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The release of Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn is right around the
corner. In fact, those that pre-ordered will be able to start the game
on August 24th. The rest of humanity will need to wait until August
27th before they can purchase the title for themselves. Every MMORPG
has its own quirks and ways of doing things and in this regard, FFXIV
is no different. Have no worries though. We’re here to help
you on your way, starting with a basic guide on one topic every player
really cares about – combat!



Combat in FFXIV is fairly straightforward with a few exceptions. For
starters, there is an auto-attack, though many players may not
initially be aware of it, especially if you’re playing a
class with a massive weapon like the Marauder. The time between
auto-attacks feels a little long, so at times it appears as though your
character is not in attack mode. Rest assured, if your character is
crouched down a bit with their weapon at the ready, you’re in
auto-attack mode. Just be patient and be ready to use all the abilities
at your disposal when the time is right.



Regardless of your class, your character will have three bars you need
to pay attention to during combat. The first is your HP bar. This is,
of course, the amount of hit points you have. When this goes to zero,
it’s time to kiss your ass goodbye because you’ve
just bought the farm… pining for the fjords as it were. The
next bar is your MP bar. This is the amount of magic points you have.
Magic points are used to cast magic abilities. The last bar is called
the TP bar. No, it doesn’t represent how much toilet paper
you have – it’s the number of tactical points you
have. This is what allows you to use weapon abilities (including
combos). This meter will build automatically as you auto-attack mobs
during combat.

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When you start out, your options for abilities to use are definitely
limited, but this is to be expected. Your character will start out with
one special attack and then gain a defensive ability next. This is all
well and good, but to be honest, a little boring. The good news is that
it doesn’t take too long before you hit level three and
finally come into your third ability which will let you use combo
chains.



Rather than some games that are a bit confusing (I love the EverQuest
franchise, but let’s be frank – the Heroic
Opportunity system in EverQuest II could be a little more
straightforward), the chain combo system in FFXIV is, like the overall
combat, pretty straightforward. When the tutorial for them pops up, be
sure to give it a read, but they make combos sound far more complicated
than they really are. Here’s a quick version of how it all
breaks down.



For our example, we’re going to stick with the first combo
you get access to. Later in the game, you’ll be able to start
combos using other skills and completing them with even more skills.
For now though, let’s stick to the basics. None of the skills
used in this example have to be used exclusively in a combo. If you
want to use them out of order you are more than welcome to (and
depending on the situation, there may be times you want to do exactly
this – it all depends on what your individual skills do).

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To start a combo, select a target (if you’re not already
engaged in combat with one) and use the first ability your class
received on it. You’ll notice a square made up of a dotted
line now surrounds the third skill you received. This means that
ability is ready to be used as the next step in this combination. Be
aware that you only have a certain amount of time to complete the next
step in a combo when one is presented to you. Act quickly or
you’ll find yourself out of luck and will need to start the
combo over when you have the opportunity. Pretty simple, eh? For now,
it really is that simple. As you progress further and more (not to
mention longer) combos are available to you, the dotted line will
surround the next skill (or skills) that are ready for the combo chain
in question.



And there you have it! Doesn’t really seem that hard does it?
Like most systems, especially in any Final Fantasy franchise game,
things will get more intricate and complicated later in the game (you
can gain the ability to mix and match skills from different classes),
but for now, this guide is more than enough to get you started on your
way with a bit of swagger in your step.