Class/Job system questions

I'm new to this game and I find myself somewhat confused about the way the class system works in the sense I guess of maximizing the potential of my character.

I've rolled a monk and was feeling quite proud of myself until I stumbled across the whole cross class skill concept and suddenly I felt a bit overwhelmed. I'm not really sure what to do. Should I level my monk to max level then focus on subclasses? I have lancer to 15, should I level him to 50 as well to get all the cross class skills possible? I think the Monk can also use Marauder skills too, should I level that as well? Another question, is it possible to have every class maxed on one character?

This entire concept is pretty new to me, so forgive the noobishness of this post.

Thanks

First, hello and welcome to the game. It's good that you leveled up pug and lnc to unlock mnk. The additional cross-class abilities are useful, but you do not need to get them all immediately. There are certain dungeons and fights where those abilities will come in handy, and I'll explain them below.

Generally though, Marauder cross-class is best used if you are having trouble taking damage or completing solo content such as story quests. The Lancer is used much more often in party play.

Impulse Drive (LNC 8): Is a big part of your optimized skill rotation and increases your overall dps. You learn it as a prereq to monk, so it's just a matter of incorporating it in your rotation.

Invigorate (LNC 22): This is considered a milestone for a monk and it is one you should get asap. This is a skill that recovers 300TP on a 3 minute cd. It's not a big problem early on since enemies don't last very long, but you will probably see it come in handy starting from the Lv.32 dungeon, Brayflox and onwards. If you have TP-management issues, this will help you greatly.

Blood for Blood (LNC 34): Is a very useful cross-class but works best if you are in a party and are not liable to get hit. It takes some getting used to but it will greatly speed up your killing speed. While always useful, you will probably really feel the need for this skill at any dps check. You can always compensate with gear early on. Once you finish the story, you will probably want this skill to tackle the endgame content.

Bloodbath (MRD 8) and Mercy Stroke (MRD 26): are most useful for increasing your defense and self-healing. Consider getting them if you want to increase your defense or are having trouble completing solo content like story quests. You will likely not use these until endgame when dps are expected to grab some adds.

The rest of the skills are overall lackluster and not really worth putting in the cross-class menu... currently.

Easy part first: Yes, it is possible to have every class maxed on one character.

For cross class skills, it's never necessary to take the sub classes to max level. Only certain skills can be cross-classed. For most classes, the highest skill comes in around level 34 (there are exceptions).

Here's a reference for the possible skills for a Monk (and you can use it to check out the skill trees for any other classes you're interested in). Blood from Blood from LNC is a level 34 skill. Mercy Stroke from MRD is a level 26 skill. There are no cross-class-able skills for either class after those two. And, in this case, those are both skills you'll eventually want.

It's not necessary to get them right now, though. You don't really need your full range of cross-class choices until you're doing end-game content, and even then, it really depends on the class and the content. Missing Blood for Blood and Mercy Stroke isn't going to lock you out of much before Extreme Mode primals and Binding Coil of Bahamut (the current top-end raid). I would suggest getting Invigorate (LNC 22) before you go too far into level 50 content, but it's not that vital before then.

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Originally Posted by Bixby

Easy part first: Yes, it is possible to have every class maxed on one character.

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Wow. That adds a layer of depth I cant say I've seen before. I guess I'll level PUG to 50 and then work on the other classes. That in itself is intimidating as well since I hear monks are the toughest DPS class to get the hang of. I actually started an archer too and it was easier, but I hear they end up with more of a support role as a bard which i may play around with one day.

I guess my last question is, if you can level all classes to 50, I guess there is no need to have more than one character? I guess it would make the initial leveling process faster, but that seems to be it.

I can think of a few reasons to have a second character. To experience the story again, to circumvent the lockouts on endgame loot, and if you have friends on a different server but don't want to leave your friends on your current server.

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Originally Posted by thespectre4

I guess my last question is, if you can level all classes to 50, I guess there is no need to have more than one character? I guess it would make the initial leveling process faster, but that seems to be it.

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You actually get an experience point boost on all classes lower level than your highest class, so other than not having the quests available leveling other classes on the same character is actually "faster".

Aside from what JoeDono said of circumventing lockouts for playing on multiple servers, I do it just to look different [note below] or go back and redo the easy starting stuff when I want to play but want to "take it easy".
There are fantasia potions for changing appearance, but using alts lets me with how a character looks/acts before committing to the fantasia, if desired.