SP nerfed. We were lied to.

[giftforce]

I think you can do behest for good SP if you dont do it at the same camp over and over... but I don't know.

I haven't really paid much attention to SP since patch.

I did do a Dunes run with 7 x links for 5k SP (hahaha) just to see what leves are like now.

Dunes with 7 links should be closer to 50k sp than 5k sp, so something obviously went wrong there. I guess they are trying to deter as as much as possible from using leves to level.

But if we dont use them to level, we will never use them. I have no problem with that, I just dont want to have to grind faction points.

[Charismatic]

So what seems to be the best way to rank up now? For a lowbie like me, that is (THM/CON R20). Just do a little bit of everything, leves, quests, partying?

Played the game for about a month then took a break. Came back and not sure where to begin. Thought reading the forums might help but I think I'm more confused now. XD

Form a party and grind mobs, it's the only way now.

[Sovereign]

I always thought 'nerfing' something meant 'making it easier or weaker,' in which case the leveling progression was not nerfed, in that it was not made easier. Maybe I read it wrong?

[Bled]

I always thought 'nerfing' something meant 'making it easier or weaker,' in which case the leveling progression was not nerfed, in that it was not made easier. Maybe I read it wrong?

Using your own logic, SP gain would be "weaker" thus making it a nerf.

[Synfrag]

And finally, in recent years FFXI has adjusted the amount of exp given to solo players fighting "Easy Prey" or "Decent Challenge" mobs (mobs less than 10-15~ levels below your current level) to cater more to casual soloers. A soloer can earn quite a decent amount of exp/hr in FFXI by focusing on mobs that are below the optimal level to form a party against.

Let's put this in perspective. I am going to use my current PUG Rank vs. XI's level for this equation as a direct comparison. These are rough numbers that I am actually seeing right now. It is not intended as an exhaustive XP parse.

FFXI (Pre-XP Buff)
@L24 total XP required to reach 25 = 5,100
EP (Easy Prey) 27XP per mob (Avg between 20 and 30)
Requires 189 mobs to level up

FFXI (Post-XP Buff)
EP (Easy Prey) 60XP per mob (Avg between 50 and 70)
Requires 85 mobs to level up

FFXIV (Current)
@R24 SP required to reach 25 = 25,000
EP (Green Aldgoats) 150SP per mob (100 - 200)
Requires 167 mobs to rank up

So the direct grind element is similar to that of XI in it's earlier days however FFXI had no other source of XP back then either really. So this puts XIV somewhere in between the two when you count levequests. However, this is not including the Fields of Valor that was introduced to XI a couple years ago which greatly increased the rate at which XP could be soloed.

Keep in mind I didn't take into account anything related to speed of kills etc. And easy prey at lvl 24 in XI can often times kill you unless you know what you are doing and are decently geared.

Personally I did most of my XI leveling in the old days so to me, post nerf XIV is still fine. I got my PUG from 23-24 in about an hour with all the new quest content.

I have no clue about party XP which is where it seems most of the complaints are coming from.

[HelloKitty]

Form a party and grind mobs, it's the only way now.

Would a duo work? Or is the only viable option a full group?

[Charismatic]

I have no clue about party XP which is where it seems most of the complaints are coming from.

Actually, grinding parties in XIV right now are just fine. In fact, at this point in time they are THE VERY BEST way to gain SP. The problem is all the other methods of gaining SP are terrible in comparison now. They basically just turned the game on its head.

Would a duo work? Or is the only viable option a full group?

Duos actually don't seem too bad, did well enough earlier today with just me and an archer for a bit. The SP was certainly far better than the behest we had done only moments prior, didn't approach pre-patch numbers but it was only a duo.

[NefGP]

Actually, those XI numbers aren't even current. Right now EP's give 80~120+ EXP now depending on the difference. They really cranked up EXP (don't even get me started on Abyssea - you wanna talk about easy mode how's going from 60~90 in 1 day?)

Not saying XIV should be as easy as XI is now, but it's definitely a bit much.

[Raim]

So let me get this straight. Leves are no longer a viable source of leveling even as a means of solo content, according to reports. That leads us next to questing for SP, which is good! However, questing for experience will only help you cap even ONE disciple, and then you are left without any repeatable quests (Not leves) to level up others.

Finally, there is the most reliable leveling source currently, grinding parties. As I understand it, FFXI veterans are more than accustomed to this. However, how do you plan to get people playing your game if the only viable leveling option is to grind monsters for hours a day until you can go into 2 dungeons?

[Synfrag]

It has just as much low/mid rank stuff right now as it does endgame.