New Player Looking for Advise

[Braxton92]

Hey all,

I'm new to this game and I've only been on it a few hours but I really enjoy it.

I had a few questions...

This game, is it very popular? It looks like it's been out for a few years but its like amazing.

I love playing MMO's to play socially with other players. What attracted me to this game was my being told that it is very social and the such.

So far it looks cool!

Also, is it easy to pick up? So far its a little confusing.

[Undeadfire]

Depends which server you're in, some servers are extremely populated while some are low.

You'll get used to the game. The whole point is GCD rotation for each job, all in order for optimal with the cool downs. You will be required to level other jobs to unlock their abilities to use on yours.

[Enkidoh]

Welcome to Eorzea!

Popularity wise, officially this game has over 5 million subscribers so yeah, you could say this game is popular (Ignore the doomsayers in General Discussion who keep trying to talk down the game and claim it only has a small amount of players - considering most servers are often locked to new character creation due to being full should at least show how ignorant they are and how wrong their statement is. ).

Socially it can be a mixed affair - it's left up to the player to actively seek others out to do stuff with and chat - there is no 'global' chat channel so that's not an option. Instead, there are linkshells which are player run chat channels that have some guild aspects, and Free Companies which are the actual guild system in the game which have more options such as being able to have their own house, have bonus effects that boost things like exp or lower the cost of teleportation, have their own crest you can apply to your equipment and much more.

The best thing to do is simply talk in /shout - someone is bound to strike up a conversation with you. Failing that, taking a look in the server forum for your server and have a look if there are any linkshells or Free Companies that are welcoming and supportive of new players recruiting in there (for your server, that can be found here.)

Starting out can be daunting, but don't despair! The game is actually structured to gradually guide the player into the meat and potatoes of gameplay (because the game was designed with those who have never played a MMORPG before in mind), so don't be concerned if you haven't quite got the hang of things yet! Hence why it's important to keep up with the story - which are quests with the game's 'flaming meteor' logo above the relevant npc instead of the typical sidequest '!' inside a speech bubble. This is because a lot of content is actually unlocked gradually by playing through the story, such as inn rooms, levequests, chocobo renting, personal mounts, airship travel etc. Even the new expansion pack Heavenward requires the storyline to be completed before you can access those new areas (and it's connected story and content). If you're still finding things daunting, this site may help a lot.

There is a LOT to do, but again, don't worry about having to catch up quickly - take your time and enjoy the game, as there are so many little details that really make Eorzea/Hydaelyn come to life which are lost if you rush through things.

[Braxton92]

Thanks!!!

I look forward in adventuring through the world. I'm new to final fantasy, I hope that won't be an issue. I was on another MMO that is just slowly dying.... and I saw this in Steam and thought it would be fun to try.

[Jeannes]

I suggest joining a good fc, they'll guide you.

[AskaRay]

Thanks!!!

I look forward in adventuring through the world. I'm new to final fantasy, I hope that won't be an issue. I was on another MMO that is just slowly dying.... and I saw this in Steam and thought it would be fun to try.

Being new to FF won't hinder you. None of the main title FF games are connected (besides X-2 and XIII-2, since they are direct sequels) except for references here and there, which obviously aren't vital to understanding Eorzea or FFXIV at all.

Have fun

[Enkidoh]

Having said that though, FFXIV is one big deliberate fanservice reference to every FF game that has come before it, so a lot of the references and in-jokes would be missed if you haven't played a FF game before. The FF Wiki is a good place to start if you're interested in finding out more about the 13 games that came before FFXIV (and all the spinoffs, prequels, sequels and tie-ins too).

[Munsu_]

Hello all! I am a new player as well so I would like to ask something

I am playing a gladiator and I was advised to stick only to the main quest story and fate events,and save the other quests for the the next classes, my current lvl is 21.. I like the game so far and I am taking my time to enjoy it, but since this is my first character what should I do? I plan to take the miner, armorer and blacksmith jobs. And also to unlock the paladin later.

I mean since this my first character, should I go straight to lvl 60 as a gladiator for the exp bonus? or is it more beneficial to lvl up the other jobs along the way or to a certain point first? like getting some cross-class skills.
what else should I do?

[Malicewolf]

Hello all! I am a new player as well so I would like to ask something

I am playing a gladiator and I was advised to stick only to the main quest story and fate events,and save the other quests for the the next classes, my current lvl is 21.. I like the game so far and I am taking my time to enjoy it, but since this is my first character what should I do? I plan to take the miner, armorer and blacksmith jobs. And also to unlock the paladin later.

I mean since this my first character, should I go straight to lvl 60 as a gladiator for the exp bonus? or is it more beneficial to lvl up the other jobs along the way or to a certain point first? like getting some cross-class skills.
what else should I do?

Welcome to the game Braxton and Munsu! Hopefully you both enjoy your time here! ^^
To Braxton, my advice is simply to not be too shy. Find a group to play with that you like (likely an FC or maybe a LS) and things will go much more smoothly. You can solo play for a while and still be entertained, but I find the social aspect to be what keeps me here.

Munsu - I wouldn't necessarily take that advice. Yes, you can do that, it will indeed help out your next build, but by no means is it necessary. There are many other ways to level, the biggest being fate grinding, which they told you to do with your current main. It will be just as effective for your next class as it was your first. Me personally, I did every quest that was in area with my 1st character. This helped me be above the necessary levels when entering main story quests, which helped. But I also lost track of my main scenario quest at level 28... and didn't find it again until level 44... sooo, let that be an idea of how many quests there are... (hint, it's a lot).

The 3 crafting/gathering classes you picked are good one's for a gladiator honestly and if you keep your levels on par with your main, they should be able to provide you with some good gear as you level. But unfortunately, as you get higher, you require more and more cross materials. So you'll need to choose if you want to take the hit money wise to buy them on market boards or if you'd rather pick up more to do it yourself.

As for your battle class, you will have to get a conjurer up to level 15 in order to become a Paladin. So you will at least have to do that. The BEST cross class imo for a PLD is stoneskin. But unfortunately, this is a level 34 conjurer skill, which means you'd have to level pretty high on that other class. It is by no means necessary (i didn't get mine until after i hit lvl 50), but after getting it, you will love it. You can also pick up protect and cure from this class. Cure will help you for solo play at a low level (below lvl 30). After that, it becomes very underwhelming. You usually take more dmg than you're healing in the time frame.
A PLD's other cross class is Marauder. You can pick up most of the cross class skills you'll need for this pretty early. Foresight is great (any damage mitigation is good), bloodbath is decent, but not as effective as gladiator/paladin's don't have much AoE attacks (which is what makes bloodbath good). In fact, it doesn't get an AoE attack until lvl 50. mecry stroke is fair, but higher level to get from a marauder. I personally leveled up my PLD to 60 before really focusing on another battle class, but many like to do multiple at the same time, especially if they use the same gear (so they don't have to buy it again later). Really up to personal play style. I prefer to be a master at 1 (at a time) then a jack of all trades who's only ok at many.

[Munsu_]

aha! thanks a lot Malicewolf! that was helpful, one last thing how often is it good to upgrade gear while leveling? or should I just keep getting gear from quests