New Player :)

[HairdewX]

Hello, I'm a brand new player to the FFXI community. I am playing from an Xbox 360. It was almost an impulse purchase because it was on sale, and some people I know really like the game. I have gone through a lot of the FAQs and threads here, but I still have some questions.

I have come from playing World of Warcraft, which I quit a few months ago. There were a lot of thing that I liked and didn't like. What I didn't like was the emphasis on raiding. Raiding had to be done on a schedule, and with up to 40 other people. It's gets so bad to the point that it soon becomes a job, and no longer a game. The problem was that much emphasis in the game is set on gear, which isn't a bad thing, but the only way to get even decent gear is to join a guild and go on these grueling and monotonous raids.

Is that also what happens in FFXI? I'm a more casual player. I want to enjoy the online community, have fun, and at least get some decent gear, without having to constantly come online at the same time and keep schedules with up to 40 other people.

Also, coming from WoW, is there some sort of set server time? For example, I live on the west coast, would there be specific servers that would be better for me to join that would fit my timezone better?

Are there guilds (clans) in this game with specific guild chat? It was a neat feature in WoW, but it did create a lot of drama and sometimes hostility between guilds of even the same faction.

[eticket109]

Re: New Player

All of the servers have pretty diverse populations. There are more NA (US) players on during peak times of course, but they're on pretty much all hours of the day.

Guilds in FFXI are called linkshells. A linkshell is created by a player and then copies (linkpearls) are handed out to other players. Once equipped there is a seperate channel of chat just for those with the shell equipped. On a related note, whispers in FFXI are called tells. There are 5 chat modes. /say which pretty much anyone in your immediate area can see. There is /shout which is viewable to most everyone in the entire 'zone'. /party is used for anyone you're in a party or alliance with.

As far as raids, there are comparable events in FFXI but they don't really come up until later in the game. There are a few types of raid-like situations in FFXI.

BC (burning circle) fights:
These are triggered fights for anywhere from 3 to 18 people. Typically they are level capped. They are primarily used for missions (story) or BC/KS fights whereupon you trade orbs to access the arena and fight a set number of mobs. Instead of a dungeon as in WoW, BC fights are usually just one room with 1 to 15 mobs that have to be killed. The level requirements and caps can vary greatly.

Dynamis:
This is an endgame activity so you won't see too much of it for a while. Dynamis is a raid into a city or dungeon where typically 18-64 people can go through and farm items or sellable drops. Each job class has access to a relic weapon. Dynamis is the source of the currency used to upgrade these weapons. Dynamis mobs also drop high level job specific armor referred to as AF2 or Relic armor. The requirement for access is 65. Then there is additional zone clear requirements to some of the later runs.

Salvage:
A lot like dynamis but on a slightly smaller scale. There's no currency in salvage but there are some amazing armor pieces that can be obtained. Salvage is typically considered a level cap activity.

Assault:
Assault is essentially a 3-6 person mini-raid. There is an objective you must fulfill after which you will receive points for items. There are a number of ranks to assault and a large number of missions as well. Assault is something else you won't experience until at least level 60.


These are all optional. Depending on job, there are a large number of gear paths available. By the time you reach these stages you'll either be willing to do it or not. Regardless, you'll have plenty of gear to collect and use before any of this even comes up.

[HairdewX]

Re: New Player

Thanks for all the info. As long as it doesn't get as bad as WoW is all I can really ask for :D

[eticket109]

Re: New Player

Speaking of BC fights, the earlier ones are all based around Beastmen Seals. You'll see those drop when you exp. Save every one that you get.

[HairdewX]

Re: New Player

hmmm... some people were telling me that FFXI is not a game for a casual player... That it requires more time than WoW does... Is this true?

[neighbortaru]

Re: New Player

yes. FFXI is very much more old school, grinding than WoW. If you care about getting max level quickly, this is not the game for you.

[Achaicus]

Re: New Player

Welcome to FFXI !

FFXI started as an impulse buy for me too (me & my wife both are to blame for that, lol). Got a 2nd account - for the PC - so my wife & me (or, two of my kids) may play at the same time. I also bought the 360 version, while it was on sale (and in stock) at Wal-Mart - but, lol I do not (yet) owna 360


Sounds to me that you'll like it


By the way - eticket109 - good explanation - thx!

[Jinz]

Re: New Player

In my opinion FFXI can be as time consuming as you want it to be really. As I'm guessing you've gathered, past level 10-15 you can't really solo level anymore, it is completely party based (max of 6 players). The ups and downs to that are simple, you can't level without a party, thus so long as you're seeking a party, you 'could' just sit in town and wait for an invite. Ideally you could have two things going at once, like FFXI on the 360/PS2 while doing other things on a PC perhaps, all it really takes is to glance at your chat log periodically to see if you have any /tells to invite you to an EXP party. Of course you can always go out and farm items while you're seeking party too for extra cash. As said above, if you want to hit max level quickly, you basically need to speak at least English and Japanese, be able to move yourself into 36 hour days, and basically play non-stop. Don't get me wrong, nothing would stop you from enjoying the game at a slower pace, but it would most definitely take you several months to reach level 75 with the appropriate levels in your subjobs to accommodate your main.

On a side note, a big plus side to those Dynamis raids that wasn't mentioned is, unlike WoW raids that could quite easily take all freaking day, Dynamis is available twice a week I believe and is a TIMED instance, although there are objectives inside that can increase the allotted time, it is still limited to a couple of hours at which point your alliance will be kicked out.

I guess my main advice to you would be: Try it for yourself for a -while- don't get yourself to the early levels of partying and decide from there, things change drastically once you begin to move out of the noob levels/zones and more abilities become available, you'll always get poor parties but the great parties generally make up for them. Lastly, if you have difficulty finding parties, or aren't sure about subjob selections etc. make sure to ask here, it seems like most people here have a pretty good idea of what's going on.

Pro tip: Being a white mage with provoke is -NOT- a good way to save a tank from dying LoL.

Good luck soldier

[HairdewX]

Re: New Player

hehe, thanks for the info guys. I'm not to concerned on the amount of time it takes to level up. I did start out as a tarutaru white mage (lvl 4 now, yay)

I'm just more concerned about the raiding time sink. Jinz already mentioned WoW and how raid dungeons could take all day. I come from a raiding guild in WoW, and we raided 6 days a week. The only way to stay competitive in the loot distribution was to have to attend almost every raid, which soon became too demanding, especially since raiding took many many hours. I couldn't take it, and my wife definitely couldn't take it

I guess my question is that can FFXI eventually get that time consuming when it comes to raiding? (to the point of 5-6 nights a week, for multiple hours each night)

[neokaril]

Re: New Player

As I'm guessing you've gathered, past level 10-15 you can't really solo level anymore, it is completely party based (max of 6 players).

I hear this all the time and it is a over simplified statement. It is NOT true that you cannot level solo. While your exp may come slower, you can certainly solo past 10-15. If you are as you say a casual player and don't wish to waste what little time you have in the game waiting for a party, go out and play! I have never played in a full party, I play solo or with my roommate and that's it. That being said when I do play WHM I actually run /anon to keep from having to answer the repeated tells for parties. I have been playing for about 3 months and have a mule in the 20's and with my main I have leveled 8 jobs to 15 and my main in to the 30's, in addition to leveling crafts, raising choco's, fishing, etc.
Simply put there are many, many appealing and entertaining things to do in this game and if reaching end game material "overnight" isn't your goal, you don't have to follow the herd. Read everything you can, but go out and explore and learn the game for yourself.
Please don't let the thought, or posts of people sitting around for hours waiting for a party invite dissuade you from playing a truly thrilling and extremely rich game.

[Achaicus]

Re: New Player

Yeah, all of the broo-haha about taking more time relates to how long it takes to get exp to level to 75. I have known of people who are not that interested in exp partys all of the time, but enjoyed - for example - just bee-boping around and seeing all of the sights. As I sometimes say things like 'are you really playing if you are not having fun?'

I am not familiar with WoW or any other MMORPG than FFX, but ugh! 40 people to get a item.. I gues that makes a 18 person alliance sound simple.

Get your wife to play too! :D

[eticket109]

Re: New Player

My wife has played for over 2 years now. She loves the game and plays every day. She doesn't have a job over 40 either. lol She still has more fun playing most days then I do.

As for time-intensive, all of the things I mentioned have time limits of some sort attached to them. The longest belongs to dynamis which can last for up to 3 1/2 hours. You can only enter Dynamis every three days though.

[HairdewX]

Re: New Player

Get your wife to play too! :D

Funny you said that, because I asked my wife and she agreed to play Thing is, I did the same thing with WoW, and she said no... She's Japanese, so I guess that speaks volumes to the brand power of FF in Japan, heh.

She is Udonchan, and I am Udonkun, on the Ifrit server. My tarutaru white mage will remain my alt that I will play when the wife isn't playing. That way we can level up together

[Necropolis]

Re: New Player

Funny you said that, because I asked my wife and she agreed to play Thing is, I did the same thing with WoW, and she said no... She's Japanese, so I guess that speaks volumes to the brand power of FF in Japan, heh.

She is Udonchan, and I am Udonkun, on the Ifrit server. My tarutaru white mage will remain my alt that I will play when the wife isn't playing. That way we can level up together

I'm on Ifrit as well! If you ever need help or anything, just send a /tell. I have a busy schedule usually, but I play a lot, and try to help out when I can.

[Jinz]

Re: New Player

If I may make a suggestion, instead of making a total alt character, you might find it more enjoyable to simple play a different job during your off time, that way you can sustain all your quests (namely subjob) and missions etc. This certainly doesn't apply to everyone but, I found that the more I changed my mind and went back to level 1, or especially when I wasn't sure on what race to play, starting completely new characters caused me to desperately need to take breaks (like a month at a time) from the game back in the day, due to getting bored with having to do the same things over and over again in the same areas. I always felt that the most unique and fun part about FFXI was the fact you could change jobs on the fly and do anything on a single character, that way it wasn't like having to start over again and again.

Keep in mind this is just a thought, but wouldn't want you to find yourself getting bored :p