A noob in need is quite sad indeed! (New player!)

[TwinSpirit]

Hello all, name's Lloyd. I've been looking for a cool MMO to play in for awhile, and have decided to give FFXI a chance, however my experience with it thus far was quite bad. I am though, having second thoughts about it and would love to try it once more, but have absolutely no idea what to do or where to go to begin. Can anyone help me get started?

[cidbahamut]

Re: A noob in need is quite sad indeed! (New player!)

You should go hang out with Ygg on Valefor: http://www.ffxionline.com/forums/ffx...g-players.html

He's running a shell that's pretty much designed specifically to help folks like yourself get into the swing of things.

[TwinSpirit]

Re: A noob in need is quite sad indeed! (New player!)

Sadly, I'm already on Bahamut server.

[Satori]

Re: A noob in need is quite sad indeed! (New player!)

Not to be a jerk or anything but if you are struggling you can't be all that far, Just delete and recreate, You won't be charged for it. You'll keep the content id.
It is difficult starting out now, but if you have a read around especially on ffxiclopedia and you'll soon find your feet.

My Ls calls me the boy that never levels. Because I mainly like looking around or chatting, I only bought 2 of the abyssea expansions yesterday or maybe the day before and still havent tried it but in the past few weeks I've gained more levels than I normally would have.
There will be the tinfoil hat people that will tell you the game is dying. Granted it is an old game but SE will squeeze as much cash out of us as possible so there's still time to play.
plus people will tell you the game has died, But remember just because the game died for them doesnt mean you won't get enjoyment from it.

I hope you enjoy the game and seek out Ygg maybe take a look at Ygg's post history and you'll see they have a fair bit to teach you

[Armando]

Re: A noob in need is quite sad indeed! (New player!)

I agree with Satori; if you're starting out you won't lose much. A good support group is priceless. Besides, starting is hard but restarting is easy - it takes much longer to figure things out than it does to actually do them.

Regardless, here's some good general advice for you. I haven't touched the game in over a year so some of it may be out of date:
1) Always ask the city's gate guards for Signet before you leave town. It lets you get Conquest Points and crystals from mobs that give you EXP.
2) Never drop Beastmen's Seals. They'll make you money later on, and the fact that they're not tradable/buyable makes them even more valuable.
3) Never fight without food. When you start out, you'll want Meat Jerky or some other inexpensive attack-boosting food.
4) FFXIClopedia is your friend when you need to find what NPCs sell something and for what price, at what level you get certain skills, and quest/mission details.
5) If you're going to be hitting things, keep your weapon up-to-date. This usually means using the weapon your job is most proficient with (e.g. Great Axes for Warriors, Scythes/Great Swords for Dark Knights) and picking the one with the highest DPS (basically the ratio of the weapon's damage rating to its swinging speed.) Use FFXI AH's Power Search to find the weapons with the best DPS for your level and job. (The main exception here is the Thief job, which actually does better with Swords rather than Daggers 'til at least Level 25.)
6) If you're soloing, keep your armor up to date. If you're partying, use armor that will make you better at your job. If you're a caster you'll want MP and INT/MND, if you're a damage dealer you'll want Attack and Accuracy, if you're a tank you'll want a combination of defense and offense to stay alive while keeping the mob's attention.
7) If you're going to get hit, always use big, round wooden shields instead of small bucklers or bone shields. They reduce much more damage. The Defense stat on shields is just a small bonus.
8) FFXIAH is great for finding the prices of things in the Jeuno/Aht Urhgan Auction Houses but these are not representative of the AHs in the starter cities. Starter cities tend to have lower level gear. Regardless, always check NPC prices for your equipment at FFXIClopedia - really low level gear and spells are usually overpriced at AHs.
9) While you're soloing, stay away from Decent Challenge mobs unless you can start the fight with a Weapon Skill and leave them very crippled. Stick to mass-murdering Easy Prey mobs and use your MP for Curing. Leave enfeebles for when you get aggroed by DC or higher mobs.
10) You can run behind most things with eyes and not get aggroed. Things without eyes will usually aggro you no matter which way they're facing, but they have a shorter aggro range. Undead will aggro you from further away the lower your HP is. Bombs and Elementals will aggro you if you cast magic near them.
11) Talk to those books near the zone lines outside the city and do training regimens. While you're at it, if you're a job with MP, buy Refresh with your Tabs.
12) Evasion equipment works nice on easy mobs but bad against Tough and higher mobs. Defense works well against hard mobs but excess defense is wasted on easy solo mobs. Shields are awesome for staying alive if you're soloing or a Paladin. Two-handed weapons get Attack and Accuracy bonuses.
13) It's better to do three Weapon Skills at 100 TP and one Weapon Skill at 300 TP.
14) Buy maps in-game. If you want to go somewhere you don't have a map for, check out http://www.ffxi-atlas.com/. When all else fails, stick to the main paths in the zones. They tend to go places. Check out the Regional Map in your menu to have some idea of which zones are in which direction.

Go outside, kill shit. Sell the drops in the Auction House. Stop and explore every now and then, but don't dilly-dally for too long. The real fun starts at the higher levels. Don't grind nonstop either or you'll burn out. Make friends with people. You can't solo your way to the top. And if you ever level Warrior, read this. It's old but probably still very relevant.

[Aksannyi]

Re: A noob in need is quite sad indeed! (New player!)

Armando's post is good advice, and I'm going to add just one thing:

Turn the "auto sort" function ON in your options. I do not remember how to get to it as I have not played in a while, but this allows all of your stackable drops to automatically stack in your inventory and saves you from constantly running back to an NPC or the AH to unload. You do not want to know how much stuff I lost before I realized you could sort items.

[Moriquendis]

Re: A noob in need is quite sad indeed! (New player!)

I admit when I first started XI I was confused and had no idea what to do. But if you'll just keep playing and get past the first 20 levels, you'll start to love it.

[TwinSpirit]

Re: A noob in need is quite sad indeed! (New player!)

I'm probably going to be a black mage to start out. I'll also reroll on Valefor and join Ygg's LS and start from there. Thanks you guys for all the help! Big thanks to Armando btw!

[Moriquendis]

Re: A noob in need is quite sad indeed! (New player!)

I'm probably going to be a black mage to start out. I'll also reroll on Valefor and join Ygg's LS and start from there. Thanks you guys for all the help! Big thanks to Armando btw!

Go Valefor! That's my server.

[Yygdrasil]

Re: A noob in need is quite sad indeed! (New player!)

I agree with Satori; if you're starting out you won't lose much. A good support group is priceless. Besides, starting is hard but restarting is easy - it takes much longer to figure things out than it does to actually do them.

Regardless, here's some good general advice for you. I haven't touched the game in over a year so some of it may be out of date:
1) Always ask the city's gate guards for Signet before you leave town. It lets you get Conquest Points and crystals from mobs that give you EXP.
2) Never drop Beastmen's Seals. They'll make you money later on, and the fact that they're not tradable/buyable makes them even more valuable.
3) Never fight without food. When you start out, you'll want Meat Jerky or some other inexpensive attack-boosting food.
4) FFXIClopedia is your friend when you need to find what NPCs sell something and for what price, at what level you get certain skills, and quest/mission details.
5) If you're going to be hitting things, keep your weapon up-to-date. This usually means using the weapon your job is most proficient with (e.g. Great Axes for Warriors, Scythes/Great Swords for Dark Knights) and picking the one with the highest DPS (basically the ratio of the weapon's damage rating to its swinging speed.) Use FFXI AH's Power Search to find the weapons with the best DPS for your level and job. (The main exception here is the Thief job, which actually does better with Swords rather than Daggers 'til at least Level 25.)
6) If you're soloing, keep your armor up to date. If you're partying, use armor that will make you better at your job. If you're a caster you'll want MP and INT/MND, if you're a damage dealer you'll want Attack and Accuracy, if you're a tank you'll want a combination of defense and offense to stay alive while keeping the mob's attention.
7) If you're going to get hit, always use big, round wooden shields instead of small bucklers or bone shields. They reduce much more damage. The Defense stat on shields is just a small bonus.
8) FFXIAH is great for finding the prices of things in the Jeuno/Aht Urhgan Auction Houses but these are not representative of the AHs in the starter cities. Starter cities tend to have lower level gear. Regardless, always check NPC prices for your equipment at FFXIClopedia - really low level gear and spells are usually overpriced at AHs.
9) While you're soloing, stay away from Decent Challenge mobs unless you can start the fight with a Weapon Skill and leave them very crippled. Stick to mass-murdering Easy Prey mobs and use your MP for Curing. Leave enfeebles for when you get aggroed by DC or higher mobs.
10) You can run behind most things with eyes and not get aggroed. Things without eyes will usually aggro you no matter which way they're facing, but they have a shorter aggro range. Undead will aggro you from further away the lower your HP is. Bombs and Elementals will aggro you if you cast magic near them.
11) Talk to those books near the zone lines outside the city and do training regimens. While you're at it, if you're a job with MP, buy Refresh with your Tabs.
12) Evasion equipment works nice on easy mobs but bad against Tough and higher mobs. Defense works well against hard mobs but excess defense is wasted on easy solo mobs. Shields are awesome for staying alive if you're soloing or a Paladin. Two-handed weapons get Attack and Accuracy bonuses.
13) It's better to do three Weapon Skills at 100 TP and one Weapon Skill at 300 TP.
14) Buy maps in-game. If you want to go somewhere you don't have a map for, check out Vana'diel Atlas: Final Fantasy XI Maps collection - Treasure, NM, Quests, and Missions locations. When all else fails, stick to the main paths in the zones. They tend to go places. Check out the Regional Map in your menu to have some idea of which zones are in which direction.

Go outside, kill shit. Sell the drops in the Auction House. Stop and explore every now and then, but don't dilly-dally for too long. The real fun starts at the higher levels. Don't grind nonstop either or you'll burn out. Make friends with people. You can't solo your way to the top. And if you ever level Warrior, read this. It's old but probably still very relevant.

Long post is too long. I didn't read a word of it. But based on the people who thanked it, I would have to say that I agree with it's content as well.

Delete, Recreate and join me on Valefor. We now have 17 players... 10 of whom are below level 30 and I'm helping every one of them as much as I can when I'm online.

---------- Post added at 03:02 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:00 PM ----------

I'm probably going to be a black mage to start out. I'll also reroll on Valefor and join Ygg's LS and start from there. Thanks you guys for all the help! Big thanks to Armando btw!

I will not be online at all today... but tomorrow (Saturday) and the following day (sunday... der) I'll be online all damn day. Anything you need, besides money... I can help with. Just let me know when you get online. My character name is the same as this forum name... so shoot me a friend request and we'll get you all set up.

[TwinSpirit]

Re: A noob in need is quite sad indeed! (New player!)

Alright, I deleted my char, switched to Valefor! My char's name is Twinspirit. Anywho, the default way of moving is driving me INSANE! The controls in this game are so off the wall weird! Is there a way to make it so WASD is your movement?

[Aksannyi]

Re: A noob in need is quite sad indeed! (New player!)

For movement it honestly makes more sense (at least to me) to use a gamepad. I used keyboard for just about everything else.

I do think there's a way, but I don't know it. Check under keyboard options, try the one that allows you to select "compact." I think you are able to move with the numpad under normal circumstances, but then again, I've never moved with the keyboard in FFXI, just in WoW. If that doesn't work, hopefully someone will come along with a better answer than I have. But since the game is supported by a gamepad it's the easiest way to move, at least in my opinion.

[Yygdrasil]

Re: A noob in need is quite sad indeed! (New player!)

Alright, I deleted my char, switched to Valefor! My char's name is Twinspirit. Anywho, the default way of moving is driving me INSANE! The controls in this game are so off the wall weird! Is there a way to make it so WASD is your movement?

I agree with Aks, buy a gamepad. I use the Logitech dualshock (NOT THE CORDLESS ONE) and it's perfect. Allows for full customzing and just enough buttons to do everything you need to do. I programed mine to use the same controls as the default PS2 controls.

The thing costs about 19.95 at any bestbuy or radioshack or you name it.

I also know that you can use a 360 controller... although I'll admit I do not know how.

Dont bother with the keyboard. It's too much of a headache to learn all the commands on there... much easier to just ops for the pad.

[cidbahamut]

Re: A noob in need is quite sad indeed! (New player!)

Alright, I deleted my char, switched to Valefor! My char's name is Twinspirit. Anywho, the default way of moving is driving me INSANE! The controls in this game are so off the wall weird! Is there a way to make it so WASD is your movement?

Switch to compact keyboard mode. That irked me too when I first started. I forget the exact route to the menu but it's in there somewhere and it makes the game much easier to control.

I'll also agree that going with a PS2 controller is pretty rad. I started out using just the keyboard but now that I've made the switch to controller it'd be hard to go back. It's just a lot more comfy. I'd recommend against fancy PC controllers and just get an adapter that lets your dualshock controller plug into a USB port. They're less than ten bucks and totally worth it. Also you don't have to wrestle with configuring them the way I hear people do when they try to use xbox controllers on their PC.

[TwinSpirit]

Re: A noob in need is quite sad indeed! (New player!)

Phew, figured it out...thanks a ton guys! So I just got my arse handed to me by a pixie haha
>Pixies deals 41 damage to Twinspirit<
>Twinspirit dies<
(Back in town) /facepalm

Anywho, do I just start out grinding or is there an area where quests are available? I'm in Windhurst btw. Also is there a way to get around the fact that Playonline crashes everytime I alt tab?

A game pad, huh? How come not cordless, since my computer has bluetooth capabilities?