Any Pointers?

[AngelsFallFirst]

Hello everyone. Im kinda new to this game (first got in after a HUGE patch this morning), and I discovered that this game has quite possibly the steepest learning curve of any that I have encountered .

After about a hour of running around like a fish outa water, I had to go to work. So I come to all of you more expirenced "Gurus" here with a plea.

Any tips or advise for a new player (Spefficaly WHM) to get their bearnings and tip the curve in their favor .

Any, and All help is appreciated!

[Soonyi]

I find that the biggest thing that helped me the most was to ask people "how do you do this", "how do I get that", "or where do I go to..." while in the game. Most people are often friendly and will help you along the way.

Whenever possible, have the guard at the entrances to cast the signet on you. That way, you will have more of a chance to get crystals when you're out fighting and leveling your character. To which, you can sell your crystals at the AH (Auction House) for Gil.

If you want to party, just to try it out, that's fine, but you don't really need to party until like Level 8. You will level faster playing solo when you're low levels... that's what I've found.

I'm sure there's a lot more tips and personal tricks that others may have. Those are just off the top of my head. Goodluck to you!

Soonyi.

[ZenXIII]

I'm not exactly a game guru, but I am just beyond the new stage, so i can give a bit of insight.

First, always always always, do a *check* on every monster you fight (while you are soloing at least, later on the pullers ought to do it for you ^^).
There can be a vast difference even b/t 2 rarabs in the same area...especially at your level (one can con tough and one easy and they'll be standing right next to eachother) this can be the difference b/t gaining 50 (or 72) xp and getting a quick trip to your homepoint.
Also, when checking:
Easy, means easy.
Decent means even.
Even means TOUGH.
And TOUGH means: Don't try it as a WHM.
This may not be true for more experienced players, but it is good advice for you on your first few days. On that same note, you can get away with fighting evens for the first few levels (and net a lot of early experience points), but the difficulty does quickly ramp up, and be aware of that. Evens will become near certain doom in not too long of a time. (This all changes in a party, of course).
If you do find yourself in a tough fight that you don't think you can win, click on the "Call for Help" option (it is the same button as "Disengage," just hit right once) and dash for town. There is a good chance if you hit it soon enough you'll get saved by either a provoke or a nicely placed Cure. If you don't click "Call for Help": People won't be able to attack the monster and they probably won't know you need help!

Second, money is tight. But it doesn't have to be *that* tight. The auction house can be your biggest friend if used correctly. First, get signet (as Soonyi suggested) and collect all of those earth crystals you'll find and auction them off whenever you have to go back to town. Stacks of a dozen (earth) will net you a couple hundred gil (other elements will go for more, but earth are the most common at the beginning, thus the cheapest), but you'll get a lot in those first few levels, and it'll add up.
However, the auction house is not really always the best place to BUY merchandise. Always check the prices there *AND* at the local arms dealer. Sometimes something that is selling at the AH (auction house) for 300 gil will cost only 70 at the dealer. This can also be an easy way to make some money too, if you don't mind spending 70 gil on a brass shirt and selling it for 200 to a lazy level one at the AH...all it takes is a bit of a walk.

Third, if you get in a party and aren't happy with how it is going, DONT be afraid to tell them how you feel and why. A lot of times this can remedy a situation and allow you to make new friends, or it will at least give your teammates notice that their WHM may be leaving b/c they aren't playing up to par. On this same note, you should also be very aware of what folks are doing and ask questions as to why something is being done. You can learn a lot this way from more experienced players, or even discourage brash newbies by calling them on faulty tactics.

Fourth, have fun! This game is great, and the first five levels the first time around are especially great as you start getting the hang of things and immersed in the world. It'll get pretty boring b/t 8 and 11 (especially as a whm), but persevere! It gets REALLY fun once you start getting into good consistent parties and making friends, but there is a period of grueling grind before that ... hang in there, we all did.

Also, some etiquette, don't do "checks" on other players, it is considered rude by many JPN players (and NA players as well). If you see some really neat armor, just give a tell to the person and ask if they mind you checking their stuff, 9 times out of 10 (if they speak english ^^) they'll give you a "Yes" or "Of course!" and you'll start building a reputation of being a considerate player.
Please, never beg for anything in town at the auction house (or anywhere else ) and don't abuse /shout.
When you see someone getting beat on in a fight, throw a friendly cure their way if you can spare the MP and maybe a Protect once you hit level 7. There is no better favor than saving someones life, and people just may remember that when seeing you running around looking for escort on a quest or just general partying. That 15 MP (cure and protect) sure does spread the holiday cheer at low levels and can even start up early leveling parties that will prove profitable in in-game XP as well as real life playing the game experience.
But, be aware, if you cure a random stranger in a battle, there is a chance the monster won't take kindly to your interference and will come after you (and if the other person is still engaged, you won't even be able to fight back). However, as White Mages, that is the risk we take.

Above all, enjoy it! This is a great game, and has a great group of gamers involved (as well as a few trolls, but we try to just ignore them).

Good Luck!!


Edit: Fixed a couple things here and there.

[Dux]

Hi There.

I don't classify myself as a guru either but all I can say is take it nice and easy.

I only explored the first area of Windhurst until I was level 5. There are a few mini quests you can do without ever leaving the area of Windhurst you start in so don't worry about Windhurst being massive. Take it in small pieces and get used to each one.

Once you are happy with things I found that just following the main flow of people running around took me to either the Mog House or an Auction House. (Yes I followed the person in front @_@). These are the places you will visit most often.
Once you find the auction house and are happy where it is, I took a look around Windhurst Port and found the armour / weapon and spell shops (sometimes considerably cheaper than the auction house).

As for fighting. Stick to Tiny Mandragora and BumbleBee. Watch out for GoblingThugs. If you get too close they will engage you and will not wait for you to attack them. Once you get happy with the fighting method then Savanna Rabas are a bit tougher. Forget about the Carrion Crows until about lvl 8ish as they can be very very tough if you are unlucky. '')

I asked alot of people questions and got some nice explanations of how things worked. On Siren alot of people are JP and I got no answers, but if this happens to you do not get disheartened. Just ask somebody else without using the command /shout as its not nice to use it.

Oh and one final thing that you might like to know. If you die and return to your homepoint you loose lots of EXP. More than just a few points I mean loads. This is a royal pain because imagine you just hit lvl 5, equipped your new wand some new spells and a new armour, sell your old stuff and then die, you loose say 100 EXP go BACK DOWN TO LVL 4 and can't use your armour or weapon. You have little or no money and you are very peeved. This happened to me once and I will never allow it to happen again!

Oh and be nice to people.

[AngelsFallFirst]

WOW Guys! Thanks a lot! These REALLY helped me a lot!

2 more quick questions (As of now, )

- Is it jsut me or is money really super tight? 60 gil to your name when stuff is in the thousands is kinda like..oh idk slightly frustrating :p

- What spells are the most important at a given level? and what comes first, Spells or Equiptment. And speaking of equitment is there anything speffic i should save for or anything (Yea yea i know, there isnt one RIGHT way to play the game. But goals are nice )

Thanks again for all the help!

[Hitoshi]

Yeah gil is very tight :S if you have a bit of time, you may want to consider taking up a guild to make some more money. These include things like : fishing,cooking,alchemy.

As a mage you shouldnt get armor over spells. Don't buy new armor all the time or you'll burn your money up quickly BUT remember it's still important to upgrade regularly just not too often.

OFFTOPIC (sorta) : I used to play this game called PSO and there was a quest called "the value of money". In the quest the person learns an important rule :
It's nice to have new things all the time. However, if you save up you can buy even better stuff more quickly.

You can delete/ignore/spam/burn/critisise/laugh at this post as much as u want if you think its irrelevant nonsense. I'm just tryin to help ^^