Liking the game just still a little lost

[Xariz]

So after a couple of days playing im starting to get the gist of things and im definitely liking the game cant wait for the ps3 release and i thank everyone that helped when i first started. I just ran across some other things i had questions about and thought i might get the help here faster than in game since it seems not many people talk or maybe hear me at that point lol...


1. ive read it a couple of times and kind of have an idea of how to get gear and stuff but is there any alternative to getting gear other than wards and what not?

2. Do i ever leave the immediate area of Ul'Dah? Ive gone to Camp Drybone and have done some leves but more or less just curious if i ever expand past this immediate area?

3. Is there any way to get a notification for when people sign on and off in your LS? Its not game breaking its just nice to know so i dont talk to myself like ive seem to have done a few times haha..

As always i appreciate the info just trying to enjoy the game to the fullest extent and like to here from the vets =]

[VydarrTyr]

Welcome, Xariz. Glad to hear you're enjoying yourself.

So after a couple of days playing im starting to get the gist of things and im definitely liking the game cant wait for the ps3 release and i thank everyone that helped when i first started. I just ran across some other things i had questions about and thought i might get the help here faster than in game since it seems not many people talk or maybe hear me at that point lol...

People do talk. They just usually talk in linkshell chat or with /tells. And some linkshells are more social than others. If you want people to talk to, consider joining a couple of linkshells. You can join 8 at one time.

1. ive read it a couple of times and kind of have an idea of how to get gear and stuff but is there any alternative to getting gear other than wards and what not?

You can buy gear from the Market Wards or NPCs all over the world (although NPC prices are usually much higher than in the wards). You can also get gear as rewards for completing leves, factions leves, and side quests.

2. Do i ever leave the immediate area of Ul'Dah? Ive gone to Camp Drybone and have done some leves but more or less just curious if i ever expand past this immediate area?

You can leave at any time you want. All 3 starter cities have leves and other tasks and quests for all level ranges. If you want to move, you can move and operate in other cities, too.

And yes, eventually you will need to move to other areas. Main storyline quests require you to travel to other cities. Job quests are offered only in the cities in which the job guild is located -- so you'll need to travel to the Marauder's guild in Limsa Lominsa to do the Marauder job quests. Side quests and company quests also require you to travel to other cities.

3. Is there any way to get a notification for when people sign on and off in your LS? Its not game breaking its just nice to know so i dont talk to myself like ive seem to have done a few times haha..

Not yet.

As always i appreciate the info just trying to enjoy the game to the fullest extent and like to here from the vets =]

No problem. Happy to help. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask. There are lots of folks who post in here that are much more helpful and knowledgeable than me. So if you've got any questions, you can probably get them answered here.

[Xariz]

Thanks Vydarr you are quite helpful i have another quick question..im doing leves that are around my Rank and im actually a couple ranks higher than the mobs, im a GLA and i seem to get just absolutely destroyed is there something i could be doing wrong? are there better jobs to take on as a fresh player to make things a little easier?

[VydarrTyr]

Thanks Vydarr you are quite helpful

Man, that's really nice to hear.

i have another quick question..im doing leves that are around my Rank and im actually a couple ranks higher than the mobs, im a GLA and i seem to get just absolutely destroyed is there something i could be doing wrong? are there better jobs to take on as a fresh player to make things a little easier?

Yeah, even folks on these boards who have been playing for a while forget how tough it was when we started out. There are a couple things I'd suggest:

1) It actually took me a little while to figure out that you have to click on "Guard" to raise your shield so you can block incoming attacks. You're probably smarter than me, and have already figured that out, though. But be sure to raise your shield, and when it drops in battle, be sure to click on "Guard" to raise it again.

2) Aegis Boon is wonderful. Again, you've probably already figured this out, but when you use it, after the next attack that you block with your shield, you actually get healed a certain amount of HP. The only tricky thing is that it's kind of hidden under "Shield" abilities, instead of being in your Gladiator abilities. I'd make sure that's equipped, if you can, and use it frequently.

3) When I was at your level, I basically just put up my Guard, threw out some basic attacks, and spammed Phalanx every time I blocked an incoming hit. If I was having trouble hitting a mob, I used Red Lotus, which is a magic attack, so it hits every single time. It never misses.

4) Right now, we've still got physical levels in the game. (Those will apparently get removed sometime soon. Maybe patch 1.19?) The way it works is that for every mob you kill, you get Skill Points ("SP") and Experience Points ("XP").

Your SP goes to increasing the level of your job: Archer, Gladiator, Conjurer, etc. When your job level increases, you learn new abilities.

The XP goes to increasing your physical level. When your physical level increases, you earn "attribute points" that you can put into things like Strength, Dexterity, Vitality, etc.

Usually, your physical level increases more slowly than your job level. But if you level other jobs, you can actually have a physical level that's well above your job level.

Right now, you've only leveled 2 jobs: Gladiator and Archer (which is level 1). As a result, your Glad job level is 11, but your physical level is 7. That means you're physically a little weaker than level 11 mobs.

If you rank some other jobs, your physical level will increase really quickly. You can do that with any type of job. I actually thought that the XP from crafting was really high, but that was several patches ago. It looks like right now, the gathering XP is great. Maybe try out a few gathering jobs to raise your physical level.

5) Another benefit of leveling other jobs is that you can equip the abilities from those other jobs on your Gladiator. Some really useful abilities that you can get at low levels (up to level 10) are:

Conjurer:
Cure (level 4)
Stoneskin (level 6) -- absorbs about 1 hit worth of damage
Shock Spikes (level 8) -- deals damage to the mob when it hits you, and stuns the mob

Thaumaturge:
Sacrifice (level 4) -- healing spell
Punishing Barbs (level 10) -- when a mob hits you, it loses the same amount of HP that you do

Archer:
Raging Strike (level 4) -- increases attack power of your next attack

Lancer:
Ferocity (level 4) -- increases power of your next attack
Speed Surge (level 10) -- increases auto-attack speed, and allows you to absorb HP on every attack

Marauder:
Blood Bath (level 6) -- you recover a % of the damage you deal in your next attack in HP
Skull Sunder (level 8) -- costs 500 TP, does good damage, and does damage over time, too

Pugilist:
Second Wind (level 6) -- spend 500 TP to recover HP
Taunt (level 10) -- the Pugilist version of Provoke

That's only up to level 10. Eventually, you'll probably want to take everything to at least 20 because there are some great abilities for every class between 10 and 20. For example, at level 16, Archers get "Hawk's Eye," which increases the chances of your next hit landing. So you can do Ferocity-->Raging Strike-->Hawk's Eye-->Bloodbath-->your highest damage weaponskill, and you can recover a lot of HP and do a lot of damage at the same time.

But as a young Gladiator, you'll probably want at least Cure, Sacrifice, and Second Wind. That shield means that you're basically cutting incoming damage in half, so you can drag fights out for a long time. Throw in a couple of cure-type skills, and you can go forever.

And it probably goes without saying that the best way to level up fast is to get in a party. Gladiators are tanks, so they can take a lot of damage, but they don't deal as much damage as other classes. Adding some DPS or mage classes that can cure you will go a long way to helping you beat mobs. I think you'll be surprised how much easier it is to kill things with just two people. And with 3 people, you'll be shocked at how quickly you'll be blowing through mobs.

Plus, it's just more fun to do stuff with other people.

Oh, and one final thing. Again, you probably already know this, but every weapon has an "Optimal Rank." So if you're level 11, and you're using a Brass Gladius (which has an Optimal Rank of 16), you're going to have worse stats than if you were using a lower ranked weapon. You're going to hit less often, do less damage, and your weapon is going to get damaged much faster than if you were using a Bronze Spatha (level 11) or even a Bronze Dagger (level 9). So I'd try and use swords with Optimal Ranks that are equal to or below your actual rank.

Surprisingly enough, the same doesn't really apply to armor. You don't get the full benefit of the stats from armor that's above your level, but the difference in armor scales. In other words, if you use a level 20 sword at level 10, you're going to be pretty helpless. However, you can use level 20 armor at level 10 and you might not be any worse off than if you were using level 10 armor. So a good way to save money might be to equip armor that's a little above your level, but make sure you've got a level appropriate weapon.

Hope that helps. I'm not an expert Glad by any means. You might even want to post some questions in the Gladiator forum and see if someone more expert than me can help out.

Two other classes that may be attractive if you want to solo are Pugilist and Marauder. Marauders have the most HP in the game, and they can wear the best armor, but their attacks are pretty slow, and they seem to miss a lot. Pugilists are more like "evasion" tanks, so they have abilities that allow them to dodge a lot of incoming attacks, and then they have plenty of counter-attacks. And both of them have abilities that allow you to recover HP.

Just play around with it and see what you enjoy. That's probably the most important thing anway.

[Xariz]

Oh man thanks a lot you just answered so many questions that I had without me asking them thank you so much! Now I'm having issues finding stuff to do others than leves do you have any tips about progressing?

I tried to look up on some stuff about quests but it wasn't that helpful to me I basically just new when certain quests were available not much others than that.

Again though thanks a lot all of this stuff has been very helpful I really appreciate it

[VydarrTyr]

Glad to help.

As for content, well, there's the rub. My biggest complaint since I started playing -- way back at Collector's Edition launch -- has been lack of content. But the amount of things to do have been increasing, and more are on the way.

Some stuff you can consider:

1) You can do 8 battle/fieldcraft leves every 36 hours. (They're called "regional" leves, I assume because you need to go to an aetheryte to do them.) If you've done 6 leves in Uldah, you can always go to another city and pick up 2 more leves.

2) You can also do 8 crafting leves every 36 hours. (They're called "local" leves.) The good thing about the local leves is that they give you the materials to craft. So you don't have to buy any mats, or use any shards. It's just free SP/XP. (Of course, you do have to buy the tools.) When you're done crafting the materials, if you've succeeded, don't forget to turn them in to whoever you need to in order to get your SP/XP bonus.

3) If you're looking for a good way to get low levels weapons/tools for free, check out the rewards on tutorial leves. They frequently offer a starter weapon/tool as a reward for completing the leve. So you won't have to buy new weapons/tools when you try new classes.

4) Behest -- Starts every 30 minutes at every camp. A Battle Warden pops at the camp, and invites everyone to fight to protect Eorzea from monsters. Click on him, accept the behest, and then join in a party with whomever else has accepted the behest. (You can tell if they've accepted the behest because they'll have a little book-like thing next to their names.) Then go kill a bunch of mobs. After you finish, click on the Battle Warden to collect your reward. They're like leves you can do every 30 minutes.

5) ??? -- I don't know what to call these, and I haven't had a chance to do one yet. But apparently some guy appears near the fountain in Uldah, and invites people to help defend Eorzea from invading Garlean forces. It's like a behest, only you're fighting bad guys instead of mobs.

6) Side quests -- The big attraction of side quests is that they give free gear. They also give SP. Here's a link to a forum post showing the location to get the side quests, and the reward you get for completing them.

7) Job Quests -- It used to be that at levels 20, 30, and 36, you got "job quests." Those involve you going to the guild hall for whatever job is currently at level 20, 30, or 36, and they give you some task. Each job quest has its own storyline that it follows. It's possible the level to start those job quests has been lowered, but I honestly don't remember for sure. They're offered for every class in the game -- Battle, Crafting, or Gathering.

8) Main Storyline Quests -- These technically start at level 1, since the first thing you do in the game relates to the main storyline. In the past, you could continue the main storyline quest at level 20. But that may have been lowered at some point. And they now give SP/XP.

So how do you know if you've got Job Quests or Main Storyline Quests to do? Up in the top right of your screen, next to your map and the date/time and moonphase thingy, there's a little gold globe. That globe is your NPC linkpearl. When that globe starts glowing, you can open your main menu and click on "NPC Linkpearl." It will open a line of communication to whoever is trying to talk to you, and they'll tell you where to go to start your quest.

9) Grinding -- I realize the name doesn't exactly bring to mind tons of fun, but believe it or not, it can actually be pretty fun. Especially in a party. Go find an area with a lot of mobs around your level, and just start laying a path of destruction. At your level, you might want to grind on sheep. They're basically tailor made for Glads to beat up. Their skins sell really well in the market wards, so you can make some money, too. There used to be a lot of sheep/rams near the lighthouse in the Southeast corner of Limsa Lominsa.

10) Beastman Tribes -- These were added in Patch 1.18. They're apparently really good spots to grind for SP. But I honestly don't know where they are, or what levels they are. They're apparently shown on your in-game map, though.

11) Faction Leves -- You build "Faction Points" by completing leves. When you build up enough faction points, you can spend those points to do Faction Leves. They're like special leves that give better rewards. Eventually -- at around level 50 -- you'll be able to do "Special Missions" that are like a little storyline. At the end, you get the chance to fight a Faction NM. If you beat it, you'll get a chance to open a chest at the end that may contain a coin that you can turn in (with other materials) for Faction gear.

12) Grand Companies of Eorzea -- I think you can start doing these quests at rank 22.

13) Dungeons -- These were added in Patch 1.18, too. You can start doing them at rank 25. For right now, you'll need a party of exactly 4 people (that may change in the future). But they're really, really fun. There's also one that requires you to be at least rank 45, and requires a party of exactly 8 people.

14) Guild Tasks -- Every 36 hours, every crafting/gathering guild offers rewards for "Guild Tasks." Next to the place where you pick up leves is a board. They typically involve you turning in a certain number of some item that must be crafted, gathered, or bought. Stuff like the Miner's Guild will offer a reward for turning in 10 copper ores, or the Weaver's Guild will offer a reward for turning in 3 hempen yarn. They offer physical rewards, like shards or gil, which are apparently on a kind of pot luck system, in the sense that they're random. But here's the trick. If you turn in a Guild Task, you get SP for whatever class you're currently on. So if you turn in 10 copper ores to the Miner's Guild while you're on your Weaver class, you'll get 200-500 SP for your Weaver class.

15) Low Level NMs -- There are currently two sets of NMs. One is the low level NMs. They're around level 30-46. (Obviously, they're NMs, so you'll want to be in a party or significantly higher than them in level to beat them.)

16) World NMs -- There are 5 world NMs, which are over level 50. They don't give SP/XP, but they drop items that can be crafted into gear.

At your level, I'd concentrate on leves (regional and local), behest, side quests, and grinding. If you can find a beastman tribe that works to grind on, do that.

I'd also try to get in a linkshell. The community in this game is great. I think it's the best thing this game has going for it. They'll be there to help you out, party with you, give you tips, and you'll have more fun.

[Xariz]

You sir, are like a little walkthrough lol. I think that answers all my questions for now ill be sure to come back if i have anymore thanks a lot!

[Xariz]

So i started leveling my CON this morning and got to thinking..do i need to get new gear for every single job?

[MattyWS]

Ehh starting gear should be fine up to 10 or so for all jobs

[VydarrTyr]

MattyWS is right.

And there's also some gear that works for all jobs. For example, the Cotton/Canvas Tunics and Hempen/Cotton/Canvas/Velveteen Kecks all work equally well on all classes. You can check Yellow Gremlin and scroll through the different types of armor available, if you're interested.

When you start getting into higher levels, you may want more specialized gear. But at lower levels, I wouldn't worry much about it.