Starting Point?

[Breidr]

So here I am. I just grabbed the game because I have a few friends that play and they kind of sold me on it. They had me at one character can do every class/job, no need to reroll.

I do, however, feel a bit overwhelmed. I have a somewhat strained relationship with Actionbar based MMOs. I tend to have a hard time with all my keybinds come endgame. I feel comfortable with around 12, and have been able to manage up to 24, but it starts to get really difficult at the upper end. Even with my mouse and keypad I find I am only able to do so much.

In regards to what I want to do, I'm mainly just here to see the story, and hang out with my friends and do some duties. They've pretty much said I can play whatever I want, there's room for anything.

I'm still having a tough time wrapping my head around classes in this game though. I just feel like I'm being crushed under the weight of new information, and can't even really figure out where to start.

[Niwashi]

There is a lot to learn about the game (well, that much is true for most games, I guess), but it tries to introduce everything gradually, so it's really not too bad. Start at the beginning and the first few quests you get will explain some of the basics. Along with showing you around and beginning the story, they'll direct you to the guild hall for your starting class.

The two main quest lines to keep up with are the Main Scenario (ones with a flaming circle around the quest icon), and your class/job quests. (Actually, that second will be multiple quest lines once you unlock multiple classes, as there are quests every five levels for each of them.) Those two (especially the Main Scenario) will introduce everything else. Take features one by one as they're introduced, and it's not nearly as overwhelming as if someone tries to explain all of them to you.

Regarding multiple classes, though, you'll first have to get your first one up to level 10 and complete the level 10 quest from your class's guild. That will unlock the ability to play multiple classes. Then you can go around to other class guildhalls to unlock each of the other classes you're interested in. Once a class is unlocked, you switch to it simply by equipping that class's weapon or tool. And your level is per-class, with each one needing to be leveled up separately.


I can't offer any suggestions regarding keybinds for keyboard/mouse players, since I play by controller instead.

[Frizze]

At its most basic level, there are 3 types of classes. Healers(3 flavors), tanks(3 flavors), and DPS(7 flavors). There are differences in the flavors(bard doesnt hit as hard as monk but offers more party utility, scholar blocks more damage from happening while white mage heals harder), but for almost all content in the game they are basically interchangeable. The person playing paying attention to whats going on and understanding their class means a lot more then the differences between the versions in all the "reasonable" content. So if you have a type that you like to play then just go for it and you'll be fine. Alternatively, play 1 of each(tank, healer, DPS) up to level 15. At 15 a series of training missions open up(hall of the novice) to give you a feel for how group situations may go with each role(so again: 1 for healer, 1 for tank and 1 for DPS). You can try those out and see if something feels right. Or you can ask more questions and someone here might be able to point you in the right direction. Each class does play a little differently at end game(even though both are melee-based DPS classes a ninja and a dragoon dont really feel all that similar), though they all start out pretty close to the same and gradually branch out as they get bigger.

Hope some of that helps. Keep asking questions and trying new things and youre sure to find your way.

[Breidr]

For a beginner wanting to try tanking at later levels, I see a lot of players recommending Gladiator and Paladin. Should I learn both Gladiator and Conjourer and move to Paladin, or just train up Gladiator and get a warrior job stone?

[Taika]

For a beginner wanting to try tanking at later levels, I see a lot of players recommending Gladiator and Paladin. Should I learn both Gladiator and Conjourer and move to Paladin, or just train up Gladiator and get a warrior job stone?

At level 30, whichever class you're leveling, it's a good idea to move on to the job, since it has its special job abilities and is much more powerful. At least don't enter dungeons or other group content as a class after level 30.

If you're most interested in Warrior, you can just focus on leveling Marauder and then moving to Warrior at level 30. Just make sure to get the important cross-class skills from Paladin for your Warrior (Provoke at 22 is a must, the highest level useful cross-class skill is Awareness at 34). From Pugilist you'll want at least Internal Release (level 12).

The reason many suggest Paladin as your first tanking job is that it's definitely the simplest one. But if you prefer Warrior, there's no reason not to go with it.

[Asheilin]

Gladiator goes to Paladin at 30 with a 15 (34 for stoneskin) Conjurer/white mage and uses Marauder for Mercy Stroke at 26.
Marauder goes to Warrior at 30, with a 15 Gladiator (22 Provoke, 34 Awareness) and Puglist 12 for Internal Release and Mantra at 42.
There is an additional Tank available after you've entered Ishgard in the Expansion Heavensward; called Dark Knight. It uses Marauder and Gladiator cross skills.


As to keybinds; its very personal preference how to set it up but I can list how I do mine as an example of needing keys taking a unique route. I've small hands so this is what I found works for me. Yes it looks like a mess, but if you need alot of bars and keys (which I could REALLY cut back alot on myself ;p) finding ways like this may help.

Bar 1] Keys 1-6, F, R, Shift+R, Alt+ 1-3 (alt 1-3 are on my mouse as well)
Bar 2] Keys Shift+1-6, Shift+F, G, Shift+G, Alt+ 4-6 (alt 4-6 are on my mouse as well)
Bar 3] Keys Alt+ NUMs 1-9 (While this is mostly used for my Mouse's "Shift" stance buttons, I also game Keyboard only a lot since the numpad can be used for targeting etc)
Bar 4] Keys Control+ 1-6 (on mouse, dont really use without because Control is awkward for my hands >.>) Rest are for clickable items which is mostly filled up with buffs/potions/etc
Bars +] I have 7-10 on the side, giving me quick click spots for minions, mounts, gear sets, Teleport/Return, and various other things like Gold Saucer, Challenge Log, Hud Layout, Waymarkers, Signs, etc. Also clickable Status Removal Potions.

[Bebekurenai]

The main difference between paladin and warrior, besides one has sword and shield and the other a big axe, is that paladin is a defensive tank, and warrior is offensive. You will find as a paladin (gladiator) your defense will be huge compared to a warrior (marauder), but things take more to kill. And the oposite goes for warrior. So it depends if you want to outlive things (paladin) or brutally slaughter (warrior). You're on my server I just noticed, hit me up and I'll gladly help you around.

[Anova]

Warrior is generally regarded as the best tank (being universally durable because of high hp, boasting the highest damage, and with self-healing abilities), whereas paladin is a physical tank and dark knight is the magic tank. Warriors have a very high skill cap though, so it's great if you're planning to spend a lot of time tanking. The best warriors have been known to solo extreme trial bosses, something you usually send a party of 8 players (2 tanks, 4 dps, 2 healers) to do.

If you're like me and have a very limited number of keybinds, consider learning to use macros. I wouldn't recommend macro attacks together because the macro actually doesn't handle the 2.5 second global cooldown very well. Instead, use the '/chotbar change #' macro command to change your hotbar to one of 8 possible hotbars. Your keybinds remain the same, but you have allocated different skills to them. The game's meta lends itself very easily to this type of macro use.

For example: I want to press 1, 2, and 3 to attack with my aggro-generating combo on one hotbar, and the same 1, 2, 3 for a damage generating combo on a 2nd hotbar. The game prevents me from binding the same hotkeys to a different hotbar. So, I use a macro to switch the skills on my first hotbar to my second hotbar. When I switch roles from main tank to off-tank, I just use my macro and am able to use the same keybinds for an entire different purpose.

An Example of a Macro to switch to hotbar 2. The essential macro code is written in bold.

/micon "Blood for Blood"
/ac "Blood for Blood" <me>
/chotbar change 2

An Example of a Macro to switch back to hotbar 1.

/micon "Fight or Flight"
/ac "Fight or Flight" <me>
/chotbar change 1

[Niwashi]

I have a somewhat strained relationship with Actionbar based MMOs. I tend to have a hard time with all my keybinds come endgame. I feel comfortable with around 12, and have been able to manage up to 24, but it starts to get really difficult at the upper end. Even with my mouse and keypad I find I am only able to do so much.

Have you considered going with a controller? I play on PS4, so controller was the most natural way to start playing, but you can connect one to PC as well, and the game has pretty good support for controlling actions that way. You can have 48 combat and 16 out-of combat actions (or other combinations depending on how you set it up) literally at your fingertips, with more available by switching out the cross-hotbars (8 hotbars with a total of 128 actions between them).

With controller for movement and actions, keyboard for chat (and perhaps a few keybinds for rarely used non-combat actions), with just occasional use of your mouse when you want to rearrange windows and such, it can go fairly smooth.

There are only a few actions I find awkward with a controller. They're ones where you have to target a position on the ground as opposed to targeting a character or mob. The mouse would be easier for those. I'm just not sure if it would be enough easier to be worth switching your hand from the controller to the mouse just long enough to do that part.

[Naria]

I use a controller as well (on both my computer and PS4) and find it much easier to use than mouse a KB (since I can move quickly and execute commands at the same time) , but to do ground placed aoes I use a macro. i.e.

/micon "Sacred Soil"
/ac "Sacred Soil" <t>
/ac "Sacred Soil"

or

/micon "Shadow Flare"
/ac "Shadow Flare" <t>
/ac "Shadow Flare"

This is an awesome adjustment that was introduced a few patches ago. This macro will place the aoe down centered on whatever you are targeting and if you are not targeting anything the third line will bring up the place icon to put it down manually.