finally got in!!! new player to FFXI

[Dante WolfWood]

after 4 1/2 hours of patch downloading I finally got in!!! i have to say; this game seems awesome so far. I'm Dantewolfwood;a lvl 8 rdm on kujata at windurst. Now I know theres a thread to introduce yourself but I mainly opened this up to ask a few questions:

1. how do I cast magic and change equip with just the keyboard? I try /equip (insert armor/weapon) and there it says command error. also /magic "cure" < me >; same thing. Someone help me out?

2. Now, this is a very n00bish question but where do I start the missions? already started quest but i cant find the missions to save my life!!

Well, thanks in advance and if ya happen to play on kujata, give me a /tell!:tongue:

[Bahamut2000X]

Firstly the text commands (case sensitive mind you) are /equip [slot] "Item Name"

So say you wanted to equip a justice badge, it would look like...

/equip neck "Justice Badge"

Note that the slot spot is whatever the name is on the equip menu, which is under the main menu when you hit the - key on the numpad.

Btw /commands are best used for macros, which I suggest you look into. Thier on the second half of the main menu (hit either left or right on the arrow keys to move over to them) and find macros and just select a brand new fresh and blank set of them and just make some.

As for magic it's just /ma "Spell Name"

Again all those commands are case sensitive. And much be spelled exactly as they are in the menu.

As for your second question you can begin missions from the gate guards of each town. Thier the ones next to the signet givers. You just talk to them and they will give your any mission you are able to meet the pre-reqs for.

[Citizen Bleys]

yeah, you'd need /equip Main "Sword of Utter Crap +1" (as an example) or /ma "Cure" &lt;st&gt;

Also, I don't think anyone here plays on Kujata. If you want a WP for Alexander, let me know.

EDIT: Also, you need to buy scrolls and read them before you can cast a magic spell...so if you didn't start as white mage, you don't have Cure yet, and even if you did start as whm, you'll need to go into your inventory and "use" the scroll.

[Dante WolfWood]

well, the equip one is working now but still having trouble with magic....what do I have to type in the <> to get it to automatically to cast on me? on party members? mob?

[Luc]

/ma "Cure" < t > to cast on whatever you're targeting.

/ma "Cure" < me > to cast on yourself.

[Dante WolfWood]

oh ok, thanks having no trouble now...

well, alittle trouble. I accidently bought a scroll of poison for 1.7k which was all my money...and my crystals arent selling so I'm broke...>.<

any tips? (why did I buy at AH? bc on kujata; windurst is ALWAYS last as far as I can tell in conquest...its strange...even lands right beside windurst are controlled by san doria...

[Del Murder]

Fight the Crawlers outside Windurst to get the Silk Thread drops. Those will get you some decent money to start out. Also the Goblins drop Wild Onions sometimes and they sell pretty well too.

When you get high enough the Giant Bees across the river are a good source of Beehive Chips.

[ScottNUMBERS]

Some tips.

- ALWAYS have Signet on, look for a guard with "W.W", (they will cast it on you) in front of their name (They should be at all major exits from Windurst and at outposts under your countries control).

- Save up 1000 Conquest Points (Earned from gaining exp points with Signet - You can check your Conquest Points by opening up your Menu and selecting "Region info"), and buy yourself an Empress Band. The Empress Band allows you to recieve a 50% bonus in experience points until three hours has past or 3000 exp points have been obtained.

- Keep your equipment and Subjob leveled. Pretty good idea sinse you'll be ridiculed if you don't and maybe even kicked from parties.

[Dante WolfWood]

k, so I should also level BLM, WHM, and WAR to atleast lvl 10 right? maybe even theif....well, thank yall for the help.

Already have the empress band but it still doesnt help much...All I can find is easy prey and get like 72 exp...is this the norm?

by the way I'm level 10 so...should I level somewhere else than sarburata? (spelling?)

[Darius]

Make sure you activate the Empress Band too. You said it doesnt help much so im not sure if you did this. Equip it, go to items and look at the Empress Band. There will be a timer on it. When it gets to 0 you can use it (its only like 10 15 seconds or something). After that an icon will come up at the top of the screen letting you know you have a "buff" and this icon will say EXP on it. If you use it at level 1, you can get to about level 4ish in about 30 or so minutes if you kill fast enough.

Also, make sure you sell crystals and everything as stacks. Selling individually isnt worth it. I normally tend to sell a stack of 12 crystals for 1k gil at the AH. They always sell, since 1k is the average going price and everyone needs stacks for rank points.

Also, make sure you keep Beastmen Seals. You will need them later on in the game, maybe months from now, but youll need them. It will take about 60 of them (at a time) to do an event so saving up hundreds is a good idea. These can stack 99 at a time also.

If you run out of inventory room while your questing, make sure you auto-sort your inventory. This could open up several new slots by putting stackable items into stacks automatically.

Plus, try and stay up to date on gear as well. If you have to farm to get enough gil for an item, its what you gotta do. Once your about lvl 20+ some people might point out that your under-equiped for the area your xping in.

Anyways, thats all I can think of right now. Have fun and safe adventures. :)

[Dante WolfWood]

yeah, I do have it activated I gained maybe 2.2k or so with it acitvated

so keep the beastmen seals and try to stay updated with gear/spells

ok, I've been selling fire crystals for 2k and wind and earth crystals for 1k; dont know why fire crystals are so much more expensive but...

I need some help tho; can anyone direct me where I can get all my RDM spells that are not available bc we are 3rd in conquest? I cant go to the AH bc seems people take advantage of the conquest and sell them for like 3-4k a piece. (poison, paralyze, barwater, etc.)

anywhere alse I could get them...cheaper?

[Del Murder]

At this point, not without outside help, as in, someone going to another town and buying them for you.

At level 10, if you feel comfortable with your character, you should try going to Valkurm Dunes and joining a party. Or you could still get some decent Exp in the northern part of East Sarutabaruta, or in Tahrongi Canyon. 72 exp is still pretty good for your level.

[Dante WolfWood]

Valkurm Dunes? isnt that like supposed to be hell on Vana diel or something? I saw a thread here talking about how awful it was...oh well; I think I'll get to lvl 13(?) for shell and then go to the Dunes

thanks

[Bahamut2000X]

Still unless your a WHM or BLM I'ld solo till like 11-12, as dunes is not a fun place to level in. It's the biggest n00b fest of idiots, even rank 10's with 7 75 jobs are reduced to hack and slash maniacs when they step foot in the dunes.

[Dante WolfWood]

well I'm a RDM and I just hit lvl 11 so...should I head for the dunes? (btw; got bind...AWESOME)

made my first friend who is a n00b like me; Twocentthrill...thought he would be a RMT or a mule but no; its his main char....>.<

how much does it cost to get to Valkurm? (you do have to take a ferry right?)

[ScottNUMBERS]

Yes you have to take a ferry it's 200 gil - I'm sure even for a begginer that's a minute amount. To get there you must cross this certain dangerous Peninsula of which I can't remember the name (Begins with B and has a lot of u's in).

The Peninsula can be very dangerous for someone of your level, here's some tips on safe crossing:

- Try not to cross at night - the undead are out and they are nasty, wait it out 'til daytime when they are gone.

- The only mobs that will attack you unprovoked are Goblins, they attack you if they see you (E.g are facing towards you within their range of 'sight') so be aware of your surroundings and make sure there are no Goblins glaring at you. If one does happen to see you, you could try using that new Bind spell of yours on him before trying to beat a hasty retreat.

- You could buy some Prisim powders and cross the Peninsula very easily but these are pretty expensive and probably rare to find them being sold any where except major cities.

Being from Windurst you should have a map for the Peninsula, get to Mhuara (sp?) and from there you can catch the Ferry. One more thing: on the Ferry try to stay indoors as there is some monsters outside that will beat you down with extreme prejudice. The Ferry will take into the heart of the infamous Valkurm Dunes.

In my opinion the best thing for you to do exp-wise is to seek whilst you solo, until you get asked to party, then travel on down to where they want you to party (Most likely the dunes but there are other lesser known possible exping areas for your level).

[Del Murder]

The Dunes aren't that bad. Yes there are some idiots in the dunes, but it's not as bad as people like to talk about. It's kind of a FFXI fad for people to talk about how they survived all these crappy parties in the dunes.

Also make sure you get the teleport crystal in the Canyon before you get there.

As a rdm your job is to heal and debuff the enemy, before anything else. If you want to pull out your sword and start slashing make sure your party is ok with that beforehand. Usually mages sit in the back and cast spells while the more powerful jobs slash. If there is no white mage you are the main healer so make sure you pay attention to everyone's HP and let them worry about killing the mob. If there is a whm still make sure people aren't dying but focus more on casting your status spells.

[Dante WolfWood]

theres a problem tho, I dont have cure 2 yet...is it possible to main heal with just Cure? or should I wait to have Cure 2?

sorry for all the questions, but you all are helping so much.

yeah I looked up and found all the other places to lvl on camptaru and stuff, but a person on Kujata said that no one Ever Goes anywhere else except the Dunes lvl 10-20....So no help there...unless I physically drag people with me. :D would be good for conquest if we did tho, dont ya think?

[Del Murder]

Just Cure is probably fine until level 14 when you can learn Cure II, but I don't play mage jobs so I don't know.

[Citizen Bleys]

I wouldn't try to main heal as a rdm with no sub

[Markus. D]

try Enfeebling or Enhancing as a RDM.

ftw.

[Dante WolfWood]

well I just hit lvl 12 and havent partied yet; after some farming I'll try to get out there....

its crazy tho, I was doing a mission with a friend of mine and I had my seek party up. The very moment I hit lvl 12; Someone invited me for a party in the dunes and I was in ES.

Is that usuall how is goes?

oh and a pic:http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v147/Daxell/Dan061218022155a.jpg

[Bahamut2000X]

Usually as a mage. Though usually it's not till later levels when crossing many zones isn't as tedious. But yeah if your a RDM and plan to level it up a lot higher, get used to invites all the time RDM tends to be one of the most desired jobs later in the game after Dispel and Refresh.

Also when you go to the dunes I would bring along plenty of supplies for how ever long you want to be there. Like me, when I go out leveling I'll bring along my gear and scrolls for spells up for the next few levels that I plan to get to, that way when I can use them I have them on hand and can be stronger then I was the level before.

Also brinning along some food wouldn't be a half bad idea. Many 75 RDM's will probably flame me and tell me about some sort of food I've neverh eard of before, but I suggest starting off on pies for your food in parties at first. They give an INT boost which will help with any nukes you may use, and especially for your black magic debuffs, like Bio and Bind and such. Also it gives an MP boost which is nice also, especially when you don't have a sub.

[ScottNUMBERS]

As long as you are the right level and the jobs they are looking for, people won't hesitate to pull you from any of the far corners of Vana'Diel.

This will be a very regular thing for you when you reach level 41.

[Dante WolfWood]

well, I just tried my hand at getting to the Dunes...no luck...I was destroyed by Yagados....then I realized...I was in Giddeus and was going totally the wrong way (I was destroyed by Yagado Samurais (Persecutor) and Bards (Piper)

gonna try my hand and go THE right way this time....any tips?

[Markus. D]

okey dokey. /map will bring up the world map.


go to the Exit closest to the Auction House in Windurst.


set yourself to auto-run (sometimes stopping to check if the areas are safe... and they wont be).

okey dokey. eventually you will make it to a certain canyon (Tahrongi... I think. I am probably wrong but... there is a Crystal you should look to activate sometime.) you will pass through and eventually come up to Mhaura a map or 2 after.

take the ship to Selbina.

and well. set your homepoint there n_n

and you are set~

[Del Murder]

Haha, just go north man.

Maybe you can find a friend to guide you. I would if I was on your server.

[Khaotic]

I wish I could erase my memory and be an FFXI noob again :(

[Dante WolfWood]

lol, thanks for the help everyone, i made it there; and had a good time actually....

Now, I got in this party and it was VERY weird to me...

it was BLM,BLM,BLM,RDM (me), RDM, and a puller (thf)

we would pull al lizzy and the BLM would nuke (swapping hate) to death while we healed. The other RDM meleed(sp?) as well. (like 7 damage O.o)

It was the most UNstable method I had seen, but hey; who am I to complain? Its my first party. (and to mention the BLM were all casting Dia and BIo right after each other and para,blind, and Bind after they stuck)

Well, maye 30 min later, one of the BLM leaves and they replace him with a ranger....Who is controlling another player who is like 50+ WHM/BLM....

So now we have a PL. I feel completely totally useless bc we are being healed by a PL....one time we were out of MP; the THF and melee RDM killed the thing by theirself bc of the PL. I hated it. (got a level tho!)

well, after awhile; the PL left (yes! useful again) and this time we had a tank, a NIN/WAR. Things go smoothly except for the fact the BLM still were casting enfeebles one after another on the mob and the same message kept coming up "It had no effect"

I ask them to leave this up to me and the other RDM, some said ok; some said nothing....ALL KEPT DOING IT...

now...that is my first party exp...more details; left them out...(got 2 levels)

Any tips? (maybe I should form my own party XD)

[Lionx]

Its not TOO bad to bounce hate if its a VT-- ish monster...there used to be no tanks in FFXI if i remember right...

But its best to form a party at lower levels...standard exp parties usually consist of:

1-2 maybe 3 lvl spreads, tank on higher end of course.

1 Tank - PLD NIN* WAR

*In the case of NIN get another provoke at lower lvls

2 DD - DRK WAR THF MNK DRG BLU RNG

1 Healer - WHM RDM SMN(preferably another to go with it)

Mages- RDM SMN BLM BLU

For lower lvl parties anyway...formong your own parties are generally better imo. Also i recommend against pies and instead use cookies to regenerate your MP healed per tick back faster. Usually getting MP back faster leads to faster chains over pies if you are main healing(if you are NOT main healing however as a RDM..use Pies).

[Bahamut2000X]

2 DD - DRK WAR THF MNK DRG BLU RNG PUP

I fixed your list to make it more accurate on the best DD there is. :p

[Markus. D]

with a PL probably the only good thing is that you can recklessly cap things like a Red Mages Enfeeble or Enhance... or even dagger/sword if the party lets you.

[Dante WolfWood]

k thanks for the advice. I tried to form my own party today; not enough people so...I decided to make a run to bastok. I joined the alchemy guild and bought me a...brass xiphor? or something like that had double the damage and less delay of the sword I had. (also have willow wand for incase I cant melee)

O dp have some problems tho:
I'm having trouble making gil here w/o signet at bastok...and it will be hard to rank up at windurst for the alchemy guild in Bastok....any tips? no where near lvl enough for chocobo.

I dont plan on leaving bastok/Dunes until I hit lvl 18 and get subjob; then I plan to go back to windurst and lvl BLM and WHM...in the meantime...where can I get some gil while in this transaction?

edit: corrected the name of the sword.

[Del Murder]

You can get signet in any nation. You need to find your nation's Embassy in Bastok. Go in the big building called 'Metalworks' and then go upstairs. The Windurst Embassy is up there. A guard in there can give you signet.

I wouldn't start levelling a craft until you get more familiar with the game.

[Mirage]

Crafting usually requires a big investment before it starts paying off.
But yeah, if there is a PL present, focus on offense instead as a rdm. If the PL needs no help whatsoever, you could just engage in close combat while casting magic.

[The Mog Ninja]

PL=good

almost all the time (on Hades) someone will be PLing u, so if that bothers u , u might as well give up on FFXI right now. PLs also ROCK for getting ur subjob and such. so my point is... ur gonna be having a lot of PLing done, so try not 2 get 2 P'd off with em

[Markus. D]

pre-20 at least.

post 20... I would probably say that is the best time to get familiar partying without them.

try to figure what things you cant access quickly or effectively enough (food items for example mid-battle... or even weapon switching) and Macro them :)

all sorted.

[Mirage]

Not too rare to get PLs from 20-30 either. After that, they're rare.

[Dante WolfWood]

well, I mean; I hate to say it; but I hate PL's...it takes the fun of of it...

I was in a party yesterday;

War,War,THF,MNK,RDM,RDM(me)

We had THREE PL's...I had no part in the party whatsoever except for enfeebles; and the EXP sucked because the players didnt know what to do....they would cast everything they had bc their mindset was "we have PLs; Just do anything to kill the mob faster" and I hate that. (everybody kept stealing hate from PLs and didnt know what Hate was...can tell they had PLs from day one)

after awhile, I got in a REAL party.

War,War,Thf,MNK(friend of mine),WHM,RDM (me) and No PL

It was wonderful; we had to focus; the War's had to cooperate and hold hate together, the WHM and Me discussed what enfeebles we each were gonna used, and how not to over cast magic to take hate. Even me,War,War,MNK tried to SC when we got the chance. I would just hit the sword Macro and hack away when they needed me to. The EXP was wonderful!

I love that, thats fun to me; not watching lvl 67 people control the party when they are not even part of the party.

But, according to you guys guess I gotta get over it, and do it anyway. oh well, I can deal with it...

I can get signet as bastok? CRAP...another long run to bastok, lol.

[Darius]

PLs will eventually go away the higher you get in levels. If you know the mechanics of how a party is supposed to work then dont worry about a PL pling a party your in. Use it to your advantage and just spam enfeebs and darks to boost thier skill levels. I had a PL (no one I knew, just someone in the party had someone PL them) for my RDM between levels 11 and 17 and in that time I spammed those 2 magic skills and maxed them out for each level. Very easy and stayed safe the entire time.

I wouldnt worry about it. One day you may even PL a friend in an LS in the dunes. *shrugs*