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The definitive guide for FFXI jobs.
nekrothing
Member Posts: 302
After reading multiple questions regarding the role of jobs in Final Fantasy XI, along with their popularity among the community in terms of party invitation's, I decided to make a definitive guide to the jobs of Final Fantasy XI. I will include a detailed description of each job categorized by their primary role along with an accurate estimation of how often these jobs get an invitation to a party expressed in the following forms: very low, low, moderate, high and very high based upon level ranges of 1-18, 19-37, 38-60 and 61-75. I will also list the recommended sub job for each job based upon how efficient they are.
Also, my "statistics" for the party invitation rate are based upon my own experiences, along with the experiences of many other people, including those from my linkshell. I would also like to express my gratitude to the people who wrote the guides to which I have linked to throughout my own guide (especially Allakhazam and FFXIclopedia, which had great sources of information), along with the moderator who stickied this topic and the people who are making this guide as descriptive as possible by giving great suggestions, keep them coming!
Added an "end-game scale" and a "mission scale" on a rating system of numbers between 1,2,3 (bad) 4,5,6 (average) 7,8,9,10 (good). The end-game scale rates a job's usefulness in all end-game area's based upon how many roles that certain job can take on in end-game areas (versatility) and effectiveness in the roles the job plays in the end-game areas. The mission-scale rates a job's usefulness during storyline mission's. These scales are based on my sole opinion, as I have finished the entire storyline for each section of the game along with being apart of the end-game scene for multiple years and I thought I might share my opinion on how useful I see each job during these situations.
Added a section on the recommended race for each job. Also, the general rule of thumb for the races in FFXI is that Hume and Mithra (having the most balanced stats) are well-suited for any job, being able to pick up any role and not suffer the burden of substandard natural attributes because of race, but also not having the ability to necessarily excel as well as an Elf or Galka at a melee job or a Tarutaru at a mage job. As previously said, Tarutaru are also best suited for mage and all mage-type roles whereas Elf and Galka are geared more towards tanking/damage dealing roles. I would also like to say that even though some races excel more at certain roles then others, each race has the ability to be as efficient at any job as any other race. I am merely pointing out which races have a natural advantage over another race.
--------------------Melee damage dealers--------------------
**Warrior: The very essence of what a melee damage dealer should be. Capable of wearing heavy armor, able to take damage as well as deal it ten-fold. Warriors are capable of wielding nearly every weapon-type available in-game, specializing in the single-handed sword, the two-handed sword, single-handed axe and two-handed axe. If you're interested in a job that excels in both DPS (Damage-per-second), spike damage (big damage numbers every so often) and being able to tank as a second-handed equivalent to that of a Paladin crossed with a Ninja, then look no further then Warrior. Recommended sub job's for Warrior are /monk for tanking, /ninja for tanking along with damage dealing through DPS from dual wield, /samurai for a substantially greater TP gain over time, and /thief for damage dealing through spike damage.
Recommended race(s) for Warrior: Hume, Galka, Elf, Mithra
Party invitation rate from level 1-18: low, invitation rate from 19-37: moderate, invitation rate from 38-60: moderate, invitation rate from 61-75: high.
End-game scale rating: 9
Mission scale rating: 9
Available armor/weapons for Warrior: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/dyn/items/job4.html
Warrior abilities list: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/spelllist.html?job=warrior
**Monk: Relying on their fists for damage, the Monk makes for a more faster and fierce competitor then the heavy armor wearing, two-handed axe wielding Warrior. The Monk specializes in wearing light armor along with mainly using hand-to-hand weaponry. At first sight, it would look as if Monks were as capable, if not more proficient at tanking then a Warrior, due to their large amounts of health. Unfortunately due to their lack of heavy-armor, Monks do not make for key tanks, although they do have the ability to take the punches as they deal the punches themselves. What Monks lack in tanking though, they more then make up for in their amazing DPS damage, as hand-to-hand weapons have extremely low cool-down times. If you're interested in a job that excels in amazing DPS damage (about the same as Warrior, if not more-so) then look no further then Monk. Recommended sub job's for Monk are /warrior for damage dealing and /ninja for taking the stress off of the healer when you take to much damage from a foe.
Recommended race(s) for Monk: Hume, Galka, Elf, Mithra
Party invitation rate from level 1-18: very low, invitation rate from 19-37: low, invitation rate from 38-60: moderate, invitation rate from 61-75: high.
End-game scale rating: 8
Mission scale rating: 9
Available armor/weapons for Monk: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/dyn/items/job11.html
Monk abilities list: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/spelllist.html?job=monk
**Thief: Thief's, you got to hate them right? Stealing your stuff unbenounced to you, though when their on your side you got to love them. Capable of wearing light armor along with specializing in the dagger and crossbow and also having the ability to increase drop rates of loot from monsters from a special ability of theirs. Although upfront their damage doesn't seem to be anything special, but from the back they'll make you pay with your money, and your life. A Thief's main task is to be the "hate master", controlling hate in a party to make sure your groups opponent is aggressive to the tank, and only the tank. Along with this, Thief's make great pullers, able to get the attention of monsters from a vast distance with their crossbows and able to bring the monster back to their party in a split second with their speed-increasing abilities. Anyone interested in a job that focuses on both stealth damage, ranged damage and helps a party properly handle hate, look no further then Thief. Recommended sub job's are /warrior for increased damage from individual attacks through attack increasing job traits/abilities and /ninja for increased DPS from dual wield, along with increased evasion.
Recommended race(s) for Thief: Tarutaru, Mithra, Hume
Party invitation rate from level 1-18: low, invitation rate from 19-37: moderate, invitation rate from 38-60: very low, invitation rate from 61-75: moderate.
End-game scale rating: 10
Mission scale rating: 6
Available armor/weapons for Thief: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/dyn/items/job10.html
Thief abilities list: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/spelllist.html?job=thief
**Beastmaster: Beastmaster differs from the rest of the melee damage dealing group, for they are more of a solo job. Capable of wearing both light and heavy armor along with specializing in the single-handed axe. Beastmaster may not be the best damage dealer DPS or spike damage-wise, but they put every other job in the dust when it comes to soloing, being very proficient in it by having the ability to both control monsters with an ability called "Charm" and being able to summon monsters with items called "Jugs". Anyone interested in mainly soloing, look no further then Beastmaster. Recommended sub job's are /white mage for when you're soloing, /warrior for spike damage on the off chance you get a party invite and /ninja for DPS through dual wield on the next off chance of getting a party invite.
Recommended race(s) for Beastmaster: Hume, Mithra, Tarutaru, Galka, Elf
Party invitation rate from level 1-18: very low, invitation rate from 19-37: very low, invitation rate from 38-60: low, invitation rate from 61-75: low.
End-game scale rating: 7
Mission scale rating: 7
Available armor/weapons for Beastmaster: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/dyn/items/job8.html
Beastmaster quest: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/quests.html?fquest=97
Beastmaster abilities list: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/spelllist.html?job=bstmstr
**Dark Knight: The quintessential spike-damage role. Specializing in heavy armor, two-handed swords and scythes, Dark Knight is a job to be reckoned with. No other melee damage dealer can compare to the immense spike-damage Dark Knights put out, putting the parsers off the map. Although their spike-damage skills are renowned, their DPS is not, as they do not fare well their DPS skill due to naturally low accuracy and slow cool-down times on primary weapons. Anyone interested in putting out big numbers of damage through spike-damage, look no further then Dark Knight. Recommended sub job's are /warrior for DPS, /samurai for a substantially greater TP gain over time, and /thief for that amazing spike-damage.
Recommended race(s) for Dark Knight: Hume, Galka, Mithra, Elf
Party invitation rate from 1-18: moderate, invitation rate from 19-37: moderate, invitation rate from 38-60: moderate, invitation rate from 61-75: moderate.
End-game scale rating: 7
Mission scale rating: 5
Available armor/weapons for Dark Knight: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/dyn/items/job6.html
Dark Knight quest: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/quests.html?fquest=96
Dark Knight abilities and spell list: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/spelllist.html?job=drkkn
**Samurai: The quintessential DPS job for two-handed weapons. Capable of wearing both light and heavy armor and specializing in bow and arrow and you guessed it, great katana's. Samurai's specialize in spamming spike-damage techniques called "weapon-skills". Although their upfront spike-damage isn't as high as a Dark Knights, it's the bigger picture that matters for a Samurai. Being able to cast off techniques called weapon-skills with other players that turn into skill-chains, being able to have a mage match up the element to the skill-chain to create magic-bursts creating easily over thousands of damage over the course of as little as seven seconds. Anyone looking for a unique damage dealing job, being able to deal a sufficient amount of damage through both melee and ranged weapons, look no further then Samurai. Recommended sub job's are /warrior for good DPS, /thief for good spike damage and /ranger to bring out the best in a Samurai's ranged damage.
Recommended race(s) for Samurai: Hume, Mithra, Elf
Party invitation rate from level 1-18: moderate, invitation rate from 19-37: moderate, invitation rate from 38-60: high, invitation rate from 61-75: high.
End-game scale rating: 9
Mission scale rating: 9
Available armor/weapons for Samurai: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/dyn/items/job13.html
Samurai quest: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/quests.html?fquest=103
Samurai abilities list: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/spelllist.html?job=samurai
**Dragoon: A good damage dealing job that focuses on both DPS and spike damage with two-handed weapons. Capable of wearing light and heavy armor and specializing in polearm weapons and having the ability to summon dragons by their side. Dragoon is a hybrid-type of damage dealer, being able to deal a moderate amount of DPS and spike damage, along with having the ability to properly solo better then most others, being able to better utilize a mage sub job more-so then other melee jobs through the use of their summoned dragons. Anyone interested in a hybrid damage dealing/solo job with the ability to summon dragons, look no further Dragoon. Recommended sub job's are /warrior for DPS /samurai for a substantially greater TP gain over time, /thief for spike damage, /white mage and /red mage for soloing.
Recommended race(s) for Dragoon: Hume, Elf, Galka, Mithra
Party invitation rate from level 1-18: moderate, invitation rate from 19-37: moderate, invitation rate from 38-60: low, invitation rate from 61-75: moderate.
End-game scale rating: 7
Mission scale rating: 5
Available armor/weapons for Dragoon: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/dyn/items/job14.html
Dragoon quest: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/quests.html?fquest=101
Dragoon abilities list: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/spelllist.html?job=dragoon
**Puppetmaster: Another hybrid job, as a cross between a more advanced Dragoon and a Monk. Capable of wearing light armor and specializing in hand-to-hand weapon's while having the ability to summon advanced puppets that take on multiple roles by your side. Through the help of their puppets, Puppetmaster's can take on the role of a hybrid damage dealer and second-hand tank, along with being able to solo properly. Anyone interested in a hybrid job allowing you to summon powerful puppet's by your side to deal a decent amount of DPS damage and allowing you to properly solo, look no further then Puppetmaster. Recommended sub job's are /monk for DPS and /white mage for soloing.
Recommended race(s) for Puppetmaster: Hume, Mithra, Galka, Elf, Tarutaru
Party invitation rate from level 1-18: moderate, invitation rate from 19-37: moderate, invitation rate from 38-60: low, invitation rate from 61-75: moderate.
End-game scale rating: 6
Mission scale rating: 4
Available armor/weapons for Puppetmaster: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/dyn/items/job18.html
Puppetmaster quest: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/quests.html?fquest=718
Puppetmaster abilities list: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/spelllist.html?job=pupmstr
--------------------Ranged Damage Dealers--------------------
**Corsair: Yet another hybrid job, a cross between a bard and a ranger. Capable of wearing light armor and wielding swords, daggers and guns. With the ability to deal as much DPS as a Ranger from a far away distance and the ability to cast buff's on party member's that can decrease down-time significantly by increasing a multitude of stats. Anyone interested in a highly potent DPS job from a distance along with being able to cast a variety of buff's for party members, look no further then Corsair. Recommended sub jobs are /ranger to bring out the best in their ranged damage and /white mage at higher levels to heal party members status-down effects.
Recommended race(s) for Corsair: Hume, Mithra, Elf, Galka, Tarutaru
Party invitation rate from level 1-18: moderate, invitation rate from 19-37: high, invitation rate from 38-60: high, invitation rate from 61-75: very high.
End-game scale rating: 8
Mission scale rating: 8
Available armor/weapons for Corsair: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/dyn/items/job17.html
Corsair quest: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/quests.html?fquest=711
Corsair abilities and spells list: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/spelllist.html?job=corsair
**Ranger: The quintessential ranged damage dealing job. Capable of wearing light armor and specializing in dagger, sword, crossbow, guns and bow and arrow. The ranger is capable of dealing immense DPS along with high amounts of spike-damage from a distance with a variety of different ranged weapons. Anyone looking to deal large amounts of damage without having to be upfront in battle along with being able to act as a puller for a party, look no further then Ranger. Recommended sub job's are /warrior and /thief for those who don't have access to /ninja which is good for being able to take absorb damage as to alleviate some stress off the healer, along with increasing your overall ranged damage by being able to dual wield weapons that increase ideal attributes for Ranger.
Recommended race(s) for Ranger: Hume, Mithra, Elf, Galka, Tarutaru
Party invitation rate at level 1-18: high, invitation rate from 19-37: high, invitation rate from 38-60: high, invitation rate from 61-75: very high.
End-game scale rating: 9
Mission scale rating: 10
Available armor/weapons for Ranger: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/dyn/items/job7.html
Ranger quest: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/quests.html?fquest=98
Ranger abilities list: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/spelllist.html?job=ranger
--------------------Mage Jobs--------------------
**White Mage: The quintessential healing role. Capable of wearing light armor and wielding a staff and club. Without a White Mage, the party dynamics as we know it would crumble. Able to heal party members properly at a safe distance, buff physical and magical defense against monsters and being able to dish out some decent holy-element damage. Anyone interested in being the iconic healer of a group, look no further then White Mage. Recommended sub job's for White Mage are /black mage for some good extra elemental damage, /red mage for increasing the speed of spell-casting and /summoner for a big boost in MP.
Recommended race(s) for White Mage: Hume, Mithra, Tarutaru
Party invitation rate from level 1-18: very high, invitation rate from level 19-37: very high, invitation rate from level 38-60: very high, invitation rate from level 61-75: very high.
End-game scale rating: 10
Mission scale rating: 10
Available armor/weapons for White Mage: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/dyn/items/job1.html
White Mage abilities and spells list: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/spelllist.html?job=whtmage
**Black Mage: The quintessential mage-nuking role. Capable of wearing light armor and primarily using staves. No other damage dealer, melee or mage, can compete with the immense spike damage Black Mage brings to the table. Able to cast a multitude of elemental and non-elemental damage and able to partake in creating extra damage through melee skill-chains through a function called magic-bursting (as discussed earlier). Also able to cast de-buffs to weaken enemies through DoT (damage over time(similar to DPS)). Anyone looking to deal immense amounts of damage as a mage along with being able to de-buff monsters, look no further then Black Mage. Recommended sub job's for Black Mage are /white mage for the occasional cure and /red mage for speedy spell casting.
Recommended race(s) for Black Mage: Hume, Mithra, Tarutaru
Party invitation rate from level 1-18: moderate, invitation rate from level 19-37: high, invitation rate from level 38-60: high, invitation rate from level 61-75: moderate.
End-game scale rating: 10
Mission scale rating: 10
Available armor/weapons for Black Mage: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/dyn/items/job3.html
Black Mage abilities and spells list: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/spelllist.html?job=blkmage
**Red Mage: Red mage focuses on a multitude of tasks, such as de-buffing, healing group members as an alternative to a White Mage, and dealing elemental damage as well as keeping MP plentiful through magic refreshing spells. Capable of wearing light armor along with using one-handed swords, staves and clubs. A hybrid job, able to take pick up the role of any other major mage in its stead and do their task's properly. Anyone looking to be a mage that allows you to do some major multitasking, look no further then Red Mage. Recommended sub job's for Red Mage are /white mage for proper curing and /black mage for proper nuking.
Recommended race(s) for Red Mage: Hume, Mithra, Tarutaru
Party invitation rate from level 1-18: moderate, invitation rate from level 19-37: moderate, invitation rate from level 38-60: high, invitation rate from level 61-75: high.
End-game scale rating: 10
Mission scale rating: 8
Available armor/weapons for Red Mage: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/dyn/items/job2.html
Red Mage abilities and spell list: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/spelllist.html?job=redmage
**Bard: A job that focuses primarily on buffing party members and reducing the down-time of a party by a great deal through the use of various instruments. Capable of wearing light armor and using a variety of weapons, such as swords, daggers, staves, clubs and musical instruments. A Bard can make the difference between the worst party of your life or the greatest party of your life in FFXI. Anyone interested in getting invites up the ass along with being able to buff party members through the use of songs to increase physical/magical damage, physical/magical defense, speed of health/magic points recovery and much much more, look no further then Bard. Recommended sub job's for Bard are /white mage for healing and /red mage for lower levels, until Bard starts benefiting more from the /white mage sub job.
Recommended race(s) for Bard: Hume, Mithra, Tarutaru, Elf, Galka
Party invitation rate from level 1-18: high, invitation rate from level 19-37: very high, invitation rate from level 38-60: very high, invitation rate from level 61-75: very high.
End-game scale rating: 10
Mission scale rating: 8
Available armor/weapons for Bard: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/dyn/items/job9.html
Bard quest: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/quests.html?fquest=99
Bard abilities and spells list: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/spelllist.html?job=bard
**Summoner: A job that focuses on summoning powerful Avatars to deal damage as well as buff party members, along with being able to take the place as a White Mage to main heal. Capable of wearing light armor and primarily using clubs and staves as weapons. Summoners rely on their huge amount of MP to properly multitask as both a damage dealer through their Avatars and be a main healer and buffer. Anyone wanting to be able to summon Avatars such as Shiva, Ifrit and Garuda to deal immense amounts of spike-damage while also being able to buff party members with the Avatars along with being able to properly main heal as well as a White Mage, look no further then Summoner. Recommended sub job for Summoner is /white mage for main healing properly.
Recommended race(s) for Summoner: Hume, Mithra, Tarutaru
Party invitation rate from level 1-18: low, invitation rate from level 19-37: moderate, invitation rate from level 38-60: low, invitation rate from 61-75: moderate.
End-game scale rating: 7
Mission scale rating: 9
Available armor/weapons for Summoner: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/dyn/items/job15.html
Summoner quest: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/quests.html?fquest=102
Summoner abilities and spells list: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/spelllist.html?job=summoner
**Blue Mage: A unique cross between a melee damage dealer and a mage damage dealer. Capable of wearing light armor and primarily using swords and staves. A Blue Mage is able to deal a decent amount of DPS through both melee damage and magic damage. Unlike most mages though, were you can obtain spells by purchasing scrolls from the auction house, private bazaar or merchant, you have to actually earn your right to use spells on Blue Mage. In order to learn spells on Blue Mage, you must hunt down and kill monsters that use certain techniques that can become spells for you (sorry for the lame description, couldn't think of a better way to put it). Anyone interested in trying a fairly difficult, but outside-the-box kind of hybrid cross between a melee damage dealer and a mage damage dealer, look no further then Blue Mage. Recommended sub job's for Blue Mage are /white mage for curing during parties/soloing, /warrior for DPS, /ninja for DPS through dual wield and /thief for spike damage.
Recommended race(s) for Blue Mage: Hume, Mithra, Elf
Party invitation rate from level 1-18: moderate, invitation rate from level 19-37: moderate, invitation rate from 38-60: moderate, invitation rate from 61-75: high.
End-game scale rating: 7
Mission scale rating: 7
Available armor/weapons for Blue Mage: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/dyn/items/job16.html
Blue Mage quest: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/quests.html?fquest=716
Blue Mage abilities and spells list: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/spelllist.html?job=bluemage
**Dancer: A melee-healing hybrid job from the newly released expansion pack Wings of the Goddess, able to heal upfront in battle while being able to use utilize their TP more-so then its White Mage counterpart. The Dancer can find use with one-handed swords and daggers as to attain TP quickly and effectively, also having the ability to wear mostly light armor with a few pieces of heavy armor. Having the ability to both debuff monsters more effectively then a White Mage and to buff party members as well with certain Dancing spells (that allows health to be restored, or to be able to absorb health from various monsters). Recommended sub job's for Dancer are /white mage for healing and /ninja for more rapid TP gain through dual-wield.
Recommended race(s) for Dancer: Hume, Mithra, Elf, Tarutaru, Galka
Party invitation rate from level 1-18: high, invitation rate from level 19-37: high, invitation rate from level 38-60: very high, invitation rate from level 61-75: very high.
End-game scale rating: 6
Mission scale rating: 6
Available armor/weapons for Dancer: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/dyn/items/job19.html
Dancer quest: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/quests.html?fquest=980
Dancer abilities and spells list: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/spelllist.html?job=dancer
**Scholar: Another mage job hybrid from the newly released expansion pack Wings of the Goddess, recreating the use of magic in Final Fantasy XI through the Scholar-utilized items called Grimoires. Besides the use of Grimoires, Scholars get much use out of clubs and staves for weapons while being able to use a variety of light armor. Through the Grimoires, Scholars can use a variety of both White Magic and Black Magic spells/skills/abilities that can heal, damage, debuff and buff various enemies/allies for both physical attributes and magical attributes. Recommended sub job's for Scholar are /white mage for healing and utilizing the white magic side of the Scholar, /black mage for nuking and utilizing the black magic side of the Scholar and /red mage for speedy spellcasting and debuffing.
Recommended race(s) for Scholar: Hume, Mithra, Elf, Tarutaru, Galka
Party invitation rate from level 1-18: high, invitation rate from level 19-37: high, invitation rate from level 38-60: high, invitation rate from level 61-75: very high.
End-game scale rating: 7
Mission scale rating: 7
Available armor/weapons for Scholar: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/dyn/items/job20.html
Scholar quest: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/quests.html?fquest=983
Scholar abilities and spells list: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/spelllist.html?job=scholar
--------------------Tanking Jobs--------------------
**Paladin: The ideal tanking job. Able to wear both light and heavy armor primarily using sword/shield combo. A Paladin is the iconic light-magic casting tanking role, able to build up sets of armor to create an insane amount of defense, having quite a bit of health and having a set of abilities to make sure that monsters during parties attack the Paladin and the Paladin only, along with being able to cast light-magic to deal a moderate amount of damage and having the ability to occasionally cure yourself. Anyone interested in being an iconic tanking role, look no further then Paladin. Recommended sub job for Paladin is /warrior for proper tanking.
Recommended race(s) for Paladin: Hume, Mithra, Elf, Galka
Party invitation rate from level 1-18: high, invitation rate from level 19-37: high, invitation rate from level 38-60: high, invitation rate from level 61-75: high.
End-game scale rating: 10
Mission scale rating: 9
Available armor/weapons for Paladin: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/dyn/items/job5.html
Paladin quest: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/quests.html?fquest=95
Paladin abilities and spells list: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/spelllist.html?job=paladin
**Ninja: "Now you see me, now you don't" said the Ninja. The Ninja is a very unique tanking job, as it isn't just a tank, but it is in fact a very good damage dealer as well. Capable of wearing both light and heavy armor and using katana's and shuriken's. The tanking Ninja relies on evasion and the ability to totally absorb damage by casting certain ninjutsu spells on itself, such as Utsusemi: Ichi (acquired at level 12) and Utsusemi: Ni (acquired at level 37). The damage dealing Ninja relies on its ability to do major amounts of DPS from its dual-wielding weapons along with being able to cast elemental ninjutsu spells that can both de-buff a monster, but also add up to a decent amount of damage over time. Anyone interested in becoming an evasive tank, along with being a good DPS damage dealer, look no further then Ninja. Recommended sub job for Ninja is /warrior for proper tanking/damage dealing.
Recommended race(s) for Ninja: Hume, Mithra, Elf, Tarutaru, Galka
(As a side note, everyone should have /ninja leveled as a sub job. The ability to not only absorb damage, but to dual wield weapons as well will benefit every single person in the game.)
Party invitation rate from level 1-18: high, invitation rate from level 19-37: high, invitation rate from level 38-60: very high, invitation rate from level 61-75: very high.
End-game scale rating: 10
Mission scale rating: 10
Available armor/weapons for Ninja: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/dyn/items/job12.html
Ninja quest: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/quests.html?fquest=100
Ninja abilities and spells list: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/spelllist.html?job=ninja
--------------------Additional Information--------------------
Additional basic job information
At the creation of your character you are presented with 6 different and very basic jobs:
-Warrior
-Monk
-Thief
-White Mage
-Black Mage
-Red Mage
These basic roles give you a general idea of how the mechanics of the job system work in FFXI. Once you attain level 30, you are able to access advanced jobs and when accessed are able to provide an even broader job system experience.
Additional advanced job information
Some information regarding advanced jobs; There is only one prerequisite on initiating an advanced job quest, you must be level 30 or else you cannot accept any advanced job quests. Once you attain level 30, you will have access to all advanced job quests available in the game. If you were to accept an advanced job quest at level 30, but end up deleveling to 29 or below while doing the quest, you still have the ability to finish the quest up at level 29 or below and still receive your reward as the advanced job you set out to unlock. The following are advanced jobs:
-Bard
-Beastmaster
-Dark Knight
-Dragoon
-Ninja
-Paladin
-Ranger
-Samurai
-Summoner
-Blue Mage
-Corsair
-Puppetmaster
-Dancer
-Scholar
Some advanced jobs also require you to own the expansion packs to which the advanced jobs originate from in order to obtain the certain job. Expansion packs that include additional advanced jobs are...
Rise of the Zilart: Dragoon
Samurai
Ninja
Chains of Promathia: None
Treasures of Aht Urhgan: Blue Mage
Corsair
Puppetmaster
Wings of the Goddess: Dancer
Scholar
Leveling guide: Levels 1-37
A basic leveling guide from level 1-37 according to what initial nation you have chosen to be apart of:
Windurst from level 1-10:
-East Sarutabaruta
-West Sarutabaruta
-Giddeus
-Tahrongi Canyon
-Inner Horutoto Ruins
-Outer Horutoto Ruins
Windurst from level 10-20:
-Valkurm Dunes: In order to reach Valkurm Dunes from Windurst, head from East Sarutabaruta into Tahrongi Canyon then go to Buburimu Peninsula and head to the town of Mhaura, then take the boat in Mhaura to Selbina and exit Selbina to enter Valkurm Dunes.
Sand'Oria from level 1-10
-West Ronfaure
-East Ronfaure
-Ghelsba Outpost
-La Theine Plateau
-King Ranperre's Tomb
-Ranguemont Pass (Don't go past gate)
Sand'Oria from level 10-20:
-Valkurm Dunes: In order to reach Valkurm Dunes from Sand'Oria, head from West Ronfaure into La Theine Plateau, from there head south into Valkurm Dunes.
Bastok from level 1-10
-North Gustaberg
-South Gustaberg
-Konschtat Highlands
-Palborough Mines
-Zeruhn Mines
Bastok from level 10-20:
-Valkurm Dunes: To get to Valkurm Dunes from Bastok, head from North Gustaberg into Konschtat Highlands, then head north-west into Valkurm Dunes.
All nations level 20-25:
-Qufim Island: There are multiple routes to this area, I will list three...
Head from Valkurm Dunes into La Theine Plateau, then head north-east into Jugner Forest. From there tread carefully north into Batallia Downs, from there head east into Upper Jeuno. Once you make it to Jeuno safe and sound, head down to Port Jueno, and from the zone entrance to Port Jueno, head south into Qufim Island.
OR
Head from Valkurm Dunes to Selbina, take the boat to Mhaura. From Mhaura head into Buburimu Peninsula, from there go to Tahrongi Canyon head north to Meriphataud Mountains. Meriphataud Mountains is quite a large zone filled with plenty of monsters that aggro, so head carefully north and enter Sauromugue Champaign, a little north-west in this zone will get you into Port Jueno. When you reach Port Jeuno head all the way north and take a right turn when you come to a three-way path to enter Qufim Island.
OR
Head from Valkurm Dunes into Konschtat Highlands, from there head north-east into Pashhow Marshlands. Once in the marshlands go north-east into Rolanberry Fields, in the fields head due-north all the way into Lower Jeuno. Head down to Port Jeuno and keep heading down the stairs once you reach Port Jeuno to enter Qufim Island.
All nations from level 25-33:
-Kazham (Yuhtunga Jungle from level 25-29 and Yhoator Jungle from level 29-33): In order to access this area, you must complete a quest in order to attain a Kazham-airship pass (or either purchase it for a suspiciously large amount of gil for a lower level player) so you can ride to Kazham. I have listed a link to a guide below on how you can complete the quest, it's also recommended that you obtain a chocobo license before coming here. Assuming you have the pass in order to get onto the airship, head from Port Jeuno to the Kazham airship docks, enter the airship and wait to land.
All nations from level 33-37:
-Garlaige Citadel: In order to get here from Jeuno, head into Port Jeuno, exit through the south entrance (the huge archway) and enter Sauromugue Champaign. From there head south into Garlaige Citadel.
Once you attain level 37, you can leave Garlaige Citadel and enter a whole slew of new leveling areas. At this point it is recommended that you go out of your way and obtain all teleportation crystals as to be more accessible in what leveling areas would be convenient for future parties.
Links to various sites
Link to a guide on how to obtain a Kazham airship pass: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/quests.html?fquest=215
Link to a guide on how to obtain a sub job in Mhaura: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/quests.html?fquest=158
Link to a guide on how to obtain a sub job in Selbina: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/quests.html?fquest=142
Skillchaining guide for anyone who decides to be a damage dealer/tank: http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Skillchain
Magic bursting guide for anyone who decides to be a mage:
http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Magic_Burst
Ninjutsu elemental wheel spell guide for anyone who decides to be a Ninja or /Ninja:
http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Ninja:_Elemental_Wheel
Guides on how to obtain all Avatars for Summoner:
Guide to obtain Titan Avatar: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/quests.html?fquest=360
Guide to obtain Shiva Avatar: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/quests.html?fquest=321
Guide to obtain Fenrir Avatar: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/quests.html?fquest=371
Guide to obtain Diabolos Avatar: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/quests.html?fquest=693
Guide to obtain Ifrit Avatar: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/quests.html?fquest=305
Guide to obtain Leviathan Avatar: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/quests.html?fquest=341
Guide to obtain Ramuh Avatar: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/quests.html?fquest=301
Guide to obtain Garuda Avatar: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/quests.html?fquest=322
Level cap 50-55 guide: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/quests.html?fquest=256
Level cap 55-60 guide: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/quests.html?fquest=257
Level cap 60-65 guide: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/quests.html?fquest=282
Level cap 65-70 guide: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/quests.html?fquest=320
Level cap 70-75 guide: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/quests.html?fquest=516
List of Dynamis relic armor/weapons and where each job can locate their relics & artifact armor/weapons:
Relic Armor: http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Relic_Armor
Relic Weapons: http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Relic_Weapons
Artifact Armor/Weapons: http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/quests.html?fqtype=Artifact
Comments & concerns appreciated (but please be civilized about it).
If anyone has any information/fixing they would like me to add, please feel free to tell me. 
Would like to make this as descriptive as possible for people who need information on the jobs for FFXI.
Comments
great guide, pls sticky if for nothing else then the invitation rates!
Currently Playing: GW2
Retired: Shadowbane, DAoC, WoW, FFXI, Eve Online, SWToR
The Aphelion MMO Blog - GW2 Initial Impressions
As a high level corsair (i am in the 70s), corsair's DD isn't anything close to rng. The reason being is that, corsair does not get the range atk the ranger have to offer not to mention the accurcy, so there is always a 30-40 damage differences at higher level. Also our Weapons are quite different, most corsair will stick with hexagun which is very low in dmg but firing rate is same as bow almost.
As for rolling and buffs, quickdraw and phantom roll usually create a stunlock window, where the player can't do anything but stand still for a period of time. Also the player will require to move from melee area and caster area while keeping an eye on roll timer. In most cases, corsair will save their quickdraw for sleep (in addable area).
Hence their DD are not even within 50% of a ranger. Unlike rangers who could do 2 weapon skill, a corsair could barely do 1. in most cases, they need 2-3 mob to even build up. And when they do it, slugshot doesn't deal more then 400s dmg on (not flying) monster. (ranger would deal 600-800).
Just some people love to compare ranger to corsair, corsair's DD can never come close to any DD class.
And FYI, corsair miss about 70-80% of their shots before 60, hence not many really shoot.
Your guide are filled with holes and mistakes, like BRD SJ /rdm. the ONLY class that could benefit from /rdm is blackmage. You just can't get any class SJ because if they don't have the main skill similar to main job, the subjob will cut the skill in half. a brd/rdm can't even land any spell on a monster on the brd's level. The fast cast only help @ 70 ... 7.5% which really isn't much.
I want to add, thief.... not many does this but thf/war actually is a powerful DD. Most thf will tell you, thf/war hit harder then thf/nin.
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Actually the guide is quite nice as far as I have seen. Corsair can and does a lot of DD sometimes as fast as rng if the player knows what he is doing. At 60 when the serious abilities of a ranger start to kick in they can hit a lot with the help of food and manage to do very good damage via slug shot which I have personally seen it be around 700 every 45-50 secs when of course the corsair didn't have to buff. It's not as fast as ranger but he can still do very good dmg for a hybrid job.
And that comment about BRD/RDM ? Do you even have played a brd or you just wing it to make yourself look good and experienced? I suppose most players have stucken their minds to the "traditional" combos of BRD/WHM which in my opinion is irrelevant. Especially for BRD the only time I saw /WHM of any use was at a Curaga when the pt was under sleepaga. Now if you think 2 more crappy cure's you'll get before 60 are worth it then be my guest. So far RDM has proven time and time again that is one of the most powerful jobs in the game whether subbed or main. And lol BRD shares which skill with WHM? The divine which brd doesn't have? The healing which brd doesn't have? Let me help you. Neither WHM nor RDM share any skill with BRD so by the simple thing you said both jobs skills are cut in half and it proves that you should check a bit the jobs in the game to know what they are capable of doing. And I repeat the only reason people think that /whm is good for BRD is because of the curaga spell and at times divine seal nothing more. BRD doesn't need anything else. So wrong before you go bashing someone post which is helpful at least do a check up on the mistakes you are pointing else stick to making comments of the job you have.
On a final note the indication of how good the invite rates are is pretty much accurate.
A friend is not him who provides support during your failures.A friend is the one that cheers you during your successes.
hnmm well being as though I don't know the invite rates outside of dunes -- and dune parties are few and far between atm -- I would love more people to post their thoughts on invite rates. That would be awesome,
Currently Playing: GW2
Retired: Shadowbane, DAoC, WoW, FFXI, Eve Online, SWToR
The Aphelion MMO Blog - GW2 Initial Impressions
When soloing, /red mage is the preferred sub job for Dragoon's, White Mage's can benefit from /red mage sub and Paladin can definitely benefit from /red mage sub, especially when soloing difficult monsters and during PVP. So what's all this about Black Mage only benefiting from /red mage sub? Take it with a grain of salt when I say this, you're very inexperienced when it comes to job combinations in FFXI. If I were you, I would take the time to read up on different job combinations that have proven very successful and try them out if you feel so bold.
Warrior sub job gives attack bonus job trait, increased STR attributes and berserk. Per hit yes, a Thief/Warrior will out damage a Thief/Ninja each individual hit. Will the Thief/Warrior out damage the Thief/Ninja in DPS? It is possible, but it is not likely. Factor in the dual wield speed increase you get at 50, along with the multiple attribute increases you get from daggers, such as increased accuracy or attack power, along with having the chance to hit twice every attack round increasing you're DPS. I will add to the guide the advantages Thief/Warrior has over Thief/Ninja though.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constructive_criticism
Just for future reference.
Just throwing this out there. DRG is the best melee subjob at higher levels. It isn't used much because of the damage output is too strong for a tank to keep hate with. Oh yeah, and BLM invites past 65 are very low...unless it's a manaburn. Other than that, there are none. I know that from experience.
To be the best, you must help each other become the best.
FFXI Character: Satimasu
FFXI Server: Valefor
FFXIV Character: Tamorae Fonteil
Great guide.
______________________________
KSEA
Breakdown: Achiever 40.00%, Explorer 46.67%, Killer 66.67%, Socializer 46.67%
KSEA players often seek out PVP in a game, but they are looking to socialize with and form alliances with other players who are interested in doing the same. They often seek out guilds or clans that organize formal PVP events, or work on group strategies and tactics.
Nice guide. I'm happy to see your love for the Samurai. When my wife and I played, she was a Sam and she hated how so many people said her job was subpar. There were a few elitists in our linkshell and they said that the Sam wasn't really that great of a DD and it would piss her off so bad. I didn't care what they said though, because I knew she was a good DD. We would always party together (I was a Rng) and we would do insane amounts of damage together with all of our weapon skills we could pull off. ^^
Oh and I vote to sticky this too.
Yeah, Samurai was my first job to 75 and also the job I used to attain all end-game area's :X. Unfortunately I had Samurai non-believers in my linkshell as well, though once they saw how I was bringing out 1,000+ damage on Genbu without my strength build, they changed their tune
. Good on you both for not letting those comments get to you.
Nice guide - useful for new and experienced players alike.
"If all you can say is... "It's awful, it's not innovative, it's ugly, it's blah.." Then you're an unimaginative and unpolished excuse for human life" -eburn
as for why rdm isn't a good sj for brd (i have a 75 brd on midgardsomr)
1. rdm does not have divine seal, curega, and status cure.
2. spells like dispell, phalanx, and gravity and en-spell can't be use (as skill are cut+ en-spell are rdm only)
3. Lower mp pool as SJ overall
4. Lower stats bonus (as rdm aren't focus on MND)
5. despite the fact that RDM and WHM both have a cut in healing skill, WHM's healing still max out @ 37 for cure III and curaga. However, RDM still does NOT max out on the cure factor.
6. Healing skill doesn't matter alot as healing doesn't resist.
7. You get a higher level requirement for stoneskin and blinks.
8. as a brd bar-ra spell is very important as brd as it is one of the class that move around. Since in some pulls whm are often still healing, it is wise that brd does a inital bar spell in case aoe break out, then the whm could run in and do his more powerful version /whm could do bar-ra spell. but RDM CAN'T
9. Clear mind.... well not too useful. But auto-regen and Magic def II is pretty useful.
....
Why am i criticizing you on this matter? because i did a testing before with a friend, we found /whm overall is more useful while /rdm doesn't do anything.
As for corsair DD, you could try do DD, i won't stop you but keeping 4 Rolls + quick shot up and sometime call for pulls, there is just no spaces for any sort of DD.
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A friend is not him who provides support during your failures.A friend is the one that cheers you during your successes.
If you say it that way, its fine then, i won't brother to argue further after this. If everything is "emergency only" to you. You are pretty much dead as this game is really challenging and emergency current very often.
I personnally, use /whm as much as possible during xp as brd, silena is very useful during the 65-75 leveling range, while poisona, and most status curing helps as caster prefer to /heal asap. While keep Bar up early myself, help reduce the dmg overall, while some caster never brother to do bar. Especially when you xping with a RDM as main heal, brd's bar spell is critical. As to who should bar-spell? I am sure 100% people agree with me that brd should bar spell the team.
While divine seal, curaga is not a must but it greatly reduce the MP need to keep the party going after an AOE. if you say healing doesn't matter as a brd, i really suggest you look into this class more. brd/whm healing is pretty important as it help reduce downtime, and as a main healer (which i also play whm @ 65) i prefer to keep /heal ASAP, not to stand there cure aligment and tops everyone.
You might find corsair could do this easily, but look can be deceiving, as you AREN'T the player, there is no way you know how much he does and how did he do and how much he miss. Maybe you never played this but Phanton roll, quickdraw have a player lock timer which reduce shooting time. Also player require to move around. Normally a corsair that keep 4 buffs on and deal quickdraw, can do roughly 4-5 shots a fight and maybe a slug shot + barrage every 5 min. (i am assuming he doesn't miss at all, but we all know a corsair doesn't miss doesn't exist, still 8/10 hits usually). Slug shot have more then 50% missing without the use of sharpshot even with food (i missed 5 time in a row without sharpshot before as test, and i usually miss 100% with /whm (for imps in caedariva mire)).
I also like to add, /whm is very good for corsair to make their function like brd, you would be better off /whm in caedervia mire most of the time.
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Added to the recommended sub job's for Corsair. In a bit I will also update the recommended sub job's for Bard.
Why the hell is Dragoons end game score so low?
Could you give any reasons why you think it should be higher? (I know nothing about them, just commenting so others can see
)
"If all you can say is... "It's awful, it's not innovative, it's ugly, it's blah.." Then you're an unimaginative and unpolished excuse for human life" -eburn
Been tanking from 1-70 range so far, so what I say comes from the perspective of a tank that only died 3 times in his whole carreer while in xp party and vert rarely I had "emergencies" that required specific jobs, so no the game so far was challenging only on missions and such, xp parties are not challenging at all if players keep their wits about them. Still you are twisting what I say. The point was not whether or not to diminish the overall effectiveness of /whm for BRD overall, since it's one that complements it better, but to show you that it's not the only way and not the only "correct" way for a good deal of level range. Bar spells so far have only been useful in 2 situations and even there I didn't see that great difference in the damage of either the bombs of goblins at bibiki or the aoe from the flies at the mire so I am not sure about their potential. And I don't say that a BRD shouldn't heal, only that it's not his primary role and that in a normal xp party there will be very few situations that would require him to constantly heal and in very specific level ranges.
Secondly yes, I may not be the player that is playing the corsair, but I have to check the overall damage each party member does so I can manage hate easier. And yes those Corsairs did it very good and kept both dmg on 2-4 mins depending the circumstance and buffs up. Corsair although in many ways it's similar to Brd and can use /whm, contrary to the Brd that sub is more situational if the pt lacks in the support department. And since above 60 the accuracy items are a lot + food miss chance falls dramatically and damage is easy to come. Cor/Whm although works fine at the mire since it helps the main healer a lot for silena it's a good choice when there are no other support classes in the pt and cuts one of the abilities of COR at that matter.
Also to add one commonly used sub for corsair is /nin for the added benefit of the two weapons, which means dual stats from them and also the shadows that help a lot when the corsair is assigned for pulling.
A friend is not him who provides support during your failures.A friend is the one that cheers you during your successes.
I am not going to argue your perspective of brd sj, but corsair wise, if you think /nin is good for pulling, and xp party can't you think the same for /whm? (blink + stoneskin). Meanwhile, i even /brd for 4 level worth of leveling. We should add /brd in the list. Then you ever saw /sam ? Mediate for slug shot, we should also add in as well. All we are arguing are nothing but possible sub, but some sub really helps more then others. While i do not agree your idea /nin is puller. /Nin could only cut in when the player hit 70+ have joyeuse and use sword/melee to build TP.
I could tell you this from personal experience at 61 cor/rng with the best possible rACC gear available (no shark gun). With food i miss rougly 2 out of 10 shots. While slugshot miss over 50% at 130% TP. Even i miss sometime during sharpshot.
Now, i never tried cor/nin for that matter, but if i could miss with rng having a level II accu trait. The differences in acc from a /rng and a /nin is rougly 10 racc assuming they have 2x trailer. (note that archer knife give +1 agi which is .5 acc. )
How do you expect a class that shoot once in a while, (not spaming) having a window of rougly 1 min in between rolls to shot dmg out, when you are expect to alot of miss? Let's assume he use a hexagun, you ever saw the delay ? You even saw the dmg?
All i can say is /nin is never meant to even be a good sj, i usually pull without /nin, i never got hit once. If you have adds, you sleep it if you have more adds, you are dead, /nin won't save you. Hence, the fact that /nin is as situational then /whm is. Not to mention, your shadow casting will cut the timer even further.
Also please don't go into talking about Merit party, the whole idea around 71+ is completely different, corsair could be some extend in DD because the gear you get from endgame are pretty heavy on rACC. But let's focus on XP party for now where major of the time you will be going as.
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From what I saw he was using indeed hexagun, per hit it was around 60dmg to imps and slug shot it was from 550-700 dmg. All of them had /nin no joytoy, yet they connected very often and every 2-3 mins they were doing a slug shot. Not sure of course if the samurai roll helped at that (not sure if it affects ranged also) but they had very fast tp all too quick. From what I noticed they were going evokers roll on mages and to mellees samurai roll and ranger or chaos roll depending the mob.
Hmm well not sure though how good /whm is for pulling. It depends more on the mob if you ask me since if i remember well blink doesn't activate each time and some xp mobs eat through stoneskin (I remember the last brd/whm that had pulling duties at 65 and those mobs really gave him a beating very often). That's why I suggested /nin as better on average puller since unless the mob does aoe while pulling he would be safe for 3 hits till the tank gets in range of the provoke. And considering most mobs run faster you'd get hit more than once. Unless of course we count the imps which you can get lucky since they start to cast.
A friend is not him who provides support during your failures.A friend is the one that cheers you during your successes.
I don't know about the imps, but its all in the techinque for pulling, many people doesn't use "Quick Draw" as a pulling stop (not use in beginning but rather right after shooting, run and quickdraw @ camp). I pulled imps and everything else with /rng, /whm is just a bonus as i prefer to use silena rather relying on the rdm who have 20 things to do.
I am not to fond of nin, since there is no way a corsair can pull aggro as /nin, there is no excuse to use it as rng does.
Also, from what you said, your corsair is not doing 4 rolls. evoker, 2 melee. Missing the white mage roll, which is a MUST.
Also your perspective is on imps, not other mobs. Imp itself is around half or less HP then usual monster, their evasion is extremely low (which make it ideal for xp grind).
Also, you need to play with more corsair, you will begin to understand once you see it.
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i want to be a samurai but im a noob...this is the first time ive logged into the game,can someone tell me how?
Hm.. You have the expansion for Samurai right? I think that thats Rise of Zilart.. Geez, I really don't know much about Sam do I?
Has anything in the game changed or is this guide still accurate?
Waiting for Fallen Earth, World of Darkness, Old Republic, FFXIV
It's still pretty accurate I think, I try to update the guide every so often to be able to provide as much current information about the FFXI jobs as possible. I won't be getting the new expansion pack right away, so anyone planning on super-grinding any of the new jobs and finding out their niche in the game, it would be greatly appreciated if I could get sent a PM as to be able to add information regarding the jobs to the guide.
This guide was the deciding point of not wanting to enter this game, i was actually very excited to start playing untili realized the beastmaster, which i am normally in most games, is a very unloved class
i guess im off to find the next best thing 
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IVE PLAYED WOW AND LIKED IT SO IM A FANBOI PLZ FLAME MY THREADS CUZ I MIGHT MENTION WOW