Not Sure what to do

[SpriritWithin27]

Hey im new to Final fantasy xi online..... never played an online game like this before... i have played final fantasy on ps1, 2 and 3 and on my iphone but this.... is different... could someone give me a little beginners guidance as to what to do... with quests, missions and etc.....

[Laciante]

Talk to just about every NPC in your home town, you should be able to pick up quests that way, and the opening cinematic should have gotten you on your way - there's even a newbie guidance line of quests now
For missions, the rank missions start with certain gate guards, expansion missions will start later on.
Browsing FFXIclopedia can also lead to some goals for yourself.
Otherwise, much of the game is just leveling and exploring.

[Thonuwan]

It might be in your best interest to focus on leveling a job or two a fair ways before you start getting too far into the missions. I know from experience that trying to force your way through a mission you aren't quite ready for is very frustrating. Feel free to pick any job. In fact try a whole bunch of them. They can all be fun.

http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

That is the wiki page that was referred to in the above post and what I like to use as a guide.

[Kaiichi]

Something to think about: Pick one job. If someone had told me that when I started, I'd have one bad ass job rather than 19 below average and 1 that's somewhat acceptable. Focus your funds and try not to spreed them out too much. But most important, have fun. don't let this game turn into a job.

[Nawesemo]

Find someone helpful enough to help you get started, that may seem obvious but you would be surprised .

[Meyi]

I too suggest at least trying every job once. Even if just for a few levels of fun.

First you'll want to pick a race, a face, a job and a nation. Then you'll want to pick a server. All servers are more or less the same really so don't fret too much over picking one.

When you start up you'll be given a basic weapon that your job can equip. You will want to put it on before you go outside and adventure. And if you're a mage job you'll be given a level 1 spell scroll. Go to your inventory and use it to learn it.

You'll definitely want to learn what "macros" are. And how to use things in and out of battle (magic spells, ranged attacks, weapon skills, etc).

When you venture outside be sure to talk to someone of your nation's conquest before you go! If you are at your nation's city and beginner zone then the conquest person is located right beside the gate leading out, and will either be labeled with a "T.K." (Temple Knights for San d'Oria), "I.M." (Iron Musketeers for Bastok), or "W.W." (War Warlocks for Windurst). You'll want Conquest points as then you can buy all kinds of goodies (Scrolls of Reraise, Warp, EXP enhancing rings, armor, etc).

http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Conquest

You'll also want to become familiar with Fields of Valor (often labeled FoV by players). You find a little white book floating somewhere in the field, usually by an entrance or an exit. Select "Individual Training", look through the pages, select one that you think you can do, and it will give you the level of the monster you're selecting and how many to kill. When you kill one of those monsters it will tell you in your chat box that you are X/Y completed. When you finish return to the book to receive EXP, gil (money) and Tabs. With Tabs you can buy goodies, such as reraise, protect, shell, regen (1 HP every 1.5 seconds is recovered), refresh (1 MP every 1.5 seconds is recovered) and yummy foods. You can even warp home with Repatriation!

http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Fields_of_Valor

It may be a good idea to visit Outposts on your journey and save your home point to them. That way when you die, you'll have less to walk when returning to your camp. Only do this at beginning levels. When you get high enough to go to Jeuno (the main city), you'll probably want to set your homepoint there and leave it permanently until you feel confident in your abilities to move around Vana'diel with ease. Outposts are marked with red dots on maps.

You can get your chocobo license at level 20 in Jeuno! Go to Upper Jeuno and go down a flight of stairs to the chocobo station. Talk to the fat hume standing by one to start the quest.

http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Chocobo%27s_Wounds

Along your journey be sure to collect Teleport crystals! There are six total: Dem (Konschtat Highlands, closest to Bastok), Holla (La Theine Plateau, closest to San d'Oria), Mea (Tahrongi Canyon, closest to Windurst), Altep (Eastern Altepa Desert), Vahzl (Xarcabard) and Yhoat (Yhoator Jungle). The first three are easy to spot as they are large white crags in the middle of the zone (also labeled on the map). Run up the stairs and click on the blue crystal to get the key item. The last three have no crags but are blue crystals, and by the time you are high enough level to collect them you should be able to properly navigate ffxiclopedia and find them on your own (or have kind enough friends to guide you).

When you reach level 30, consider starting Abyssea. Talk to Joachim to get the missions started. You will need to take a Traverser Stone (from Joachim) and go to an Abyssea maw, warp in, get visitor status, and then return to Joachim. After that your stone supply will start to pile up and when you reach high enough level you'll be thanking yourself.

http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Abyssea

Here's a basic layout of how leveling should go:
Beginner Zones (Ronfaure, Gustaberg, or Sarutabaruta) -> Crag zones (La Theine Plateau, Konschtat Highlands, or Tahrongi Canyon) -> Valkurm Dunes or Buburimu Peninsula -> Qufim Island.

Once you get to Qufim Island you should make some friends, party with people, and learn the basic dynamics of the game. We use to learn it in Valkurm Dunes when we had to party up at level 10+, but the game has changed significantly and you may not have a real or decent party until Qufim. Parties generally start at Qufim around level 20.

The most important tip I can give you is to learn ffxiclopedia and how to research material that you need. If you can do it for yourself, people will respect you and people will be much more likely to help you out. If you don't know what you're doing people may get annoyed at having to help every single step of the way. While most people are friendly and are willing to help a beginner get on their feet, it's your responsibility to learn the game. And to enjoy it! Try to find a linkshell to join (if you join Bismarck, TalesofVesperia is full of lots of people and you might hit it off with someone) and make friends. Don't be afraid to ask for help.

Have fun playing!

[wojoe]

Wow Meyi, that was wonderful!! Great advice!!

[Feynman]

I'd add that starting out, money can be a source of annoyance. Make sure you always have Signet up (you can get this from any of the Gate Guards in you nation). This will allow you to get crystals as you fight and can serve as good early gil. Also sort your inventory. The auto sort will stack items for you so you have more inventory spaces. Once you get a full stack of an item look into selling it on the Auction House. You can sell individual items but they tend to not sell as quickly and it can be annoying to see the same item showing up in the inbox because it didn't sell.

Also check stores! The equipment on the Auction House is sometimes horribly overpriced. Yesterday I started leveling RDM and noticed that a Bar- spell that costs 300gil in a store in Jeuno cost 20,000 on the Auction House!

When you get new items type their names into the search on the wiki you've been referenced to above. You're probably getting some quest items without realizing it. This will also give you an idea how this items sells.

Just a few quick things that I wish I had known early on!

[Sinzya]

Yeah the experience can be staggering at first. Just gota give yourself some time to figure things out and you will be having a blast in no time!