New Player - Can't Decide! =(

[brody138]

Hello!

I am just starting out playing FF14. I did play before ARR, but quit pretty early on. I am a veteran FF11 player with many, many years experience, and am hoping I can get some advice before sinking a ton of time going in the wrong direction. Here are my current levels:



While playing FF11, I had a max level Dragoon, and high level Bard, Ranger, Beastmaster, and Ninja. My buddy had a max level Monk that I played from time to time, so I have quite a bit of experience there.

As you can see from my levels above, I am trying to get all my classes up to 15+, and I am focusing on completing all of the class quests and hunting through that level as well. I am going to knock out WHM/RNG/DRG next and then decide on what to play.

That is where you come in. I am needing a few questions answered:

[brody138]

1.) As of right now, My favorites (in order) are Monk, Maruader, Summoner, Archer, Lancer, Thief. I really think Monk and Archer are ones that I will level up first, but I would like some pros/cons from the classes listed above.

I am very indecisive and fear that hitting end game with some classes will make a much harder experience gearing/farming/progressing as if I were to level up a different class to max level first.

2.) Is there a good resource that would guide me as to how to distribute my attributes per job? I know that Rogue/Ninja wants tons of Dex, but should I just put all of my attributes into DEX? Should all my Monk attributes go into STR? Is there a way to redo the allocation of the attributes on a job?

[brody138]

3.) Is Bard really fun to play in this game? I really feel a connection with Monk playing just like Monk did in FF11, but the other jobs not so much. I played a lot of Ranger and Bard in FF11, and I loved them both. Is this new Bard/Ranger hybrid a good feel of the ones from FF11?

Summoner feels like a mix between Summoner and Beastmaster from FF11. I really like this, but it's endgame issues I keep hearing about really detours me from wanting to progress him.. for now..

[brody138]

4.) I have been playing less than a week and feel I have been progressing at a very good rate. I will dabble in the crafting portion of the game after a while. Is crafting a good way to generate income, or is farming drops of some kind better? I farmed Beastman Blood, Goobbue's, and Bee's for cash in FF11. Is there similar farms to do in this game?

5.) Any other tips/advice you may think of is greatly appreciated!

6.) Bonus question: What is your favorite job to play, and why?

Again, thank you all in advance for answering any of my questions above.

(Sorry for the multiple posts. 1000 character limit.)

[Sagittarian]

#0 - you can edit your post to bypass the 1000 character limit. Other responses to follow as an example.

1.) As of right now, My favorites (in order) are Monk, Marauder, Summoner, Archer, Lancer, Thief. I really think Monk and Archer are ones that I will level up first, but I would like some pros/cons from the classes listed above.

I am very indecisive and fear that hitting end game with some classes will make a much harder experience gearing/farming/progressing as if I were to level up a different class to max level first.

The only things that will make a harder experience is your skill with the class and the DF queue. The queue for any dps class will be longer so it will generally take longer to get into dungeons.
Class specific comments:

1. Monk - attacks are highly position dependent. Generally considered one of the hardest dps classes to play well.
2. Marauder - one of the tank classes. Good for DF but you will be expected to take the lead in all 4-person content.
3. Summoner - there is a big distinction between summoner and arcanist, but more on that later. Arcanist is one of the best solo classes while outside of dungeons.
4. Archer - very mobile and pretty easy. Limit break is healing, not damage. Also will be expected to know and use the bard songs for support post-30.
5. Lancer/Rogue - I think these are the most played dps classes. Dragoon rotations can get very complex. Ninjas have more options with mudra combinations.

2.) Is there a good resource that would guide me as to how to distribute my attributes per job? I know that Rogue/Ninja wants tons of Dex, but should I just put all of my attributes into DEX? Should all my Monk attributes go into STR? Is there a way to redo the allocation of the attributes on a job?

Generally just put all of your points into your main attribute. Arcanist can be the exception.

And yes, you can but an item from your grand company to reset your attribute points.

3.) Is Bard really fun to play in this game? I really feel a connection with Monk playing just like Monk did in FF11, but the other jobs not so much. I played a lot of Ranger and Bard in FF11, and I loved them both. Is this new Bard/Ranger hybrid a good feel of the ones from FF11?

Summoner feels like a mix between Summoner and Beastmaster from FF11. I really like this, but it's endgame issues I keep hearing about really detours me from wanting to progress him.. for now..

Bard - never played 11 but from what I hear, no. This bard is more support and less dps. Still fun to play though as you never need to stop moving.

Arcanist - So far you just have all the classes. When one of them gets to level 30 you can pick up a job. The jobs are the party-optimized versions of the classes and generally considered an upgrade. For almost all of the classes there is only 1 job available. The exception is Arcanist. The arcanist can pick up scholar (healing) and summoner (dps). This is why some arcanists split their attribute points between mind (scholar) and int (summoner). Currently black mage is preferred over summoner for the final coil of bahamut but that is the only end game issues I've seen. The summoner job is still contentious though because it isn't what some people feel it should be in terms of pet usage. Because of some of the arcanist abilities summoner can also act as support if needed.

4.) I have been playing less than a week and feel I have been progressing at a very good rate. I will dabble in the crafting portion of the game after a while. Is crafting a good way to generate income, or is farming drops of some kind better? I farmed Beastman Blood, Goobbue's, and Bee's for cash in FF11. Is there similar farms to do in this game?

Crafting can make a lot of money but to make the really high level stuff you will need to get all the crafting classes to 50. Most of those high level recipes also require drops, so farming is also viable.

I find crafting most useful for making stuff for myself and not having to buy it from the marketboard.

5.) Any other tips/advice you may think of is greatly appreciated!

DUCK!

6.) Bonus question: What is your favorite job to play, and why?

Summoner and bard because I like the support classes. Mainly summoner as I feel my dps is higher and I like having rez.

[AskaRay]

Didn't play FFXI but my main here is BRD. I went into the game knowing BRD was going to be my main, though.. I love playing archer classes so I knew this was a good fit for me. Mainly a DPS role but since singing adds the support, you're definitely expected to do it.

Do SCH instead of SMN (winkink). I know if you get really good at crafting you can make tons of gil, but it also requires investing in tons of gil, and while I make okay amounts with only one crafting class maxed, my friend who as all crafting classes maxed and is progressing towards endgame for crafters makes exponentially more. So having all crafters maxed is good to make money. Some people farm the endgame Coils for materials to sell, and that makes a pretty penny.

For number 2, really things like archer/rogue, put everything in DEX, lancer/pugilist put everything in STR, etc. The only slightly hard one is arcanist, depending on if you want to go the SMN or SCH route. There are ingame items you can get to reset the attribute distribution though, in case you feel you mess up.

Any tips? If you do bard sing your songs oooooh my god the amount of bards I see standing around doing nothing is abysmal.

Umm, my fav job to play as? Of course bard, but I tried out Scholar because I wanted to try at healing but I found CNJ so boring I thought I was going to fall asleep...still need to level it, but I really love playing as SCH. It has the right amount of heal, DPS, heal, DPS that prevents me from getting bored.

[DoubleD]

I recommend leveling up Lancer / Dragoon until you get blood for blood. (Level 34 - 35? Can't remember)
Actual combat with Monk / Lancer / Ninja is more engaging than a bard to be honest.

But if you think you will be interested in the end game stuff, bard is a lot of fun. Bards usually get handling gimmicks/mechanics assigned in a lot of the coil turns that require them because of bards advantage to constantly attack while moving. But you will need to take into account that you will do considerably less damage than an equally skilled and equally geared non-bard DPS.

And develop a habit to sing the buff songs. A bard that won't sing is just an archer lol.

[Gardes]

If you are gonna play more than one class, your first 3 should be one of each role imo. Tank heal and dps. Try to level a dps to 50 first and absorb all the xp reward from story quests. Your tank and heal can lvl through quick dungeon instance queues. Avoid finishing minor sidequests that are below your first dps class who is going through story. Your other classes can use those xp unless you want to be left with just fate grinding and long dungeon queues for xp. So if you hit lvl 33 and the zone has lvl 31 32 quests,leave aand save them for later.

[brody138]

Thanks guys, this is all really good advice. Definitely sounds like there are some lazy bards at the end game, lol!

Arcanist - So far you just have all the classes. When one of them gets to level 30 you can pick up a job. The jobs are the party-optimized versions of the classes and generally considered an upgrade.

So, for example, you don't have to take Lancer and turn it into Dragoon? You can have a lvl 50 Lancer? Is there any scenario that you would not want to take the job advancement?

Can you go Scholar and Summoner, or do you only get to choose 1 of the 2 to unlock?

[Estellios]

Bard is a DPS in this game. It's pretty fun IMO and easy to understand but you do want to practice using songs as when they are useful they are VERY useful. Very little of your actual time is spent playing songs since they are either something you can turn on and leave running or something you only want to use in very specific circumstances as they lower your damage by a significant amount.

So, for example, you don't have to take Lancer and turn it into Dragoon? You can have a lvl 50 Lancer? Is there any scenario that you would not want to take the job advancement?

You technically don't have to take your class and turn it into a Job but there is nothing but downsides to doing so. Not only do your miss out on several abilities that upgrade the role your class is already designed to play, you gain a large boost in stats just for equipping the job stone. There's also a fair amount of entry-level gear that is job-only (most notably the relic weapons which help new players out a lot).

Can you go Scholar and Summoner, or do you only get to choose 1 of the 2 to unlock?

You can play both but the stat points you set are shared between the two jobs since they both come from Arcanist. Don't stress about it too much as people do perfectly fine with stats all in INT, all in MND, or a mix of both, and you can reset your points easily.


Also Punk you are on Hyperion... I am helping a returning friend level up his Ninja and can invite you along for XP dungeons if you are online when he is. His schedule is a little haphazard so I can't really give you any consistent times though aside from "nighttime Pacific time". Feel free to send me a tell in-game.