UPDATED Interested in starting? Review of my first 10 levels

Teganx · February 2009

**WARNING: I am about to explain everything that I do and see during my first 10 levels of gameplay in FFXI. If you think this may ruin things for you, please do not read it. But I assure you that while it may seem like I did a lot in these first 5 levels, there is SO much more to be done beyond.**

I just downloaded the 14 day trial and got my character to level 10. It may seem pointless to some people to start a review after the first 10 levels but it turns out that in this game you are already bombarded with things to do and secrets to discover this early on. Without further ado:

PART 1 (1-5)

I will start with one of the two major complaints that this game seems to be beaten with. The patch took forever. And for some reason, most likely my internet connection, it took me two days because after about %20-50 the patcher would loose connection. The second gripe people seem to have is the UI, but I understand that it was a console game first and formost so the UI works like your typical final fantasy game on a console would, and I like that. Besides you can switch to compact mode and use asdw to run and arrows for camera. After about 20 minutes the whole UI becomes simple to use and actually kinda fun and different. Or you can get a controller. Or just play on one of the 3 consoles its available for : )

I might also want to add that before I started the game I looked up some of the graphics "hacks" to improve graphics. You can simply enter the games registry editor and make your resolution double or more what you are able to do in the actual game config. It worked wonders! The game looks great and the graphics hold up to some of todays.

I eventually got it set up and created a Mithra (cat woman type thing) White Mage. You pick a main class and at lvl 18 you are able to subclass. You can eventually level every class in the game to level 75 and you can switch whenever you want. Although doing this will probably take years.

I choose my starting area (out of 3) and enter the game. I am then greeted with an oh so Final Fantasy cut scene. Another Mithra walks up to me and gives me some tips on adventuring, she the proceeds to ask me for 1,000g (quite a lot) and I have the option to refuse or give in. Of course I refuse and she gets angry. At this point three taru taru (think cute, japanese gnomes) run up and tell her to scram. Apparantly these guys hold down the law around town. One of them then gives me an adventureres coupon and tells me to find jack of trades and give it to him. I made a few alts for kicks (although since one character can be all classes there is really no need for alts) and discovered that the opening cut scenes are random and there are at least four different ones that Ive discovered.

Altough there are no quest markers (there arent even really quests) they drop a little red dot on my full screen map to show where he is, but there is no mini map. I find him and trade him the adventurers coupon. To trade things with NPCs you actually have to open your trade menu and drop the item in. They dont ask for it and automatically take it or anything. After this he gives me 50g and tells me I should head over to the eastern gate and talk to one of the guards there. Instead of running to the east side of town (it's kinda far) I decide to mess around with the UI and talk to some people.

I found a staff in my inventory and equipped it. The art for the item icons looks like the classic FF ones do, very nostalgic. I /shouted a couple of questions and got pretty quick responses. There were people everywhere (albeit some of them only spoke japanese). I was surprised to see so many people in what, to my understanding, isn't even a main hub, especially since it was 1am! Not even ten minutes in somebody invited me to their LS (guild), which I am still with and they have all geared me up and been extremely helpful. One of the questions I asked was "why do some players have bags next to their names?" It's because players can set up their own bazaars to sell stuff. Very cool! I walked around and talked to some of the NPCs. Pretty much every NPC you talk to has a lot to say about the surrounding areas, rumors theyve heard, news about the city etc. Very Final Fantasy. It turns out that when you look for quests/missions you have to just talk to people and maybe somebody will have something for you, no markers. But like I said there are hardly any quests in the game, and when there are they arent for phat loot or experience, but they are very helpful. There are however missions which are things you complete for your city which give you conquest points which you can trade for awesome stuff.

Now I decide to head over to the guard. On my way there I walk over some overwater docks (with some awesome floating house boat things near them) and a fog starts to overtake my screen. Cool! This was also right after sunset, which changes visibly. I find the guard and talk to her. She explains signet to me. Every time you leave a gate you should have a guard cast signet on you. This enables you to gain conquest points for killing things and it also makes it so that monster will drop crystals, which are used for crafting. She then told me to go out and get my weapon skill to 5. So I walk out the gate.

I see a bunny thing and attack it. Combat is a little slow at first, although I imagine at higher levels it gets very active and intense. It is lso menu based like any other FF. As a lvl 1 White Mage I have the Cure spell and I can attack. I also have my weapon ability. Every type of weapon comes with an ability (and I believe you learn new ones somehow). My for a staff is heavy swing. You have something called tactical points that get higher the mor you fight. When your TP hits %100 you can use your weapon ability. I also have a Job ability called Benediction. I believe you can use your job ability every two hours (at least your first level one). Mine heals me for a ton of HP. I kill my first bunny thing (called a Rarab) and proceed to find the next one. I see about 5 or 6 other players out front doing the same thing. Some of them are newbs (you can tell by the question mark next to their names) and some are leveling alt jobs. I found it hard finding prey because other players were takign it all. I liked this feeling because I was afraid that I would be in a ghost land with no other player interaction. Eventually I found some more rarabs and some other mobs, a giant worm, and a mushroom headed thing, and got my weapon skill to 5. I also achieved level 2! I headed back to the guard.

She congratulated me and as a reward gave me a water crystal, pot of honey, and a birds egg. She told me to open my inventory and select the water crystal and synthesize it with the honey and bird egg. This is crafting, in in simplest form. The outcome of crafting seems to depend on the quality of items you harvest, which depends on the season and time of day you harvest them. Anyways I ended up with a cup of some honey drink that did something or another to my stats. She then told me to vist the Auction House and return to her. The AH is what you would expect in any other game, same format. I check it out and am appaled to see a lvl 1 robe going for 10,000g. I do a /shout about this and I get several tells informing me that that robe is a very high quality level 1 robe that can only be crafted by high lvl crafters. THey tell me to look for a lvl 1 robe that isnt yellow. I find one and it is, thankfully, affordable. I return to the guard.

She now explains how I can exchange conquest points for items and gives me a coupon worth 50 points and tells me to go trade it for a Charrion Ring. I do so. The charrion ring grants me a +75 experience gain for an hour and a half. The item has a long cooldown (a few days I think? maybe more) so I need to use it carefully. I am now told to reach level 4. I then remember that I just hit level two and a new spell may be available to me. I ask a player where I can get new spells and he tells me to follow him. Turns out I get spells on those awesome house boat things I passed earlier.

As far as spells go you dont just learn them when you level. You have to go purchase the scroll for the spell and use it. You can buy any level spell for a any job as long as you can afford it, but you can only use them when you meet the job and lvl requirement. Unfortunately I cant learn a new one, Dia, until level 3, but I buy the scroll anyways. I head back out to reach level 4.

After leaving the gate I go a little farther than I did last time to find some stronger foes. I run into a player who strikes up conversation with me. Your typical "Are you new? Do you like it? Need help?". He then gave me a staff and a headband that give me + MP (mana). He healed me while I fought some stronger foes. I eventually hit level 4. My guard then tells me to go to some canyon up north and kill a monster. I try this but dont even make it to the canyon before I am destroyed. I go back to the newb area and reach level 5. I can now learn my 3rd spell, banish.

I should probably mention something about looting mobs. When you kill something you automatically attain whatever is on it. SOMETIMES the mob will drop a chest. When you open it there will be one or two items inside that you can choose from (usually potions of some sort). These are temporary items though and will be gone once you logout. Sometimes the chest will be locked and you can attempt to unlock it. You have the option to first examine the chest, which will give you a hunch of what numbers the code may be in between or you can go straight to unlock and try a code. You only have 4 tries though. If your unlock fails it may say something like "You believe the code is higher than so and so number". Kinda fun.

PART 2 (5-10)

I discovered that past lvl 4 you inherit a death penalty. When you die you lose roughly %10 of your xp and are sent back to your home point (which can be VERY far from where you were, and yes you have to run all the way back). You CAN level down. This is harsh but I find that it makes the things I go out to do a little more exciting and the battles are much more intense. Speaking of battles, combat is already starting to become very tactical. I find myself wondering "Oh no! Should I wait for my TP to reach 100 and use my weapon skill or should I cast banish? But if I cast banish I wont have enough mp left to cast cure which I MAY need if this misses etc etc." I find myself planning far ahead in some fights, especially against more than one mob.

Crafting! I realized aside from that first little synth I did I dont know anything about the crafting. I opened my menu and went to crafting to find out that there are 8 crafting spheres: Woodworking, Smithing, Goldsmithing, Clothcraft, Leathercraft, Bonecraft, Alchemy, and cooking. You can study any and all of the crafts. I decide to check out cooking first. A quick /shout informed me that I need to find the culinary guild. I travel to the east side of town and find the guild. I enter the door and see some taru tarus and a hume cooking in cauldrons and studying some ingredients (all npcs). None of them seem to want to offer me any advice though. Finally the little guy in the corner asks me if I want to join the culinary guild, and I oblidge. Once I have joined the others in the room decide they want to give me some info. They offer me some basic recipes (although they dont tell me where to find the ingredients) and give me the option to let them look over the things I make for their approval, I don't know what importance this bares yet. I have a feeling crafting is going to get very deep and involved, and according to players it is very profitable and everybody uses crafted stuff.

After leaving the culinary guild I stop by some random NPC vendors. One of them is selling maps. I turns out that when you want to venture to certain areas, particularly dungeon type places, you need to purchase maps for them, or go mapless! This is pretty cool. Also, The defualt full screen map that shows youre current area (in big towns and land masses) isnt very detailed, which I like. I find myself commiting landmarks to memory to find my way around.

On my way back to my little quest giving guard I decide to stop by the "residential area". Ever player has acess to their mog house (you FF fans know what mogs are, and you love em!). It is an instanced home but you can decorate it as much as you can afford, craft, or fight for and invite other players to see it. In your mog house your mog will allow you to Check your deilvery box, change jobs, store things, decorate, invite players in, set it to your home point and a few other things.

Earlier the quest giving guard asked me to go kill a monster a some canyon to the north. Turns out I wasnt nearly strong enough at the time. Now that I am lvl 10 I am ready to venture to the canyon with a party. Basically from level 10 on you will be partying %80 of the time, and this excites me! But first I stop to get signet cast on me. When I do this I notice that the guard offers to send me on a supplies run. When certain areas are under your nations control (by players doing missions for them, and winning conquests and things of that sort) you can run supplies to outposts in the area. This gives you a bunch of conquest points (used to trade for cool, very useful items) and you can buy certain items from people at outposts that you couldnt typically find in other places. My first run was to a close outpost and only took about 15 minutes.

The most recent substantial thing I have figure out is Field of Valor. There is a book outside of the main gate of each major city. When you read it you have the option to do individual training. You choose your page (each higher page offers a higher task) and complete the task. For example: Page 4 asks me to kill 4 members of the Yagudo family and 2 members of the crawler family. Upon completion I gain 400 xp and some conquest points. This definitely helps the grind, which is a pretty steep one. Im not sure if this is offered throughout the entire game or only at early levels, as I am doing page 4 and I only see 5 pages. We shall see.

KEEP IN MIND! I have still not experienced any of the group content, missions, chocobo races, besiged (pvp), sub classing, or conquests and I am already having an amazing time and will certainly be subbing. I was told that there are lots of cut scenes throughout the game and that the story gets very deep (would you expect less from a final fantasy title?), I cant wait for this! While I may have ruiend the entire beginning for some people, I hope it at least made some people realize that this could possibly be that old school MMO experience you are looking for, with a game that is still fresh with players and still updated regularly by the Devs : ) There is so much content in this game that there are even things that players who started at release havent even done or seen!

Leviathonlx · February 2009

I'd be tempted to try the 14 day trial but Fileplanet still gives me the 'you are not in North America' error that it gave the last time they did this and there doesn't seem to be anywhere else I can download it.

jezvin · February 2009

I didn't know that add those new quests for new players thats pretty cool. There has been a big focus on new players from the developers in the past few months.

Teganx · February 2009

Originally posted by Leviathonlx

I'd be tempted to try the 14 day trial but Fileplanet still gives me the 'you are not in North America' error that it gave the last time they did this and there doesn't seem to be anywhere else I can download it.

Have you tried direct2drive or any of the similar sites?

QSatu · February 2009

Really nice review. I started just a few weeks ago and I'm loving it. about the quest.. actually I think there are a lot of them.. maybe not as many as in WoW or GW or some other newer games but if you want you can find them. Sometimes npc will tell you some story and you even don;t know you started a quest. I have few quests which I don;t even know when I started them..

Khrymson · February 2009

Nice review thus far, glad you're liking it and taking the time to learn how to play. It can be overwhelming for some. About the quests, there are several thousand quests now spread across the game in each city and NPC hub, but you won't get to them all anytime soon.

Many will takes months before you unlock them, and others you have to be well over lvl 60 and up to 75 before you'll have a chance at them. As you said though, yeah none of them give XP except for a select few, but its very small and a random amount...could be 100xp or 1200xp.

You mentioned crystals are for crafting which is true, but for now I'd take those crystals in stacks of 12 and sell them on the AH to other players for awhile. That is your first means of getting a nice profit early on, and also check the AH for random drops that all enemies drop that you're fighting. One of the best things about FFXI is everything that drops in this MMO has a useful purpose to someone; be it a crafter, for a quest or mission, bait...or a consumable to raise your stats a short while. Nothing is vendor trash like many other MMOs just there to fill you're bags with nonsense.

Sure most of the stuff you're getting is prolly huh, and appears to be something u can't use, but there is a use for it all so check the AH for the item, and see what other players are buying it for and list it. You'd be surprised what some things are bought for....and this is your primary source of income{selling to other players!}

What server did ya choose, don't think ya said?

Teganx · February 2009

Originally posted by Khrymson

Nice review thus far, glad you're liking it and taking the time to learn how to play. It can be overwhelming for some. About the quests, there are several thousand quests now spread across the game in each city and NPC hub, but you won't get to them all anytime soon.
Many will takes months before you unlock them, and others you have to be well over lvl 60 and up to 75 before you'll have a chance at them. As you said though, yeah none of them give XP except for a select few, but its very small and a random amount...could be 100xp or 1200xp.
You mentioned crystals are for crafting which is true, but for now I'd take those crystals in stacks of 12 and sell them on the AH to other players for awhile. That is your first means of getting a nice profit early on, and also check the AH for random drops that all enemies drop that you're fighting. One of the best things about FFXI is everything that drops in this MMO has a useful purpose to someone; be it a crafter, for a quest or mission, bait...or a consumable to raise your stats a short while. Nothing is vendor trash like many other MMOs just there to fill you're bags with nonsense.
Sure most of the stuff you're getting is prolly huh, and appears to be something u can't use, but there is a use for it all so check the AH for the item, and see what other players are buying it for and list it. You'd be surprised what some things are bought for....and this is your primary source of income{selling to other players!}
What server did ya choose, don't think ya said?

Oo thanks for clearing some of that stuff up : ) Good to know about the stacks of 12 thing.

Bahaumut server.

Leviathonlx · February 2009

Originally posted by Teganx

Originally posted by Leviathonlx

I'd be tempted to try the 14 day trial but Fileplanet still gives me the 'you are not in North America' error that it gave the last time they did this and there doesn't seem to be anywhere else I can download it.

Have you tried direct2drive or any of the similar sites?

I ended up finding a torrent of the EU installer and so I just ended up using that. Not like I need the US version to know whether or not FFXI can at least give me something to do other than play WoW (downloaded Vangaurds trial last night and the game was so-so).

Teganx · February 2009

Originally posted by Leviathonlx

Originally posted by Teganx

Originally posted by Leviathonlx

I'd be tempted to try the 14 day trial but Fileplanet still gives me the 'you are not in North America' error that it gave the last time they did this and there doesn't seem to be anywhere else I can download it.

Have you tried direct2drive or any of the similar sites?

I ended up finding a torrent of the EU installer and so I just ended up using that. Not like I need the US version to know whether or not FFXI can at least give me something to do other than play WoW (downloaded Vangaurds trial last night and the game was so-so).

Im coming out of WoW into FFXI as well and let me tell you its a wonderful chang of pace. And unlike in WoW, its doubtful tht you will EVER run out of things to do.

BizkitNL · February 2009

After reading this, decided to give it a try. I might just like it.

Anyway, found the european trial on fileplanet.

www.fileplanet.com/191959/190000/fileinfo/FINAL-FANTASY-XI-14-Day-Free-EU-Trial

By the way: Anyone have a site with those graphical adjustments? You know, the DO's and DON'T's?

Teganx · February 2009

Awesome!

I used this for the graphics

BizkitNL · February 2009

Originally posted by Teganx

Awesome!
I used this for the graphics

Nice, thanks.

Teganx · February 2009

Originally posted by BizkitNL

Originally posted by Teganx

Awesome!
I used this for the graphics

Nice, thanks.

Ive seen other methods of improving them even farther but forget where. Theres a thread on the first or second page on here about great graphics and those people have some amazing screen shots. I think ill hit one of them up about it. The regedit thing works wonders but I know I can get them even better somehow.

Rethek · February 2009

Great review, i hope it does get people to venture out and try it if they haven't already i think people should always dip into new games. I played when it was available for north america and at first i loved it. was refreshing, looked beautiful, (i played on the ps2 version which i thought was awesome.) but in the later parts of the game it just frustrated me, (to the point of me throwing my keyboard at the wall and swearing off MMOS forever, well that was until at least when Teganx who is also my cousin showed me World of Warcraft.) and i just don't think i would want to try it again unless i know it became a little bit more involved in later parts of the game. Mind you i wasn't end game or anything, i had a 47 dragoon, im not sure if its still like this but there was a huge huep-la about dragoons dmg being far less in parties then drk knights, which i would prove to be false numerous times, but yet people would end up kicking me out of a grp when it was still forming because they would want a drk knight when i hadnt even gotten a chance to show them whats up. but none the less i felt i was being patient when i would sit out side of these caves forgot the name, for 4 hours just to get a grp to go in and kill these dumb little catipillers, because there werent any quests, and of course quests dont give you exp so bassicaly if you wanted to lvl up you would just grind for hours upon hours. But i did it anyway, and the day i actually quit was because after 4 hrs i finally got a grp, went in the healer failed and i died so many times that i lost my almost full bar of exp and was back at zero for that lvl, and then the grp disbanded, my frustration rising i stood out of the caves, went to the towns EVERYWHERE trying to find a grp, and after numerous hours of waiting and nothing i said screw it and quit.

I did have alot of fun in the early parts of the game, im a huge FF fan and i loved riding chocobos, even though i was a little annoyed by the fact that you could only rent them instead of owning one and riding it whenever you wanted to.

A few of the things that i loved doing was, fishing for one, i cant really place my finger on, maybe just because its been years since i played., but i remember i could just sit there for an entire day fishing, had my little fisherman's outfit, and there was always at-least 5 guys fishing at this pond right outside of the elven capital and we would just talk for hours and i really enjoyed it. i remember using the money that i made from selling the fish to buy this blue armor set for when i was still a warrior lvling up until i could become a dragoon.

but overall my experience from this game has scarred me haha i'll remember it for a lloonnggg time maybe the rest of my life. obviously this is just my view because there are tons of people who still play, got 75 and everything so please dont let my opinion keep you from the game i still think people should try it.

and who knows maybe it has a changed alot since i've played, its certainly been awhile since i've played.

Satimasu · February 2009

They always forget how the Wyvern adds to your damage. Anyway, just to let you know how DRG's do now, I went from 10-60+ in a few weeks with breaks in between. I could have probably gotten to 75 if I hadn't of been almost broke when I started leveling it.

That and DRG's are great at soloing. Always have been really. It's just easier now. That and Wyvern isn't a 2hr anymore.

maxnrosy · February 2009

Just to let everone know about the part the op mentions about the horrible patching time.

it didnt take me 2 days to patch the game, infact only 3 hours.

I guess this has to do with your isp. a hiccup can cause their patcher to fail.

so basicly the time it will take to patch will vary.

maxnrosy · February 2009

Originally posted by Satimasu

They always forget how the Wyvern adds to your damage. Anyway, just to let you know how DRG's do now, I went from 10-60+ in a few weeks with breaks in between. I could have probably gotten to 75 if I hadn't of been almost broke when I started leveling it.
That and DRG's are great at soloing. Always have been really. It's just easier now. That and Wyvern isn't a 2hr anymore.

Id marry you if i could . ty for letting me know they actually made dragoons a bit more useful.

guess its time to make my char.

Oh gawd which server to start on.

*runs off chanting dragoon*

Satimasu · February 2009

DRG's were always useful, people were just stupid.
I'm on Kujata, so if you choose to start there, let me know.

maxnrosy · February 2009

starting there. but trying to pump up the grafics. I kinda did the reg hack but i dont see an improvement. i guess its stuck in low res. trying to figure how to push it to high res

oh and about dragoon, i did play ffxi before the samurai nerf. this is what led dragoons to be hated for a long time.

jeebus i can tell its been a while. the controls are akward for me since before i used a controller. guess i have to buy one XD

figured it out will be getting in game.

my chars name is Zanukk

Satimasu · February 2009

SAM nerf? I remember the RNG nerf, but not SAM. Maybe the WS TP nerf though. Send me a tell when you're in game. Make sure to mess around with the FFXI Config if you haven't already.

maxnrosy · February 2009

yeah the tp nerf, sorry got a bit confused there. its been a darn long time.

All i can say is this WOW im quite impressed, this game did age well. expecially putting the regedit to the max (800)

well i am struggling with the controls. seems it will take some time for me to get used to and well now its pretty late.

ill give this game another shot tommorow.

Teganx · February 2009

dont forget to switch it to compact keyboard. Theres nothing difficult about using asdw for movement, most people do it in their games anyways : ) and navigating menus is as easy as arrow keys.

maxnrosy · February 2009

bah forget that i got a trusty controller now xD

Suplyndmnd · February 2009

@maxnrosy

1.) What server did you choose

2.) What's the number for the doctor i need to see for my time sink addiction?

maxnrosy · February 2009

Originally posted by Suplyndmnd

@maxnrosy
1.) What server did you choose
2.) What's the number for the doctor i need to see for my time sink addiction?

Xd you know i just realized i still have that utterly old comment under my name hehe. I guess i should change it. kinda doesnt makes sence when i played games like eve and ffxi hehe

Today i ended up buying the full expantions set and installing as i type this message. There is a option i have to revive my old account and actuall have my 4year old lost chars restored. So that will be a nice plus for me. Since i qualify for the type b recovery ill be xfering my char from diabolos to Kujata where im currently playing.

did have some fun with the trial last night. managed to see how much square has improved on this game since my long last visit.

Hyanmen · February 2009

Try to get started on Fields of Valor AsAp! It will be extremely helpful to you in the long run, and the earlier you start the better. You can gain exp, gil and points to use for bonuses such as 1 mp regen/3 sec, Reraise, food that gives you stat and mp and so on. You can do them once per vanadiel day (57 RL mins) and it is not very restricted. You can log out and continue later if you don't have time. For more info do look at the wiki page: wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Fields_of_Valor

Generally speaking whm's tend to be pretty weak in FoV and solo play in general, especially if you use a staff, but this is a group game and you can take advantage of the FoV bonuses even in a party .

If I had to suggest a job I'd probably say to try Paladin, since tanks are always in demand and tanking is actually quite fun in this game (if you don't lose hate that often) and you will get invited fairly fast compared to other jobs.

There are many good quests in this game that can make you some cash to help in funding your spells and gear with little effort. Making money in this game can be tough so it's good to know the basics right away. I can tell you most of the quests that will make good cash starting at around lvl20 but not in public, since that might ruin them , so send me a PM if you want to hear more!

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UPDATED Interested in starting? Review of my first 10 levels

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*UPDATED* Interested in starting? Review of my first 10 levels

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UPDATED Interested in starting? Review of my first 10 levels