Taru DRG?

[Paradigm]

After doing research on all of the classes, I have decided that the dragoon is the most intriguing to me, and therefore the job that I will eventually use when the game is released in NA. Now, I'm trying to decide which race would be best for me. I have (extremely) limited experience with all of the races through my beta testing, but after playing as each race, my favorite is tarutaru. I know that statwise, taru is the worst for melee type jobs, but I know that any race can and will be able to work for any job. I also know it's been done (Cobalt Katze ), and that if I do decide to pursue this race/job combination that I won't be any sort of pioneer, but hey, I'm playing this game for fun, not for competition.

Any thoughts/input/criticism on this idea?

As a side note, I am also trying to decide which of the three nations to start in. As a melee job, the Windurstian ring won't benefit me all that much, but so far, I find Windurst to be the most enjoyable nation. Also, Windurst seems to be the only nation at this point in the beta that has a weapons vendor selling the lvl 1 spear. I also have noticed that San d'Oria has very nice polearm type conquest point weapons for the later levels, and (not sure if this is important) that parts of the dragoon quest itself take place here. I'm almost set on Windurst, but I'd like to hear any opinions on this idea as well.

Thank you in advance for taking the time to help me out.

[Sirius Black]

Well...

I'm also struggling with the "race" issue, I too (though I want to be a Samurai) have come across the "stat barrier" of the race. However, (and I'm sure he'll comment) Cobalt and others such as Jei say it's best to just choose the race you like, and I really agree with that. I mean like you said, we're here to have fun not be the absolute best guy in exsistence. Plus, there is all kinds of stat boosting equipment, and in my mind if it was SO terrible to be Taru Melee or Galka mage than I wouldn't see any screenshots of them. However I do all the time. I have a question for you though, what is it that makes you like the Taru's more than say Humes?

As for where to live, I was (and to a point still am) torn about this myself. I also thought from what I had seen Windurst looked the coolest. On the other hand I'm also really considering Bastok for a couple of major reasons.
-Good place to be a gold smith (what I want to do)
-Good place to lv early on
-The mines are commonly considered the best places to get Gil.
I don't really like San'Doria personally, in fact the whole Elvaan race kinda bugs me (and people say Taru's are funny looking) so to me it's between thouse two. Like you said though, Windurst isn't the best place for a melee.

[Paradigm]

Choosing my race:
I decided not to pick Elvaan, because it's simply overused, and even though I don't need to be the only one in a certain job/race combination, I don't like being a face/hair clone to hundreds of other people at the same time.

For the same reason, I decided not to be Hume either, and they are overused even more than Elvaan. Also, I just don't like how Humes run. As one person said, "It looks like they're running with a brick in their ass" :sweat: .

I did not choose Galka because I don't like playing hulking characters. It's probably just a subconscious thing. I respect anyone who would choose to play them, but I myself would not unless it was in some way necessary.

And finally, I chose not to play as Mithra, because that is the race of the character which I will be using extensively in the beta, my Mithran Monk. I suppose that depending upon my further experiences in the beta that my opinion could change, and I would choose Mithra over Taru, as it is my second favorite race. I know that statwise, Mithra is better in every way than a Taru in terms of melee, but this is irrelevant to me. So, that's the main reason why Taru is my race of choice.

[lovelace]

Originally posted by Paradigm
Choosing my race:
I decided not to pick Elvaan, because it's simply overused, and even though I don't need to be the only one in a certain job/race combination, I don't like being a face/hair clone to hundreds of other people at the same time.

From what I see from the JP server so far, it seems Taru is more overused than Elvaan.

For the same reason, I decided not to be Hume either, and they are overused even more than Elvaan. Also, I just don't like how Humes run. As one person said, "It looks like they're running with a brick in their ass" :sweat: .

On the contrary, I see fewer Humans than Elvaan (at least on my server). In fact, I was about to propose you to become a human, try out the various jobs and decide what suit you best. FFXI didn't follow all the job regulation in the previous FF titles, so don't be surprised that a job doesn't work out the way you anticipated. Personally I found human's sprites quite well done.

I did not choose Galka because I don't like playing hulking characters. It's probably just a subconscious thing. I respect anyone who would choose to play them, but I myself would not unless it was in some way necessary.

Galka is good and solid. No tank = no fireworks (a.k.a. spells). Looking around all the taru's mages surrounding me, I wonder what they need most in PT.

Mit is cute. The sex symbol of FFXI I guess?

Edit: All observation are made on Phoenix server.

[Shuketsu]

Just pick whatever race you like. Like everyone said, you're there to have fun creating your own unique character in a fantasy world, so do it how you see fit, not according to what stats dictate

About the overuse of races, none of them are really overused (except humes) on Lakshmi. At least from what I've seen in Bastok and the surrounding areas. But Tarus, Elvaans, and Mithra are pretty evenly distributed. However, the poor Galka are horribly underused

Also, Sirius, I would reccomend just starting out in the city that is the "home" of your race. The stat boosting ring isn't anything awesome, but it's definitely nice to have. Afterwards, you can always switch to a different town, which shouldn't be too hard if you have someone to escort you.

[Paradigm]

Thanks for your input, lovelace and Shuketsu.

lovelace-
I made my observations based off of the beta population, and I'm sure that in NA retail it will be different, and now that you've mentioned it, I'm sure it's different on all servers. This however, will most likely not affect my decision, though anything can happen :spin: .

Shuketsu-
In response to your hometown suggestion, I must ask - When you change nationality, are you still able to wear the ring of your original hometown?

[Shuketsu]

About the ring thing... I actually have no idea. I'd assume you can, though, since you can't get rings of other countries.