Things You Wish You'd Known

[GooberKid]

Hi All,

I played phases 2 and 3 of the CB but didn't sub right away due to playing other games at the time. I just officially subbed the other night and am having a superb time thus far. I wanted to ask you vets though, what are the things you wish you'd known about this game when you started? Things that would have made your leveling/character-building much easier. I've found that all MMOs have a lot of aspects that you learn about over time, tricks or shortcuts or easier methods that us noobies don't know yet but could sure benefit from, lol.

So basically just wanted some general things that might help me out. I'm a longtime MMO player and general FF fan, but still kind of feeling my way around here.
Thanks!

[Bixby]

The two biggest things for me are that I didn't pay attention to the various sources for items, and I thought it was a good idea to hold onto materia-convertible gear until I was totally done with it.

I mined so much more crap than I would have otherwise, because I didn't know it was available at a vendor. And I bought so many things off of vendors that are usually cheaper on the Market Board.

And I held onto regular lowbie gear for ages because I knew I'd be using it on another class, when I could've converted it, bought a new one, sold the materia, and had more gil.

[Virevolte]

I wish I knew that I would soon be short of wind shards.
I wouldn't have given so much of them to other players. ^^"

Please mark my words, new players!
Don't give your shards to strangers!

[JTribal]

I wish I would have known not to put all of my bonus stats in STR as opposed to VIT as Gladiator. I honestly had no idea my class was not a tank class until I got to the Brayflox dungeon.

Didn't help that I had all of the chat turned off because I thought I could play solo, so I can only imagine what all of the poor party members that had to suffer through my not so tanky tanking were trying to say to me.

Yes, this is my first MMO

[NyarukoW]

You want to level your miner and botanist before you do any of your crafters. With those 2 gatherers in place, you can actually be self-sufficient leveling any and all crafters.

[Valmar]

Hitting the Minus button when removing Gil from your retainer is so much easier than typing the number of gil you have.

Didnt know this for the longest time. lol

Level your cross class skills Before you hit 50.

Always double check Vendors before you buy something on the Market Board, a lot of people are trying to make Gil off of careless/lazy players.

Gear from dungeons > Vendor Whites - dont be that guy at 45 with full Vendor Whites trying to do Stone Vigil.....

[Kerwin]

I wish I would have known not to put all of my bonus stats in STR as opposed to VIT as Gladiator. I honestly had no idea my class was not a tank class until I got to the Brayflox dungeon.

Didn't help that I had all of the chat turned off because I thought I could play solo, so I can only imagine what all of the poor party members that had to suffer through my not so tanky tanking were trying to say to me.

Yes, this is my first MMO

NO CHAT ALLOWED. Seriously? Well at least your not the dragoon that thinks he can solo dungeon mobs

[Strigoi]

So sorry for minor derailment*
This question is for JTribal, the Gladiator.

I have been putting bonus points into Vitality, (maybe about 6 so far?) Is Vitality not the main stat for Gladiators/Paladins?

I had read something on the wiki that Vitality increased damage reduction, while STR increased straight damage thus indirectly increasing emnity; although our STR stat could never be high enough to allow us to dps and hold threat?

What should i focus my bonus points on? STR or VIT?
Thanks

[Anova]

I wish I hadn't used 2 vials of fantasia to change my character before I found a good glamour to use. They feel like such a waste now.

[Bixby]

This question is for JTribal, the Gladiator.

Too bad, I'm answering, too!

VIT = HP. It doesn't decrease incoming damage, it just gives you more of a cushion.

STR = damage. Damage = threat. STR also increases the amount you block/parry when you block/parry (though not the rate at which you do so). It takes a lot of STR to make a really visible difference, though.

Which one to take is debatable. Especially while you're leveling. More HP means your healers can relax a little more, but more damage means you have a better chance of holding threat. Either choice could go poorly depending on the parties you get & their experience & capabilities. If you can't hold threat, it doesn't really matter how much HP you have, since mobs won't be attacking you. But if you can't survive, it doesn't matter how well you hold threat, since you'll be dead, and the monsters will attack the healer next.

Once you're at 50, it's more about what content you're doing. If you're doing hard progression content for your gear level, VIT is generally safer, because threat is not as much of an issue as survivability during progression. If you're doing something you overgear and/or have on farm, STR is generally better, because of the extra damage.

Note that you can respec with an item from your Grand Company for 10,000 GC seals.

Really, as long as you keep your gear up to date, STR/VIT won't make an enormous difference either way. Personally, I've gone full STR on my GLA/PLD, because when I'm healing, I get far more annoyed at tanks who can't hold threat than I do at tanks that make me heal harder.

Oh, also, on topic: Always eat food. Preferably one that boosts a useful stat for your class, but if +VIT is all you've got, eat that while you're crafting anyway. All food gives you +3% XP, and it adds up.