Curious about leveling speed

[Darlan_Ashwood]

IF they have their buddies carry them through and they already know all the content yes. But if they mean a new player then no freaking way. The only way I could see it is if you had a constant party grinding dungeons with you, as it is faster then fates provided you do not have any wait time for que.

[Zfz]

What are you trying to accomplish, prove, or learn here?

To find out what "2-3 days to 50" really means. I've met a few newcomers lately and one thought (after reading through forums, although I'm not sure which ones) that he should be able to get to 50 and start on end-game content in 2-3 days, saying that everyone's saying this. With this thread and the solid info people have provided, fewer newcomers will be misled.

Because I have not done it myself, nor do I plan to do it, I cannot say to a newcomer whether it's true or not, or advise them on how to do it if they plan to do so. Hence I came seeking people who's actually done it to share the experience.

Note that I'm seeking people who had done it. Otherwise I know the leveling game as well as most other people, having participated since beta. But I don't want theorizing, I want actual experience.

For example some people think it's not possible to clear the main quest at least up to the end of 2.0 in 3 days, but it's been done as revealed early on in the thread. So the "2-3 days to 50" actually apply to clearing the 2.0 main quest. The "easily" part though is busted as a lot of people would probably consider 50-60 hours of play time in 3 days not something easily done.

Think of this as a mythbusting thread. The result: FACT.

[Niwashi]

I normally and by preference take a long time leveling up. That's the part of the game I like the best, so I try to make it last and take my time to make sure I don't miss any part of it. (It took me just over a year to get my first 50.) But about a year ago I had a three day weekend and decided to test out just how far I could get if I actually tried to level a character as fast as possible.

I made a new alt, a THM, used my main to fund her so she had lots of gil and good gear without having to earn it, and tried to race through the content. This was after I already knew the game and the world, so there was no exploring or learning curve involved like there would be for a new player. I had already played through much of the content with several other characters, so I was willing to skip the storyline, which would also make actual new players take far longer. I spammed the Duty Finder continuously, getting in as many dungeon runs as possible, while questing and running FATEs in between while waiting in queue. And the quests weren't done as actually following the story. I just raced through objectives as fast as I could, teleporting everywhere I needed to be rather than traveling there normally, not reading a word of anything the NPCs said, just advancing the game (and therefore more dungeon unlocks) as quick as I could.

For three days straight, averaging about 16 hours a day, I played that way, and managed to reach level 30. Now, I'm sure I could have gotten further if I'd gone with a tank class for instant queues and extra Roulette bonuses, or if I'd paired up with someone to speed through the content. Plus, I could get further if I were doing it now than I could then. (There were some significant boosts to dungeon XP after that point, plus additions like the Challenge Log.) It could also have been at least a little bit faster if my FC had FC actions unlocked for that XP buf, or if I'd thought of using food for its XP buf (though that food one is pretty minor).

So, for someone doing it in a challenge mode like this now, and who also has a full group of friends helping them do it, I could see maybe getting to 50 in three or four days of marathon gaming. But for an actual new player, who's also learning the game at the same time, no way.


(Leveling a secondary class/job on the other hand, with the 50% Armoury bonus, plus the advantage of having all the dungeons already unlocked, it's far more reasonable. That I can see plenty of people managing within three days, though it would still take some effort.)