Fundamental Graphical & Interface Improvements

CAUTION!

This article is only a guide. Information expressed in a guide is usually more opinion than fact and should be taken as such. Guides are written by players, based upon their experiences, successes and mistakes, and are meant to aid other players. However, there may be differing opinions than those expressed in a guide. Strategies and information in guides may not work for everyone.

About

This guide's purpose is to help you turn off potato mode. Believe it or not, there are people out there who have been running this game on a 4:3 resolution on 16:9 monitors for years. That is depressing, so let's fix that.

Aspect Ratio and Frame Rate Divisor

There are two ways to configure the aspect ratio:

1. In the game Config menu: Config > Misc 2 > Background Aspect Ratio.
2. Using an addon like Aspect (Ashita) or Config (Windower). Simply install and load it.

Method number 2 is preferred since it also corrects the aspect ratio on ultrawide monitors.

If running the game on an ultrawide monitor, installing the Nameplate plugin is also recommended if you want to fix the strecthed name tags.

Frame Rate Divisor Settings:
Although I do not personally recommend it, you can uncap the game's fps by installing the FPS addon on Ashita and running the following command in-game:

//fps 1

1 for 60fps, 2 for the original 30fps, 0 for uncapped unholiness.

On Windower, the addon you're looking for is Config, and the command is

//config FrameRateDivisor 1

Same as above, 1 for 60fps, 2 for the original 30fps and 0 for uncapped.

Draw Distance

Increasing draw distance is made possible by the DrawDistance on Ashita, or Config on Windower:

-- Ashita:
/drawdistance setworld 1
/drawdistance setmob 1

-- Windower:
//config ClippingPlane 1

1 is the original value, 20 is the maximum.

In-Game Settings

• Recommended:
  • Gameplay > Inventory Sort > On
  • Misc > Shadows > High
    
    • Should be set to Medium or Off in case you get any slow downs.
  • Misc > Weather Effects > On
  • Misc 2 > Footstep Effects > On
  • Misc 3 > Area Display > On
    • Enables an area graphic for AoE spells and abilities.
  • Misc 3 > Status Icons > Party Icon Display > On
    • Enables you to see party buffs above the chatbox.

• Optional:
  • Misc > Icon Type > 2
    • If you're using XI View.
  • Misc > Damage Display > Both
    • Enables damage text above mobs.
  • Windows > Shared > Window Effect > Off
    • Disables the animation and makes menus appear instantly.

Configuring Chat Logs

You can split your chat into 2 windows (social and combat) to improve your awareness during combat.

Splitting your chat logs into 2 windows:

• Config > Windows > Shared > Horizonal/Vertical
• Config > Windows > Shared > Window 1 > Adjust Window Width to your desired length.
• Repeat for Config > Windows > Shared > Window 2

Window 1 Social Chat:

• Go to Config > Log > Window 1
• Enable all the filters in Chat
• Disable all the filters in For Self
• Disable all the filters in For Others
• Enable all the filters in System

Window 2 Combat Logs:

• Go to Config > Log > Window 2
• Disable all the filters in Chat
• Enable all the filters in For Self, except Actions you evade
• Enable all the filters in For Others, except Actions others evade
• Disable all the filters in System

Further custom filters:
The use of an addon like Battlemod is highly recommended: It makes combat logs a lot easier to read, thus increasing your ability to react during combat. You can even filter out combat messages from other parties by editing filters.xml found in battlemod > data > filters.