#1 FFXIV Controller Guide for Xbox and PS5 for 2024 (UPDATED)

[@teawithbears]

*pulls out notepad and pen* Hit me with that knowledge!

[@nikh5599]

This was unbelievably helpful, thank you! I have been researching alternative hotbar inputs on controller and this one hit exactly the way I wanted. It made my game way easier to navigate. Even the targeting options was something I didn't even know I could edit, unreal QoL change. Subbed/liked and bookmarked this video.

[@TheWitchMobile]

I just got ff for console and my god is it overwhelmning to start on a controller with only level 90s. Your channel is a godsend

[@kiramarij]

This video was a lifesaver. Thank you so much!! I just got into the game two days ago and when I got near lvl 15 I was so frustrated with my targeting settings but then I found your guide. Super freaking helpful. And your hud advice was clutch too!! Made console experience without a keyboard so much easier and enjoyable. Ty!!

[@edj4971]

New Xbox player here. This video changed everything for me. Thank you for making it. Much ❤!!

[@BunBossFFXIV]

Of course!

[@LordCainhurst]

I literally started playing again and immediately used all your guides for my jobs and MAN you're a lifesaver dude. It makes all my jobs so much easier to play and understand with the setups of the gcd's for easy rotations.

[@BunBossFFXIV]

💯🙌💜

[@mizuhashitsunoka]

Something that I learnt through various guides is that you can put macros 98 and 99 on your right and left joysticks. So I have created a macro which has sprint, peloton and mount roulette (not PvP sprint coz I prefer to use it manually) and put it on my right joystick. It was a massive upgrade coz I could remove 3 buttons from my shared Hotbars and put something more needed like chocobo commands and aether currents compass (need it as a new player) on their slots. Definitely a must have setting for controller players. As for the mount error that pops on the screen due to the macro, if you put the commands in the order I mentioned, then the errors are drastically reduced. The downside is that you might need to hit the joystick button 3x times at worst as a class with Peloton. Been considering moving mount roulette to my left joystick as I rarely have need for sheathe/unsheathe action.

[@furlyghost]

pro tip! using both triggers (or bumpers depending on preference) will sheathe or unsheathe your weapons!

[@8BitCerberus]

Adding to this tip, you can use /merror off (or /macroerror off) to disable the macro error messages entirely. Here's my left-stick macro #98: /micon "Sprint" action /merror off /levelsync /ridepillion /ridepillion /ridepillion /ridepillion /ridepillion /ridepillion /ridepillion /ac "Mount Roulette" /ac "Peloton" /ac "Sprint" This will auto-mount any multi-seat mount that a party member has already summoned, and it will use the first available seat that is unoccupied. If it's a 2 seater and someone is already in the second seat, or if there isn't a multi-seat mount available, that's why it's followed immediately by mount roulette so you just call your own mount instead. Level sync so you can quickly join FATEs. If you're already mounted the mount roulette action will dismount you instead. You can use "/levelsync on" (or off) to be sure it's on even if you accidentally hit the macro again. But I like to keep it as a toggle, comes in handy during group hunts if someone goes down, I can quickly unsync and change to a healer to raise them, then change back to whatever job I was using, sync back and continue with the battle. I just make sure if I don't want to mount up (ie: I need to un/resync to a FATE) then I just need to be moving when I execute the macro so it cancels the mount roulette action. And finally when in town or an instanced dungeon/alliance, if you have a class with Peloton it will fire that off, otherwise it will use Sprint as the last command available.

[@8BitCerberus]

@@furlyghost This also dismounts if you're on a mount.

[@furlyghost]

@@8BitCerberusyou’re a god

[@UselessTransbian]

Thank you for making this! Been playing the beta on xbox and loving it so far,, been looking for a good guide for crossbar ui :)

[@BunBossFFXIV]

Glad I could help!

[@RemoraJewel]

You've helped my husband and I so much you're guides amazing! Truly thank you for making these for console players 💜

[@Goudie101]

Just recently started on steam deck and the tips you’ve laid out here are incredible. Thank you very much!

[@devak45167]

Insanely helpful and clear guide, thanks so much!

[@boat02]

As a PC gamer my entire life and having finally bought the Steam Deck from last summer's sale, I'm looking forward to becoming more flexible to switch between platforms.

[@Sashimii07]

I just wanna say I love you 🤣🤣🤣 I needed this and simplified like this

[@BunBossFFXIV]

Love you too

[@lovablelycan]

I have been playing Gunbreaker on controller without the double hotbar and I thought it was literally impossible. But this has made it 1,000% easier. Thank you so much.

[@jhonnyferreira2263]

if i main astro on controller today 🎮 is cuz of you, ur the best

[@Pineo213]

Ok I've watched the older vid and now this one and finally 100% understand how to move things on these cross hotbars😂. Thanks for the good info!

[@robbiepellagreen]

Played FFXIV on and off since launch, and am just about to come back from a 2.5 year break and have forgotten everything. Gonna be playing on PC with controller and can already tell I’m gonna be using your guides to get set up, purely from how informative this vid is. Nice work mate!

[@AruthaSilverthorn]

Hey BunBoss, found your channel through the controller guides and have stayed for various videos since. So glad to see a refresh is coming. I’d like to see a part of the video focus on the actual location of each skill, and eg. How the rotation would flow in button presses, eg. LX, LY, LLY, LA, would make more sense than LL, RX, LLU… where the first L is trigger, and XYAB and UDLR are the buttons.

[@pure35]

I am experienced with the controller and I still found this very helpful. Thank you.

[@pgbingham85]

This guide has been such an amazing help thx

[@terryb9197]

For people who have trouble using expanded controls, you can set both of the displayed cross hotbars to the same one so that you gain access to 1 hotbar whenever you hold both triggers down. That way, it doesn't matter if you're holding R2/RT or L2/LT first, either combo brings up the same hotbar. You lose a hotbar but it streamlines the triggers and helps with flow

[@duokana3540]

As someone that is returning to the game since the launch of Endwalker this was very helpful. I forgot literally how to do everything and having this guide to help set up my controller again was awesome!

[@hazardyoutube1121]

great job i do most of the things you do with the hot bars all players on controller should use the extra cross hotbars its a game changer :)

[@concerninghobbits5536]

Yeah as a noob I can't believe how much you can do with a controller. I realised I could walk around but I couldn't do basically anything then someone told me about controller mode and cross hotbars. Super cool system

[@BarrettMK22]

Thanks. Great guide. As a returning player, this helped jog my memory.

[@itsbusterhd]

Liked and subbed you helped a new player get started!

[@koppukokoro]

I can’t thank you enough for these controller guides. They are a life saver!

[@jasoncropper7662]

I've been playing FF14 since release. I refused to use controller. I struggle using a keyboard. As i click on each skill with the mouse pointer. I was never good enough to hit keys with out looking on the keyboard. I played this way for years. UNTIL NOW!! This video and controller has changed my life in FF14. Thank you!!

[@RedVoteRedemption]

As a returning player who’s forgotten all of this, this was very helpful.

[@brianmchaleames4016]

Definitely personal as you said, but I have to push back on "Display pop-up help" only being for beginners. That shit shows map icon tooltips, hover over a + quest or something like Aetheryte and without the setting you have absolutely no idea what it is and what level it is or where you're teleporting to, unless I'm in the minority and use the map while millions of FFXIV players use Teleport button with the list on it, but I personally think that setting is invaluable for navigating and teleporting. Thanks for the rest of the guide! Controller feels great and I really wanted to use it with the game but it's daunting

[@8BitCerberus]

Tip for d-pad usage while moving with a larger controller like the Steam Deck where the d-pad is not close to your right thumb at all: While on the FFXIV game screen, or even in-game, open Steam's controller configuration editor and set the right touchpad as a d-pad, and each cardinal direction top, left, right, bottom, as the d-pad up, left, right, down, respectively. Make sure it's a 4-way with no overlap, to avoid accidental diagonal inputs that might trigger a different direction than the one you intend. My personal configuration on Steam Deck, I have the right touchpad normally set as a mouse, and clicking the pad is a left-click. This way I can quickly do commendations, roll on loot while running, access my collapsible hotbars on the side of the screen where I keep things like commonly used emotes, mounts, minions, job changes, etc. But when I hold either trigger, the right touchpad changes into a d-pad. Let go of the trigger and the right touchpad goes back to being a mouse again. This can work for other handheld PCs that don't have touchpads, but it requires some more complex configuration. I would probably recommend something like when you are holding a trigger, the right stick turns into a d-pad, and when you release the trigger the right stick goes back to being a right stick. You could also do something like making the face buttons either face buttons or a d-pad depending on if you just press them quickly, or if you hold them for ~1 second or so, or quickly double-press them, etc. This one might be ok in normal content but the harder content with tighter windows for timing of abilities, it might be a hindrance.

[@Rhomagus]

Tip for Steam Deck users: You can access the standard hotbars as well as the cross hotbars. Assigning keybinds in game to each hotbar slot then creating a corresponding Steam Input configuration vastly expands the number of input commands at your immediate disposal. Try not to waste a hotbar slot on something that already has or can be assigned a shortcut button press for even more potential inputs.. Steam Input's Radial/Touchscreen/Hotbar menus are a perfect application for this functionality. As an addendum, emotes can be typed out through Steam Input as well by utilizing every buttons "sub command" option, that way you don't need to use your in game hotbar slots for /emotes and can have Steam Input take care of the bulk, if not all, of those commands.

[@DominoPivot]

Since you can tell the game to automatically switch to a specific hotbar when you sheathe weapons, there's no need to waste the expanded hotbar (two trigers at once) for shared actions you'll never use in combat! I use mine for tank AoEs and range attacks, for DPS Peloton, AoEs and DoTs, and for spellcaster instant attacks. Anything without a cooldown that I'm likely to use while running during a multiplayer duty goes there. You can also customize which hotbars tapping R1 will cycle through when your weapon is drawn, so I made mine toggle between two hotbars only. I use this for my Black Mage: the two hotbars are nearly identical, but with some single-target spells (fire3, fire4, ice3, thunder) replaced by AoE spells (fire2, flare, ice2, thunder2). That way I can just tap R1 when we get to a boss, and tap R1 again when we're back to dealing with crowds, and my muscle memory is shared between the two!

[@brendanpederson5793]

Love it. Very detailed and organized. Thank you very much

[@AdinaG1128]

I am a returning player at lvl 70 and overwhelmed at how much I have to relearn…. This video is amazing, thank you so much!!!

[@Firestone2467]

This is a great video, learnt some new tips for my controller use in the game, tank you and peace to you

[@Hijack221]

Thanks for this! Got to level 30 and started to panic with all the new abilities!

[@JonnyHavoc]

Dude thx so much for this. Haven't played in ages and going back I was saying I need more hotbars for controller. So nice one for vid. Got me back up to speed and more.

[@Ederick1936]

worth noting, Dpad + buttons vs Dpad + Dpad really comes down to whether or not the visual of the Dpad on the right side when you hold R trigger, or buttons being on the left side when you hold L trigger is difficult for you to wrap your brain around. Dpad + Dpad changes it so that Dpad inputs are ALWAYS on the left side and Button inputs are ALWAYS on the right side which is less visually confusing to some but requires you to rememeber which trigger accesses which group of abilities. I've tried both and concluded that it really comes down to muscle memory regardless, but truthfully when i'm learning a new rotation on an unfamilier job Dpad + Dpad is probably easier when i'm stll scanning the hotbar for the ability i'm looking for and then visually linking it up to the right face button or Dpad to press.

[@JambalayaDrKelso]

Great video. My biggest takeaway was actually that you can adjust the UI elements size like health bar. I wanted to do that before but i thought it was not possible. Thanks a lot!

[@Bhamloud47]

I’ve watched a lot of ffxiv since I started playing near Xbox release. This gave some great advice for controllers. Gj.

[@greenhollyknight4846]

Let me tell you I started out with the controller setup , cause I play on PC but I'm a console player first. I had to switch to keyboard as I couldn't figure out how to access my other spells, I play Summoner as Main, as I leveled up. This gives me hope, now I just have to get a ne less buggy controller and I can enjoy playing again.

[@tuxedomask254]

Thanks for the guide Xbox guy here almost gave up on the game due to control configuration. Big help 🤙🏼

[@BunBossFFXIV]

Any time!

[@Lightning1989m]

The best way to play this game :) Thank you for this video :) The new players will see how easy it is to play with controller :))

[@KaBooMx]

Thank you for making this. Was struggling.

[@Zkid531]

This is actually an insanely good guide for Xbox players lol

[@VoltKraken5555]

Personally I have cross hotbars 1, 2, and 3 as unshared cross hotbars. I use cross hotbar 2 as my wxhb and cross hotbar 3 left as L2 > R2. I use a shared hotbar (8) for R2> L2 though. I keep some things like role actions or tank stance or stuff like Swiftcast/surecast/raise/thin air etc on L2> R2. Can also put items there like food or Ethers/potions/ cordials etc. It gives me 8 more job specific buttons to mess with. On R2> L2 are things you want for every job like teleport, sprint, mount, limit break, etc. I have cross hotbar 4 shared and use it for chocobo actions / commands as well as gysahl greens and chocobo food (I like mimett gourd for healing potency). I like to have both cross hotbars visible to see cooldowns.

[@ammathislight6639]

Thank you so much for this guide. Im one of the new xbox players and I've run out of room a while ago

[@KohakuShowtime]

I will always love your controller videos, truly has been a lifesaver and a wonderful starting point when I'm picking up a new job in XIV. I'm looking hella forward to seeing your updated guides come Dawntrail and what hotbars you'll come up with when Pictomancer and Viper drop. And for my personal way of doing things ( at 13:30 ) as a healer main and since I tend to use claw grip when I use a controller I usually end up having my middle or ring finger on L2/LT, my thumb on the stick, and choosing what spell with my pointer. (To be fair though, I do use DUALSHOCK 4 for XIV, hahaha)

[@scrollingthru45]

I think the only thing that sucks as a controller player is when you get stick drift because as far as I know rn you are not able to adjust controller stick deadzones like you could on the PS4 version of FF14. If someone knows where it's at or how to access it on the PS5 version it'd be a great help.

[@XKageruX]

Hey there. There are few controllers out with magnetic sticks. No drift ever. Or on ps5 the edge pro controller, 5000h and i have any weardown on any button or trigger. Even the fine texture on Rt/Lt and on sticks is like brand new. After dozens of controllers on 5 systems i can fairly say the edge pro takes the cake, nothing compares

[@goony7277]

You blessed it with this guide made me love the game even more, definitely limit broke that like button 😂

[@_s_ss_s_]

I imagine you'll be making updated controller setups for Dawntrail? I used your guides for all my classes and they work great.

[@BunBossFFXIV]

Yes!

[@OgreDLink]

Ah I haven't played since stormblood when I had to get rid of my ps4. Definitely what I needed as a returner I don't remember all my settings from back then so this was crazy useful. Thanks!

[@Blazingbeard]

Sprint and Mount on R3 or L3 with a Macro. Saves so much trigger tapping.

[@Metalmandy8]

I've been a keyboard girlie since launch, even now as I play on ps5. I want to figure controller out so bad so I can relax on my couch while I play 😂

[@michaelmurphy391]

Good video, I’m new to this on Xbox and this was very helpful. Thanks.

[@brandondragon]

Controller player since PS4 launch and now play on PS5. Never used double cross hotbar in raids. Tried it once doing MSQ and hated it. Its far easier in my mind to hit R1 plus the button i need than to double tap R2 and hold. This is a personal choice of course, but none of my jobs have more than three cross hotbar setups and my fourth is locked for all jobs for things like items, mounts, emotes, and chocobo controls. Thats all you need. I def agree you should lock atleast 1 cross hotbar. As i said its all about personal choice, and how your mind controls your hands. Go with whats easiest for you.

[@PrincessZoii]

This helped so much ty

[@marcusgames4518]

thank you this was very helpful as a series x player

[@vector3653]

Super helpful! Easiest way to set up!

[@yrysroda8592]

The video we DID know we needed!

[@IKIGAIofficial]

huge QOL. now i feel the rhythm!

[@zydeox1221]

You definitely wanna be able to target friendly npcs if you're maining a healer in ultimates, healing horsefart in dsr is impossible otherwise. Not just for hard content but also leveling quests aswell, there's a lot of emphasis on npcs tanking mobs for you and you having to spot heal them. These situations are niche, but being unable to perform these tasks lead to very big bumps in the road if you're doing any of these things for obvious reasons.

[@AGhostofOnyx]

I’m back baby! Except now on Xbox lol. Appreciate the run down on how to use the controller crossbar!

[@-Zarion]

Thanks for the video. As for d-pad skills, I would buy the vader 3 pro, it's like 30-50$ on aliexpress, it has 4 back buttons and 2 extra face buttons. I like it far more than my xbox elite 2. On PC you can use steam input (only for elite 2 wired or with dongle) or reWASD (vader 3 pro) to set really nice controller profiles, e.g. you can map a short press to a back button for it to trigger a d-pad keystroke AND you can also add a hold function to the same button, so if you hold that button it gets a different action without triggering the d-pad keystroke. It opens a lot of possibilities. e.g. holding that one back button changes my whole controller, Y, A, B, X etc get completely new functions without triggering their normal ones. Consoles are more limited but still, mapping d-pad to back buttons is possible, not sure if you can use the vader 3 pro on consoles. In general, get a controller with extra buttons, huge QoL.

[@GarredHATES]

Thank you so much!

[@XKageruX]

Best crossbar setup, youre the man

[@andreacorinaldesi3165]

Thanks for the video, it's really helpful!

[@Kaylersick]

Thank you, like the new gamepad viewer.

[@BunBossFFXIV]

Enjoy it

[@nickp11ps5]

Good video. Something I can link for new users.

[@landoharrid1486]

This was so helpful thank you very much

[@colbypitts5728]

You are the best!!

[@maidenceri4309]

given i have an xbox now, this will come in handy.

[@hollow1662]

Great guide thank you

[@ImTheDudeGames]

Thanks bun, this helped me a lot, super clean setup now on console and looking forward to Dra-gooning all over my enemies.

[@Puddin127]

This video is GOATED

[@peanutbutterdinosaur]

Thanks this is very helpful

[@Tony2438]

I am a beginner you lost me in the first minute

[@chiffer1787]

I started playing on xbox a couple days ago and my God the ui is confusing to navigate, this is extremely helpful though thank you

[@DoremiFasolatido1979]

Still an order of magnitude better than fuckin Guild Wars 2...

[@dbluwlf3596]

Okay, so I have the two cross hotbars on screen, and while it was covered in the video, I need a little more help adding actions onto the top cross hotbar. I'm doing something wrong and I don't know what it is.

[@brendanpederson5793]

What changes at level 30? Can you make a video on that. I can't have anything change on me. I love this set up

[@BunBossFFXIV]

Just your cross hot bar with new abilities, you can place it back to the way you have it but it just automatically resets

[@elliexellie7224]

I am so confused with the HUD layouts 😭

[@Godsane]

Damn Bro.. do i have to do this on Xbox every new Server/Char again? I did this step by Step an took me 1 hour

[@6ixSavage]

might I ask, in the HUD lay out section how are you getting the free hand to move around the screen and grab the windows directly. when i try this it only locks me into the current window im in. (using the select button) i was trying to figure this out after i unlocked my beast gage and that red gym is quite the eyesore in the middle of the screen. great video by the way!

[@sonnysteinmetz1641]

Great video but on controller w the consoles very difficult to do in hud layout, following your steps about 10 mins in on console moving and re sizing things is utter pain

[@BunBossFFXIV]

Unfortunately it’s just the nature of the beast with ffxiv. The only way around is to buy a cheap mouse keyboard to attach to your console. Good luck 🍀

[@PsYchoGvnner]

Hello, thank you for the guide to the cross hotbar. That was really helpful. I have a question regarding the D-pad on controller (or in my case on the RoG Ally). Is there a way to use the up, down, left, right buttons as a shortcut for stuff like inventory, character screen, armoury chest, etc? So far the only use for the D-pad is in combination with the shoulder trigger buttons. In the in-game options I can't even customize the D-pad for any kind of action.

[@joemorgenstern9846]

Playing with a controller is wild.

[@choocharoo]

How is healing on the Xbox? Or just controller in general? Tx. Very helpful video btw.

[@scottcunni]

Only issue I’ve had for the year I’ve played now is selecting target. I tank and it’s a little cumbersome to single target an enemy to get enmity after you ran thru and grabbed a group and there’s a straggler you need to grab

[@Thadenator]

This is awesome

[@leocreuu3254]

Ok so on PlayStation that method doesn’t work for moving abilities to the top hot bar when ur in edit it won’t let you double tap to go to the second one

[@BunBossFFXIV]

Sure does. It’s the same on every console. I play on ps4 as well. 10:05 You may just not understand the mechanics of it if you are new to the game.

[@leocreuu3254]

@@BunBossFFXIV lol your right I figured it out I was trying r2 instead of r1 after I reminded a hundred times I finally figured out that I’m the morron 😂

[@christianpucel8711]

good stuff

[@brynyolfxd3010]

No matter how meticulously i follow this ... still wont let me put ANYTHING in the upper crossbars .. nothing shifts over (on xbox)

[@BunBossFFXIV]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/rnXPlGCilrGVo68si=mq8xv9GtOqIuXxPC

[@BunBossFFXIV]

If you still have issues after that section just join the discord and ask in the controller help and show pictures can usually solve it pretty easy.

[@zackerymillet]

Hold rb and go to second cross bar BEFORE you add abilities.when you have the second cross bar where your first one was ,then go to add abilities. When your done hold rb again and go back to your first cross bar

[@RyanCooper-r9n]

Is there a way to hide the extended crossbar on all of the shared hotbars (so all except 1 and 2)? It woupd be nice to switch to a hotbar when im out of combat that doesnt have the extended one up and removes some screen clutter

[@nathanmorgan5543]

My question is how do I move HUD things, such as job gauge. I'm a monkey who play war and me not able to figure it out

[@DoremiFasolatido1979]

I honestly put ALL the spell effects on "limited". They're just too big and too flashy, and I hate it. I don't want a glow-in-the-dark, tie-dye Picasso replica done by a kindergartner on cocaine...I want a well-lit Mona Lisa. I'd go for "none" but you have to have some sort of visual indicator of the situation.

[@saidalsinaidi8776]

Amazing video i used to play ff14 but took along break ,, please can you explain how to have a back up for everything , like how to make a copy of my setting just in case ,

[@cuppapablo]

People will play with all effects turned on UNTIL they get to a Stormblood alliance raid and they cant see what's happening because of skills and spells. XD

[@casualcat3263]

I really wish you would edit the video less, I've had to watch this at least 5 times to finally figure out what you're explaining. You skim over crucial details that are vital for things to work properly.

[@BunBossFFXIV]

Like?

[@casualcat3263]

How to equip things on the second cross bar and some of the settings you selected to get the bar. I've copied your settings and I still don't know what they actually do.

[@casualcat3263]

Also I'm really sorry I didn't mean to come across as rude, I just really struggled following your guide. Thank you so much for your dedication and work you do to help players!

[@BunBossFFXIV]

@@casualcat3263 10:05 shows you exactly how to equip things to the second bar. If you are a new player to controller it could be difficult understanding the terminology. Or even a new player to the game can make this confusing.

[@slysynch8324]

Hey is there a text guide for this? I am hard of hearing and the auto generated subtitles keep freaking out and going away for me on mobile.

[@Godsane]

Wdym With Press R1 and Press sttongs Button. Whats THe settings Button?! 10:35