I spent about 30 hours playtime getting to 50 (totally bypassing the story) and am almost done with the MSQ (waiting on getting into a dungeon group). Is there an ARR endgame? Or do I need to purchase the expansions if I want to continue doing anything interesting? I’ve Googled and even asked my guild (FC) but it’s still not clear to me what I’m suppose to do now. If I finish the MSQ do other item-leveling quests open up? Can I now multiclass? I’m so confused!
You can take new jobs/classes at any time just by equipping the weapon for that job (well, after you speak to the trainer for the job. They’re located in the three major cities). In terms of ARR endgame, there’s a whole bunch of dungeons and trials that are available with harder versions of them. You can also work towards the Relic weapons for each job (can only work towards one job’s weapon at a time). This would mostly be for cosmetic reasons if you decide to pick up Stormblood, as the increase level cap would mean you’ll have access to more powerful weapons.
This is my favorite guide for the question of “What can I unlock and when?” that I’ve used countless times when helping friends get into the game.
https://ffxiv.gamerescape.com/wiki/Guide:Progression_and_Level_Locked_Content
It’s all worth unlocking at some point, imo. You can also unlock Blue Mage next to the Limsa aetheryte without any expansions.
This is on sale on Steam as part of their SE publisher sale (50% off Stormblood, 33% off the Complete Edition). As a reminder, if you’ve activated a non-Steam PC version, you can’t buy the Steam version.
I entered Eureka for the first time last night and ended up finishing most of my Challenge Log in a random party with an AST and BLM.
I’m… not sure the FFXI-style camping mobs in the overworld works that well in FFXIV. FFXI, for all its flaws, works for grinding because combat is fairly slow and you don’t actually have all that much to do in any given fight. It’s a fairly chill experience. In FFXIV, you’re using a skill every 1-2 seconds. It works well for short encounters, but (at least for me) gets really wearing after an hour or so of it.
I guess I’m almost high enough level to jump on the NM train, so maybe I’ll do that instead of grinding mobs if only to save my fingers. (Yes, of course I could just skip Stormblood’s relic weapon, but it’s traditional for me to get the DRG one.)
This is a really good point, and in stark contrast to something like Everquest. My Necro in EQ casts 3 dots, and then sits down for a minute lol, it’s very long term friendly. FF is a very busy game.
The last two nights in Eureka, I’ve played as my SCH and it’s night and day with the DRG. I love my DRG in raids and dungeons, but the SCH is both far more survivable and slower paced here. In a small group, that’s exactly what I needed to make Eureka fun.
Both scholar and summoner are a real gravy train. I think easily the best class /jobs to start with as well. Being able to have 2 jobs off one base class is really handy. And Sum…jeez…that class is bordering on unfair for PVE grinding/solo/quests etc. I always love classes that have tank/healer/dps in one lol.
Yeah I first played a bard to 50 and was so bored. Then I put a book in my toon’s hand and suddenly the game actually presented some enjoyable choices for me. Almost up to 50 on my Sum then gonna go back and do the scholar quests. So much more fun.
If you end up picking up Stormblood, the Summoner progression from 50 to 60 and 60 to 70 is amazing. They put on a couple layers of awesome around the original package, and the way it all ties together feels very elegant and not “here’s more buttons”.
I reupped my FFXIV sub based on this thread. I’ve tended to poop out around level 20 but plan on pushing thru and getting at least 1 char into the 30s, lol.
Spent about an hour tinkering with new chars as the ones I’d made a few months ago no longer have the bonus XP thing. Figured it’s worth going thru the first hours again to keep the xp bonus in tact thru 60.
So after a ton of tinkering and creating/deleting new chars I finally hit on one I think I’ll like. A human pugilist. Too bad I can’t save him because I’ve hit my limit on new chars for a day! HA! Alt-itis is tough on me in this game because every class has something I don’t quite like about it (armor/weapon/whatever), but every class is interesting too. So I bounce around like a madman.
Anyway, I’m off into Eorzea. Maybe I’ll keep playing with my Archanist from yesterday. Or remake a pugilist. Man, if marauders had swords instead of axes I’d be all over them. Or Lancers!
"sigh’ See what i mean?
You know you can do all the classes on the same character, right? :p
I’m sure you know, but you can (and really should) play all classes on one character. Class switching unlocks around level 15, although it may be gated by a main story quest. I like the main story, but working through it for multiple classes would certainly burn me out.
I would strongly recommend picking a character that has a face and race you like and sticking with it. You’ll unlock the ability to change hairstyles fairly early as well as glamours to overwrite your armour and weapons. (Although you can’t glamour on weapons or armour from another class, so no magicing in platemail, unfortunately.) Even race and face can be changed, once for free and then for a fairly unreasonable amount of money afterwards.
I kinda knew that but thought it was much later in the game like at level 50 or something. Regardless I’m still unable to create a new char this morning so I’m using my elf lancer I created yesterday. He’s a fine enough avatar. The facial hair choices in this game apparently stopped at the beginnings of puberty cuz they’re almost all barely above peach fuzz Except for the old man face I guess.
Yeah, no need to make other characters. Just equip a pugilist weapon with your lancer and you’re now a L1 pugilist.
Yeah I’ve already leveled up a Bard, Arcanist, Black Mage to 50 and am working on my Lancer (in the last 20 days before my free Twitch Prime time expires 😜).
I can think of very few punishments greater than replaying that main story quest…/shudder. I found it infuriating, and if it wasn’t for everyone telling me how much better the game got later on, would have uninstalled pretty quickly. Knowing what I know now, I would have most certainly bought a story skip. There is nothing in the game mechanics pre 50 that is at all difficult to pick up within a few minutes. The early game in FF is horribly tedious, at least it was to me.
I love the classes, the combat, the lore, the story (when it’s not attached to a series of fetch quests), the dungeons, the raids, the grouping. So many great things in this game that are gated behind what is easily the worst questing I’ve ever gone through in an MMO.
Over the years I’ve basically gotten three or four dudes to 20 and the end of the first starting areas and by the time I got there I got beaten down by the awful questing bs. So that’s where I left them. I’d get the itch and come back but start over due to the do bonus thing and hit the same hurdle. Only been playing a matter of hours on this go-round but it feels like it’s moving quicker at least. Still the city maps are kinda ass and getting lost is the norm. But I’m pugilisting my butt off and enjoying it so maybe I can break thru to the good stuff this time.
They never quite stop with the fetch quests, although the people do eventually start giving each other crap for making the Warrior of Light do menial tasks. I’m not sure if that makes them more tolerable for me or not.
Maybe it’s Stockholm syndrome, but I think that the length of the main story adds a depth to the characterization of the cast that I really haven’t seen matched anywhere else. If you’re interested in the story or the characters, you should talk to all the people at a quest location, even if they don’t have a quest marker. Almost every time, they have a unique line or two. There are several side stories that pretty much only show up in the incidental dialog.