Best way to level from 52-60?

I am leveling my second job to 60, a black mage, and she is currently level 52.

However I notice that frequently whenever I am on (like right now)there are no fate groups in the party finder. This normally wouldn't be an issue doing fates by myself but for some reason the fate mobs in heavensward content have much more health and damage then 2.x content.

I COULD solo it but it tends to be very tedious and take quite a bit longer than if there was a fate group. Should I be doing something else to level to 60 or am I missing something?

Edit: I just want to add that I tried making a fate group but while soloing fates for 30 minutes not a single person joined.

Are you always in queue to do dungeons?

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Originally Posted by SonKevin

Are you always in queue to do dungeons?

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No. I prefer fates to dungeon grinding. Is dungeon grinding supposed to be better?

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Originally Posted by Xanikk999

No. I prefer fates to dungeon grinding. Is dungeon grinding supposed to be better?

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Yes, for the most part and they'll be even better since they're gong to nerf them and add more exp. But if you're a dps, chances are you'll be waiting in queue anyways, so while you wait for queue to pop just do FATEs.

Doing leves help, too + your daily hunts will give ~ easy 100k exp per completed stacks.

Also your challenge logs.

In otherwords:
Dungeons offer better exp, but while waiting for queue to pop I:
1. Daily Hunts
2. FATEs
3. Leves (if FATEs are dead in the area)
4. Some of the weekly Challenge logs
5. For 3.1 A realm reborn expert roulettes will offer exp
6. Trial Roulette since that's easy one and done

Though it's a bit slower and you have to level sync, there's almost always at least 1 fate group in Northern Thanalan during this time of night.

Dungeons have the added bonus of giving you a place to practice using your full move-set. "Optimal" FATE grinding requires a style of play that is far-removed from what you'll actually be doing at 60.

It really depends on what you personally enjoy, or rather what you do not enjoy.

I like to level in dungeons all the way. One because it keeps me sharp (Reacting to other people, using my abilities efficiently so we are not slow)
But also because I find FATE grinding to be mind numbing.

I also like to watch a series or movie or listen to a stand up comedy show while in dungeons. For me it means I am enjoying myself rather then 'having to grind'.

I've leveled quite a few roles and I do it mostly with dungeon grinding and daily roulettes. I prefer that then fates given fates don't really give me at least the opportunity to learn my roles better given all the the new skills.

FATE grinding was way better than dungeons, but now on my server you never find more than one party and a few stragglers with chocobos. Just enough people to scale each FATE so that they take forever. I hope the exp boost in dungeons is substantial enough to make them feel like less of a horrible grind.

If there are enough people doing fates to zerg them down, then fates will be a more efficient means of leveling. Otherwise always stay queued for the highest dungeon you can do and find stuff to occupy the time you wait.

I always do dungeon when it's odd level number since it gives bonus chain. Also daily roulette helpful for fast exp.

I'd always advocate dungeons over FATEs.
You get exp and experience, while a FATE will only give you one of those.

Dungeons all the way (with supplementals thrown in between queues)

Honestly it's because it is always incredibly clear who just fate farmed their levels and never learned a thing about their class and rotations. Especially noticeable for tanks. I feel the fate-only mindset of leveling is why so many people come on these forums to complain about a job being bad or "too hard" (as if there is such a thing in this game) when many people are able to utilize the ability of the jobs just fine with little effort. You are actually making things harder on yourself and your pt members in the long run by solely fate farming exp, just to save an insignificant amount of time.

For easy goings:

I just did daily hunts for lving up! o___o
Did this around 10x on my 2 chars o;
If you really do ONLY hunts from lv51 on (because chocobo lv51 is need) It takes around 4-5weeks and you hit lv60 ;D
You can speed it up a bit by doing those weekly quests.

I did nothing else to lv up! o; To busy with work last months.
Burning away leves x10 was also a help.

I do leveling/high/story/trial roulettes and hunts daily, then also grab the leve, fate, dungeon, and comm challenge log bonuses each week. For leves, now I'm doing 18 normal + 2 large leves a week. It gives enough variety that it doesn't feel totally miserable to me.

As a tank I found that dungeons are easily the way to go, due to low que time. Though FATEs are arguably better if you can find a group for it, I personally have not seen any since I started with Heavensward content. The effectiveness of dungeon grinding(beside longer que time for dps) also comes with the party, what may have taken 20~min with one party, could end up taking 40~min with another. That's a huge difference in exp gain.

Also as MicahZerrshia mentions, it's a great way to learn your job and prepare for end-game! :D