Seriously, one of the nice things about FFXI is that you can just swap jobs in and out as you see fit, if you get tired of something or if some combo turns out to not be as cool as you might have thought at first. (It’s also a clever way for Enix to get people to replay the same content over and over…)
So when you discover how lame DRG/RDM is, you can always swap RDM for WAR or SAM or something that makes sense, or switch RDM to main and tack BLM or WHM onto it. :idea:
How doesn’t DRG/RDM make sense? It’s currently one of the most hotly advocated job combos among dragoons.
You deal a shit ton of damage, you can pull enemies heavily enfeebled, and you can heal an incredible amount of hp almost instantly for 8 mp. And you can remove status downs, something an RDM can never do normally.
And you can exp. chain Tough monsters on your own.
This is the first I’ve seen anyone mention DRG/RDM, but I don’t do much lower level (<30) partying now so maybe it’s viable at lower levels. It sounds like you’re talking about using that for soloing, which is perfectly legit. The most common subs I’ve seen on DRG are WAR (obviously) and THF. Sneak Attack combined with Double Thrust does some nice damage. 'Course, that’s not available until you hit 30 with DRG.
I’ve been playing THF/NIN mainly, and it is so much fun. I helped an LS member beat the monsters you have to kill during the ninja quest, and they wanted me to use BRD as sub so I could sleep them (3 spawn). I felt so helpless without dual wield!
DRG/RDM stays viable for quite a while, I believe. DRG/WAR is kind of silly, despite how common it is, because DRG != tank. DRG/THF… sure, if you like. But the healing wyvern is awfully spiffy.
DRG/WAR gets you Berserk at level 30, that’s why so many people sub it.
Then again, at 30 you could also get sneak attack from DRG/THF, but at least a DRG/WAR can voke things off the WHM or BLM and stay alive slightly longer.
Is it just me, or does FFXI the acronymiest MMO yet? Granted, I haven’t played it at all, but I just tried reading over the latter part of this thread, and I have no fricking idea what y’all are talking about :)
Yes, I think it may be. Largely because there is a three-letter acronym for every class in the game.
Quick guide:
FFXI = Final Fantasy XI
WAR = Warrior
THF = Theif
WHM = White Mage
RDM = Red Mage
BLM = Black Mage
MNK = Monk
SMN = Summoner
SAM = Samurai
NIN = Ninja
DRG = Dragoon
PAL = Paladin
DRK = Dark Knight
BST = Beastmaster
BRD = Bard
RAN = Ranger
HP = Hit Points
MP = Magic Points
TP = Tactical Points
If the DRG has to provoke, the party is fucked anyway.[/quote]
Not always. I’ve been in plenty of great parties where the tank occasionally lost agro and provoke wasn’t ready yet. The DRG voked and got agro for a couple seconds before the main tank got it back.
It’s certainly not anything to rely on, but it does add some versatility to the party.
I’m not from San D’Oria, so I don’t know a lot about the missions, but I do know that those bats ARE that tough. I went in there when I was around 20 and was one shotted for 400+ damage. Heh. ;)
Got in my first real party last night, my lvl 10 WAR with a WHM and BLM. Started out shaky with two complete group deaths (death by water crab being the more humiliating of the two), but then we got on track and went for two solid hours. There was an hour or so where we had this RDM who kept attacking little things while I was pulling or trying to pull when the mages were at 0MP, but we got by despite him. Fortunately he left for the night and we had a good time, pretty laid back but I think we did well. Everyone levelled up, I learned a new WS (Burning Blade) and maxed out my sword proficiency and I picked up enough crystals to sell two more stacks at the AH. I’m over 10k gil for the first time, which is really sweet.
Tonight I had a pretty good time soloing. Just 200 XP till lvl 12, picked up a ton of items, finished a quest, and worked on the axe proficiency. Oh, and I started a new character, Cathcartaru (guess which race?), a BLM out of Windhurst. My long term goal for him is to be RNG/NIN. I don’t care if it’s effective or not, I just want a dual pistol wielding Taru. I mean how cool is that? Screw DPS, I’m the sheriff of Windhurst! All I need now is a cowboy hat.
Yeah, I wanted to see if maybe I could sneak by because none of the other bats attack unprovoked. These guys didn’t seem too impressed with me, though. Didn’t even get a chance to draw my sword. Lesson learned. You might say that, while I lost experience, I gained experience. Think about that one. Pretty deep, huh?
That’s “Windurst”, not “Windhurst”. Or you can just call it “Windy”, like I’ve seen so many other people doing. :)
I levelled my THF to 6 in W. Ronfaure while I waited for Xemu to show, then decided that he might not be coming, and logged to my Taru WHM in the Highlands. I quickly found a party in the Dunes, but we got off to a shaky start and some people left the party. We quickly found replacements and things settled down a bit. Xemu showed up with his WAR not too long afterwards, and eventually we were fighting goblins and lizards together. We both made it to level 13, w00taru!
Highlight of the evening: Our party leader spazzed on a macro button and managed to aggro not one, but two IT Goblin Leechers by casting Stone at one of them; we had only just started to heal after our last battle. :roll: Some of us ran for Konschtat and survived, but we suffered some casualties. Egad!
Oh, and I got Raised for the first time last night. We’d had a rough go against a goblin of some variety, and I didn’t make it. But then, a passing WHM just happened to see my little-riddle self lying face down in the sand, and poof! he Raised me. How lucky is that? :)
As a >30 THF, having a */WAR in addition to the main tank is very helpful. THF has an ability called Trick Attack that makes the enemy think the person the THF is standing behind made the attack, and it gives that person a lot of hate. Stack it with Sneak Attack (and the weaponskill Viper Bite) and you’ll be doing 200+ damage easily. At 45, with all three skills, I’ve done 530 damage in a single hit, and that doesn’t count any kind of skillchain.
Anyway, having someone take some hate with an initial provoke makes it much easier to set up Trick+Sneak and get the hate on the tank and keep it off the mages.
Oh fine, I’ve only been there a day. First I become sheriff, then I learn how to spell the name of the place.
So how come I’m 200xp (and I can get that in five minutes) from level 12–one level below you guys–and I’m still killing goblins in Ronfaure while you two are living it up in your cool parties? :( Are you close enough that I could join you sometime? I’ve got an axe and I kill sheep like a…I don’t know, a thing that kills a lot of sheep. I’m like the Chupacabra of sheep.
Oh hey, where do you buy world passes? I’m going to need a couple at the end of the month when my PS2-owning friends join up and I haven’t found the person that sells 'em yet.
You can solo pretty easily in Ronfaure and the beginning of La Theine until 13 or 14. Once I went to level up a couple new classes (bard and ninja) I found a lot of people like heading to Valkurm before then. I didn’t bother going there until 16 with thief.
As for a worldpass, there’s a guy near the Mog House in Port San D’Oria that sells them. I’m not sure about the other cities.
In San d’, the World Pass salesman is in the Port district, just outside the the Mog House entrance. If you’re facing the residence door, he’s the guy on the right. I forget the name, except that I think it starts with ‘A’. If you can’t find him, I’ll ask my Mithra to show you where to go. I don’t know what passes will cost by the end of the month, but a Phoenix pass cost about 1500 a few days ago.
As for partying, I’d say, as soon as you’re 12, head on down to the Dunes.
Greg: While I was starting up my THF the other day, a high-level THF happened by. She encouraged me to stick with THF, and then proceeded to demonstrate Sneak Attack+Trick Attack for me. It was mightily impressive.
Yeah, I always want a THF in my party. With their Treasure hunting ability, Flee ability and Sneak Attack + Trick Attack, they bring to the party stuff no one else can. Good pullers (with flee they can run away successfully from a bad pull), they can dish out incredible melee damage and rare items drop more frequently. It’s really hard to level up until you get to 15, but once there, anyone with half a brain will invite you to their party to Sneak Attack everything you fight.
You can also solo fairly effectively in either the Highlands or LaTheine, depending on where you’re from. Probably. Not if you’re a WHM or BLM though. If you solo there with your party flag up, you can usually do pretty well.
Last night in FFXI: I finally got to level 15, after not levelling up for like a full week.
I’m a monk in San D’Oria, elvaan, on Phoenix, level 12 or 13 or so. Haven’t played for a while, but I’m looking to get back into the game, and eventually become a samurai. Any development suggestions, and suggestions on where to hunt now?
