New to XI, New to BLM, Lost as Heck

[Finvara]

It seems like there's a lof of information I'm missing out on here. I just started playing XI, This is my first character, I'm a Tarutaru Black mage in Windhurst.

I've talked to just about every NPC I've come across, but there seems to be a HUGE amount of information about how to play that just isn't around. I had to ask a player how to rest (*), I can't find where I'm supposed to get my new spells from (Even when I tried to log out and look it up, the NPC that supposedly sold them, didn't), and for some reason, my friend playing the kitty-girl thief seems to be able to perform more training regimens in a day than I can.

I'm just confused, and I could use some help getting oriented.

[Malacite]

Re: New to XI, New to BLM, Lost as Heck

There's a tutorial NPC they added a while back which should be marked on your map.

Also, read the stickies and check out the wiki for a lot of great BLM info.

[Armando]

Re: New to XI, New to BLM, Lost as Heck

K, let's tackle these in order:
1) Windhurst has no h, that's a pet peeve for a lot of people :D
2) Read the manual, it'll do you a lot of good with regards to the user interface.
3) FFXIclopedia.org has most of the information a new player would want to know. You should've started with a Scroll of Stone, use it to learn the spell. You can buy more spells at Port Windurst from Aroro. The availability of some items depends on whether you're a citizen of the nation and the nation's current standing in Conquest. Always check NPC prices of low level gear and spells before buying from the Auction House.
4) You can accept one training regimen per in-game day. However, there is no time limit for finishing it. You can accept a regimen on a given day, finish it the next day and get a new regimen that very same day.

Best of luck to you, BLM is a hard job to start out with.

[Takelli]

Re: New to XI, New to BLM, Lost as Heck

Something Armando forgot to tell you though...

If you play on the PC, change the controls to compact keyboard. It will make your life in Vanadield A LOT easier.

[Mhurron]

Re: New to XI, New to BLM, Lost as Heck

If you play on the PC, change the controls to compact keyboard. It will make your life in Vanadield A LOT easier.

That depends on the person, I hate the compact keyboard layout.

[Finvara]

Re: New to XI, New to BLM, Lost as Heck

Thanks for all your replies!

I bought the game digitally through steam, so I don't actually have a manual unless there's a digital manual somewhere that I didn't notice. if there is, that would be a great help.

Now, I could have just been reading the wrong information, but I was under the impression according to a list I read that BLM can learn Poison at level 3, and another spell at level 4, but I haven't been able to find Aroro or anyone else selling such scrolls.

Now, I've done my best to go through as much tutorial as I can find so far, I can check my map again when i get home to look for more.

Windurst has no H, I'll remember that.

I'll also check out the compact keyboard layout. Thanks for that tip.

From there, I guess my next step is to start reading that FFXIclopedia.

Are there any other things I should take into consideration that could make this stage of learning a bit easier?

[Armando]

Re: New to XI, New to BLM, Lost as Heck

In the Configuration part of the menu (which you can access with the [-] key) you can see what every key is assigned to and change them if you want. This guide may also help you.

Aroro only sells the Lv.4 spell Blind to Windurst citizens when Windurst is in 1st place in Conquest, and only sells the Lv.3 spell Poison when Windurst is in 1st or 2nd place. However, the Yagudo Scribes in Sarutabaruta sometimes drop scrolls of Blind, so it's probably available at the Auction House (in Windurst Walls or Windurst Woods) at a low price. To know where to find each spell simply go to FFXIClopedia's page on the Black Mage job, click on a spell name and look at the "How to obtain" section.

Things that you'll probably regret not having figured out sooner:
1) Never throw away Beastmen's Seals
2) Always get Signet from the gate guards before leaving town
3) I'm not sure if the autosort setting on your inventory is on by default, but if it isn't, turn it on
4) Sell crystals and most drops at the Auction House, not NPCs. When you list an item on the AH, the less money you ask for, the sooner your item will sell (but of course there's the possibility that you'll get paid less for it.) For Windurstians, the following items are good cash: Silk Threads (Crawlers), Wild Onions (Goblin Thugs), Honey and Beeswax (Bumblebees that aren't level 1), Yagudo Bead Necklaces (Yagudo). If you're running low on space and have to toss something, you can be sure that other items (other than crystals, which are always quick and easy money) will likely be worth less than these.
5) It's much better and safer to kill lots of Easy Prey mobs than to fight Decent Challenges and Even Matches and get worn down quickly. If you run out of EPs it's ok to go after the occasional DC if you have MP and TP to unload.
6) Your MP is limited, even with the Refresh effect you can buy from the Field Manuals. When soloing you'll need to keep your armor up to date and pick the weapons with the best DPS (DMG per second.) To know which weapons are best, go to FFXIAH.com's Item Power Search, pick:
* Job: BLM
* Level: a range that's useful to you. A good level range would be 1-5 or 1-10 for a starting player.
* Weapon: Staves
* Sort1: DPS, Descending
And find the highest DPS weapon you can equip at your level. Then look it up in FFXIClopedia to know where you can get it. Disregard the prices listed in FFXIAH for now; these are for the Jeuno Auction House, not Windurst's, though there is a chance the Windurst AH will have them at a similar price. Your best inexpensive weapon will be Ash Staff for now, followed by Ash Pole at Lv.5.
7) Always eat Meat Jerky or similar foods when soloing to help you kill faster.
8) You can start partying at level 10, though you can also keep soloing if you want. When partying, your equipment priorities change to +MP, +MP recovered while healing, and +INT.

Also, the northwest tower in West Sarutabaruta is awesome leveling around levels 6-10. Abuse the training regimes for bonus EXP and gil too.

[Mhurron]

Re: New to XI, New to BLM, Lost as Heck

Now, I could have just been reading the wrong information, but I was under the impression according to a list I read that BLM can learn Poison at level 3, and another spell at level 4, but I haven't been able to find Aroro or anyone else selling such scrolls.

Black Mage - FFXIclopedia, the Final Fantasy XI wiki - Characters, items, jobs, and more

Poison at 3 and Blind at 4. Aroro sells Poison if Windurst is first or second in the conquest standings. Aroro sells Blind when Windurst is in 1st place. You can check the conquest standings by going to the menu, choosing Region info and clicking on the conquest button.

Conquest is calculated at midnight on Monday, Japan standard time, which is Sunday morning at 11am EDT right now. So if Aroro isn't selling them now, they might be tomorrow.

[Ufgt]

Re: New to XI, New to BLM, Lost as Heck

I do not use compact keyboard and it's fine. Just personal preference.

[Malacite]

Re: New to XI, New to BLM, Lost as Heck

That depends on the person, I hate the compact keyboard layout.

Ditto. It's pretty much there for laptop users, desktop better off normal.

[Finvara]

Re: New to XI, New to BLM, Lost as Heck

I see a lot of folks mention support jobs. When would I want to switch over and work on one of those? Immediately as soon as I can? or should I wait a while? These guides don't seem to say so far.

[Malacite]

Re: New to XI, New to BLM, Lost as Heck

As soon as you can when you hit 18, switch to WHM as it will be the most usefull subjob for you until the later levels where RDM NIN and SCH can come into play.

[Finvara]

Re: New to XI, New to BLM, Lost as Heck

Is there any sort of guideline for how high to level something I want to use as a subjob before I switch back to my primary of BLM?

[Takelli]

Re: New to XI, New to BLM, Lost as Heck

Bring your supposrt job to 49 if you plan on bringing your job up to lvl 99 when they raise the level cap.

[Finvara]

Re: New to XI, New to BLM, Lost as Heck

Interesting! Why 49 specifically?