Getting Into Savage Content in FFXIV - Where to Start? 

extreme trials are a good stepping stone towards savage after you beat the dummy

I don't raid anymore not because it's scary, but because I'm 64 and thankful I can still play at all! heh. I raided WoW Mythic for a few years so I do get the sentiment, it's hard work, often frustrating and best done with friends. And drink. Lots and lots of drink. I remember when we cleared Garosh Mythic (Server first, woot!) most of us were just a bit under the weather, so to speak. The voice chat was something I'll always remember and cherish. "Did we kill the f*&^er"? "ermm.. I think so. is there another phase?" ""not sure" and so on and so forth until the gm chat congratulated us on server first.I don't think they do that anymore, just world firsts now. It was magic. Nowadays though I forget mechanics and fall off things and stand in sh*t, don't move when I should and move when I shouldn't. Don't get old, kids, it sucks.

I have few things of advice to give to people that want to learn and do end game content. 1. Don't be afraid to go in and try it out, the fights are fun just remember do not join a phase 2 party if you have not even been into a fight. The biggest OOF moment is when we have a party up for phase 2 or enrage party and we have to teach the mechanics to someone who has never been into a fight, it leads to rage and very unfriendly moments from others. 2. Utilize your Black List to weed out the people that give you a terrible experience. People can be harsh rude and mean in end game content just be prepared for that. 3. Mechanics > Heals > DPS. it's nice if you can pull big numbers but numbers do not mean anything when you are dead. Save the greed for after you learn the whole fight and are comfortable doing so. 4. Lastly, just have fun. Do not let anxiety win over what you want to do. The best thing you can do is put your foot in the door and taste the waters. ^_^

Something that helps me get over anxiety before going into a new savage fight is looking up guides for that fight on youtube. Having an idea of what to expect makes learning a new fight less overwhelming. Just remember that its ok to make mistakes, you and everyone else in your group are going to make a lot of them.

Been thinking about this forever, but the threat of being yelled at by some 18 year old in their mom's basement scares me too much

Don't ever feel discouraged about the progress you made just because others have gotten further. There's so many factors to consider

Why am I even watching this when I've only just started post-ARR content lol

Thanks for the video, I've felt the same way with my summoner so this video was really helpful to straight myself out and do dive head deep into the savages! Thanks Zepla!

I've been interested in the savages only to get the mounts, but my anxiety, slow learning, and limited time have kept me out. And I've seen how my friends get upset at those who aren't very good at savage and how salty they get, and I don't to it because I hate getting yelled at. Hell, my anxiety even kept me from being in call when they do it because I was afraid of saying something that would distract them. So I just wait an expansion or two and then unsync it, and even then, it's still difficult for me. I have trouble keeping up with too many mechanics at once. The hard content is the once place in FF where I don't feel I belong in.

Thank you for this insight I’ve been playing ff14 for a year now and I’m just looking into the more hardcore raids this put me at ease I was over thinking this for nothing love the videos keep em coming

Very timely video Zep lol, I finally found my first static and have been preparing for the last week only to pull out yesterday - I was way too nervous and less ready than I thought.

just starting heavensward, I had so much fun with the ARR extremes trials. It feels a bit like a coop, less intimidating, dark souls boss fight. You have to pay attention to the boss do your part of the job and most importantly learn. Knowledge is power and using the knowledge you worked to obtain getting you to success is one of the most satisfying thing ever. I can't wait to try more content like this.

You can use stone sky sea as a dps calculator. They have websites where you can enter the fight and your kill time and it give you a decent estimate of your rdps. Ffxiv azizarar I think is the one. For this savage tier you want at least 19k rdps, which is about a 20-30s remaining stoneskysea dummy kill time.

Thanks so much this video helped me alot :) always been terrified of trying savage but these tips really helped.

you dropped the vide right when I decided I want to start doing high end content and bless you for that

I spent the last 3 days thinking about try savages and BAM, you drop this video! Funny thing I played as healer for years in WOW and I used to raid all the time, but dancer is my first dps ever. I know I'm good but I'm terrified to get my nerves wrecked trying to damage, walk - and breathe - at the same time. Thank you for the tips!

0:45 I feel personally called out.. xD

I will always be a fan of the classic white on blue FF aesthetic but those menus made my eyes bleed.

Thank you so much for this video. I really wanna get into savage at some point in the near future but I'm nervous just thinking about it. This video helped me tho to ease the nervousness. I'll just keep practicing and getting better (I wanna do savage ad DNC ^^)

I just wanted to say I wish your mother a fast recovery.

This video comes definitely at the right time for me. I try to introduce myself to extreme content after over two years of playing. Fortunately many ppl in my discord grp are happy to try it together and we started with mount farms in Alexander, what of course worked fine at 80 unsync. But it's a smooth start. Next we wanna do Rathalos ex and maybe soon Unreal, too. And hopefully one day I can say I'm ready to jump into AO ex or even the real ultimates. I guess until then we already have new ultimate content but slow and steady is better than nothing. Thanks for the tips, I'll gear up soon and then the journey can begin

This video could not have come at a better time!! I was literally just browsing party finder the other day for the first time looking to see if anyone was doing any savage raids or extreme trials.

Literally me yesterday: "I should look into trying savage again..." What a timely occurrence 😃

i never really realized what stone, sky, sea exactly was until I came across this video. hell yeah, thank you zep

As a correction, the stone sky sea does take into account downtime in the battles that you are forced to take and they are usually overtuned for the damage you actually need to clear. For example, with the latest crafted outfits, you can usually not clear the savage stone sky sea for the final mission but groups can clear those missions with those same outfits. In short, stone sky sea is an excellent tool to gauge your damage output and job understanding, hitting it for a long time to consistently defeat it or reach a very low percentage for your given battle is also a great way to commit the job operation to memory and you will definitely see an improvement in performance in the actual battles from that.

"Press button and not get yeeted." It's so much less scary when you think about it that way

Great video! I had only started playing for a few months and knowing that this high end content is what people who have been playing the game for 9 years are doing now made me think I wouldn’t handle it. I took the leap and made a PF saying new to high end content and PF in general and filled instantly with others like me. We were able to clear after a few hours. You can do it!

Oh I been looking forward to a video like this for a while

Yes!! I want to do high end but hard to find a static to keep up with progress. Here on the Faerie server at the moment. Was lucky to find people to get through titan unreal lol.. hard to find people at the same progress lvl

@Zepla HQ I've been watching your stuff for a few weeks now, and learning a LOT about ffxiv. I'm slowly getting into the game and I'm finding all your videos very helpful. But PLEASE for the love of GOD! Dust your monitor top, mic arm, and wash your mic filter! Seeing the dust I'm your setup makes me sneeze! Hahaha jokes jokes. But seriously. Not jokes. Keep up the awesome videos :)

No where near to being able to do savage raids but this was great info! Thank you!

Yoshi P stated in a previous live letter that he doesn't mind the third party program as long as it's not used to call out bad dps without the consent of other players, which is an instant ban if reported. Most high-end statics uses it to parse and try out new strats to see what is most efficient. But like every tools it's always a double-edge sword.

This is my current goal, just getting caught up on MSQ and the Eden raids finally and I'm really drawn to some of those savage mounts. But I have no idea where to get started with savage raiding, this video helped a lot though, thank you so much!

I started playing this game in the last 8 months and this tier is the first raid tier ive got stuck into it. It really is a lot of trial and error but I started my e12s prog today and have enjoyed the process as a whole along the way. Its fun, its challenging, its pushing the limits of my job and how to play it and im learning ways to improve it as I go. Also the sweet gear that you get from it (or not in my case...) is really awesome for when you go back to other content unsynced or that isn't synced down. You feel hella powerful :D I was scared at first too but regret that I didn't start sooner, give it a go, read up/watch up on guides and the mechanics (particularly certain strat names), try to understand the macros so you know how to orient yourself too and get stuck in!

I come from WoW and it's the first time I reach end game in FF since ARR. So, I was kinda lost. A friend helped me a lot but with your vid I have more things to try now. I'm still gearing up but I hope to be able to do savage someday. I think that the best is to try and learn. And if something is unclear, read or watch a guide so you'll know what to do at any time.

Ignore this video. The best way to get into harder content is just to start PF up for ultimate with duty completed turned on and saying need a clear for a friend. If they ask you who the friend is just say me, nice to meet you. You don't need to know anything about the fight. Works 100% of time.

What I've been doing is a weekly mount farm. Thank goodness for Discord and FCs, but even without them is a good start. Started with the birbs and alternated between EX and Savage in linear order. Now we're at "Oh no he's hot!" and I'm looking forward to Savage. We also have potential plans for the Morbol mount and Ultimate in the future.

I joined a Party Finder for E9S yesterday as a fresh prog group and it went really well, actually. I came in expecting to get yelled at for dying or doing something wrong but the group was really helpful and understanding. One of them asked why I was doing something in my opener cause it looked weird to them so I double checked my job opener on the balance and realized I’ve learned it backwards so was buffing in the pre-pull. :’) I really appreciate all the help that group gave me and now I feel way less anxious about joining another party in the future to continue prog.

Your consistency is so dope.

I recently started high end duties and managed to learn and clear Sapphire weapon a few times. I feel however, that this is the limit of difficulty I can manage. I had to learn for 4 hours and heard that this is one of the easier fights.

Totally agree with stepping away from savage raiding if you tried it and doesn’t enjoyed the experience. I’ve hardcore raided Sigma and Alpha and totally burnt myself out of the game. Only able to come back after I decided to not touch savage again and go full casual. Have been enjoying the game hell a lot more ever since.

As an older gamer (I could be most players father) the number of mechanics ALWAYS intimidate me until I looked at how far I have come with good learning parties willing to teach step-by-step. Slow prog parties learning a mech per hour will make permanent progress in the end. I do most old content in my sleep now!

started e9s , empty planes giving me ptsd , remembering about how many time i accidently step on other ppl platform f me over , other than that its pretty doable

So happy to hear you stressed out at first too! I started playing during quarantine (figured it was the perfect time) and thought I was being crazy due to isolation. Your videos have helped me so much with navigating this game and anxiety! Thank you 🙏❤️

Thank you for talking about Stone, Sky, Sea! In general I feel the game does a good job of having the high end difficulty levels go Extreme > Unreal > Savage > Ultimate. Extreme trials are great because they are an easier way to get used to very scripted fights where you need to pay attention to various things other than orange bad stuff to get out of (boss animations, attack names, etc.). Unreal trials may have simpler mechanics, but the item level sync really makes you need to pull your own weight a lot more. And then savage combines the two.

Very useful video, thanks :)

I avoided savage for a long time. Then I just forced myself to do it, and I'm glad I did. Most ppl are cool, and remember even if you aren't great, there are plenty of others who aren't master's of their class either.

I was doing an Extreme Trial a while back and someone asked if I was doing my rotation correctly. They told me how to do my class but I was so confused because that was exactly what I was doing. It really bothered me and I have yet to do any big content since thinking of how internally embarrassed I was. After running other content the theory is not so much I was little to no damage due to bad DPS, but rather because I wasn't doing the ABC: Always be Castin. For me it's to balance out the dodging mechanics while keeping your uptime. Anyway, thank you for these tips. I just wanted to share. While I was mildly salty from the feedback, it did actually get me to figure out how to improve my rotation and get better gear. Hoping I can get the courage to do content with friends again. Might just do Stone, Sky, and Sea a couple of times.

Dont be scared.....have fun. Let party know its your 1st time. It's just a video game after all. And if anyone is mean....call me and I'll kick their ass!

I just started FF14 and its my First MMO I ever really put any time into, I played a little WOW but never got too into it. so this was very helpful for me, thank you very much! BUT that said, THIS comment section right here is why I love this game! You have 18yr olds and 64 yr olds relating to the same thing an having fun together! i think its such a unique and beautiful thing that these games do!

In WoW I remember I think it was in Panda expansion when the Trials for each the 3 Class was introduced. It was interesting. Though not a good way to gauge things currently. I think a way of something similar but way better can be a foundation or the Novice System built upon it as more expanded content system where the Devs introduce scenarios with DPS DMG Checks, Healing Throughtput Checks, Tank checks. Does every new piece of content to a new patch needs to be a Raid of a new version? How about some simpler scenarios for assessing DPS, Healing output. Tank survivability and DPS both. Content like that can be made and then improved as time goes on. But if the Devs won’t add a DPS Meter, maybe make some testing content scenarios that help assess the player skill being determined to measure Irvin some ways be give a report card. Not perfect. But an assessment content tool to pass and then say, yeap your ready for this.

I freaking ❤️ Zepla!!!!

Hey Zepla could you talk about one of my biggest gripes I have with ffxiv? and that is that there just ain't enough space to save all the glamour that the game provides which is quite off turning from the game as each patch more and more glamour gets introduced with nowhere to put it.

If you want a wider variety of EX content before jumping into Savage, look for your datacenter's synced community. Every DC has one, they generally organize via Discord, and it's a great way to find groups for synced trials that you would never be able to experience otherwise.

I just wish they had dyeable version of glamours not locked up under harder content. Maybe you don't want to get the better gear... sometimes you just want to look pretty.

Love this video :-)

This may be a newbie question, but by fully melded does that mean filling up all of the 100% chance slots on the gear? Or does it mean penta-melding everything? Still working through the MSQ but am in 5.1 now so I'm wondering what will be expected of me if I decide to try out healing in a raid.

I'm just waiting to get a static together before I start going hard into Ex and Savage.

I love extreme trials because I don’t feel the pressure of having another three fights to clear. That being said, I really wish I was in a static so I could feel less pressure if I get things wrong. In pf I feel like someone may leave so I stress a lot about getting the most out of the party. That being said, I cleared hades extreme by pf and it is one of my favourite fights to date. There are pros and cons to pf vs a static so do what is best for you ❤️✨

I love your content ❤

For me, a big part of it is not really wanting to pressure myself into performing "The Rotation" on any given job - I know that sounds bad, but whilst I'm sure that I know the basics of how the jobs I've leveled are meant to be played, I know that sometimes I mess up refreshing buffs on myself or DoTs on the boss, or that my opener might not be optimal but it's more comfortable for me to do. In normal content, nobody seems to really care which suits me just fine - I like the action of reacting to whatever is happening in the fight and adjusting what I'm doing as opposed to what feels like reciting very specific lines of a script that must absolutely never change no matter what. It's partly why I quite like healing & playing RDM, especially when things go to shit and I have the challenge of trying to pull it back from the brink. People shit on DRK for Walking/Living Dead being useless, but some of my favourite memories in-game are using it for those clutch kills in the most normal of content. The other bit is that I don't really want to commit to joining a static and plugging away at it over the course of weeks or months. If I can't make it some evening or I just decide that I'm not in the mood to die all night long, I'd feel awful that I'm letting everybody else down.

I’m not a bum I’m a lalafell for life :p I’m rdy just can’t handle Random pfs . Battle scarred veteran is dps compared with stone sea sky caulator nice vid 🤛🏻

I'm hoping to do Savage Raids at some point. They just seem like a fun challenge. But I don't think I've quite there yet gear wise. I just finished Stormblood and did the Delta-Alphascape Normal content but don't think I'm good to try Savage yet...plus I don't have that area with that dummy to even practice so guess I'll have to wait on that. I've just always wanted to do raids, never got the chance in WoW at all.

I made a horrible mistake and bought a job (Dark knight) level skip!!! Do you know if i can reset my level or should i start over on a new save?? Please help 🙏

Learning AST for raids since the raid wides really are crazy in this eden set. Even while learning I “get the job done” but still get knit picked by ppl for small things. I’ve never seen so many sweaties in pf. I understand being a static but pf? Pf is a nightmare right now. I’ve cleared e9s/e10s. I’m exhausted and don’t know if I want to keep going. 😭

I did Herosong of Thordans fall synced after many try's with a random group ^^

Your voice is soooo soothing

If extremes are considered baby steps I'm screwed. I spent like 3 hours wiping to SoS ex today with 2 different groups not including wipes I've had on previous days. I'd love to try a savage one day down the road but literally can't comprehend the game getting more difficult than what I saw today (even though I know it does). Does the high / satisfaction of completing a savage outweigh the frustration, wiping and lack of enjoyment (at least for me) of the game that comes along with it? This is what I'm stuck on.

Very helpful video :)

this video is a god send for me. because im so confused with this content thing. at least for the higher tier stuff.

I've only done the one extreme trial, Shiva. We died 6 times, however I didn't prepare at all and actually at the time I didn't know what most markers meant. I pretty much only knew to avoid the AOE, I know pretty much all the markers now, and I always prepare for the tougher boss fights. Still think I should do more extreme trials first though.

"DPS meter?? Just keep track of the math 4head!"

Perhaps an unpopular opinion, but Squeenix should include a damage meter, perhaps not in casual content, but in end game content.

The only savages I do are the Alexanders, and only the ones I needed to get the weapons I wanted :P

On permanent disability with nerve damage I'd like to savage and I was able to do some savage this expansion, however, usually kicked bc I couldn't get out of the grey zone no matter how well I did with mechanics or amicable discourse on discord was. Never brought out my disability bc I thought it would feel like an excuse and get a swifter kick. Struggling currently to change my setup and see if that can improve anything. Well, that and finding a static that will overlook the history of Fflogs. It feels like it's just getting too toxic for me and I do want the rewards from it. Hearing "git gud" doesn't inspire confidence or help. Thanks for some ramp-up options to see where my plateau is at.

Stone Sky Sea is what you need to benchmark yourself - if you can beat the timer you can beat the encounter, after that it's just optimizing.

“Press button, and don’t get yeeted” Can confirm.

I really want to do Memoria Misera Extreme, but I haven't done any synced extremes before. I'm not bad at the game, I know I can do it, but I have no clue how to find a party that is fine with helping me.

**sees classic blue UI** Me: "Ahhh! My eyes! It burns!"

Ive been going into savage blind since yhe beggining..more fun that way.. discover new things!

Topical as my gf and I are finally post Shadowbringers and I want to return to raiding (as a former endgame raider in EverQuest and Destiny).

I love the thrill of going in to fights blind and adapt as the fight goes but since its older content (got in to the game 6 months ago) people don't appreciate it 😒 "I live for the thrill of the fight!"

But how do you get to or unlock this content?

How can I overcome it? No matter what class (even if it's my most comfortable) I play or what savage content I'm thinking of finishing, I still get a little anxiety strike as I enter the party, then I leave after a while even before queuing. I remember my heart was racing as I first joined A1S for the first time. and the shaking of my hands and the non-stop over thinking leads to some really bad rotations and skills utilization... to the point where nothing gets done. and I just say "That's it, the most I can do is extreme primals."

I can find a static yes!

Dark Knight, iLVL 507, completely melded (not overmeld tho) and Skill Speed is 2.38. I’m finally caught up to endgame after starting the game a year ago and have never gone above Normal content. Really want the mounts from current EX Trials. Can y’all wish me the best? Thanks for the video. Great timing.

What made you swap from dancer to Summoner? Great video btw!

Me-*already does Savage and Ultimate raids but loves watching content anyway* "Hm, yes i see, tell me what else i need to know Zepla!

I usually do (EX) trials never really cared for raids the glam gear does kinda lures me though

I always use stone sky sea. its cooo

I’m confused about the stone sky dummies. Am i supposed to kill the Level synced version of the dummy trials or is it ok to just kill the other version that lets u keep ur skills.

subbed.

Ive completed 3/4 Eden's Verse savage raids and i just finished Umbra Savage and i can tell you that starting endgame raids might seem intimidating at first but i would research the fights before i start. This gives you a heads up on whats coming. Everyone in the party is probably also learning or whats called "progging". So it makes it easier to know that ur not the only clueless one lol. And when you boil it down, savage raids are all about memorizing telegraphed abilities and completing patterns. Really it isnt that hard (except Shiva savage, man f#@& light rampant!!)

We ALL fancy you!

I had to pause and say... *I see that pillow. :zeplahQStare:*

High level endgame raider here. If you are nervous about going into party finder with the fear of other people being toxic or failing to meet certain expectations whatever that might be, the biggest thing is that if you go in just be open minded and ready to learn. Even if I had the absolute worst dps/tank/healer in my party, if they are nice and willing to take advice I'd rather party with that player than the person who thinks they know what they're doing. Everyone starts somewhere and the raiders know this. Just beware of some people that would be toxic no matter what you do, these people exist in every part of life but don't let them discourage you from trying something you might really like. Find friends or something if you need the helping hand for savage and I believe that you'll be fine. That's all I will leave you with.

I never could get into anything after the main story, or normal duties/trials, because the community gets too competitive for my taste at that point.

its over a month and I still aint seen one player on my server pop the Eden mount in any open areas :-/

Don't forget to look up BIS lists before you buy all that gear!! With the exception of the crafted gear of course.

Act is a grey zone which you are allowed to use as long as you tell no one you are using it