Newb questions!

[Maerta]

Ok i got some questions about FFXI ;o

1 What job is fun to play for a newcomer? Yes i know i should try them myself and see. Just want to know your opinions.

2. When you fight monsters and get low health is there any food/water ( Like in WoW you can get conjured food n water that doesn't give a buff, just faster regen) that has the same effect?

3. The armor, ive seen people talk about that "AF" set for the paladin i think, does the parts to the set drop of bosses or is it quests you get in town?

4. And a proffesion question. Should you start with a proffesion asap or should you wait till you get to lvl lets say, 20?


Now that was all.

[Murphie]

Re: Newb questions!

1. You only have access to the six starting jobs when you first start out. Those are Warrior, Monk, Thief, Red Mage, Black Mage, and White Mage. Of those, Warrior is probably the easiest to start as, but really the choice is yours. If at any time you want to try one of the other jobs, you can switch in your mog house (residental areas of your home nation).

2. You have to rest to regain HP/MP, although there are various foods and medicines that can allow you to do so without resting. But early in the game, you'll mostly be taking a knee after every few fights to rest up a bit.

3. Artifact Armor is a series of quests, boss fights, and coffer pieces (meaning that you kill mobs that drop a key for a coffer in a particular area, and then hunt for that treasure coffer to get your piece of armor).

4. Are you referring to crafting? Or something else? If you're referring to crafting, you can do that as early as level 1. If you're referring to something else, then just disregard this.

[Icemage]

Re: Newb questions!

1 What job is fun to play for a newcomer? Yes i know i should try them myself and see. Just want to know your opinions.

For beginners, I tend to recommend Red Mage for those that are immediately undecided and do not have an aversion to using magic, Warrior for those who enjoy tanking and actively engaging enemies, Monk for those who like to see lots of big damage numbers but don't like being beat on by enemies, and Black Mage for those who really prefer magic but still want to put up big numbers.

Of the other two basic jobs, White Mage is a difficult job to start on for newcomers due to the twin strikes of being the most passive of the basic jobs, as well as the (occasionally unreasonable) attitudes that lower level players display towards healers in a party setting. Thief is a different story, in that it's simply the weakest of all jobs for the first 14 levels until it gains its first useful ability (Sneak Attack) at level 15.

2. When you fight monsters and get low health is there any food/water ( Like in WoW you can get conjured food n water that doesn't give a buff, just faster regen) that has the same effect?

Absolutely. There are a number of foods that either increase your regeneration rate while resting, or actually give you a buff that regenerates HP or MP (or in a few cases, both) when consumed.

3. The armor, ive seen people talk about that "AF" set for the paladin i think, does the parts to the set drop of bosses or is it quests you get in town?

There is a set of AF (artifact) armor for every job in Final Fantasy XI. The method of acquiring the armors for each (which are equippable between level 52 and 60+) vary from one job to another, but all involve at least a couple of boss fights in the course of completing quests for the pieces.

4. And a proffesion question. Should you start with a proffesion asap or should you wait till you get to lvl lets say, 20?

If by profession you mean a crafting guild, then the answer depends on whether you enjoy crafting items in-game. Some crafting guilds are extremely expensive to gain skill in and aren't particularly recommended for newcomers (goldsmithing comes to mind), while others like fishing are accessible even to level 1 characters. Investment of time and resources into crafting can generate steady income for you down the road, but you'll have to make some sacrifices on the way, as it is rarely profitable in either time or money to gain skill in any craft.


Icemage

[Aeni]

Re: Newb questions!

Ok i got some questions about FFXI ;o

1 What job is fun to play for a newcomer? Yes i know i should try them myself and see. Just want to know your opinions.

2. When you fight monsters and get low health is there any food/water ( Like in WoW you can get conjured food n water that doesn't give a buff, just faster regen) that has the same effect?

3. The armor, ive seen people talk about that "AF" set for the paladin i think, does the parts to the set drop of bosses or is it quests you get in town?

4. And a proffesion question. Should you start with a proffesion asap or should you wait till you get to lvl lets say, 20?


Now that was all.

1. I suggest either a high dps class or one that can take care of themselves through healing. This means either RDM (mage class) or a job like MNK or WAR to start off things with. It's hard to tell a WoW player what jobs to play in FFXI, because unlike in WoW, the job classes aren't totally complete without their subjob counterparts and you can only receive that from a quest upon hitting level 18 on at least one of the starting jobs (THF, WAR, MNK, BLM, RDM, WHM)

2. Foods in FFXI aren't easily obtainable like conjured water/food (I mean, c'mon, I think the ability to conjure basic stuff like that is so awesome) To even get the same effect of a loaf of bread, for exompla, you need to buy at least some kind of au lait (Now that I think about it, FFXI's regen food isn't even on-par due to a slew of differences in how each game operates, but on a side-by-side comparison, I think some level 5 food in WoW regens hella lot faster than any beverage/food in FFXI can), which do not stack, unlike the foods in WoW. 30 slots on a character may seem a lot, but it's not very much considering the multitude of unstackable regen drinks available.

A cheap ass alternative for you is buying stacks of Selbina Milk (One of very few regen items that can be stacked) which is a 1 hp /tick regen I believe for up to 50 hp. May not seem a lot, but you won't get 100 hp until about level 8 or more unless you play a Galkan MNK. The vendors are NPC in the city which controls the Zulkheim Region. I'm not sure of the price offhand, I believe it's like 12 gil per milk bottle.

As for mana regen, lol, nothing is cheap at that low level. If you play mage jobs, you're going to take a knee and have to deal with it until later levels when spells and equipment and finances (for food) can provide you with more leverage.

3. See Icemage's comment, pretty much covers everything.

4. Crafting is not like WoW, let me say that upfront. It's controlled by higher level crafters to a degree in which a lot of things crafted are not profitable and profitability is only available in certain areas or attained uncommon knowledge of how things move around in the market and expertise in the craft of choice. It's also not a simple thing to do to power level a craft, unlike in WoW when you have all the mats on hand.

[Maerta]

Re: Newb questions!

Thanks :D

[Deeke]

Re: Newb questions!

Just a quick additional thought on Question1:

Start Monk. Regardless of what jobtype you want to do eventually, start Monk.

The initial solo stretch (level 1-11ish) will be very forgiving. And once you hit parties, (without a subjob) you are there for one thing and one thing only: smacking seven shades of sh!t out of the enemy.

As a new player you will make mistakes. Happily, Monk doesn't offer you many to make^^. Just keep your gear/weapons up to date, eat food (Meat Jerky), make some friends and don't be afraid to question what you should be doing / why someone else is doing a particular thing.

After 18 levels of funpunching, you will understand the basics of the game, have observed the other jobs and learnt a heck of a lot through actual experience. At this point I can guarantee that you won't be posting a 'What job should I play?' topic.

Just my opinion. Do what you like with it^^.


Have fun!

[Maerta]

Re: Newb questions!

Ah okey, and i was wondering to. Is it harder to get party with a specific class?

[Murphie]

Re: Newb questions!

THF might be a bit difficult before level 15 invite-wise. Otherwise, you shouldn't have too many problems.

I start with MNK as well, usually. For the reasons that Deeke mentioned.

[Deeke]

Re: Newb questions!

In reference to your options (ie. the starting jobs) it would be wise to bear this in mind:

White Mage (WHM) will get you an invite quicker than the other 5. WHM is, 99 times out of a 100, an absolute necessity. It's a job heavily laden with responsibility though. I, personally, wouldn't advise this; especially as a Subjobless WHM is kinda gimped (less ManaPoints (MP)). Incidentally, the other mage jobs obviously suffer from lack of a Subjob gimping MP too. All the more reason to use Monk to unlock it. Not recommended.

Warrior (WAR) will get you invites as you have the ability Provoke which allows you to keep the Enemy's attention focused on yourself (you're the Tank). This is a key part of Party Tactics. Unfortunately, you're subless. You don't have as much health (HP) as you would and certain stats which govern how much damage you take are lower too. And, I repeat, you're expected to keep the Enemy's attention focused on yourself. Another position of responsibilty. Do it badly and other people die. It isn't ideal to have a subless Tank and hopefully a WAR/___ would find itself purely in a Damage Dealer (DD) role. But, chances are, you won't... Not recommended.

Thief (THF) Level 10-14 will result in nothing more than Pity-Invites invariably. You're fairly useless. Expect to be the one bringing the Enemies to Camp (you're the Puller). This is another position of responsibilty. Do it badly and, best-case-scenario, you will kill yourself; wors-tcase-scenario, you will kill your entire Party. Not recommended.

[PTT]

Re: Newb questions!

1. I recommend Redmage. In the early levels, Redmages can do a bit of everything well: Melee, Attack Magic, and Healing/Support Magic. It can give you a quick primer on the basic mechanics of each type of job.

But ultimately, the real answer is to try everything. The RSE (Race Starting Equipment) that your character starts out in is wearable by any job, and it can be worn until level about level 7 or 10, depending on how strapped for cash you are. This allows for experimentation.

Each job starts with something a little different. Redmages for example, get a free scroll of Dia (Light elemental Damage over Time spell), White Mages get a free scroll of Cure, and Black Mages get a free scroll of Stone (Earth attack magic). Red Mage gets a free dagger, Warrior gets a free sword, and I imagine the other mages get a club or a staff.

What you can do, if you wish to spring for a second character slot, is to Create your character, then in the second slot create a throw-away character to gain the free start-up bonus items (The weapons and magic scrolls), and have them send those things to your Main character, then delete the character. I don't recommend this for actual gil earning, but just starting out, it can save you a few hundred gil if you like to try everything out..

2. There are foods, drinks, and there are medicines. Foods generally give stat buffs for 30 minutes to three hours, but there are some foods that help with regeneration. Cookies for example, help you heal MP faster when you kneel to rest. Fruit Au Lait (Fruit Flavored Milk) will give an HP regen effect, and Fruit Juices will give an MP regen effect. Medicines give varying strengths of instant MP or HP regeneration. All of this is costly however, so if you are just starting out, it's understandable not to always have food (not the best anyway). You don't always need to be spamming HP or MP regen drinks in normal party situations (Though they certainly help). Most people are content with the stat-foods, especially after the spells Regen (HP) and Refresh (MP) become available. There are cheap stat altering foods, that, while not being the best, will give you an edge.

3. Each job has Artifact Armor, that when the full set is worn, shows off what the class should truly look like. Once a job reaches level 40, you can activate a quest for a weapon your job can use. This quest is a trigger quest, so that when you level to level 50, you can activate the AF armor quests. There are 3 pieces obtainable by quest (Usually involving Boss fights), and 2 pieces obtainable by earning treasure coffer keys, then finding a treasure coffer as that job. It's a long process, and you'll most certainly want help for it, but the rewards are worth it ^^ .

4. I would probably worry about crafting after you level one or more of your jobs to where they can solo farm ingredients easily, or farm items to sell to buy ingredients. It really is an expert's market, and the experts can afford to undercut their costs for the purpose of skillups. Starting players, no, not so much. I would wait until you've established yourself before taking up anything. Goldsmithing, by the by, is very, very, very, VERY expensive.

[Nimrod4154]

Re: Newb questions!

1 What job is fun to play for a newcomer? Yes i know i should try them myself and see. Just want to know your opinions.
As a newcomer I found Monk to be extremely fun. It's easy and you do a ton of damage.
2. When you fight monsters and get low health is there any food/water ( Like in WoW you can get conjured food n water that doesn't give a buff, just faster regen) that has the same effect?
Generally food/drinks that regen your HP/MP when you are not kneeling(Resting) are too expensive and do not stack. You will find yourself using food/drinks that regen your HP/MP while you are resting.
3. The armor, ive seen people talk about that "AF" set for the paladin i think, does the parts to the set drop of bosses or is it quests you get in town?
Not sure
4. And a proffesion question. Should you start with a proffesion asap or should you wait till you get to lvl lets say, 20?
Well I don't know what you are asking. Are you talking about advanced jobs? You can't start most till level 30 and that's all up to you, they aren't necessarily better than the starting jobs but have different roles.
If you are talking about subjob quest then I would say get that after 18 ASAP.
If you are talking about crafting, it is all up to you. I have never been into crafting.

[Maerta]

Re: Newb questions!

Hehe ops, well Proffesion = Crafting

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: Newb questions!

Ok i got some questions about FFXI ;o

1 What job is fun to play for a newcomer? Yes i know i should try them myself and see. Just want to know your opinions.

Personally, I think Warrior and Monk are the most fun starting out, they get some nice job abilities very early in their careers. Both go really well toward developing your character if you chose to persue a melee career, too. Thief struggles a bit until 15 and, honestly, Thief remains a bit of a struggle after, but if you enjoy pulling mobs, THF is one fo the best pullers in the game.

White Mage is a healer, Black Mage deals in elemental magic, Red Mage does a little of both and has access to sword. If you're do start with any of them, even if you wanted to be a Red Mage, I'd work up White and Black mage first, because you'll only find yourself going back to work on them endlessly if you try to move ahead with Red Mage a lot. White Mage, being a healer, is terribly boring, but always a welcome invite. Black Mage and Red Mage get to nuke and that makes them a lot more fun, but both will be asked to help heal to, sometimes Red Mage is asked to be a main healer, too.

2. When you fight monsters and get low health is there any food/water ( Like in WoW you can get conjured food n water that doesn't give a buff, just faster regen) that has the same effect?

There is food like that, but it most of it is purchased through the Auction House. Our foods have a diverse range of effects. There are Au'Lait drinks for the HP Regen, fruit Juices restore mana, sushi improves melee and ranged accuracy, meat-based foods generally enhance STR and Attack stats. the effects can range from a few minutes to three hours depending on the food you use. Some food buff stack, while others do not.

Dunno how to compare our food to WoW, as WoW is geared to be a little more soloable and an easier game. FFXI soloing is very challenging and only a handful of classes can do it and, even then, it takes a bit of knowledge and skill to pull it off. FFXI is honestly geared more toward group play and pretty much forces said teamwork on you early one.

3. The armor, ive seen people talk about that "AF" set for the paladin i think, does the parts to the set drop of bosses or is it quests you get in town?

There are a few ways AFs play out. First off, for each job, there are three AF quests (AF1, AF2, and AF3) and these all entail a storyline based around the job. These could entail farming or obtaining certain items, collecting key items, doing a BCNM (instanced notorious monster fight) or an notorious monster fight in a zone.

That aside there are also three pieces of armor that - if you're playing a pre-ToA job - are obtained from treasure coffers. Its basically a key and chest hunt in a particular zone where the chest can be found and there are mobs that drop that key there.

For Blue Mage, Corsair and Puppetmaster, there are no coffer hunts. Yay, right? Well, sort of. These newer jobs get three other story-based quests in which they have to procure a number craftable items and imperial currency to have three of their armor pieces made. I personally don't like SE's implentation of these and would have rather had a coffer hunt again, because its either a gilsink or a tacked-on timesink

4. And a proffesion question. Should you start with a proffesion asap or should you wait till you get to lvl lets say, 20?

If you mean crafting, its always good to start early. Some of the starter zones favor early Smithing, Goldsmithing, Leathercraft, Clothcraft, Woodworking and Cooking materials. Fishing, Mining, Havesting and Gardening are also other methods you could obtain items to craft or sell.

Your in-game level will have no real direct influence on your crafting ability other than an easier ability to farm materials. For farming, its generally best to persue a melee class and this is where Thief will give you perks, at level 15, they get an ability called Treasure Hunter that affects drop rates on various items.

BTW, its "Profession" not "Proffesion." :p

[Maerta]

Re: Newb questions!

Man i get my ffXI copy tomorrow (hopefully). I so wanne play dragoon or Dark knight




EDIT: One more question, if I lvl to the lvl you get to use chocobos and then change my main job to lets say lvl 1 pally can i ride chocos? Or do I have to have my highlvl job as main to ride chocos?

[Murphie]

Re: Newb questions!

You have to be at least 15 in one of the three starting nations to ride a chocobo, and 20 anywhere else that Chocobo riding is possible from. So you never lose the licence, but if you're on a job that is too low, you can't ride.

No, it doesn't make any sense, but them's the rules.