A few questions regarding equipment.

How do I attain new equipment? I've been using my weathered gear for the past 10 levels. I've checked the market for a pair of bone horas but 40k is a bit too much.
Also, what sort of armor would a pugilist wear, leather? And sadly, the shops in Gridania only sell the stuff that I already have. Should I give crafting a try?

I've recently picked up this game and I'm having fun so far, but I've literally seen only 5 other players running around during these past weeks. Playing solo is lonely.

Shops mainly provide starting gear with a few exceptions. The best way to get them is quest rewards in towns, leve quest rewards, or crafting your own although the crafting is very involved. If you have trouble making money I suggest taking up gathering as its easy and you can sell what you gather for a good amount to get you started. By the way what server are you on?

Lindblum. And thanks for the info, I've already been leveling botany.

I started with mining, ores sell pretty well and if you make them into nuggets they sell even better (blacksmith/goldsmith). I assume carp is the same with the stuff you get from botany. Rank 20+ leves also give a pretty good sized gil award when you complete them.

Another thing that sells well are crystals/shards, although most people buying/selling items are in Uldah so if you really want to sell stuff I would suggest taking the long hike to Uldah and possibly setting up a retainer to their wards. You would probably have much better luck finding cheaper equipment to buy from the wards in Uldah as well.

Alright, I'll probably head over to Uldah and see what they have to offer. How much do crystals/shards go for anyways?

Depends on the element, wind used to sell the best but I'm not sure anymore as I don't sell them anymore. I have 12 million gil on hand so no need to sell things lol. I used to sell them 100gil/shard and 1000gil/crystal though but I'm sure the prices have changed. Try to search the wards in the crystaliers ward for the current prices.

Like Ruri said, most players have migrated to Uldah. So if you're looking for folks to play with, or you want to have more options in the Market Wards, I'd suggest going to Uldah.

Buying stuff from player retainers is usually the best option, since they tend to sell it cheaper than NPCs. But if you can't find what you're looking for, there are NPCs in the Market Wards selling gear and weapons up to level 20. I'd suggest browsing through Yellow Gremlin (link in text). You can figure out what gear/weapons you want, and it also shows what NPCs sell them, and where those NPCs are located. For example, there are NPCs in the Battlecraft Ward in each city that sell Bone Horas for 14K (open the link, click on "Sold By," and it will tell you the name of the NPC selling Bone Horas, and where the NPC is located. For gear up to level 20, they're in the middle of the Battlecraft Ward).

Welcome to the game, and good luck!

Yes YG is a great source for recepies and where to buy some items that NPCs sell.

Wow thanks, what was the reason for the migration to Uldah anyways?

Its in the middle of the 3 cities. Basically that's it. Also they seem to have the best rank 30-40 leves available for groups imo.

Ah I see, thanks for all your help!

No problem enjoy the game and look forward to a ton of changes this summer!

One thing I dislike though is how they limit some aspects of the gameplay. Leves among other things.

Yeah. It's in the middle, they have the best r30-40 leves, and most of the players are there. It's a self-perpetuating cycle. Players want to be around other players, both for the social and economic aspects. If you want to buy stuff, you want to be where the most sellers are. If you want to sell stuff, you want to be where the most buyers are. So everyone tends to congregate in one area.

I don't think the designers intended for leves to be the central focus of the game. I think they just wanted it to be a quick way to get SP/XP. Unfortunately, the game was released with not much content. But they're working to fix that now. And they're also changing the battle system to make party roles more distinctive, and presumably make party play more varied. So hopefully that will all be improving.

So I guess I'll be grinding through the majority of the game?

There is a lot of grinding if you play several hours a day. I work full time so I usually just rely on leves and I'm ok with that. But more hardcore gamers will definately have to find a grind pt or solo grind.

Depends on several things.

First, it depends on what your definition of "grinding" is. A good old fashioned grind party -- where you go out with a party, find a grind spot, and just chain mobs -- can certainly give really good SP. But most people spend most of their time doing leves, which tends to give the best SP/XP. If you get a party together, and link all your leves, you can get usually get into fatigue/surplus just from doing a full set of leves. So if leves are not within your definition of "grinding," then you probably won't do too much grinding.

Second, the devs are now implementing new content. There are currently side quests that give SP. And there are job quests, main storyline quests, low level NMs, high level NMs, and they're getting ready to implement dungeons that will give SP, too. And they're going to be implementing more content over the coming months.

So you don't need to *only* grind. There's other content there, and there's more coming.

I see. What's a "NM"? And the problem with that is, as much as I'd love to party up. There's literally no one in Gridania. If I had some friends, maybe this wouldn't be an issue. But the few people that I have talked to, either do not speak English or just completely ignore me.

And yes, I spend most of my time completing leves and gathering.

I've had lots of suggestions to head over to Ul'Dah but I have no idea on how to get there.

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Originally Posted by Quoc

I see. What's a "NM"? And the problem with that is, as much as I'd love to party up. There's literally no one in Gridania. If I had some friends, maybe this wouldn't be an issue. But the few people that I have talked to, either do not speak English or just completely ignore me.

And yes, I spend most of my time completing leves and gathering.

I've had lots of suggestions to head over to Ul'Dah but I have no idea on how to get there.

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A "NM" is a notorious monster. It is a randomly spawning monster who is tougher than others of its type and usually drops some nice equipment. As far as how to get to Uldah from Gridania, basically head south of camp transquil following the road. Then when you zone into the desert area, go west following the road until you reach camp black brush then go south to uldah. Just follow the yellow brick road lol >_<.

Also I highly recommend joining a linkshell when you get to uldah, usually people shout for new members. Without a linkshell the game is pretty boring imo.

I highly agree with the getting a ls in Uldah for 3 reason.

1) Information most linkshells have more veteran members, easy source of info.
2) Grouping, best way to play the game... usually 2-3xs the amount of sp/hr compared to soloing and you will need them for NMS and stuff.
3) The Rank 24 wall, that is where SE's massive beginer sp/xp bonus ends and the amount it takes to level goes up but the sp per kill on mobs is almost halved. Without a group to grind with or do leves with your leveling pace solo will slow down to nightmarish proportions.

People not getting into a LS and people not grouping at 24 is why so many people drop out of the game around that level. Solo is not that fun, it is slow as all get out (you will get around 80-140sp a kill), and the better parts of the game is all around 30+ (more class quest, missions, nms, side quest, ect)

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Originally Posted by Quoc

I see. What's a "NM"?

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Like Ruri said, NMs are Notorious Monsters. They often look like other mobs, but have a special name. Like Uraeus, Cactuar Jack, or Downy Dunston. They're a souped up version of the normal mob, and they often drop some really nice piece of gear or something that can be crafted into really nice gear.

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And the problem with that is, as much as I'd love to party up. There's literally no one in Gridania. If I had some friends, maybe this wouldn't be an issue. But the few people that I have talked to, either do not speak English or just completely ignore me.

... I've had lots of suggestions to head over to Ul'Dah but I have no idea on how to get there.

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Yeah, Gridania tends to be a ghost town. Of the three starter cities, it tends to be the one that's most empty. (Which is unfortunate, because I think it's really pretty.)

Here's a map of The Black Shroud. It should look a lot like the map that you can call up in-game through the main menu. There are two green triangles in the upper middle of that red circle. Those are the entrances/exits for Gridania.

If you scroll the map all the way to the bottom (left-click on the map and drag it down), there's another green triangle all the way down at the bottom. If you hover over that triangle, it says "Thanalan." That's the zone that Uldah is in. You're going to want to run there. So, essentially, follow the road from Gridania South all the way to the end.

Here's a map of Thanalan. When you're entering from The Black Shroud, you're going to start from that green triangle in the top right. (Again, if you hover over it, it will say "The Black Shroud.") You're going to want to follow the road West until you get to the middle of that red circle. The road splits there. You're going to want to take the path South. That will run you right to the front gates of Uldah.

As long as we're talking about traveling, if you want to check out Limsa Lominsa, you're going to want to run all the way West in Thanalan. See the area on the far left with the picture of an anchor? If you hover over it, it says "Ferry Docks." You're going to want to run there. Enter through the gate, and go stand down near the dock by the water. Eventually, a ferry will arrive, and you'll automatically get on the boat.

Ride the boat -- it takes 5 - 10 minutes -- and then you'll arrive in Limsa Lominsa.

Don't forget to touch the crystal in each city. (Go stand near the crystal, open your main menu, and click on Aetheryte. That will "attune" you to the crystal.) That way, instead of running there, you can teleport. Which is sooo much faster.

Like Ruri and Xatsh said, I'd highly suggest joining a linkshell as soon as possible. In my opinion, the FFXIV community is the best thing going for it. It's generally better than any other MMO community I've experienced. They'll keep you coming back to the game for a long time.

Have fun!

Wow your right about the community, you guys have been a big help. Just want to make sure but, me going to Ul'Dah won't interrupt the game flow will it? For example, just because I chose Gridania as my starting city doesn't mean Ul'Dah won't have things for me to do right?

*EDIT* I just made it to Thanalan and it's a complete change in scenery. It was at night so I was able to see the stars. For the first time, I can actually see the sky. What a beautiful game. That 12 minute jog was well worth it.

You will have to go back to Grid for some story quest and what not, but besides that nope. You can do everything everyone else can in uldah.

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Originally Posted by Xatsh

You will have to go back to Grid for some story quest and what not, but besides that nope. You can do everything everyone else can in uldah.

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What they said. Starting in a city only ties to the story quests other than that you can go anywhere for leve quests etc.

Alright thanks, I think I pretty much have this game figured out. Thanks for all the help!