Level 30.

[Tarryme]

What is it in your opinion is it that makes the game better when you reach level 30+?
I can see the game is very well crafted but at these early levels can be a little tedious.

On you tube and in articles we are told to stick with it, the game only starts to open up at 30+, but none of them tell us what changes from what we are experiencing at early levels.

Time to shine guys.

[ItMe]

I think people just reference level 30 because that's when you get your job stone.

[Tarryme]

A hour after this post the game started to open up for me. I got some new interesting spells to use. I bought some gear from the trade post and witnessed something cool. The plaza became full of vets all in standing in different poses. Very cool. I have a hunch I am going to enjoy this game.

[Frizze]

There isnt one magical level when the game changes, because the changes people are thinking of arent always the same. As a thaumaturge you started out in Ul Dah. Some people think the game gets better when the story sends you to the other 2 starting cities and you suddenly have a lot more to explore. Some people are thinking of the first set of dungeons as a turning point(or they might have one dungeon in particular that they like and point to). For some people its the first trial. For some its a story related beat(there are several great ones). For others its based on when they start getting more moves and combat becomes more complex. There are some who are thinking of the expansions. Some people are thinking of a side piece of content they love(Hildi! Gold Saucer! Glam and Gpose!). The game is deep enough to support many answers to this question.

[Tarryme]

I can see why so many people stick with the game. It might have a bit of a slow start but boy does this game have charm, by the bucket loads.

[Kemiko]

Back in ARR, LV30 was the mid-game tier. When you unlocked your job stones, when you were encouraged to acquire from cross-class skills and when you were on the cusp of obtaining your first side-content dungeons and when fantastic gear became available as dungeon drops (such as the battlemage set - when it would be good to carry you for at least 10 levels unlike other gear at the time). The story in MSQ was beginning to take its turn as you were creeping on the Titan fight and get walloped by amazing latency (Landslide) and a Landslide was a permadeath because you can't be rezzed from pitfalls in ARR (I dunno if that's still the case nowadays though). Back in ARR (the 2.0 era) you had 80 levels of skills crammed into 50 levels and "role skills" were cross-class skills that you weren't freely given, but had to "multi-class" in order to have. Most Warriors back then didn't even have Provoke since that required leveling PLD to, iirc, 34 (correct me if I'm wrong on the exact level) unless they were running Coils or Ultima's Ballad (since that has a tank swap mechanic).

The LV30 of ARR is about LV60 nowadays, as you enter Stormblood.

[Jeeqbit]

Up until the level 15 quests, the story is different depending on your starting city. Your starting city depends on your class. The fact the story can be different limits what they can do with the story overall up until then.

Up until the level 30 quests, you are being introduced to the characters and it's only around then that you are finally starting to become a notable adventurer that is raising eyebrows.

At level 30, you can upgrade from your class into your job through doing your class quests. This gives you more interesting abilities that really build upon the foundation that is the class.

Your class turns into a Black Mage. Its rotation is surprisingly fun even at most levels, but it gets really complicated yet fun at level 60.

The challenge for a Black Mage is they have to find a way to do mechanics without moving (such as by teleporting, or using up their swift casts). Why? Because moving interrupts your casts and interrupting your casts means you do no damage.

How do you avoid the orange circle under you without interrupting your cast? That's what you have to figure out. The second time you do a fight you might position yourself differently so that the mechanics won't require any movement. This is what is primarily on the mind of a Black Mage - planning how to reduce movement.

[Tarryme]

I am now lvl 20 with my new character and have been sent of to the other two city's with a message from the admiral. I'm a bit confused as to what I'm suppose to do now. I think I'm to high a level to do the quests in the other city's and can't seem to go anywhere else.

[Seera1024]

When it doubt, just follow the MSQ.

Side stories are best used when you need a break from the MSQ or are leveling up another class.

[Enkidoh]

Welcome to Eorzea!

You're up to the part in the story where you travel outside your starting city to the other two citystates as part of the storyline, with Limsa Lominsa your first destination. You should have been given your airship pass so you are required to travel by airship as a part of this, thus head to the Airship Dock which can be found in the Hustings Strip, and then just follow it from there! (airship travel between the three cities and travel on the ferry between Limsa and Vesper Bay is then unlocked after that)

Also your level is fine - the point in the game you're up to is around level 15-17 so you're not too overlevelled (and as you have your very first instance dungeon coming up being a higher level can help out in that regard). Either way, good luck!