[12kizuna]

Hello!
If you can't tell from the title, I'm new to this game, though I've played several other MMORPGs in the past.
Up until now (I'm a lvl 11 warrior at the moment), my friend irl who has a lvl 75 character has been helping me out and showing me the ropes.
This morning, I decided to put up a "looking for group" flag, to try and see if I couldn't get some experience grouping as well as experience towards lvling up. I'd been reading online about warrior's role in a group, so I thought I could handle it, or learn to handle it.
It wasn't long before someone sent a /tell to me asking if I wanted to come to the V. Dunes. I said sure. After figuring out how to get there I went on my way.

Here's the part where I'm confused about, because things get a little sticky, and I'm just a stupid n00b or what, but the closer I get to the place, the harder the mobs get, of course. I mostly weaved around them so I didn't get any hate, and managed to make it to my destination.
I get there, look on the map, then ask where everyone is. They tell me L10 / L11 on the map. I was a -little- annoyed, because that looked to be a bit far in, and all of the mobs standing in front of me checked as incredibly tough. I managed to get through, only getting hate from one mob, but kept on running anyways.
I get as close as I can to L10 / L11 on the map, but find there's water there. with a bunch of mobs. hmm. I wondered if the cave on the left had anything to do with it, but by then a mob was on me, and I had no chance.
Thoroughly annoyed, I let myself die, and didn't bother to contact the "party" I was supposed to meet up with.

Sorry for teh long-windedness, but I just wanted to check here to make sure I didn't overlook something dumb that I did. Right now I'm ready to throw blame at the people who are just like "sure! walk right through and come to us!" instead of offering to meet me somewhere, but being new to this game, there's a whole lot I still don't know.
So, if there's anything I could've / should've done better, please let me know.
Thanks!

[LyonheartLakshmi]

If you can find a kind veteran player in the Dunes to show you the ropes, that would be optimal.

Without that kind of generosity, the only advice I can give you is to use online resources to familiarize yourself with the mobs in that zone and which ones how aggo, and how they aggro.

Sites such as somepage, FFXIclopedia, and Vana'diel Atlas have easy to browse lists of mobs with their aggro characteristics.

For example, in that zone, you primarily have to worry about Goblins and bats, along with skeletons and ghosts during the night time. The particular camp you mentioned is fairly easy to get to IF you are coming from the Bastok / Konschtat side. Goblins detect by sight, so you should be able to avoid them by waiting until they turn away. The tunnel that connects the main area of the Dunes to that SE corner has one bat which aggros and detects by sound. Since the tunnel isn't wide enough to run around the bat, you either have to wait for someone else to come along and kill it, or just run past it and hope you survive.

As far what to do once you get aggro...

There are some circumstances where you can run far enough that a mob will stop chasing you altogether. However, this usually only happens if you A) run across water, and the mob that is chasing you tracks by scent, or B) you drew aggro from the mob from far away, and managed to keep that distance between you and the mob for quite some time.

The only sure fire way to lose aggro once a mob is on your tail is to zone. If you happen to aggro some Goblins or that bat, you can just keep running past that camp and zone into Konschtat Highland.

[Mhurron]

The atlas is what you really needed here. You can also buy the ingame map in Selbina. The majority of zones you'll party in will have mobs that all check VT or higher.

The Dunes are very much a trial by Fire. Get used to dealing with it, and while there will be some suprises later (holes in the floor) byt the time you're done in the dunes you'll have a good handle on moving around.

Also as a little tip, I wouldn't worry too much about remembering what aggros what. You'll pick it up eventually but for now you might as well be scared to death of everything.

[Armando]

You may find it vexing, but your first Dunes experience is important because of just that - this won't be the first time you'll have to navigate through a zone with IT mobs scattered around that'll kill you if they catch you. Learning to avoid aggro is a very important skill.

For sight aggro mobs, as long as they don't see you, you're perfectly safe. Their area of detection is cone-shaped. Sound aggro mobs...just steer clear of them like Lyonheart said. There's no way to get past them, since their detection area is an entire radius around them. Fortunately they generally don't detect as far out as a sight-aggro mob will. Undead detect by sound AND low HP. If your HP is anything less than white, stay away. Far, far, far away. The lower your HP, the further they'll aggro you from. Finally, arcana (bombs, elementals, and weapons) will aggro to magic. Keep that in mind on future jobs or if an elemental pops near camp. By the way, bombs also detect by sight but they're relatively short-sighted.

If you get aggro, run. Run, and don't stop. The mob runs just as fast as you, so don't allow it to close the gap between you even for a second. Unfortunately that means that if the mob's already on you and hitting you, there's very little you can do to pull away. If you do need to aggro something, or you think you might get aggro trying, be sure to leave as much distance between you and the mob as possible. Also, avoid sharp turns. The mob always picks the straightest path to you, so if you make a sudden turn it'll cut straight towards you from however far behind you it is, and that means the distance between you and it is shorter. Make your turns gradually.

Here's a few more tips. If a sight-aggro mob just came into view, and it's still, don't try to get past it. You don't know how long ago it moved, and for all you know it'll attempt to move in the next 2 seconds. Wait for it to move, and THEN sneak past it. A few more minutes' worth of precautions can save you from a trip to the homepoint.

Mages will always try to cast. Constantly. They have to stop running to cast, so they're easy to get away with. Don't get cocky though. Just because it left your view doesn't mean it's not dashing full speed for you any more. Keep moving. NEVER assume a mob stopped chasing.

Finally, here's a little trick that may help you down the line *coughYUHTUNGA JUNGLEcough* When a mob turns around, it doesn't pivot. It goes straight from facing forward, to facing backwards, without any kind of rotation. That means if you're in a narrow tunnel with a goblin facing away from you, stand besides it and keep moving next to it. When it decides to turn around, it won't see you, so you'll be free to keep going.

By the way. No matter what anyone says, use a Great Axe and spam Shield Break. It's by far the best service you can bring to your parties. Forget swords, forget axes, and forget Iron Tempest. Shield Break everything. -40 Evasion means everyone else hits 20% more often.

EDIT: Ah, yes, like Mhurron said, "be afraid of everything." If you don't know, don't risk it. Check online or something. Those crabs may be nice and docile now, but later on you'll fine crabs that link, and crabs that aggro. Same thing for bunnies, flies...you name it.

[Ziero]

Just a note on something I'm surprised people missed

Yes, it is your fault for not contacting the party after that happened. If you'd asked for more specific directions as to where in the postion they stated or to help you find your way there you could have avoided that death. Also, that party was probably waiting on you for a while with no knowledge of what happened to you, not knowing if you just ditched them or whatever. There's nothing wrong with asking for help, or asking advice in game, especially if you're new. Most people are friendly and understand it's tough on new players. I'm sure had you contacted someone, they could have raised you and assisted you to where the party is.

Communication is a very important part of this game, don't be afraid to ask strangers for assistance.

Edit: Also, deaths happen. A LOT. Do not let one or two discourage you that much. Death in this game should be used as a learning tool, analyze what went wrong and why you died, and try to learn to avoid/correct that situation. Though sometimes deaths will happen regardless of how prepared you are, learning from those experiances may help prevent future deaths from ever occuring.

[12kizuna]

I understand that's something I should've done, and would've done, but I honestly don't think that
a) I was that important to the group. They seemed to be a big group of all melee and no healers, and just invited me if I wanted to get some exp since I had my flag up. I thought it was nice, and maybe I should have told them, but I seriously don't think they were waiting on me, because they seemed to have already been partying together for quite a while beforehand.
b) they really cared. I had repeatedly told them before I tried to meet up with them that I was new, would need some directions if they could give to me, (which I eventually got crude ones), and that, again, I wasn't very experienced and would appreciate any advice/assistance if they could. They seemed to pretty much ignore my questions (I don't think it was a language issue- I'm bilingual having grown up in Japan, so I could have done either), so I stopped asking them. I just went on my way and died anyway.

I really should have let them know, but then again I was frustrated, and for the above reasons, at the time I just didn't care to contact them since they weren't contacting a whole lot with me beforehand.
I'm not saying they were mean, because they weren't... and yeah, from now on I'll let people know

[Jei]

a) They probably had a high level healer power leveling the group. In this case, more damage dealer was always nice.

b) Kinda extended from a), because they were power leveling, they probably just wanted an easy exp (ie: effortless) so that's why they are not very excited to get out of the way to help you.

I guess that depends on what kind of people you meet. If it was me, I would be more than happy to go meet you, lead you to the camp and show you around. But everyone's different.

Another note, there are items that will prevent mobs from detecting you. They can be expensive for new players tho and I won't blame any new comers for not carrying these items around.

[12kizuna]

Thank you Jei, the explanation does make sense, and is very helpful, but I don't think they were powerlevelling. Everyone kept asking each other if they could find a healer, so I don't think there was one in the group.

I will look into the items, for when / if I can afford it in the future I didn't know there were any.

Thanks again everyone for the helpful tips!

[Pai Pai Master]

http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/Main_Page

FFXIclopedia is perfect. I always have it open on my laptop while I play. Even if you don't have access to it during gameplay, take some time to study monster families and zones so you know where certain mobs are, and can remember what certain families of monsters aggro to.

My other suggestion is to find some other high level players on your server, whether you make some friends in-game or on here or something, so you always have access to someone with experience who can answer sudden questions you may have.

[Satori]

Awww this reminds me of my friend/ moms friend's son he is 11irl lol
When he started playing I used to meet him outside basatok and take him up to the dunes and pick him up when he was finished, it was cool I had my own offspring in game !

Thing is now he teleports me here and there, even I cant do that

[LyonheartLakshmi]

Originally Posted by Satori

Awww this reminds me of my friend/ moms friend's son he is 11irl lol
When he started playing I used to meet him outside basatok and take him up to the dunes and pick him up when he was finished, it was cool I had my own offspring in game !

Thing is now he teleports me here and there, even I cant do that

lol! Funny, funny story. A FFXI Soccer mom (or dad)! Too bad there isn't a minivan equivalent for Chocobos.

[12kizuna]

Satori-
hee that's SO cute!!! That made me smile, thanks !

I had a great party experience last night btw- made my own up and we did really well.
Thanks again to everyone!

[bri360]

Well first off you should admit you dont know you are doing lol, its the best way to get help, and veteran players are more than happy to help others in need if you just ask. Also you should have said something if you diddnt know where to go, something like sorry I cant find you, can someone come get me. It isnt considered rude to do this, people do it all the time in places like yughaton jungle(the place where you party at 30) because its like a maze there lol. Lastly tell the pt to call for a raise if you die.

[Mhurron]

zomg the necro!

[Silent Howler]

Originally Posted by bri360

and veteran players are more than happy to help others in need if you just ask.

Funny, I've had two vetern players tell me that most of them try to avoid newbs because they ask too many questions.