Just a few questions about terminology and other game stuff

Okay, My name is BrokenStar96 and my character is a level 7 Arcanaist. I'm really new to this game, and I'll be honest, this is my first MMORPG. I'm trying to scroll through the forums, but I keep on getting confused by certain things. So I thought I'd start out with a few questions.

1. I notice that some of the classes and jobs have abbreviations, but some of them I don't quite understand. What exactly does "Tank" or "DDPS" Stand for?

2. What exactly are "Free Companies"?

3. What level should you be when you start doing group quests and dungeon exploration?

I apologize for the questions, But I'll be thankful for any tips or answers. Thanks for Reading!

1: "Tank" is a common DPS term for the character whose job it is to take hits for the rest of the party. They're typically the de facto leader, in charge of pulling groups of monsters and holding their attention, both because they take less damage than anyone else and because a single target is easier for the healer to heal. DPS stands for "Damage per Second", but has come to mean a Damage Dealer class, the folks who care about DPS. Their job is to do as much damage as they can, though this is slightly complicated by the need to not grab the attention of the monsters, and often times there are priority targets to focus on as well.

2: A free company is a collection of characters banded together as a group. They're like guilds in other games, and your FC is typically who you do endgame events with. A closely related thing is a linkshell, which is also a collection of characters. The difference is that a FC is progress-oriented, with group housing, group chest, group buffs, basically all pulling together for a common goal, while a LS is social-oriented, only giving you a shared chat channel (But you can have up to 8 linkshells but only one free company). An example is that you'd have your free company that you run coil and do moneymaking activities with, while having a roleplay linkshell and a linkshell for fans of a particular anime.

3: You will start doing group activities around level 15. The main quest will lead you there, so please look forward to it.

This page is a good glossary of common terms used in FFXIV, including class and Job abbreviations, along with party roles: http://ffxiv.gamerescape.com/wiki/Di...%20and%20Slang

One tip i might add, When you start running dungeons, state that you are new. 99% of the time you will get people who will be more than happy to help you. That 1% tho can really ruin your experience. So my advice to you is:

Do not let elitist punks get the better of you. They have yet to realize they were once like you. Keep your chin up and take any advice, whether it be supportive or demeaning, and try to better your skills. You will get far in this game if you can do just that.

okay, thanks for the tips everyone. I'll try my best!

Tank is not a DPS.
Tanks are designed to mitigate damage and take hits from enemies on behalf of the party. Often they lead the party and choose the targets for the dps to attack first. Whatever damage they do is less important than their main role.

The three main roles are tank, healer (heals the party), and dps (also called dd).

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Originally Posted by Urthdigger

1: "Tank" is a common DPS term for the character whose job it is to take hits for the rest of the party. They're typically the de facto leader

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Indeed, this is happening from time immemorial and I must say it's a bit irritating. Tanks tend not to just mark a pull beforehand, but to decide the flow/objectives of the run (the so-called speed runs) aswell, forgetting parties are comprised of 4 / 8 people.

Okay, starting to look at some of the classes and terms.

Basically, Classes like Warriors and Gladiators and there advanced jobs are better for tank oriented roles, and there main job is to divert the enemy attention so that Damage Dealers can start to take the opponent down.

Damage Dealers are usually classes like Pugilists, Black Magi, Summoners, etc. They usually have slightly frail defenses, but excel at dealing a great amount of damage, and can take down opponents who are distracted by the tank rather easily.

Finally, Classes like the Conjurer keep the momentum rolling by healing off damage and providing buffs to the part to gain the upper hand.

Does that newbie summary sound right?

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Originally Posted by BrokenStar96

Okay, starting to look at some of the classes and terms.

Basically, Classes like Marauder and Gladiator and there advanced jobs are tank roles, and there main job is to divert the enemy attention so that Damage Dealers can start to take the opponent down.

Damage Dealers are Jobs like Monk, Black Mage, Summoner, etc. They usually have slightly frail defenses, but excel at dealing a great amount of damage, and can take down opponents who are distracted by the tank rather easily.

Finally, Classes like the Conjurer keep the party alive by healing off damage and providing buffs to the party to gain the upper hand.

Does that newbie summary sound right?

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Just because we are being technical here. But yes that's right :)

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Originally Posted by BrokenStar96

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Pretty much correct.

Interestingly, as an Arcanist you will have the ability to move into either a Healer or Damage Dealer role when you get to the point where you pick your Job (even though Arcanist is a damage dealer role until they pick a job.) Arcanist can become a Summoner (Damage Dealer) or a Scholar (Healing and Support). Depending on what role you'd like to fill, be mindful of where you place your attribute points. What you'll want to focus on: Intelligence is Magic Damage, Mind is Healing Potency, and Piety is Total MP.

You can obviously do both, but it can be tricky since you'll have a finite amount of points to use.

Most people have come to the conclusion that for the Arcanist that wants to do both should put their points into Int. The 30 points less in mind is not as noticeable as 30 points less in intelligence when you dps.

You can also pay to redo your points through your Grand Company, it takes 10,000 seals each time though.

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Originally Posted by Bixillarla

Most people have come to the conclusion that for the Arcanist that wants to do both should put their points into Int. The 30 points less in mind is not as noticeable as 30 points less in intelligence when you dps.

You can also pay to redo your points through your Grand Company, it takes 10,000 seals each time though.

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I'd say it's controversial there are no polls to see where people really think it's the best to put your point as SCH/SMN. And even so on a forum it wouldn't mean anything at all.