Concentrate on one Job first or diversify?

[Jaik]

Hi there

Currently my character is a conjurer - level 26. I'm doing the main story quests, class quests and hunting log. I have not opened up any other classes at all but once I hit 30 I will go and open up Arcanist to level 15 so I can continue as White Mage.

Is it going to be better for me to concentrate soley at first on getting my character as White Mage through the main story quests to 50 - then 60 before dropping into other classes and jobs?

I'd like to break into crafting but I know that is going to be a major money sink at first and at the moment I just don't have that money.

So basically, am I doing the right thing by giving full focus to just one job to complete the main story or should I diversify at some point to get extra abilities?

[Echoloc]

Do what you feel is fun and the best use of your playtime.

You will need more than arcanist to 15 to really kit out a White Mage. For example, Swiftcast is highly useful for all of the mages.

[Frizze]

This is entirely up to personal preference. If youre enjoying conj/whm and want to blaze through the story feel free. We play to have fun, so do what feels right. The extra abilities you get do make you stronger and better equipped to handle everything though. For instance, at some point pretty much all healers do end up taking a 26 level run through thaumaturge because the cross class skills that nets you are super useful(the arcanist ones arent that bad either). Surecast(next spell cant be interupted by being hit) is actually more useful for you then it is for them, and Swiftcast(next spell has no cast time) is an absolute life saver. At level 28 or so you get a trait that lets you cast raise during a fight, and being able to do so instantly(once per min) can be the difference between a close call and a party wipe. It gets more helpful the higher you are, as more and more fights will try not to let you sit still long enough to get a raise off. For parties that arent having trouble, you can be creative and weave it into your abilities in other ways(swift+stoneskin to take the edge off the bosses big attack you know is coming for instance). Some people put the cross class skills off until closer to 50 or later, others do it as soon as they think itll be useful. Thats your call to make, though you will end up using it a lot as soon as you have it. You also may enjoy burning things for awhile after healing them for so long.

And to clarify one point on crafting. Starting out isnt a money sink unless you make it one. All or almost all crafting mats up to around level 15 can be purchased fairly cheaply off vendors in the towns if you look around for them. And typically, the ingredients you use to make things are gotten at or below the level you use them, to make items roughly the same level. So for instance, around level 15 a blacksmith starts to need iron to make weapons and tools. At around level 12 miners can start getting iron ore out in the field. And the weapons that the blacksmith makes from them will be about level 15, and can be put to use(possibly getting more materials). Early crafting becomes a money sink if you end up buying all your mats from other players(instead of getting some on your own) or if you try to power-level large ranges(buying finished leve turn ins from other crafters for instance). Basically its either a money sink(buy everything, go fast) or a time sink(get some/most yourself, go more slowly), so dont feel you have to wait just because you arent rich. When youre ready(or just want a break from leveling), dip a toe and see if you like it.

[Anova]

It's really up to you which classes you want to level and when.

That said, I would recommend you start your gathering and crafting classes together, and after around lv.20, when you get your chocobo. The ability to quickly travel to gathering nodes is just too useful to pass up and it will save you a ton of money to gather mats yourself. You should also have access to retainers at that point, giving you extra storage space to store your crafting mats and allowing you to regain that money by selling on the marketboard or using ventures to get more mats.

You can also level your gathering/crafting classes at the same time as you level other dps classes. Healers and Tanks generally have very low queue times in DF, so there's less time to gather or craft while you're waiting. DPS on the other hand, may have up to 30 minute queue times, which makes gather/craft ideal for those times you are just waiting to enter a dungeon.

Also, if you want to level a cross-class, I would recommend THM to 26 first as a healer. Swiftcast is one of the most impactful spells you can get to prevent a wipe. If the tank dies, you can bring them back up in 2 seconds instead of 12 (including animation time for ress). That could be the difference between no dead dps and everybody dead.

[Zari]

What i would suggest doing is, either after getting WHM at 30, or after you first hit 50 and complete the original 2.0 story (before 2.1-2.55), look up what cross class skills you want (such as eye for an eye and SWIFTCAST especially) and level the necessary classes up to the point you get those skills

[Sida]

You can also take the slow take on the crafting and gathering which is not much money sink at all. As already stated the early levels are not costly if you only buy from npc vendor or, cheaper yet, though time consuming, also level the gathering classes the same time, and use those spoils to level crafting. The slow take I mean is to just craft and gather enough to make the Grand Company turn ins each day. They take one item for every crafting and gathering class. (When you make the turn in you don't need to change to respective classes either, you get automatically experience that goes to specific class). If you make the daily return in HQ items, you get even double reward, experience included. Keep doing that on the "background" and it won't end up much costly at all, and still gives you decent progress.

[Jaik]

Thanks for all the advice, I have a hell of a long way to go with my character!

FFXIV is great in the fact that one character can do it all but that also makes it very, very confusing when starting out.

[Maero]

Well you will eventually want to level thaumaturge to get swiftcast for a cross class ability, otherwise just take your time and enjoy the game.
You could also level up gathering classes and sell shards and stuff which could sustain you to get enough gil to get started into crafting

[ChameleonMS]

I took the do everything together approach. I kept all classes with 10 levels of each others. This did significantly slow me down from reaching the end game but when I finally reached it, I was completely versatile.
What I recommend, level your main class to 50 and supporting classes for cross class skills.

CNJ/WHM to 50
THM/BLM to 26 - Swiftcast
ACN to 34 - Eye for An Eye

Leave crafting until later. The reason for this is, as a healer your gear requirements to be effective are the lowest of any party. The game gives you gear for free as you progress through the Main Story Quest (MSQ).

[Niwashi]

You're about at the point (level 28) where Conjurer gets the trait to allow casting Raise while in-combat. From that point on, you're really going to want the ability to pair it with Swiftcast, so getting Thaumaturge up to 26 will be important. Somewhere between reaching 30 and doing the level 32 dungeon you're going to want to unlock your job, so you'll also need Arcanist up to at least 15. That would leave Eye for an Eye (at Arcanist level 34) as your only remaining cross-class to get. It's quite a bit more leveling just for one skill, and though quite a useful one, it's not as essential as Swiftcast is, so could be put off for a bit if you want to get back to focusing on your White Mage job directly. Perhaps aim for getting ACN the rest of the way to 34 by around the time your WHM hits 50. It's good to have your full suite of skills available for some of the level 50 dungeons.

If you're interested in getting into the crafting / gathering part of the game, it's a good idea to at least unlock those classes early on. One of the really good ways to get DoH/DoL experience (as well as a steady supply of GC seals) is by turning in crafted/gathered items to your Grand Company, but that opportunity is only offered for one item per day per class, so isn't something you can focus on and grind your way through. (There are of course grindable ways of leveling, but they tend to take more effort per XP.) The GC turn ins are better suited to spending a little time each day on that, while the bulk of your day is (usually, unless you're not on for long) spent on other things.

As to crafting being a money sink, it can be if you let it, but if you combine it with gathering classes as well, you can choose when ingredients are cheap enough to just buy and when they're expensive enough you'd rather just go get them yourself. It's either a money sink or a time sink (or most often a compromise with a little of each) but you get to choose whether money or time is more affordable at the moment. And if you spend a little extra time to gather or make stuff to sell, it can provide an income stream while you're leveling it.

As for whether to branch out further, picking up some DoW classes, it can give you some versatility, for instance if you have friends who want to run something but need a tank rather than a healer. It can give you some insight into how other classes and roles function, which might help you coordinate with your teammates more effectively. And it can give you some extra variety if you get bored with doing the same job all the time. But none of these are really direct benefits on how your White Mage is, if you're confident that's really going to be your primary job. It's probably more common for players to fully advance their primary job (along with enough of its supporting classes to get cross-class skills) all the way to endgame before branching out to unrelated jobs. The people who branch out earlier tend to either be still trying to decide which job they like the best, or they're simply more interested in the variety than they are in reaching endgame.