New player, a few questions!

[tymora]

will I get the full 5 MND?

You won't.

[Panacea]

Hey all, found my way into the game a few days ago and I'm enjoying it quite a bit so far. However I've also got a question on equipment levels. The forum explanations arent super clear so can we touch on this one more time please?
Item level vs class level- regarding weapons and tools: How much of a penalty is there for using an item above your craft rank?
Saw in a bs guide people saying get your birdsbeak asap- much higher success rates when skilling at low levels.

With that in mind I found a dodofeather? Pickaxe for 19k and snapped it up. As well as a steel head knife for leatherworking on the cheap, i.e. 25k or so. Did I screw myself there? Stats were better than the weathered gear I was using...

If I did should I backtrack and try to shoot for one tier above or below my current class rank? I know I'm in for a grind beating because to improve my chosen professions And gear I needed to skill up other professions, etc. No comment on the ash saw handle for my bronze saw!

I'm not looking at min maxing, just ways to improve my game and not inadvertantly gimp myself!

Thanks for the help and scuse any typos, smartphone post here!

[VydarrTyr]

Generally, you'll suffer a pretty severe penalty if you use tools or weapons above your rank. If you're even 1 level below a tool/weapon, you can suffer a 20% penalty to the stats it offers. The farther from the weapon/tool's optimal rank you are, the more severe penalty you suffer. And the tool/weapon will become damaged much more quickly, so you'll have to spend more money on repairs.

There's a simple way to tell if the tool/weapon gives you better stats than the one you've got right now. Open your main menu, and click on "Gear." Then equip the weathered pickaxe, and check your gathering/perception/output stats (they'll show there in the numbers on the left of your screen). Then equip the Plumed Bronze Pickaxe, and check the same stats.

The Plumed Bronze Pickaxe is level 12, and you're currently a level 13 miner. So you should be fine.

But the Steel Round Knife is level 47. You're currently level 10. So I suspect you're going to be severely gimped using that tool until at you're at least level 42+.

I would suggest that you use tools/weapons that are at or below your current level, or at least no more than 1 or 2 levels above you. If you're trying to save money, you might be able to get away with buying a weapon/tool that's a few levels above you, but as a general rule, you're going to be gimped using tools/weapons above your rank. It's not so bad at the lowest levels, because you move through those levels so quickly. But you're not going to perform as well with the tool/weapon above your level until you level up to it.

The penalty isn't as severe for armor as it is for tools/weapons. So if you're going to save money, I'd suggest buying gear that's above your level, rather than tools/weapons.

[naaros]

Random Question: Is it possible to increase the size of the party frames? Kinda like how you can make your HP/MP bars bigger?

Thanks! =)

[Estellios]

Not currently but I think they are planning to add it soon because it's fairly in-demand.

[naaros]

Oh good. Sometimes when I'm duoing with a friend, I don't even notice his HP at times because the frames are so small on 1920x1080. I suppose I could move them away from the side so it's more in my view of the monster and such, but I'd rather just make them bigger. XD

Thanks. =)

[Estellios]

I had the same problem when I was still getting used to playing this game starting out/returning after a few months. I just ended up setting up my UI so that the target's HP and the Party HP bars were closer to each other so I can keep an eye on both.

[naaros]

New question!

I've been messing around with Archer some and enjoying it in between my leveling of CON and THM. I had a question regarding stats for it, though. Is it better to use Accuracy, DEX, or STR rings? I've been examining archers around town, but the response has been pretty varied. Some use ACC rings, others use all DEX, and others all STR. I guess it could depend on your other gear, but I've also heard that stats (ie: DEX) don't really help that much at the moment (changing in 1.19 I think).

Also, about arrows... For leveling, would you recommend that I keep using the low level arrows or upgrade them as I go along? Like I'm level 17 Archer right now - should I be using those level 17 Obsidian arrows or maybe just stick with either the level 3 or 9 arrows? Will it make a big difference? I'd rather be as cheap as possible while leveling this, but if it will hurt me a lot, I might as well just spend the gil, ya know?

Thanks for any help! =)

[Estellios]

I'd use accuracy rings until 1.19 because like you said, the other stats don't seem to work correctly but Accuracy does.

As for the arrows, upgrade them as you go as long as it's within your budget. On my server arrows are pretty cheap and a single stack will last you for a while, and you should have some money from leveling 2 other classes.

[VydarrTyr]

Estellios = smart.

I haven't tested the effects of different kinds of arrows. But I do know some folks who leveled all the way through 50 just by using level 1 arrows. Of course, this was before the changes to the battle system. Because battle is more difficult now, I wouldn't suggest doing that. Still, I doubt you need to always have the best arrows equipped. Just buy the best you can afford and are available at the moment, and you should probably be fine.

I usually equip accuracy rings on all my melee jobs. Being super strong is nice, but it doesn't really do much good if you can't hit the mob.

But you should definitely feel free to play around with it and see what you like best.