Need Advice!

Sicarim

I just bought this game today while at the local Gamestop, because in my desparate search for an MMO to replace SWG, I figured i'd try this one. I couldn't lose at a lean 20 bucks right? Well, im here now, and I'd like some advice on starting. Is there a certain race i should go for, or class? How should I go about starting in game?

Also, i've heard this game is a bit of a grind, which I probably wont mind, as long as I pick up some friends along the way... is the game world pretty populated?
Thanks.

ChrisMattern

OK

First off, the game is pretty balanced; I don't think there's a "best" race or class. They all have their places.

Brief description of the races:

Hume: Human, basically. Well rounded, with no obvious weaknesses but no outstanding strengths, either.

Galka: Big hulking guys. Very strong, very tough, really lousy at magic. Galka are actually asexual,
reproducing by a process of reincarnation, but are generally though of as male.

Elvaan: The pointy-ears of Vana'diel. Strong, but oddly, not terribly agile. It's a standing joke that
the "elves" of the game actually make poor archers. They make great swordsmen and axmen, though.
Good white mages, not so good at black magic.

Tarutaru: Very small and child-like, they are weak and fragile, as you would expect from their appearance.
They have great magic, however, and make fearsome black mages.

Mithra: Cat-girls. Fast and agile, good at ranged combat. Mithra males are rare and do not venture into
the outside world; if you choose Mithra, you'll be playing a female. In fact, I've never seen a Mithra
male, nor do I expect to (and one of my alts is a Mithra).

Then you have to choose a nation. Note that choosing the nation that your race is native to gets you that
nation's ring, which gives some stat bonuses when worn. Don't be to influenced too much by the ring,
though: you'll most likely be replacing it by the time you hit level 20 if not before, and you can't sell it.

San d'Oria: Traditional high fantasy--castle walls of grey stone, royalty and nobility, the works. Also
rigidly socially stratified and xenophobic; you'll find most of the NPC inhabitants are snobs to the n'th
degree. Crafting guilds here are Woodworking, Leathercraft and Smithing. The woods of Ronfaure
outside the gates are full of vicious Orcs.
Native race: Elvaan. The San D'Orian ring is probably the best of the three.

Bastok: Up and coming early industrial nation--Cid's here! Economy is dependant on its mines (try out
working the Zeruhn Mines; it can be an excellent source of money for newbies). I like its musical
theme the best--makes you think of a big, bustling, busy city. Crafting guilds here are Alchemy,
Goldsmithing, and Smithing (the only craft to have two halls, the guild shop here is better than the
one in San d'Oria). The surrounding wasteland of Gustaberg is often patrolled by the turtle-like Quadav.
Natives races: Hume and Galka

Windurst: The city of magic. And cuteness. If you don't have a high tolerance for cute,
your teeth may start to ache after you've been here a while. The merchant NPCs here
sell the best selection of magic scrolls. Crafting guilds here are Cooking, Bonecraft,
Clothcraft and Fishing. The savannah of Sarutabaruta it is located in holds many of the
theocratic bird-men, the Yagudo (and the, yes, disgustingly cute Mandragoras).
Native races: Tarutaru and Mithra. The Windurstian ring isn't worth much if you're not a
spellcaster.

Jobs: Note that you can freely switch jobs in your Mog House (player housing), although
experience and level for each job is tracked separately. So your job choice is definitely
not set in stone Here's a small set a descriptions I wrote for another forum:

Monk -- You hit stuff, they fall down. Probably the simplest of the basic six. You start with no weapon, but try to get a hand-to-hand weapon like Bronze Knuckles or Cat Baghnaks as soon as you can afford one. Don't let the fact that
you have the highest hit points of any job delude you into thinking you have good defense. The fact that you can't
equip armor with decent defense means you can't handle taking severe punishment.

Warrior -- Warrior is more defense oriented as opposed to the offense-oriented Monk. This means you get provided with tools to provide defense for the entire group (the jargon is you "tank" for the group) when you start grouping, like Provoke, which makes the mob want to attack you (instead of other group members). You start with a sword, but upgrade it to an axe when you get money. Eventually you'll want to be using a two-handed axe ("Great Axe"), but you don't have one available until level 5.

Thief -- You're hard to hit, you're relatively good with ranged weapons (although you don't compare to Rangers), you get to see mobs displayed on compass rose in the lower left hand corner. Your big task in a group will be pulling (grab a mob by shooting at him and then run back to the waiting group so they can kill him). You get to steal from mobs and increase loot drops, and later on you get some neat backstabbing moves.

White Mage -- You heal, you protect. You won't be hitting the mob, you'll be making sure the other party members don't die. A passive role, but a vital one; as a general rule, a normal party can do without any other given class (except maybe WAR), but it can't work without a WHM, particularly at the lower levels.

Black Mage -- "Blow things up! Blow things up! Blow things up!" (a no-prize for the first person to recognize that quote :-) As the magic damage dealer, your life is a little more complicated than the Monk's, the melee damage dealer. You need to manage your mana pool so you don't run out, and manage such details as recognizing the elemental strengths and weaknesses of your foes so that you select the right attack spells and spacing out your attacks so that the tank doesn't lose his grip on the mob ('cause you won't survive long if the mob starts hitting you). If you like stuff that goes BOOM, this is the job for you.

Red Mage -- the jack of all trades, particularly at the lower levels. You melee, you nuke, you heal. You just don't do any of them as well as the classes devoted to these things. You do specialize in enfeebling; as you advance in levels your parties will have the pleasure of fighting mobs that are Paralyzed, Slowed, Blinded, Poisoned, and more, all at the same time, which makes their lives much easier. You also get Refresh, which is vital as soon as you get it, but that's way up at level 41. Your well roundedness makes you more viable to play solo than most other classes--more viable than any of the other basic classes--although you'll still do better in a party past level 10 or 11. It is well known that Red Mages are stylish, dashing, and have by *far* the best-looking job-specific artifact armor. Did I mention that I'm a RDM? :-)

There are also nine "advanced" jobs, but you can't access them until you reach level 30. You then have to perform
a "flag" quest for a job to unlock it.

Advice: Talk to the NPCs. *Listen* to them. A lot of what they say is fluff, but they also have important information to
impart, so be listening. Square has a number of NPCs that instruct you on tips in beginning monster hunting, using the
AH, and more. Also read your manual; lots of vital info in there. Your nation has an auction house for PCs
to buy and sell goods with each other. Use it to sell your loot, but be cautious about buying there; newbie gear can
generally be had cheaper from NPC merchants. As you head out from the city for the first time, you'll notice a gate
guard with a couple of initials after his name (I.M., W.W. or T.K., depending on your nation). Talk to him. Ask him
to cast Signet on you. You'll get the Signet buff icon in the upper left corner of your screen. While this is up, mobs
will drop crystals as part of your loot, and they will be among the most valuable things the monsters drop for you
in your beginning levels. You also get Conquest Points for killing mobs with Signet up, which you can trade in
for pretty neat stuff to the guard. You only get crystals and CPs for killing mobs that earn you experience, but when
you start out, *everything* earns you experience :-). Signet will last from 2 to 4 hours for you, depending on your
nation's rank in Conquest (that's a subject for another time). You should *always, always, always* have Signet up
when you're out in the field, as there is no reason not to, and lots of reasons to do so.

*Do not* throw away Beastmen's Seals. They are your keys to instanced fights later on that have very
valuable drops. They cannot be bought or traded, so hang on to every one. By the time you get to
level 40, you'll be wishing you had lots more, no matter how many you have.

Also, remember to use the "check" function on mobs before engaging them. This will give a you a rough indication
of the mob's strength and may help you prevent getting your butt kicked. Remember you can use the heal command
to regain hit points (and mana points if you're a mage). It takes about 25 seconds of resting before the first "tick"
of healing happens, so be patient. Solo at first; partying is for later on.

Yes, the game can be a bit of a grind at times. This matters more to some than to others. I have found it
manageable and even enjoyable, myself. The game is *very* populated; only WoW and the Lineages are
bigger. Any given server typically has 2000 to 3000 people currently playing on it. The usual complaint is
that things are too crowded rather than that they are too empty.

Google for web resources. I have found http://ffxi.allakhazam.com, http://ffxi.somepage.com and
http://www.killingifrit.com to all be valuable resources.

Have fun with it; I've been playing for three months and have been having a blast. See you in Vana'diel!

Chris Mattern