A cautionary message for all new players

[Sneph]

I'm an old player who recently started playing on Alexander again. After completing a bunch of quests and leveling to 14, I figured it'd be about time to head to the dunes - a great spot to party with others and level.

I sat for 2 days without an invite and with the best possible gear you could have for 14 (I had a friend help me out with the equipment + the early questing helped).

I did a few /sea all searches the next couple days and found that only 50 people were even online from levels 10 to 50. 50 people! It's no surprise I didn't get an invite when there were the equivalent of 1 and a half parties in the dunes altogether. I played maybe a year before and had only minor trouble getting a party almost anywhere at any level. So I did more checks to the community:

..only 114 were between the levels of 10-73 out of 1500 players online (including those anonymous [usually level 75 or 1]).

..levels 1-73 seeking party? 13 if you include 4 people under level 9 seeking. 2 stray people in Jeuno and a few in Aht Urghan

The game may not be dead, but it's the cute term, "Top heavy" that likes to be tossed around. If you came for team play and don't have a high level character, I suggest you wait for FFXIV to release.

If you're a new player, the game IS dead unless you like playing it solo in an unfriendly to soloing game. Even SE admits it is harsh to solo playing, so thankfully nobody can argue that. Nobody can also argue the 300~500 xp you may make from solo 'training' every hour hardly makes a dent in overall xp gain.

I hope the players that invested their time into the game get to enjoy it for many years to come.

[TheGrandMom]

Re: A cautionary message for all new players

300-500 an hour?? No way. I soloed quite a few jobs until level 25 because I avoided the dunes and quifm like the plague. If you aren't using the FoV quests then you are handicapping yourself. Also you need to research where the best spots are to solo at your current level.

[Sneph]

Re: A cautionary message for all new players

They let you run the FoV training regimes once an hour. That means you get the reward of that once an hour.

I said it's dead for team play and you tell me I should learn where to solo. I didn't ask where to solo nor did I say you can't solo.

The game was designed for team play and if you don't have a 75 job these days, you better hope you set up a static group that plays the game equally.

--plus, you said until 25. Do a search on your server for how many people are online between 20-40. 10-50. Tell me you could get a party going with all those with their flags up

[Emmanuell]

Re: A cautionary message for all new players

Sneph your on the wrong server then you need to switch to another server. Ifrit is the server that I am on and to be honest with you it is hard to get a party anywhere yes. That is because SE has allowed it to become that way. It is a lot more solo play... Its not the game you once new...

[Takelli]

Re: A cautionary message for all new players

I'm on alexander, and I never have any issues getting a party started. No matter the time, I can find a tank, healer, support, and DDs all for a party, and go from there. Alexander has a decent amount of people at all times, and most of the time, theres enough looking for a party, and those who have been looking long enough that are willing to level sync.

[Ziero]

Re: A cautionary message for all new players

Get friends.

You can join an exp party now with people regardless of what level they are. With friends, you can throw together an exp pt, people can take whatever jobs they want in whatever gear they want and everyone will get their fair share of Exp from it. I've been helping friends level their jobs since they were lvl 20 something...and using my 75 War the entire time. Currently the lowest member is 50, but I'm still using my 75 War and they're still getting 200 exp per.

Also, an in game day is like 45 minutes, and the rewards alone for finishing an FOV is like 300-500 exp. Combined with Exp rings, chain bonues for EM+ or boosted Exp and signet bonuses for fighting DC or lower...it's real easy to solo nowadays.

Though I do find it hilarious. Way back when, people blasted SE for making it too hard to solo. Now that it's easy to solo, people are blasting SE for making it too hard to get a party. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

[Solymir]

Re: A cautionary message for all new players

I have found that for low level party going, levels 10-30, Sat-Sun is the best time period. Of course a lot of this is determined by the fact that these two days are pretty much my only worthwhile time to fit in leveling new jobs.

Don't give up. You can get quite a few levels even if you are only leveling Sat-Sun. When you are looking for group take some time to do some quests. It will break up the monotany of trying to solo and/or just sitting in sand.

Yes, you are correct this game is "mostly" top heavy, but that does not mean low level partying is dead. Most people I know that have a 75 job have events 4-7 days a week. So the time they have for leveling new jobs is limited.

My event schedule
Sunday 5:30-9:30 Dynamis
Monday 7-11 Sea
Tuesday 8:30-11 Limbus
Wednesday 7:30-11:30 Dynamis
Thursday 7-11 Sky
Friday 8:30-11 Limbus
Saturday 9 p.m.-1 a.m. Salvage

[Mhurron]

Re: A cautionary message for all new players

They let you run the FoV training regimes once an hour. That means you get the reward of that once an hour.

... plus the exp from killing the actual mobs and everything else you can kill in that hour. You don't stop killing mobs when you finish a page, or at least you don't stop if your intelligent.

I've soloed 2 jobs to 37 and duoed a third (with a new player). No parties at all. FoV and a weapon.

I said it's dead for team play

You're wrong there as well, I'm leveling DNC with parties, and when I finish that I'll level SCH in parties. You don't however really expect parties until you hit 20.

If you're <20 and a mage, you want a decent LS.

[Emmanuell]

Re: A cautionary message for all new players

During the work week it is really hard because most ppl that play our 20+ years in age so we work. I would say this though I play at night and most weekends when I can... Since level 75 though I rarely doing anything low level anymore period, I would rather solo using FoV now.

[TheGrandMom]

Re: A cautionary message for all new players

They let you run the FoV training regimes once an hour. That means you get the reward of that once an hour.

I said it's dead for team play and you tell me I should learn where to solo. I didn't ask where to solo nor did I say you can't solo.

The game was designed for team play and if you don't have a 75 job these days, you better hope you set up a static group that plays the game equally.

--plus, you said until 25. Do a search on your server for how many people are online between 20-40. 10-50. Tell me you could get a party going with all those with their flags up

And I wasn't being snippy about it like you are. I just said that there is FoV in case you weren't aware and that some areas are easier to exp in than others so check into it. Trying to help you out but obviously you are more knowledgeable than I am.

[Ufgt]

Re: A cautionary message for all new players

Soloing and FoVs are amazing for xp when you have your flag up. Just do research and find the best spot to camp.

[Grizzlebeard]

Re: A cautionary message for all new players

Entirely depends on the server. Fenrir during my hours of play is pretty dead for invites and for people seeking in order to put a party together. Right now at 18.25 my time there is a grand total of 38 people seeking across all level ranges, of that number there are no tanks, one cor, and three healers seeking.

Problem being if they upped the exp rate for soloing to a decent level no one would ever party again. Granted, at this point in the game's life I'm not sure that would be a bad thing. The general population leans heavily towards gaining the maximum amount of exp in the shortest time now as evidenced by the burn mentality of most of the playerbase. Grinding exp is a chore and ironically some of the most desired endgame jobs, such as paladins and black mages, are shunned by a large percentage of high level exp parties anyway.

[Emmanuell]

Re: A cautionary message for all new players

Entirely depends on the server. Fenrir during my hours of play is pretty dead for invites and for people seeking in order to put a party together. Right now at 18.25 my time there is a grand total of 38 people seeking across all level ranges, of that number there are no tanks, one cor, and three healers seeking.

Problem being if they upped the exp rate for soloing to a decent level no one would ever party again. Granted, at this point in the game's life I'm not sure that would be a bad thing. The general population leans heavily towards gaining the maximum amount of exp in the shortest time now as evidenced by the burn mentality of most of the playerbase. Grinding exp is a chore and ironically some of the most desired endgame jobs, such as paladins and black mages, are shunned by a large percentage of high level exp parties anyway.

Dude that is crazy at 6:25 PM what server are you on? Let me ask though how many ppl do you average in your server?

[Losrase]

Re: A cautionary message for all new players

If you're a new player, the game IS dead unless you like playing it solo in an unfriendly to soloing game. Even SE admits it is harsh to solo playing, so thankfully nobody can argue that. Nobody can also argue the 300~500 xp you may make from solo 'training' every hour hardly makes a dent in overall xp gain.

I hope the players that invested their time into the game get to enjoy it for many years to come.

Whoa, that is really low. Even for the days before FoV.

The spot that I solo'd is in the Highlands on the mid-east side of the map. If you look for the place where you fight the bomb NM for SAM job unlock, that is where there are about 5 worms. It may be difficult to start because they maybe close to each other but once you have them spawning one at a time the exp will roll in.

I guess for a new player who doesnt know where the exp spots are will have a difficult time leveling in a top heavy MMO. Then again, you could ask people in forums on where to go and you will get 4 possible replies:

1) They will tell you some places to exp
2) They will tell you some places to exp but insulting you in the process
3) They will post replies that have nothing to do with the topic.
4) They will post replies that have nothing to do with the topic but insulting you in the process.
5) They will tell you some places to exp and add extra useless information (like my post >.>)

[Emmanuell]

Re: A cautionary message for all new players

To be very honest it is really easy to solo play from 20 to 25... Some ppl like to party but you can handle that alone easy... I know BST solo's but I went from 1 to 20 in like 10 hours maybe...