Beginner levels for a weary WHM?

[Tivul]

Re: Beginner levels for a weary WHM?

That was an awesome post Stand, answered quite a few questions I had! Thanks a bunch!

Any sort of general advice helps, such as what to be aware of and such when heading into the Dunes soon. I plan on going in at level 10, and I'm already 9, sooo...y'know, any help you could offer

[Aksannyi]

Re: Beginner levels for a weary WHM?

Well, don't be surprised if the experience isn't rolling in like the tide, because to be honest, Dunes parties are known for the vast amount of noobiness and stupidity, so if you're not getting the full 200+ and chain 5, as long as there's no dying and you seem to be killing at a reasonable rate with a bit of MP to spare, don't worry about the experience points too much. Good Dunes parties are hard to come by.

Also, be prepared to get a lot of shit thrown your way as the WHM, for some reason, when it all hits the fan, they blame you first, even though it takes six people to wipe. (Tank not voking, BLM overnuking, puller got a link ... you name it, I've seen it in the Dunes.) Try to let it roll off your back when people complain, but don't take full-out abuse. There's a difference, sometimes it's tough to distinguish, but there is one. And always feel free to leave a party if it's just not working out, and don't feel guilty and go back. If you left, it was for good reason and you were justified.

Also, if you must leave, be polite and give notice. Most people will wait until any party members who are close to leveling get their level, but be honest with the party leader as soon as you know you will have to leave. Nothing - absolutely nothing is more frustrating than someone saying, "I gotta go" and disbanding two seconds later, leaving the party hanging looking for a member, and sometimes fighting an IT mob with 5. >.< It's common party etiquette to let the party know you will be leaving soon, but you'd be amazed at how many people, even at high levels, do this. So try not to be that guy.

[Tivul]

Re: Beginner levels for a weary WHM?

Thanks Aksannyi, I really appreciate that info

I have no idea what skill chains or experience chains are as of right now, so I haven't really come to expect them . I'm mostly looking forward to actually getting into a party and seeing what they're like in FFXI. I haven't had an actual party in a while...coming from Warcraft, they're sort of hard to come by. And I'll do my best to follow the tips you've posted :-D

[Mhurron]

Re: Beginner levels for a weary WHM?

That was an awesome post Stand, answered quite a few questions I had! Thanks a bunch!

Any sort of general advice helps, such as what to be aware of and such when heading into the Dunes soon. I plan on going in at level 10, and I'm already 9, sooo...y'know, any help you could offer

You might want to wait till 11 when you can use Cure2, or at the very least have it on you so you can use it when you hit 11.

However, you won't use it much right away. You don't want to be dropping cure bombs on your party, especially if your tank has problems holding hate, because you just don't have the defense to handle it. So when you're in a party, be careful. Unless you have a bunch of Undead nearby, it's ok to have party members HP going yellow it's not going to kill them, don't panic and bring them back to full health quickly.

Since the Dunes can be a pain going to and from, take gear and spells for a few levels so you don't have to run back for important stuff a lot. Remember to set your HP in the Dunes or in Selbina.

WHM in the dunes is a little stressful even when things are going well, as you don't have all the good tools you're going to later. Don't let it worry you too much. Maybe wear a hat to protect your hair.

Have barfira when you hit lvl17 and use it all the time on gobs. Use barwater on crabs. They make your life as WHM a lot easier. You might need help getting barfira as it is sold in Jeuno and not always on the AH in the starting cities.

Your healing magic effects how much your cures will recover. Cure caps at 30HP recovered and Cure II at 90HP, but as you've probably noticed, you weren't always curing for 30 when you cast Cure. Thats because your skill was to low to hit the cap. This, along with the hate generated by the higher spell, is why you won't be using Cure II much when you first get it, it is for an emergency only right then. The same thing goes for when you get Cure III at 21, you probably won't use it much instead using Cure I & II.

Keep your enfeebling skill near cap as well, as you won't always have a RDM in your parties and enfeebling the mob will then fall primarily to you. As you have MP to spare, throw out Dia's during battle. If you don't have a RDM in your party, try to keep the mob paralyzed (and slow when you get it) as well, but expect to be resisted a lot.

Don't worry too much about not knowing something. Even asking about things won't teach you everything. You'll find out through experience.

[Tivul]

Re: Beginner levels for a weary WHM?

Thanks Mhur, I appreciate the tips - currently, my enfeebling is at like, level 5, and my healing is at I think 6 or 7...not sure if that's good/bad/to be expected at my level or whatever, but yeah...anyway, I'm not quite sure what sort of stuff I should be taking with me when I head to the Dunes as far as spells and such go. Like, I don't want to carry a bunch of useless stuff on me, as I'm having a lotta stuff in my inventory as is. Over half of it is taken up by equipment and crystals x_x

[Mhurron]

Re: Beginner levels for a weary WHM?

Thanks Mhur, I appreciate the tips - currently, my enfeebling is at like, level 5, and my healing is at I think 6 or 7...not sure if that's good/bad/to be expected at my level or whatever, but yeah...anyway, I'm not quite sure what sort of stuff I should be taking with me when I head to the Dunes as far as spells and such go. Like, I don't want to carry a bunch of useless stuff on me, as I'm having a lotta stuff in my inventory as is. Over half of it is taken up by equipment and crystals x_x

Skill limits:
http://ffxi.somepage.com/skilldb/
You're healing skill will naturally grow with you as healing is what your doing the most in a party. It's your enfeebling skill that you'll need to keep an eye on. Use Dia a lot, I know it doesn't look like it does anything, but it lowers the mobs def and does damage over time.

Spells:
http://ffxi.somepage.com/spelldb/
A few important ones are Protectra (7), Shellra(17), curega(16), barwatera(12), barfira(17), Silence(15), Poisona(6)
Out of those Silence is the one you want to keep your enfeebling skill up for, if you can shut those damn gobs up then killing them goes so much smoother. You might need to ask for help getting Barwatera and Barfira since you probably won't want to walk to Jeuno yet. Unless you do, in which case you can buy it in Jeuno from the magic shop there.

Carry stuff for the next few levels so that you don't feel the need to run back to a city after every level. It gets easier, since after the Dunes (the second time after getting your subjob) you'll be going to Qufim, from then on you'll be near a city and will only need to carry what gear and items you'll need for that EXP session.

Personally, when I level a job through the dunes I go at around lvl11~12 and have gear/food/spells to last until lvl15, then I run to San d'Oria (nostalgia) and grab gear/food/spells to last either until 18 or to 20 depending on what job I'm playing.

[Tivul]

Re: Beginner levels for a weary WHM?

Gotcha, thanks again Mhur You made this nice and easy for me, otherwise I'd probably have made 30 trips to and from the Dunes, haha.

[Slip]

Re: Beginner levels for a weary WHM?

A quick note on Curaga: When you get it at level 16, be extremely careful using it in battle (read: almost never do it). It's better to wait till after the fight, then Divine Seal and Curaga to patch everyone up a lot before the next fight. If you use it during a battle, especially if it's Divine Sealed, you'll heal a *lot* of hp. This will make the mob really really hate you.

{White Mage} {tanking}? {Thanks for the offer, but I'll have to pass.}

[Standablaze]

Re: Beginner levels for a weary WHM?

Indeed. Do not use curaga if you like not having your face in the sand.

Its shocking how many WHMS dont know this. I was in a lvl55 party leveling my Dark knight and the White Mage used Curaga.. a lot. My friend ingame who I party with, a Paladin, couldn't keep hate from the white mage, and this is a person who does their job well. We eventually let him die (me nor the pld, or anyone else provoked it off him) from hate to get him to stop and understand that Curaga is a pain in the arse in a party... after several warnings to stop using Curaga. Thats a bad example though. Use curaga in between fights, its great for then because it brings down downtime from curing individually. Divine seal and curaga = a lot of HP restored while the puller is out looking for a monster to bring back.

In regards to skillups, the basic rule is, if you use it enough on EXP mobs, it will go up Dont worry about it too much untill you get to know the game. It would be a different story if it was a weapon like a Scythe or Axes, where one extra skill makes all the difference. Your healing will go up as you level and your enfeebling isnt too important (but always nice to have capped!). They can be leveled by using spells. Casting cure will level healing, casting dia will level enfeebling, casting bio will level dark, casting protect will level enhancing, casting banish will level divine... etc etc etc.

Remember to always sort your inventory by using the Sort function. This stacks certain items into a bunch. If you have 4 beehive chips laying around, its taking up 4 spaces. They can be stacked to take up just one space, and itll have a small "4" beside the item to show how many are in that stack. Most items stack, equipment does not.

I would suggest actually running back to your home town (or if your in windurst, set your home point in Bastok or Sand'oria to stay on the same contenant so you can run there and not take a boat then do more running) when needed and setting your home point in the Dunes or Selbina (a town in the dunes, its tiny), and when you are going back to your home town, you can run there and get use to how to deal with aggro from higher mobs. When you are ready to go back to the dunes after doing whatever you have done in a city.. you can kill yourself and waste a bit of EXP and "blood port", back to your home point. Basically dying and pressing the button to go back to your homepoint; instant warp into the dunes You dont lose a lot of EXP at those levels and youll be in the dunes for a while anyway.

[Ichiba]

Re: Beginner levels for a weary WHM?

Lol speaking of Curaga... there was this idiot War in Kazham trying to tell me that whenever everyone's put to sleep, run up admist the battle and cast Curaga to "combat," the Sleep effect.. That'd get me dead dead dead >.> and he was trying to tell the blm how to do his job as well >.> I hate tards like that-that tries to tell other people how to do their jobs when they cannot do their own.. (Kinnda off subject but hey!)

[Aksannyi]

Re: Beginner levels for a weary WHM?

I've been told to Curaga in the Yuhtunga Jungle, too, but I never did it because I simply know better. I'm a Hume so I can take a few hits as a White Mage, but I'd still rather not if I can help it.

[Murphie]

Re: Beginner levels for a weary WHM?

A good WHM will learn when they can and cannot get away with a Curaga (the answer is - not very often actually during a fight). But I am very good at timing them for just as the mob dies, which is handy.

[Mhurron]

Re: Beginner levels for a weary WHM?

A good WHM will learn when they can and cannot get away with a Curaga (the answer is - not very often actually during a fight). But I am very good at timing them for just as the mob dies, which is handy.

Sometimes you have to. That's why Reraise was invented.

[Murphie]

Re: Beginner levels for a weary WHM?

Oh, definitely. That's why I said "not very often during a fight" rather than never. Because really, there are no absolutes with that sort of thing.

Man, I miss my WHM. Maybe I'll level WHM!

[Ichiba]

Re: Beginner levels for a weary WHM?

I've been told to Curaga in the Yuhtunga Jungle, too, but I never did it because I simply know better. I'm a Hume so I can take a few hits as a White Mage, but I'd still rather not if I can help it.

[Word]

A good WHM will learn when they can and cannot get away with a Curaga (the answer is - not very often actually during a fight). But I am very good at timing them for just as the mob dies, which is handy.

*Nods* Yup, I agree.