A good server for starting players?

Hello!

Just bought the game on Steam, and ->new player<- here. I'm shaking off the "green" in Fenrir, and it looks like the english population is low / non-existent for my choice of starting in Bastok.

I've been reading that many people solo...and well ... I was looking more for coordinated groups to become a part of.

So, what remaining groups are active, which server, what times?

I have no problem creating a new character on a different server.

Broski, I'll be totally honest. Anyone else that replies is going to blow some serious smoke, so grain of salt.

This game is extremely unforgiving to new players.

I wouldn't start this late in it's life, but if you are intent on giving it a try, the only places with people are Asura, maybe Odin.

You will have a hard time getting help with basic things on any server though, most people won't bother, done it a hundred times, we help you, and you quit. They get tired of doing it.

The wiki's are your best friend. www.bg-wiki.com and http://ffxiclopedia.wikia.com/wiki

If you have basic knowledge of mmo/rpgs the game kinda holds your hand. Get trusts, do the things in the Quest menu. You honestly don't need help if you can navigate the RoE menu. Simple shouting, might get you some answers but maybe not, try not to get discouraged.

If you get stuck on shit you can ask here too, but replys are pretty slow.

Asura has a couple of ls's for returning and new players. They feel extremely unorganised though and I'm not sure what the purpose is since you can pretty much solo your way rather fast to 99 if you follow Records Of Eminence quests and if you dig into ffxi's vast amount of missions with following the Rhapsodies of Vana'diel storyline.
I think finding a nice social ls is alot better then joining one for returning/new people since they only spam simple questions...which you could find the answer to faster if you bothered to look them up on bgwiki and ffxiclopedia.

Further I can say Asura is a good server for doing content. We have plenty of shouts for Pick up Groups and you dont have to wait 2 hours to form a group...depending on the content you wish to do.

Like Domille said, its an old game though, dont expect to do "endgame" soon.

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Originally Posted by Domille

The wiki's are your best friend. www.bg-wiki.com and http://ffxiclopedia.wikia.com/wiki

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awesome! Strategies and guides! That will be a big bonus help!

@Domille and @vienne
So, Asura, huh? Got it.

and ls = Link Share, I'm assuming... an equivalent to a guild or company? I will probably join a Social, then, as that I probably won't need any hand holding. From what I've observed, I need to jump in and enjoy this one for 5-6 months to fully enjoy a lot of plots and stories.

English background chatter and banter helps to soften the leveling grind, in my opinion. :D

[edit] Any recommended social ls's?

LS = Linkshell (and yes, it's equivalent to a guild.)

As far as finding a social ls, I'd suggest you just do a couple /yell in town that you are an actual "new" player and looking for a linkshell. Someone is sure to pick up any strays they find. XD
If you have trouble finding one, or if you feel like you need someone to show you the ropes, hit me up in-game. ^^ Look for Nyarlko or Cthuuko and I'll be happy to help if I can.

Asura - I moved from Fenrir because it was dead (I'd hate to think what it's like now).

"Reawakening" seems to be a good LS for new players.

I'll echo the suggestion to transfer over to Asura, it's night and day difference compared to most of the other servers. Much higher English speaking population that caters to all groups of players.

The game is essentially solo-able all the way to 99 and you can get ilvl 117 and some 119 pieces solo.

I'd echo the sentiment that unless you find a group early on, don't expect a lot of companionship as you level up and catch up.

But unlike many other MMOs, gear sets are pretty static, we've been ilvl 119 for 3+ years now, and though there is always new gear added, it's fairly easy with some work and presistence to catch up and then finding your niche and making friends once you get your gear ready and join shouts for various activities.

I'd also add not to get disheartended if you don't get much help for the low-level stuff you may feel you need help for. The game is pretty much designed to be soloable, including pushing through most of the story content, save for possible a few fights in the Seeker's of Adoulin and Rhapsodies storyline.
That said, once you're caught up, parties should be a lot easier to find.

As such where you start may not matter so much. I know Asura/Odin are popular recommendations, but the other severs combined still greatly outnumber those 2 servers. There are plenty of healthy stable and friendly communities in servers like Bismarck and Queztcoatl, I'd encourage you check out the other servers too if grouping isn't what you seek.

Here's a question, just for future reference...

Did they do anything to make Genkais #2 and #3 a bit less painful? Last I checked, the mobs near the Crests are still VT+ (with a True Sight NM!) standing right next to a couple of the ???s and at least one of the Boreal mobs still spams AoE Paralyze out the wazoo and doesn't seem like something a Lv55 can handle, even with 4 trusts?

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Originally Posted by Aysha

Here's a question, just for future reference...

Did they do anything to make Genkais #2 and #3 a bit less painful? Last I checked, the mobs near the Crests are still VT+ (with a True Sight NM!) standing right next to a couple of the ???s and at least one of the Boreal mobs still spams AoE Paralyze out the wazoo and doesn't seem like something a Lv55 can handle, even with 4 trusts?

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I did these last year, 2 was easy, run in with a mount, grab the item, hop back on. 3 was more challenging, but doable. Worst one was Oztroja. Just took some patience waiting for mobs to move.

You can pick the frigicites up without actually killing the mobs? I assumed that they work like any other KI that comes from a ???, those are usually tied to require you to kill the mob first, lol.

Bahamut still pretty much lively since last time there, on latest free login campaign, if you want to check it out. :)

The game wasn't that hard to go by, although there are several mission that might require certain job to get by, or at least help from other players. Community feels great back when I started this, which is quite late for FF11 time-span. And that was even before we have Trust system (where you get shadow copy of FF11 heroes as your party member) and numerous content bonus buffs since Rhapsodies of Vana'diel introduced.

Small tip for me would be unlocking Wings of the Goddess expansion and get Dancer job as soon as you can since this would help you greatly since you can sneak/invisible and healing without expenses, iirc might need certain level requirement (either 15 or 30) on your 1st job though. And if someone can help you do bosses on Rhapsodies, the unlocked bonus would even help more since one of them are adding total number of Trust npc you can summon.

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Originally Posted by BobbinT

Bahamut still pretty much lively since last time there, on latest free login campaign, if you want to check it out. :)

The game wasn't that hard to go by, although there are several mission that might require certain job to get by, or at least help from other players. Community feels great back when I started this, which is quite late for FF11 time-span. And that was even before we have Trust system (where you get shadow copy of FF11 heroes as your party member) and numerous content bonus buffs since Rhapsodies of Vana'diel introduced.

Small tip for me would be unlocking Wings of the Goddess expansion and get Dancer job as soon as you can since this would help you greatly since you can sneak/invisible and healing without expenses, iirc might need certain level requirement (either 15 or 30) on your 1st job though. And if someone can help you do bosses on Rhapsodies, the unlocked bonus would even help more since one of them are adding total number of Trust npc you can summon.

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Dancer, like all extra jobs, requires Level 30 to unlock. But then, to get Dancer, you need to get to Jeuno (getting past level 35-ish aggressive mobs) and having the Mount Quest done (Level 20 required) to get past the Level 45+ aggressive mobs in Batallia Downs [S].

But yes. Dancer is VERY important to the first-time soloist to get to Level 99. It offers Dual-Wield, Self-Healing with TP, and free Sneak and Invisible that will not aggro Arcana and Elemental type mobs.

I'm not saying it is the best sub for everything, but it is rather attractive to the solo player especially getting their first Lv99.

The first Rhapsodies mission can easily be done solo (you just need to get 3 easy-to-farm/buy items) and go to Mhaura/Selbina. Said quest allows you to skip the normal subjob quest, even! The second Rhapsodies mission can either be done solo at Lv55/60 or, done earlier with someone to help you through it. It merely requires getting to Jeuno safely and getting your mount quest done (again, Lv20). The +60% XP gains and the ability to call out 4 Trusts, though, is indeed nice. And there really isn't a lot of cutscenes or running around involved.

As an added bonus, it adds Escha - Zi'Tah to your list of leveling options, which is an OK place to level (so long as you can afford Mollifiers.....) from Lv55ish clear to 99 (again, assuming you don't run out of silt).

EDIT: I forgot something, I think the 2nd Rhapsodies mission requires Nation Rank 3, which is easily gotten at Lv30 solo.

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Originally Posted by Aysha

You can pick the frigicites up without actually killing the mobs? I assumed that they work like any other KI that comes from a ???, those are usually tied to require you to kill the mob first, lol.

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Yes, you can grab those KIs w/o killing the mobs. It's now like a less-than-10min ordeal thanks to the mount system. XD (When I did it back in the day, I actually ran w/ a multi-alliance JP group to zerg them down, and there were deaths.... Things have indeed changed lol)

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Originally Posted by Aysha

Dancer, like all extra jobs, requires Level 30 to unlock. But then, to get Dancer, you need to get to Jeuno (getting past level 35-ish aggressive mobs) and having the Mount Quest done (Level 20 required) to get past the Level 45+ aggressive mobs in Batallia Downs [S].

But yes. Dancer is VERY important to the first-time soloist to get to Level 99. It offers Dual-Wield, Self-Healing with TP, and free Sneak and Invisible that will not aggro Arcana and Elemental type mobs.

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Thx for adding that up. :)

I also forgot to mention that you might only need to grind DNC up to level 49 and use it as sub-job to benefit from most of self-survival skills. I only bothered to grind DNC to cap much... much later when I already got some jobs capped. Mind you, DNC itself has it's own beneficial, but I was never a dedicated DNC myself. ;)

Another reason is for starters, you will have very limited space storage until you have means to upgrade and/or having optional storage, and you would need alot of sneak & invisible pots to help on your journey, at least from what I remember back then, might get way easier now that we have Trust system & other bonuses from Rhapsodies.

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Originally Posted by Relic

Hello!

Just bought the game on Steam, and ->new player<- here. I'm shaking off the "green" in Fenrir, and it looks like the english population is low / non-existent for my choice of starting in Bastok.

I've been reading that many people solo...and well ... I was looking more for coordinated groups to become a part of.

So, what remaining groups are active, which server, what times?

I have no problem creating a new character on a different server.

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Hello and welcome to FFXI.

My main character/job is based on the Asura server. The server has a nice population with a friendly and helpful community.

Hey mate, looking for a good LS and for some guidance. Returned after a LOOONG absence. Hit me up in game?

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Originally Posted by BobbinT

Thx for adding that up. :)

I also forgot to mention that you might only need to grind DNC up to level 49 and use it as sub-job to benefit from most of self-survival skills. I only bothered to grind DNC to cap much... much later when I already got some jobs capped. Mind you, DNC itself has it's own beneficial, but I was never a dedicated DNC myself. ;)

Another reason is for starters, you will have very limited space storage until you have means to upgrade and/or having optional storage, and you would need alot of sneak & invisible pots to help on your journey, at least from what I remember back then, might get way easier now that we have Trust system & other bonuses from Rhapsodies.

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Originally Posted by Jimbob

Hey mate, looking for a good LS and for some guidance. Returned after a LOOONG absence. Hit me up in game?

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Sorry. Would love to, I'm currently inactive and only returns during free login campaign, still focusing in FF14. ^^;

You can at least try reaching Buicat/Builove, she's usually hanging up at either front of Port Windurst's moghouse, or Lower Jeuno at front of AH. Hope she can help you with what you need. :)