Starting job help

[emeraldpearl]

Ok im abit stuck on what race and what job to start off with first, i was thinking going WAR until level 20, then unlock my sub job then level MNK to 30 with WAR sub, also i was planning on creating a mithra :) sound good?

[Jrgsubzero]

Go with what you want to look like and what you enjoy the most playing.

I want to be a pirate kitty!

[Murphie]

That sounds fine. You're the only one who the decision actually matters to. If you want to be a mithra, then that's as good a choice as any.

The only job I would never suggest someone start as is THF, just because it's not very easy/fun.

[emeraldpearl]

lol yeah, i want to become a SMN/WHM ^^

[Jrgsubzero]

I wanted to be Whm/Smn but there are so many whms on at one time it just didn't seem practical. (200 whms on usually)

[Mhurron]

I wanted to be Whm/Smn but there are so many whms on at one time it just didn't seem practical. (200 whms on usually)
There are never whm on when you want them.

[emeraldpearl]

MNK/WAR should last me until 30, then bring on the SMN

[Jrgsubzero]

There are never whm on when you want them.

True.

[na2tt300zx]

If you do start out warrior please please please get a great axe or an axe at level 5 PLEASE! i hate seeing war's with swords, when there is just better DoT. But you know since SE starts them out with a sword it must be good right?.....

[emeraldpearl]

If you do start out warrior please please please get a great axe or an axe at level 5 PLEASE! i hate seeing war's with swords, when there is just better DoT. But you know since SE starts them out with a sword it must be good right?.....

advice taken into account ^^

[Rain_Blade]

There are never whm on when you want them.

So true.

[emeraldpearl]

hehe for the 3 months i played FF XI WHM seemed so rare then also, especially in kazham ugh hated that place, valkurm dunes was also an ass to me

[Malacite]

If you really want to be a SMN/WHM, then you should start off as a BLM and take that to 18 ^^b


Then, you'll be set to take WHM to 37 as your sub for SMN ~.^

You've got a decision to make ahead of you though; do you want to take a job other than SMN to 60+ for the main avatar fights, or will you level SMN to 20 and try to solo them all? (Except for Fenrir and Diabolos who don't have a mini tuning fork fight)

[emeraldpearl]

blah dont like BLM tried it once before didnt appeal to me ^^, although RDM is beggining to appeal to me much more now, i may level RDM then lvl WHM, then i should be all set for SMN till about 60. 60 SMN 30 WHM, then ill lvl WHM to 75 subbing SMN, then ill sub WHM for SMN. Bingo i know what im doing now thanks ^^

[Lunaryn]

That sounds fine. You're the only one who the decision actually matters to. If you want to be a mithra, then that's as good a choice as any.
The only job I would never suggest someone start as is THF, just because it's not very easy/fun.
Speaking as someone who did start with Thief, it can be a real pain. It did have one interesting/fun aspect: I got very good at running and dealing with sound aggro, including kiting an EM Quadav across a whole zone and gaining just enough distance to get 2-3 ticks worth of healing from resting before it caught up.

I've noticed since the MPK/despawn patch, though, that it seems a lot easier to lose mobs now... Did they break tracking by scent outside of normal spawn radius?

I had a partial static through most of the dunes. As a subless THF I really felt like dead weight in the party until level 15. However, I'm not really sure whether a subjob would add too terribly much to this either (though a THF/WAR is capable of tanking at these levels, or at least backup tanking). Although I've heard good things about THF/MNK at low levels, using hand-to-hand weaponry, and may try that on another character eventually.

[emeraldpearl]

the only time i will choose theif, is when i need to farm. especially for honey chips (i think thats what they are called)

[IfritnoItazura]

Beehive Chips (http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/Beehive_Chip).

Thief is a fun yet frustrating job. Fun, because to work well as a Thief, you need the entire party to cooperate--to function as a team--there's a great joy in being a part of a good exp machine. Frustrating, because often people will be confused or just simply refuse to cooperate or do anything other than "their own" thing.

[emeraldpearl]

i get ya, and thanks to you for pointing out that they were beehive chips and not honey chips ^^ its been a while since ive played

[Karinya]

If you really want to be a SMN/WHM, then you should start off as a BLM and take that to 18 ^^b
I really wouldn't recommend BLM with no sub. You won't be as useful and you'll learn bad habits (like not doing any backup healing or using your WHM spells at all). One of the main things that distinguishes a good BLM from a bad one is knowing how and when to use their subjob. If you don't have one, you can't learn that. And it'd probably be a real pain to solo the early levels as one of the most vulnerable jobs in the game, with no healing whatsoever.

Instead, I'd suggest doing WHM first (they're always useful even with no subjob), once you get subjob switch to BLM/WHM and take that to 15, then WHM/BLM to 30 and unlock SMN. Then SMN/WHM to 20 and fight avatars, and at some point around SMN60 you can worry about going back for a few more WHM levels and whether you want to do it as WHM/SMN or WHM/BLM.

Or you might decide you want to try some other job instead - you're not tied to your first plan, after all.
Then, you'll be set to take WHM to 37 as your sub for SMN ~.^
You've got a decision to make ahead of you though; do you want to take a job other than SMN to 60+ for the main avatar fights, or will you level SMN to 20 and try to solo them all? (Except for Fenrir and Diabolos who don't have a mini tuning fork fight)
Hmm, I didn't really think of that. Yeah, you could also take WHM (or another job) to 60+ for avatars, but it'd have to be 70+ to contribute usefully to Fenrir and Diabolos, and otherwise you're not getting anything you couldn't get by soloing the level 20 fights. They're not the easiest fights in the world, but the accomplishment of doing them solo is worthwhile, I think.

Fenrir and Diabolos can be useful, but they're not crucial. You can contribute to a party at any level with Carby and the 6 soloable avatars.

[Murphie]

I'm not sure what you're getting at Karinya. BLM is one of the easiest and fastest jobs to level to 18, IMO. As long as you're smart about what mobs you attack, and use Bind liberally, you've got it made. So you won't learn how to backup heal. You'll figure out how to heal soon enough when you start leveling WHM. After 37 levels of WHM, you'll be set for how to heal a party when you're leveling your SMN.

BLM to 18, then WHM to 37 and SMN to 75 is a perfectly reasonable path.

[IfritnoItazura]

Karinya is concerned about those stuck-up BLM's who would sit on 90% MP while WHM and RDM are running on fumes, and adamantly refuse to cure even when begged to.

Somehow, I doubt this would apply to emeraldpearl, a returning player who seems very nice and polite. ^_^;

That said, I do agree leveling WHM first is the better path myself, and there aren't nearly enough low level gear differences between BLM and WHM to make switching job between the two any kind of major hassle.

[Murphie]

WHM is really painful to level during those pre-party levels though. I tried it recently when I thought I might start from scratch. Each fight was basically won by attrition, which is no way to for someone new to the game to start out.

[IfritnoItazura]

That's funny, I don't remember that much trouble, and I got to Lv.11 on WHM/BLM (I think), hardly better than WHM/---.

I also had plenty of selbina milk, and used grilled hare; maybe that's the difference? I tended to beat up EP's rather than tried to fight EM's, though. Made things a bit tedious, but fairly easy.

* * *
Edit:
I had more trouble as THF/---.

That's because I didn't know anything, and used no food and sported a pitiful dagger. Any returning player or newbie with a decent mentor can do much better job solo'ing any job to Lv.10 than I did on THF.

[DanteTheArbitrator]

I was thinking of starting a WAR but I'm scared I'll mess up as a tank and then everyone will hate me,
So now I'm thinking I should be a MNK,
Is this a good starter job?

[Feba]

Dante, if you pay attention and take advice with a grain of salt (but still take advice), tanking (at least in dunes) is easy.

Remember, people are much more used to people messing up because they suck than because they're new. People don't mind new player mistakes nearly as much as morons.

[Murphie]

Re: WHM

I didn't think it would be nearly as painful as it was, but I was wrong. It got easier when I stopped trying to fight Mandies, and stuck to Bees. But it was still slow going. Gil is really sparse in those first few levels, and a stack of Selbina Milk (which is tough to buy in Windurst, which is where I was), is hard to afford.

After level 5 it gets better, but not by much.

It probably has a lot to do with personal preference, though. I enjoyed standing at a distance, and killing mobs with BLM before they could get close enough to hit me. I tore through the early levels with my nukes, and rarely had to even worry about melee.

Dante - MNK is fine, but you really have nothing to worry about with regard to WAR. As long as you provoke when it's up, and use the best weapon for your job, that's really all there is for you to do at those levels. A WAR/MNK can hold hate very well by alternating Boost with Provoke, and using a nice Axe or GAXE. It's not too complicated.

[DanteTheArbitrator]

I just don't want to mess up,
Because I heard that word gets around fast in this game...

[Murphie]

Only in the middle to upper levels. I mean, if you're really, really terrible, then people might remember your name, but in the low levels, people kind of expect you to suck. You're not going to be singled out for the rest of your FFXI career because you were a bad tank in the dunes.

[DanteTheArbitrator]

Alright thanks!
You guys are always a big help.

[emeraldpearl]

hehe seems as though this thread helped a few others apart from me ^^. anyway id like to say thanks to all those who helped out. i now have my summoner back so i see no point in lvling a starter job again unless its WHM ^^ thanks for all your help on this subject