Etiquette Questions

[Dariuss]

Hi all!

I had a couple questions about in-game behaviour.. you know, what is accepted, what is frowned upon, general social mores....

1. Is it bad for a noob to start a party?

2. Is asking random people if they want to group up or duo frowned upon?

3. Do people care if you check them while running by?

4. Is it ok to randomly heal someone while they are fighting a mob?

5. Is the best way to get in a party just to go to an area and 'seek party'?

6. I think that's it for right now

cheers!

 

[Dejavu]

I had a couple questions about in-game behaviour.. you know, what is accepted, what is frowned upon, general social mores....

1. Is it bad for a noob to start a party?
No but if you are an idiot be prepared to be told so... and if you make a stupid party be prepared for people to leave.

2. Is asking random people if they want to group up or duo frowned upon?
No but typically it is not done because duo groups tend to be dual boxers with friends

3. Do people care if you check them while running by?
Some of the Japanese do... For a good time /c Raizondetre.

4. Is it ok to randomly heal someone while they are fighting a mob?
NM no, normal mob yes

5. Is the best way to get in a party just to go to an area and 'seek party'?
IMO best way is to be a whitegate wallflower. or make one.

6. I think that's it for right now
hope i helped

 

[Javir]

All these are good questions, unfortunately they have several answers and also heavily depend on people and specific situations. I'll try to be concise in my answers.

1. Nope, this can be a good thing, especially once you start getting an idea on what to look for when building. I'd suggest getting picked up in a couple parties if you can, but like with any game you want someone who can heal (SCH WHM RDM SMN) someone you want to try to keep the damage from the mob on them (WAR PLD NIN... in lower leveled pts BLU DNC SAM and MNK can manage it too). And the rest with just about w/e else that deal out the damage or can help support the healer (such as a second healer).

2. Duo isn't done frequently except perhaps between people who're familiar with each other or with certain jobs. But this doesn't mean its frowned upon by everyone. This one seriously depends on the individual(s) you ask.

3. Another one based on the individuals. Japanese speaking players tend to not like it for two main reasons: main one being that the way its phrased in Japanese is an intrusive sounding phrase (I can't remember what it is exactly), but it gives them a little more of an icky feeling than the English version (can't speak for French or German versions). The other reason is just that they simply do not like it. Now, there are ways to filter out the text so you never know who's checking you, so don't be afraid to check because this is an option for them. Just don't sit there and spam check them if they change gear to boot you out of checking them, cause that can lead to harassment if they push the issue.

4. Generally speaking, yes. Offer a protect a cure or other buffs. In later stages of the game against harder things Curing is used as a cut-throat method of trying to steal popular monsters as curing someone fighting a monster will make the monster have hate on you. If you don't really understand this part now, you will by the time you reach those aspects of the game. For now you can feel safe that people will appreciate it so long as you're careful. Too much curing can make their mob attack you, the same way too much curing in your party can make a mob attack you. Also, don't expect this courtesy to be returned. Many people focus specifically on what they are doing and may not pay attention to the fact that you're getting killed as they run by. Most people will raise you if you die though (unless they're riding on a chocobo, as that tends to cost money).

5. Earlier levels its best to seek near the area you're going to be trying to get a party at (usually Valkrum Dunes, so you'd want to be in the Kon. Highlands or La Theine Plateau. After about level 20 you'll want to be in the city of Jeuno any time you seek. You can be other places but this will make it easier to get right into a party.


I wish you luck. All I can say beyond above is there are a lot of nice people, but we kinda go tunnel vision while we do our routines. So if people seam selfish or like asses by brushing you off, this is just a mentality that afflicts many of us and we tend to forget to look out for the new guys. Just stay tough and make some friends as they will be what can help you push to get to the next stage in this game.

 

[Javir]

Holy crap Dejavu help someone?! maybe this game is getting turned around =P

 

[LadyKiKi]

1. Is it bad for a noob to start a party?

No, they'll have to learn someday. Might as well practice.

2. Is asking random people if they want to group up or duo frowned upon?

Asking doesn't hurt, I will always turn down politely, but your response after will determine my thoughts about you. I've had "ok ", "no prob" to "fine, asshole" fired at me.

3. Do people care if you check them while running by?

JPs sometimes do (yay lets start another argument on /check! ). I don't. Hi

4. Is it ok to randomly heal someone while they are fighting a mob?

Yes, if they don't like it, tell them to put "blockaid" on (by doing /blockaid on). It prevents people outside of your party from aiding you.

5. Is the best way to get in a party just to go to an area and 'seek party'?

Depends on area. For levels 10-20, yes, because you're mainly going to Valkrum Dunes (and it's a long walk from town). The camps after that are always relatively close to a town.

 

[Arthur]

1. Is it bad for a noob to start a party?
Not at all, its better to know how to do it at earlier lvls then at 50+. Its a time saver too, alot of people just dont make parties ever and just wait for hours and complain.

2. Is asking random people if they want to group up or duo frowned upon?
Depends on the job and person. BST and BLMs usually dont get into exp pts, so most of them are willing to duo for fun/faster exp. But some people are loners and rather play solo all the time or at that specific moment because they have a short time to play or something. Basically, nice people will duo. ^^

3. Do people care if you check them while running by?
If you check someone once they usually dont care. 2 Times + becomes a little annoying sometime. And like the others said its a problem to some JPs. I know I've had experience with this, I once checked a guy in whitegate to see what weapon was he using because I didn't recognize it, and he gave me about 10 checks back.

4. Is it ok to randomly heal someone while they are fighting a mob?
If they are dieing its nice to do lol. If they are killing just fine usually people will say thank you, as long as you dont pull the monster's attention and make the mob attack you instead.

5. Is the best way to get in a party just to go to an area and 'seek party'?
Usuallly people like to be close to where they want to exp. Like seeking in valkrum dunes region for a PT there. Or seeking in jeuno for a Qufmin PT, Kazham for a Jungle PT and Aht Whitegate for PTs in that region. But its all your choice,I always seek and do something at the same time like craft or farm but have a to warp/tele ready for PT.

 

[Tristam Green]

Hi all!

I had a couple questions about in-game behaviour.. you know, what is accepted, what is frowned upon, general social mores....

1. Is it bad for a noob to start a party?

Nope, and I highly suggest trying this as a Thief before level 30, so you get a REAL feel for making parties. It's about as pain-in-the-ass as it gets.

2. Is asking random people if they want to group up or duo frowned upon?

Not if done politely.

3. Do people care if you check them while running by?

I don't give a crap if someone checks me, but I have been /poked, /slapped (hi Lavi), /smiled, /blushed, and any other kind of emote by random strangers when I check them out.

4. Is it ok to randomly heal someone while they are fighting a mob?

NM no, regular mob Yes, as said before.

5. Is the best way to get in a party just to go to an area and 'seek party'?

Once you hit Jeuno or Whitegate, seek there. Don't needlessly leave town unless you just want to explore - this can be vastly rewarding too.

For a good time /c Raizondetre.

Be sure to bring your can of "Bitch-B-Gone" and a copy of your Black List with you though.

 

[ds083roadkill]

1. generally yes. i would suggest taking all the invites you can so you can see the differance between bad and good setups. at all levels its differant. it's alot better then seeing it in action then saying get a healer tank and dd go! pairing a pld with a sch will yeild bad results.

2. also depends on the level. lvl 12~ asking someone to go kill worms or something in king r. tomb is perfectly acceptable i belive. now asking a lvl 75 bard to go duo 9 times out of 10 wont work. it also depends on the job. asking a dark knight and a dragoon to duo crawlers just wont work. or two whm wont work. whm and a ranger would work well.

3. there are a few people that get all bent out of shape when you check them, and will purposly change equipment to remove thier info from you. generally they are r-tards who are two stubborn to put on the filter. JP players dont like it because the way it appears to them translated, something alot the lines of "stares at you hard" or a long time, something similar.

4. NM's dont, people will assume your attempting to steal it. and it will then also come after you if they fail at killing it. regular monsters its fine, just becarful to not over-do it because it will come after you and the player trying to level may lose tp or have to chase it down, and thats annoying.

5. 10-19, sit in v.dunes, 20~50 sit in port or lower jueno, 50+ whitegate. fill out your seacom properly, which should contain your TNL (till next level), applicable subjobs, note worthy gear that would make you stand out above others your level, and the level your willing and able to level snyc down to. Also turn on your /tell chime if you plan to afk during seeking, and turn the volume up and music off.

 

[Morwen]

1. Is it bad for a noob to start a party?
Absolutely not! Like others have said, its always good to start somewhere. Oftentimes if you sit and wait for everyone to do the work for you, you don't really get anywhere! :3

2. Is asking random people if they want to group up or duo frowned upon?

Typically its good to do a /sea all <insert level range, ie. 20-23, here> and ask the people with a (!) by their names but I dont think it hurts at all to ask someone who isn't LFP for a party. If they respond to you in a cranky way, you didn't want them to level with you anyhow!

3. Do people care if you check them while running by?

Some do and some don't. It's all a matter of personal preference and there is absolutely no way of knowing what a stranger prefers so the best way to find out is to /check. If they're rude towards you, just apologize and move on. I, personally, don't care. So if you see me running around, feel free to /check.

4. Is it ok to randomly heal someone while they are fighting a mob?

Being that I am a mother-hen and have also leveled WHM, I do this all the time, even on my other jobs. Its a nice gesture and in all my years of playing, I've only once been barked at because someone was trying to "fukken HP gadammet". At that point I was just glad to have foiled their plans because they were rude. Heh.

5. Is the best way to get in a party just to go to an area and 'seek party'?

Putting your Seek Party status is great, but also accompany it with a /seacom of the green variety. Helps a lot.

6. I think that's it for right now

Hope I was of some assistance ^^

 

[Dancingweapon]

Pretty much what these guys have said above really. When making a party you normally want to have a tank (PLD, NIN or WAR) some kind of healer (WHM, RDM, SCH) then some kind of support (DNC, BRD, COR, SMN (SMN is a funny one, it can fall into different categories really)) then just fill the other three slots with DD.

You won't always get party setups like this and sometimes the strangest setups can really shock you at times (in a good way).

Also when leading a party you might want to know where people normally level. Here is a great resource. http://campsitarus.blogspot.com/ If trying somewhere 'out' there ask the other party members for their input too. Asking questions never hurt and if your well mannered people often don't mind answering them.

It's really nice to see new players asking questions about how to behave. It will be hard at first, but when you get it down you'll enjoy yourself a lot. You seem a cool guy, if you ever need a support member in your party send me a tell. DNC GOGOGO!

 

[Malagra]

The English message for /check is "<Playername> examines you."
The Japanese message is roughly "<Playername> stares at you fixedly..."

They tend not to like that. How that made it past a Quality Check or whatever is beyond me.

 

[Dariuss]

Thanks for the replies. Good to know i'm on the right track.

Been doign a bit of grouping, sort of getting the hang of what to do. Gonna head back to Windurst and level up some subjobs now so that'll keep me occupied for a while.

I'm sure i'll have more questions soon :biggrin:

 

[Stine]

A lot of good advice so far in here. I just wanted to add that if you need to leave a party, it's good to let the party know so they can decide if they want a replacement member or if they want to disband. Sometimes party leaders will ask you to find one while other party leaders prefer to find a replacement themselves. Generally I think it's good to let the party know when you have 30 minutes left. If you can't find a replacement or the leader can't, then at least you let them know ahead of time that you needed to go. Also, it's best to look for a job similar to yours when finding a replacement but somethings it can work for the party if you find a job that isn't like yours. If in doubt politely ask the party leader or the party if the replacement is acceptable.

 

[Kurgon]

1. Is it bad for a noob to start a party?
No, but please send me a tell and don't be offended if I ask some questions about where and what the party build is. I always turn down blind invites.

2. Is asking random people if they want to group up or duo frowned upon?
Not by me. I tend to dislike things being spammed in shout channel but say and tell are good to go. Certain duo groups work quite well and even the less optimum groups can be entertaining. It isn't always about the exp.

3. Do people care if you check them while running by?
I use to get irked by being checked but that was more due to the playerbase. Early to mid-life FFXI it wasn't too uncommon to have a check followed up by a snarky gimp or gil buyer comment depending on the "quality" of your equipment. Add into that an assumption of goals and condemnation of your subjob choice based upon those assumptions added to irritation. It doesn't bother me much anymore and you can go anon when not looking for group.

4. Is it ok to randomly heal someone while they are fighting a mob?
Please feel free to heal me or buff me up whenever you want. Just be aware that you can pull the mob off the person with heals and if it begins to chase you, please stop running so the poor little Thief isn't trying to chase it down to hit it or interrupting their ranged attacks by chasing. =D As for stealing mobs through healing isn't /blockaid still an option?

5. Is the best way to get in a party just to go to an area and 'seek party'?
For me the best way to look for group is to form it yourself or in the beginning solo in La Theine/Konschat Highlands (sp?) with your flag up. You can farm some drops and gain some exp while waiting. I can't stand sitting around doing nothing while lfg. Once you get some easier ways to get around the world you can always work on crafting, fishing, farming, etc while lfg.

6. I think that's it for right now
Remember to have fun. =D

My input.

 

[Lavi]

1. Is it bad for a noob to start a party?

Yes and no. I'd recommend getting a little experience with others as leaders to see what setups work, what setups you prefer, and other facets of partying before you take on the role of leader. People expect a leader to be strong and being a noobie to that role doesn't really bode well for the future of the party. However, if you can take a cue from other players and at least show you have an idea of what to do rather than going in blind, you'll get a lot farther. It also wouldn't hurt to warn the party that you're new to making parties, most will be a bit more receptive.

2. Is asking random people if they want to group up or duo frowned upon?

Depends on the person, job, level and event. With different factors, the person may very well change their mind or not, it really depends. It's not frowned on as well, you're at your own liberty to ask.

3. Do people care if you check them while running by?

Already covered.

4. Is it ok to randomly heal someone while they are fighting a mob?

Yes unless your intent is harmful. If they don't like to be healed or buffered, there is always "/blockaid on".

5. Is the best way to get in a party just to go to an area and 'seek party'?

It depends on the area you're going to. If you were in an area that is not common to solo in while seeking, but a common area for you level to join a party, I'd actually think you're there because you've already been invited. In this case, it might hinder your invites. However, if you're in a place where it's common to solo and party, I'd would invite. Although, if I noticed you'd been seeking awhile or I am trying desperately to fill the spot, I'd ask in either scenario with the assumption you didn't get an invite.

Hope that helps.

 

[Dariuss]

Thanks again for the advice..

seems to boil down to 'don't be a dick and you'll mostly be fine' which is nice. it doesn't seem like there's any strange faux pas 's that one could do on accident?

One thing i'm really struggling with is storage space... I've got 30 spots, something like 15 pieces of equipemnt, 4 - 6 kinds of chrystals, 1 or 2 foods/drinks (oh, tangent: any recommendations for cheap magely foods / drinks? a bit confused by all the options), and mayeb a couple other things like a warp scroll.... how do you deal with drops? Is it just a matter of knowing which ones are valuable and turfing the rest?

 

[Tim Wakefield]

Thanks again for the advice..

seems to boil down to 'don't be a dick and you'll mostly be fine' which is nice. it doesn't seem like there's any strange faux pas 's that one could do on accident?

One thing i'm really struggling with is storage space... I've got 30 spots, something like 15 pieces of equipemnt, 4 - 6 kinds of chrystals, 1 or 2 foods/drinks (oh, tangent: any recommendations for cheap magely foods / drinks? a bit confused by all the options), and mayeb a couple other things like a warp scroll.... how do you deal with drops? Is it just a matter of knowing which ones are valuable and turfing the rest?

There are a various amount of options that SE has added over the years to increase your storage. There are 3 Mog Safe upgrade quests, 6 or 8 Gobbiebag upgrades (I forget haha), a Mog Locker that you can attain once you gain access to Aht Urgan, and a number of furniture items that increase your "Storage" (which is only accessible from your home nation). All of these quests can be found on the FFXI wiki. Some require certain amounts of fame, and they all require purchasing certain items, so it would probably be best for you to look them up and figure out which ones would be most easily attained.

Still, as you progress, storing items will continue to be a pain in the ass. Just make sure you have the essentials and sell off the things you don't need and you'll be fine ^^

 

[Kurgon]

Also check the Auction House and see what is selling either fast or for a lot (strike a balance between them) and focus on those. The faster you can make a stack of items, the faster you can get them up on the AH. While soloing I tend to try to specialize in certain mobs to minimize the variety of potential partial stacks. An example would be to fight nothing but Bees and Bats so you really only get Wind Crystals, Beehive Chips, Honey, Bat Wings, maybe an occasional insect wing, fang, ****blood or something. There are simply times that things end up needed to be sold to the NPC.

Some items, like sheepskin, aren't stackable but if you take two of them and a wind crystal you can turn them into wool, which is stackable. There are ways to work the system but it's a balance between making money, if you want to craft, etc.

Another option is to create a secondary character, lovingly referred to as a mule, and send your partial stacks and equipment you no longer need but want to keep for future job leveling. That will cost you an extra $1 US per mule. Not only does a mule allow you to effectively double your storage but instead of being limited to being able to list 7 items for sell you can now sell 14 items at a time. Preferably keep your mule in another starter town. Some items will sell better in Windurst than in Bastok, and visa versa. That will also allow you to check local vendors and possibly save some ingame money that way as well.

Personally, when I play I have my main character and 4 mules, 1 mule for each starter town and one in Jeuno.

 

[Dariuss]

There are a various amount of options that SE has added over the years to increase your storage. There are 3 Mog Safe upgrade quests, 6 or 8 Gobbiebag upgrades (I forget haha), a Mog Locker that you can attain once you gain access to Aht Urgan, and a number of furniture items that increase your "Storage" (which is only accessible from your home nation). All of these quests can be found on the FFXI wiki. Some require certain amounts of fame, and they all require purchasing certain items, so it would probably be best for you to look them up and figure out which ones would be most easily attained.

Still, as you progress, storing items will continue to be a pain in the ass. Just make sure you have the essentials and sell off the things you don't need and you'll be fine ^^

Ah, yeah i remmeber reading something about the gobbiebag quests, i will go back and look into that thanks!

Edit/Question: Just looking at the wiki it says the Gobbiebag quest needs level 3 Jueno fame. About how on average many Windurst quests must one do to hit a fame level in Jeuno?

 

[Dariuss]

While soloing I tend to try to specialize in certain mobs to minimize the variety of potential partial stacks. An example would be to fight nothing but Bees and Bats so you really only get Wind Crystals, Beehive Chips, Honey, Bat Wings, maybe an occasional insect wing, fang, ****blood or something.

Some items, like sheepskin, aren't stackable but if you take two of them and a wind crystal you can turn them into wool, which is stackable. There are ways to work the system but it's a balance between making money, if you want to craft, etc.

^^^ Those ideas both sound like they could work for me.... especially the focussing on one or two mob types instead of jsut killing anything i see