New Players not welcome?

[Solarfall]

Sure, I know it's late, and FFXI has been out for years, but you would think by now there would be methods in place to allow for better soloing of the game, since, as a late-comer to the game, it's virtually impossible to find a party, because FFXI already has an established, dedicated player base.

I really want to play this game, but the current mechanics simply do not allow for solo play, certainly not your first character.

Yes, I do know about Level Sync, and Exp rings, but these seem like temporary solutions, and still require being in a party.

It's disappointing to want to play and experience the story (I'm sure it's awesome) but not being able to in an efficient, reasonable manner.

I was able to solo a WHM to 13, at that point it seemed the gameplay got steeper, and steeper in terms of difficulty, until finally being almost unplayable without anyone else.

[cidbahamut]

Re: New Players not welcome?

I really want to play this game, but the current mechanics simply do not allow for solo play, certainly not your first character.

Um, yeah they do. I started last summer and it's far from difficult. What it is, is slow. Especially if White Mage is your first job, because White Mage takes forever to kill anything.

That said, you will get further faster if you find other people to play with. It's just how this game was designed. Have you tried putting up your Looking For Party flag yet? At level 13 there ought to be a party or two in Valkurm Dunes looking for a healer most nights.

[Takelli]

Re: New Players not welcome?

Since you are level 13, and have been using the AH correct (Such as selling anything that drops on it.), you should have enough money for melee food so you can solo a bit faster as WHM. I don't know what starting zone you are in, so not sure where you would buy it. Just use the FFXIwiki, and search up Meat Jerky, its really cheap, and can give you a boost in melee damage.

[Elwynn]

Re: New Players not welcome?

When I started, I basically soloed WHM to 30... then they added Level Sync, and increased Easy Prey XP, and later added FoV. So it's definitely possible, even without all the stuff added in the past two years.

These days you're pretty much expected to solo to 10, because it goes so fast. When I start a new job, I can get to level 7 in about an hour or two. Once you hit 10, which makes you eligible for Level Sync, you can start looking for a party in dunes or somewhere.

[Malacite]

Re: New Players not welcome?

No, you newbies are not allowed to join the party, gtfo.


... j/k, it's actually pretty freaking easy to level now so just read up on the stickies for info relevant to your jobs/playstyle, make some in-game friends and you'll be fine.

[Karinya]

Re: New Players not welcome?

You should definitely look into Fields of Valor (that link is to FFXIclopedia, a very useful site with information about lots of things in FFXI), which will get you some extra gil and experience points as well as allowing you to get useful status enhancements after you've done a few. If you have solo and party gear both on you (or at that level there might not be any difference), you can do FoV while your /inv flag is up for parties -- there's no penalty for leaving FoV in the middle, you can come back and finish it after the party if you haven't gained too many levels and made all the mobs Too Weak.

Once you get to level 18, you can do the subjob quest; a well-chosen subjob will make your character stronger at everything, including soloing. At level 30 there is a quest you can do to get an NPC companion that can fight with you in most areas, which also helps; and a lot of jobs are better soloers than WHM, in general. But ultimately, most jobs earn most of their exp in parties, so until you feel confident in leading a party yourself, you'll probably spend a while with /inv on waiting for a suitable party to invite you.


P.S. Melee food like meat jerky (or even more economical, grilled hare, but the long duration means you'll be stuck with it if you get invited to a party) is good for soloing, but for party play on a WHM you should have some cookies. They'll help you recover MP faster, which will let your party fight more monsters with less time waiting for you to rest, so everyone including you will get more XP.

[DakAttack]

Re: New Players not welcome?

Level Sync killed the game. Sure, it's easier to find a party, but at what price? Spending your life in the Dunes or Qufim? Never skilling up?

[Elwynn]

Re: New Players not welcome?

I wouldn't say that. I would say magian trials have done more to kill the game lately than level sync. Now people would rather spend their days waiting for weather and grinding one type of monster than level another job.

And people still sync in dunes? I hear they still do in Qufim, but the new hawtness is level 37 sync lolibri in Ronfaure (S).

Level sync did kill Conquest, however. It doesn't take many people de-leveling their sync mules to throw regions to the beastmen. Mostly it's done for Astral Burn mules, but some two-boxers have a favorite zone to exp in with a sync mule.

[Malacite]

Re: New Players not welcome?

Level Sync saved the game.

FTFY. Now if only SE would get it through their thick skulls to allow skill ups in Campaign Battle and find some way so you can skill up your shit while level synched even if your actual level is way above the target. I mean why not? If while under synch the target checks EM+, why not let us skill up?

Is it really going to hurt anything at this point in the game's life? ...

[TheGrandMom]

Re: New Players not welcome?

I think different people have different experiences with level sync. I RARELY was invited to a level sync party beyond level 30. It was annoying as hell.

[Vyuru]

Re: New Players not welcome?

IMO everyone currently is exping in Abyssea and doing events. I have seen very few low level people (not that I've really been looking) ever since Abyssea came out.

Too, I know a number of people, myself included, who primarily level some, or all of their subs, through AFB, Campaign Ops, and the exp scroll quests.

[Solarfall]

Re: New Players not welcome?

I'm debating on whether to just start over again, new class, server and Home city.

What is a nice server that has a decent sized population?

Also, Any suggestions for a job for a newb at FFXI? Race? Starter City?

The only ones i've been to are San'Doria and Windurst. Sandy is nice, albeit spread out a bit. Windurst seemed confusing at times, as I was constantly checking my map because of all the curves and bends. I've heard bad things about Bastok, so I don't know.

Thanks!

[TheGrandMom]

Re: New Players not welcome?

Be whatever race and job you want to be. Enjoy yourself. If you just want to whiz through then start with either a hume, elvaan, or galka warrior. If you are going to be a melee, it is best to start with war anyways since you'll use it as a sub job on occasions. Starting as a blm, whm, or thf can be challenging but if you like a challenge then go for it.

Windurst is a confusing city for a beginner, Bastok and San'doria are about the same for being able to find things. Just remember that you have a map of whatever city you start in so use it liberally. I personally prefer San'doria because at level 11 or 12, if you choose to go to Valkurm Dunes, its easier to get there from San. It's longer from both Bastok and Windy.

As for servers, many of them were just merged so the populations are probably more even now. I know a couple were at capacity a while back.

[cidbahamut]

Re: New Players not welcome?

I'm debating on whether to just start over again, new class, server and Home city.

What is a nice server that has a decent sized population?

Quetz is bouncing along nicely with nearly 3,000 folks on as of this post. Can't really speak for others though.

Also, Any suggestions for a job for a newb at FFXI? Race? Starter City?

Red Mage, Monk or Warrior.
Race? One you can stand to stare at for a long time to come.
Bastok.

The only ones i've been to are San'Doria and Windurst. Sandy is nice, albeit spread out a bit. Windurst seemed confusing at times, as I was constantly checking my map because of all the curves and bends. I've heard bad things about Bastok, so I don't know.

Everything bad you've ever heard about Bastok is a dirty filthy lie from those who are jealous of how awesome it is. It's a hell of a lot easier to navigate than Windurst, that's for sure.