Returning player

[CaasiRose]

i am yet another returning player.. its been about 2 years, stopped playing at 65 RDM and went to FFXIV.. WOW that was not good.. so i took a break and finally came back but.. wth happened?? Even though the game is basically the same.. except for 1 thing.. WHERE IS EVERYONE???? i am currently on Phoenix and there are no parties anywhere ..for low jobs. Am i just on a dead server?? which world is better?? We would have to fight for spots in Valkrum Dunes with our party.(2 years ago on Levathian) Did i miss something?? Can i get some insight as to what happened? and will it ever go back to how it was??

Thanks

[Zarchery]

The dynamics of XP have changed a lot. The old standard of "6 people fighting VT-IT mobs" is gone. Abyssea largely killed that, but Grounds of Valor put the final nail in the coffin. Some people go to Abyssea and leech from 30 and higher. What this basically means is that you collect XP while other people fight mobs.

If you don't want or nobody will let you, you can probably do Grounds of Valor until about 75 or 80. Grounds of Valor is access through these floating books called "Grounds Tomes" all over most dungeon areas. You sign up for individual training (colloquially known as a "page"), which gives you a list of mobs to kill and a suggested level range. As long as the mobs are Easy Prey or higher, you can do them. When you finish the prescribed number of mobs, you get bonus XP, a small powerup which lasts until you leave the zone, and the training cycle starts again. I did a bunch of jobs to 30 back in Spring 2011, largely solo. I did South Gustaberg to level 10, then pages 1 and 2 in Dangruf Wadi until about 16, then I did Ghelsba Outpost or Tahrongi Canyon until about 19 (no pages there though) then pages 1 and 2 in Maze of Shahkrami until 30. I think some people so pages in Gusgen Mines somewhere along that line.

30-37 are kinda slow, but then at 37 or so you can do page 1 in Crawler's Nest, and that's when XP really picks up. There's frequently a party or alliance in Crawler's Nest. You get very little XP per kill, but the kills come so fast that you finish the page quickly and get the bonus XP quickly. It adds up very quickly. You can stay there until level 57, or possibly higher if each party has a level sync designee.

I think around 65 or so you can go to Bostaneiux Oubliette and one of the pages is "kill 9 leeches". This is very popular because all the leeches are clustered in one area. An alliance will frequently wander the area killing indiscriminately and rack up the kills very quickly. Bonus XP per page gets up to 4200 XP, and the page takes only a few minutes to complete. Best part is that the leeches give XP all the way to level 99. Whereas Crawler's Nest parties can be derailed because you can't find enough level sync designees, Oubliette parties can go on indefinitely. The best part is that because you're fighting Easy Prey, you don't need a full party (besides, people XP in alliances, so you usually have more anyway). You can leave whenever you want and you don't have to worry about leaving people in the lurch. Just say "hey guys, I'm gonna take off; I'm getting bored, but thanks for the party".

I hope that wasn't too rambling. But in short, 6-man parties are dead; almost all XP is done in alliances with less focus on XP per kill and more focus on XP bonuses from training regimens outside of Abyssea. Inside Abyssea, XP per kill gets over 600 even with a full alliance.

If you want a party for your 65 RDM, may want to check out Bostaneiux Oubliette or Crawler's Nest. It's now perfectly acceptable to go in there and shout "Any vacancies in XP party?" or something to that effect. Sitting around Jeuno with your flag up is sort of a thing of the past.

[Ryii]

I completely agree with what Zachery has said. The dynamics of the game HAVE totally changed. I've begun writing a little guide to help those players who are new/returning understand the "new" FFXI. Since you already have some knowledge about how the old game is played the transition won't be too bad. The main thing until you can do Abyssea is doing Grounds Tome parties because as you complete pages you get added bonuses to you such as Extra WS Damage or Increased skill gain rate along with stacking EXP. Your first page might only be 1500XP but as you keep doing them, the total XP you get will increase to around 2500-3000 XP. This is kind of the new dynamics of the game. It's really quite easy and not so much of a grind anymore. However, remember with Level Synch your skills don't go up if your level is above the synch so that can pose a problem especially for mages. But you can spend time skilling up later. I hope that helps. The guide I'm writing is in this section of the forums so keep an eye if you have any more questions.