A Few Questions

[Demonthing]

I have recently began playing FFXI after I decided to quit the World of Warcraft, and the transition between the two is a bit difficult.

Since I purchased the game, I have spent the majority of my time just understanding the game and barely playing at all. In doing this, I have figured out quite a bit, but I have just a few questions left unanswered.

Now I'm a big FF player from the console versions, and it is no doubt that when I get my grip on FFXI I'll love it unconditionally as well [when I first bought the game, I wondered where my buddy Cid was when I drove back home ], but these few road bumps I've hit is holding me back from advancing. Now if the answers to these questions have been documented well before, I ask for just a simple link and what question it answers.

Oh, and my beginning character is a Galkan Monk, which is later on going to be a Warrior, starting in Bastok.

Here are my questions:
1) I understand that FFXI is a open game, and questing is considered optional [what the manual says, I doubt it is]. Now when I started in previous MMO's, the questgivers had some sort of way of notifying you that they contain quests for your level/class, and this doesnt seem the way in FFXI. I talked to every single NPC in the city to gather quests, and that ate up two days of my playtime just gathering them. This is unlike the other MMO's that I have played, and in this game I'm having a hard time because there is a lack of direction to quests.

My question is that is there a much more simpler way of finding these questgivers than what I'm beginning to do now? And what I thought about is is documenting the quests from a site, what level they start at, and what zone in Bastok they are in.

2)Missions in the game are given by the gate guards, and they give you rank points and sometimes gil upon completion.

What I want to know is do the gate guards give you all the same missions considering your rank in the city and are alll these considered specific group-only adventures?

3)Crafting in the World of Warcraft was mainly for money making. When I began a new character though on the World of Warcraft, I obtained the armor making tradeskill that my character could wear and it helped gear him up till 60.

Now does crafting in FFXI assist you while advancing your character to 75? Meaning does the gear you make is generally considered the most helpful you can wear to a certain point? And is there different armor types in FFXI? In World of Warcraft, there was Plate for Warriors/Paladins only, Mail for Shamans/Hunters, Leather for Druids/Rogues, and Cloth for the Priests/Mages/Warlocks. Now in that order the Warriors/Paladins could wear all armor down from that, Shamans/Hunters down from Mail, and so forth to the clothwearers could only wear Cloth. Is it like that in FFXI? And how do I find out what recipes I learned, also do I only learn new ones from the crafting guilds?

I'm sure that's what basically I need to find out to fully understand to at least get down the road in FFXI, and hopefully I can comprehend my future problems so I can be on par with the veteran players.

[aegina]

Re: A Few Questions

1) don't bother with questing. it's a waste of time 99% of the time.

2) some of the early rank missions can be solo'd once you reach a certain level, but i say don't worry about them right away. rank missions don't give you anything of value until you complete rank 4 and become rank 5. then you get the airship pass.

3) crafting is a major moneysink until the extreme high levels. don't bother with it until at least level 50 or so. it takes a LOT of time and money invested in crafting before you start to get any real return. (except fishing. fishing is an ok way to make money.) .and no, no craft really goes well with any job. woodworking may go well with ranger (make your own arrows) and cooking with paladin (make your own juices to recover mp) but even those are iffy. and you can survive without them.

[Intensity]

Re: A Few Questions

[QUOTE=Demonthing]I have recently began playing FFXI after I decided to quit the World of Warcraft, and the transition between the two is a bit difficult.

Since I purchased the game, I have spent the majority of my time just understanding the game and barely playing at all. In doing this, I have figured out quite a bit, but I have just a few questions left unanswered.

Now I'm a big FF player from the console versions, and it is no doubt that when I get my grip on FFXI I'll love it unconditionally as well [when I first bought the game, I wondered where my buddy Cid was when I drove back home ], but these few road bumps I've hit is holding me back from advancing. Now if the answers to these questions have been documented well before, I ask for just a simple link and what question it answers.

1: You can find Cid in Bastok Metalworks up the lift and in the center room right off the lift.

Oh, and my beginning character is a Galkan Monk, which is later on going to be a Warrior, starting in Bastok.

Here are my questions:
1) I understand that FFXI is a open game, and questing is considered optional [what the manual says, I doubt it is]. Now when I started in previous MMO's, the questgivers had some sort of way of notifying you that they contain quests for your level/class, and this doesnt seem the way in FFXI. I talked to every single NPC in the city to gather quests, and that ate up two days of my playtime just gathering them. This is unlike the other MMO's that I have played, and in this game I'm having a hard time because there is a lack of direction to quests.

My question is that is there a much more simpler way of finding these questgivers than what I'm beginning to do now? And what I thought about is is documenting the quests from a site, what level they start at, and what zone in Bastok they are in.

Your best Quest databse is going to be ffxi.allakhazam.com. Not my favorite FFXI fan site mind you, but they have a fairly well documented quest list you can search by city. Plus, if you go there first, start the quest and find yourself stuck somewhere, the community here is extremely helpful. Post a question and someone will generally respond within an hour or 2.

2)Missions in the game are given by the gate guards, and they give you rank points and sometimes gil upon completion.

What I want to know is do the gate guards give you all the same missions considering your rank in the city and are alll these considered specific group-only adventures?

Yes, everyone from that city get the same Missions everyone else does and you start them all by getting them from the gate guard. Other cut scenes and npc's may be needed after that, but they all start with the gate guard. Keep in mind you will sometimes need to trade gate crystals to the guard on the opposite side of gate from the Mission giver due to sometimes needing to get more rank points to progress on to the next mission.

3)Crafting in the World of Warcraft was mainly for money making. When I began a new character though on the World of Warcraft, I obtained the armor making tradeskill that my character could wear and it helped gear him up till 60.

Now does crafting in FFXI assist you while advancing your character to 75? Meaning does the gear you make is generally considered the most helpful you can wear to a certain point? And is there different armor types in FFXI? In World of Warcraft, there was Plate for Warriors/Paladins only, Mail for Shamans/Hunters, Leather for Druids/Rogues, and Cloth for the Priests/Mages/Warlocks. Now in that order the Warriors/Paladins could wear all armor down from that, Shamans/Hunters down from Mail, and so forth to the clothwearers could only wear Cloth. Is it like that in FFXI? And how do I find out what recipes I learned, also do I only learn new ones from the crafting guilds?

Guilds and crafting in FFXI is ridiculously complex. I highly recommend going to ffxi.allakhazam.com and reading the stickied Tradeskill thread. Link: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/forum.htm...;num=45;page=1

You'll want to lvl some craft because that's where most people make the majority of their money. Be prepared, it will be a gil/time sink. But it pays off in the end.

I'm sure that's what basically I need to find out to fully understand to at least get down the road in FFXI, and hopefully I can comprehend my future problems so I can be on par with the veteran players.

Double Post Edited:
I have to disagree. I don't recommend blowing off questing. A: It can be a semi-good money maker for lower lvl people. And 2, alot of the essential stuff later on requires high fame to get the quests (IE: Avatar battles, Sleepga 2, etc...). Crafting can be blown off til later but always keep it in mind.

[neighbortaru]

Re: A Few Questions

1) not really. most people use online resources such as http://ffxi.somepage.com or http://mysterytour.web.infoseek.co.j.../us/index.html to look up available quests.

2) the missions advance the main plotlines in the FFXI story. everyone of equal rank, of the same nation, will get the same missions.

3) yes, crafting is sometimes the only way to get the best items in the game. however, not one craft can make all the items usable by a job.

Double Post Edited:
damn! intensity bet me to the punch

[Darkhound]

Re: A Few Questions

My friend.... i have played WoW and FFXI also... my suggestion is to simply play the game. Dont compare it to WoW. Discover it little by littel and you will soon fall in love with FFXI, like we all are!

[Intensity]

Re: A Few Questions

Double Post Edited:
damn! intensity bet me to the punch

Don't feel bad. Aegina pwnered me too. ; ;

I gotta quit Quoting so much. My post is enormous.

[aegina]

Re: A Few Questions

hehe, i win!

edit:
oh, and let me clarify. i didn't mean to say don't EVER quest. (i know that's kinda what i said, but i didn't really mean it like that XP) i meant that MOST of the quests are basically useless. there are a few that are useful, however. some can give a little bit of instant gil, others have other uses. most can be ignored though.

this game isn't like wow, where questing is the big thing to do. quests here don't give any exp, and the ones that give items... usually... give poor ones. your best bet is to find the few useful quests and just grind those out.

[bikkebakke]

Re: A Few Questions

I didn't even get a chance... damn you people with good knowledge...

[Intensity]

Re: A Few Questions

On the whole topic of quests. I actually suggest starting in Bastok because surprisingly enough, if you look @ the quest list on alla for Bastok, alot of them are surprisingly lucrative for returns compared to the other cities. I don't know much about Sandy, but I know windy's can be expensive to start the questsand not much return.

Examples: 1 slime oil for the Scroll of Warp. HUGE return there. And then the Chakram quest, the Black Silk Neckerchief quest, etc. only require running around for semi-pricey items. Semi-pricey in regards to lower lvl people anyway.

[Demonthing]

Re: A Few Questions

I am very thankful for the answers, especially the ones relating to quests, that was a big one. Other than that, learning about crafting is the only other concern I had thus far.

So I level by grinding inbetween the times where I'm decent level to do missions, job related quests, and only quests whose rewards benefit with good items?

Be sure to comment on that, your comments are well listenend to.

So, I'm a Galkan Monk, I begin by looking at the list of quests I wrote down that would benefit him with items, I grab them, go out and do them. and when I reach a point as to where I am underlevel to advance in said quests or missions, I grind mobs or....? Thats where I'm stuck at.

I came in thinking I have to quest stack to level efficently, and I find out that quests give no xp but fame? The only way to get xp is by slaying monsters?

Correct me if I'm wrong, I think I confused myself.

[Kafeen]

Re: A Few Questions

hehe, i win!

edit:
oh, and let me clarify. i didn't mean to say don't EVER quest. (i know that's kinda what i said, but i didn't really mean it like that XP) i meant that MOST of the quests are basically useless. there are a few that are useful, however. some can give a little bit of instant gil, others have other uses. most can be ignored though.

I have to disagree. Most quests reveal more on the history of Vana'diel or the people that live there. Some that may look like that have poor rewards are the start of a series that lead to deeper or better rewarded quests later. All quests give you an increase in fame in a much more enjoyable way than repeating the same one over and over. I managed to get max fame almost everywhere except Norg without even trying. They beat standing around lfg.

[Intensity]

Re: A Few Questions

I don't think you have the right idea about leveling. After 10, unless you're a BST, majority of your time will probably go to seeking party and leveling. I know you just came from WoW so let me give you something to keep in mind.

FFXI is not WoW. They're not even close. Comparing WoW to FFXI is like comparing Cliff Notes version of War and Peace to the actual thing. FFXI makes WoW look really small and really quick.

EDIT: Forgot to make/accentuate this point. There is NO soloing in FFXI. Unless you're a BST, you will be absolutely unable to lvl efficiently by yourself.

[Demonthing]

Re: A Few Questions

I don't think you have the right idea about leveling. After 10, unless you're a BST, majority of your time will probably go to seeking party and leveling. I know you just came from WoW so let me give you something to keep in mind.

FFXI is not WoW. They're not even close. Comparing WoW to FFXI is like comparing Cliff Notes version of War and Peace to the actual thing. FFXI makes WoW look really small and really quick.

I apologize for my poor wording in my last statement.

Yes, I should have said that I know this game is very group oriented. I only related to World of Warcraft to give examples of what I was trying to ask rather than ask a question that leaves you in the dark trying to answer it.

With that being said, yes, I now understand the system behind questing/leveling and whatnot that should let me get out of this "lost noob" phase I'm in when I started.

I was just never in an MMO where you make a toon, he gets plopped in the world... and thats it, no hint of direction other than the adventurers coupon.

I appreciate all of your help, I fell onto this forum and its just full of useful information for new and old players. Keep up the good work.

P.S.
Anyone seen the movie Lost in Translation? I'm still there, but I'm pulling myself out. This newbie isn't gonna back down from this game's newbie-hating aura.

[Intensity]

Re: A Few Questions

Yeah, I'd say FFXI is the most disorienting and non-user friend MMO out there. BUT, if you put the time/effort into it, it's easily the most challenging and satisfying. When you ding 30 in your first job on FFXI, WoW can't compare to that satisfaction.