Total amounts of PLD??!!

[Khujy]

Hey guys! I've put a pre-order of Final Fantasy XI when it comes out on March 23rd. And I was wondering since I was gonna start out as a Monk and then reach lv 1 and do the sub job quest and the became MNK/WAR. Till I reach lv 30 and then do Paladin quest. I was wondering how much gil will I have to waste on equipements when i reach lv10-30 around. Cuz on most Final Fantasy games, I battle a lot and get a lot of gil and waste it on armors, most of the time. And also what's a CP:confused:? I heard people saying that a lot. Sorry if I'm asking for stupid answers but I just wanna do my research b-4 I start the game. Thanks in advance for all those who answer this. And I can't wait for the ps2 release to play with you guys and prolly PT with y'all.

[Kagi]

You can also go War/Mnk, that's what most people do to prepare for paladin.. because War and Pld armour are the same at those levels and you can buy the equipment for war, save them and re-use them for pld later. Also as a War you are able to equip swords and you can use the time to level your skills.

Armour at 1-30 is cheap. ^^;;

CP = conquest points. Read the manual.

[Khujy]

So it's pretty cheap! I was wondering if you level up from 1-10 by defeating those hares and etc, why much gil do you gain from them and how long does a battle with them usually last? Sorry if I'm asking newb questions cuz I've doing a lot of research on it but i haven't had time to learn about the battle system. Thank you for anyone who can answer.

[Yupa]

You won't make any gil directly killing hares; gil drops from beastmen-type monsters. Even then, we're not talking much, 10-30 gil a kill in the beginning.

You'll make more money selling the occasional item drops you get from killing things; stacks of crystals, items others use for synthesis, etc. Also, some items are used for quests, where you can receive money/items from NPCs.

Battles in the beginning don't last too long; but the higher you get in level, those weaker hares and such give less and less experience, until you get none at all from them. Then you move on to the next harder set of monsters, 'til they dry up, then the next, etc etc etc.

And cheap armor's really relative. Comparing it to the post-30 armors, the stuff you buy in the start _is_ cheap. But not when you've only got a couple hundred gil to your name in the first place.

[Khujy]

If what you're syaing that hares don't drop gils and all, and when you do quests, they'll give you gils and armors, or items. But after post-30 levels, how the hell, sry for my language,do players get around 30K to buy one piece of armor when they gotta contantsly upgrade their armors at each level? Man I know quests don't give out that much, not even 6K i believe. Man this must be a big time-consuming game but, also how long does it take to get from level 1-30 if I play around 2-3 hours a day?

[Yupa]

Some quests do provide decent gil, that's one way. As you fight harder things, you can also get better item drops (in terms of its street value), that's another. Hunting NMs for rare items/equipment can also net you cash. Then there's gil farming; making 10-20 gil on those early mobs might not be much, but when you're levels significantly higher and you can swat em with little effort, you can run around and make a modest wad of dough just killing things for gil/drops. Plus, don't forget that you can also sell back your old weapons/armor, as you upgrade. If you're shrewd enough in buying/selling, you can sometimes make a _profit_ selling stuff at higher than you bought it (if the market's loopy like that).

Equipment upgrades also don't happen at every level. In terms of your armor, from 1-30, you'd go with your starting set (maybe pick up a bronze harness), at 7 you'd go with leather armor, at 10 scale (or 11 brass), then either 16 for bone or 17 for lizard, then 21 beetle, 24 chain, etc. So you'll have a few levels in-between where you won't need to upgrade.

As for how long it'll take you to hit 30, I can't say, I'm a slow leveller myself. If you pick up the game quickly, spend all your time levelling, and get yourself good parties fast, it might not take very long.

[Khujy]

OK bro! Let's say that everyday from school, since I'm in grade 12, last year of high school, soo happy, I play around 2-3 hours on weekdays and on weekends i play around 6 hours. How long would it take to level up to level 18 first and then with my sub job, how long also would it take to get from level 18 to level 30? I'm asking these questions cuz I'm in a linkshell and three of my friends including me are gonna start right when we get it. And we also plan on buying our others friends world passes so, in about a month or so, do you think I can reach lv 30 with monk/warrior by level 18?

[Yupa]

The first 5 or 6 levels is gonna fly by, once you get a feel for the game. I've known a few people to have some trouble after 6, but once you get a good handle on your limitations, it won't be too bad til 10ish. This is gonna be a horrible estimate, but given a few hours a day, I'd say maybe 3 or 4 days to level 10.

Post-10, depends on if you start grouping, or what you choose to fight. It'll probably take a few days to get to the 15ish level. From there, you're probably going to simultaneously level and start searching for subjob items until 18-20; this could be your first significant roadblock, depending on your luck in finding both the items and a group.

From here on out, it gets alot slower. Expect maybe a level or two a day, tops. The higher you go, the less likely that becomes.


Again, this is a a BROAD GENERALIZATION. Your actual levelling time will vary, and there's so many variables to this that even my lame attempts at guesstimation will be laughable. It really does depend on how quickly you pick up the basics of the game, whether you devote your time purely to levelling, getting into a good PT (hell, even getting into one at all. Monks aren't really the first thing people look for when putting a group together), how lucky you are that a pugil doesn't Screwdriver you, or an errant Bomb Toss wipes out your group.... heck, the number of people levelling near you will make a difference, if prime targets become short due to overcrowding. You could hit 30 in a month, or two months, or even 3 or more; there's really no good way of saying for sure until you're on, playing.

[Khujy]

Wow thank you bro! Well how well is a Monk alone and how come he doesn't get much party invites? I know he doesn't deal that much damage till 10 or so but I know he has more STR in beginning than WAR and besides I like the fact that they use Fists or Knuckles?

[Yupa]

/begin Yupa's-broad-generalizations-please-don't-flame-me-mode

You can only go so far solo, with any job (well, 'cept for BST, but that's another story). You can do fairly well with Monk in the start; Hundred Fists is an impressive 2 Hour skill, Counter is a great ability, and Boost never hurts.

I'm not knocking Monks, when I say you may have some difficulty finding PTs. It's just that, in terms of what a party is usually looking for, the priority isn't as high for damage dealers in general. A healer or two is everyone's first priority, followed by a tank (and by tank, I mean War or /war sub; provoke is pretty essential), then people like a blm for magic damage, then just fill up the rest. The priority list changes later as other jobs become more useful (or as people figure out what they need to be effective), but that basic concept sticks. You _need_ some healing power, and someone who can control hate, etc. If people choose PT members just randomly based on who's got seek on nearby, there's just a general demand for other types first.

And as I seem to constantly say, it really depends on so many factors. You may not have any trouble finding a PT; I just said what I did based on what I've seen. And establishing yourself as a good, dependable player makes a difference too. At times, I've gotten invites based more on other players knowing they can count on me (or at least, moreso than a random pickup), than anything else.

/end