How do you people level so fast?

[Meredy]

Okay, first off, while I'm not exactly a hardcore player, I'm not an extremely casual one either.

There was someone in my ls who started a job(NIN) a little after I started COR. He reach 75 like a month ago, and I'm still 53. He probably levels a little more than I do, but not much.

It isn't that I don't have alot of time to devote to the game, or that the lfg time is bad (it isn't), but it just seems as though every party I get in isn't as effecient as what everyone else gets into.

I'll have a party where we seem to be tearing through mobs at an amazing speed without any troubles whatsoever, but when I look at the exp/hour it's only like 3k/hr. People in my linkshell will say "Meredy, you've been in that party like 3 hours, you're still the same level?"

Am I just unlucky? What is the partying norm that I can't seem to reach?

[Pai Pai Master]

Re: How do you people level so fast?

Don't let it get to you. This June marks my 5th anniversary with FFXI.

I'm still level 74.

[Wise Donkey]

Re: How do you people level so fast?

Don't let XP/hour and your level vs. Friends' level get to you. Play the game for fun, it is not a race to 75. There are so many factors that can effect your pace to 75, that you should not worry yourself over whether or not you are going as fast as possible, IMO. Just enjoy your time with FFXI.

[Icemage]

Re: How do you people level so fast?

Am I just unlucky? What is the partying norm that I can't seem to reach?

You might want to watch the composition of your parties. One common mistake made by some players is that they'll accept just any party invite as long as it's "OK". Not every party is created alike. If you're interested in optimizing your time spent levelling, ask some questions before you join a party and make sure the players are serious.

Good players gravitate together; asking intelligent questions might come off as elitist to some players, but good players will recognize why you are asking and be more likely to invite you. Now I don't mean that you have to have a perfect party and be a prima donna about things. Just try to avoid those MNK DRG WAR DRK SMN COR parties. And obviously be flexible if there isn't much to choose from in your current level range.

The fastest way to level, naturally, is a static party. Set up a full party and agree to meet and go XP at the same time on a regular schedule. Set up the jobs correctly, make sure people know what they are doing, and the levels will fly by.


Icemage

[Meredy]

Re: How do you people level so fast?

Don't let XP/hour and your level vs. Friends' level get to you. Play the game for fun, it is not a race to 75. There are so many factors that can effect your pace to 75, that you should not worry yourself over whether or not you are going as fast as possible, IMO. Just enjoy your time with FFXI.

Not to sound mean or such, but I think I've enjoyed COR at ~50 for a good enough time already I want 60 so I can do ballista, ENM, BCNM, etc.

You might want to watch the composition of your parties. One common mistake made by some players is that they'll accept just any party invite as long as it's "OK". Not every party is created alike. If you're interested in optimizing your time spent levelling, ask some questions before you join a party and make sure the players are serious.

Good players gravitate together; asking intelligent questions might come off as elitist to some players, but good players will recognize why you are asking and be more likely to invite you. Now I don't mean that you have to have a perfect party and be a prima donna about things. Just try to avoid those MNK DRG WAR DRK SMN COR parties. And obviously be flexible if there isn't much to choose from in your current level range.

The fastest way to level, naturally, is a static party. Set up a full party and agree to meet and go XP at the same time on a regular schedule. Set up the jobs correctly, make sure people know what they are doing, and the levels will fly by.

But the parties aren't MNK DRG WAR DRK SMN COR parties, they're PLD WHM RDM COR WAR DRK kind of parties; they're pretty well ballanced.

It doesn't even seem like we're doing that badly until I look at the exp/hr we're managing.

[Caspian]

Re: How do you people level so fast?

In that case, I'd say don't get the rdm and get another DD. All the healing and refreshing in the world won't help you take hp off the faster, just give you less downtime b/w the mobs, and with the refresh effect you can offer, there won't be much downtime anyway.
Also, a single bad player can hurt a party pretty badly, especially a tank. I have no idea how good the pld is, but I've had more than my fair share of 'eh' pld's that seem okay at first, until I start looking closer. They wait forever to voke, they don't cast or hardly ever cast flash, and a few other random things. Paladin is the kind of job where you need someone fairly competent behind the screen controlling them. I've had paladins that lost hate far more easily and far more often than many ninja tanks.
I feel your pain, I had plenty of bad parties for the first 65 levels of my rng career. But then I got an offer to join some friends in a static, and it made all the difference. People who know eachother (can communicate on vent) and are just reliable and competent really helps.
One other thing to watch out for, is where you're camping. Are the mobs a level or two too high or too low? Is there too much competition to reliably get chains? At that level, you should have little problem getting a consistant chain 5. If you're not, then something is indeed wrong.

[Murphie]

Re: How do you people level so fast?

Also, sometimes you just have a run of really bad luck. Before I took my break from the game, I was being out leveled by everyone in my LS because they were either getting really awesome parties or just accepting any exp that they could get which was still more than I was getting sitting around in my mog house.

Caspian (and Icemage) is right, though. Even one bad player can really slow things down for a party, and drag your exp rate into the gutter.

[Sabaron]

Re: How do you people level so fast?

Not to sound mean or such, but I think I've enjoyed COR at ~50 for a good enough time already I want 60 so I can do ballista, ENM, BCNM, etc.

I love CORs... I /sea for them occasionally and last I checked I saw 6 active COR in all level ranges. ;_; Their Two hour, no matter how the dice fall, is amazing. If set up correctly they can do enough damage to pull hate off a good tank, and they're like mini-bards with less emphasis on buffing. What I don't like are COR/WHMs in general. Subbing WHM on COR is just.... not very cool... I prefer to see /RNG or the abysmally ubiquitous /NIN, but mostly /RNG. Make the most of the gun.

But the parties aren't MNK DRG WAR DRK SMN COR parties, they're PLD WHM RDM COR WAR DRK kind of parties; they're pretty well ballanced.

It doesn't even seem like we're doing that badly until I look at the exp/hr we're managing.

The first party setup (mentioned by Icemage) is bad b/c it has a mediocre tank at upper level (WAR), two mana-hungry players (DRK and SMN) and a refresher who's gambling with death/slow XP (COR).

The second party is a well-balanced standard party which is sub-optimal in ToAU. I've found these parties run at a rate of about 5k per hour whereas a TP burn or Manaburn will run at 10-15kph.

Depending on the mob target, you can take out the WHM or the RDM and replace it with something else. If you're on the low-end of ToAU Eruka then the RDM is the best choice for instance, and if you're on the high-end, you can ditch the WHM since damage from Incinerate will be managable by the PLD and RDM's gimped Barfira. The extra 3mp per tick makes up for the lack of a full Barfira in this situation. Some people might say ditch the DRK and get a non-magic DD. DRK are primarily used at high-level as Stunners for moves such as Incinerate and that makes them a good addition as long as they're doing their Stun job. Much cheaper on the MP wallet than a BLM. The PLD&DRK combination was a match made in heaven with DRKs insane damage output on Souleater combined with the PLDs ability to generate insane amounts of hate and use Cover when PLDs hate production proves inadequate.

As for SMN in high-level PT, most I've seen don't summon anything because the BPs are so expensive. They just ride the mediocre main heal to 75 and then go off to decimate armies and use avatars to tank dragons and whatnot... I still wish SMN had more to do than just be a sh___y WHM, but their abilities are just not apparently designed to be efficient in an XP situation. Sometimes I'll see a buff or a free carby running around (with occasional Meteor), but after the fun of wasting 80mp on a party Blink buff wears off, it's just back the ol' healer grind unfortunately it seems.

The 50s were hard for me until I hit the TP burns at 52 which I milked to 60 as RDM--I only took a couple standard parties and I have a tendency not to play very long in such a PT--I'd rather make money or do missions than XP slowly (sometimes I just go places and kill stuff for the heck of it instead), but I'll stay for a {Long Time} in a fast XP party. I really only do the slow XP ones for the Experience of being in such a PT so that I know what to expect if I decide to level a job that doesn't have the priviledge of picking and choosing invites (basically, all DDs).

As for the DRK, I'll say that once you hit 68-70 on DRK, the invites pick up a lot for Stunning Imps in Caedarva. DRK is very nice to have there and I think that I would consider a DRK (or BLU) to be a great asset in a party just like some people do a BRD. Of course I'm not BRD/COR onry and I won't be DRK/BLU onry either like some of my RDM brothers and sisters, but they really help. Even with capped Enfeebling Magic it is quite difficult to Silence Imps and even when it does stick, it doesn't last very long. Stun blocks the all-too-common tier II -ga spells and Tier III single targets that the stupid things love to cast. Imps are annoying, but they have very low HP, Stun makes an Imps last few moments on earth as it gets eaten by your PT more bearable for you and your party mates.

[Jei]

Re: How do you people level so fast?

If you have fun with your pace, that's the more important part imo.

Breaking 4k exp per hour is quite tricky at lower level. It requires not only the right job set up, but also some skill on the players too. Not just 1, but of the party as a whole. Knowing where to hunt, pullers knowing how to pull, everyone know what food to use, mages knowing how to conserve MP, having enough mobs to kill, etc.

[Malacite]

Re: How do you people level so fast?

Personally I'd ditch the WHM for a BLM or BRD but that's me >_>b I

t's not that I hate WHM, quite the opposite. But when you have a PLD, COR and RDM present, that should be plenty for healing magic. Get a BLM to take advantage of the WAR and DRK skill chaining.

[Murphie]

Re: How do you people level so fast?

A COR should not be providing any healing magic. IMO, at least. I've partied with a few COR/WHMs, and they just didn't seem to have much purpose. Maybe just bad experiences? I dunno.

[Jei]

Re: How do you people level so fast?

Too little MP pool to be useful. Cor is better off shooting guns than healing for MP.

[little ninja]

Re: How do you people level so fast?

WoW this is an easy question.. Cause hes a NINJA!!, An we all know NINJA ROCK!! lol

In all honesty. Its the job role. In most cases Ninja are #1 in most exp parties. So they really arent seeking all that long most of the time. Plus if your a good tank, You will be seeked out more often. Yes they do have competition with Pld, I just notice more nin prefrence pts. But a Cor has to deal with other cors, other brds, an rdm.

Another thing you can take into account is tpburn pts. Then again ive never seen a Cor in a tpburn pt. So that actually may not be a reason.. I know in all my merit pts, i never partied with one.

[Celeal]

Re: How do you people level so fast?

IMHO, there reason for 3k exp per hour for PLD WHM RDM COR WAR DRK in the OP situation because of the OP's level (53 ~ 54), WAR does not have Rampage until level 55 + Raging Rush until level 60, COR does not have Slug Shot at level 53 ~ 54, and DRK's strong WS comes at level 60+. That party setup at that level is melee heavy without strong WS. Without strong WS spam or strong Skillchain + huge MB, a chuck of damage output over time is missing, thus a chunk of exp. per hour is missing.

At level 60+ the same party setup should have a well balance of risk and reward (good party safety and decent exp. per hour).

[Malacite]

Re: How do you people level so fast?

I wasn't implying that the COR should heal. I meant that you have two jobs already who can (PLD and RDM) and two refreshers, which should (provided you have proper positioning) give the PLD at least 5 MP/tic , and 4 for the RDM.