Hello! /wave New to xiv and have a few questions ^.^

I played the last one for quite some time, but it's been a while and so much is different anyhow...... (last time I was on there was before the ps2 servers shut down!)

I started 3 characters to get a feel for some different types of classes and have decided I love my Lalafell archer so I am going to stick with her (at least MOST the time). I am a bit confussed yet although I have figured out the levequests, skills, and some other "basic" stuff already (started last night, archer is lvl 13 right before maint today). There are things I can't or have not figured out yet though of course.

I don't want to overwhelm or be overwhelmed but I am going to make a list here of what I can think of that I need/want to know. ANY help is very appreciated! ^.^

(Oh and I am on Excalibur. Random server for me just because I like the name, so other than sitting in UL' shouting forever with little to no response as of yet, thought this would maybe be easier)

1. Do we get to own a chocobo at any point? Have seen the rentals and am just curious. I miss mine!!! lol

2. Any recommended class(es) to go with my archer? Also what level does this begin? How? (looked but can not find much info on anything online that makes sense, I may be missing stuff though).

3. What is the "easiest" craft to work on? I do not particularly like to do the armor making type thing, I don't mind harvesting (except the cutting trees thing made me go WOW WTH??!! when I started a botanist). Want something fairly "easy" to get into if that exists lol.

4. When should I start to REALLY worry about gear in this one? Seems a lot more costly than before so I haven't really changed much and the quest rewards were worse than the starting gear yet o.O

5. I have heard (a lot) that it is near impossible to get pt's low level now, a lot of solo til 40+, any suggestions on a good area near UL' or anything other than the daily levequests? Are guild quests worth it (I have not looked into any yet)? Can you do quests for any guild or just whichever one you choose to become part of?

Think that's about it for now lol.
Also, when I started FFXI it was a bunch of us from Everquest who jumped over when it opened and we made our own LS etc, so we always had people to help etc. And since we were there from day 1 we had to figure out everything by doing and re-doing lol. So if anyone reads this who has/is in a nice LS (mostly social, I am not going for end-game at all right now) who would like a friendly (but quiet at times) Taru ---- er Lalafell (Taru was so much cuter a name!) archer, let me know ^.^

OH one more thing! Can we at all at any time do anything with our rooms like we did with Mog Houses? I loved decorating and growing my plants :) Have yet to see anything about that though.

Thank you for taking time to read this novella! And great thanks for any help or suggestions!;)

1: Yes, you can get a personal chocobo through Grand Company quests.

2: Arc can use some of the cross class abilities well, there are many to get your hands on like invigorate, sentinel and so on. At lv 30 you can gain access to the Bard job, if you so choose, and it is useful in party play. You lose access to abilities that are not from CNJ/THM in exchange for access to BRD abilities. If you intend to be BRD, I'd suggest working on those two.

3: Craft for fun, or if you're bored. Just pick one you like, as you can level them all on leves with patience, or find ingredients and grind your xp for whichever craft higher. The DoLand (BTN/MIN/FSH) are 'easy' to me, I find them relaxing. They're a great way to make money, much better than crafting is at the moment.

4: If you're soloing, depending on mob type and level, your attack and defense ratings can start to get pretty important. If a mob is too high above you, due to formulas in the game, defense won't do a whole lot. I always tried to upgrade at the new sets. 18-20, then 25 + 35 + 45 and just fill in the random gear where needed. As long as you're killing mobs or doing leves you'll be making plenty of gil. In XI farmin for gil was a nightmare, in XIV its really easy. I've never had to "go farming" to buy the basic gear I needed.

5: Leves are great yes, you can generally find mobs, approximately, of the level of X camp near X camp. Example: Drybone - around Drybone you should be able to find mobs that are generally 10-20. Feel free to explore some. Low level parties can be hard to come by. If you see one forming ask to join, or attempt to start one by shouting yourself... I might just solo because I hate to sit idly in town.

As it stands now, no. We can't decorate rooms yet.

Thanks Peptaru!
I have been scanning the forums some more and so many contradicting opinions on some things! lol normal though, XI was as bad if not worse on that!

per # 1. Yay!!! any level requirements?

per #2 So you can change classes from the start like in XI? Basic classes anyhow. Speak to the guild I take it?

per #3 I think I will start with mining or fishing (did a lot of both in XI and other games). Any advice on a good place to start either around UL'?

per #4 So until level 18 there won't be much worry in changing more armor? I generally fight between 4 levels lower to 1 or 2 higher than me (tried 3 levels higher and it's too much, a bit lower = more kills w/ less rest.

per #5 Yeah I solo cuz I can't just sit around ALL the time hehe, but I still find myself in towns a lot on most my games lol.

Darn, well maybe they will let us later, if not oh well, I can live with it.

Thanks again!

(be back to check on thread in a bit, time for dinner)

Level 25 maybe? I don't remember, you'll buy it with the seals you earn from doing grand company quests.

Not even speak to a guild, just put on a different weapon. Put on a bow, you're an archer. Put on an axe, you're a marauder.

You'll be able to find nodes for any gathering with abilities gained on those jobs. There are also resource sites if you care to find them, that will show all the possible spots.

If you're gettin cream really bad, upgrade your armor. If not, just keep your weapon upgraded.

~and y/w

Thanks again :)

And gee that's kind of nice, not to have to "do" anything to change (saves a trip to the mog house!). Just get a staff and I can do magic? cool lol

will be looking forward to 25 and quests! ^^

Not doing to bad, I was killing those bunny things (brain blank.....) that are lvl 8-9 and I was 11 til 13 ... could kill about 8 then sit for a minute or 2 and repeat. vs. killing 1 nutgrabber lvl 14 and then rest lol. Only ones I had a problem with really was 1 levequest for lvl 10 that I did at 10 and had 3 at a time ... ouch!

Will still have to experiment a bit to figure some of this out in my head, but you have been much help!

If you are having trouble soloing, try leveling up Pugilist to 6 for Second Wind, it restores some HP for nothing at all. You can also equip a wooden wand or staff to level Conjurer for Cure and Protect (you also get both by level 6). Instead of leveling Sub-jobs in this game, you gain new abilities from other classes and specific ones will be useable on other classes. Your abilities menu shows all actions that all classes learn. If it says "All Classes" or "Disciples of War" required, then your archer will be able to use it. Leveling multiple classes for abilities will really help you out and you will find yourself being able to take on much stronger enemies with more abilities.

If you need Level 1 gear or weapons, there are NPCs near the inn in the adventurer's guild in every city that will sell you some for cheap. Aside from that you can pick up some gear from NPCs at the class's guild and in the market wards. If you aren't in Ul'dah, you will probably want to head there since that's where everyone is and where people sell their stuff.

Lastly, for Gathering, this page on the lodestone might help you out. The lodestone Play Guides are pretty helpful and might help answer some questions.

Yep lvl 25 for your own Chocobo and it's 2.5 GC seals to get and a LOT of running from town to town but the stories that go with the running are really great! You can pretty much lvl solo on leves especially with raising the levels of the leves with what ur comfortable with.

Crafting: What I did to have "nice" gear for my lower levels was craft the gear. It's easy and you save a TON of money. Plus, you can level your crafts while making new gear and feel "FABULOUS!" lol Oh, and make some money to if you play the market wards right.

You will definitely want to try leveling your Con at some point. This will help emensley with those "rest" periods you mentioned above. You can cure and protect/stone skin eventually if you take Con high enough. The cures alone will help. Also, Pugilist has Second wind which use to be a TP move but is not now and it is a nice way to cure in that "Oh snap!" moment. ;)

Sites you can also use for help:

XIVPads Great site to see how your progressing and most of the XIV Community is registered and Premium Virtue works really hard to keep it updated. ;)

FFXIVDB.com really cool site devoted to a lot of things and really easy to navigate. Not sure if the guy who made it has updated since latest release patch but still a nice solid base to look at items and gear.

Disciples of the Land Great site for well... just as it says; all your DoH/DoL jobs and other resources for those classes.

And last but not least Moogle Box Loaded with stuff is all I can say.

There is one more site that can help you find where certain NPCs are located if you can't find help on those sites and that's FFXIV yellow gremlin

Hope this helps get you on your way. Have you tried checking out the Excalibur forums to search for a LS to possibly help you with PTs and well just some friends to make? Also, you can check on XIV Pads to see if any of the LSs are recruiting. ;)

Good Luck Kat and {Nice to meet you} :D {/wave} !

Thank you much Estellios!

I think I will try to level PUG once I log in, then CON, both to 6 or so then back to ARC. And yep I am in Ul'dah, my other 2 I started aren't but if I ever play them getting there will be a priority lol.

Thanks!! ^^

Thanks to you too Geesus!

I have bookmarked those sites and will have a look!

Good idea with the crafting/gear thing as well!

Nice to meet you too!! /wave ^.^