Hello!

[EveK]

Welcome, Vard. I suppose the first pointer would be to ask specific questions. =) Otherwise, we don't really know what you know already, what would be useful, and so forth. But we usually encourage new players to focus on their job and main scenario quests first.

As for a "nice" free company, what qualifies is going to be so subjective as to be contradictory depending on who's evaluating the free company. So you may have the best luck if you specify what you seek in terms of the number of players typically on at a given time of day, the sorts of activities that are done together, how much you care about having a free company estate, and so forth. I'd offer to tell you about mine, but you can't presently transfer to Balmung as it's congested anyway.

[Detvix]

Thank you! I picked marauder first but I didn't end up enjoying it so much so I've been focusing on ninja and lance a lot, will that matter?

When I say nice free company I mean really basic things like people that are actively talking a lot and just overall friendly people. I don't really want to mix with people that are elitist or anything as I know hardly anything about the game lol. As for the as actual mechanics and features of free companies, that doesn't really concern me much as I have no idea what they really do, I was just hoping for a nice group of people to play with and help me learn the basics etc

[Frizze]

I picked marauder first but I didn't end up enjoying it so much so I've been focusing on ninja and lance a lot, will that matter?

Which class you pick first only influences which city you start in and your questline for the first 15 or so levels. Once the story sends you to the other cities, everything syncs up and the story is the same for everyone going forward. Playing as a tank(marauder in your case) typically gets you into dungeons faster, but if you arent comfortable doing it then sticking to ninja or dragoon will work out fine. And the game doesnt punish you for switching(it actually rewards you with bonus exp to your lower level classes), so feel free to experiment.

As for the chat issue, if you havent already try to get an invite to your servers Novice Network(sitting in limsa/any city near the market board and shouting for an invite will probly work). Its an invitation chat channel where newer players can ask questions of more experienced players. Every servers NN is a little different, so i couldnt tell you how chatty Zodiark is, but at a minimum it can get you some help if you need it(and maybe hook you up with a good FC too). Failing that, you can use the Party Finder tool to try and find a good FC. One night when you have some free time put up a PF group and explain what kinda FC you want. Odds are youll get some info from a few recruiters and most likely an invite.

Finally, when it comes to tanking advice... ill be general and leave the good stuff to the pros. In general, you want to grab the attention of all the enemies in a group(at higher levels this can be more then one group). Use your AoE move(s) on them(like overpower). Then run past them and turn around. This will get the enemies to look away from the group and at you. You want to use your defensive skills(like rampart) to take less damage and make things easier for the healer. If you have any good self healing skills, these can be mixed in if you feel like youre in danger(but in general your healer should be able to keep you up). Once the enemies are grouped up you can use your single target attacks(still mix in AoEs too when you have good ones), and just keep switching targets every hit or two so that everyone stays focused on you. If you lose control of an enemy, try to get it back(something like provoke + tomahawk). Ideally you want the enemies to stand close together so that your party can use their AoE attacks to hit everyone at once. And once you have a hate established try not to run around too much - some of your DPS friends need to stand in certain positions to make their attacks work and if the enemies wont stay put they cant do it. For bosses this can mean dodging an attack during the wind-up(they typically cant move while charging a big attack), then moving back to the same spot once its safe. Beyond that, try to learn which attacks can/should be stunned. If you can manage that much, youre already better then probly 1/3-1/2 of the tanks out there. I would also say dont be afraid to say that youre new and dont be afraid to mess up. We all had to learn sometime.

And of course, any more questions feel free to ask. Best of luck, and welcome to Eorzea!

[Detvix]

Welcome, Vard. I suppose the first pointer would be to ask specific questions. =) Otherwise, we don't really know what you know already, what would be useful, and so forth. But we usually encourage new players to focus on their job and main scenario quests first.

As for a "nice" free company, what qualifies is going to be so subjective as to be contradictory depending on who's evaluating the free company. So you may have the best luck if you specify what you seek in terms of the number of players typically on at a given time of day, the sorts of activities that are done together, how much you care about having a free company estate, and so forth. I'd offer to tell you about mine, but you can't presently transfer to Balmung as it's congested anyway.

In terms of specifics actually, I would like some advice on tanking. I don't like doing dungeons on things like gladiator or marauder cos i'm afraid i'll mess up lol

[Canadane]

In terms of specifics actually, I would like some advice on tanking. I don't like doing dungeons on things like gladiator or marauder cos i'm afraid i'll mess up lol

As a tank main, the best advice I can give you is to throw worries to the wayside and dive right in.
As long as you have the basics down, (hold mobs, face them away from the party) you can worry about other advanced stuff later on.

Tanks are incredibly powerful classes in this game, and is very short supply as far as dungeon queues go. Everyone appreciates a tank. Nobody will care much for a slip up here and there, everyone has them.

Maurader will eventually become Warrior, which imo is the most fun tank to play as.
Keep it up and know that you're the one people want!