Took the plunge...

[divinehope]

I have been semi following the game since open beta, and finally felt like it was decent enough for me to try. With that being said I am completely new. I chose Archer for my first class, and I am liking it so far (also read that I can be a bard in the upcoming patch which I am looking forward too). However, I seem to be dying a lot. Since I have gotten the new leves for 10+ some mobs come in packs of 3, and die quite a bit. It is kinda of frustrating (lots of downtime). Not sure if its my gear or whatever (just been using whatever from leves)

I am really unsure what do with my stat points as well. There is so much to learn it seems, and there isn't a "great" tutorial ingame. So I get the "I'm lost" feeling quite frequently, lol.

Anyways, if you on Besaid and would like to help me out with some pointers on Archers or general game-play stuff, I would surely appreciate it. I wouldn't mind joining a linkshell either, been kind of boring just soloing.

[Fiosha_Maureiba]

When you're soloing, I think the gear does make a larger difference.

There's a handful of little skills here and there that you can mix into Archer that could increase your survivability.

If you go to the Adventurer's Guild back in town, there should be a vendor behind one of the desks that can sell a Weathered Cane and/or some type of Weathered Horas. It'll give you the chance to level up Conjurer to learn a Cure spell and Pugilist to learn the Second Wind ability. Both restore HP and may help out.

Also, to check your Journal to see if there were any quests you have taken (as well as the little Map button when you open up the Quest Description). And to check your NPC Linkpearl to see if there are any requests.

Posted a link of a place to check for Linkshells also:
http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/threads/4195-Besaid-Linkshell-List%28Most-updated%29

http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/forums/173-Besaid

[Kiote]

Sorry to here your having such a hard time. I am sad to said, the full tutorial isn't planned for implementation until 2.0. That being said, here are a few tips for Low Level Soloing on Leves.

1. Get Conjurer Weapon and Learn Cure. It should only take about 15 mins.
2. When choosing Difficulty of Leve(+0 +3 +6 +9) Always be sure to pick the difficult that keeps the enemy level within 1 level of your own.
3. Make a friend. Low level leves are highly effective for Duoing. Just adding 1 extra body to the fight will half your completion time and double your fun.

Gear does make a big difference now, but low level gear is hard to come by. I would highly recommend you find yourself a LS, just give a shout, most LS will happily help to get you gear up and help you through those tough early levels.

Please don't give in to the urge to get PLed ^.^

[Chione]

My suggestion would be to stay away from battle leves. They are ridiculously tedious for their level when you are solo, and even when you beat them, the exp reward is nothing compared to what you would have gotten spending the same amount of time soloing regular mobs your own level.

I just started archer myself a few days ago, and I can say that it is the most annoying job to solo for me so far. Without second wind I'd of had a really hard time of it. Cure is nice too, but I prefer second wind due to its instant cast time. So if you don't mind grabbing a couple levels of PGL I'd urge you to do it before continuing your journey as ARC.

Feel free to add me to your friendlist and look me up in game if you have any more questions. I'm not ARC50 yet but I'm determined to get there and have the luxury of good advice from good friends to help me on my way. I can pass this on to you if you like, and I won't even charge. :P

[Geesus]

Leves aren't bad but the XP is a bit meh. Level 10 leaves and on up though will give you some decent gil so if your looking to make a few bucks and a little XP, grab one; it won't kill you. Don't plan on getting rich this way though lol.

[Eldaena]

Each time we get a new player in my LS we tell them first and foremost, try out all the battle classes. Get them to about level 10. The abilities you can get from each class level 1-20 can definitely help out greatly on any single class you want to do. (With the armoury system it allows you to equip some abilities from other classes onto whatever class you want to play.) Some basic ones I would look to do are: featherfoot (pug lvl 2), second wind (pug lvl 4), bloodbath (mrd lvl 6 but melee specific), cure (con lvl 2), protect (con lvl 6, good for soloing), rampart (gla lvl 2), sentinel (gla lvl 22 and very important later on), invigorate (lancer lvl 14 and pretty essential for melee), and hawk's eye (arc lvl 6 but melee specific again). You can find starter weapons around any town I think and also get them from doing some leves, so just keep your eyes out for them.

[Geesus]

Each time we get a new player in my LS we tell them first and foremost, try out all the battle classes. Get them to about level 10. The abilities you can get from each class level 1-20 can definitely help out greatly on any single class you want to do. (With the armoury system it allows you to equip some abilities from other classes onto whatever class you want to play.) Some basic ones I would look to do are: featherfoot (pug lvl 2), second wind (pug lvl 4), bloodbath (mrd lvl 6 but melee specific), cure (con lvl 2), protect (con lvl 6, good for soloing), rampart (gla lvl 2), sentinel (gla lvl 22 and very important later on), invigorate (lancer lvl 14 and pretty essential for melee), and hawk's eye (arc lvl 6 but melee specific again). You can find starter weapons around any town I think and also get them from doing some leves, so just keep your eyes out for them.

Yeah this ^

[Kiote]

Each time we get a new player in my LS we tell them first and foremost, try out all the battle classes. Get them to about level 10. The abilities you can get from each class level 1-20 can definitely help out greatly on any single class you want to do. (With the armoury system it allows you to equip some abilities from other classes onto whatever class you want to play.) Some basic ones I would look to do are: featherfoot (pug lvl 2), second wind (pug lvl 4), bloodbath (mrd lvl 6 but melee specific), cure (con lvl 2), protect (con lvl 6, good for soloing), rampart (gla lvl 2), sentinel (gla lvl 22 and very important later on), invigorate (lancer lvl 14 and pretty essential for melee), and hawk's eye (arc lvl 6 but melee specific again). You can find starter weapons around any town I think and also get them from doing some leves, so just keep your eyes out for them.

^ Thirdeded

[divinehope]

Good advice, so where/how do I change classes? I believe its just a weapon swap correct? Where do I get some starter weapons/armor?

[Eldaena]

Good advice, so where/how do I change classes? I believe its just a weapon swap correct? Where do I get some starter weapons/armor?

There are different NPCs in each city that can sell the weapons. They are usually called "weathered" <insert name of weapon.> Sometimes you can get them from completing level 1 leves too. When you find one, either purchased from NPC or gained as a reward, just go to the gear tab on you menu. Click on the main hand and just switch the weapon. You'll change classes automatically. Each class has a different ability set and you'll need to set up your bars. Also, each class allows you to allot a few points too.

Edit: Also to change actions and traits go to that tab on your menu. As you gain more levels you'll learn and be able to equip more and more. =)