Harvesting, Excavating, Logging, and Mining. What do these things have in common? People have to go out and work to get them. Without the Farmers, Archeologists, Lumber Jacks and Miners most of the crafters would be at a loss, unless they go and obtain their own materials. We keep the game growing, we keep the economy going, we are the base of almost everything.
So, shouldn't we have a few rules?
Way back in the day we had guidelines that we followed and made everything go along a lot smoother. But now that I've come back I realize that they might have been forgotten. So I'm going to write these guidelines to follow.
Keep in mind that these are only guidelines, I'm NOT telling you what to do. I just want to make this experience enjoyable for everyone.
H.E.L.M Guidelines For Beginners
Welcome to the unofficial H.E.L.M Handbook. Let me take this time to thank you for reading this and maybe even taking it into consideration. I will continue to expand on this Guide and Etiquette, any suggestions and help would be appreciated.
~Vair.
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Leeching
The point belongs to whoever found it first. It’s that simple. Let me give you an example: A person has been working on a mining point for a fair bit of time. They keep digging up pebbles and copper, this usually means that a Dark steel ore is behind it all. Then another person comes up and mines it while the first person is. They get the Ore and the first person is left with a bunch of pebbles.
Leeching is the number one Cardinal Sin. Please, don’t do it, it’s just plain rude.
Price Fluctuation~ Auction House
Keeping the prices at one level is very imperative. Raising the price results in aggravated Crafters, Lowering the price results in angry Workers. If the price is kept at one level then everyone can remain moderately happy. Trust me, your items will sell, just give it some time.
Contracts
Setting up contracts with Crafters can be a fun and enjoyable experience and everyone benefits. Here are some simple steps to follow:
a.) Find a Crafter whom you can trust. b.) Set up a quota for them for monthly, weekly, daily, bi-daily, etc. c.) Offer to lower your prices in exchange for guaranteed buys. d.) Keep your word. Maximizing Profit
Maximizing profit is simply turning what money you have into even more money. It’s very possible to turn 2,000 Gil into 200,000 Gil in a matter of minutes (If you’re lucky).
- Buying your supplies
Buying your pickaxes, axes and sickles from NPCs is probably the best idea. They’re usually much lower in price than the Auction House.
- Clothing
Start out small. Don’t buy any clothing until you’re absolutely sure you want to continue doing that as a means of making money. Then, when you’re fairly sure you want to keep on doing it, buy the level one gear. When you’re ready for hardcore hours of work for great profits buy the Plus 1 gear.
- Watch for trends
Find what’s in demand and what’s not. For example, Cooking might be a rising popular trend, so start harvesting. Remember you’re not limited to just one job.
Courtesy
Don’t be rude to your fellow workers. Making friends is much better then making enemies. You’re not going to be Working the entire time you’re playing FFXI, a friend might come in handy for filling an empty spot in an EXP party or Mission/Quest party.
Find a job that suits you- Harvesting and Logging
If you enjoy the outdoors and seeing a great number of people then these would be great for you. Lower levels might benefit from this more seeing as how the outdoors usually have lower level mobs.
- Mining and Excavating
If you like being alone in dark, secluded places these present you with just that. Mining and Excavating allows for a lot of alone time without that damn sun in your face.
Working Smart
Lower level areas don’t usually present you with much of an opportunity to make much money. But you don’t want to wait to level to 50 to start mining in Gusgen? Well there’s a simple solution for that. Leveling WHM to 25 gives you sneak and Invisible, which allows you to roam freely in such an area. (Avoid Ifrit’s Cauldron… Trust me; mining there is a death wish)
Places to buy:- Bastok Markets: Boytz
- Port Bastok: Numa
- Upper Jeuno: Champalpieu
- South San d'Oria: Ostalie
- Windurst Waters: Upih Khachla
Final Note~
Harvesting Maps. Previously posted by Jei:
http://www.hi-ho.ne.jp/gulif/ziq_topeng.html
I will continue to expand upon this. Any comments, suggestions and help would be great.
Moderator's Edit: Stickied and edited for clarity, spelling, and readability - Icemage
Note: (Sunday, September 17, 2006 7:15 P.M Central) I will not be able to finish this guide for a long, long period of time. I have recently started college and it's not easy at all. I only have time to do the basics such as level and do quests and missions. Thus, I do not have enough time for anything else. Please forgive this. I can resume probably next summer.