new player with a few questions

[Myzery]

i just got a copy of final fantasy xi vana diel collection today and i was wandering how it compares to all of the free rpgs on the net,the reason im asking is bc i wont get a chance to play until next week, is the player communty very large?does lag affect the game?what sets final fantasy xi apart from other rpgs?what about in game spammers?i was playing rappelz up until a friend had told me to grab this game the first chance i got,thank you for putting up with my 1000 questions but i just want to know what is in store for me when i play this game ty

 

[Westyle]

In my opinion, any paid subscription MMORPG is an infinitely greater experience than a free one. You won't really see any spam unless people are joking in the /shout channel in a city.
This game focuses heavily on teamwork, I advise to make a lot of friends in game. For making gil, watch the Auction House. See what is selling. At a low level your easiest source of gil will most likely be selling beehive chips from killing bees.

http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Main_Page is a very good source of information.

 

[Sandria]

i just got a copy of final fantasy xi vana diel collection today and i was wandering how it compares to all of the free rpgs on the net,the reason im asking is bc i wont get a chance to play until next week, is the player communty very large?does lag affect the game?what sets final fantasy xi apart from other rpgs?what about in game spammers?i was playing rappelz up until a friend had told me to grab this game the first chance i got,thank you for putting up with my 1000 questions but i just want to know what is in store for me when i play this game ty

I've never played rappelz in order to know how to compare and contrast the game, but on like Wes said, generally games with a monthly fee are better than the "free" games. You'll typically find a different callibure of players in a subscription type game verses a game where you can make a new account at random. People just value their character's more when they put their credit card number in it. The games also tend to run a LOT better. Game support on FFXI is a bit lacking compared to WoW which I've been told has absolutley excellent customer support, but it's still better than a lot of the free "quite unreachable" companies I've delt with in "free" games. Also majority of "free" games are not that free to play to the optimal level. You can get away with not investing money if you're very casual, but the majority of the "free" games have gimics that charge you for various other things, be it added services, cash shops to gain that added edge, or various other hidden fees. Typically you'll end up paying more in the long run if you get very involved in your character in those type of companies. Again, I'm not familar with your game, so I am not sure how avoidable it is to not get sucked into paying for services.


The amount of lag you will experience in FFXI is going to rely heavily on your PC specs. I have a pretty decent system and I rarely ever lag unless in a few scenerios such as highly congested areas or visually intensive areas, but its few and far between for me. Generally I can run multiple instances of the game in the background and experience no lag while say on the forum typing now. I cannot say that for some free games due to whatever reason. I assume its due to better programming. That's not to say you won't-- again, comes down to computer specs/video card/memory, etc. You can check the FFXI website, and prolly your disc collection as well for recommended settings.

Like Wes stated, the game is strongely based on teamwork. You're starting levels will primarily be done solo, but then you will progress into leveling via a "party". A party can be as small as two members, or as large as a full party of 6. Majority of exp parties consist of 6 members, but that's not to say it cannot be done with fewer. Later on in the game you'll become introduced into "Alliances" which are needed when 6 is just not enough. Alliance activities are very common during "end-game" and occassionally before then. 'End-game" is basically a term for activities done once obtaining 75. (Currently, the highest level a player can achieve.) Your reputation of being a good or a bad player can influence your out-come of receiving parties, mission invites, and various other activies. Every new player is generally going to make mistakes, after all, you have to crawl before you can walk and walk before you can run. There are several guides scattered around the web that you can find to get advice on how to play your job to the fullest. And, also most here on this site will be generally more than willing to answer further questions.

FFXI has a vary unique 'class system' and is generally refered to as your 'Job'. Some Job's are in higher demand than others in the party scene. I strongely recommend you picking something that will interest you as well as experiencing various jobs at lower levels to get an idea as to what you would like to do. There are also various races to chose from. Out of the 5 races each of them have their strengths and weaknesses. It is assumed that any race can perform any job in the game, but there is a gray area where some jobs are considered to perform certain roles better. Example being, a Tarutaru is assumed to be the best choice for playing a mage, where as an Elvaan is said to be best at Melee. That's not to say that an elvaan cannot play a mage or a tarutaru cannot play a melee. Gear/Equipment plays a large role in this game. Strive to have the best gear available to you whenever possible as it's just as important as knowing how to play your job role.

If people are not your thing, and you like to be more of a solo kinda guy/girl, there are jobs that are highly effective playing solo. One of the more notable jobs that is very solo in nature is an 'Advanced job' called the beastmaster (BST). It's a challenging, yet rewarding, job to level and great for those who don't like to wait for a party. If you're more of a social butterfly and want those quick invites, I'd recommend you pick White Mage (WHM), Red Mage (RDM), Bard (BRD), which are considered 'Support Classes'. They tend to heal the other party members, casting spells on the monster to make them easier to fight, and buffing their other party members to strengthen them (or in the case of BRD, sing songs). Paladin and Ninja are also very popular in the party scene. They act as a tank, using their abilities to focus the mob's attention on themselves to protect the party. Generally speaking, every party requires a healer and a tank-- thus their higher demand. In theory, the majority of the other jobs are considered 'DD'.. Damage Dealers. If your heart's set on playing a Black Mage (BLM), Monk (MNK), Dragoon (DRG), etc. Don't disregard them either, as every party needs an effective amount of damage delt to the mob. They just tend to be the last ingrediant added into an effective party and are often in high competion with each other for the party slot. Some DD classes tend to be picked more over others.

All in all, the better you play your job the more likely you will be to get invites. For instance, You played with RandomGuy the day before and did a great job in his party, he's more apt to pick you over say someone else that might also be seeking. Unfortunately, it's easier to get a bad reputation than it is to get a good one. If you keep a good attitude that will generally outshine any mechanical mistakes you might experience. But, don't worry about all that starting out-- just remember to have fun. Most parties are pretty relaxed pre-37. Towards higher levels things can be a little less forgiving and people get very serious about their exp and set their expectations a bit higher.

If you have questions ask, if you need links to guides, ask for those also. There's a FFXIwiki that has a great database of information on close to everything game related.

 

[Tristam Green]

Coinciding with but building on the previous statements, as a general rule paid MMOs are not "better", per sé, but more in-depth as a general rule. One marked exception is NCSoft's Guild Wars, which I played for about 6 months prior to and somewhat after beginning in FFXI.

More or less on that stance, the paid-subscription MMOs have more manpower (generated from the revenues generated by the fees) to constantly build the game experience more and more.


In terms of gameplay, I'll quote Sandria, and do a shameless plug for the race so nice, it sounds like it was named twice (Tarutaru):

That's not to say that an elvaan cannot play a mage or a tarutaru cannot play a melee.

Real men play Tarutaru Dark Knight

 

[Lavi]

There is a sticky you should probably check at the top of the page, it does say returning players, but I think it aptly applies to new players as well. Here is the link as well: http://www.qcdn.org/ffxi/showthread.php?t=60434

Take the good with the bad, the game is not meant for some, it's very time intensive. At this point in the game, getting groups to do many different activities is very difficult because it has been around so long. SE has said they do plan on fixing and adding things to make parties easier, but my faith in their word isn't very strong. Good luck and I hope your friend can help you along the way.

 

[Carste]

To build on Sandria's reputation theme, remember that you are new and no matter how hard you try you won't fully understand some game mechanics. The majority of people are understanding of this at the lower levels and will likely answer any questions you have. The reason why many people hate new players and why many new players get a bad rep almost instantly is they (the new players) feel they have a complete grasp on the game mechanics by the time they hit level 20. They browsed the internet, reading different forums and brady guides giving them all the information they will ever need to know about this game. So what happens when a relatively experienced player is in a party with these kids and notices they are doing something dumb? The experienced player will offer their advice (Most of the time they're being genuinely helpful, on fewer other occasions not so much). These new players will feel insulted because they did all this "research" beforehand and lash out. They lose potential xp partners and end up sucking horribly at lvl 75 with no friends.

So, long story short: Don't be afraid to ask questions. Don't take advice given from other players without you asking for it as a personal attack.

 

[exodusamphi]

Im sure you can send a /tell to anyone who answers in this thread for any questions.

There are quite a few commands you should know when you start.

typing /tell Exodusamphi hi! will send "hi!" to me. insert any name for mine and you can ask questions. A quick tip is do control key + r, that will bring up the last person you talked to so your not stuck typing a name everytime.

tab key targets around any npc and lets you select them.

those two right there are probably the more important thing to know off the bat.

If you have any questions dont hesitate to ask us. Were a friendly bunch here, except on the flameboard.

Also, try to join Queztalcoatl server, because a /tell wont work if your on asura or any other server.

 

[Tim Wakefield]

Im sure you can send a /tell to anyone who answers in this thread for any questions.

There are quite a few commands you should know when you start.

typing /tell Exodusamphi hi! will send "hi!" to me. insert any name for mine and you can ask questions. A quick tip is do control key + r, that will bring up the last person you talked to so your not stuck typing a name everytime.

tab key targets around any npc and lets you select them.

those two right there are probably the more important thing to know off the bat.

If you have any questions dont hesitate to ask us. Were a friendly bunch here, except on the flameboard.

Also, try to join Queztalcoatl server, because a /tell wont work if your on asura or any other server.

I remember my first day in game. I couldn't even figure out how to move forward. I stood in Bastok markets for 15 minutes until I called my friend who also played to figure out some controls.

To be honest, In my personal opinion, this game is awesome at the beginning. Figuring things out, unlocking jobs, doing small quests. and farming stupid things was so much fun to me. Once you near the end/hit level 75, any progression at all requires a pretty good amount of time and dedication (hence why I've never gotten anything decent out of endgame), and a huge reliability on others. Still, it's a very enjoyable MMO if you play it the right way, and that's all that matters in the end, right?

 

[Flameass]

New player's guide.

You should watch these videos before you install the game. This will give you a good idea.

 

[Rappa]

Having played almost every free MMO in existance I can tell you that yes, you really do get what you pay for. Very few free MMOs can reliably provide users with a rewarding gaming experience. Rappelz is pretty poor in my opinion. If you liked it though, you'll really like FFXI.

 

[Reya]

A lot of people on Quetz and on QCDN are great folk and will look after you and steer you in the right direction. We have a lot of great resources here.

Starting out new to the game especially now, I feel, is much more of a challenge than it was say 4 years ago. I started back when 120 people in the dunes was a good day. You will solo a lot of your earlier levels. I haven't leveled a new job in forever but I remember back when I was lvling SCH a few months after WotG came out, it being very very difficult to find parties until about 22. Majority of the population are veteran players with multiple 75 jobs. You will notice parties and the game picking up when you hit lvl 30+ I want to say.

Making friends is the best advice I can give. You can't really do a whole lot in this game by yourself. FFXI is the only MMO I have played where it really rallies around players working with other players to accomplish a goal.

Best of luck with your Vana'diel experiences!