As the first on this thread, a serious question...

[Starcade]

It's going to sound like a troll, for sure:

But as far as what Square-Enix has (Abyssea) done to (Abyssea) this game (Abyssea)...

There are still new players to guide?

[Corres]

yes!

and no, his was not sarcastic. if you would visit the old cities like windurst or bastok youm would see them wandering helpless around knowing not what to do.

[Starcade]

I wasn't being sarcastic either.

Square-Enix spent most of the year of the three add-on scenarios (ACP, MKDE, ASA) catering to new and lower-level players, and basically found most of the game deteriorating. This was largely true due to the fact that if you did a search on all players, you'd find that only about 1/4 - 1/3 of the players was below the level cap.

For example, right now on Leviathan: 1:35 or so AM PST 3/8/11:

There are 1,457 players on.

Only 377 characters are NOT Level 90.

Hence my very legitimate question.

[Septimus]

I helped 4 players do Genkai 4 over the last 2 days while doing Magian trials. Fairly surprising, but also somewhat disconcerting that people can level up and not get Kindred's Seals. I wonder if it is a new RMT invasion...

[Trangnai]

Post Abyssea has killed this game for new players, not only does it make it hard to start the game, its impossible to do most missions without guidance, most new players arn't going to know what the Community Sites are. In this sense, these forums are great for those players. However sense Abyssea killed exp pts after level 30 and the gear market for the most part as well, newer players get stuck and even when you see a player at or around level 30 there still sub-jobless due to not knowing what to do, or being unable to get help doing it. Its upsetting honestly, breaking the required level caps on rank missions and increasing exp yeild will still help those that can't or don't want to use abyssea to exp past 30 and get rank missions done, it still doesn't fix the lack of player interaction at lower levels. Something that honestly, should be revived.

[Wade]

There are still new players, met one the other day and helped them get their subjob. There just aren't a lot. I see a handful of people at any given time without subjobs. So I imagine there are a few new people starting every so often.

[Yopop]

I've met about 4-5 new players in the past few weeks and sadly they played for a few days and I have not seen them since.

[Wade]

I don't think that Aby or anything has killed it for new players. This game has gotten a whole lot easier to be honest. I remember when I first started 4 years ago, then it was hard. I didn't know about wiki and trying to figure anything out sucked. Also, back then you only got 50 exp for a DC, so leveling was extremely slow when soloing. Now, you can reach level 10 in about 20 minutes. The only real problem I see for low levels is the lack of gear on the AH. If they would reduce the cost of gear and perhaps make more available from NPC's, I think that would solve a lot of frustration for new players.

[Draylo]

Actually a lot of the gear can be obtained from NPCs pretty easily in each starting city. I recently leveled my PUP up and found some of the gear on NPC's.

[Yopop]

Abyssea has done a lot of damage for new players in the bigger scope of the game.

When a player joins and is new they do what we all do. They look around and read and sometimes google to find information on the game. Some buy the *cough* Brady's Guide *cough* and use that to help them along their way.

Once they start leveling and get to the point of parties there's a good chance their going to catch a party with people trying to blow to 30 and key person in Abyssea. They get power leveled and boom before they know it they are in their 30's. They start to try to figure out what they are doing and due to the fact that they are leveling so fast because players they are partying with want to get to Abyssea they find themselves frustrated because they are still that same new player just 20 levels higher.

They are clueless about zones, mobs, or the concept of how to play their job. To them the game is a point and click game that takes no skill to play. They get bored and now they want a job at level 90. So what do they do? They sit and ask for help 24/7 instead of trying to learn the game themselves and grow. They sit and shout for help in Jeuno, they then go online and maybe buy gil so they have money to pay people to let them join in Abyssea parties.

This is just random things that i've seen new players do.

Once they hit 90 they end up quitting because they have no clue what this game offers and they got to 90 so far they "BEAT FFXI WOOWHOO" and go off to play something else.

[Sylar]

I've seen a few new people around since I started leveling with some newbie friends I dragged into the game with me. I've also seen people shouting for stuff that someone with a 90 job or high-level friends could solo (limit breaks, coffer keys, etc.).

I do think it's unfortunate that Abyssea makes it possible for someone to level a job from 30 to 90 without ever interacting with a single new person but I don't know if that necessarily ruined it. Subscriptions were dwindling long before Abyssea; all Abyssea did was provide a scapegoat. I think the exp boost and FoV fix was a step in the right direction in making the game newbie-friendly. It's easy as hell to duo/trio up to 10k or more an hour at level 20 or 30 now if you know where to go... which seems like something a forum like this could provide.

Given the exp boost, Fields of Valor, and Level Sync (as well as the upcoming AH merger), this game is a hell of a lot more newbie friendly than it was when I started four years ago. Abyssea doesn't matter; the people who leech all their jobs to 90 in Abyssea probably wouldn't spend a lot of their time in pick-up groups sharing advice with new people anyway.

[Wade]

They sit and ask for help 24/7 instead of trying to learn the game themselves and grow. They sit and shout for help in Jeuno, they then go online and maybe buy gil so they have money to pay people to let them join in Abyssea parties.

This has been a problem with some people since the day I started. Some people just have no initiative and want everything handed to them. That will never change no matter what the game is. I do agree that they are perhaps leveling so quickly they do not understand the jobs, but you had that with AFB parties before, so this is nothing new either.

I saw a post by someone once that said "They were happy for the decrease in time it took to get to 90 because the bulk of the people in the game have been here a while and it shouldn't take forever to get a new job up to cap once there." I kind of agree with it. It's become a lot easier and faster to get to 90, but then this game has been out a long time and I think they are more focused now on making the vets happy, which is a good thing. New people will adjust or leave. Back in the day, new people would leave because it "took too long" or "was too hard". There is always a reason for someone to leave and you can't make everybody happy.

[Kogenta]

yes!

and no, his was not sarcastic. if you would visit the old cities like windurst or bastok youm would see them wandering helpless around knowing not what to do.

Hi Corres <3

To answer this thread: on ragnarok there are a lot of newbies, more than i ever saw. I often help people to do genkais, Nyzul climb, Cop, ZM. Not sure about the situation on other servers, but on ragnarok there is definitely a consistent new playerbase.

[Yopop]

I will say that I've even said that many times.

I've played a very long time and I used to dread playing other jobs because I did not want to spend 12 hours in a party to get a few merits or a couple levels.

Before they added the ToAU besides us stealing the mana burn idea from gil farmers it would take us crazy hours to get merits and levels. Then when ToAU came out I leveled BRD to 75 in 4 weeks which was crazy for that time.

Now I can level jobs that I know how to play in a few days and get on with doing other content in the game. I just feel that the players that are Post-ToAU and Abyssea are missing out on really learning how to play the game and enjoying some aspects they are not being exposed to.

[Chew]

Of course theres going to be new players. This is a Final Fantasy title afterall. My son age 9 is just starting to get into them and I wouldn't be surprised if he plays 11. Well aslong as the servers are up and running by then lol.

[Wade]

I have also been noticing an influx of older players coming back as well. This will help the new players too, especially if some of the older player are leveling new jobs as well.

[Crawlerbasher]

I'm on leviathan and have helped loads of newbies.
I even have jobs at lvl 10 that I plan to get to 60 or 90 some day.
Almost got war to 60 and that was lvl 20 a week ago.

I've been doing level sync party's recently and also can solo on bst all the nation mission to 10 with certain degree of difficulty or ease.

So there are ppl with low lvl jobs still or ppl willing to help, if them self are free.

[Yopop]

The thing that I find funnier, I don't help new players with this as much as I help people who are in their 90's with CoP, ZM etc, :)

I've still never done Nyzul though, I've not done a lot in that ToAU zone, but it looks nice though :)


Hi Corres <3

To answer this thread: on ragnarok there are a lot of newbies, more than i ever saw. I often help people to do genkais, Nyzul climb, Cop, ZM. Not sure about the situation on other servers, but on ragnarok there is definitely a consistent new playerbase.

[Lukielucas]

Only problem I have since i have been playing this game for 2 years is the fact that you have a lot of people who have no clue in what they are doing, That being said SE really need to update Nyzle Isle or at least make it soloable cos I'm finding it difficult grabbing a group of experienced people that's willing to help out as I'm stuck on Floor 55... although my LS and I do it from time to time.... I'm just sick of people disbanding parties when they fail a floor.... especially on a Lamp Order floor cos that's a real pain in the backside lol

[Starcade]

And the problem's gotten worse with Abyssea -- you basically get a job to 30 and leech the crap out of stuff until they throw you out or you pay them or whatever...

[slakyak]

This game is so cheap to pick up now, there's still a month free and it will run on old pc gear so there's bound to be a few new players joining up to see what the MMO is all about.

I joined to see if I'd like the MMO style of game before I dove in to FFXIV when it comes to PS3... not sure I'd have moved over yet even if it had been released though (there must be a thread going on that somewhere....)!!

As a new player I've had plenty of people take me under their wing and sometimes lowbies can even help high level players with trials (killing hundreds of worms while I levelled and he counted them off springs to mind!). Also people seem to be trying out new jobs etc so this area of the forum \should/ be a good thing.

[Tyi]

Yes it seems to be the same on most servers. Most of the population are level 90's. Even new players which doesn't really make sense.

I heard SE are putting a lvl 75 cap on Abyssea, so players must be at least lvl 75 to go to Abyssea. Which I think would correct the game and make the it balanced again. New players will have enough time to learn about their jobs even with the new experience boost in original Vanadiel areas. However what about all the players who obtained multiple level 90's in a matter of days?

[Kimiko]

Agreed, but from personal experience (having leveled monk from the ground up just recently). SE does need to do a better job getting low-level folks the tools they need to succeed in the early levels. Opening up AH access to all nations would be a good step in that direction. Also, making low-level gear more readily accessible will help as well.

[lowkey]

In my experience over the past two, or three years, the majority of new people I meet, aren't completely new. They are returning players, who for whatever reason are starting over from scratch, or existing players leveling one of their mules. You do run into totally new players every now and then, but not really all that often. The game is mature at this point, and just about anyone who is interested in trying it, already have.

That said, it would be cool to see SE try to attract new players though. This is an awesome game, that just keeps getting better. Unfortunately it's always been a niche game. Most people I know in real life have never even heard of it, and the ones who have are strongly biased against it due to issues that have long been resolved, or never existed to begin with.

[Lukielucas]

Agreed, but from personal experience (having leveled monk from the ground up just recently). SE does need to do a better job getting low-level folks the tools they need to succeed in the early levels. Opening up AH access to all nations would be a good step in that direction. Also, making low-level gear more readily accessible will help as well.

The only problem i find with the merging of the AH, is that the gears and stuff are so expensive... i mean phalanx for a new player on sylph would be expected to pay around 700k for a scroll which to me is very expensive and very unfair on a new player compared to how they would be able to make gils so earlier in the game.... it's things like this that makes people resort to gil sellers (not that i ever brought my gils) but I do find it's very hard to make gils from time to time and i've been playing for 2 years....

[Kisuke]

I have seen a fair few new and returning players on Asura. In fact, it seems like you see a couple new posts every day over on the Allakhazam forums about a new or returning player starting. Granted, the majority of those posts are "What has changed since I quit?" and "Which server should I join?", not asking actual questions. Maybe having official forums available will lure some newer folks here...

As far as Abyssea leeching goes, I've definitely seen a resurgence of parties after the experience-boost update. More people looking and quicker invites. For my time spent I'm happier to make 400-600 a kill right now than wait hoping for a Abyssea leeching spot then wait an hour+ for the xp to build up. For me, it's much more satisfying to properly party anyway!

[Dameshi]

A friend of mine helps new players all the time. Nearly every day she's helping someone break a level cap, or get kazham keys, AF, etc. There are still new players out there, just gotta find them :P

[Jeanluke]

What I think makes it hard is that a lot of the people who had crafted in years past are not, or are crafting other things or doing synergy. As a result there is less crafts going in and out of the auction house. I don't see combining the auctions of all towns alleviating this issue. It is a help though as those who craft might find it easier to do so if the can sell in more areas.

[ShadowHeart]

even with the influx of new players i ran a naked mule from 1-10 in 47 minutes no ring naked with a sword only no pl or books. simple you say? lol so out of giggles before the level increase i ran a mule from 1-90 no sub job with capped h2h in under 2 weeks even has hand ful of atma and zone boss wins and af3 in that time.... what used to take us years to accomplish can be achieved in a few weeks . i have been playing since '05 and if i sat down grinded i could probably accomplish an identical char minus some of the gear in a few months with everyjob at 90 :s is it a farewell to ffxi ? is it a wow retake? some of us old timers get upset at watching noobs with equivalent jobs we worked years to get but others embrace the change as its a game and just fun to play but it all comes down to whther the game is still right for you or not i still enjoy helping new people and remember the day it used to be me :). But the times coming where i dont have much left to do anymore because everything is being handed to us on a silver platter i have almost all 20 jobs at 90 now and almost every job has full set of af3+1 and working on +2 on some but where to next? even that is all low manable now

[Revalus]

even with the influx of new players i ran a naked mule from 1-10 in 47 minutes no ring naked with a sword only no pl or books. simple you say? lol so out of giggles before the level increase i ran a mule from 1-90 no sub job with capped h2h in under 2 weeks even has hand ful of atma and zone boss wins and af3 in that time.... what used to take us years to accomplish can be achieved in a few weeks . i have been playing since '05 and if i sat down grinded i could probably accomplish an identical char minus some of the gear in a few months with everyjob at 90 :s is it a farewell to ffxi ? is it a wow retake? some of us old timers get upset at watching noobs with equivalent jobs we worked years to get but others embrace the change as its a game and just fun to play but it all comes down to whther the game is still right for you or not i still enjoy helping new people and remember the day it used to be me :). But the times coming where i dont have much left to do anymore because everything is being handed to us on a silver platter i have almost all 20 jobs at 90 now and almost every job has full set of af3+1 and working on +2 on some but where to next? even that is all low manable now

I think part of the issue is that people get so up-in-arms over it not taking as much time to "catch up," but many of them are not as willing as you to help new players. It took you a short period of time to run a mule to 10 not just because of the experience overhaul, but because you knew exactly what you were doing; you've done it at least 20 times. FFXI is a rather obtuse game when most of the new players are coming from the one-job-per-character-hotbar-hand-holding-quest-driven MMOs. That doesn't make it bad, but it is often perceived that way.

I returned a few months ago, and I'd love to find new players. (I'm on Sylph and share a name with my forum name.) About three of my friends have joined in the past two months, and it's been a lot of fun getting them through rank missions, doing sub job items, and the like. We've been doing roaming parties (as opposed to camping parties), and getting more EXP than our IT++ camping parties once did, and it's been a blast. Frankly, with the EXP update, we've found that our weird (and incredibly more entertaining) style of play has even become quite profitable. Here's to hoping you find similarly revitalizing methods of enjoying the game. (Also, congratulations on the utterly masochistic task of doing a subjobless run! I knew there had to be somebody that would try it.)

[thefinalrune]

What I think makes it hard is that a lot of the people who had crafted in years past are not, or are crafting other things or doing synergy. As a result there is less crafts going in and out of the auction house. I don't see combining the auctions of all towns alleviating this issue. It is a help though as those who craft might find it easier to do so if the can sell in more areas.

I agree completely and have witnessed this myself since more or less the advent of Abyssea. Crafters have seemingly vanished from the game for nearly all gears below level 75. I was reading over a few profiles on FFXIAH the other day and noted that for a majority (of the ones I viewed) players would have several level 90 jobs but absolutely zero crafting skills.

I think a huge part of the problem lies not so much with the absence of crafters as it does with the difficulty of becoming one. The crafting system is tedious in every regard. Slow to level, hard to get supplies, poor instruction in game about advancement and recipes make learning and leveling a craft not only extremely frustrating, but hideously discouraging to a casual gamer.

I would love to see the level caps on crafting removed to allow each craft to reach veteran rank as well as a more forgiving system on breakage all tied in with an improved skill up rate.

[Juri_Licious]

There are an abundance of new players on Asura.

I've helped 5+ get started in San d'Oria and also invited 3 of em to the LS i'm in.
I agree this game should probably have a beginner's tutorial but, that's wishful thinking.

Just lead the ? marks to Alaune in South San d'Oria or, wherever the Tutor NPC in your nation is.

[GERM]

At the same time not everyone is leveled capped but depending on the day of the week and time of day there may be more people that are starting out but on the opposite side of that there are 20 jobs to level and I for one only have 6 capped and are always looking to level up more jobs. I don't believe abyssea should be a major ground for leveling under 75 though this creates issues when you rely on people to do a job and they never learned to play it

[Wenceslao]

Abyss hasn't killed the game, we are killing it by doing only abyssea pt, abyssea missions, abyssea quest, and abyssea related tasks, i think there's a lot of people who still would like to finish Missions, to do BCNM, to get assaults or other end game activities, new players uses abyss leeching because there are not enough low leveled players lfp, SE tried to solve these issue by raising exp received from mobs and doing FoV usable mora than once in a in-game day, now we have the oportunity to give new life to the zones now forgoten in favor of abyssea, peronally i enjoy more a normal yhutunga, yhoator, quicksands, garbage s#@tadel, aht urgan pt, than leeching all the way, we should help new players with this, putting the example, how many of us has spent hours leveling his/her job in these camps, or skillung up on Boyada Tree, we can show them how is done by reviving these zones by ourselves, i think there's a lot of new players who still don't know the old camps, who still need help with missions, or somethink alike.

[Kuvo]

In recent times the LS i'm in has invited at least 6 new players in the game within the last 2 weeks. These players have stuck together because no one else is around the starter towns. I've leveled lower jobs to get to know these players and there are a lot more out there then we see. The thing is that this is an MMO world that can never be perfect. Sure abyssea may have hurt the new players but the game is almost 10 years old with major focuses on endgame content for the high majority of the population being 75+ now.

If you want to have new players come into the game or help the newer players SE will need to add more beginner content, limit level restrictions to abyssea, add extra missions to starter nations, combine all AHs into one central one, etc. These are just my opinions on some things that could be changed to help the newer players.

If they would also add NPCs in each starter city that can port you to jeuno post 75 (so it doesn't take from airships post rank 5) or after doing a quest along with combining all the AHs into one can help the population in starter cities as well. I don't see harm in combining all the into the jeuno AH this way you can access everything you need from each city.

[Vedabe]

dude, lol get into these site "www.mercadolibre.com.mx", they sale it for $500 MXN pesos, wouch it would be like $35 US,

here´s an example: http://articulo.mercadolibre.com.mx/MLM-60039479-final-fantasy-xi-11-vanadiel-collection-2008-nvd-_JM, just ask the seller if they can ship it worldwide, some of them actually do, so maybe you get lucky idk, cheers :D

[hadeed]

i got this crazy idea but i dont know if SE will take it as real , to boost the new player sense. this game is all about having company with you , to talk and share things if thats the case then why not open a small system to summon players to help those new players with their leveling, questing or even crafting ?!

Put a small board that has the high level players name in it , and make an NPC that can teleport them to that NPC where their names are called by the new player . the high level have to just add their names and what they want to help with and the new player just have to scan through the names and see what he wants the most help with , and when accept that they must be in party for hour or 2 to help this guy of course how to track this, is by giving the new player an item given by the NPC , when he finish the deal with the high level he can give the item back to the high level player to trade the item to the NPC and that will give points ,

now why a high level want to help a new player unless there is seomthing really rewarding LIKE ! giving a free access to relic or Mythic weapon for 24 hours of your choice . or something really rewarding like hard to get item of course after gathering alot of points from this system .

or it can use this points to raise the crafting system ?! or to use it as Blessing for helping new player to boost the player skill up ?! it can be anything like that and we make sure that the new players stay in FF11 also we get what we need as well ;p !! lol what do you think , its crazy no ?

well of course this system can be used with level 30 + to avoid abusing mules or something or the new player has spend more than 1 month playing the game or SE can think of better ways to stop the abusing.

would like to see new players coming and enjoy the game as i enjoyed it when the game was released also i find it cool factor to summon a high level player lol ;p like level 90 of your favorite class ( even if he/she were gimp still awsome for new player ! lol ) <3

cheers ~

[Dubberrucky]

There seems to be quite an influx of returning people on Sylph over the past 2 months as well as new people. So yes definitely a need for a new player guide as well as adjustments to the game for those who are returning after a year or more of being away. At the moment they are being completely gimped or left out by abyssea.

[RatixFarrence]

If Ive been on this game in 5 accounts (all do-overs), and 4 of them I never got my chocobo license or been to jeuno yet 3 of them I got subjob. Does that make me a returning player or still a newbie. Either way I've gotten so much support from the good LSes in Sylph. I ask people in all worlds to check to see who is shouting for help or has a question about the game every now and again. You might end up with another good friend who will want to return the favor one day.

[Legomike]

I would love to see the level caps on crafting removed to allow each craft to reach veteran rank as well as a more forgiving system on breakage all tied in with an improved skill up rate. yes please its pretty bad at 100+6~ and fail a synt under 10 x3 in a row while leveling another craft and getting hqs under cap :|

as for helping new players il help with anything if i can as long as they havent burned/leeched 30+. recently did lb1 and some af/spells for someone

[Jeanluke]

Yeah I agree. Crafting in comparison to the ease in leveling does appear more daunting. Almost enough to scare people away. Hopefully something will be done to give incentive to craft again. Not to put down all the naked leveling out there, that's all fine and dandy(hats off to you). Gear is helpful though especially if you are going to solo.

[Todo]

Well since all of you are just commenting on how you help new players, I thought I would give you a perspective from an actual new player.

My free trial started on January 3rd. So I'm two months into this game.

You all comment on how easy it is to make money, but honestly, in every other MMO I've played I've hit the money cap, or been extremely close, and in this game I have had nothing but problems making money. I don't know if you are in denial, but the economy is seemingly dead in this game. FFXIAH, for my server at least, rates an item selling "Very Fast" as 10-12 stacks a day. That, to me, is not very fast. Things take at last 2-3 days to sell, and when you can only have 7 items up at a time, it's EXTREMELY frustrating.

Many of you say that new players just ask for help constantly, and don't learn to play their class. I would have to agree with you in most cases that this is true. My LS that I'm in has new people join constantly, and they are always like "So who wants to come PL my party?" "Who's gonna help me do X?" etc. It's like they just expect it.

However, I have been playing MMO's for 9 years. I don't expect help from people, and I take every measure possible to learn as much as I can about my job, and if I can't solo something at my current level, I will simply wait until I get high enough to solo it myself. I like to believe I don't follow the new person stereotype, I have asked for help one time since I started playing, and that was when I was running my Mule to Jeuno, and I made my HP in Meripherated (Sp?) Mountains, and I couldn't get past this damn Skink in the Sauromugue Champaign, and kept dying, and I was stuck in the middle of no where, so I asked for an escort to Jeuno.

I will also probably be forced to ask for help for my Limit Breaks, because I've been told that even as a Pup I will be unable to solo them, which really annoys me, because asking for help is one of my least favorite things to do.

I'm just trying to show you that all new people aren't these helpless idiots that don't know how to do anything for themselves.

I've unlocked every job myself, well except Samurai and Ninja I guess, but I didn't ask for help, someone was helping a LS member do it so I just tagged along. But I unlocked Sch, Bst, Dnc, Pup, Blu, Drk, and one other by myself.

However, I am still 1-2 in Nation missions, because I raged when the guide told me to go click on the ??? in the Kings Tomb, and when I did, it teleported me to some random place where I was instantly one shot by a Bat. Now I'm too angry to try that nation mission again :b lol.

I've read every guide on Pup's, though a lot of it doesn't seem to add up to how my automaton acts, so I'm kind of making up some of it as I go along, and a lot of the guides are outdated, which sucks, but yeah.

Finally, I didn't get my sub job till I was a 37 monk, because I didn't want to ask for help killing a Bogy.

So, please, don't lump all new players into the "clueless morons with no idea what they're doing." I skill chain, I magic burst, and I rage when people just randomly blow their WS without announcing their TP and thus giving no opportunity for anyone to chain with them.

(:

[Legomike]

youre way ahead of the aholes then. /clap

[viion]

Everyone was new and helpless at some point, so anyone hating on them is just a pure hypocrite and has way to much ego. I was a very hardcore play years ago and quit about 1/half years ago? Just after the first ever addon was release.

I came back as I saw the game on steam for like $4 and figured me and my friend would give it a shot but only just got time to play it now (work n all).

In my opinion this game is still extremely unwelcoming to the starter player. I know most things and how to do missions and what not but levelling is still very slow unless you spend time soloing (which i hate in an mmo) or just drag to 30 and hope to leech but that is extremely unlikely unless you're a returning character coming to a server with dedicated friends.

Finding money is still very difficult, I'm casual and do not have time to be farming hours on end to scrape up a little that hardly sells on the AH. I got about 10 stacks of crystals and placed 7 up on Jeuno and even those took 2 days to sell when I kept adjusting them to go lower and lower. Though I'm not too worried about Gil right now as I'm sure I'll find ways to scrape by later on. Just a little sad is all.

But coming back my main concern is ways to level. I went to dunes and it was completely empty, I dont even know if people level there anymore lol. FoV is not very amazing when around level 5-10 you're only getting about 300 EXP for the reward which is nothing.

I'm very happy they removed a lot of the caps which will make things easier once I'm levelled, its just getting to the levelled part. My healing is low my cure does 12hp and mobs hit me for about 20 so its almost completely useless.

Will have to see how it goes and hopefully levelling speed and locations will pick up.

[Lamer]

I am new to this game. I have been playing for about a week. I play on Cerebrus server using the same name as my forum name. I picked Cerebrus because this website I went to during registration said it was one of the most popular [ http://www.ffxiah.com/database ]

Here's my experience:
ask for help - get ignored.
try to talk - get ignored.

I solo using those feild manuals. I get money that way, too. I am level 21 now. Until earlier today I had never even been in a party. This is because most people are not very friendly. Luckily I went to meet my IRL friend in the game [he started in Bastok and I started in Windurst] and someone who was scanning players found us (because we had no second job) and invited us into a chatroom/linkshell [of 'new and returning players' which constists of roughly 6 people]. Maybe my experience will change now that I have found people with whom to talk. Else: I will continue to google and play. NBD.

I really like this game. I don't care that it is slow because I solo and do my own thing. I don't understand what most of you are writing about re: abyssa, but i don't care. The only thing that hurts new players are the ignorant people who ignore them. Just my .02

[Saefinn]

I don't know what other servers are like but I've had a fantastic experience on Asura, I've got a decent LS and I've been a member since October. It's just a matter of finding the right linkshell - people do shout outs in Jeuno and Whitegate for them, you can probably call out asking for one. When you get into partying you might meet somebody with a pearl sack who can give you a linkshell.

As you're level 21, you might want to stick around Qufim Island with your 'Seek Party' flag up and you may get a party, but the trouble is, it can sometimes be really easy to find a party, other times you could be waiting ages. Normally what I do is solo mobs not too far from where people camp - so at level 21 I would be able to solo Valkurm Dunes, so I'd join a party there. Level 30, solo Qufim. So at least you're earning exp. Though as a level 21, people might want to sync to your level in Qufim.

[viion]

Due to lack of players in some areas/certain times and how unhelpful some are, I've gone back to the oldschool way of using a friends account to PL me and my buddy and now i just make my own PT and not have to worry about dying and it taking a long time. So we'll see how this goes.

[Saefinn]

Yeah, that's why I tend to do stuff that doesn't require a party during those hours, usually it's when the US is asleep, during that time I might score lucky if there's other Brits online or even some Japanese. But the worst I find is looking for healers and tanks and finding some people are unreliable, hence a Yuhtunga party one time took 1 hour 30 minutes to start, I am glad half the party was from my LS and they also had the time to spare.

[Ruvion]

Well since all of you are just commenting on how you help new players, I thought I would give you a perspective from an actual new player.

My free trial started on January 3rd. So I'm two months into this game.

You all comment on how easy it is to make money, but honestly, in every other MMO I've played I've hit the money cap, or been extremely close, and in this game I have had nothing but problems making money. I don't know if you are in denial, but the economy is seemingly dead in this game. FFXIAH, for my server at least, rates an item selling "Very Fast" as 10-12 stacks a day. That, to me, is not very fast. Things take at last 2-3 days to sell, and when you can only have 7 items up at a time, it's EXTREMELY frustrating.

Many of you say that new players just ask for help constantly, and don't learn to play their class. I would have to agree with you in most cases that this is true. My LS that I'm in has new people join constantly, and they are always like "So who wants to come PL my party?" "Who's gonna help me do X?" etc. It's like they just expect it.

However, I have been playing MMO's for 9 years. I don't expect help from people, and I take every measure possible to learn as much as I can about my job, and if I can't solo something at my current level, I will simply wait until I get high enough to solo it myself. I like to believe I don't follow the new person stereotype, I have asked for help one time since I started playing, and that was when I was running my Mule to Jeuno, and I made my HP in Meripherated (Sp?) Mountains, and I couldn't get past this damn Skink in the Sauromugue Champaign, and kept dying, and I was stuck in the middle of no where, so I asked for an escort to Jeuno.

I will also probably be forced to ask for help for my Limit Breaks, because I've been told that even as a Pup I will be unable to solo them, which really annoys me, because asking for help is one of my least favorite things to do.

I'm just trying to show you that all new people aren't these helpless idiots that don't know how to do anything for themselves.

I've unlocked every job myself, well except Samurai and Ninja I guess, but I didn't ask for help, someone was helping a LS member do it so I just tagged along. But I unlocked Sch, Bst, Dnc, Pup, Blu, Drk, and one other by myself.

However, I am still 1-2 in Nation missions, because I raged when the guide told me to go click on the ??? in the Kings Tomb, and when I did, it teleported me to some random place where I was instantly one shot by a Bat. Now I'm too angry to try that nation mission again :b lol.

I've read every guide on Pup's, though a lot of it doesn't seem to add up to how my automaton acts, so I'm kind of making up some of it as I go along, and a lot of the guides are outdated, which sucks, but yeah.

Finally, I didn't get my sub job till I was a 37 monk, because I didn't want to ask for help killing a Bogy.

So, please, don't lump all new players into the "clueless morons with no idea what they're doing." I skill chain, I magic burst, and I rage when people just randomly blow their WS without announcing their TP and thus giving no opportunity for anyone to chain with them.

(:

Bravo man, you're way ahead of the majority of people on this game! TP Burn party? NO THANKS lol.

[GERM]

Quote Originally Posted by Todo View Post
Well since all of you are just commenting on how you help new players, I thought I would give you a perspective from an actual new player.

My free trial started on January 3rd. So I'm two months into this game.

You all comment on how easy it is to make money, but honestly, in every other MMO I've played I've hit the money cap, or been extremely close, and in this game I have had nothing but problems making money. I don't know if you are in denial, but the economy is seemingly dead in this game. FFXIAH, for my server at least, rates an item selling "Very Fast" as 10-12 stacks a day. That, to me, is not very fast. Things take at last 2-3 days to sell, and when you can only have 7 items up at a time, it's EXTREMELY frustrating.

Many of you say that new players just ask for help constantly, and don't learn to play their class. I would have to agree with you in most cases that this is true. My LS that I'm in has new people join constantly, and they are always like "So who wants to come PL my party?" "Who's gonna help me do X?" etc. It's like they just expect it.

However, I have been playing MMO's for 9 years. I don't expect help from people, and I take every measure possible to learn as much as I can about my job, and if I can't solo something at my current level, I will simply wait until I get high enough to solo it myself. I like to believe I don't follow the new person stereotype, I have asked for help one time since I started playing, and that was when I was running my Mule to Jeuno, and I made my HP in Meripherated (Sp?) Mountains, and I couldn't get past this damn Skink in the Sauromugue Champaign, and kept dying, and I was stuck in the middle of no where, so I asked for an escort to Jeuno.

I will also probably be forced to ask for help for my Limit Breaks, because I've been told that even as a Pup I will be unable to solo them, which really annoys me, because asking for help is one of my least favorite things to do.

I'm just trying to show you that all new people aren't these helpless idiots that don't know how to do anything for themselves.

I've unlocked every job myself, well except Samurai and Ninja I guess, but I didn't ask for help, someone was helping a LS member do it so I just tagged along. But I unlocked Sch, Bst, Dnc, Pup, Blu, Drk, and one other by myself.

However, I am still 1-2 in Nation missions, because I raged when the guide told me to go click on the ??? in the Kings Tomb, and when I did, it teleported me to some random place where I was instantly one shot by a Bat. Now I'm too angry to try that nation mission again :b lol.

I've read every guide on Pup's, though a lot of it doesn't seem to add up to how my automaton acts, so I'm kind of making up some of it as I go along, and a lot of the guides are outdated, which sucks, but yeah.

Finally, I didn't get my sub job till I was a 37 monk, because I didn't want to ask for help killing a Bogy.

So, please, don't lump all new players into the "clueless morons with no idea what they're doing." I skill chain, I magic burst, and I rage when people just randomly blow their WS without announcing their TP and thus giving no opportunity for anyone to chain with them.

(:

Hate to break it to you but SqEnix developed this game around a party system.. They are working on some of that in the end game but up til then you will need help on occasion as your aware of.. This doesn't mean you have to ask for help this just means you ask for people who need the same quest/mission/bcnm whatever as you do.. that way your not bothering people to help you and your getting it done with others that need it too.. Then again you will find some very lazy people in this game who don't want to play like you and want to get PL all the time, sit and leech in abyssea or just find a high level job that they can have do their dirty work.. :(
The gil (currency) system isn't going to be easily capped in this game. I don't know how many people have capped the gil in this game I know its not a lot though, not saying its not possible and im sure people have obtained that amount in their adventuring life but just hoarding it isn't something you see very often.. This game was designed so you have to work to gain gil weather its via end game or crafting gil making off of actual mob isn't really easy and kinda of annoying with the low gil rate from most mobs... good luck and good journey

[Luvbunny]

Yopop, once you hit lvl 90s, the game is just starting. There are missions to complete, high level quests, and most of all, gears to collect. That is just the tip of the iceberg. With recent news of tweaking the older contents, there will be more stuff to do still. The upside is that at lvl 90s, things are more doable with less people. As for people being clueless, do not blame them, the game is NOT very informative at all, and the only way you can get info is by googling or go to wiki. No help is given in the game itself. You are not learning your job by having a 6 people party from 1-75. You will however learn your job A LOT by solo, duo, or trio. In fact, 1-3 people party forced you to really learn your job since there is no safety net and everyone has to pull double duty and work as a team or face wiped.

As for xp gained, Abyssea is the hands down best for xp per hour, though sometimes you do need to take a break, and it's nice to know that now you have a lot of options. By making the game much more doable with less people, it makes it more intimate, fun and less of a time sink. You get to know the 3-4 people that you do seals farming a lot, and everyone actually get something in return. The game is better than ever now simply because you have options and a lot of things to do once you reach lvl 90.

[Ryoushin]

The way I look at it, and I do apologize if I am wrong, is that I recently just returned to ffxi and brought my wife along to play. As she enjoys playing her hume/taru which ever she is in the mood to play. I try an teach her what I can, but even I am limited. Before my 2 year break I was playing healer in ToAU wiether it was whm/smn or smn/whm on my taru back when seraph was still up an running. When I get back into ffxi that server was down an now my only character is on bismarck which is where my wife an I created 2 new accts and I just use my original acct as a PL/run around (when need be). Yea there are things that I have long forgotten that I have to refer to wiki for i.e. quests, missions, etc.. But even I cant do it all alone.

When I started leveling and went to /sea i find all 90's an rarely anyone in the 10-20 range for the dunes. Then I learn about the level sync and the FoV, which is all still new to me because when it comes down to looking for members I dont know where to end the level search so its like /sea all 10-90 (example). Am I leading my wife down the wrong path as a beginner, no. She said herself she wants to learn her job before she continues any missions/quests. She favors SMN because of carby, as well as I favor fenrir, which when she is ready I geuss I would have to seek some help with this as my highest job on my original acct is 60smn.

Yes she has asked me if I can help her unlock smn once she hits 30 on her taru, which is her favorite char, but for myself its slightly easy because I sorta remember where to go an what to do without having to refer to wiki for help. Would I be able to assist her get all the smns so she has them at lvl 1 smn, not a chance. Do I give up on this... No. She an I play because we want to do the missions learn the story. So far ive helped her get to rank 2 and she found that enjoyable

Though I think im getting a bit off track here I will say this, as a returning player who seems more lost then ever, that brought in a new player to learn the ropes of old school, I think im doing an ok job. Do I claim to be a expert of ffxi, not a chance, but its a game, its enjoyable to my wife an myself, its just the lack of players on our server that I see the most.

Would I like to ask for help for my wife an myself so that not only she but myself as well has all summons for smn when she wishes to unlock it, sure I would, but its a matter of who is willing. Because truth be told when I unlocked smn back in 2007 I had to pay for not only each smn and my af. Getting help wasnt free. Did I want the summons... by all means definately. Would I pay someone to assist me with this. No..

That turned me off on asking for help so I have solo'd or tried to solo 99% of everything. Since I had my original acct ive used it to help unlock jobs on my new acct as well as PL my wife an i when we duo. Once thing I should note, that while she an I partied for the first time in the dunes we were invited to a ls, which my wife turned down because she didnt understand what an ls is. Though I did my best to explain this to her, she just prefers to play with me. Does that mean we are not going to join an ls. No.. When the time is right and the right ls comes along that isnt just about crying over abyss..

As is now my lvl 31 war, thats all I get invites for anymore. Yet I turn down everything except party invites for qufim or yuhtunga jungle (sp). So I geuss I have to sorta agree with an earlier post, its the older members who 1-90 leech thru abyss, while players like myself an a few others out there who go about it the old school ways of 1-10 solo 10-18(20ish) dunes 20-25(ish) qufim .... and im sure you get my point. Is that the same route im taking now with my wife.. of course because I remember the days when dc = 50 an em=100 ...

Is the game better, yes in same ways, its also hurtful to younger new players who have no one to guide them. So heres to the new players who need a guide who will try an do my best to help and assist. Your not alone, and my help is always /welcome on bismarck.

[Fayez]

I'm a new player and I've soloed to Lvl. 20 Thief. I have referred to Wiki for help because the first few days I was on there I didn't have a clue what I was doing or what I could do.
I still pretty much have no idea about my job class, but I think I'm slowly working it out.

The bigist problem I have at the moment is the fact I can't buy equipment from the shops as its all Lvl.1 and I bought it before, and there's nothing I can buy from the AH. After reading though peoples posts on here I think I should look more into quests to get items.

I've only talked to one person though, and he's offered me help to get items for my subjob and teach me a few things which I'm thankful for because I can't kill the monsters that have the items I need (I've tried and failed) Easy pray turns out to be monsters that kill me after I put up a 5 min fight.

I also think because I don't really know how I should ask for help I kinda just don't and try to work things out on my own, And thats not really the point of FFXI. I'm Sticking to the game though, because I think It'll have much to offer after I know more about the game :).

[UltraBlackone]

I'm a new player and I've soloed to Lvl. 20 Thief. I have referred to Wiki for help because the first few days I was on there I didn't have a clue what I was doing or what I could do.
I still pretty much have no idea about my job class, but I think I'm slowly working it out.

The bigist problem I have at the moment is the fact I can't buy equipment from the shops as its all Lvl.1 and I bought it before, and there's nothing I can buy from the AH. After reading though peoples posts on here I think I should look more into quests to get items.

I've only talked to one person though, and he's offered me help to get items for my subjob and teach me a few things which I'm thankful for because I can't kill the monsters that have the items I need (I've tried and failed) Easy pray turns out to be monsters that kill me after I put up a 5 min fight.

I also think because I don't really know how I should ask for help I kinda just don't and try to work things out on my own, And thats not really the point of FFXI. I'm Sticking to the game though, because I think It'll have much to offer after I know more about the game :).Do you know which world server you are on? I'd be glad to help anyway I can.

[Lunarblue]

@ Ryoushin,

I'm also a player returning from a 1.5 year holiday, and thanks to all the changes in the last year, I'm a little bedazzled by it all. I'd like to catch up with you and people like you on Bismarck. I miss me some old school.

~Lunarblue (62SMN/31WHM)

[Ryoushin]

@LunarBlue,

I greatly accept the invitation LunarBlue.. Just have to encourage my wife to want to venture outside the playing with me only stage as this is her first mmo game. Lets hope our prayers go out to all in this event that has plagued our friends across the world.

[Malthias]

I just started back up two weeks ago after an almost 3 year break and i find I have no idea what im doing. Aside from low lvl quests the game is very different. I only have a few friends online but im stuck soloing all the way to 50. The game isn't as fun for me as it was before just because A) Every single person willing to accept a party invite will only do so for abyssea B) Few people have the time outside of trials and abyssea to help with quests i cant solo because of my level and C) Since no one crafts anymore there is almost no opportunity to farm for anything of worth and im forced to NPC otherwise low drops just to scrape by. Im Mnk42/Dnc21 yet i have only the gear i can get from Conquest points. It forces me to hunt NM's by myself for drops that aren't really worth it normally because i dont have the Gil or manpower to obtain items i need till im past the point i need them.

[Logandor]

I'm almost always willing to help on outside aby stuff because to be honest aby confuses the heck out of me so I only go when the party I'm with doesn't mind me making a few mistakes here and there. Outside aby though I love to level, farm, unlock level caps, get af gear, and NM hunt. If anyone is on carbuncle server and needs a helping hand let me know and you can probably have not just me but probably a good portion of the ls I'm with there helping out. ^.^

[Legomike]

Outside aby though I love to level, farm, unlock level caps, get af gear i love this too and will help any non leech on Garuda(Lakshmi) with it

[Laban]

I'm a (voluntary) perma-lowbie myself, and though I'm pleased I'm not the only one trying to do as much as they can solo, I'm being forced to rethink that way of playing for non-traditional reasons. The game just keeps changing before I'm ready for it to. My main fear right now is an update that somehow nerfs G2 before I get tired of lying face down in the snow.

It kind of sucks that there's really no rational pace to take the game at where all the oodles of older content would be accessible, but still very challenging.

[Lamer]

I changed to Leviathan by making a new character. The people there are so much nicer. I am very happy with this game now bc I have a support system in case I need it. I joined a linkshell and they gave me gil to buy scrolls, helped me with 2nd job items, and answer any of my silly questions. It's very different if you have a linkshell. I like the game even more now. :D

edit: if you are new like me, don't pick Cerebreus server. The people there are (mostly) into themselves and dont even talk to you. Those who do are rare and if u ask too many questions they get annoyed and ignore. Not so on Leviathan. It has good people.

[katz]

love being invited to party and when you check they are level 7 and you are level 90. Hang about in the "just out side the city" areas and you will find new players wandering about telling you you can get to Jeuno they will take you but they dont have a chocobo or airship pass or even ops lol. This is one of the reasons why I dont go to Abyssea until I have reached 75. Who needs another 90 that quick any ways. You find lots of nice players still outside having a blast.

[Littlesinger]

I have read a couple pages of these posts and decided I did want to comment. I have found that the AH on Ifrit has been strongly declining on whats available.. and part of that is where end game players spend all their time anymore..

It used to be you would see people crafting everywhere.. now its a shock to see someone do a craft.. even if it is holy water or a water tank for a nm fight in abyssea. I currently have 2 jobs at 85.. I dont have the merits for 90..

I rarely see parties anywhere.. most of the players I see are heading to abyssea. I can usually look on my ls and see 3/4 of everyone on in an abyssea zone.. some doing nms some doing exp.. some working quests.. but I see few partied outside there.. and on whole server I only know of one person who consistantly crafts.. and he has complained multiple times at the lack of simple cooking ingredients available at ah..

I really think the 75 cap for abyssea is going to help.. but people will just burn and pl themselves to 75 to get back to abyssea.

As for standard end game events.. I currently have no assault wins.. no nyzul runs complete.. and not a single set of missions complete.. as my two 85s are whm and blm.. kinda hard to solo anything as a taru whm..

When even someone as high as myself asks for help for a mission, the ones who bother to respond are usually just telling me they are headed to abyssea or killing nms in abyssea..

to me.. YES abyssea has done damage to FFXI, it hasnt destroyed it.. but it is damaged.. hopefully with the cap of 75 some people will leave and start leveling the old way..

and maybe with the exp boost.. people will level in old areas.. before toau so less blm are stuck soloing or burning to 75 after parties move to toau areas...

[Carth]

Echoing that Abyssea did some significant damage to the rest of the content. As a returning player (who was level 80) I was surprised at the extreme lack of people doing previous endgame content. I knew it would water down but I never expected it die. Worst part is almost all linkshells are dedicated to Abyssea or VNMs (which eventually go into Abyssea).

I also invited a friend into the game, and I had to make a new character on another server due to the merge. I can say straight-up that it is atrociously hard to make a dime, and the world just feels barren. Thanks to my experience I know how to make money (rule of thumb: if it stacks, put it on the AH), but I can't say the same for new players. Fortunately they're mergering the AHs into one system, which'll make this tons easier on the new players, but then there's the issue of no one crafting since you need money to craft in the first place, and with the Synergy update to augment old items this'll alienate crafting even further.

I'm usually one to say that expansions and new content should be catered to high levels since newer players have the old content to go through, but this really isn't the case anymore. There needs to be some catering to lower levels, and it doesn't need to be something like boosting EXP. A good first step is pushing the level restriction in Abyssea to 75, but I'd take it a step further and put new low level equipment that can be NPC-bought or quested.

[Jassik]

I'm fairly new as well, started an account about 4 years ago when I bought the game and got bored really fast because there wasn't any kind of easily found tutorial. I came back in January and got really lucky. I ran into a guy while running from a pair of goblins and he added me to his LS. They have been really helpful and I try not to abuse it.

But, I have noticed one thing, rather than help you accomplish something, a lot of veteran members will just drag you around. Go click this, lot that, wait here, etc. There's a lot of really tedious stuff to do early on, and it's nice to just get it over with, but I had subjob items in my inventory before I was even ready to use them. Looking back, I'm glad I was able to just get it done, but I think I missed out on a lot.

I have noticed it being a lot more populated since the merger, and a lot easier to pickup a party at almost any level. As long as you're in an area where people party at around your level with your flag up, you'll get a party pretty quick.