As you advance through the FF14 story, you get access to Duty Finder, a party matching machine that organizes you in teams with other players and sends you to duty. While the matching is automatic and requires hardly any effort from you, it is still good to know the basics of using the Duty Finder to ensure you join the most suitable duty for your capabilities.
How to use the Duty Finder?
Dwell on the duty that meets your requirements and capabilities as a tank, DPS, or healer. Go to the main menu and click on the Duty icon to access the Duty Finder that will provide you with the available duties sorted by level and expansion.
You can choose Dungeons, which feature four players, Trials made for eight players, or Alliance Raids designed for three eight-member parties acting as a team. A Dungeon party has one tank, one healer, and a pair of DPS. A Trial party consists of two tanks, two healers, and four damage dealers. Once you choose the type of party you want to become part of, you must select the duty from the provided list. Once you have made your choice, feel free to press Join and queue for the duty.
Duty Finder how long do I have to wait?
Sometimes waiting in a queue for duty can take hours; other times, you will get permission to enter the duty after a few minutes from issuing your joining request. The waiting time depends a lot on the class of your character. If you play as a tank or a healer, the chances are that you will join the duty faster because there are fewer tanks and healers in the game, which makes them more in-demand. There are a lot of players playing as DPS. Hence, their queues move slower.
Accepting or refusing the duty
Once you receive the green light from joining the duty, you will have the chance to accept or refuse to join. If you are ready to enter the duty, press Commence. If you have waited for too long and in the meantime have made yourself busy with other tasks, you can press Withdraw to cancel the duty. Keep in mind that you will have to choose to commence or withdraw before the timer runs out. If you are late with your choice, you will be automatically eliminated from the duty. You are allowed to leave three duties daily.
If you join the duty, then leave it voluntarily amidst the action, you will be denied the right to use the Duty Finder for the next 30 minutes as a punishment for creating inconveniences to other members of your party who are forced to leave as well. You escape any penalty if you enter and leave a duty with a party pre-made of you and your friends because it is assumed that the idea of leaving the match is commonly agreed upon.
Entering a duty in progress
Sometimes, you can refuse to wait in queue for your pre-selected duty and join one in progress that has a player dismissed and needs reinforcements to continue. It mostly happens when a player leaves the party in the middle of the match, and the remaining party members search for a substitute. Players who cause problems, harass others, disobey the rules, and reluctantly play are dismissed and replaced. You can also use the party finder feature.
Joining a match in progress prevents you from waiting in a queue for a new duty. However, there are some drawbacks as well. For example, you can join the match when it ends, skipping most of the dungeon. Also, you can land right in the middle of a heated argument among party members where they are yelling at each other and fail to agree on battle strategies. If you join an unhealthy party like this, you can withdraw from the match any time you want without being punished.
Of course, the number of disorganized teams is not so high. You will often have the luck to join a party where teammates are friendly, cooperative, and ready to help you integrate into the match smoothly, explaining the strategies and your role inside the party.
