@Raab M LMFAO!! I was able to get my old account back, after 15 years. Payonline I was able to get a online chat with a rep, and I was logged in ASAP I heard about the struggle with installing on windows back then. PS2 was a breeze
Warrior is always the job I tell people to start off as. It's cheap to gear at low levels, does amazing damage even with mediocre gear, has access to many different weapon types so it is versatile, it can DPS or tank, is always wanted in parties and it is a very popular sub job needed by a lot of classes. It's a great choice to get to at least 30 or 37 if you want to finish your sub job before you unlock advanced jobs. Also does a decent job at farming at low levels if you need to make some gil.
I started RDM (main), and I stopped and healed after every single monster!!! took me forever to get to 10, but I loved every second I also leveled up my mule during downtime for fun as WAR, and gotta tell you, I leveled up up to 18 solo! and it was fantastic!! (got leaping lizzy boots on this mule account)
Love the vid! I started in Bastok with Rdm and never regretted it (aside from when gil was nonexistent). I think the problem is that most starter jobs are useful for something later on, simply trying to generalize which one is the "best" becomes difficult. Maybe limiting the question via different parameters (which job gets to Lv 30 the easiest, which job is most beneficial as a sub job, which job provides the most advantages as an introduction to FFXI's combat, etc) would provide a more definitive list. Even so, I agree 100% with your order, although I had placed Rdm at 3rd below Mnk and War. Looking forward to more FFXI discussions!
I used to main cor, sam & pld in 75 FFXI. It used to confuse the hell out of people when i'd show up to merit parties as nin/cor but their doubts were soon evaporated when i broke out the m-kris 3 hit dagger & cannon weapon skills along with an exp roll, it competed with sam/rng using soboro and sidewinder for damage output. I'm going to say i invented that build because in 4 years i never saw a single other person doing it?
I did the same thing, but I ended up liking warrior so much that it became my first 75 lol. Warrior was so underrated in the 75 era, it was good then too. Now in the current retail version it's considered one of the best melee dps and/or zerg options, but even back then it was pretty strong.
I've always found RDM the best starter. Aside from getting a free spell in Dia off the bat you can build skill points in white, black, enfeebling, dark, and divine magic, giving you a leg up in virtually all mage jobs as well as sword and shield skill, handy if you wanna go PLD. RDM does exactly what it's meant to, give you a broad skill set to work with so you can expand into multiple advanced jobs with a capped baseline for a good bit. Add to that its versatility as a /sub and the choice is clear.
This! It allows you to get a feel for multiple other jobs as well as the leg up. It's also safer than any other job and so as a first time this would be first for me.
Only caveat to your excellent point is that RDM had no native Divine Magic spells and thus needed to sub either WHM or PLD to level that particular skill.
@@RoninXDarknight agreed, but once you unlock your subjob, you can level whm/blm with you're healing, elemental, and enfeebling already capped for a bit which will really speed that part up.
@@sergezede Leveling pld was a breeze for me because pretty much all of stats were capped from my 75 whm, thf and nin almost until level 70. I think the only skills I didn't have capped by the time I hit 75 pld was shield, staff & sword.
Yes, there is objectively a best job to pick in in the beginning of classic XI, and it's Monk. It's all about the journey to 18 and Monk can most easily and quickly reach it. Highest damage and most HP of the beginning jobs. Can do it for the cheapest price as well as it's still somewhat effective without a weapon... in the beginning. You can skip the dunes effectively with Monk without ever needing to purchase a thing as sidequest rewards will carry you through which you should be doing anyways not just for the rewards but for the fame. Great point on putting the mages near the bottom of the list to start off with. It's much easier to get some funds first and possible spell drops as a Monk, then when you start a mage job you'll already have some spells just by organically leveling by using a job that doesn't need those spells to progress. The beginning of the game should be focused on soloability and Monk kills it (pun intended) in that level range. I think you said it best at 16:25 . MNK to 18 solo without having to make a single purchase > Get subjob > WAR/MNK to 37 > MNK/WAR to 75 I'd even suggest Monk for starters even if they plan on leveling mage jobs for the above reasons. You can farm a lot of your spells on Monk so you're all set to go on whichever mage job you choose to go with eventually. You'll have amassed a decent chunk of change by that time if you're questing and selling crystals to fill out whatever spells you couldn't farm. It's the safest job to learn the game on. It's fairly simple yet still effective in those early levels. My tier list for this discussion would be MNK>WAR>RDM>BLM>WHM>THF. Bringing the enemy's HP to 0 is a priority as it is in itself a form of passive damage mitigation. MNK does this for free while a RDM has to spend MP on Blind and Paralyze and has to purchase armor, weapons, and spells. Often times a RDM will have to rest just for MP even though their HP is fine in order to maintain damage mitigation. Doing the beginning of the game on Monk is by far the best way to set you up for success for the rest of your playthrough. As long as you are actively questing and being mindful of your gil, if you start with Monk you likely have enough gil and quest reward resources to support any other job you decide to play the rest of the game with. Downside to Warrior is purchasing equipment but it's still second best, especially because it's a great subjob for most melee classes for the majority of the game. Another ding to it is the leveling order. WAR to 18 > MNK/WAR to 37 > WAR/ ??? to 75. You could take WAR/MNK to 75 but depending on playstyle there starts to be better subjobs for WAR in the 40's if you decide to tank or deal damage and that will require you to unlock and level said jobs. Starting with Black Mage is mostly difficult because of the price of entry. It's soloability isn't the greatest without a /WHM or /RDM sub. It's a grueling run to 18 as a BLM with no subjob and you have to spend money on spells which they need in order to be even somewhat effective. Money which new players will likely not have. It still gets points for having that "passive" damage mitigation by being able to kill things so quickly but it will be spending a lot of time resting for MP. White Mage spends too much time on its own HP bar and not enough time on the enemies while solo in the beginning. So while it's top tier in damage mitigation and replenishment, it lacks the passive damage mitigation of the jobs that can do more damage at the outset. Kills take far too long to progress at a decent pace and they'll likely have to rest for two reasons, both MP and HP. They are also burdened with the same problems as BLM and RDM in that they need to purchase spells alongside equipment in order to be combat effective. I'm debating whether or not Thief should be higher than White Mage but I have it at the bottom for now. It can attack quickly and accurately but it's native HP is dangerously low and I'm not sure how much of an advantage it's evasion comes into play in terms of damage mitigation in the early levels of the game. Gilfinder is only good if you're targeting Beastmen, which is a viable strategy for getting gear and weapon drops as well. It'll alleviate the pain of collecting subjob items slightly and sneak attack is nice but those two things don't happen until 15. Leveling a crossbow is another advantage that early Thief has, but again, starters will have money issues and this exacerbates that significantly. Getting poisoned as a solo early level Thief with no subjob is the most frustratingly annoying thing in the game. I'd say Thief would be a good job to start out with for veterans who already know the ins and outs of the game and are confident in their ability to choose targets and can time their level ups strategically and effectively as they're a free Full Cure. It's like playing the early game on hard mode if there was one. All in all I still think Monk is the de facto king of starting jobs. There's just too much going for it that really helps create a solid foundation to work from in terms of game progression and really paves the way for any branching decisions one might make later on in their XI career.
Speed to 18? Sure. But as a whole unless MNK is your main job you’re going to be slower than pretty much everything else in general. If your intention is to play a mage you should lv WHM first so it can sub your RDM or BLM or take it straight to 30. “Optimal” in my opinion is what the job adds as a sub job for whatever you think you will main.
@@YGOrglin I'd still say it's best for early level farming. I literally solo'd my subjob items with it. All the drops from 1-20 were mine, including crystals. The problem with starting out with a Mage Job is that you'll inevitably need to purchase spells. Mages without spells are pretty much useless and having a good chunk of change before you even start any of those Jobs is best to reduce downtime having to either go back to town or wait for AH listings to sell off. MNK is also fine as a subjob for Mage Jobs up to 10. I certainly wouldn't bring it to a party but a fully kitted WHM10/5MNK with full CP gear and capped evasion and staff (if you grabbed one while you were a MNK) is better than a WHM10 lacking spells and gear still working on capping relevant skills, and it only takes about a day. Subjobless MNK can also solo through the early Missions without issue. So even though you're "starting over" on a mage job, you've still made faster progress overall. Having a nest egg put aside for necessary purchases pays dividends once your mage can handle things by itself. Only way I'd suggest starting mage is if you're starting on a new private server. In that context it makes sense. But an established 75 era private server I'd still recommend MNK first. Not sure about retail. To be honest starting mage would probably be fine there as well considering how early you can get Trusts and Sparks, basically negating any of the downsides of old school solo play.
I just started playing for the first time about two weeks ago and I chose thief. I'm at level 18 as of today, and the first 15 levels were fine but a grind; though, I feel I still understand very little about the game, so it's not like I can accurately compare it to anything. Your videos are super helpful in helping me find my footing in Vana'diel though. Thanks.
Keep in mind this video is speaking more about classic XI during the level 75 cap era. A lot has changed with the game, as far as I understand, since then and the game is wildly different now than it was back then. As a former resident of Vana'diel, I hope you enjoy your time there as much as the rest of us here did!
@@RoninXDarknight for some of us cap was 50 when we started lol. I just remember sitting at cap waiting for lvl cap up dates till 75 era. That shit lasted a looong time. To put it into perspective it took me over 2.5 years to have my first job to 75 cause of updates being slow. Not sure I ever reached cap before the update as invites were slow for me. I remember soloing a lot of my lvls till around 45. Thf was a pita to start as. But I never had issues lvling the rest of the jobs that I chose to lvl afterwards cause I never had gil issues being stuck mainly on thf for years I aquired a small enough fortune to gear any other job I lvled easily.
Blair, Ronin and Ken, especially Ken are giving great advice. Ken you old timer! 😄. I started 2007, my partner started at launch... And I met him via FFXI. My 1st marriage ended cuz of ffxi too 😧. He was playing before me and "met" someone.. left me and discovered it was all lies. Which is one of MY lessons. Becareful of who you meet in game. All is not what it seems. That sexy mithra? Prob a dude.
2nd lesson, I was an admin for a Q&A site for FFXI so knew where to find all the info. Everything has been absorbed into Fandom but the basic structures are still there. I mainly used Google or FFXIclopedia a huge database created in 2004 and was updated 100s of times per day. There is also BG Wiki (Blue Garter) You did pick a medium hard job as your 1st job. Thf are squishy, high dex but soft and easy to kill. Also depends on race..if that's still a factor. ffxiclopedia.fandom.com/wiki/Main_Page
Sorry, I know I write a lot but so much info. You need an ingame mentor. What world are you on?, we are on Cerberus and could help you. That is what my partner and I would do for new players. We couldn't help ourselves, we just liked to help. We would help you with current job, help with opening important quests needed at your level. Move you along the really confusing path.
I started "forced" as a WAR, with the desire to attain PLD, joining on a request/invitation from someone who really wanted to do WHM... at that become the dynamic-duo, which pretty much became the stable point, all the way to 75! Having one job that could dish out decent damage and stay alive, along-side of, as well thanks to my healing partner, who could keep us both alive, even through unexpected aggro. I recall having to do MNK and WHM for PLD quest as well and I agree 100-hist was super useful, for downing difficult enemies, BUT! WAR also had Mighty Strikes, which as your little Yagudo NM footage shows, could be equally vital, in dealing especially high damage! Such a shame your 100-fist for Magicked Skull didn't work out, as it would've been such a F-YEA! moment! 1:44 I need to find that shirt. The Mithra chased by a Crab, sounds hilarious! I recently 3D-printed a FFXI Crab enemy and textured it, so I could have a FFXI-Crab as a decor in my room; it's amazing!
I think another criteria to consider is which job is best for a beginner to learn with. Monk is crazy simple; auto-attack until you get your first weapon skill which is super powerful, and your first job ability and not much more to play around with. Don't necessarily have to worry much about having the latest weapon and gear is generally straight-forward. Pair that with amazing survivability so you can make small mistakes without getting brutally punished every time and you have a great starter.
THF for some reason was what I went with, because what I really wanted was BRD and SMN, but for some reason THF was the one hinted at as good to start with for BRD somewhere. Felt so rough to get to 30, but I still remember the days of not knowing what the best subjobs are, and using BRD/THF for the Dagger help like some weirdo. Good times
I’m currently playing WAR on Nas. I am completely new to FFXI and I’ve no idea what I’m doin and I love it haha. These videos are nice little guides and tips to help me navigate my way around the game. :)
Off topic, but I loved tanking HNMs as RDM/NIN . I really enjoy your channel, brotha. You’re doing everything so tastefully. What a wonderful treasure - keep it up. Cheers, Huntin 4 Games. - Duviont Bahamut
My very first character was a Galka RDM that took 3 weeks to get TO the dunes, let alone actually land parties once I got there. I could cast Cure all of twice...
Terrible experiences in Bastok starting zones you say???? Lizards, bees, and crabs . . . Petrify, Final sting & defense boost . . . Then you move to Konschtat Highlands, more Lizards, bees and now even sheep that will sleep you . . . I'll take San d'oria with its weak rabbits, worms, and birds any day of the week. (Windurst wasn't as bad as Bastok, but most mobs in Windurst starting zones all double attacked so its easier to deal with, you just take more DMG)
I tried all the starting cities but I stuck with Bastok in the end. I mainly chose it for the music let alone I fell in love with Gustabergs music. I also felt the layout was the least confusing of the 3 with Windy following 2nd and Sandy 3rd. The best starting job for me was THF only because TH and mats were so expensive especially starting out. It definitely paid off and helped me get my gear for dunes and after though due to selling beehive chips then eventually making beeswax and selling that. I killed so many bee's while LFG since it took forever to get one playing as a THF unfortunately but I was making gil at least doing so lol.
My order from worst to best from 1-10 is pretty close to yours. Starting with worst: Thief - Same reasons you said. Black Mage - Requires a lot of spells to be effective, knowledge of elemental weaknesses, MP management. Monk - Same reasons you said. It's strong, but bland to begin with and doesn't really teach any important game skills White Mage - Only requires cure to do well in the early game, though it will be slow soloing to 10. You wont ever die but things around you probably won't die fast, either. Warrior - The same reasons you said, learning to tank is super important and the skills you pick up learning the class are important. Red Mage - Only requires cure to do well in the early game and keeps pace with other damage dealing classes. From levels 1-10, a jack of all trades class is almost a master of all trades. They taper off at the Dunes, but then they find a great place in the party that isn't filled by any other base class and can fill any role until 30+ aside from tanking.
MNK is the best first job for anyone going tank/melee DD. It's super fast to level up to 18 to unlock a SJ (or 20 if you wanna go ahead and hit up Jeuno for the chocobo quest), you build up a ton of Conquest Points while leveling, farm gil/gear, then you swap to WAR or THF and sub MNK. Once WAR or THF is 37 you can swap to whatever you're taking to 75 -- PLD/WAR, DRK/WAR (until /NIN is relevant), DRG/WAR, NIN/WAR, etc.
SanD was objectively the best starting city in terms of minimal overall travel times. Both the city itself is the smallest, the starting zone is the smallest and most dense, and has the fastest travel route to the Dunes, and subsequently Jeuno (and even to the Northlands after that). Also of course the fastest by far route to get to camping King Arthro, as well as the bat that spawned at night in King Ranperres Tomb that dropped the evasion cape that was worth a small fortune back then. If I could somehow go back in time and actually start all over again in 2002 or whatever, I probably would start in Bastok just to camp Leaping Lizzy and hopefully get a few pairs of boots to jump start my fortune. Sure SanD had JeJ, but I think the drop rate on the charm is something like 1%, while the Leaping Boots are probably more like 30%, or more with TH.
Also Early leveling in Sandy is generally done on Rabbits and Worms which both have repeatable Gil quests from their drops (Hides and Flint stones.) in town. (And doesn't need a rezone like Bastoks flit stone quest.) But after the early levels and once you start needing the Conquest gear, Bastok tends to have a better selection for most all classes then Sandy, Which is why you see more people starting Bastok since they are generally experienced players planning for the future.
Found that on private servers (with level sync) everyone does BLM to 75 at carpenters landing with a 18-25 sync target . That gets you your first 75 which then enables access to a ton of farming options
Thief was my starting job on my first character and though I love it to death, I agree it was brutal to level as a first job back in the early 75 era. On the plus side, however, you learned to make your own parties pretty fast because no one else was thinking "You know, a Thief would make this party absolutely epic". As for White Mage, while the first 10 levels weren't easy, once you hit party levels you would never really want for an exp party again. I used to get requests even when I wasn't LFG and sometimes even when I was on a different job entirely. Up until the TP burn era of merit parties began (Usually RDM, BRD, DDx4) finding a party as White Mage was almost never an issue...though if you were skilled enough you could fill the place of a RDM in a TP Burn party with little problem. Aside from being tough the first few levels, and being a demanding job to start the game with, White Mage was easily the best starting job for any aspiring mage simply because it was the standard subjob for almost every other mage, and some melee, before Scholar was introduced. SMN/WHM, BLM/WHM, BST/WHM, RDM/WHM, BRD/WHM were not uncommon sights to see. Heck, even WAR/WHM wasn't that odd a sight for a while. You never really saw RDM as a sub and BLM sub was generally relegated to anyone who wanted a free Warp, White Mages who hadn't yet leveled Summoner, or Red Mages who wanted slightly stronger nukes.
A lot of thf didn't level their cross bow. I could easily solo with crossbow never missed in early levels and could keep up with RNG in parties minus ees . Used to pull hate all the time
Monk was my first job when I started in 2002. That being said when I played on a private server warrior is the way to go. The cheap armour options, ranged attack, shield option functionally puts it above monk. Easily the top choice.
I started as thf and it was rough trying to get a party but when I got on whm I would get random invites to party as I would log on so I took whm to 75 first I also had great help with people willing to PL when I first started on whm. And spells omg I had a great LS that helped me get a lot of my spells I miss Hades server.
THF was my main during Lv. 75 cap. CoP was nearly impossible to complete during that time. New and returning players should seriously consider WHM 1st for Lv.99 (iLv. 119) now. Everyone needs a healer, and it will help gear your 'main job'.
I started in 2005 in Sandy, Asura, always played there.. Still play there, even tho is a way different game now, Sandy was the best choise at the time for multiple reasons : Ghelsba oupost was right next to Sandy , Dunes was two zones aways vs other cities ( Windy you had to ride a boat and if you forgot to set homepoint and die almost getting to camp sorry for you XD!! , most missions were somehow easier, you had Xacabard in your backyard, was the closest to Jueno , etc.
I was always a fan of MNK starter. You don't have to worry about what weapon to use. You kill stuff really easy. It's good to have up to 18 for leveling WAR up to 37. And it gets pretty good conquest gear (depending on starting zone), which can help offset cost.
THF/MNK level 45?-ish SATA Raging fists. Its the best single target dmg. Never used it much past crawlers nest, needed a lot of accuracy to make up for the skill handicap. I always did love seeing the insane damage output of it though.
Back in 2004, when I first played the game, I immediately picked Thief, my favorite FF Job. I didn't play for long :') Now that I am older and wiser, I have played for many more years, made many new characters and I still haven't learned my lesson, I still start them all as Thief :')
I started as RDM but soon went to MNK and it’s still my favorite job till you reach that dead zone of getting to 62. I can remember sitting in Jueno for three days straight spamming my stats and food and gear just to get a leveling party but was completely blown off because MNK couldn’t do the skill chain everyone wanted till 62...it was so deflating to see a MNK run by you past that level because you just KNEW he would be the only one picked for any damn group. This damn game made me have existential crisis’ on more than one occasion of how you just COULD NOT move forward in it for weeks!!
I actually usually start THF if I was leaning towards physical jobs for the extra dex and accuracy (usually picked Elvaan and Sandoria so it was appreciated)
I started RDM as my first job in the 75 Era. Would do it again if i had to. But, looking back when BCNMs were capped, MNK was by far better mainly for the dragon fight mission. Hundred fist made it mandatory to bring a monk along for those crucial fights.
Got to say of the multiple times I started FFXI from scratch throughout the years I always had the easiest time early leveling and skilling up with monk. One of the only jobs where I didn't run scared if a tough saw me XD
My favourite was always MNK - no need to buy additional weapons for like the first 20 levels, no "this is the wrong weapon" situation you get with WAR, and also it's pretty forgiving since you get more HP than the other starter jobs, Boost at 5 for big Combo damage, and Dodge at 15 for even more survival!
While reminiscing about this game, anyone ever dual box (I actually used a PC and ps2 didn't use windower until more modern times) Powerleveling parties using brd. Especially low level but you can easily do it into the 50's just keeping 1 spot free for brd buffs. Max chain 300 xp getting chain 10+ on mobs in the dunes or anywhere, you leveled so fast the exp dropped off quick and would have to move camps. Higher levels obviously still lasted a while, but it was amazing.
I picked Taru BLM from Bastok, purely thanks to the intro. I was like "Oh hell yeahz, tiny lil dudes doing big mothernuke on bad dudes!". Took 3 days to reach level 10. When I finally unlocked subjob, I hit up WHM.. took 1 week to hit 10 lol... That was without doubt the slowest job for me to level... My THF story however... Oooh boy... I had seen the power of SATA Viper bite, dancing edge and such, so ofcourse I went with dagger... and shield! Even through the dunes! lol. Imagine a lil level 14 thf/nin, rocking a dagger/shield in a dune party, attempting to deal any damage on crabs.... Had Game of Thrones existed back then, someone woulda walked around my home with a bell, yelling "Shame! Shame!" Years later, whenever I created a new character (did a couple of free servers), I would always go with MNK or RDM first to 18, unlock subjob and then go from there. RDM were great subjob to both WHM and BLM, and MNK did great with any other melee job, and yes THF/MNK too with H2H lol.
Early level thf are always going to do more dmg with fast blade. Dagger skills suck until viper bite, although sneak attack wasp sting does decent, but SA fast blade will close a distortion SC that usually ends most mobs in exp partys pretty quickly.
o yeah, blm is my fav too! But if I did it again, I would do War first, just until I get 1-to Valkurm, 2-get sub job, 3-get to Jeuno, 4-get Choco quest. Retail these days, dont think it matters. Go on a legacy server, and then chose War first. Its just cheaper, and plenty of invites.
Your positive points about RDM all make sense, but one thing I remember strongly in my first month was being POOR. The most spells of any starting mage 1-18. A sword AND a wand. INT gear AND MND gear, maybe even STR or other melee stats if you're feeling extra. I loved the versatility of the job, and I was glad it was my first 75, but I remember especially by Kazham levels I was frequently discussing with my friends what purchases were essential and which I could delay for several levels, because as a group we were leveling much faster than I could afford to gear up.
I think WAR and WHM are the best choices. theyre the early level tanks and healers and are always in demand in Valkurm dunes. And they make great subjobs once you unlock it.
That's what I thought when I 1st started. So I started as WHM. I was also ALWAYS broke during my journey to 75 because I couldnt kill anything and farm...
Great video as always. MNK is my 100% best first job on 11. Mostly for reasons you brought up but as the first time in the game, especially with prior knowledge, Monk just means you can 0 gear your way to subjob. Swap to WAR and ride WAR to advanced jobs. All while spending very little money and setting yourself up to have a great subjob(WAR) or earning money to make Mage job leveling much smoother.
Thanks for your videos. I just started playing yesterday, chose Bastok and Monk before watching some of these vids. Fun so far. I played on ps2 for a month before my mom said no way to the sub haha. Decided to finally come back and check it out. Looking forward to seeing more of your content. Cheers
I started out as WHM in San d’Oria back in 2006. IMO I would tell others to start as RDM to get the feel as nuker/healer/buffer/attacker, level it up to unlock trusts, missions, quests and other jobs to make your experience on whatever your (2nd,3rd) jobs, a lot easier and more enjoyable! No matter what job, race or nation you start out with, enjoy it! ❤️
If you plan to be a Blackmage or Whitemage or heck even summoner in the future start Rdm, u can skill up alot of types of magic as you level to 18 and it helps lvling Whm and Blm early on.
Bastok is Lastok. Our way of life when it comes to conquest lol. And we always had at least 2 rdm/drk in our sky runs for chainspell-stun. Rdm has always been amazing in the 75 era in my opinion.
White Mage! You're right that as WHM I was more dependent on others to get things done, literally as I could barely do damage , but that's what I startred with and nostalgia goggles does impact this. I just felt WHM was an increadible journey as a first job. The teleport questline and chasing Erase, and Raise III were some of things few jobs had (Nin had Utsusemi and RDM had phalanx/Refresh) but WHM seemed to have the most amounts of 'must have' spells that were quested or BCNMed.
Ahh..my first class was Rdm. Switched to Thf, switched to Whm, then switched War/Mnk, unlocked Nin/War and was a blink tank, while it was viable. Switched to Pally/War and tanked after that. Never thought I would like tanking, but it wasnt bad and groups were easy to find.
Every time i made a character on ffxi, always started as whm or rdm to get the free spell then swapped to war or mnk to level up. I wanted the free spell for early game cause i always wanted to try mages later
"Everyone was in complete agreement that it was Windurst" Well, you aren't wrong. Throughout my playing of FFXI, San'doria was always the most populated faction, while bastok and windy fought for the scraps and always had to coordinate to get the dunes. Last private server experience I had I started warrior for the exact same reason you promoted it, but then I just kept going. Warrior was a pretty fun dps class above 37 as well.
Theif was my choice since gaining resources was important to me with everything being so expensive...having high evasion is also helpful too...i ended up swapping to RDM and it was bit more well-rounded since by then i had more gil to get a full loadout of gear...
Without anyknowledge about MMOs I started in Windurst (ouch) when FFXI was released in Europe as THF (double ouch). I had to give up at like lvl 15 and switched to RDM. RDM is without any debate the best job to start with. You even showed it in your video. A lot of early game is questing plus missions and nothing is better at that than RDM. Free Invisible and Sneak, while being able to hold your own vs up to EM Mobs in Solo play is just that huge.
Warrior is the greatest honestly all around from the baseline stats to the abilities to the 2hr to the usefulness as a subjob and as a main job it is so adaptable
I started Red Mage, because it's easy to use with trusts and if you use the "Fantastic EXP" guide from bg wiki, you'll easily find non-aggressive enemy spots to train on. I leveled to 99 solo in just a month or two thanks to Records of Eminence.
I usually just start as Warrior in Sandoria. Get to 11, do the rabbit hide/flint stone repeatable, put crystals on AH then swap to monk and repeat. I know it's slow but I'll do this until every starter job is 10-11 and I'll have enough gil to get some white mage spells and travel to the dunes. Afterwards I stay there until sub job. It's rough having low mp before a subjob but I always play support or healer.
Best starting city was Sandy. Easy access to AH, always won conquest. Best starting job depends on which advanced job you plan on maining. I started with WAR because I wanted the PLD Artifact Armour. Galka in PLD Artifact was an eye catcher.
Best job and city combo imo is a Elvaan RDM. Up until the teens do really good damage with basic attacks. Also good defense and HP pool. Tons of Versatility even at low levels, and you get to try out a variety of different game mechanics like magic weapon skills and others. You level up a bunch of things as well at the same time, setting you up for future exploration into other jobs. You are helpful in low-level parties and groups. I just found it to be the all-around best choice for me at least. At somebody who wanted to get a full taste of what the game has to offer. I may get some laughs here, but RDM/War as an Elvaan was viable to solo up until mid 20s.
I tried all 6 at one point in my start in San d'oria (BEST CITY). When I was trying to make my way to the Dunes, crossing La theine plateau was a nightmare. I kept getting one or two shotted on everything I tried, but I ultimately made it through on Warrior. After that I ran WAR/WHM if I was soloing or WAR/MNK If I was in a party. The WHM Sub was because healing items cost money and that cut into crafting profits.
Warrior was my first job I leveled it to 37 i started playing in 2008 the guy I was dating at the time played for a year before and his brother was already a level 75 ninja. So I had the inside scoop I told what job I wanted to play 75 and they told how to minimize time sucks. It was grueling leaving warrior ton37 only because I wanted to to level monk to 75 and once they introduced blue mage my whole out look on game changed because my other job Alternative from monk was red mage at the time because i wanted to play a battle mage. Blue mage dropped and I was like the OG battle mage has arrived so I got blue the closest to end game.
Haha isn’t that how it goes though? 100% convinced on a job til a patch, update, or expansion comes out. Then everything changed when the fire nation attacked
Great Video, great content. My First Char on NA Release was SanDorian Elvaan BLM, fortunately for me I started with two friends (Warrior, and a Whitemage) and we leveled up to 10 together as a group of 3 players!! It would have been much more Difficult if I hadnt had a warrior to tank things while I nuked. As far as my most favorite starting job from 1-10 it was definately monk, their high HP, low weapon delay, and COMBO!! makes leveling monk so much fun solo. ADV Jobs though, if you take the slow route samurai, dragoon, and puppetmaster are the most memorable solo leveling experiences that I have had. Especially Puppetmaster. My wish is that one day they remaster the game, and SLOW DOWN the ability to level every time you start leveling a new class for the first 30 or even first 50 levels. P.S. Dont start as a Tarutaru Thief unless you like death. This race/class combo needs subjob hp to level 1-10 lol
for a first time mmo player trying to find your way... I'd say start with monk. I actually first started in 2004 with a tarutaru blm, and I died over and over trying to fight level .5 mandragoras. I was honestly quite devastated, thinking I wouldn't be able to play an MMO. I made a new character, as a Galka Monk, and it was a MUCH easier introduction where I didn't fail so hard. :D I teamed up w/ a tarutaru white mage and we tackled the early missions together and did our first dunes parties together. it was a great intro.
My 1st job June 2004 was thf 🤣. Had to lvl to 14 solo till I ran into a Japanese party that literally spent 40hrs helping me max thf and unlock not only main job but help with ninja and Sam quest too omg memories
Yeah but part invites were rough until the magic level of 41. Then you would magically get invites when your chat window first opened while your login screen was still black.
I started out as RDM in Bastok. Sure, I bought my own gear, and early spells, but higher lvl stuff, I had rich benefactors supplying me with stuff. I still love RDM. I do not regret my choices. Though I haven't played in years. I miss this game.
I admit that when I originally started, I picked WHM, cause some guides told me that if you want to be SMN as soon as possible, you should start as WHM. It was pretty difficult. Now when returning to the game many years later, I did pick THF, why? Because I heard that Trusts were a thing, so I knew I'd get some help through those early parts, and I knew there'd be all those quests that require specific item drops, like the subjob quest, so I figured that getting the items quickly would be a better time investment in the long run. While playing, they did add Rhapsodies of Vanadiel, which did make many of those quests easier from what I recall.... Funny enough, when joining FF14, I did pick Lancer (DRG), because of FF11 making me scared of starting as a healer. However the game lets you solo early on pretty all right, so that did not go anywhere in the end, heh
Tough choices cause of race stats race ring for starting city and crafting guilds to progress a useful craft for said job at low level vs getting to endgame without any knowledge was rough. Started hume whm in windurst and ended up going all melee 75 except rdm. Best advatange early game no sub I think would be Galka monk starting in Bastok ring and belt bonus. Doesnt matter though goblins gonna drop their bombs and blow you and team up eventually.
I mained thief and started as it. It was hell, no survivability and in the early levels when you are soloing sneak attack is only usable as a starter. Only after switching to warrior so I could sub warrior on my thief did things improve. Thief is an amazingly fun job in groups though, if you con convince the tank to work with you to set up a sneak/trick weapon skill attack they will never loose agro afterwards.
RDM is the best starter job, can skill up multiple skill types on first class, you get a spell and a sword, to start, also once you are 30 you can use sneak and invisible to get dancer. Once you have Dancer leveled to a proper sub you can level almost any job, with its increased survivability.
My first starting job will always be White Mage, and that will be the hill I die on, Zegram or Womp hill depending on which zone of Gustaberg I start in. Hammer Hume Bastok WHM for life.
I started in like 2010. Took mnk to 18, got a regen necklace and reraise earring from a quest, swapped to warrior until 30. Bst was my first advanced job and 75 (99). I used bst sub to level everything I could. Whm/bst in Qufim use sneak and have pets kill worms at the pond. I had no aggro issues. Eventually I took up Sch and Blu as my other mains. Best 6+ years of my life!
So I played this game at US release in 2003. No one knew how to burst back then, and everyone wanted a sub. Ninjas were not yet blink tanking, so the Dunes usually only had wars for tanks. Almost every Dunes part until summer 2004 had a war, whm, and thf. BLM picked up speed once bursting became more common, especially ice bursts on crabs. My first job was a whm, and it sucked until 8. Then from 8-11 I was getting 2-3 man groups in the Highlands. At 11, it was Dunes all the way.
The most objective I can be on this topic is to say it's Monk, even if you dont wanna play monk to start, just start as a monk. Every other job can get their lvl 1 weapon or spell from a vendor but to my knowledge you can't buy a White Belt from a non AH source unless you begin as a Monk. I would also put White Mage as easier than Black Mage. With BLM you have a set number of casts you can do before having to rest again, so you're limited to how many things you can kill between rests. WHM have the hammers, which are actually pretty good for 1-10, and a decent enough STR for a mage to be able to just bonk things to death then cure yourself and you can stretch out your kills between rests longer than a BLM can.
@@Huntin4GamesChannel I remember during my time playing on Eden wanting to play monk a bit and couldn't get a White Belt so i made an alt and sent one over from starting as a Monk.
I couldn't agree more. Monk is a cheap first job to level up and will provide some hp boost for the first level until you can heal yourself from my Tarutaru experience.
I went WAR first because I read the Brady Games Guide... it said it's the best SJ for early DRK! Turns out I should of went THF first :P... /WAR was too much of a liability and /THF put out those awesome Cross Reaper/Spinning Slash numbers! :D
i always choose a healer to start. id start with rdm then also level whm along the way but would take rdm to the cap. and then i'd level sch to sub my rdm later on. but all the jobs are fun and over the many years of my time in Vanadeil i've played all of them. everytime i played ff11 i had a diff mood so i chose a diff class to play. i had leveled every single class to max lol (here's hoping for a new expansion so i can come back again!) till then ff14 it is!
The best starting with least effort is warrior. Take thf to 15 for sub, get war 30, unlock nin then just have /nin and / thf as your subs. The ra makes leveling fast 1-10. You do good dmg , can tank also you can merit most weapons for your next 75. Use polearm until 22 then use GA. Voke is fast claim too for nm. If you start in sandy or bastok you can get gear by npc
I picked blm to start with. I loved it. Then i started to lvl rdm and my mind was blown with how much easier it was to kill things. Even with a sub job, i found lvling whm horrible. I originally lvled war to sub under mnk and absolutely fell in love and war became my main.
Yag drinks for blm is very strong 1-10 for solo leveling. Obvoiusly can't afford them when just starting out, but there's a massive difference for jus that 2mp/tick refresh in leveling speed. It tops out every other job solo because you can bring that item and change the game, other jobs couldn't do the same, or at least rdm which is similar but slower.
Red mage is the best starter. You get multiple skills up that can help with other jobs down the line and you only really need to get WHM up after it to take it to 75. RDM being one of the main support jobs in the 75 era also means you are almost always wanted in end game link shells assuming you're some what decently geared. RDM also ended up being the best tank in the game for solidfiying hate due to enfeeble spam assuming the monster didn't have hate reset abilities. Their defense was also pretty high too due to the defensive options they had in gear + phalanx. Or in short you littearly could do everything on RDM if you had the gear and knew what you were doing.
Rdm was my first and such a good decision imo i could heal, enfeeble and good sword skill for dps. Tarutaru in windhurst man that music will always bring back warm memories
Back in the day when I was a newer player I thought MNK or WAR were the best starter, had a DPS role in early areas and easy to play and learn. WHM/RDM/BLM not enough gil to buy the spells, also had to level the subsequent useful subjob. MNK/WAR or WAR/MNK was really common for newer players when I played on Midgardsormr and honestly it was a blast just playing an easier job and hitting stuff. This is from the point of view of a newer player, where FFXI was extremely complex and massive That being said it wasn't really the most "useful" and quite limiting so for a more experienced player something else might be better.
As someone who mained THF, yeah up to 30 it was rough. I soloed up til 12 (partially because my first trip to the Dunes got me killed by Sea Horror.) But, once I hit 30 and understood my point in parties, THF got to be fairly boss. I ended up being one of the first THF's on my server to melee Maat.
Started game on its release as hume WHM (Bastok). Time later discovered ffxiclopedia and stuff related to game,but got character leveled and was too lazy to start again xD
When starting a new character I always pick MNK for that white belt. I may change to another job immediately, but that white belt is so sexy at beginning levels.
Thief is way underrated at lower levels. Playing eden, Archery destroys everything up to lvl 10. In the dunes i can beat most dds just by spamming bone and then iron arrows before lvl 15 And then at 15 they completely decimate with acid bolts. Not too mention closing a sc with sneak attack - fast blade will take at least half an enemys life right up until at least the jungles! Im level 45 atm and still keeping up with most dds, by spamming acid and poison bolts but will probably start to tail off soon, as there lack of bolts and archery skill tails off.
MNK is my favourite starter job for any melee focused new character. H2H lets you save money, you're useful to get subjob items, and you're setting up your WAR sub to 30 before you branch off and unlock your advanced jobs. It's always seemed to have the least amount of dead time when leveling up a melee path. MNK15 > WAR30 > NIN37 > WAR37 > you're free to play whatever.
I can get behind that. Only other hurdle would be SAM to 37 as that was a really popular SJ for the heavy melee DDs: WAR, DRK & DRG (DRG/SAM was a God Tier DD before they nerfed TP return on multi-hit WS)...sometimes RNG...for a while.
![BLACK BAG - Official Trailer [HD] - Only in Theaters March 14](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Du0Xp8WX_7I/mqdefault.jpg)
Always a great day when a FF11 classic video goes up!
All day every day!
@@Huntin4GamesChannel Hey, I'm getting back on again. I played from 2004 - 2006 on the PS2. Playonline is annoying.
@@BlankKills the true first boss of FFXI
@Raab M LMFAO!! I was able to get my old account back, after 15 years. Payonline I was able to get a online chat with a rep, and I was logged in ASAP
I heard about the struggle with installing on windows back then. PS2 was a breeze
Warrior is always the job I tell people to start off as. It's cheap to gear at low levels, does amazing damage even with mediocre gear, has access to many different weapon types so it is versatile, it can DPS or tank, is always wanted in parties and it is a very popular sub job needed by a lot of classes. It's a great choice to get to at least 30 or 37 if you want to finish your sub job before you unlock advanced jobs. Also does a decent job at farming at low levels if you need to make some gil.
I started RDM (main), and I stopped and healed after every single monster!!! took me forever to get to 10, but I loved every second
I also leveled up my mule during downtime for fun as WAR, and gotta tell you, I leveled up up to 18 solo! and it was fantastic!! (got leaping lizzy boots on this mule account)
With consideration for how the early levels play out, it has to be MNK. Take it to 18, get your sub, take WAR/MNK up to 30+, and expand from there.
Love the vid! I started in Bastok with Rdm and never regretted it (aside from when gil was nonexistent).
I think the problem is that most starter jobs are useful for something later on, simply trying to generalize which one is the "best" becomes difficult. Maybe limiting the question via different parameters (which job gets to Lv 30 the easiest, which job is most beneficial as a sub job, which job provides the most advantages as an introduction to FFXI's combat, etc) would provide a more definitive list.
Even so, I agree 100% with your order, although I had placed Rdm at 3rd below Mnk and War.
Looking forward to more FFXI discussions!
I went War as I was all about getting DRK. Turns out... My fav jobs ended up being RDM and COR
I also was shooting for drk and heard war was the way to go, i think it was a good choice but i kinda wish i went thief as my first.
I used to main cor, sam & pld in 75 FFXI.
It used to confuse the hell out of people when i'd show up to merit parties as nin/cor but their doubts were soon evaporated when i broke out the m-kris 3 hit dagger & cannon weapon skills along with an exp roll, it competed with sam/rng using soboro and sidewinder for damage output.
I'm going to say i invented that build because in 4 years i never saw a single other person doing it?
I did the same thing, but I ended up liking warrior so much that it became my first 75 lol. Warrior was so underrated in the 75 era, it was good then too. Now in the current retail version it's considered one of the best melee dps and/or zerg options, but even back then it was pretty strong.
I've always found RDM the best starter. Aside from getting a free spell in Dia off the bat you can build skill points in white, black, enfeebling, dark, and divine magic, giving you a leg up in virtually all mage jobs as well as sword and shield skill, handy if you wanna go PLD. RDM does exactly what it's meant to, give you a broad skill set to work with so you can expand into multiple advanced jobs with a capped baseline for a good bit. Add to that its versatility as a /sub and the choice is clear.
Ya it really is such a solid all rounder, definitely up at the top for me
This! It allows you to get a feel for multiple other jobs as well as the leg up. It's also safer than any other job and so as a first time this would be first for me.
Only caveat to your excellent point is that RDM had no native Divine Magic spells and thus needed to sub either WHM or PLD to level that particular skill.
@@RoninXDarknight agreed, but once you unlock your subjob, you can level whm/blm with you're healing, elemental, and enfeebling already capped for a bit which will really speed that part up.
@@sergezede Leveling pld was a breeze for me because pretty much all of stats were capped from my 75 whm, thf and nin almost until level 70. I think the only skills I didn't have capped by the time I hit 75 pld was shield, staff & sword.
My sole goal as starting as Tarutaru BLM was to look like Vivi from FF9. Only took me like 2.5 years to level & get the gear lol ❤
Yes, there is objectively a best job to pick in in the beginning of classic XI, and it's Monk. It's all about the journey to 18 and Monk can most easily and quickly reach it. Highest damage and most HP of the beginning jobs. Can do it for the cheapest price as well as it's still somewhat effective without a weapon... in the beginning. You can skip the dunes effectively with Monk without ever needing to purchase a thing as sidequest rewards will carry you through which you should be doing anyways not just for the rewards but for the fame.
Great point on putting the mages near the bottom of the list to start off with. It's much easier to get some funds first and possible spell drops as a Monk, then when you start a mage job you'll already have some spells just by organically leveling by using a job that doesn't need those spells to progress.
The beginning of the game should be focused on soloability and Monk kills it (pun intended) in that level range.
I think you said it best at 16:25 . MNK to 18 solo without having to make a single purchase > Get subjob > WAR/MNK to 37 > MNK/WAR to 75
I'd even suggest Monk for starters even if they plan on leveling mage jobs for the above reasons. You can farm a lot of your spells on Monk so you're all set to go on whichever mage job you choose to go with eventually. You'll have amassed a decent chunk of change by that time if you're questing and selling crystals to fill out whatever spells you couldn't farm. It's the safest job to learn the game on. It's fairly simple yet still effective in those early levels.
My tier list for this discussion would be MNK>WAR>RDM>BLM>WHM>THF. Bringing the enemy's HP to 0 is a priority as it is in itself a form of passive damage mitigation. MNK does this for free while a RDM has to spend MP on Blind and Paralyze and has to purchase armor, weapons, and spells. Often times a RDM will have to rest just for MP even though their HP is fine in order to maintain damage mitigation. Doing the beginning of the game on Monk is by far the best way to set you up for success for the rest of your playthrough. As long as you are actively questing and being mindful of your gil, if you start with Monk you likely have enough gil and quest reward resources to support any other job you decide to play the rest of the game with.
Downside to Warrior is purchasing equipment but it's still second best, especially because it's a great subjob for most melee classes for the majority of the game. Another ding to it is the leveling order. WAR to 18 > MNK/WAR to 37 > WAR/ ??? to 75. You could take WAR/MNK to 75 but depending on playstyle there starts to be better subjobs for WAR in the 40's if you decide to tank or deal damage and that will require you to unlock and level said jobs.
Starting with Black Mage is mostly difficult because of the price of entry. It's soloability isn't the greatest without a /WHM or /RDM sub. It's a grueling run to 18 as a BLM with no subjob and you have to spend money on spells which they need in order to be even somewhat effective. Money which new players will likely not have. It still gets points for having that "passive" damage mitigation by being able to kill things so quickly but it will be spending a lot of time resting for MP.
White Mage spends too much time on its own HP bar and not enough time on the enemies while solo in the beginning. So while it's top tier in damage mitigation and replenishment, it lacks the passive damage mitigation of the jobs that can do more damage at the outset. Kills take far too long to progress at a decent pace and they'll likely have to rest for two reasons, both MP and HP. They are also burdened with the same problems as BLM and RDM in that they need to purchase spells alongside equipment in order to be combat effective.
I'm debating whether or not Thief should be higher than White Mage but I have it at the bottom for now. It can attack quickly and accurately but it's native HP is dangerously low and I'm not sure how much of an advantage it's evasion comes into play in terms of damage mitigation in the early levels of the game. Gilfinder is only good if you're targeting Beastmen, which is a viable strategy for getting gear and weapon drops as well. It'll alleviate the pain of collecting subjob items slightly and sneak attack is nice but those two things don't happen until 15. Leveling a crossbow is another advantage that early Thief has, but again, starters will have money issues and this exacerbates that significantly. Getting poisoned as a solo early level Thief with no subjob is the most frustratingly annoying thing in the game. I'd say Thief would be a good job to start out with for veterans who already know the ins and outs of the game and are confident in their ability to choose targets and can time their level ups strategically and effectively as they're a free Full Cure. It's like playing the early game on hard mode if there was one.
All in all I still think Monk is the de facto king of starting jobs. There's just too much going for it that really helps create a solid foundation to work from in terms of game progression and really paves the way for any branching decisions one might make later on in their XI career.
I appreciate you for writing this
Speed to 18? Sure. But as a whole unless MNK is your main job you’re going to be slower than pretty much everything else in general.
If your intention is to play a mage you should lv WHM first so it can sub your RDM or BLM or take it straight to 30.
“Optimal” in my opinion is what the job adds as a sub job for whatever you think you will main.
@@YGOrglin I'd still say it's best for early level farming. I literally solo'd my subjob items with it. All the drops from 1-20 were mine, including crystals.
The problem with starting out with a Mage Job is that you'll inevitably need to purchase spells. Mages without spells are pretty much useless and having a good chunk of change before you even start any of those Jobs is best to reduce downtime having to either go back to town or wait for AH listings to sell off.
MNK is also fine as a subjob for Mage Jobs up to 10. I certainly wouldn't bring it to a party but a fully kitted WHM10/5MNK with full CP gear and capped evasion and staff (if you grabbed one while you were a MNK) is better than a WHM10 lacking spells and gear still working on capping relevant skills, and it only takes about a day.
Subjobless MNK can also solo through the early Missions without issue. So even though you're "starting over" on a mage job, you've still made faster progress overall.
Having a nest egg put aside for necessary purchases pays dividends once your mage can handle things by itself.
Only way I'd suggest starting mage is if you're starting on a new private server. In that context it makes sense. But an established 75 era private server I'd still recommend MNK first.
Not sure about retail. To be honest starting mage would probably be fine there as well considering how early you can get Trusts and Sparks, basically negating any of the downsides of old school solo play.
I just started playing for the first time about two weeks ago and I chose thief. I'm at level 18 as of today, and the first 15 levels were fine but a grind; though, I feel I still understand very little about the game, so it's not like I can accurately compare it to anything. Your videos are super helpful in helping me find my footing in Vana'diel though. Thanks.
Keep in mind this video is speaking more about classic XI during the level 75 cap era. A lot has changed with the game, as far as I understand, since then and the game is wildly different now than it was back then.
As a former resident of Vana'diel, I hope you enjoy your time there as much as the rest of us here did!
@@RoninXDarknight for some of us cap was 50 when we started lol. I just remember sitting at cap waiting for lvl cap up dates till 75 era. That shit lasted a looong time. To put it into perspective it took me over 2.5 years to have my first job to 75 cause of updates being slow. Not sure I ever reached cap before the update as invites were slow for me. I remember soloing a lot of my lvls till around 45. Thf was a pita to start as. But I never had issues lvling the rest of the jobs that I chose to lvl afterwards cause I never had gil issues being stuck mainly on thf for years I aquired a small enough fortune to gear any other job I lvled easily.
Blair, Ronin and Ken, especially Ken are giving great advice. Ken you old timer! 😄. I started 2007, my partner started at launch... And I met him via FFXI. My 1st marriage ended cuz of ffxi too 😧. He was playing before me and "met" someone.. left me and discovered it was all lies. Which is one of MY lessons. Becareful of who you meet in game. All is not what it seems. That sexy mithra? Prob a dude.
2nd lesson, I was an admin for a Q&A site for FFXI so knew where to find all the info. Everything has been absorbed into Fandom but the basic structures are still there. I mainly used Google or FFXIclopedia a huge database created in 2004 and was updated 100s of times per day. There is also BG Wiki (Blue Garter)
You did pick a medium hard job as your 1st job. Thf are squishy, high dex but soft and easy to kill. Also depends on race..if that's still a factor.
ffxiclopedia.fandom.com/wiki/Main_Page
Sorry, I know I write a lot but so much info. You need an ingame mentor. What world are you on?, we are on Cerberus and could help you. That is what my partner and I would do for new players. We couldn't help ourselves, we just liked to help. We would help you with current job, help with opening important quests needed at your level. Move you along the really confusing path.
I started "forced" as a WAR, with the desire to attain PLD, joining on a request/invitation from someone who really wanted to do WHM... at that become the dynamic-duo, which pretty much became the stable point, all the way to 75! Having one job that could dish out decent damage and stay alive, along-side of, as well thanks to my healing partner, who could keep us both alive, even through unexpected aggro. I recall having to do MNK and WHM for PLD quest as well and I agree 100-hist was super useful, for downing difficult enemies, BUT! WAR also had Mighty Strikes, which as your little Yagudo NM footage shows, could be equally vital, in dealing especially high damage! Such a shame your 100-fist for Magicked Skull didn't work out, as it would've been such a F-YEA! moment!
1:44 I need to find that shirt. The Mithra chased by a Crab, sounds hilarious! I recently 3D-printed a FFXI Crab enemy and textured it, so I could have a FFXI-Crab as a decor in my room; it's amazing!
I started out as RDM, and I sure dont regret it. My first sub was NIN (say "dual wield"). Thanks gee it's easier now to move everywhere lol.
I think another criteria to consider is which job is best for a beginner to learn with. Monk is crazy simple; auto-attack until you get your first weapon skill which is super powerful, and your first job ability and not much more to play around with. Don't necessarily have to worry much about having the latest weapon and gear is generally straight-forward. Pair that with amazing survivability so you can make small mistakes without getting brutally punished every time and you have a great starter.
As someone who mained THF on their first journey through Vana'diel. I wholeheartedly agree with your choice to put it at the bottom of the list x.x
THF for some reason was what I went with, because what I really wanted was BRD and SMN, but for some reason THF was the one hinted at as good to start with for BRD somewhere. Felt so rough to get to 30, but I still remember the days of not knowing what the best subjobs are, and using BRD/THF for the Dagger help like some weirdo. Good times
More uploads please! Love it every time you upload a FF XI video 😍 Miss this game so much, the lvl 75 times 😔
I’m currently playing WAR on Nas. I am completely new to FFXI and I’ve no idea what I’m doin and I love it haha. These videos are nice little guides and tips to help me navigate my way around the game. :)
Love the channel and the fact that FF11 is still kickin.I started in 2003 as RDM I quit in 2009 so it was the good old 75 days without Abyssea
Off topic, but I loved tanking HNMs as RDM/NIN . I really enjoy your channel, brotha. You’re doing everything so tastefully. What a wonderful treasure - keep it up. Cheers, Huntin 4 Games. - Duviont Bahamut
My very first character was a Galka RDM that took 3 weeks to get TO the dunes, let alone actually land parties once I got there. I could cast Cure all of twice...
I loved my Galka. I was determined to make it work
Terrible experiences in Bastok starting zones you say???? Lizards, bees, and crabs . . . Petrify, Final sting & defense boost . . . Then you move to Konschtat Highlands, more Lizards, bees and now even sheep that will sleep you . . . I'll take San d'oria with its weak rabbits, worms, and birds any day of the week.
(Windurst wasn't as bad as Bastok, but most mobs in Windurst starting zones all double attacked so its easier to deal with, you just take more DMG)
Lamb Chop crew represent.
I tried all the starting cities but I stuck with Bastok in the end. I mainly chose it for the music let alone I fell in love with Gustabergs music. I also felt the layout was the least confusing of the 3 with Windy following 2nd and Sandy 3rd.
The best starting job for me was THF only because TH and mats were so expensive especially starting out. It definitely paid off and helped me get my gear for dunes and after though due to selling beehive chips then eventually making beeswax and selling that.
I killed so many bee's while LFG since it took forever to get one playing as a THF unfortunately but I was making gil at least doing so lol.
I’d love to see the stats on starting job by city too!
Great video man, it's always fun listening to FFXI discussion
My order from worst to best from 1-10 is pretty close to yours. Starting with worst:
Thief - Same reasons you said.
Black Mage - Requires a lot of spells to be effective, knowledge of elemental weaknesses, MP management.
Monk - Same reasons you said. It's strong, but bland to begin with and doesn't really teach any important game skills
White Mage - Only requires cure to do well in the early game, though it will be slow soloing to 10. You wont ever die but things around you probably won't die fast, either.
Warrior - The same reasons you said, learning to tank is super important and the skills you pick up learning the class are important.
Red Mage - Only requires cure to do well in the early game and keeps pace with other damage dealing classes. From levels 1-10, a jack of all trades class is almost a master of all trades. They taper off at the Dunes, but then they find a great place in the party that isn't filled by any other base class and can fill any role until 30+ aside from tanking.
MNK is the best first job for anyone going tank/melee DD. It's super fast to level up to 18 to unlock a SJ (or 20 if you wanna go ahead and hit up Jeuno for the chocobo quest), you build up a ton of Conquest Points while leveling, farm gil/gear, then you swap to WAR or THF and sub MNK. Once WAR or THF is 37 you can swap to whatever you're taking to 75 -- PLD/WAR, DRK/WAR (until /NIN is relevant), DRG/WAR, NIN/WAR, etc.
SanD was objectively the best starting city in terms of minimal overall travel times. Both the city itself is the smallest, the starting zone is the smallest and most dense, and has the fastest travel route to the Dunes, and subsequently Jeuno (and even to the Northlands after that). Also of course the fastest by far route to get to camping King Arthro, as well as the bat that spawned at night in King Ranperres Tomb that dropped the evasion cape that was worth a small fortune back then.
If I could somehow go back in time and actually start all over again in 2002 or whatever, I probably would start in Bastok just to camp Leaping Lizzy and hopefully get a few pairs of boots to jump start my fortune. Sure SanD had JeJ, but I think the drop rate on the charm is something like 1%, while the Leaping Boots are probably more like 30%, or more with TH.
Haha ya Lizzy was Bastoks biggest seller for sure
Also Early leveling in Sandy is generally done on Rabbits and Worms which both have repeatable Gil quests from their drops (Hides and Flint stones.) in town. (And doesn't need a rezone like Bastoks flit stone quest.) But after the early levels and once you start needing the Conquest gear, Bastok tends to have a better selection for most all classes then Sandy, Which is why you see more people starting Bastok since they are generally experienced players planning for the future.
Found that on private servers (with level sync) everyone does BLM to 75 at carpenters landing with a 18-25 sync target . That gets you your first 75 which then enables access to a ton of farming options
Thief was my starting job on my first character and though I love it to death, I agree it was brutal to level as a first job back in the early 75 era. On the plus side, however, you learned to make your own parties pretty fast because no one else was thinking "You know, a Thief would make this party absolutely epic".
As for White Mage, while the first 10 levels weren't easy, once you hit party levels you would never really want for an exp party again. I used to get requests even when I wasn't LFG and sometimes even when I was on a different job entirely. Up until the TP burn era of merit parties began (Usually RDM, BRD, DDx4) finding a party as White Mage was almost never an issue...though if you were skilled enough you could fill the place of a RDM in a TP Burn party with little problem.
Aside from being tough the first few levels, and being a demanding job to start the game with, White Mage was easily the best starting job for any aspiring mage simply because it was the standard subjob for almost every other mage, and some melee, before Scholar was introduced. SMN/WHM, BLM/WHM, BST/WHM, RDM/WHM, BRD/WHM were not uncommon sights to see. Heck, even WAR/WHM wasn't that odd a sight for a while. You never really saw RDM as a sub and BLM sub was generally relegated to anyone who wanted a free Warp, White Mages who hadn't yet leveled Summoner, or Red Mages who wanted slightly stronger nukes.
A lot of thf didn't level their cross bow. I could easily solo with crossbow never missed in early levels and could keep up with RNG in parties minus ees . Used to pull hate all the time
Monk was my first job when I started in 2002. That being said when I played on a private server warrior is the way to go. The cheap armour options, ranged attack, shield option functionally puts it above monk. Easily the top choice.
I started as thf and it was rough trying to get a party but when I got on whm I would get random invites to party as I would log on so I took whm to 75 first I also had great help with people willing to PL when I first started on whm. And spells omg I had a great LS that helped me get a lot of my spells I miss Hades server.
Blm with some refresh juice And some worms to mess with was pretty quick to 10. Picking your prey is important for any solo job.
Agreed but as a noob odds were you knew none of this lol
THF was my main during Lv. 75 cap. CoP was nearly impossible to complete during that time. New and returning players should seriously consider WHM 1st for Lv.99 (iLv. 119) now. Everyone needs a healer, and it will help gear your 'main job'.
I started in 2005 in Sandy, Asura, always played there.. Still play there, even tho is a way different game now, Sandy was the best choise at the time for multiple reasons : Ghelsba oupost was right next to Sandy , Dunes was two zones aways vs other cities ( Windy you had to ride a boat and if you forgot to set homepoint and die almost getting to camp sorry for you XD!! , most missions were somehow easier, you had Xacabard in your backyard, was the closest to Jueno , etc.
I was always a fan of MNK starter. You don't have to worry about what weapon to use. You kill stuff really easy. It's good to have up to 18 for leveling WAR up to 37. And it gets pretty good conquest gear (depending on starting zone), which can help offset cost.
THF/MNK level 45?-ish SATA Raging fists. Its the best single target dmg. Never used it much past crawlers nest, needed a lot of accuracy to make up for the skill handicap. I always did love seeing the insane damage output of it though.
Back in 2004, when I first played the game, I immediately picked Thief, my favorite FF Job. I didn't play for long :')
Now that I am older and wiser, I have played for many more years, made many new characters and I still haven't learned my lesson, I still start them all as Thief :')
I started as RDM but soon went to MNK and it’s still my favorite job till you reach that dead zone of getting to 62. I can remember sitting in Jueno for three days straight spamming my stats and food and gear just to get a leveling party but was completely blown off because MNK couldn’t do the skill chain everyone wanted till 62...it was so deflating to see a MNK run by you past that level because you just KNEW he would be the only one picked for any damn group. This damn game made me have existential crisis’ on more than one occasion of how you just COULD NOT move forward in it for weeks!!
I actually usually start THF if I was leaning towards physical jobs for the extra dex and accuracy (usually picked Elvaan and Sandoria so it was appreciated)
I remember when I started I picked San d'Oria and was a Hume WHM. Loved healing and the starting city :)
I started RDM as my first job in the 75 Era. Would do it again if i had to. But, looking back when BCNMs were capped, MNK was by far better mainly for the dragon fight mission. Hundred fist made it mandatory to bring a monk along for those crucial fights.
Got to say of the multiple times I started FFXI from scratch throughout the years I always had the easiest time early leveling and skilling up with monk. One of the only jobs where I didn't run scared if a tough saw me XD
My favourite was always MNK - no need to buy additional weapons for like the first 20 levels, no "this is the wrong weapon" situation you get with WAR, and also it's pretty forgiving since you get more HP than the other starter jobs, Boost at 5 for big Combo damage, and Dodge at 15 for even more survival!
Ya some awwwweeespme starting abilities for sure! MNKs a beast
While reminiscing about this game, anyone ever dual box (I actually used a PC and ps2 didn't use windower until more modern times) Powerleveling parties using brd. Especially low level but you can easily do it into the 50's just keeping 1 spot free for brd buffs. Max chain 300 xp getting chain 10+ on mobs in the dunes or anywhere, you leveled so fast the exp dropped off quick and would have to move camps. Higher levels obviously still lasted a while, but it was amazing.
I picked Taru BLM from Bastok, purely thanks to the intro. I was like "Oh hell yeahz, tiny lil dudes doing big mothernuke on bad dudes!". Took 3 days to reach level 10. When I finally unlocked subjob, I hit up WHM.. took 1 week to hit 10 lol... That was without doubt the slowest job for me to level...
My THF story however... Oooh boy... I had seen the power of SATA Viper bite, dancing edge and such, so ofcourse I went with dagger... and shield! Even through the dunes! lol.
Imagine a lil level 14 thf/nin, rocking a dagger/shield in a dune party, attempting to deal any damage on crabs.... Had Game of Thrones existed back then, someone woulda walked around my home with a bell, yelling "Shame! Shame!"
Years later, whenever I created a new character (did a couple of free servers), I would always go with MNK or RDM first to 18, unlock subjob and then go from there. RDM were great subjob to both WHM and BLM, and MNK did great with any other melee job, and yes THF/MNK too with H2H lol.
If you can get THF to 33 for viper bite, some of the best fun in the game lol, thanks for sharing this is awesome haha
Early level thf are always going to do more dmg with fast blade. Dagger skills suck until viper bite, although sneak attack wasp sting does decent, but SA fast blade will close a distortion SC that usually ends most mobs in exp partys pretty quickly.
o yeah, blm is my fav too! But if I did it again, I would do War first, just until I get 1-to Valkurm, 2-get sub job, 3-get to Jeuno, 4-get Choco quest. Retail these days, dont think it matters. Go on a legacy server, and then chose War first. Its just cheaper, and plenty of invites.
Your positive points about RDM all make sense, but one thing I remember strongly in my first month was being POOR. The most spells of any starting mage 1-18. A sword AND a wand. INT gear AND MND gear, maybe even STR or other melee stats if you're feeling extra. I loved the versatility of the job, and I was glad it was my first 75, but I remember especially by Kazham levels I was frequently discussing with my friends what purchases were essential and which I could delay for several levels, because as a group we were leveling much faster than I could afford to gear up.
Redmage,sword,shield black and white magic etc. You can skill up these to help with other jobs.
I think WAR and WHM are the best choices. theyre the early level tanks and healers and are always in demand in Valkurm dunes. And they make great subjobs once you unlock it.
That's what I thought when I 1st started. So I started as WHM. I was also ALWAYS broke during my journey to 75 because I couldnt kill anything and farm...
Great video as always.
MNK is my 100% best first job on 11. Mostly for reasons you brought up but as the first time in the game, especially with prior knowledge, Monk just means you can 0 gear your way to subjob. Swap to WAR and ride WAR to advanced jobs. All while spending very little money and setting yourself up to have a great subjob(WAR) or earning money to make Mage job leveling much smoother.
Thanks for your videos. I just started playing yesterday, chose Bastok and Monk before watching some of these vids. Fun so far. I played on ps2 for a month before my mom said no way to the sub haha. Decided to finally come back and check it out. Looking forward to seeing more of your content. Cheers
I started out as WHM in San d’Oria back in 2006.
IMO I would tell others to start as RDM to get the feel as nuker/healer/buffer/attacker, level it up to unlock trusts, missions, quests and other jobs to make your experience on whatever your (2nd,3rd) jobs, a lot easier and more enjoyable!
No matter what job, race or nation you start out with, enjoy it! ❤️
If you plan to be a Blackmage or Whitemage or heck even summoner in the future start Rdm, u can skill up alot of types of magic as you level to 18 and it helps lvling Whm and Blm early on.
Bastok is Lastok. Our way of life when it comes to conquest lol.
And we always had at least 2 rdm/drk in our sky runs for chainspell-stun. Rdm has always been amazing in the 75 era in my opinion.
White Mage! You're right that as WHM I was more dependent on others to get things done, literally as I could barely do damage , but that's what I startred with and nostalgia goggles does impact this. I just felt WHM was an increadible journey as a first job. The teleport questline and chasing Erase, and Raise III were some of things few jobs had (Nin had Utsusemi and RDM had phalanx/Refresh) but WHM seemed to have the most amounts of 'must have' spells that were quested or BCNMed.
Glad I found your channel always love FFXI content 😌👌🏽🔥 just waiting for my SteamDeck to return to Vana’diel
Ahh..my first class was Rdm. Switched to Thf, switched to Whm, then switched War/Mnk, unlocked Nin/War and was a blink tank, while it was viable. Switched to Pally/War and tanked after that. Never thought I would like tanking, but it wasnt bad and groups were easy to find.
Every time i made a character on ffxi, always started as whm or rdm to get the free spell then swapped to war or mnk to level up. I wanted the free spell for early game cause i always wanted to try mages later
Great idea!
Monk is the only job I ever wanted to play. I'm interested in blu as well as I've always loved them in ff games. Cant wait to get back on ffxi.
"Everyone was in complete agreement that it was Windurst" Well, you aren't wrong.
Throughout my playing of FFXI, San'doria was always the most populated faction, while bastok and windy fought for the scraps and always had to coordinate to get the dunes.
Last private server experience I had I started warrior for the exact same reason you promoted it, but then I just kept going. Warrior was a pretty fun dps class above 37 as well.
I started in Bastok - lol.
Best starting job imo is WAR
Super flexible!
You mean laststok for my server lol
Theif was my choice since gaining resources was important to me with everything being so expensive...having high evasion is also helpful too...i ended up swapping to RDM and it was bit more well-rounded since by then i had more gil to get a full loadout of gear...
Ya id love to compare money of those starting as THF vs MNk or something, would be hilarious lol
@@Huntin4GamesChannel plus u can't give me the ability to steal, get more items at a higher rate than usual, have high evasion, and tell me not to : )
Farming as any other job after farming as a Thief was like night and day...even in the days of just having TH2.
Without anyknowledge about MMOs I started in Windurst (ouch) when FFXI was released in Europe as THF (double ouch).
I had to give up at like lvl 15 and switched to RDM.
RDM is without any debate the best job to start with. You even showed it in your video. A lot of early game is questing plus missions and nothing is better at that than RDM. Free Invisible and Sneak, while being able to hold your own vs up to EM Mobs in Solo play is just that huge.
Warrior is the greatest honestly all around from the baseline stats to the abilities to the 2hr to the usefulness as a subjob and as a main job it is so adaptable
For your next "list" video, you should throw out your Top 5/10 2-Hour Abilities
I started Red Mage, because it's easy to use with trusts and if you use the "Fantastic EXP" guide from bg wiki, you'll easily find non-aggressive enemy spots to train on. I leveled to 99 solo in just a month or two thanks to Records of Eminence.
Really miss these videos, I hope they come back, need some more H4G back in my life ❤
My 1st job to 75 was rdm but i ended up lvling war to get through pm 1.3.
I usually just start as Warrior in Sandoria. Get to 11, do the rabbit hide/flint stone repeatable, put crystals on AH then swap to monk and repeat. I know it's slow but I'll do this until every starter job is 10-11 and I'll have enough gil to get some white mage spells and travel to the dunes. Afterwards I stay there until sub job. It's rough having low mp before a subjob but I always play support or healer.
Best starting city was Sandy. Easy access to AH, always won conquest.
Best starting job depends on which advanced job you plan on maining. I started with WAR because I wanted the PLD Artifact Armour. Galka in PLD Artifact was an eye catcher.
Best job and city combo imo is a Elvaan RDM. Up until the teens do really good damage with basic attacks. Also good defense and HP pool. Tons of Versatility even at low levels, and you get to try out a variety of different game mechanics like magic weapon skills and others. You level up a bunch of things as well at the same time, setting you up for future exploration into other jobs. You are helpful in low-level parties and groups. I just found it to be the all-around best choice for me at least. At somebody who wanted to get a full taste of what the game has to offer. I may get some laughs here, but RDM/War as an Elvaan was viable to solo up until mid 20s.
I tried all 6 at one point in my start in San d'oria (BEST CITY). When I was trying to make my way to the Dunes, crossing La theine plateau was a nightmare. I kept getting one or two shotted on everything I tried, but I ultimately made it through on Warrior. After that I ran WAR/WHM if I was soloing or WAR/MNK If I was in a party. The WHM Sub was because healing items cost money and that cut into crafting profits.
Bastok was least popular on our server back in the mid 2000’s. Bastok, also known as Last-ok, or Ass-tok.
Warrior was my first job I leveled it to 37 i started playing in 2008 the guy I was dating at the time played for a year before and his brother was already a level 75 ninja. So I had the inside scoop I told what job I wanted to play 75 and they told how to minimize time sucks. It was grueling leaving warrior ton37 only because I wanted to to level monk to 75 and once they introduced blue mage my whole out look on game changed because my other job Alternative from monk was red mage at the time because i wanted to play a battle mage. Blue mage dropped and I was like the OG battle mage has arrived so I got blue the closest to end game.
Haha isn’t that how it goes though? 100% convinced on a job til a patch, update, or expansion comes out. Then everything changed when the fire nation attacked
Great Video, great content. My First Char on NA Release was SanDorian Elvaan BLM, fortunately for me I started with two friends (Warrior, and a Whitemage) and we leveled up to 10 together as a group of 3 players!! It would have been much more Difficult if I hadnt had a warrior to tank things while I nuked.
As far as my most favorite starting job from 1-10 it was definately monk, their high HP, low weapon delay, and COMBO!! makes leveling monk so much fun solo.
ADV Jobs though, if you take the slow route samurai, dragoon, and puppetmaster are the most memorable solo leveling experiences that I have had. Especially Puppetmaster.
My wish is that one day they remaster the game, and SLOW DOWN the ability to level every time you start leveling a new class for the first 30 or even first 50 levels.
P.S. Dont start as a Tarutaru Thief unless you like death. This race/class combo needs subjob hp to level 1-10 lol
for a first time mmo player trying to find your way... I'd say start with monk.
I actually first started in 2004 with a tarutaru blm, and I died over and over trying to fight level .5 mandragoras. I was honestly quite devastated, thinking I wouldn't be able to play an MMO. I made a new character, as a Galka Monk, and it was a MUCH easier introduction where I didn't fail so hard. :D
I teamed up w/ a tarutaru white mage and we tackled the early missions together and did our first dunes parties together. it was a great intro.
My 1st job June 2004 was thf 🤣. Had to lvl to 14 solo till I ran into a Japanese party that literally spent 40hrs helping me max thf and unlock not only main job but help with ninja and Sam quest too omg memories
RDM for sure. Great versatility, and for endgame, a support job will help you get into content, and then begin gearing your other jobs.
Yeah but part invites were rough until the magic level of 41. Then you would magically get invites when your chat window first opened while your login screen was still black.
I started out as RDM in Bastok. Sure, I bought my own gear, and early spells, but higher lvl stuff, I had rich benefactors supplying me with stuff. I still love RDM. I do not regret my choices. Though I haven't played in years. I miss this game.
I admit that when I originally started, I picked WHM, cause some guides told me that if you want to be SMN as soon as possible, you should start as WHM. It was pretty difficult. Now when returning to the game many years later, I did pick THF, why? Because I heard that Trusts were a thing, so I knew I'd get some help through those early parts, and I knew there'd be all those quests that require specific item drops, like the subjob quest, so I figured that getting the items quickly would be a better time investment in the long run.
While playing, they did add Rhapsodies of Vanadiel, which did make many of those quests easier from what I recall....
Funny enough, when joining FF14, I did pick Lancer (DRG), because of FF11 making me scared of starting as a healer. However the game lets you solo early on pretty all right, so that did not go anywhere in the end, heh
Tough choices cause of race stats race ring for starting city and crafting guilds to progress a useful craft for said job at low level vs getting to endgame without any knowledge was rough. Started hume whm in windurst and ended up going all melee 75 except rdm. Best advatange early game no sub I think would be Galka monk starting in Bastok ring and belt bonus. Doesnt matter though goblins gonna drop their bombs and blow you and team up eventually.
I mained thief and started as it. It was hell, no survivability and in the early levels when you are soloing sneak attack is only usable as a starter. Only after switching to warrior so I could sub warrior on my thief did things improve. Thief is an amazingly fun job in groups though, if you con convince the tank to work with you to set up a sneak/trick weapon skill attack they will never loose agro afterwards.
RDM is the best starter job, can skill up multiple skill types on first class, you get a spell and a sword, to start, also once you are 30 you can use sneak and invisible to get dancer. Once you have Dancer leveled to a proper sub you can level almost any job, with its increased survivability.
My first starting job will always be White Mage, and that will be the hill I die on, Zegram or Womp hill depending on which zone of Gustaberg I start in. Hammer Hume Bastok WHM for life.
I started in like 2010. Took mnk to 18, got a regen necklace and reraise earring from a quest, swapped to warrior until 30. Bst was my first advanced job and 75 (99). I used bst sub to level everything I could. Whm/bst in Qufim use sneak and have pets kill worms at the pond. I had no aggro issues. Eventually I took up Sch and Blu as my other mains. Best 6+ years of my life!
So I played this game at US release in 2003. No one knew how to burst back then, and everyone wanted a sub. Ninjas were not yet blink tanking, so the Dunes usually only had wars for tanks. Almost every Dunes part until summer 2004 had a war, whm, and thf. BLM picked up speed once bursting became more common, especially ice bursts on crabs.
My first job was a whm, and it sucked until 8. Then from 8-11 I was getting 2-3 man groups in the Highlands. At 11, it was Dunes all the way.
The most objective I can be on this topic is to say it's Monk, even if you dont wanna play monk to start, just start as a monk. Every other job can get their lvl 1 weapon or spell from a vendor but to my knowledge you can't buy a White Belt from a non AH source unless you begin as a Monk.
I would also put White Mage as easier than Black Mage. With BLM you have a set number of casts you can do before having to rest again, so you're limited to how many things you can kill between rests. WHM have the hammers, which are actually pretty good for 1-10, and a decent enough STR for a mage to be able to just bonk things to death then cure yourself and you can stretch out your kills between rests longer than a BLM can.
If that’s true about the White belt that’s fascinating - it’s a really solid belt lol
@@Huntin4GamesChannel I remember during my time playing on Eden wanting to play monk a bit and couldn't get a White Belt so i made an alt and sent one over from starting as a Monk.
I couldn't agree more. Monk is a cheap first job to level up and will provide some hp boost for the first level until you can heal yourself from my Tarutaru experience.
I went WAR first because I read the Brady Games Guide... it said it's the best SJ for early DRK! Turns out I should of went THF first :P... /WAR was too much of a liability and /THF put out those awesome Cross Reaper/Spinning Slash numbers! :D
i always choose a healer to start. id start with rdm then also level whm along the way but would take rdm to the cap. and then i'd level sch to sub my rdm later on. but all the jobs are fun and over the many years of my time in Vanadeil i've played all of them. everytime i played ff11 i had a diff mood so i chose a diff class to play. i had leveled every single class to max lol (here's hoping for a new expansion so i can come back again!) till then ff14 it is!
The best starting with least effort is warrior. Take thf to 15 for sub, get war 30, unlock nin then just have /nin and / thf as your subs. The ra makes leveling fast 1-10. You do good dmg , can tank also you can merit most weapons for your next 75. Use polearm until 22 then use GA. Voke is fast claim too for nm. If you start in sandy or bastok you can get gear by npc
I picked blm to start with. I loved it. Then i started to lvl rdm and my mind was blown with how much easier it was to kill things. Even with a sub job, i found lvling whm horrible. I originally lvled war to sub under mnk and absolutely fell in love and war became my main.
Yag drinks for blm is very strong 1-10 for solo leveling. Obvoiusly can't afford them when just starting out, but there's a massive difference for jus that 2mp/tick refresh in leveling speed. It tops out every other job solo because you can bring that item and change the game, other jobs couldn't do the same, or at least rdm which is similar but slower.
Red mage is the best starter. You get multiple skills up that can help with other jobs down the line and you only really need to get WHM up after it to take it to 75. RDM being one of the main support jobs in the 75 era also means you are almost always wanted in end game link shells assuming you're some what decently geared. RDM also ended up being the best tank in the game for solidfiying hate due to enfeeble spam assuming the monster didn't have hate reset abilities. Their defense was also pretty high too due to the defensive options they had in gear + phalanx. Or in short you littearly could do everything on RDM if you had the gear and knew what you were doing.
I made two accounts on Retail and 2 private servers, and I've always played Bastok, its unquestionably the best
This guy has sincere love of ffxi
Rdm was my first and such a good decision imo i could heal, enfeeble and good sword skill for dps. Tarutaru in windhurst man that music will always bring back warm memories
Back in the day when I was a newer player I thought MNK or WAR were the best starter, had a DPS role in early areas and easy to play and learn. WHM/RDM/BLM not enough gil to buy the spells, also had to level the subsequent useful subjob. MNK/WAR or WAR/MNK was really common for newer players when I played on Midgardsormr and honestly it was a blast just playing an easier job and hitting stuff. This is from the point of view of a newer player, where FFXI was extremely complex and massive
That being said it wasn't really the most "useful" and quite limiting so for a more experienced player something else might be better.
Ya I hadn’t thought about it’s viability in mission or quest fights, great point
Saw Midgardsomr shoutout have to give fellow server mate dabs char name was Peacekeeper
As someone who mained THF, yeah up to 30 it was rough. I soloed up til 12 (partially because my first trip to the Dunes got me killed by Sea Horror.)
But, once I hit 30 and understood my point in parties, THF got to be fairly boss. I ended up being one of the first THF's on my server to melee Maat.
Started game on its release as hume WHM (Bastok). Time later discovered ffxiclopedia and stuff related to game,but got character leveled and was too lazy to start again xD
Love the content but just wondering if this is for like old school classic FFXI or current FFXI?
When starting a new character I always pick MNK for that white belt. I may change to another job immediately, but that white belt is so sexy at beginning levels.
Thief is way underrated at lower levels. Playing eden, Archery destroys everything up to lvl 10. In the dunes i can beat most dds just by spamming bone and then iron arrows before lvl 15 And then at 15 they completely decimate with acid bolts. Not too mention closing a sc with sneak attack - fast blade will take at least half an enemys life right up until at least the jungles! Im level 45 atm and still keeping up with most dds, by spamming acid and poison bolts but will probably start to tail off soon, as there lack of bolts and archery skill tails off.
MNK is my favourite starter job for any melee focused new character. H2H lets you save money, you're useful to get subjob items, and you're setting up your WAR sub to 30 before you branch off and unlock your advanced jobs. It's always seemed to have the least amount of dead time when leveling up a melee path.
MNK15 > WAR30 > NIN37 > WAR37 > you're free to play whatever.
Yup this is pretty spot on
I can get behind that. Only other hurdle would be SAM to 37 as that was a really popular SJ for the heavy melee DDs: WAR, DRK & DRG (DRG/SAM was a God Tier DD before they nerfed TP return on multi-hit WS)...sometimes RNG...for a while.