey skills, or skills that have a longer cooldown that might not be connected to my main job, which at the moment is Paladin.

I've got sprint up there, in addition to my two mount choices. *A small gap and there's Return and Teleport, a small gap then Protect/Stoneskin, a small gap and then Raise. *It seems to be working out really well, giving me at-hand options without taking up space for things I might need at a moments' notice.

The secret to premium space management is overlapping.



In your character creation above your head slot there is a button for Equipment Sets. They save lives.

Read the tutorials! It's in the character menu above your gear on the top-left. It's the little folded corner paper icon. Once you click it, click the + symbol to save whatever you're currently wearing as a set. The default name is the class you are and the level of your weapon, but I believe you can rename it in case you ever need multiple sets for the same class. You can then drag that set from the list to your action bar if you want to have an easy way to swap to it. If you want to update your gear set easily, you can click the two circular arrows in the top-right of your gear to update the currently equipped set to whatever gear you are now wearing.


EDIT: Just figured out you can in fact Drag and Drop your Gear Set Lists into your hot bar. Just thought people should know if they didnt already.
Indeed! I haven't bound them or anything but I've got a vertical sidebar with nothing but commonly used gear sets and chocobo commands.


Hey, someone else who likes A & D set to strafe! I always set mine up that way, as well. Much nicer control scheme overall.

I also tend to change auto-run to the W key, that way I can start running with one press and stop with another and I don't have to worry about either holding W down to run or hitting a completely separate key to auto-run.

I had some time to look over this info. Thanks for posting! :)

Can you tell me where is .DAT info located?

I have done Guildhests, but not dungeons. How does focus work? What does it display and does it lock you into a target?

And /assist, is that just asking for help? I'd like more info on these before I add them. Thanks!
 
Last edited:

Huntn

macrumors Core
Original poster
May 5, 2008
23,396
26,521
The Misty Mountains
Guide Updated:
*14Sep- Added info on spamming under the Social Section. Added UI section. Added blurb on Screenshots under the Basics section. Under U.I. added note about dragging and dropping Gear Sets onto Hotbars. Added Macro Section.

Also will be added soon:
To quick reply to someone who has sent you a tell, select Option+R (Windows Alt+R) so you don't have to use the /tell or select their name in chat.
 
Last edited:

e²Studios

macrumors 68020
Apr 12, 2005
2,104
5
Guide Updated:
*14Sep- Added info on spamming under the Social Section. Added UI section. Added blurb on Screenshots under the Basics section. Under U.I. added note about dragging and dropping Gear Sets onto Hotbars. Added Macro Section.

Also will be added soon:
To quick reply to someone who has sent you a tell, select Cmd+R (Windows Alt+R) so you don't have to use the /tell or select their name in chat.

too bad there arent those shortcuts for the PS3, I have the keypad that attaches to the controller but its still a pain
 

Huntn

macrumors Core
Original poster
May 5, 2008
23,396
26,521
The Misty Mountains
too bad there arent those shortcuts for the PS3, I have the keypad that attaches to the controller but its still a pain

Actually I discovered it is Option+R for the Mac keyboard and corrected my post. I've noticed in the past for games in general, my experience Oblivion and Skyrim, that the PC version of the game has many more capabilities including the big one mods although right now I'm not using any 3rd party FFXIV mods, don't even know if they exist. Will research that. Another example of the PC having more capability, I started the original Bio shock on the Xbox, but ended up selling it and getting the PC version... because I could use my nostromo controller with it and program combat functions for quickly switching from one combat ability to another, without having to stop the game, go to a menu, make a selection, then back into the action.

The PS3 version has no / commands? I'm trying to imagine doing text chat with a console controller. :p

The PC version has extensive U.I. (HUD) configuration controls. You can drag any element any where you want, including splitting up the text boxes so you can have comms in one, and all the other garbage in the other. Makes it much easier to keep track when someone is talking to you.
 
Last edited:

e²Studios

macrumors 68020
Apr 12, 2005
2,104
5
The PS3 version has no / commands? I'm trying to imagine doing text chat with a console controller. :p

The PC version has extensive U.I. (HUD) configuration controls. You can drag any element any where you want, including splitting up the text boxes so you can have comms in one, and all the other garbage in the other. Makes it much easier to keep track when someone is talking to you.

You can move everything around as well as do everything else you mentioned in the PS3 version too, I have a Sony BT keyboard that attaches to the controller so it takes some of the pain away. However I find myself just changing the channel to party/FC to make speaking/typing easier.
 

Huntn

macrumors Core
Original poster
May 5, 2008
23,396
26,521
The Misty Mountains
To be added to the Guide in the near future:

*SE's FF Benchmark software- can be used to determine FF performance on your hardware.


FXIV: ARR Minimum System Requirements:
Operating System: Windows® Vista 32/64bit, Windows® 7 32/64 bit
Processor: Intel® Core™2 Duo
Graphics: NVIDIA® Geforce® 8800 Series, ATI Radeon™ HD 4770
Memory: 2GB (4GB recommended for 64bit OS)
Disk Space: 20GB.
(link)


FXIV: ARR Recommended System Requirements

For the best performance you should aim to run the game on a system with at least these specifications.
Operating System: Windows® 7 64 bit
Processor: Intel® Core™ i5
Graphics: NVIDIA® Geforce® GTX 660 or higher, AMD Radeon™ HD 7950 or higher
Memory: 4GB of RAM.
Disk Space: 20GB.

09/18 Update: Items added.
 
Last edited:

Huntn

macrumors Core
Original poster
May 5, 2008
23,396
26,521
The Misty Mountains
17Oct- Added Guide to Classes Link. Added link under Level Milestones on how to get a personal chocobo.Added gathering links under Disciples of the Land Section.
 

WMD

macrumors regular
Jun 12, 2013
175
7
Florida, USA
I noticed this:

Note: Different versions of the MacOS only support specific versions of Windows. Be sure to understand what version of Windows your Mac can support. For example Snow Leopard & Lion (10.6, 10.7) only supports Windows 7 and 8. I believe Leopard (10.5) supports Vista.
I've run Windows XP via Boot Camp on 10.6 without any hacks, so this can't be right.
 

Huntn

macrumors Core
Original poster
May 5, 2008
23,396
26,521
The Misty Mountains
Updated FFXIV Guide:
27Oct- Added section info on Grand Companies and Class Jobs.

I noticed this:


I've run Windows XP via Boot Camp on 10.6 without any hacks, so this can't be right.

Research is warranted. I know there is Bootcamp v3,4, and 5. I think I picked this up or inferred this limitation from one of the Bootcamp install guides. Which leads me to ask, Can any version of MacOSX 5 or newer run any version of Bootcamp? Hmmm. See this link
 
Last edited:

Huntn

macrumors Core
Original poster
May 5, 2008
23,396
26,521
The Misty Mountains
I have tweaked the FFXIV Guide with the following:

*'''Verify Which Version of Windows Your Mac Supports:''' Different Macs only support specific versions of Windows. Check this link: '''Boot Camp: System requirements for Microsoft Windows operating systems.''' It includes a chart indicating which Mac models support which versions of Windows. Depending on the MacOS that came with your computer and the included version of Bootcamp, the following can be used as a general guide: Bootcamp V3 supports Win XP and Vista. Bootcamp V4 supports Windows7. Bootcamp V5 supports Windows7 & 8. I don't know if a Mac that came with Bootcamp v3 will support Bootcamp v5. For guidance, check the chart and see what version of Windows your Mac supports.
 
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