Is FF XI a game for me?

[Karinya]

Re: Is FF XI a game for me?

XI still requires chunks of 5hrs+ at a time to get anything done.

No, it doesn't. It requires chunks of 5+ hours to get *certain* things done, but there's lots of other things that you can do with smaller chunks of time (especially now with FoV).
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One more question
If i go Mithra, do i get like added stats to say agility or something?

Yes, but it's not really that big a deal. Any race can be good at any job - it's mostly in how you play it.

There is some bias against galka mages and taru tanks, but it's not really justified by effectiveness, in my experience.

The more balanced races like hume and mithra shouldn't have any problems with in-game racism though.

I'm thinking of going Mithra Thief..
or is that cliche in FF XI?

A bit, but it's still effective.

However, thief is a difficult job to get into early; it's particularly weak without a subjob, and a lot of the power of the job doesn't become available until level 15 or 30 (and even then, it requires coordination with other party members that may be difficult to arrange). Some players will also have totally unrealistic (for a new player) gear expectations. From level 24-30 other players may think less of you for not having NIN as your subjob, without realizing that you can't. Daggers are a weak weapon (especially early), but using another weapon can leave you with skill problems - both immediately (low caps) and longer term (not having dagger skill because you used something else for 20 levels).

And other players know all those things, so thief is often considered last for party invites at low levels.

If these things are getting you down, consider a job change. You can change and change back as often as you want. I think in a lot of ways thief is more suited to a player with more experience with the game - if it wasn't for the FF I connection, they probably would have made it an advanced job.

[TezzaLarks]

Re: Is FF XI a game for me?

Yes, but it's not really that big a deal. Any race can be good at any job - it's mostly in how you play it.

There is some bias against galka mages and taru tanks, but it's not really justified by effectiveness, in my experience.

The more balanced races like hume and mithra shouldn't have any problems with in-game racism though.


A bit, but it's still effective.

However, thief is a difficult job to get into early; it's particularly weak without a subjob, and a lot of the power of the job doesn't become available until level 15 or 30 (and even then, it requires coordination with other party members that may be difficult to arrange). Some players will also have totally unrealistic (for a new player) gear expectations. From level 24-30 other players may think less of you for not having NIN as your subjob, without realizing that you can't. Daggers are a weak weapon (especially early), but using another weapon can leave you with skill problems - both immediately (low caps) and longer term (not having dagger skill because you used something else for 20 levels).

And other players know all those things, so thief is often considered last for party invites at low levels.

If these things are getting you down, consider a job change. You can change and change back as often as you want. I think in a lot of ways thief is more suited to a player with more experience with the game - if it wasn't for the FF I connection, they probably would have made it an advanced job.

Cheers for the help.

I originally thought of going Thief or White mage - but thinking to previous FFs white mage is extrmely difficult to even keep alive and Thief...well lets just look at Rikku and be done with.

So what would be a good class to maybe just learn the ropes on?

[Firewind]

Re: Is FF XI a game for me?

White Mages have an insane amount of survivability at later levels and have one of the most damaging weapon skills in the game in the form of Hexa-Strike. White Mages also have the highest VIT stats of all mages if I remember right. Just because something is squishy early on doesn't mean that it's going to be hard to stay alive. I've out tanked NINs and PLDs in exp parties before.

To be honest the easiest class to start out with is Red Mage. It's a highly versatile class then solos really well. Monk is another really simple class (albeit boring) to start with since their job is simply to punch the mob to death.

Warrior, Thief and Black Mage aren't really highly recommended starting jobs for someone who has never played the game before. Warrior because you are expected to tank and most new players are stereotyped as picking Warrior without knowing how to use it. Thief because it's very weak without a subjob and Black Mage because it's hard to solo as one at early levels and it's hard to use a Black mage efficiently without knowing about enmity first.

[Ellipses]

Re: Is FF XI a game for me?

Don't bring too many expectations from previous FF games into this one with you. Some of them will hold true, some of them won't. Odds are, no matter what job you play, you're going to end up being surprised by what it can or can't do, or what is or isn't expected of you.

I would call WHM, BLM, and THF difficult to start off with. They're all are fairly weak for the early solo levels without a subjob (especially BLM), and all three have roles in a party that are easy to screw up. THFs are pullers, so you'll die and maybe kill your party learning about links and what to pull and when to pull it. On BLM, you will over-nuke, pull hate off the tank, and die. On WHM, you will either under-cure or over-cure, and suck at MP management, and it's just a matter of whether you or the tank dies first (followed promptly by the rest of the party).

RDM starts off easy, and then parties will either expect far too much of you, or have no idea what to do with you. In the first situation, you and your party will die. In the second, you'll survive, but you will probably end up with a poor idea of what a RDM does in a party.

On MNK, you will punch things, and you and your party might die, but unless you have outdated gear and aren't eating food, it won't be your fault. (This only applies until you get your subjob; once you can go /WAR, it can be your fault.)

On WAR, there are three things you need to learn: Shut up and use a greataxe, shut up and use Shield Break, and shut up and Provoke. You'll learn other things later, but those are the things that make up the entire learning hurdle for new WARs (apart from universal truths, like always eat food).

How much you learn largely depends on other people more than it depends on what class you pick. Some are easier than others early on, but once you start partying, it's all down to what happens in those parties. School of hard knocks vs. school of... soft... taps on the shoulder?

[TezzaLarks]

Re: Is FF XI a game for me?

Don't bring too many expectations from previous FF games into this one with you. Some of them will hold true, some of them won't. Odds are, no matter what job you play, you're going to end up being surprised by what it can or can't do, or what is or isn't expected of you.

I would call WHM, BLM, and THF difficult to start off with. They're all are fairly weak for the early solo levels without a subjob (especially BLM), and all three have roles in a party that are easy to screw up. THFs are pullers, so you'll die and maybe kill your party learning about links and what to pull and when to pull it. On BLM, you will over-nuke, pull hate off the tank, and die. On WHM, you will either under-cure or over-cure, and suck at MP management, and it's just a matter of whether you or the tank dies first (followed promptly by the rest of the party).

RDM starts off easy, and then parties will either expect far too much of you, or have no idea what to do with you. In the first situation, you and your party will die. In the second, you'll survive, but you will probably end up with a poor idea of what a RDM does in a party.

On MNK, you will punch things, and you and your party might die, but unless you have outdated gear and aren't eating food, it won't be your fault. (This only applies until you get your subjob; once you can go /WAR, it can be your fault.)

On WAR, there are three things you need to learn: Shut up and use a greataxe, shut up and use Shield Break, and shut up and Provoke. You'll learn other things later, but those are the things that make up the entire learning hurdle for new WARs (apart from universal truths, like always eat food).

How much you learn largely depends on other people more than it depends on what class you pick. Some are easier than others early on, but once you start partying, it's all down to what happens in those parties. School of hard knocks vs. school of... soft... taps on the shoulder?

SO its a matter of trial and error in a lot of places...Will have to see.

Its just finished installing and i've set it up but i want to play with a friend whos playing on xbox 360, atm hes away. Is there any way i can find out what server he plays on so i don't create a character on the wrong server for absolutely no reason?

[Ellipses]

Re: Is FF XI a game for me?

Not without talking to him. If you know his character name, you could search for it on ffxiah.com, but there's no way to tell if that's really him or someone with the same character name.

I'd say just create a character just to mess around and get a feel for things, then delete it and create a new one once you know his server. Unless it's going to be ages until you talk to him again, you won't make a painful-to-give-up amount of progress.

[TezzaLarks]

Re: Is FF XI a game for me?

Not without talking to him. If you know his character name, you could search for it on ffxiah.com, but there's no way to tell if that's really him or someone with the same character name.

I'd say just create a character just to mess around and get a feel for things, then delete it and create a new one once you know his server. Unless it's going to be ages until you talk to him again, you won't make a painful-to-give-up amount of progress.

Yeah i guess i will
Mithra Red mage it is!

best get to it really just for a bit, My usernames TezzaLarks
So if anybody wana give me a few pointers

Cheers everyone you've been a big help!

[Balfree]

Re: Is FF XI a game for me?

I enjoy this game.

I play it maybe 10~12 hours a week.

[Yellow Mage]

Re: Is FF XI a game for me?

If i go Mithra, do i get like added stats to say agility or something?

Racial stats (possibly excluding HP and MP) are incredibly negligible. Also, there is no such thing as a cliche job-race combination (really, the only thing that can be considered "cliche" at this point in the game is WAR/NIN).

The general guideline is this: First, pick the race that you're going to enjoy looking at for the entirety of your playtime. Next, choose the job that you like (and remember to consider all the extra jobs and your subjob options when you do). Third: enjoy your time in FFXI.

[Rewyen]

Re: Is FF XI a game for me?

Meh, I have to slightly disagree on the race stats. They will change according to what job you are leveling, but I'm a Mithra and @ 75, I can tell you that a hume at my level with the same job and gear has almost 15 less in DEX than I do. While that doesn't sound like a lot, it is noticable. But, remember that it doesn't matter which race or job you choose, it's how you play it. I have seen amazing Taru PLDs and Galkan WHMs, but as a Mithra, I do have to say that we are teh secks. Welcome to FFXI Don't get discouraged if things start off slowly, it does pick up and the game is worth it. My best friends in the world I met here and friends will really make this game more than a just a game. Just heed the warning when you click play... it can and will consume you...