New Player - Best Leveling Strategy?

[Swiftly]

New player here. I am thinking I would like to main Bard, Monk, Ninja if that is possible? I am just curious if that is something that would be recommended? Or should I level a tank type and healer type?

If so, what is the best leveling strategy. Should I work all of them up at the same time switching between jobs etc or should I get one to 50 or so before focusing on the others.

My thought is to level:

Pugilist 15
Lancer 15
Archer 15
Rogue 15

And then take Pugilist, Archer, and Rogue to 30. But I am just not sure that is the best strategy.

Thanks in advance.

[HiroKirito]

Hey there ^^

So imo it\\\\'s very difficult to "main" more than one job, that\\\\'s kind of the point in a main, it\\\\'s singular. Problems you\\\\'ll encounter especially as they are all DD jobs are things such as constant long queue times for duties (DD has the longest wait as there are just more DD in game). At end game the top tier gear is limited in terms of weekly currency caps and drop rates, a full set would take well over a month probably closer to 2 months by the time you\\\\'ve done that for all 3 jobs the next patch would already be out, you\\\\'d just constantly be playing catch up. Also learning rotations and how to be effective as your job won\\\\'t be easy if you\\\\'re trying to play 3 jobs instead of one.

[HiroKirito]

By all means level multiple jobs, cross class abilities are important and it's fun mixing it up. I would recommend leveling both a tank and healer, first of all you'll better understand the roles your teammates play even if you just DD most of the time, but also you'll have the flexibility for duties, long queues for DD then go as your tank or healer, need to complete a certain duty or want to help friends but all DD party slots are taken, then you have the flexibility to switch roles.

Try them all out, level them for the cross class abilities and see which one you enjoy and are most effective as, but realistically you'll only have one "main" when you reach endgame, as said before the gear investment and also you don't want to become a Jack of all trades but a master of none, as you may struggle at end game.

Hope this helps

PS. End game is the best part of this game imo so getting there asap was my objective when I started and what I'd recommend.

[Swiftly]

Hmm I see... Well of those 3 which is more needed in groups etc, for shorter Que times?

[HiroKirito]

Damage dealers are grouped as one so you queue won't be shorter for one DD over another. Tanks are usually in demand for duties.

If you're set on DD they all have thier own strengths and weaknesses. Just try the out and see which one suits you most.

[Urthdigger]

While it is certainly possible to main all three of those, I wouldn't really call it effective. You can generally swap out any one DPS for another without affecting much, so having multiple different mains of the same role doesn't increase your versatility by squat. It just means you have a little more choice in how to play. Ideally, having a DPS, a tank, and a healer as mains is nice, as you can join any party (Minus very particular ones that want exacting setups)

As far as leveling strategy goes, I feel you should start off with ONE main job. Healers and tanks get better queue times for the duty finder, but you can certainly do this with a DPS as well. When you hit level 30, level up whatever sub class you need to 15 in order to unlock your job quest, and you may wish to do a little research into what cross-class abilities are considered vital for your job and level up other classes to get those as well. Other than that, press onward to 60 with your chosen job. The reason for this is to unlock more things to do. Glamours, events, travel options, gilmaking opportunities, having a level 60 class opens up a lot of doors for you that will make leveling subsequent things easier.

Now, that said, once you decide to level up other things, it generally doesn't matter if you level them up to 60 one by one, or level them up at the same time, with a few minor exceptions. The first is if you level two classes that are in the same category: Fending (Gladiator, Marauder, Dark Knight), Healing (Conjurer, Scholar, Astrologian) Casting (Thaumaturge, Arcanist), or Aiming (Archer, Machinist). These classes share almost all their gear, minus their weapon and certain job-specific armor sets. Leveling these up at the same time means you can share gear between them, potentially lessening the cost to level. The other reason to level things up in tandem is if you're also leveling gathering and crafting classes: Outside of a few hiccups early on, generally the system is designed such that a level 20 gatherer and level 20 combat class can get materials that a level 20 crafter can use to make level 20 gear. Be warned though, making all your own stuff can be time consuming!

[Swiftly]

I actually enjoy tanking...but in almost all games I have played the tanks seem to be the party leaders, and I don't think I would feel confident leading dungeons I have never been in. So I thought I might start with DPS to get the lay of the land so to speak before diving into tanking...

[Urthdigger]

I actually enjoy tanking...but in almost all games I have played the tanks seem to be the party leaders, and I don't think I would feel confident leading dungeons I have never been in. So I thought I might start with DPS to get the lay of the land so to speak before diving into tanking...

I wouldn't worry about it. Just tell the party that you're new to the dungeon, and most will be happy to let you know about mechanics and where to go

[Frizze]

And one specific fact that no one else highlighted. Leveling a 2nd(3rd, etc) class is quicker then leveling a first, because you get an exp bonus for having a higher level class. So pushing one class ahead a little ways usually ends up speeding up the process as a whole(for the bonus exp and all the bonus leveling options that Urth hints at).

As for tanking in a dungeon you dont know... dont worry about it. If you feel self conscious, just tell the group youre new up front. The people who dont want to deal with a new player will leave(good riddance), the rest will cut you plenty of slack(and maybe offer tips and pointers). Most of the dungeons are laid out in a fairly straightforward way, so getting lost isnt typically an issue. And every major patch new dungeons are added, so every few months every tank(and healer and DPS) is put back into the situation of running a few dungeons they dont already know. So essentially, we're all used to it happening from time to time. But if you want to try something different first, by all means have fun with it.

[Niwashi]

I am thinking I would like to main Bard, Monk, Ninja if that is possible? I am just curious if that is something that would be recommended? Or should I level a tank type and healer type?

You should level whichever you're interested in playing. Don't choose jobs based on what other people say is "useful". They're all useful. Choose based on which you think you'll enjoy the most. Those will generally be the ones you're best at. (Of course it doesn't hurt to try out others as well. Who knows, maybe you'll find you enjoy one you hadn't really considered. That would be the biggest advantage to branching out to tank and healer roles as well. Familiarizing yourself with what your teammates are dealing with is a secondary advantage of further diversification.)

Oh, and I wouldn't worry too much about which has faster or slower dungeon queues. Yes, it's true that with damage dealers you might have to wait a few minutes to get a team together, whereas with a tank you wouldn't. But it's not long enough to really matter, and certainly not something anyone should be choosing their main job for.

Until you reach endgame in all the jobs that you're interested in leveling, I wouldn't even bother considering what constitutes a "main" and what doesn't. Just level everything that interests you. Whatever you enjoy most at the moment is your "main" for the moment, but expect that to change around occasionally. By the time you're at endgame, whether you have one main or several depends on whether you have one favorite by then or several.

Should I work all of them up at the same time switching between jobs etc or should I get one to 50 or so before focusing on the others.

Having one reach 50 will unlock access to glamour so you can equip whichever of your gear has the best stats but make it look like gear you like aesthetically. And it's one of the requirements for getting personal housing. Nothing else that it unlocks is relevant when going back to level lower classes/jobs, so it's not really worth pushing one ahead of the others unless you're just really in a hurry to get access to glamour.

My thought is to level:

Pugilist 15
Lancer 15
Archer 15
Rogue 15

And then take Pugilist, Archer, and Rogue to 30. But I am just not sure that is the best strategy.

That's pretty much a good plan, except that you might want to take one or two of them a little above 15 to reach some of the feature unlocks in the Main Scenario. Access to retainers (NPC assistants who give you access to extra storage and selling stuff on the Market Boards) comes from a level 17 Main Scenario Quest. Joining a Grand Company (giving access to a chocobo and other mounts, and to collecting another type of currency -Grand Company seals-) comes from a level 20 Main Scenario Quest. So I'd focus on getting your Main Scenario progress up to 20 before going back and leveling other classes.

Once you've progressed far enough in the storyline to join one of the three Grand Companies, then go back and get the other classes you're interested in up to 15, and then your mains to 30 for their job unlocks.

Other than that, press onward to 60 with your chosen job. The reason for this is to unlock more things to do. Glamours, events, travel options, gilmaking opportunities, having a level 60 class opens up a lot of doors for you that will make leveling subsequent things easier.

Most of that opens up by 20, except for glamour at level 50. But for the most part, getting to 50 unlocks a ton of level 50 content and getting to 60 unlocks a ton of level 60 content, but since you won't be doing level 50 or 60 content while going back to level your lower classes, it doesn't really pertain to whether that branching out to other classes should be before or after hitting either of those milestones.

And one specific fact that no one else highlighted. Leveling a 2nd(3rd, etc) class is quicker then leveling a first, because you get an exp bonus for having a higher level class. So pushing one class ahead a little ways usually ends up speeding up the process as a whole(for the bonus exp and all the bonus leveling options that Urth hints at).

That happens regardless of whether you push one class a little ahead or not. The only difference in it if you're alternating a few at similar levels is that you might periodically swap out which one is your highest and which ones aren't. But there will always be exactly one that gets normal experience and all others getting the bonus.

(If, however, you find you enjoy one class more than the others, it's worth keeping that one ahead, so the ones you don't care for as much level faster and you spend more time leveling the one you most enjoy. That's only relevant, though, once you've played each enough to know which you enjoy the most.)