Hotbar MMOs are notorious for the surprising number of hotkeys and buttons required to play them effectively, and Final Fantasy XIV is no exception. Multiply the impressive number of unique abilities each job boasts with the ever-increasing number of jobs added with each expansion release, and finding the right setup to accommodate every possible situation can quickly become a daunting task.
Taking the time to set up your hotbars is well worth the effort, as it can both reduce the amount of time spent fumbling for critical abilities, help keep better track of key cooldowns, and increase comfort by reducing strain on your hands. While each player’s hotbars and keybinds are something that’s deeply personal, these tips will help guide you to your own perfect setup.
Setting up your hotbars in FFXIV
While the default setup provided to you includes two hotbars with 24 total slots, you’ll likely find yourself feeling claustrophobic at some point, as most jobs at level cap will have abilities numbering from the high-20’s to approaching or even exceeding the 40’s. Besides this, the default layout is commonly regarded as visually unappealing, and makes locating key cooldowns and abilities difficult.
This is where the HUD editing feature of FFXIV comes in handy. Accessed by entering the System menu (Escape by default, or by clicking the XIV button on your main menu bar) and selecting HUD Layout, this feature allows you to add, remove, and edit the behavior of your various user interface elements, including your hotbars.
The Basic, System, Hotbars, and Duty buttons toggle which elements can be moved by clicking and dragging, and individual hotbar settings can be changed by selecting a hotbar (left-click on a hotbar or select it from the Current UI Element dropdown menu) and clicking the cog icon to the right of the Current UI Element dropdown menu. Here, hotbars can be enabled or disabled, row and column sizes can be changed, and hotbar scale and transparency can be adjusted.
Further hotbar settings can be found in the Character Configuration menu (K by default) located under System > Character Configuration > Hotbar Settings. These settings include things like hiding empty hotbar slots, allowing the same hotbar to be shared across multiple jobs (e.g., for a mount hotbar, an emote hotbar, etc.), changing how cooldowns are displayed, and more, so be sure to play around and find the settings that work best for you.
Something to keep in mind when creating your preferred layout is what information you want to be easily visible while playing. For example, while it might not be crucial for you to see the basic abilities you’ll be repeatedly casting, you’ll also want to be able to track the cooldown of key abilities like major damage buffs or critical defensive skills more easily.
Some players are perfectly comfortable with their hotbars placed near the bottom of the screen and glancing down to check their abilities. Others might opt to push their main hotbars to the corner of their screen and use dedicated cooldown hotbars near the center to track key abilities, clearing up screen space while still keeping important cooldowns visible.
Setting up your hotkeys
Perhaps even more important than being able to comfortably see your abilities is being able to comfortably use your abilities. Like with the default hotbars, the default hotkeys are very likely something you’ll quickly want to personalize, since keys like 9 or = are far out of the reach of your left hand while it’s resting on the WASD keys. Hotkeys can be changed via the Keybind menu accessed from System > Keybind > Hotbar. Each individual hotbar slot’s hotkey can be changed by clicking the corresponding box and pressing the new key or key combination you want to use.
Most jobs will require hotbar keybinds numbering in the thirties and there are only so many keys within comfortable reach of your hands, so many players opt to incorporate letters as well as modifier keys to make the best use of nearby keys.
For example, while many will find they have to stretch to press number keys beyond 5 or 6, adding in modifier keys like Shift, Ctrl, or Alt multiplies the number of abilities you can activate using only the number keys in comfortable reach. Your keybinds don’t need to be restricted to just numbers either. Keys like Q, E, R, Z, X, and C make for perfectly serviceable hotkeys, and players with extra mouse buttons may find themselves taking advantage of those as well. Don’t be afraid to experiment and find what feels right for you.
Some factors you should consider when you are setting up your keybinds are the frequency and context with which your abilities are used. Placing basic abilities you’ll be pressing very frequently on easy-to-reach keybinds without modifiers can help make playing the game more comfortable and place less strain on your hands. Conversely, less frequently used abilities such as those on long cooldowns can afford to be placed on harder-to-reach keybinds. Positioning time-sensitive abilities near your fingers is always helpful, while static abilities can be placed on tougher key combinations without much consequence.
Players finding it difficult to memorize which hotkeys belong to which ability may find it helpful to group similar abilities together, such as placing all defensive cooldowns on a tank together (e.g., Ctrl+1, Ctrl+2, Ctrl+3, etc.), or keeping combos in sequential order (1, 2, 3, etc.). Keeping role actions on the same keybind can also help players looking to play multiple jobs across a role, such as placing Lucid Dreaming on Ctrl+5 across all the different healer hotbars.
Players still learning or unsure of what their abilities are or how they function can find quick overviews from Fanbyte’s own job guides here:
- Paladin
- Warrior
- Dark Knight
- Gunbreaker
- White Mage
- Scholar
- Astrologian
- Sage
- Monk
- Dragoon
- Ninja
- Samurai
- Reaper
- Bard
- Machinist
- Dancer
- Black Mage
- Summoner
- Red Mage
These tips should set you well on your way to setting up clean, effective, comfortable hotbars, and get you thinking about ways you can tailor your settings to fit your particular job and playstyle. Your perfect setup will be something that is personal to your needs and preferences, so be sure to experiment and find what works for you.
