New Player/Returning Player Guide for FFXI in 2012

[Banjomissen]

Are you planning on posting your thoughts on lvls 20-30?

Again, great job so far!

Eventhough soloing is easier than ever before I would recommend that you go to Gusgen at lvl 20. Stay there until 35 / 40 and then move on to Crawlers Nest (If you want you can stay in Gusgen until lvl 50).

[Banjomissen]

New lvl cap is 99

[Valcarde]

So... the game is essentially 'Get to 10, go to Gusgen mines, stay there till 35-ish'?

No more groups in the Dunes? Meaning if I don't have any linkshell friends I may as well just level up and then go try to get the other subjob items solo?

Really starting to regret resubbing...

[Aljaheeri]

I am too valcarde. I got to 12 and headed to valkurm like the old days and there was not a single person in the zone. Pretty disappointing.

[Rustic]

I am too valcarde. I got to 12 and headed to valkurm like the old days and there was not a single person in the zone. Pretty disappointing.

Yeah, it's one step in the game that seems to have suffered greatly. Mind you, I've stabbed my way through to THF 20 solo without getting past Sarutabaruta, and I might just keep going until I can solo my subjob stuff. Figured if I'm going to be that long as a single job, having TH and plenty of money to go with it was a good idea...honestly, it's the biggest flaw in the level-up road at the moment. New players are 10 levels further from subjobs at least, and that's assuming they can manage fights at 24-25 vs. the mobs in question.

Mind you, I can do it, but seeing the changes made me shelf RDM for THF for a while just to be sure I'd be able to get past that wall with a minimum of fuss.

[bungiefanNA]

So... the game is essentially 'Get to 10, go to Gusgen mines, stay there till 35-ish'?

No more groups in the Dunes? Meaning if I don't have any linkshell friends I may as well just level up and then go try to get the other subjob items solo?

Really starting to regret resubbing...

Leveling was removed as a focus of the game. It's now something to be done quickly, so you can jump into the events you want to do with a job you want to do. Subjob items are ridiculously easy to get at level 30+, and you will definitely have a Magicked Skull from a Gusgen party.

You can also level solo without Gusgen. I did Sarutabaruta, Tahrongi, Buburimu, and then Battalia getting my SAM to 30 for Abyssea. Took me about 12 hours and then another 6 in Abyssea.

Go do story missions or endgame with friends. Find a linkshell to do them with. 99 is easy to get in a week or so.

[Theremy]

finally! this is what I'm looking for xD
thanks a lot, now i know how the game was and how is it today

[Krenian]

You have no idea just how happy I saw a thread like this as it really helps out the old vets that have stopped playing 6+ years ago just as Chains of Promethia came out. This really is helpful and I will say kudos to you for this

Thanks again, and I will be following this now. So nice to know that I get to actually play the first MMO and I don't get bored waiting for parties.

[Rustic]

I'll also note this bit of learning: It is always...-always- better to level up when possible in dungeons.

This is because completing Grounds Book pages often gives you buffs- which will stay until you zone or log. In addition, casket rewards are superior. When you smack a low-level mob and find the occasional item that -vendors- for 3K+, never mind what it goes for in the AH...well, it's a good way to help fund yourself early on as well. They're often quieter areas with less people whacking what you want for a page, too. I'd sit there stomping easy prey solo, fueling myself on a steady diet of casket medicines/wings/page buffs and turn into a monster-slaying machine.

[Stompa]

Then the grand daddy of FFXI (in my opinion). The Wings of the Goddess expansion came out. This expansion was the prime of FFXI. Two amazing new jobs, and the richest and most amazing story I've ever experienced. Campaign battles, new areas, and revival of the current areas but in the past during the Crystal War. It tied in so much of FFXI Core and the history you learned that it was truly amazing. However, it was still really hard. But at this point, if you didn't understand this game was hard, you probably shouldn't be playing. The NMs in WotG were EPIC. Really really hard. But so much fun.

Great guide for new adventurers, and nostalgia for the rest of us. Agree with you totally about Wotg, and how it is still a valuable but overlooked part of the 2013 game. Hopefully new players will try Wotg Campaign Battles, because it is still great fun, big XP & makes the player feel part of a well-crafted cultural storyline.