If you were starting fresh today?

[Pteryx]

Fair enough... I mean I quit during the time of the great economic super inflation... so I'm unsure of the current state of the economy.

Considerably better now. Crystals aren't so much of a cash cow as they were at the height of inflation, but they're a somewhat safer bet, too.

Not really I had some RL friend who all got into it with my at the same time... since we were all moving from EQ... but alas this time I'll be a lone adventurer.

I don't envy you; one of the key points of FFXI for me from the get-go was playing with friends.

Well often a class might seem "fun" to many people ... but be torture to play due to player base bias "dragoon" I think had a tough time with this when I first played.

As well some jobs are very gear dependent and cash flow dependent in relation to other jobs... I remember Ninja and Ranger both being exceptionally expensive to level in relation to other jobs.

Dragoon in particular is finally more accepted now, thanks not so much to adjustments to the job itself as adjustments to how two-handed weapon damage is calculated and huge tectonic shifts in party composition and common tactics. (I hope skillchains weren't your favorite part of the game...) Note that these same changes have forced black mages to invent their own style of soloing, too.

As far as expense goes, Corsair is up there too, particularly if you actually play it right. I can't really think of a job that doesn't run into some significant expense along the way, though. -- Pteryx

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

To be fair, every job has a high expense at some point - especially so if to play them at the peak of thier potential or at least close to it. That said COR, RNG, NIN, THF and BST are jobs that are high-maitenence - the expense of these jobs never goes away.

COR and RNG are unique in that a lot of thier best gear is Rare/Exclusive, which goes a long way in helping you keep gil reserved for ammo. NIN, THF and BST expenses could be considered more minor by contrast, but a lot of thier good gear is crafted and that gets them a little more expense on armor and weapons than COR and RNG, so they can get up there too.

Going the El Cheapo route, depending on class, may be tolerated by PT members, just don't expect much respect in the long run if you don't work hard on your gear at all.

[IfritnoItazura]

To be fair, every job has a high expense at some point - especially so if to play them at the peak of thier potential or at least close to it. That said COR, RNG, NIN, THF and BST are jobs that are high-maitenence - the expense of these jobs never goes away.

COR and RNG are unique in that a lot of thier best gear is Rare/Exclusive, which goes a long way in helping you keep gil reserved for ammo. NIN, THF and BST expenses could be considered more minor by contrast, but a lot of thier good gear is crafted and that gets them a little more expense on armor and weapons than COR and RNG, so they can get up there too.

A typical THF really doesn't burn through so much consumables to warren comparisons with NIN, I think; the differences between my THF42 and NIN41 was pretty dramatic.

Also, BST is pretty much self-paying to play if soloing or duo'ing thanks to being able to keep half/all of the drops; everyone I know who has a high level BST also has multiple stacks of Kindred and Beastmen seals, to boot. Plus, BST players can often choose to farm EPs for drops and still make minor progress on leveling. Like any job, it has its expensive items, but with a little planning it shouldn't be difficult to have the gil ready for those must-have gears when one hit the levels.

Honestly, I've never heard of any BST having trouble paying for pet food and (reasonable) jug pets. Heck, they don't even need to use RR items much once Reraise becomes accessible from /WHM.

[Neomage]

If I was starting fresh... I wouldn't, quite honestly. I spent way to much work getting to where I am, then to do it all over again. As for your particular situation, I would have to say the game is much more balanced and newbie friendly then it was all those years ago, though there are much less players at lower levels.

[Jaice]

Hi I played FFXI on US release got to 55 (spent a lot of time crafting)I think then switched to WoW. Now I've OD'ed on WoW got the T-shirt, underwear, and sock set from the highest content there is...

So if you just opened a new account today... what would you do?

I'm also going to assume that finding groups will be difficult for a fresh player since I figure most people have leveled all the sub's they'll ever need.

I got a drg to 51 and had the same feelings, went to WoW for a few years and came back. I did start all over last october this time around i'm taking my time with the game, just enjoying the company of my friends that are still around and showing all of my trade secrets to my girlfriend when we both get the time to play, aside from that if I dont have the time to be in a party I start working on one of my level 1 jobs or look to unlocking more advanced jobs.

I havent had any difficulties finding a party yet but I've been trying my hand at mage jobs so far, out of brd/whm/blm/rdm I think my lowest level is 15 I've yet to try playing as my all time favorite tank type critter but from what i've gathered weekends are a good time to go seek in the dunes and weekdays (pending on time of day) might be best used to farm/level subs

[Brielle]

With everyone talking about returning to the game, it makes me wish that all of the interns would just leave for the summer already!

I feel his pain in wanting to plan ahead and decisively figure out every move you are going to make long before it actually happens. As I have seen, though. Most people do recommend playing what you are going to enjoy most, which honestly makes me feel better. As with any online game, there will be classes/jobs that do some things better than others. The nice aspect of Final Fantasy XI is that one character can be all of those things, rather than having six characters.

When I return to the game in May, I will be looking for other new people who may want to join me in starting out. You can never have too many friends!