Can someone explain party play and leveling efficiency?

[darkm0d]

So, returning after about a year break. I still have a ton of questions and have been trying to get back in the groove of things, but I wanted clarification on some key topics.

Party dynamics: How have these changed, if at all. I hate the fact that everyone seems to indicate you solo till ~35. Can you duo? Is that all there is to do till 35? Just Leve's and -- Cant remember the name (every 30-min defense at outposts).

While I won't scream bloody murder, I do wish you were thrust into a party-composition environment a bit sooner than 35. I'm 34, so not a gigantic issue, but I don't feel a lot of people feel drawn into the game until they experience the joys of partying, so it's a bit disheartening to learn that not much was seemingly done to remedy that yet.

Also, could someone explain the intricacies of CONJ vs WHM? I heard CONJ is better when solo, WHM when in a party? How do parties work now, any different? Is it still "Pull a bunch of instant linking mobs via chocobo, run back and AOE all the things!". call me old fashioned, but I really like the one mob per pull days of FFXI, I remember parties were just starting to get popular for me to get invited before I stopped playing and I found them a bit of a turn off.

So, there are proper tanks now then? Paladins tank in XP parties? Is the search system worth anything yet? Or do people just shout and you just hope you're in Ul'dah at the time?

And finally, for optimal levels, do you just spam leves? Is it counter productive to duo from 10~35? Any tips and tricks I should know?

-- Thanks! I know it's a lot to answer but hopefully someone has the time.

[AquaRyu]

Welcome back ^.^/

You can start to 8-party near level 20, on crabs close of Bloodshores.
(and maybe earlier in Shapshae)
I remember fighting on humans-like in Cassiopeia allow.
And near level 30, the famous acarus (maybe not same in english as french).

Yes, it's still choco-pull bunch of mobs

I don't think ppl uses the search system :/
Still /sh in Ul'dah

Yes there is Pld in parties, but, there was Gla/Pld before too

[Hachi-Roku]

So, returning after about a year break. I still have a ton of questions and have been trying to get back in the groove of things, but I wanted clarification on some key topics.

Party dynamics: How have these changed, if at all. I hate the fact that everyone seems to indicate you solo till ~35. Can you duo? Is that all there is to do till 35? Just Leve's and -- Cant remember the name (every 30-min defense at outposts).

While I won't scream bloody murder, I do wish you were thrust into a party-composition environment a bit sooner than 35. I'm 34, so not a gigantic issue, but I don't feel a lot of people feel drawn into the game until they experience the joys of partying, so it's a bit disheartening to learn that not much was seemingly done to remedy that yet.

Also, could someone explain the intricacies of CONJ vs WHM? I heard CONJ is better when solo, WHM when in a party? How do parties work now, any different? Is it still "Pull a bunch of instant linking mobs via chocobo, run back and AOE all the things!". call me old fashioned, but I really like the one mob per pull days of FFXI, I remember parties were just starting to get popular for me to get invited before I stopped playing and I found them a bit of a turn off.

So, there are proper tanks now then? Paladins tank in XP parties? Is the search system worth anything yet? Or do people just shout and you just hope you're in Ul'dah at the time?

And finally, for optimal levels, do you just spam leves? Is it counter productive to duo from 10~35? Any tips and tricks I should know?

-- Thanks! I know it's a lot to answer but hopefully someone has the time.

I start partying at 15- with the right camps, a group goes by way quicker.

WHM is better than regular CNJ pretty much all the way due to Regen. Until you have Regen, though, they're pretty much the same.

For XP parties that aren't strongholds, any melee can tank so long as you're not fighting 3+ links. Still, even on larger amounts of links, most melee can off-tank one mob while also focusing on a burn target. If you have a THM in the party at any level, you'll be plowing through mobs at an insane rate. A 'tank' per se isn't strictly needed but it does ease the healer's responsibilities.

I haven't found the search system to be worth much. Ul'dah is still a good place to idle, as well as around primal entry zones due to groups losing 1 player who doesn't have a rep.

Leves are never a bad idea when solo because the mobs are squishy and you should always adjust their level so that you can get XP chain bonuses. Doing leves early on is fine, but the best time to do them, I have found, is in the 30-40 range, specifically 35-41. At this point, good camps are harder to come by, and the XP bonus from completing a leve just keeps getting better and better due to scaling rewards. I recommend duoing leves at that level range, and trying to get in a party for everywhere else- though this is simply an 'optimal' recommendation. Do whichever you have time for.

[Sephrick]

And near level 30, the famous acarus (maybe not same in english as french).

At Nophicas Wells? They're mites in English.

[AquaRyu]

Yes Mites! That's it, I should have know X.x

[Merylstryfe]

Honestly, setting a looking for group flag will help you get a party. While most people form in uldah, to fill the last couple of spots most people will use the search feature. Just don't expect it to magically make a party for you if you want to make the party.

[Alhanelem]

How have these changed, if at all. I hate the fact that everyone seems to indicate you solo till ~35. Can you duo? Is that all there is to do till 35?

You can party with as many people you want as any level you want and it will work just fine. But soloing the early levels is easy enough that people don't often bother looking. You can solo all the way to 50 if you want. This game doesn't force grouping on anyone.

At level 35 Thousand Maws of Toto-Rak becomes available; most people just farm it for seals at lv50 but if you want a fun challenge you can do it at the level for which it was designed. There's also the low-level caravan escort and the main scenario, and the first Job quests are available at level 30.

call me old fashioned, but I really like the one mob per pull days of FFXI,

Don't know how anyone could like this. It was an excruciatingly slow and tedious method. Even at the time i didn't like it that much. It was the quests, story and endgame events that kept me playing, not the leveling experience.

[darkm0d]

.
Don't know how anyone could like this. It was an excruciatingly slow and tedious method. Even at the time i didn't like it that much. It was the quests, story and endgame events that kept me playing, not the leveling experience.

Just a weird thing I really did enjoy. It just set almost every enemy to be it's own boss. I agree it could get very dreary later on, but sometimes I just liked how specific and finite it was. One enemy per pull, one at a time. I liked concentrating my debuffs on one mob, etc.

I will main WHM, no question, I am interested in BLM though as well. Are they viable end-game? They were rarely sought after in XI for parties but everyone loved a capped BLM for dynamis :P

Also thanks to everyone for the replies

[Answa]

Just a weird thing I really did enjoy. It just set almost every enemy to be it's own boss. I agree it could get very dreary later on, but sometimes I just liked how specific and finite it was. One enemy per pull, one at a time. I liked concentrating my debuffs on one mob, etc.

I will main WHM, no question, I am interested in BLM though as well. Are they viable end-game? They were rarely sought after in XI for parties but everyone loved a capped BLM for dynamis :P

Also thanks to everyone for the replies

I think the only two jobs that aren't actively looked for in endgame are MNK and DRG and even still they get invites. WHMs are a necessity. BLMs are highly sought-after.

[Alhanelem]

Just a weird thing I really did enjoy. It just set almost every enemy to be it's own boss. I agree it could get very dreary later on, but sometimes I just liked how specific and finite it was. One enemy per pull, one at a time. I liked concentrating my debuffs on one mob, etc.

I will main WHM, no question, I am interested in BLM though as well. Are they viable end-game? They were rarely sought after in XI for parties but everyone loved a capped BLM for dynamis :P

Also thanks to everyone for the replies

Don't feel like you can't solo on CNJ/WHM. Because PvP is planned to be a larger part of this game after 2.0 launch and because they didn't want to punish people playing a support class with inability to solo, CNJ/WHM is more than capable of defending itself.