Questions on leveling

[Kazraan]

So I'm new to the game, and at serious fault for having looked things up before actually trying the game. I was curious about two things.
1st - I was planning on rolling as a tank primarily at endgame, so should I roll either a gladiator or marauder as my starting class, or does it really not matter much in the long run?
2nd - should I level the base classes to 30 first, clearing all the stories, or should I go straight for the job I want?
I appreciate any foresight, thanks.

[Urthdigger]

1: You will need gladiator or marauder at 50 to be a tank at endgame of course, but it does not matter if you START as one. What you start out influences startlingly little.

2: Honestly, it really doesn't matter. You can go do the other classes at any time, and technically their stories advance to 50 with the job quests. Leveling all your classes will give you more versatility in terms of what you can play as for low level content and what cross-class abilities you have, but getting one job to 50 ASAP is useful for unlocking content that may come in handy later, as well as working on daily/weekly things.

[Kazraan]

thanks Urth, I sorta had a feeling about the answers, but had to ask. A buddy was recently busting my chops for starting as a lancer, so I had to be sure.

If I can ask another dumb question, your race doesn't matter much either, just for min maxing I assume?

[Urthdigger]

Even min-maxers don't really give a damn what your race is. The difference is rather negligible at the high end.

[Kazraan]

Again, thanks Urth. Now I can rest easy

[apfelwein]

for question #1: it does matter, if u choose gla or mrd! they play totally different in end game. imo (as i played both) pld is a bit easier, more straight tanking. wars have more variance and a nice hp pool.

[Niwashi]

it does matter, if u choose gla or mrd! they play totally different in end game.

It matters which one you take all the way to 50 and treat as your "main" class/job (if you decide you even want a "main" job — some people don't). But you'll end up doing both of them through the first several levels anyway, and it doesn't matter which you do first. You can take both through the first 20 levels or so (in either order) and then decide which you like better.

The only significant difference that's based on which class you begin the game with is which city you begin in. The first 15 levels of the main storyline is different depending on which city you started in (with some really minor differences continuing through the next few levels based on which NPCs you got to know during that first 15 levels of the game). Other than that, it doesn't matter. Once you get your first class to 10, unlocking the ability to add other classes, you're welcome to switch your focus or diversify into lots of classes as you wish.

[ColorOfSakura]

Also, if you level one class to 50 you'll get bonus experience when leveling additional classes, so that's worth considering if you're planning to level multiple classes to 50.

[Bixby]

Also, if you level one class to 50 you'll get bonus experience when leveling additional classes, so that's worth considering if you're planning to level multiple classes to 50.

You don't need to level to 50. You get the same 50% bonus on any class that isn't your highest level. Doesn't matter what your current level is, doesn't matter what your highest level is, just that current < highest. (Edit: Where does this keep coming from? Is the in-game help still wrong? Or is this particular bit of collective misinformation just that hard to kill?)