#love my classes <3 all except my group-based computing classes I still don't know if I hate y'all or not

[fennthetalkingdog]

Man, talking to people that aren't buried in queer and furry culture like I am is such a good way to keep myself grounded. Like, one of my friends just asked me what a catboy or dogboy was (I made bead bracelets a long time ago saying those) and that gave me the chance to stop and think what I want those terms to mean for myself. Sometimes it's cool to have someone who just knows and understands, but other times it's super cool having folk around me that don't get it first try, no matter how weird that might sound to say.

[msviolacea]

I do not (yet) have a decent computer for it, but I kinda wanna get into ffxiv when have one (mostly thanks to you yelling enthusiastically about it lol)

Problem is I'm Very nonverbal/non-communicative when playing videogames so. Like. Is there a play style/class or whatever that you would recommend for "please don't ever expect me to talk at all I will simply Hit Monster and have a good time?"

Yay, I'm glad my mad rambling has influenced at least one person. :)

The good news is that the devs have recently made it easier to start playing as a single player, and are committed to continue to make things even simpler. You can now play through the bulk of the base game without having to group with other people - all 4-person dungeons can be done with three NPCs along with you. The only content in the base game (A Realm Reborn, or ARR) that you will need to play with other people are the 8-person trials, of which there are ... 4 or 5, I think, in ARR? And they're all simple enough fights. Between now and when the next expansion rolls around (late 2023-ish), the first two expansions will have the same setup; you'll be able to choose NPCs to run the 4-person story-required dungeons with, and only have to group with other live people for the 8-person content, of which there's usually 3 or so each expansion. (This is already available for the last two expansions, Shadowbringers and Endwalker, and I love it so much.)

As for recommending a job/class, for minimal interactions or responsibility, I would pick a DPS job. I'd advise you to stay away from tanks - while tanking can be pretty easy early on, in group situations you'd have to take the lead, which can be intimidating right out of the gate. Healing also comes with its own responsibilities, and it's easier for others to tell when you mess up (because they're dead on the ground, usually). But in group content, there will always be at least 2 DPS characters, so you'll never be the only one responsible for your role. So for staying anonymous and separate, DPS is usually the best choice.

Out of the jobs you can choose when starting the game, I think my recommendations would be:

Archer/Bard. Ranged physical DPS is generally considered to be the "easiest" - they do the least amount of damage, so you're not expected to be the one carrying a group, and you can avoid AoEs/mechanics while still continuing to do damage. Also, the Bard storyline has two of the more fun NPCs to interact with.

Arcanist/Summoner (or Scholar). It's a pet-based class, so you get to run around at low levels with a cute little carbuncle following you around, and the beginning skills aren't too complex to learn. At level 30, you can choose between being a DPS or a Healer, depending on your comfort level. Healers obviously have a bigger responsibility in group content, but sometimes that can be more comfortable than having to be the one to do all the damage!

Lancer/Dragoon. If you like hitting things from close range with a pointy stick, and/or jumping around a lot, this would be my recommendation. To me, it's the easiest of the starter melee classes, and the post-level 30 Dragoon quests introduce you to one of the major NPCs of the whole game.

It's also good to remember that, if you don't like the job you start with, you can switch without creating a new character! You just have to get to level 10 on your first job, and after that you're free to pick up any and all jobs you want. There are more jobs that open up at higher levels, 20 different regular content jobs in total, so whatever play style you like, you can find something to play!

It's also good to know that, while there are always exceptions, in general the people who do random group content in FFXIV are actually very nice, especially to people they see are new (you get a little "sprout" icon in front of your name until you've played a certain amount of the game). If you end up in group content and someone makes a suggestion on how to play better, take it in a good spirit, the vast majority of people you'll find out there are coming from a good place!

Also, re: computer - you can also play on PS4 and PS5, if that's an option for you, and there's cross-play, so you'll be playing on the same servers with the same people as are on PC. And playing on console is a good excuse for not talking in chat without looking antisocial. :)

Good luck! I want to hear what you think after you get to play!