Thinking of returning

[maressa]

Hi,

It's been a long time since I played, I started back in initial release, but found certain aspects of the game a pain.

How is the leveling curve now is it the same as first release? and the movement system is that also the same, Can't remember why but someone told me it was easyier if i bought a Console type controller for my PC (PS2 style).

I can't remember a lot of the game it's been so long, If i did start again is there classes you would recommend playing for soloing main job in between groups.

i also dont have any expansion packs is there any you would recommend getting that would make coming back easyier. (new races, classes starting area's).

Thanks in Advance

[Ellipses]

The leveling curve has been made gradually easier in little ways. The amount of XP required at various levels has been evened out & lessened from initial release. The range of monsters that give XP was slightly increased. There are items you can get that grant bonus XP (Empress Band - FFXIclopedia - a Wikia Gaming wiki for example). Signet gives bonuses when fighting Even match or lower monsters, as well as making HP and MP recovery faster and removing TP lost when resting.

This all adds up, but it hasn't made the leveling curve go from super-stupid-hard to super-stupid-easy. It's noticeable if you have a really good memory for how it was.

Movement is the same. The UI hasn't seen any significant improvements. It's still the number pad or WASD (or whatever you set it to) on the keyboard, but if you are more comfortable with a gamepad, that's certainly an option.

There are no new races. New classes don't matter until level 30. None of the expansions would really do anything for you right at the start. When they start being useful varies, but level 30 is a pretty good guide, since that's when you can start unlocking jobs from the expansions and/or start on Promyvions etc.

[maressa]

Just been looking at the differemt classes, anyone comment on the best to start with red mage, monk or Thief

[Mog]

Just been looking at the differemt classes, anyone comment on the best to start with red mage, monk or Thief

We can't answer that for you. What kind of job do you want to play?

Do you want to be a mage that's on the back lines(most of the time)? Play black mage, white mage. red mage, summoner.

Do you like being a mage that has the option to melee? Play blue mage

Do you like tanking? Play paladin or ninja

Do you want to be a damage dealer? Play Samurai, warrior, dark knight, ranger, etc. etc.

It entirely depends on your preference.

[Prons]

What jobs are you most interested in?

WAR is a good one to start with, and subbing monk, because you get a lot of advanced jobs to chose from.

But if you want to be a Bard or something, you're probably best starting as the mages.

One thing to remember is that, if you level a RDM or a BLM you'll probably have to level WHM too.

Take that into consideration.

[maressa]

I quite like doing damage roll, but have also played healers in other games.

Basiclly i was looking for a class that will be easyier to get groups plus being able to do some soloing, missions or farming whilst waiting for groups.

think It's going to be a case or making a character and just seeing which job i like at first then deciding from there, might give the monk a go first.

[Lunaryn]

Ease of invites in this game has always gone to support/healing and tanks, but tanking has fallen into disfavor now; it's eschewed as unnecessary at very high levels, and the prevalence of PLs makes it less viable at low levels, but you'll probably see sufficient demand for NIN and PLD until meripo, and NIN doesn't have it bad at endgame either. Though NIN is also a pretty expensive job to play well.

WAR: Good DD. Passable tank with the right gear, food, and party support, but not seen as such by the community, so your role as possible tank isn't likely to net many additional parties. Some would argue WAR is actually a better tank than NIN pre-37, though. All-around good DD invite rate, and favored for meripo. With 2H update, GAxe has overtaken Axe+Axe in popularity at high levels.

MNK: Good DD, but seen as a bit lackluster at higher levels post-2H-update. Relatively simple job without a whole lot of things to manage.

THF: Technically a support DD, but the support they provide is often seen as unnecessary these days. Even as a THF main who likes the job itself, I can't recommend it in the current xp/meripo climate.

WHM: Favored healer at low levels, falls off in popularity at high levels due to the desire for combining healing and support into a single party slot and for more MP sustainability. /SCH is virtually a must at high levels to keep up with kill speed.

BLM: Has fallen distinctly out of favor in xp/meripo for a number of reasons. Will often be expected to solo much of their career, and many parties only invite BLMs as an MP/WHM healer, similar to SMN. You'll need /WHM for parties at most levels, and both /RDM and /NIN for soloing (sub choice depends on level). /RDM tends to be the preferred sub for endgame. /SCH has some nice offerings, but most eschew it for lack of Stoneskin.

RDM: Enfeebling has become a lost art, so expect to do very little of it at higher levels, at least in xp/meripo. RDM becomes a source of MP-recovery at level 41, and between Refresh and Convert is often the choice for healing/support in DD-heavy parties due to the ability to keep up with a well-paced party without downtime.

PLD: One of only two jobs widely recognized by the community to be a tank. In very solid demand until meripo, where tanks are seen as superfluous. Most PLDs sub /NIN at this point to become a marginally-acceptable DD in modern meleeburn meripo. /WAR is usually seen as an absolute requirement for tanking, though /DNC and /RDM have been established to work for this with the correct party support (Refresh is especially critical for /RDM).

DRK: A 2H DD, this job is quite capable, but has fallen out of favor because they use MP (in theory) and the most popular high-level mobs don't afford themselves to the use of offensive magic.

BST: This is seen as a solo-only job, though it can be a capable DD as well. There are some fairly unique things you might bring to a party, but your chances of getting an invite to anything other than an all-BST party past the dunes or so are very low.

BRD: This support job is always in high demand. People quit this job because of too much demand rather than too little.

RNG: Ranged DD, has some nice capabilities, but it's expensive due to reliance on ammo. Taking up Woodworking to make your own may be helpful, particularly since you can get random raw materials from Scavenge, and things like heads are hard to sell. Bullets are also synthable, but require crafts like Alchemy, Smithing, and Goldsmithing, and their ingredients are easier to market.

SAM: 2H DD, has tanking capabilities at higher levels, though unlikely to be invited to tank. At high levels, though, they tend to peel hate off of tanks very easily anyway. One of the favored DDs for high-level xp and meripo post-2H-update. Their proficiency at forming skillchains with other players has been largely forgotten in today's xp climate, though they're more proficient at self-skillchaining now.

NIN: One of two community-accepted tank jobs. Uses shadows to avoid taking damage. Doesn't get their full cycle of shadows until 37. This job tends to enjoy better demand than PLD, even though pre-37 they're a bit lackluster compared to PLD and WAR. Unless you're a SAM or a SCH you'll probably need/want to level this job to 37 at some point, or at least to 12.

DRG: 2H DD/support, your pet's capabilities change depending on your support job. Community still seems to be confused as to this job's status post-2H-update. Theoretically should be good for the favored high-level xp/meripo mobs, but I haven't heard of their invite rate turning around dramatically.

SMN: Theoretically DD/support. In practice, healing/support, mostly healing. Expectation is that you'll toss out a party-wide buff periodically and otherwise just cast healing spells. /WHM sub required, though with Addendum: White /SCH may also be feasible at levels where you get the same cures from both. DD component kicks in during the 70s.

BLU: Melee mage: physical blue magic must be performed within melee range and relies on main hand weapon skill. This is an extremely versatile job, capable of support, and can even tank effectively at lower levels, but its role has been distilled to magical DD. At high levels, suffers from the same desirability issue as DRK.

COR: Ranged DD/support. Considered to be the most expensive job in the game by many. Demand is pretty certain to outweigh supply since relatively few people take up the job.

PUP: Versatile pet job. Its main problem is it's so versatile, most parties don't have any idea what they can expect you to do. Despite potential, this job has a fairly poor invite rate.

DNC: Strong melee support/healer, has unique debuffs and healing capabilities based upon expending TP. Excellent for smaller parties, but doesn't fit in that well with the support-condensing trend at high levels. I understand at high levels DNCs get by through focusing heavily on maximizing DD capability, though I haven't seen too many DNCs at high levels yet. This is a popular sub for soloing due to self-healing potential.

SCH: Versatile mage, capable of competing with BLM, WHM, and RDM on a number of levels, though not each at once. Introduces a new level of crowd control with the ability to AoE spells like Gravity and Bind. Gains much of its useful capabilities later than other mage jobs; expect to have to solo this to 20 before it's of much worth in parties. This has broken the hold of or replaced the previous One True Subjob for some jobs.

Note that you will need RotZ for SAM/NIN/DRG and for most avatars on SMN. You will need ToAU for BLU/COR/PUP. You will need WotG for DNC/SCH. Also, you'll need ToAU by level 55-ish or you'll end up being unable to attend xp parties. WotG is useful even as low as level 10, if you can sneak around the new zones. Campaign Ops, teleports, alternative camps... RotZ is pretty much necessary by level 25.

[maressa]

Lunaryn thank you for that,

At the moment i want to find a job I can level too 30 fairly quickly so I can unlock the other jobs.

[Lunaryn]

As far as leveling speed, your best bet is probably to start with MNK, take it to 18, complete the subjob quest, then take WAR to 30. However, if you aren't planning to take a job that requires one of those two as subs in the long run, it might not make that much sense. Moreover, WHM and RDM provide a lot more utility at 30 than the other basic jobs, even if they do take a bit longer to level. You should probably consider what you're planning to unlock in terms of the decision of what job to take to 30 to unlock it with.

THF, however, is definitely to be avoided if you're in a hurry. That's a massive pain to level first. BLM is likely to be a pain just given invite rates.