Old School player returning, few questions

[Gurunbeld]

Sorry if some of these questions have been answered before, it seems like this forum is a pretty active FFXI community so ill just ask here. Anyways i played when the game first came out, and had a level 75 thf/nin. I quit for a few personal reasons back around the time WoW came out and now it seems like i need an MMO fix that doesnt have the same concepts/graphics of wow.

To be honest im a hardcore endgame player and most of my questions are focused around that. Anyways...

1) Im one of the rare MMO players who enjoys playing all the different types of classes, however im curious as to what some of the highest demand jobs are for end game content. I've been hearing BLM and WHM are what a lot of LS's are looking for, but im also curious what sort of melee or tanking class is needed as well.

2)Is the population of this game still pretty stable or am i going to end up like one of my old servers in WoW where theres maybe a total of 40 or 50 capped characters on to run content. On top of that is there any server recommendations people might have? Such as servers that are/were dead but are starting to build a pretty good population, or a well established server with open recruitment.

3)Do people still regularly run older end game content like Zilart and such, or am i going to have a REAL hard time finding a group for that stuff. As much as i enjoyed this game and it was one of my first MMO experiences the memories of hanging out in jeuno for hours at a time trying to get a group was not that enjoyable.

and lastly

4)Is there anyone out there interested in establishing a static group? Like i said previously im willing to play any class, but im some what yearning to play a healer or ranged DPS. I'm playing from my 360 so im able to join live chat or ventrillo if needed.

I have a slight paranoia about it being excessively difficult for me to find a group early on and a good endgame LS to play with, but ive been reassured by a few people that its not that difficult. Plus i heard that its much easier for certain classes to solo now, which is a huge plus in my book. Anyways, if anyone could provide some help it would be much appreciated. And if anyone is looking for a well rounded experienced player to join their ranks feel free to let me know!

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: Old School player returning, few questions

1) Im one of the rare MMO players who enjoys playing all the different types of classes, however im curious as to what some of the highest demand jobs are for end game content. I've been hearing BLM and WHM are what a lot of LS's are looking for, but im also curious what sort of melee or tanking class is needed as well.

There aren't really "needed" melees at endgame, but SAM, WAR, RNG and MNK tend to have the most flexibility in most content. SAM, WAR and MNK are dime a dozen these days, though, so if you want and endgame calling card you may wish to consider a tank or support/healer class on your roster.

PLD/NIN combo is probably the most in-demand kind of tank at endgame. If you go with NIN, you're going to want to have a /DRK sub.

Support and mage wish, all of them have a place. BRD is still your defacto melee buffer, though COR is very respectable in that category and even better for mage support. WHM and SCH are probably your top healer classes for endgame content, though RDM still often helps fill that role was well. RDM, SCH and BLM all play a part in crowd control and SCH and BLM are the top nukers.

Only healer and mage classes that fall behind are Dancer and Blue Mage. They do fine in most endgame content, but when the strategy calls for no melee, DNC and BLU suffer greatly since they're very much both reliant on melee contact to do what they do best.

Since you mentioned ranged attackers, you should feel most at home with Ranger, but Corsair is also a ranged attacker and support class in one. They're not quite as powerful as RNGs, but they are very desired. Think of COR as the Gambler class, except they gamble with party buffs.

Healers are something else you mentioned. WHM just got a big update that added new uses for old spells, these updates were somewhat inspired by the SCH class, which uses certaiain JAs to alter the properties of spells. That said, if you want a role that can heal nicely but also nuke close to the realm of BLM, then SCH is a good choice.

2)Is the population of this game still pretty stable or am i going to end up like one of my old servers in WoW where theres maybe a total of 40 or 50 capped characters on to run content. On top of that is there any server recommendations people might have? Such as servers that are/were dead but are starting to build a pretty good population, or a well established server with open recruitment.

What server you pick will not really matter. When you come to a starter city, it will be a ghost town. Aht'Urghan White gate is where most of the population gathers these days, even when seeking on low level characters. The two most populater servers in the game - Odin and Bahamut - are no longer accessable to new players or those seeking a transfer.

Find out where your friends are and pick thier server, pretty much the only way to go.

3)Do people still regularly run older end game content like Zilart and such, or am i going to have a REAL hard time finding a group for that stuff. As much as i enjoyed this game and it was one of my first MMO experiences the memories of hanging out in jeuno for hours at a time trying to get a group was not that enjoyable.

Endgame has a lot of ground to cover these days, but Zilart hasn't lost any attention from players. Many of the rewards there are still viable and very few have lost value over time.

[Gurunbeld]

Re: Old School player returning, few questions

Thanks, it looks like i may just start out playing a WHM and work from there. If it seems like later down the line i want to do something else i think ill go down the COR or RNG path. Corsairs seem pretty interesting to me and pretty unique to the whole MMO genre as a whole, so after seeing a few of them in play i might just make the switch.

Im a little familiar with campaigns(been reading up on it)but would you say its pretty easy or nearly impossible for a WHM to solo? Im sure most of it is dependant on what you sub, but im having a hard time gathering info on what job combos are the best for soloing.

Heck i may even take up tanking if it looks like its in high demand, the only thing holding me back is the fact that i tanked for the past 4 years in WoW(From a warrior, to a pally, to a Death knight, ive done it all)

[Elwynn]

Re: Old School player returning, few questions

Im a little familiar with campaigns(been reading up on it)but would you say its pretty easy or nearly impossible for a WHM to solo? Im sure most of it is dependant on what you sub, but im having a hard time gathering info on what job combos are the best for soloing.

Are you talking about solo for XP or solo at 75?

WHM is very slow at soloing for XP, but it used to be much worse. You'll mostly be fighting Easy Prey monsters, and the lower ones of those, but last September (when I had just turned 30 and about tapped out solo play) they increased the XP that those gave. And then they added Fields of Valor, which basically gives you an XP bonus (not subject to multipliers like XP rings) for defeating a certain combination of monsters. This makes WHM much easier to solo, but I switched to campaign in the late 30s before it came out. Campaign is normally for level 60+, but you get XP for healing, so WHM can play as soon as you have at least 150MP in weakened state so that you can get Reraise back up. And you have to regularly skill up, because skills do not increase while you have the "Allied Tags" on. The best way to do this is in Besieged battles, but those may not be happening at the hours you are playing.

At 75, WHM is still a pretty weak solo, but if you get your club and evasion skills high enough (they will be very low if you've been doing a lot of campaign) you can fight decently. /NIN (aka "Whinja") will help a lot, because you can use Stoneskin to get your Utsusemi shadows up, and Utsusemi and Flash to get your Stoneskin back up, and also faster TP build-up for the Hexa Strike and Black Halo weapon skills.

WHM/NIN may even be a viable solo job combination at early as level 24 or 40, but I think most WHMs don't try this until 75. It's really best when you get haste gear (Utsusemi Ichi takes longer than a typical attack round and can get interrupted), and there's a good gear combo at 75 to get 15% haste (the same as having the Haste spell on all the time, and you can cast it for more), plus you get Utsusemi Ni at 74, which is fast enough to cast in a combat round with proper timing. But honestly, I rarely need Ni thanks to Stoneskin and Haste.

If you want to unlock Ninja sooner rather than later, choose Windurst as your starting nation, and keep turning in all the Yagudo Bead Necklaces that you can for the Mihgo's Amigo quest. By the time you're ready, (this can't be unlocked until you reach 30) you'll probably have at least half the fame you need to get Utsusemi Ichi.

[SenseiFF11]

Re: Old School player returning, few questions

"old shoold"? I've alway asked myself what people meant by old school, it could mean many things. All I can tell you is you may have difficult time to enjoy it as the old daysXD, many things changed.