FF XI newbie, advice appriciated ^^

[Quistis79]

Ohayo minna-san! ^^
I just ordered Final Fantasy XI online and the game should arrive sometime next week. I've been reading several forums and game info and I would like to know what race-job combination you would suggest. I was first planning to be an Elvaan Warrior(since I like to play this type of character best) and then go to Paladin or Dark Knight, but as I've read other posts it seems there's quite a plenty of these in the world of Vana'Diel. So, is there maybe some other more preferable combination I might be better of trying, considering getting into a party easier? I was thinking Tarutaru White or Black Mage, but how hard will it be to level up those first 8-10 levels or so as a Mage? Also, I would rather not be of Mithra origin since I've read that it's very popular race(catgirls ^^) and Galka isn't an option since as a girl I'd like to play female character. So any advice on choosing race and job would be much appriciated.

[Citizen Bleys]

Elvaan own, hands down. We have the most strength of any race, which is handy for melee classes, and average dex for accuracy (Although the Mithra have a lot more). We have very low agility, which does not favor us for classes like Ranger and Ninja (Rangers need agi for ranged accuracy, and ninjas need to dodge), but we do very well as tanks and front-line damage dealers. If playing a melee class, be sure to equip all of the dex+ gear you can find, since that increases accuracy--all that strength does no good if all you do is miss! Although Galka are actually better tanks (Higher HP and vit), Elvaan make superlative damage-dealing classes. Try out Warrior (Although they are usually tankers early on, they also make excellent damage dealsers), Monk, Samurai, Dark Knight, or Dragoon. Of the above, I prefer Samurai. It's like the job was made for the Elvaan race.

As far as mages go, Elvaan have a lot of catching up to do. We have very little MP or int, which makes us gimp Black Mages unless we have some very good gear to make up for it. I'm thinking Astrals, here. The main advantage of Elvaan mages is that we're not glass cannons. If you overnuke, it's not game over the first time the mob hits you, which gives the tank some respite if Provoke isn't ready yet. Elvaan White Mages have an advantage over their Taru counterparts, though--Elvaan have the highest mnd in the game; The Tarus may have a higher max MP, but in a party setting how often does the puller really wait for the whm to get max MP? They usually pull as soon as the MP hits what they feel is the minimum amount of MP to carry the whm through a fight. High mnd means your heals will heal better, your enfeebles will stick better, and your banishes will do more damage. Elvaan Red Mages are merely average...many people don't want the rdm to melee, which means most of the Elvaan's advantages are going to waste. Red Mages need int more than mnd. And lastly, Elvaan bards are sheer ownage. I get SATA'd on all of the time, and live through it. How many Tarus do you know who can say that? MP isn't as much of an issue for a bard, since songs don't consume MP, so you only need enough to power your sub. In my case, that usually means throwing out a poisona here and there, and I usually recover full MP just from Ballading the mages. Although no race really edges any other out in Charisma, a bard's most important stat, an Elvaan's sturdiness and strength make us better bards than those who play Taru in order to get more MP...cater to your main, not your sub.

[Miriel]

You'll get a lot of party invites as a Taru mage but the first few solo levels are going to be tough. You'll die. A lot.

Just ask Misfit.

I like being a Hume whm/blm because it's fairly balanced. Humes can stand to take a couple hits (unlike Tarus) and still have enough MP to get the job done without relying on crazy good gear (like Elvaans).

And Elvaans smell, just so you know.

[Levian]

I suggest you go warrior. Sure, so there's a lot of them, but if you want to be a paladin or dark knight, you need warrior as a subjob, so might as well already have a high level warrior when starting as a paladin or dark knight, or perhaps ninja. I suggest you go warrior and then paladin. Ninjas are expensive, I've heard. And with a paldin, you could powerlevel people with lower levels and earn some cash. Paladins are also good to solo with, which is needed every now and then. So if you choose PLD/WAR then I guess Elvaan would be best, but they look silly, so I recommend Hume. That way, you can still have something to fall back on if you change your mind and want to become something else.

[Citizen Bleys]

You look silly. Humes aren't good at anything.

[Miriel]

Of course Hardwoodplumberlumberjackdude looks silly, his last character had a beard.

Hume > Taru > Mithra > Galka > Elvaan.

[Citizen Bleys]

Beards are awesome.

[lordblazer]

You look silly. Humes aren't good at anything.

Well welll you know atleast we can RP anything and aren't restricted to whatever your race is suppose to..
Humes are the well balanced race basicly.

[Citizen Bleys]

Well-balanced, yes...they don't suck at anything, but they're not good at anything, either. The only thing that Elvaan really lack is MP and INT, which means we've got something going for us in any job except Black Mage.

If I want to play blm, I'll make a Taru. Nothing comes even close to Taru power for blm.

[Miriel]

Well-balanced, yes...they don't suck at anything, but they're not good at anything, either.

Mediocrity, it's delightful.


And beards make people look shifty, goatees especially so.

[Citizen Bleys]

A beard may make me look shifty, but lack of a beard makes me look 12 years old.

[Misfit]

You'll get a lot of party invites as a Taru mage but the first few solo levels are going to be tough. You'll die. A lot.

Just ask Misfit.

Hell yeah, I had a taru mage... and I stopped at level 8 'cause I couldn't get passed it. But I suck, so... ^_^

And Elvaans smell, just so you know.

Truer words have never been spoken. {Dhamel} {Bard}, {White Mage}, or {Black Mage}... {Thanks for the offer, but I'll have to pass.}


Anyways, I've recently started playing as a Red Mage, and it kicks lots of ass, and I'm more of a melee person myself. (And I play as a Mithra) I also play Warrior and Dark Knight, but I quit Dark Knight at 40 'cause invites never come, it got boring, and there's so many DRKs in every server that it's not even funny. Monk and Thief are also fun jobs, as well as Ranger and Ninja. But Ranger and Ninja can get expensive (especially ninja), so you'll want a good source of income if you wanna play those jobs.

For races... if you want to be a warrior or thief, mithra is seriously badass in these jobs, with the added dex and agi. Or any other melee type, mithra, hume and galka... but Mithra own the Thief job, no question. (Elvaan suck)

If you wanna be a mage type, then go Tarutaru. They are fun as hell to play, and cute. ^____^ For the first 8-10 levels, you can duo party with somebody for some easy exp. Hume and Mithra are also good mages, but galka and elvaan lack MP and suck. ^_^ (Especially elvaan)

And stuff.

[Rostum]

Well-balanced, yes...they don't suck at anything, but they're not good at anything, either. The only thing that Elvaan really lack is MP and INT, which means we've got something going for us in any job except Black Mage.

Eh that's just completely silly. I was a Hume 40WAR/NIN/MNK and I tanked /damaged a lot better than most of the elvaan's in my parties. It all depends on the skill and equiptment of the player.

Not good at anything? Bah @ you. I can play just as effectively and efficiently as any Elvaan out there. (Plus elvaans DO look weird. xD)

I agree though, if you want to be a mage just stick with taru. Even as a taru, later on you can try melee classes, they do pretty well.

[Lionx]

Well first of all, what do YOU want to do in the game? Do you want to do huge ammounts of damage? Do you want to tank? Do you want to do a combination of both? Or would you like healing magic? Attacking magic? Or buffing magic? Find a niche in which you like to do. Then i say choose ANY race you want(of course full knowing which one can do better at a job over another). Race should not matter in the long run unless its a HP/MP difference.

Humes are not special at anything, but they certainetly are not the worst at anything either, its a double edged sword. You certainetly wont get OMG A HUME *insert job here* rather than a OMG A GALKA/TARU *insert non-stat favored job for apprarent race* thats for sure XD;

I soloed a WHM with no sub as a Taru in beta and out of beta as my first job/character, so i feel nothing, only that it gets a little slow in lvl 8, but other than that i cant say too much besides its not that hard and just take it easy. I kill more EP, therefore i would expect to get more loot for the later lvls. <3

A tank class like Paladin, Warrior, and Ninja(expensive) will ALWAYS be wanted despite what you think. There has been a new fad of NIN and WAR tanking over PLD lately, but by far in no means will you not be wanted in a party as they NEED a tank. Same with mages, every mage is desired(i include bard in the "mage" section even though they have no mp because what they do is techincally a mage).

Now a damage dealer(pure damage, warrior doesnt count since they can also tank and damage) such as a Monk, Theif, Dark Knight, Dragoon, Samurai, will get much harder times finding parties because theres a variety to choose no matter the class. The only class that gets it easy in the damage dealing section is the Ranger, and that costs alot of money on equips and arrows and preferably with blink powders. Dont let this discourage you however as no matter which melee job, they are needed, and i guess thats why theres two slots for damagers. Just because theres a huge number of *insert job here* does not mean its impossible to party as reputation will build up here. But i wont say that melees are not shafted in order of need when it comes to making a party.

Leveling a WAR and/or WHM up to 37 is sorta mandatory anyway so try them out first. For DRK you need a THF sub after 60 however.

Bah if you dont get it you can PM me or IM me or something i dont care XD;

[Vaprice]

Ahn nyung ^^

I like to play as either a Galka or Elvaan for melee. They do a lot of damage and are good for any types of jobs except for magical. *astrals rings ^^*

But right now I have unlocked RNG DRK and undergoing PLD ^^