FFXIV Getting a Static Guide
FFXIV Getting a Static Guide by Velvet
Hello! My name is Velvet Machina of the mighty Cactuar server! This guide’s aim is to help you and your static maintain amicable relationship through the trials and tribulations of of FFXIV and how to achieve your personal goals as well as the goals of your teammates.
Statics are the foundation of progression raiding in FFXIV. Without statics, no real work would be done with regards to completing the most difficult raid encounters in the game.
Where I’ve Been
As a war torn veteran of the glory days of FFXI and World of Warcraft, I can without a doubt say that the difficulty of the Second Coil of Bahamut (or SCOB) can be among the most frustrating, unforgiving progression raiding I have come across in my MMO career. I spent three unforgiving years in the highest level of endgame in FFXI leading my linkshell to glory through Sea and Sky, the HNM scene, Einherjar, and Dynamis. Before I left XI in 2009 we had cleared all relevant content multiple times over, giving me almost zero purpose to continue playing the game.
In WoW, I spent the large majority of my time doing things such as no-light Yogg-Saron, Lich King on heroic 25 man, and the 25 man heroic raids of Cataclysm.
I’m no stranger to having to deal with the politics of statics and well-established raid groups.
Getting a Static in FFXIV
So you’re looking for a static group? Don’t know where to start? Well the best way is to network. But before you do that, let’s go over a few things more important than networking. How prepared are you to jump into a high tension raid environment?
Gear
It goes without saying that gear does not make a player. We all know that one guy who has all the gear in the world but sucks at his job for some reason. We also know that guy who’s immensely under geared and pisses everyone else off for pulling a party down because he’s not pulling good DPS, or dies because he’s wearing a paper shield. Gear yourself. Seriously. Don’t jump into SCOB as an undergeared player thinking that you will be benefitting your raid team in any way shape or form. You may be skilled and have a good head on your shoulders but these new encounters are a tug of war of numbers. You need a modest amount of gear to surpass these new turns. ilvl90 is the lowest gear item level that I would recommend for these new turns. With the advent of soldiery gear, however, and the ease that is T5 you should at least have a few relevant pieces of soldiery items and an ilvl95 weapon. For serious. Just do it.
Be hit capped. Excuse me…accuracy capped. See timeboundary’s post.
Know it. Love it. Don’t enter SCOB without being at or very close to the numbers here.
For Best in Slot help please visit:
You’ll be using this website to map your goals and also to help you work with what gear you have available currently.
Food and Meds
Don’t be that guy. You know what I’m talking about. A requirement of serious progression raiding in FFXIV requires that you don’t be the cheap team member who “forgets” to bring food to raid. Yes, it’s expensive. No, it is not optional. So get that out of your mind. Too expensive for your own tastes? You could become self-sufficient through crafting. It’ll save you thousands of gil each week by doing so. Not the crafting type? Do your daily roulettes in every category in a role that’s an “Adventurer in Need.” Not only do you bank challenge log gil, but you also bank the bonus of being an “Adventurer in Need” and a bonus just for using duty finder. You can afford food if you can afford that opo-opo minion.
Lyrinn did a nice post a few months back about the current caps for the food available to us now. You can find that here.
Starting in Turn 8, aka the Second Coil of Bahamut Turn 3, you’ll be required, especially if you’re a DPS to begin using High-Quality X-Potions of (your main stat) to help your team to successfully defeat the encounter. These are also very expensive if you buy them outright. They are a requirement though, so please, be prepared to spend the gil if you don’t have Alchemy to a level in which you can craft these for yourself at a relatively cheap rate.
Voice Chat
Voice chat is a touchy subject for some. As a PC player it’s typically no problem to get access to all the available chats that may be used by groups. Don’t play on PC you say? You probably have a smart phone. All of the major voice chat programs with the exception of RaidCall have apps available through the Apple and Android stores. Don’t make excuses why you can’t get on to communicate with members of a prospective raid team or pug.
Teamspeak 3: http://www.teamspeak.com/
Mumble: http://www.mumble.com/
Ventrilo: http://www.ventrilo.com/
RaidCall: http://www.raidcall.com/
So You’re Ready for a Static?
Great! It’s good to be ready. And statics are so much fun! I know you can’t wait to deal with all the drama that might arise out of being a member of a progression raid team!
Networking
You say that you don’t know anyone to run with? Well that’s a simple fix, if you’re actually willing to go the extra mile and network. Join PUGs or pick-up-groups. Get to know your server. Who you click with. Who you don’t. People will remember you if you played well, and sometimes they might just ask you to join them again next week if they really enjoyed having you on the team.
Here are some guidelines about networking.
Know your Job:
For instance if you join a pug for Turn 7 and you’re a bard or a summoner. You might be expected to kite renauds. Don’t go into the encounter completely oblivious to what you might be asked to do. This segues into the next guideline about networking in FFXIV…
Do Prep Work:
Watch videos. Read about your class. Read about encounters from people who have done them before. Bookmark EVERY article asking weird questions about the current raid tier. Study tactics. People with more experience in fights are more than happy to help if you ask questions. ASK QUESTIONS. Raid mechanics are meant to be understood. SO UNDERSTAND THEM. >:3 To Reddit, to BG you must go…fly now young padawan!
Be on Time:
If you send a message to someone looking for a healer at 8PM PST and you just so happen to be that person, make sure you’re repaired, fully stocked with food and pots, and well-rested prior to being there at 8PM PST in Fallgourd Float. In fact, be early. Yes. Be ready for an invite at least 30 minutes before a scheduled pug is set to start.
Shop Around:
Don’t jump at the first static opportunity that comes your way. As I mentioned previously, get to know your server. Cruise the forums. Get to know people. It’s extremely important that you have some synergy with the people you might be spending a lot of time with in the game. The last thing you need is to get in bed with a complete tool who rubs you the wrong way.
So you have done all these things I’ve mentioned and still don’t have a static? I’m surprised. WORK HARDER. Make good impressions, be the last to die because you’re doing something right. Be nice. Never bite back. Be a team player.
You’re Part of a Static Now…what do?
First of all keep calm. Because I know you’re super excited to have made a permanent spot on a team. I’m so happy for you!
Scheduling
So in statics, it’s very common to have a schedule for the week. My group usually raids for about 8-10 hours a week depending on availability with that number going down considerably as we down fights every Tuesday. Some groups go for considerably longer than we do. Honestly, there’s no wrong way to schedule so long as your team is ready and available to raid.
Communication
This is by far the most important topic of keeping a static group alive and well through the months and months of progression you may have ahead of you. I can’t recommend enough that you get to know the personalities of your raid team outside of the game. There are a lot of ways to do this. The most common way, back in my day, was by way of a linkshell forum. With the advent of smart phones and instant communication, however, there are other ways. My static’s preferred method of communication is through WhatsApp. That way we have each other’s phone numbers available, and also a way to communicate when we aren’t in front of the computer. There are tons of options to communicate with your team outside of the game. This is important too, because it allows for easier scheduling and dealing with the potential conflicts before they become conflicts. So you can’t make raid that night because you forgot that your boss wanted you to work later? Let your team know via Skype, Facebook, or Whatsapp so they can get a replacement or reschedule.
Conflicting Personalities
The time commitment in a static team can be significant. Like I had already mentioned before you may be spending at the very least in the beginning of a raid tier 8-10 hours with members of your raid team in a very high tension setting. Sometimes depending on the availability of members you may be spending more than that trying to down the latest content. There’s a couple things to keep in mind here with regards to your fellow members.
Arguments…
They happen. All the time. Be prepared to deal with them accordingly. The first step in resolving arguments is to listen. Don’t talk. Listen to what your teammates have to say. Everyone has a different role during the course of an encounter so different information can be gleaned from another person’s perspective on a potential problem that continues to arise during a raid.
Don’t make arguments personal. EVER. People make mistakes during raids. It happens. I make them all the time. In fact, I’ve probably killed my raid more times than any other member in my group being a Bard who kites renauds, and takes homing missiles away, and silences golems in Turn 9. It’s important to not say things like “YOU SUCK, WHY CAN’T YOU DO ANYTHING RIGHT YOU STUPID ELEZEN GIRAFFE!” Tell your raid members how their mistakes affect your ability to perform your job correctly. I can’t tell you how many times healers used to stone our renauds by accident and I went to go claim them to begin kiting and killed them with an untimely Blunt Arrow (Just Used It). These things happen and will continue to happen if you don’t calmly communicate to your teammates why you might be making a mistake like that. If your team doesn’t understand your perspective, make them understand. This builds synergy. And good synergy is the force that drives clearing content.
I’ve heard more arguments arise out of this phrase, “Who’s fault was that?” than anything else when it comes to raiding. First of all, more likely than not if all of your teammates understand the raid mechanics of a fight chances are the person who screwed up will know it. It doesn’t help to drive that point home by calling the tarutaru who can’t stop moving during Blighted Bouquet a “smelly child who can’t do anything right.” ANALYZE. ANALYZE. ANALYZE. Know that you made a mistake and fix it. Understand what you did wrong and try to arrive to a solution before the next pull. ASK QUESTIONS.
I think the number one rule when it comes to statics and dealing with conflicting personalities is this:
You are all on the same team. I say again–you are all on the same team. It feels good right? Everyone wants the same end goal. Everyone on your team wants to beat this encounter to get to the next one. Why are we putting ourselves through this nightmare called progression raiding? SCOB has the best gear available at this current time in FFXIV. People want that gear. It makes having a static very desirable, because downing content gives you access to this stuff. Everyone wants their best in slot. Everyone wants to see their teammates get their gear, even if they share the same class. Remember, you are on the same team as the rest of your static. Do not get upset when somebody else gets a drop and you’ve gone three weeks without one. RNGesus is a harsh mistress, and you can’t control what drops. The more your teammates get geared, the easier these encounters get. In the end, they are just a game of tug of war with numbers attached to it. Be patient. Stick to your team. Stay loyal, and don’t stray the path. Remember you are all on the same team. You want the same thing: to down content and get geared. Don’t lose sight of that. It’ll stop arguments before they begin.
When Somebody Has to Leave the Static
This is something that happens. Sometimes the time commitment is too great for somebody. Sometimes people leave because they just can’t get along with that one person in the static that seems to be giving them a hard time for whatever reason. And sometimes people leave because they aren’t having any fun.
Remember friends, we are all different. And in being different and playing a dynamic game such as FFXIV people have different ideas of what might be fun for them in the long run.
We all are playing a different game.
Just because somebody leaves a static doesn’t mean that they have to cease being your friend or teammate. Don’t be that person that treats a former member of your static with disrespect. Understand their position and move on. Replacements always come if the group is strong enough to continue. X-members are not X-friends.
The Little Things–Get that IRL Well-Rested Buff
The saying goes, work smart, not hard. Banging your head against the same content for sixteen hours straight is not my idea of fun. It’s also not very smart either. Chances you and your raid group will continue to make mistakes if you go for that long.
My advice, spend a few hours on an encounter. The most progress you might make will happen within the first hour of your time spent in a raid. It’s true. Why do you think first attempts are usually the best?
Raiding makes people tired. We all have our limits. Concentration dissipates as those limits are reached. Then comes the unspoken tension. And the arguments. Then suddenly, your static breaks up after a really bad night of this sort of thing.
Take a break. Do something else. Go for a walk. Take a nap. GO TO WORK! Read a book. Watch the new Sailor Moon. It’s awesome–trust me. Before you raid at night, eat dinner. Make sure your body is ready for the mental drain that is FFXIV raiding. You’re going to need all the energy you can get in order to down the hardest content currently available. You need to be focused. The only way to do this is through rest. So don’t spend four hours before raid doing Titan EX with a group who hasn’t downed it before. It’s not going to affect your performance in a positive way.
Last but not least…
REMEMBER TO HAVE FUN. The seven other people in your static are paying to have fun. Just like you. So have it. And above all else, remember that at the end of the day that FFXIV is only a game.
TL;DR
I talk about how to get a static, maintaining a positive relationship with your static, and how to be an overall awesome static team member.
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