New to MMO's any general advice would be appreciated!

Hello all!

This is my first venture into any MMO. I have a general grasp as to what's going on in the game, but if anyone has any tips on:

what I should do regarding being successful in party missions(i dont want to drag any party members down due to lack of experience)

general battle tips for my Lancer class


Thanks in advance! See you in game!

I'm not aware of how the lancer works but some general tips in partying for when you do dungeons, just be courteous, listen to the tank on what targets they want killing (they will often mark) and don't be an ass and that's pretty much about it! If you've got any specific questions regarding MMO's then feel free to hit me with them! I've played MMO's for around 4 years so I know quite a bit :) Good luck, have fun and enjoy yourself in this new venture, because it's bloody awesome!

Im a little confused as to what i need to look for. When the tank marks a target what appears over the enemy? Ive done one party battle thus far, and it just seemed like absolute madness. I ended up cycling through targets until i found an enemy and went to town. Obviously, not the way i want to go about it.

I'm on a PS3, so im still getting used to using the controller to access my hot bar, but are there any good key commands to talk specifically to my party when i enter these kinds of quests?

Marks in this game are simply numbers above the mobs' heads if someone marks them, sounds like so far no one's been bothering to mark.

In early instances marking is probably not worth it, the pulls are generally too many and go down fast enough no matter who's hitting which so I guess it's likely the leader/tank isn't bothered. Tanks usually mark because generally they're expected to, because the usual advice is a new player should run the content on a DPS or healer to get to learn the run before trying to tank it, but again in the early instances new player tanks shouldn't have too much trouble.

That said, some group leaders may decide to mark or get someone else to who isn't the tank, it really doesn't matter as long as that player knows the encounter, but I expect it'll be some time in later instances when you'll see marking in use.

Have to say, grouping on a console without a keyboard or voice chat is to me, a confirmed PC player, something I'd not want to do. I played FFXI with a couple of PS2 players but both had keyboards, I really don't see how one can communicate with fellow players in group content on a console without one.

Let the tank tank, and you help with the damage, protect the healer.
That's about it. When he marks, just cycle to his marked ones. You can also use filters to help.
Oh and get a keyboard for your PS3! It'll help tons.

I've played a lot of computer games using the mouse/keyboard setup, and never really got the whole thing down. I guess just being raised on consoles has allowed me to understand button combos better that having everything laid in front of me.

As for communication though, I have set up a wireless keyboard for chat purposes. Haven't used it much though :(

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Originally Posted by Arriverderci

Let the tank tank, and you help with the damage, protect the healer.
That's about it. When he marks, just cycle to his marked ones. You can also use filters to help.
Oh and get a keyboard for your PS3! It'll help tons.

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What kind of filters would you suggest i look into? I opened up the control adjustments last night, and it was so overwhelming.


on another topic, I'm trying to start building my marauder class, is there a level i need to wait for until i switch weapons, or can I purchase one from a merchant and start building immediately?

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Originally Posted by trevorface

on another topic, I'm trying to start building my marauder class, is there a level i need to wait for until i switch weapons, or can I purchase one from a merchant and start building immediately?

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Just get the best equipments for your level when you can afford it. No need to rush getting equipments because leveling in this game is super fast.

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Originally Posted by trevorface

on another topic, I'm trying to start building my marauder class, is there a level i need to wait for until i switch weapons, or can I purchase one from a merchant and start building immediately?

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I rarely ever bought weapons or new armor. The majority of them you can get from doing quests. If you have the money for it and don't want to wait then by all means go for it but you can get most of your equips from questing or dungeons.

I'd go into Character Settings and tab over to Filters. From there go to Enable Customization on the bottom half. (Make sure you disable Default at the top.) The way I have mine set up is L1 + Triangle is for Enemies. L1+Circle is for non-party PCs. L1+X is for NPCs. L1+Square is for Aggroing Enemies. L1+Triangle is great for doing FATEs, because you just cycle through nothing but Enemies. L1+X is great for targeting NPCs without having to cycle through players or Carbys in the way. L1+Circle is good if I'm out and about and want to heal someone, or doing FATEs on CNJ and want to heal players rather than waste time trying to Stone mobs that will be dead before I can get a spell off. L1+ Square is great for when you trigger pops during quests. They usually aggro you immediately, but they're often behind you. You don't have to waste time trying to move your camera to find them.


As for Dungeons, don't stray. Stay behind the tank. He's the lead. Go where he goes. Don't get it in your head to explore in front of him. You draw mobs, CNJ has to cure-bomb you to keep you alive, hate is already messed up before the fight even starts. Just don't do it. And if you do and you die because the CNJ doesn't heal you, understand that it's your own fault, not the CNJ's or the tank's. They let you die to teach you a lesson. Also, attack what the tank is attacking. If a stray decides to attack the healer and the tank doesn't see it, you can swing over to pull it off and bring it back to the tank so they can Flash to get hate.

What you can do is make a Macro that lets you target what your tank is targeting.

Go into your System menu (where the config options are) and select "User Macros". Pick a spot and in the input box type /target <tt>

After you've input that select the macro you just made then hit Square and you can put it on your crossbar. With this macro all you have to do is hit up or down to cycle through your party and select the tank, then just hit the Macro you just made and you will automatically switch targets to whatever they are targeting.

Sometimes your tank will swap between multiple targets to build hate, but generally this macro should serve you well.

My biggest tip: Keeping your weapon up-to-date is the absolute highest priority for all jobs. Yes, this also includes healers and tanks. So much of both Damage and Healing is governed by your weapon strength, and Tanks will not get much hate since their enmity skills are stronger if they do more damage. Luckily you will get a new weapon every 5 levels with your class quests until level 30, but after that make sure to try and update your weapon every 5 levels.

Edit: Also, to go with the above, if you play a tank you must prioritize defense when selecting armor. You might pick up gear that looks enticing because it has one more VIT or one more STR, but if said piece of gear has half the defense of what you are currently wearing you will be taking much more damage than you should be, your healer will have to heal more, and you will have a harder time keeping enmity.

As far as filters on ps3 if you go to system, character settings, then to targetting. Go to the portion where it says 'with weapon drawn' and unchecked everything but enemies and agroed enemies. This will make it far easier to target things in the chaos of battle. Also, on the left of your screen you will see an Afro meter for any monster your party is fighting. If you have no Afro you will see a green icon, then a yellow triangle, then an orange triangle, then red square. (Red means you are being attacked) if you are approaching red status, lay off the damage a little and let the tank get it back before you lay into the mob again.

Um, just some general Lancer advice...

Lancer skills are all about combo rotations and positioning. For example, the skill Heavy Thrust grants you a buff that increases your damage output by 10% for 12 seconds if you use this skill to strike an enemy from the side. From there, you can use the True Thrust -> Vorpal Thrust combo. Just read the skill tooltips for an idea on how they work, and which skills combo with one another. In a dungeon, it's easy if your tank remains stationary, just walk up to the monster's side and use Heavy Thrust. But if you're solo-ing, you can either wait for the mob to use an AoE skill (there's usually a cast time for this - enough to just walk to their side and use Heavy Thrust), or you can stun them with Leg Sweep and use the stun time to walk to the side.

It would be great if you could make some friends (preferably one who plays tank or healer, or 2 guys who both play one respective role), so that you can have an easier time getting into dungeons. Once you are able to go to Sastasha (Level 16 or so), try running it a few times to get some Pink/Green gear. This way, you can get Allagan pieces from quest rewards instead of the armor pieces (unless they are a clear upgrade from what you have), and get some additional gil. You should never need to buy gear. Otherwise, as a DPS class, you might find it hard to get a party via duty finder - I've had waiting times of upwards of 1 hour waiting for a group to run Brayflox Longstop for example.

Dungeon tips already explained by the rest, but it's the same thing I'll give as well: focus on the targets that your tank has marked, stay behind the tank, don't pull monsters unnecessarily. Key part of dungeons is communicating: make sure everyone knows what they need to do.

The first thing DPS wants to do is damage spam, especially early on. Take your time. Only attack the things your tank is attacking (the first mob to go full red or as someone else suggested /target <tt>).

Manage your enmity. You can see the bar and what you have threat on, if you are getting too much threat, lay off the damage a bit so your tank can regain the threat. Threat management is EVERYONES RESPONSIBILITY, not just the tanks.

Also get out of the way of AOE attacks. If you can get out of the red mark on the ground before it disappears, you will take less damage.

If your tank isn't marking the targets with "Signs", then kindly ask them to, in order make it easier for everyone. If they don't know how, tell them to check out the Signs option on the main menu. It will be a learning experience for all. it makes clearing dungeons way easier, everyone knows what to attack, and the tank's job is way easier.

I made a few video tutorials to help new players get use to a console setup... they have been helpful to a lot of people, so I'm told... better than reading posts and still not getting exactly what it meant...

targeting and crossbars: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lof8nKmlTH4
UI setup: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHhaJt4jIhk
Maps: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TS618S5aFw4

we are also working on dungeon guides... class and job guides... and much more... hope that helps.

Woke up this morning to this influx of responses. Thanks so much to everyone for the pointers.

As of right now I've reached lvl 18 Lancer, Ive unlocked the airship and have delivered notes to both Limsa Lominsa and Ul'Dah. Im finishing up the 2nd rank in my lancer hunting log, and am about to open up my second class for marauder. Any pointers on where to direct myself after this?

Ya'll kick ass!

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Originally Posted by trevorface

Woke up this morning to this influx of responses. Thanks so much to everyone for the pointers.

As of right now I've reached lvl 18 Lancer, Ive unlocked the airship and have delivered notes to both Limsa Lominsa and Ul'Dah. Im finishing up the 2nd rank in my lancer hunting log, and am about to open up my second class for marauder. Any pointers on where to direct myself after this?

Ya'll kick ass!

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Assuming you are wanting the dragoon job. Stick around Limsa Lominsa to get your marauder to at least 15. It'll happen pretty quick. I'd also recommend leveling pugilist in Uld'ah to about the same level. Your lancer will benefit from a few of it's skills as you are out soloing. The dragoon job can also use some of the marauder and pugilist abilities.

Last piece of advice. Have thick skin. There's a lot of dickwads out there that only have fun by attempting to give other people misery.

If you have a Crowd Control (CC) ability, then make it known to the party when you first reach the dungeon. Sometimes a Tank will need somebody to SLEEP a bad guy to help with the mayhem. Let the Tank select which baddie needs to be temporarily disabled.

Since we can become all of the Classes in this game you can't assume that a Damage Dealer (aka DPS) character can't heal. Or that a Healer can't Crowd Control.

Therefore, it behooves you to learn a number of other Classes so that you can to take advantage of the cross-class slots that become available as you level-up. This is a really cool feature.

this is great. now what methods do you all use to actually coax enemies away from the mob? ive located the agro meter, but im still not sure how to exactly fish enemies out of the mess to take on. i find that im just cycling through targets and taking them out.

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Originally Posted by Kraggy

In early instances marking is probably not worth it, the pulls are generally too many and go down fast enough no matter who's hitting which so I guess it's likely the leader/tank isn't bothered..

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I will say thought that it's good practice to get used to it. Some say to target what the tank targets, but they are often switching between mobs, or should be, and for dps to get used to the method.

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Originally Posted by Anders

If you have a Crowd Control (CC) ability, then make it known to the party when you first reach the dungeon. Sometimes a Tank will need somebody to SLEEP a bad guy to help with the mayhem. Let the Tank select which baddie needs to be temporarily disabled.

Since we can become all of the Classes in this game you can't assume that a Damage Dealer (aka DPS) character can't heal. Or that a Healer can't Crowd Control.

Therefore, it behooves you to learn a number of other Classes so that you can to take advantage of the cross-class slots that become available as you level-up. This is a really cool feature.

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Only CNJ/WHM and THM/BLM can use Sleep spells. These abilities can't be used as cross-class abilities.

To the OP. Avoid AoEs always. If you are new to a dungeon, don't be afraid to ask for boss strategies. Manage your hate. If you start to pull hate off the tank, ease up a bit. Once you get a little higher and become a DRG, be careful with your jump abilities. You can't direct where you will land, and sometimes they will land you in an AoE.

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Originally Posted by trevorface

this is great. now what methods do you all use to actually coax enemies away from the mob? ive located the agro meter, but im still not sure how to exactly fish enemies out of the mess to take on. i find that im just cycling through targets and taking them out.

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One option is to target the tank on your party frame. If you're using mouse/keyboard, pressing the letter T will then cause your character to target the tank's target. Tab cycleing can work as well. There's also two cycle functions found in the traits/skills menu that you can drag and drop to your hotbar. Anything that has emnity on you will also shows up on the left side of the screen (by default). You could use that point and click for your target. Adjusting camera angle can help as well.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Arriverderci

Let the tank tank, and you help with the damage, protect the healer.
That's about it. When he marks, just cycle to his marked ones. You can also use filters to help.
Oh and get a keyboard for your PS3! It'll help tons.

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Yep.

"Let the tank tank" means follow the tank. Let them attack first unless they say otherwise. Always go for the mobs with numbers over their heads. And from what I've seen as a tank so far - every lancer in groups I've been in has stood to the side of the monsters. Not behind. If there is some advantage to this, do so. But never get in front where the tank is - tanks who like to 'eat it' when big attacks come will get you killed.

If you work with the same tank often, study what they do when a cone attack comes. Do they have a predictable way of avoid it? Learning that will help you not end up 'in the zone' of such an attack.


If all the other DPS run off to somewhere and start doing something weird... do the same. Chances are there's some boss mechanic going on.
- I didn't think of people lacking keyboards in my last PUG... and this might explain why nobody said anything on the final boss when one of the DPS asked if the others knew the strat. Turned out only he and I knew it... me just from reading it on eorziareborn.com. We nearly wiped because the other DPS kept on the boss when... sure enough... the moment for all the DPS to run off to the left and start poking a guy with sharp sticks came...

Oh, and watch your threat. If a mob you're fighting has the little aggro box change away from green or yellow, slow down your attacks or make sure its the target the tank had marked.

If the tank doesn't mark... pray to the twelve and set some Gil aside for more extensive repairs at the end. :P