does it matter?

[remnant1]

does it matter if i choose between any of the 5 races?are there certain jobs or quests or stat diferentces at all?the tarutaru seem like they have litle melee and the galka look the have tons,but is race a factor?

[Germ Hamee]

The only thing it really effects is your job stats.

I think it's a good idea to be race conscious when you first begin the game, depending on whatever job you think you're going to focus on. Not only will it help you get through the early solo levels faster, but you'll get better party invites as well. When you're farther in the game, it's fine to level those "other" jobs on the side. Just try to avoid making white mage the main job for your Galka, for example, until you really know what you're doing.

Taru -- Great at being mages, with high intelligence and mp pool. I see them work best as black mages and summoners.
Elvaan -- Decent melee, high mind so they work well as white mages
Mithra -- Good as thieves, rangers.
Galka -- Your tank race. Melee, melee, melee.
Hume -- The well-rounded race. You can do pretty much anything here, but not quite as well as you could if you tailored your race to your job.

There's really a lot of wiggle room here, though. Just try to avoid ridiculous job & race combinations and you'll be fine.

[remnant1]

could you maybe give me a list of those ridiculos job&race combos(besides galka and mages)

[ThePheonix]

First of all, remember that most job differences in stats will be quite unnoticeable by even the middle levels, the only exception being the hp/mp difference between, for example, a galka and a taru mage. Although you may think that tarus will make perfect mages from the start, when my bro lvled blm through valkurm, he died way more than I did (he's a taru, I'm elvaan) but in the end, tarus will have decent hp, and very high MP and will be able to survive ok, especially when tanking becomes easier.
Now a galka mage would be able to use some hp-->mp gear that will bring his MP to a decent level. Remember that race is not as important as gear, which is not as important as job.

So, if you know what you're doing any race can do any job well, just some people have problems accepting things like Galka Blm, and taru tanks (which are in fact quite good, especially as pld)

[remnant1]

this is very reasuring information.and i saw anouther post that ffXl isnt worth buying for the ps2 is that true?

[demondude]

i predict ouch will post in the next 10 seconds for some reason

[Ouch!]

Assuming your party is functioning properly and efficiently, you shouldn't have to worry about things like a tarutaru mage having dismal HP. If you've got a tank who knows what he or she is doing, you shouldn't take much damage at all (if any).

I tried a lot of different jobs while I played. I never had much trouble as a tarutaru melee (I tanked as a warrior and out-damaged most other melees as a dark knight). A well-equipped tarutaru melee will easily out-damage an elvaan melee with mediocre equipment. The problem is that the equipment necessary to make you excel can be extremely expensive (I doubt that's changed much since I quit).

It's easier to start off playing to your strengths. In the beginning, you're not going to be able to afford the equipment necessary to be a good galka white mage. You'll need the best MP+ gear you can get, such as astral rings.

If there is one thing I've noticed about people who use unfavorable job/race combinations are the best out there. If you see a level 40 galka white mage, you can almost be sure that he's damn good at what he does. The best WHM I ever had was a galka because he knew how to conserve his MP. This meant that he didn't draw hate, and he still did a very good job at keeping us alive. The best paladin I've ever partied with was a tarutaru (hi Ome!).

So yeah, long story short, try the more challenging combinations once you've become familiar with the game and can afford the things you need to make you as good as (or better than) others.

Edit:

i predict ouch will post in the next 10 seconds for some reason
Congratulations, you've discovered the "Who's Online" page.

[Del Murder]

I would not start this game as a Galka mage. Galka can be good mage like everyone else, but if it is your first job then you will struggle.

I was a Taru WAR to start this game and I had my bumps in the road but overall didn't have much trouble. Of course I had the luxury of a 48 WHM following me around. :)

[Siegfried]

this is very reasuring information.and i saw anouther post that ffXl isnt worth buying for the ps2 is that true?

Financially, not really...
But it is definitely a LOT easier and less jerky to use...
That is, if you have a keyboard, other wise you are, to put it bluntly, stuck in Cape Terrigan without a warp

[Rostum]

Best advice I can give you is: Be whatever you want to be, because you're the one that's going to be looking at your character the most, so you'll want something you think is awesome.

For me, I went Tarutaru Paladin because I loved (and still do) the whole cuteness factor of a little tacker being a holy knight. And it was the same when I leveled up warrior for him, I just thought it was cute to have this little guy weild axes and do a lot of damage.

But yeah, it's up to you what you think is cool and looks cool.

[Lionx]

Your taru was THE trooper and leader of all things including death! ....and so am i! XD

I leveled White Mage first on my Tarutaru for other reasons not involving stat/racial traits, but my second job was a Paladin just like Omecle and i think i am doing fine. A few of my friends say that i am a good PLD and go out of my way to do a better job than most other PLDs out there despite me getting one shot here and there and hovering over red HP :x

I do have gear to cover up my shortcommings however and honestly as long as you have the skill and the knowledge of getting certain key parts of gear, you should do fine as whatever job, whatever the race.