Just starting out, suggestions please?

[atiari]

So I used to play the official servers back in they day but I don't think that I ever got much beyond level 20 for the base jobs, and never had an advanced one. It seemed the game was just a little too hard without groups or people funneling you gear to really get rolling. That being said I love Final Fantasy so I want to give it a whirl again here.

What job(s) would you recommend for someone basically starting fresh with little or no prior knowledge of the game? What advanced jobs should I be looking at as well? I love magic, but don't mind getting my hands dirty in combat either.

If anyone has any links to beginner guides or anything that they could share that would also be appreciated!

[Flunklesnarkin]

warrior to level 18 would be the easiest imo

Then search for help unlocking subjobs and poke around with all the other basic jobs to level 15 or so.

Then decide which job you like the most of the starting and take it to 30 and decide from there which advanced jobs to unlock.

Bst or Drg are pretty good for a advanced jobs for a beginner imo because of the capability to solo or group well without a large investment in gear but any of the jobs are possible to be played by beginners.

Hit up ffxiclopedia, it's a fairly large wiki with a lot of player made guides.

http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

Allakhazam is also pretty large but it's not quite as up to date or well written imo.

[hakusho]

I would also recommend DRG. You have a limited amount of abilities to keep track of but they are very effective. Jumps are a great way to deal extra damage and build TP really fast plus you have a very effective Wyvern to kill stuff faster and as soon as you get Super Jump, it can be a real life saver.

[PrBlahBlahtson]

I would also recommend DRG. You have a limited amount of abilities to keep track of but they are very effective. Jumps are a great way to deal extra damage and build TP really fast plus you have a very effective Wyvern to kill stuff faster and as soon as you get Super Jump, it can be a real life saver.

You also need to level something to 30 first, then WAR and/or SAM to 37, and WHM and/or RDM and/or BLM to 37...

I love me my DRG, but idk if I'd suggest it as a first one

[hakusho]

I started out as DRG once I've gotten my WAR to 30 when the US retail version first came out, so he should be fine. Have some faith!
Last time I've checked Healing Breath wasn't working (just after Christmas) so there's no real point in going for a /WHM combo. /RDM could be fun but the lack of MP is still too restricting. You'd probably still be better off as /WAR so you only have to get that to 30 + 1 SJ to 15.
Even if you go for all the different SJs. You get a feel for different classes and at the end of the day you end up with a very powerful selection of subjobs for many different situations.
BLM can be ignored if you just switch back and forth between WHM and RDM when leveling those (if you even bother to level both).

[PrBlahBlahtson]

Healing breath absolutely works. As far as I know, it never stopped working, and I used it just last night. Drachen Armet doesn't work.

/RDM gets small amounts of Fast Cast, and can use Poison (5 MP) instead of Dia (7 MP) or Poisona (8 MP.) If they're really in a hurry, they can cast a random Bar-element spell almost instantly for 6 MP. In exchange, they have a smaller MP pool (but use less MP,) and don't have access to Raise, AoE buffs, or -na spells.

I agree /BLM is essentially useless to a DRG, although /ma warp <me>.

Mainly my point was that DRG is a good job, but you need a basic grasp of pretty much everything else in order to play it in party/endgame scenarios.

[atiari]

Healing breath absolutely works. As far as I know, it never stopped working, and I used it just last night. Drachen Armet doesn't work.

/RDM gets small amounts of Fast Cast, and can use Poison (5 MP) instead of Dia (7 MP) or Poisona (8 MP.) If they're really in a hurry, they can cast a random Bar-element spell almost instantly for 6 MP. In exchange, they have a smaller MP pool (but use less MP,) and don't have access to Raise, AoE buffs, or -na spells.

I agree /BLM is essentially useless to a DRG, although /ma warp <me>.

Mainly my point was that DRG is a good job, but you need a basic grasp of pretty much everything else in order to play it in party/endgame scenarios.

Its been fun to play, though I've been playing as /war and taking long healing breaks as well as drinking x-potions like they are Red Bulls. Contemplating rolling whm to try out healing breath.

[hakusho]

That's weird. Does Healing Breath only work on yourself then? I've tested it as a DRG/WHM casting Dia when my brother was standing next to me at 10% HP (we were in a PT) with and without DRG AF helmet and nothing happened.

@Atiari: I'm glad you're having fun!

[PrBlahBlahtson]

I actually hadn't tried Healing Breath with other people in the party. It works for solo healing, you just don't have AF head to raise the HP %.

Edit: Just realized I could totally rig a test with my GMs. Will check.

Edit 2:
Two GMs (DRG/WHM, DNC/WAR) at 10 HP, wyvern only heals its owner. Accurate for Hybrid, not for full healing.

[hakusho]

That explains it. Might be worth bringing to the attention of the devs.