I click on the drop-down and select ‘Hotbar 5’, which highlights that element as well. Let’s say we wanted to turn on and configure Hotbar 5. Left-click on the menu and you can scroll through a list of all the UI element names to select your chosen one. You can also look at the drop-down menu under Current UI Element to directly select an element. For example, you can hover your mouse cursor over ‘Hotbar 3’ and right-click to make it visible, and then left-click and drag to move it around the screen. Right-click toggles the visibility of that element on and off. Just left-click and drag an element to move it to your preferred position. Elements that are visible will have their name text in grey, or white if it’s the currently-selected element. Your currently-selected element will be highlighted in orange. They’ll also be clearly labeled with an element name. Each UI element will have a shadowed box around it, so you know how much space it roughly will take up onscreen. By default, it’s set to Basic, meaning you can change around everything.

The glowing radial buttons will let you know which UI elements you can move around.

We’re just focusing on a single layout for the purposes of this guide. From here, you can set four different HUD layouts by clicking the large number buttons. From here, you want to select HUD Layout. You’ll need to access the System menu by either hitting Escape or clicking the ‘XIV’ button on the Main Menu you’ll find in the bottom-right of the default user interface (UI). That will be enough to handle the actions needed for leveling the jobs from A Realm Reborn and perhaps Heavensward, but it’ll start feeling cluttered as you near level 60 and a huge struggle beyond that. If you press ‘1’, you’d use whatever’s in the first slot of Hotbar 1, while pressing ‘Ctrl+1’ would activate the first action in Hotbar 2. The bar above that is your second hotbar, which is bound to the modifier key ‘Ctrl’ and the row of number keys. The bottom bar is your primary hotbar, with its default keybinds set to the line of number keys on your keyboard, from ‘1’ all the way to ‘=’. When you first spin up a character in FFXIV, your standard setup will have two bars of 12 buttons each. (Don’t worry controller players, we have a guide for you cooking up soon!) This will include the initial setup and configuration, all the way to keybindings, and which actions you should be placing where. Specifically for those who play on keyboard and mouse, we’re gonna give you all the details to get your hotbars squared away. Just understanding a job is a steep barrier to entry, let alone setting up your hotbars. You might’ve been a White Mage for years, but you want to try tanking as a Paladin now. Hell, starting up a new job can also see you moving out of your comfort zone.

Jumping into Final Fantasy XIV as a whole can be daunting.

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