thinking of quitting my DRK...

[prellius]

well as the title says im thinking of quitting my DRK, and probably all of FFXI since i dont want to start over at level 1. im level 53 and have been playing since the NA launch. i have tons of prior mmorpg experience, so im not a 'n00b' or anything to this genre. i know how these games work, the pitfalls, and what to expect out of them. such things as having good teamwork is important, class interdependancy etc. but this game pushes it to new limits. i also know time invested is THE key factor in any mmorpg. you have to put in the time if you want to advance. herein lies my problem. i put in more then enough time and it just seems like im fighting an uphill battle with the DRK class. getting PT invites is impossible. hours upon hours of constant seeking produce absolutely nothing. i try to make my own parties, but nobody wants to commit to anything unless you have the staple whm,rdm,blm,pld RIGHT NOW. people that were 5 levels below me last week are now ahead simply because they play a mage job. we arent needed one bit. i feel totally useless when im seeking, even tho i know it isnt the case when im in a pt; i make myself useful by also doing the pulling and being a backup tank.

i guess what im asking is; is there anything to look forward to? and dont say 'guillotine'. thats not a reason to keep playing. im wondering if theres truly a reason why a pt will want a DRK in the late 50's and beyond, or am i wasting my time playing a job nobody wants?

[Slacko]

I feel your pain. I am 46 for 2 weeks now. I too have comtemplated of quitting the game.

There's too many drks around and my playing time is during Japanese evening hours. If I'm a Japanese PT leader, I would pick a J drk rather than a JE one.

It's a sad period for drks (40s to 59).

[Socrates]

rapport matters a lot when trying to find parties. i built a lot of rapport with mage classes and it pays off.

but if you don't have time to build rapport with people, the next best thing is to play a support char. everyone loves a bard... if you have little time to invest or simply don't enjoy playing drk, i highly recommend playing a mage or bard. it's a totally different field.

if you're tired of playing FF11, id' just recommend you stop playing it.

playing anyjob is gonna get repetitive and novelty fades after a while. you're probably just not into the game as much as you were. if that's the reason, i can't blame you as i'm lving blackmage atm.

[albert lee]

mages my lvl suck on rag, so i tend to pt with them alot. if you want pt invites fast play during optimal hours. JP prime time isn't one of them :dead:

[fuz]

It's like the curse of the dark knight (or any melee dmg dealer). All the NA dark knights in my LS, upon hitting lvl 40 find that the class is very difficult to level from lack of PT invites. I am the only one left, thanks to my static leveling PT. (Went from lvl 40 to lvl 57, where i am now in about 2 weeks. :spin: ) But really, no one needs or wants more drks, drg, sam, etc. I find that it is quite difficult to make friends as a drk, unlike my support class friends that easily get praise since they are wanted. Getting random PT invites is difficult, though I do have a pretty good reputation despite my 60th percentile guestimate rank in equipment (just above average).

But also, drk is just a really hard class to play until the 60's. There is just nothing good about them before that unless you have some good equips. Although at lvl 57 I notice that I am fast approaching the damage level of drg and sam just by the sheer brute force advatage of my regular attacks. (Accuracy is less of a problem at this point, especially with a brd.)

Then again, from discussion with the high lvl people I've made friends with, drk becomes the #1 or #2 wanted melee damager after lvl 60. At this time, a lot of the jpn people think drg and sam are useless, being inflexible with subs and equipment. Drk like war, gets a huge array of options letting them adapt to whatever is needed, provided your subs, skills, and weapons are leveled. Because of this, there are few downsides in being a drk, if any. This is where you can take the game very far... it will take a long time before you can "max out" your drk. If you're interested, it seems the endgame is where drk really shines.

But I agree, it is just a painful, painful journey till the end.

[Tidane]

I don't really have that much trouble getting parties anymore...everyone knows me, so they send me tells even when I'm not seeking. Its kindof cool. I only seek when its early morning or late night, and all the normal people are asleep.

[Mithrael]

I think time of day is what it's mostly about. I have a semi-static party (4 people of 6 are static, and a 5th has been partying with us for the past 2 weeks) so I'm not ever really seeking a party. However, when i get home from work and i'm out farming, i get too many invites if i don't have anon on... and people get mad when i tell them i'm not interested in a party at the moment >.<; Happens around 6pm Central monday through thursday.

If you check out the '/sea all level ??<?? inv' two hours later, all that are seeking are DRK, SAM, DRG, and MNK.

[yzfr6]

ive been lvl 48 for 2 weeks now. i have all my genkai items...but i cant make it to lvl 50 cuz i cant get any party invites. fucking square and their lousy exp/party system. I WANT TO SOLO. i guess my true genkai quest is to find a god damned party at lvl 48.

[Krappyappy]

wish the rest of us could find a static party >.<


am i the only one who finds that it's easier to get invites during off-hours? like weekday afternoons and evenings...there are less people on as a whole and therefore much less job competition, since such a high percentage of players are melee dmgers. also, all of the JP parties i have been in have been during this time.

if anyone is interested in forming a static party on bahamut, let me know. we'll work out a schedule.

~Khazu Drk49/THF24

[Mikasa]

I don't really have that much trouble getting parties anymore...everyone knows me, so they send me tells even when I'm not seeking.

Yeah, its pretty much the same for me. When I'm farming and I don't even have my flag up, I get "Party In CN" from people I know and already played with.

It is very important you develop a good rapore with people are similar levels so they'll think, "Hey, I know someone good, lets see if he's on!"

But yeah, DRK is hard to level between 40-59, all I can say is what everyone else says, just stick through it

[Xephoid]

reputation for being good

really helps. The higher you go, the more likely the people at your lvl will know you.

This results in 2 things. (1) if you are good, you'll be remembered by others, and be picked (2) if you are not good, you'll also be remembered and others won't pick you.

Know how to play DRK properly. Be polite and nice to others. Over time, you'll develope a repuation for who you are. I have a friendlist about a mile long. And that really helps. I'm friends with about 3 semi-static parties, and currently involved in 1 static party. So when I log on, I just look them up, and usually at least 1 of those groups want to pick me up. :D

DRK is pretty gimped from 49-59. It's painful to watch other melees do more damage than you even with best gear on. But I made it to 60, and I won't be playing 2nd fiddle to any other damage dealer again. So hang tough. There are alot of DRKs that get weeded out at that lvl range. Now I'm past 60, there are far fewer of us around than say at 50.

[prellius]

5:30 pm EST. thats getting into primetime pretty much.

/sea all inv 52-55

drg52/war26
drg53/war26
drk53/war26
drk53/war26 (me)
drg54/thf27
drk54/war27
drg55/war27

Now then, how the HELL are we supposed to get a party? it is like this every single night too (plus or minus a few thf's and sam's etc.) i dont know if its only my server thats dysfunctional about mages but this is ridiculous. its a lost cause im afraid. i dont play this game to farm gil for equipment i dont have yet and dont know if i will ever get the level for since its impossible to get xp.

[Xephoid]

again... build a repuation

be extra nice, be extra diligent at doing your job. If you ever get into a good party, and things work well, don't just disband at the end of the day. Ask nicely if you can add them to your friend list, and if really good, ask if them if they want to get back to gether tomorrow at a certain time. If you can get the majority of them together, you just got yourself a static party.

Building a net work is very important, and really help to speed things along. Other wise, yes, there are a lot of DRKs, especially under lvl 50. So if you remain on the passive, there will be a lot of waiting time in store for you.

[albert lee]

if i can get into a pt, you can. 8pm pst 5pm est is not a good time to get into a pt. best times are 3-4pm pst or 12-1pm est. i'm on the same server you are. people remember me and invite me. and usually its 4drg, 2drk, 3thf,1-2sam, and usually 2-3 smn that are lfg well in my lvl. 50-55, it's slow because alot of people can't get passed genkai1 so it slows down alot.

if i can't get a pt by 6pm pst, 3pm est i usually log off, and watch anime, then try again at 10pm.

[specular]

I'm not in the 50s yet (almost though heh), but starting from 40+ I have had more succes making my own parties than waiting on an invite.

Being polite & considerate while forming a party will get you a long way. Most people over 40 understand that it takes long to make a party. I found that if you show them you are working on it, they will usually give a lot of time to do it, up to an hour, maybe more.

Making a party is really a game in itself.
Sometimes it goes great, sometimes it does not.

Naturally, having/making friends is very handy too.


#edit
Don't just look in the LFG lists. Sometimes people that aren't LFG will group anyway. It all comes down to how you ask them