Soloing's a pain, but that's not my concern at the moment...

[kensredemption]

Right now I'm eager to find out how to join a Grand Company. I know you guys have all the perks - Perma-Chocobos and being able to fight Ifrit and all - so what are the pre-requisites? I managed to get up to 20 tonight, so I was wondering just how much further I have to climb up the leveling ladder before I get to the good stuff.

[JokerLAWL]

reach lvl 25 and do all the GC quest by visiting them.

[Kobushi]

the following quests which allow players to pledge their allegiance to a single company, effectively moving them from recruit status into the official company ranks.

Maelstrom Order of the Twin Adder Immortal Flames
Quest Name Till Sea Swallows All Serenity, Purity, Sanctity By Fire Reborn

Class & Level Requirements Disciples of War or Magic, Level 25 or above
Completion of the quest "Ceruleum Shock" (for Malestrom for example)

[Fujimori]

Some classes could be a little hard to solo the GC quests at level 25. I recommend to ask a friend to come with you.

[REDace0]

Some classes could be a little hard to solo the GC quests at level 25. I recommend to ask a friend to come with you.

That's a good point. If I recall correctly, the L22 quest typically involves a fight against 2 or 3 L18 enemies, whereas the L25 fight pits you agains 4 L22 enemies.

[kensredemption]

That's a good point. If I recall correctly, the L22 quest typically involves a fight against 2 or 3 L18 enemies, whereas the L25 fight pits you agains 4 L22 enemies.

I can actually solo the L18's just fine, even with a linked group. My Lancer's pretty much invincible. Occasionally I'll stream my gameplay via Xfire. I'll post a link when I can.

[kensredemption]

So I have another 5 levels...Then that's what I need to make. -Sigh- With the soloing being nerfed as much as it has, it'll take me another week, maybe more to reach 25 since I don't have that much time to play. Anyway, thanks for your replies guys. I appreciate it.

[TunaTime]

solo'ing actually isn't that bad - it's just that they boosted group exp so solo exp looks bad.

I can still make the same exp solo as pre-patch 1.19.

[kensredemption]

-Sigh- Still, I just wish I didn't die as often. Don't get me wrong, I love that there's a huge amount of mobs near the aerthrytes now, but I find I'm somewhat handicapped compared to people who actually get around to power-leveling other players. Kashuan's population is low, to be sure, but regardless it's rather despicable for people to be aloof towards me while I'm huffing it all out on my own. I can only do so much as a Lancer, after all. I can't exactly heal myself or buff myself to take down mobs faster, and now that I'm at Camp Tranquil I find I have to rest more and more often since the levels of the mobs around there aren't very consistent. 18-20 I can handle about 7-8 consecutive mobs if I'm lucky. If it gets to 22 then I have to rest after each one. Kinda sucks, but since my Guardian's Aspect takes forever to resupply I'm at a loss of how to get my levels up even faster.

The upside though is that I'll have something to rub in the faces of those who rode the coattails to 50. Other than that, I got nothing. Ha ha ha.

[Kaijin]

-Sigh- Still, I just wish I didn't die as often. Don't get me wrong, I love that there's a huge amount of mobs near the aerthrytes now, but I find I'm somewhat handicapped compared to people who actually get around to power-leveling other players. Kashuan's population is low, to be sure, but regardless it's rather despicable for people to be aloof towards me while I'm huffing it all out on my own. I can only do so much as a Lancer, after all. I can't exactly heal myself or buff myself to take down mobs faster, and now that I'm at Camp Tranquil I find I have to rest more and more often since the levels of the mobs around there aren't very consistent. 18-20 I can handle about 7-8 consecutive mobs if I'm lucky. If it gets to 22 then I have to rest after each one. Kinda sucks, but since my Guardian's Aspect takes forever to resupply I'm at a loss of how to get my levels up even faster.

The upside though is that I'll have something to rub in the faces of those who rode the coattails to 50. Other than that, I got nothing. Ha ha ha.

I leveled my Lancer to 32 recently, some of it in party and some of it solo. (I did make a point to get cnj to level 4 first just for cure, which only took about 10-15 minutes really). I know it's harder to solo exp, and its definitely less fun. But in my experience, it's actually a lot faster to grind mobs lower level than you than to try and fight mobs your level.

Yeah, you miss out on the chains, and the slightly higher base exp. The upside is that you never rest or risk dieing, both of which will seriously reduce incoming exp. In addition, you might manage to get links occasionally too, (which if I had to choose, I'd choose linking over chaining) and on lancer using doomspike and skewer on lower level mobs can mean oneshotting 2-4 mobs at once.

That all being said, I get bored very quickly solo leveling. Regardless of what level mobs I'm fighting its just not as fun. Nor is it ever as quick, obviously. Was trio-ing with my wife and friend last night, when we came across another party and merged them. Managed to get a full party of ~20ish dudes, we were taking out level 27-29 crabs getting 3-4 links at a time. some of them were giving over 600 exp a kill, although most them were around 350. Either way, I went from 16-20 trioing in about 2 hours of casual grinding, and then 20-23 in about an hour of the 8-man party. And the important part wasn't the speed (I didn't notice my level till it was over) it was just more fun. Trying to a heal a group of people who are fighting mobs 4-9 levels higher than them at that level was "exciting."