PS3/PC Crossplay and Class Leveling

[Turbine2k5]

Just started playing a few days ago, and I haven't been into a MMO since WoW: Burning Crusade. A couple of questions:

1) If I buy a copy for the PS3, will I be interacting with players still playing on PC?

2) Does the game actually play well with a controller?

3) Do people focus on one class until lvl. 50, and then shift to a new class? Or do you stop at 30 to reach 15 on another for jobs? Or is it more efficient to keep them all around the same level?

[AiChyan]

1- Yes
2- In my opinion yes, I heal on a controller and its a pretty smooth experience
3- Each class has other classes which they can gain skills from. Its not a big deal to wait till your are over 40 or 50 to get them, but it makes for a much much easier experience to get them early. The most important one for you as a healer is swiftcast, which is crossclassed from THM at lvl24 or 26, I forgot .
As a healer you will gain skills from arcanist and thm. Prioritize getting swiftcast if you can.

[Bixillarla]

1) Yes, if you play on the PS3/Ps4 you will be playing with people who are also on the PC. Square Enix did not seperate the players, everyone plays together.

2) Yes, the game plays fine using the controller. You can also use a USB keyboard and mouse with the play station. I tried the controller and could not get use to it myself but many play with it no problems.

3) No, at level 30 you will want to level up your secondary class to at least 15 to get your main job. People will expect you to have your job at 30 or shortly after. Some cross skills you will want to have, for example if you are a healer you will want to level THM to 26 to get swiftcast.

[Niwashi]

(1 was already answered.)

2) It plays well on a controller for everything except chat. Connect a USB or wireless keyboard to your PS3 to use for chat. Then you can use controller for everything else. (It is possible to type with the controller, but really awkward and slow.)

3) Either stop at (or around) 30 to go back and pick up your secondary class so you can unlock your job, or just alternate between them, keeping them roughly on par with each other as you go along. Either works. (If you're aiming for White Mage, its primary, secondary, and tertiary classes are all DoM, so you can share most of your gear between your classes, and that's easier if you keep them near the same level.)

But trying to get to 50 first and only then going back to pick up your secondary class and job would gimp your character for those 20 levels in between. Once you get much above 30, you'll be expected to have your job unlocked, and preferably its major cross-class skills unlocked as well.

[Cap75]

1 and 2 were covered pretty well already but I'd definitely reiterate what folks have already mentioned about 3. The game is designed around playing your job after 30 for group content. Your job specific abilities are going to usually be your most powerful abilities and many of them are specifically designed to aid group play. If you start going into higher level dungeons as a basic class you are likely going to get some grief in the least and possibly kicked. I'd also suggest checking out a guide in the job you're looking to pursue to see which cross class skills are generally considered must haves and work towards them fairly early as well.