I
'll most likely be a hume since I am boring that way, but I prefer flexibility more than personal strenghts. Choosing a starting class may be an issue since I like most of those classes. I know this may be a chore but can I get a quick analysis of the job classes? Pros and cons?
Since you have to level jobs independently of one another, you'll need to set up a plan depending on your goals. The subjob quest is at level 18 and the advanced job quests are at level 30.

A few examples.

You want to level DRG...

Start MNK -> 1-18 (get subjobs); do WAR from 1-30 (or 37 if you want a full sub); then you can start leveling DRG.

I'll try to put a full list of jobs at the bottom.

I can see the information part being useful but I do prefer to learn how to stand on my own, even though I like being well prepared but I hate being a hindrance to others.
You'll learn to get over that to a large extent with FFXI considering you'll have to ask for help for almost every activity in the game. Asking advice will become the lease of your worries.

[on money]
Sounds normal for an MMO and in hindsight, that was probably a stupid question now that I think about it.
Nah. In WoW money is almost a non-issue. Sure you need to save up for your mount at 40, but if you're even reasonably good at money management you'll probably have 100g by the time you hit 40. In FFXI money is a chore like you wouldn't believe and is needed far more.

It's a shame the classes are not too flexible, but isn't that where sub classes come into play?
You would think so, wouldn't you? In all reality the game is very cookie-cutter. There are very very few situations where you are allowed to sub any variety of things. The community has predetermined what SJs work and don't allow a lot of wiggle room. Oddly enough, they are often wrong and dislike very good combos, but you either play by their rules or you don't get PT invites.

It's the same case with filling certain roles. Sometimes people want to come and melee as RDM/NIN, but people just won't really allow it for all types of reasons. A really great player can pull off an odd combination and blow people's minds, but it's very rare and generally not worth trying.

Also keep in mind that each job is rated a certain skill in certain weapons. The accepted weapons will be the A+ or perhaps A-. Just because a job (like WAR) can use a lot of weapons doesn't mean it will be acceptable to do so except under extreme circumstances.






Basic jobs

-Warrior- (WAR)

This is a pretty easy job to start out on. It hits pretty hard and will be called upon to tank at lower levels. You'll be expected to have MNK sub beyond level 20 and will be expected to have NIN sub at the very least before 50 (though some expect it as low as 24). In reality, WAR/NIN doesn't work all that well early on, but people are convinced it does because they are mimicing engame WARs. By the 30s WAR will pretty much never tank in XP except as backup. At 75 WAR is the flavor-of-the-month DD in XP PTs. WARs should use Great Axe as soon as possible (first GAxe is level 5 I think and you start with a sword). It will be good to train up one handed axes so that you can dual-wield them (with /NIN) eventually.


-Monk- (MNK)

Decent DD early on and should breeze through the early levels. MNKs use hand-to-hand weapons obviously. They aren't one of the most popular DDs, but definitely aren't the worst. They are especially strong against bones and have some great situational uses, but you're way less likely to be a front-liner in endgame for technical reasons. WAR is the standard sub for MNK pretty much always.


-Thief- (THF)

Thief is one of the hardest jobs to start as. Without a subjob in you first trip through earlier levels not only will you hit for crap, but you'll be the last picked for a group. THF is a powerful job if used correctly, however, most people don't care to use it correct and don't know how to. PTs don't have the patience to work well with THF that often. It's one of the lower invite jobs. However, leveling THF at least to 15 is a great idea for Treasure Hunter. At 45 you get Treasure Hunter II, which is much more noticeable. It's great for farming. THF will almost always be subbing NIN. If you party with assholes early on they may even complain that you don't have it before 30 (even though it's impossible if THF is your first). The standard sub before that is MNK or WAR. Thieves use daggers primarily, though before they get any good weapon skills they may use swords or h2h (if subbing MNK) before 33.


-Black Mage- (BLM)

One of the hardest to start out soloing, but one of the best soloers endgame. BLM can be fairly expensive due to spell costs early on... more so than most melees. BLM is also less and less popular in XP PTs, but very popular for endgame events. You'll never melee on BLM as you'll be sitting in the back either healing or nuking. You have to be careful how much hate you pull to be safe. The standard sub is WHM, though RDM is a required alt for many endgame linkshells. BLM is one of the main crowd control jobs.


-White Mage- (WHM)

Primary healer obviously. WHM gets somewhat trumped by RDM as a primary healer around level 41 and in a lot of later XP PTs will be often passed over to have a RDM main healer. WHM really won't suffer much in terms of invites though. Healers are almost always in short supply. BLM is the standard, basic sub, though SMN is generally the better and more popular choice. However, unlike some other jobs, you won't get bitched at for not subbing SMN if you don't have it.


-Red Mage- (RDM)

One of the most worshiped jobs in the game and they look cool. Starting one is pretty easy and you can get a good feel for multiple play styles early on. Their primary job is to enfeeble the mob, though at lower levels they will generally main heal. By 41 they get Refresh and become worshiped as they can essentially never run out of MP. They can also be great crowd control. RDM/NIN is one of the best soloers in the game if you're good. Primary subs are WHM and BLM, though at higher levels you'll probably be expected to have NIN and very serious RDMs will have DRK. RDM also has an incredibly amount of competition for gear in endgame.



Advanced jobs

-Bard- (BRD)

Pure support. BRD won't really hit anything ever. You will sing songs. One or two on the mob and about 4 on the party. You'll have to learn proper spacing and deal with people not standing in the right positions, but you can eventually catch on. BRD is very very sought after for XP and you'll very seldom have you flag up for over 5 minutes. Toward higher levels BRD will start to be the puller. By 75 you'll get absolutely hassled for invites to PTs. Standard sub is WHM, though for higher level pulling often RDM or NIN works better. BRD is one of primary crowd control jobs. They get Ballads which work like Refresh which makes them very popular.


-Beastmaster (BST)-

Supposedly one of the premiere soloing jobs. SE has said FU to BST over and over and over. BST can charm pets to fight for them and can also summon pets with items. They can solo pretty much better than any other jobs, though with certain changes by SE they are not nearly as good at it. They have to fight normal PTs for XP spots or go to out of the way places. They pretty much can never get spots in actual groups even if they try. They can be incredibly useful crowd control for certain endgame events. Primarily use axes.


-Blue Mage- (BLU)

Like old school BLUs, you have to learn enemy abilities. This can be hard and time consuming. Your primary roles in a group at to DD, though can also heal and do minimal crowd control depending on certain factors. Unless you are extremely well equipped don't expect to be a front-liner in endgame. PT invites are fair for BLU and they primarily use swords. BLU can be expected to have a huge variety of sub jobs. NIN is one of the most common, but having all mage subs is also useful as well as some other melee subs.


-Corsair- (COR)

Corsair is a combination of gambler and pirate. They can do a job similar to BRD (buffing the party) and can do minimal crowd control. They, unlike BRD, can also do a bit of damage. They do not overtake BRD for pulling in late game PTs however. Some sub WHM, though I think the common sub now is RNG and sometimes NIN.


-Dark Knight- (DRK)

DRK is one of the least respected jobs for groups. They tend to suck up a lot of the healer's MP due to pulling hate. They do large burst damage and have abilities that do more damage at risk to themselves or by taking away their own health. They primarily use Great Swords and Scythes and since these are 2-handed weapons, the suffer a bit for their slowness. Primary subs are WAR and in certain circumstances NIN.


-Dragoon (DRG)-

One of the less popular jobs, though it's better than it was in the past. DRGs use polearms and have a small pet Wyvern that they don't have direct control over. Beyond 60 DRG can solo pretty well with WHM sub. They also suffer the slowness penalty from a 2h primary weapon. Popular subs include WAR and SAM and for soloing, RDM, WHM, and BLU.


-Ninja- (NIN)

One of the primary tanking jobs. NIN is also a sub that almost every melee job in the game will be expected to have at some point. Ninja tanks by using shadows to essentially never take damage. Ninja is also very expensive for having to buy Ninja tools constantly. Their primary weapons are katanas.


-Paladin- (PLD)

The big tank in the game. PLD will get decent invites on the way up, but will have more trouble in the 60-75 area. PTs like the efficiency of NIN tanks for a constant flow of XP. PLD is highly relied about for tanking big endgame mobs that NIN can't tank though. PLD can use a little white mage to heal and do other things as well. PLD should always have a sword and shield. Primary subs are WAR and NIN.


-Puppetmaster- (PUP)

Pretty much regarded as a joke. PUP just wasn't developed correctly by SE. When released I guess SE didn't expect people to level the new jobs to 75 in under a month. PUP wasn't full fleshed out upon release and was beyond useless. Supposedly a solo job, but they suck at that as well. They are a punchline more than anything else. They primarily use h2h and their puppets, for which you need costly attachments.


-Ranger- (RNG)

Once upon a time RNG was a god, but they got nerfed hard... and they needed it. RNG is still a good DD and great for situations where a mob is constantly on the move (in endgame). They are somewhat costly though due to the price of keeping arrows stocked. They will generally sub NIN and sometimes WAR. They must stand away from the mob to shoot it for decent damage.


-Samurai- (SAM)

One of the more popular endgame DDs despite them using a 2h weapon, Great Katana. They have the ability to mediate and give themselves TP (which doesn't make sense until you play the game). They get decent PT invites on the way up and are the best at skill chains. They generally sub WAR and in some cases RNG.



-Summoner- (SMN)

This job just doesn't do what it needs to. In theory a SMN should be able to DD with their avatars and hold their own with melee jobs, but this isn't the case due to timers on their abilities and the MP limitations. If you're gonna be XPing your SMN you'll be primarily healing with /WHM. They are however incredible DDs for endgame scenarios.