oh i see
Sounds great, but what are BCNM’s and ENM’s? And just how long does it really take to level up in this game? I’ve heard it can be rather tedious. I apologize for the questions asked thus far as well as future ones, I simply know even less than Izlude about this game, and seek guidance from those more experienced.
LoL. I used to play FFXI and thought it was the bee’s knees. I was the asshole who played a paladin and tore the shit out of people who didn’t do their job correctly because I HATED having to wait 30-45 minutes to get a party just to have us WIPE on the first RABBIT we went out to kill. I’m not here to compaire it to any other game or to rag on it unfairly since I’ve done that plenty in all the other FFXI threads. I’m simply saying the things that I didn’t like about the game have apparently not changed (according to some people).
I found it to be a slow grind that wasn’t very rewarding. The game is really great if you get a good team together of people who KNOW what they are doing. But since it has been ages since the term “Static Party” came out of my mouth because I simply can’t stand playing an MMORPG that would dare require that much tedious work in order to “survive” let alone go out grind for a while and have fun.
There are those who really enjoy the game and I give them cudos for that. If you end up liking it, then by all means POWER TO YOU. In the end, what is most important is that you have fun. I’ve played Everquest, Shadow Bane, Ragnarok Online, Dark Age of Camelot, RYL (beta), Lineage II (beta), City of Heroes, City of Villains (beta), Final Fantasy XI, Everquest II (beta), and World of Warcraft… And while some of those games are really really bad, I’d simply say that for the tedious grind that is leveling up… I’d put FFXI on the very bottom of the list for games that I’d ever think of replaying.
So please, take my advice with a grain of salt since I only played the game till level 37ish as a Paladin/Warrior. I may not have seen everything in the game, but unless something changes where the game gets less tedious after level 40 then I’m not too far off. I’m just saying the grind that is FFXI is not for everyone. The game is very unforgiving of any slacking, which for someone like me who LIKES TO GET SOMEWHERE with the time they put into a game is very frustrating. I say that simply because while you may be fully intent on leveling up one night, a Shadowknight or Blackmage who doesnt know how to control their shit will end up causing your whole team to wipe. To a rabbit or other insignificant recolor mob.
BCNMs are instanced battlefields that pits teams of 3 or 6 against a monster, or monsters. They require items called Beastmen Seals to enter, with the number of seals needed corresponding to the level cap (ie. 20 Beastmen Seals = capped at level 20). This is a good way to make money, as some BCNMs drop items worth millions of gil. However, most BCNMs require a specific setup to ensure success. Uncapped BCNMs use Kindred Seals, either 30 or 99 of them.
ENMs are also instanced battlefields. Except, they don’t require any seals to enter. Most require you to obtain a key item in a fashion that varies from mildly irritating to keyboard-smashing angry. If you win an ENM, you gain an experience reward and various items, depending on the ENM. The nice thing is, if you lose an ENM, you don’t lose any xp (provided you Home Point before you’re kicked out). ENMs can be done once every five days.
As for levelling up… as an RDM, you probably get some of the fastest invites in the game. RDMs are constantly sought after because of their ability to cast Refresh. The main problem will be keeping up your equipment. But never fear; if it’s your first job, no one expects you to have the most expensive gear you can wear. Your most major expenses will end up being Dispel (80k or so, at 32). Phalanx (it’s around 100k, but it’s really more important for soloing than party) and the elemental staves at 51. And really, how long it takes is up to you.
Phalanx dropped a lot- it’s only ~40k now.
How hard it is to get places is entirely up to you. You can sit there with a search flag up, or you can form a party yourself. Forming the party yourself is a bit harder when you’ve never been to some of the places before, but that’s why you’ve got those of us who’re on Phoenix. RDM’s will get invites relatively easily- especially after 41. If you need help with gear recommendations, just let us know. The basic idea is to get a fair chunk of +Int/Mnd/Mp gear. Usually you’ll have to swap your +Mnd gear in for White Magic spells and +Int gear in for Black Magic spells, but that can all be done easily with a simple macro.
How rewarding it is is entirely what you’re wanting out of the game. If you’re wanting to plow through from 1-75 in a month and be insanely well equipped, then the game’s not going to be for you. I’ve been playing a year and a half now, and some of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had in game have been some of the opportunities not available in other MMOs such as the Chains of Promathia storyline. The game’s a lot of fun when you play with friends- staticing with Ez, Dai, and some other in game friends has been incredibly fun and rewarding. It all depends on what you’re looking for.
I’ll agree with the story elements. FFXI was the first MMORPG that actually made me feel like I was accomplishing something besides gaining levels when I did the quest chains. The first time I confronted the Beastmen boss in the beastmen area to the east of the Elvaan city, I was so excited. My only wish is that there were more plot driven events like that within the levels. I disliked having to level up to 10, do a cool event… then wait 10 more levels before I got to another one (or at least, being able to complete it).
I’ll also acknowledge that the game has changed a bit since I started playing it at launch.
Yeah, I pretty much think that this is probably the best choice of class for me after reading all that has been said. How about my sub though, do you think i’d have better luck with a Black Mage or White Mage subclass, considering that i’d like to solo at later levels?
Just level them both up, they’re both excellent in different situations, and fairly desired for parties. At low levels you’ll probably find more use in the white mage sub, due to the status cures, whereas at somewhat higher levels you’ll get access to Drain and Absorb with the black mage sub. At high levels they’re both excellent, along with a variety of other subjobs.
Don’t worry too much about it, you’ll probably figure out which one you prefer after toying with both of them.
What Rhaka said above is correct. For soloing, the main melee subjobs to consider are Ninja and either Warrior or Dark Knight. Ninja allows you to cast the Utsusemi spells. With Fast Cast, Stoneskin, etc., you can keep Utsusemi up for an almost infinite amount of time. Plus, you get to dual-wield two weapons, which is badass. Subbing Warrior gives you Berserk (attack up, defense down), Defender (the opposite), Warcry (AoE Berserk, minus the defense down) and Double Attack. Dark Knight gives you Last Resort (Berserk lite) and Soul Eater (adds damage at the expense of HP). Both subjobs gives you access to certain weapon skills, including Vorpal Blade, arguably the most powerful Sword WS.
Dark Knight also gives Drain and Absorb (and mp!), and at earlier levels than Black Mage to boot. I highly recommend it over Warrior for most soloing purposes.
Too bad Last Resort only lasts 30 seconds and Soul Eater is completely gimped on DRK sub.
I don’t even think of them. The only thing I’d sub DRK for is mp, Drain, Absorb and weapon skills, which far outweigh the WAR benefits in my book (in most situations, WAR is very useful under the right circumstances).
I stand by my old remark that a RDM can benefit from pretty much every sub there is.
I was reading elsewhere that melee subjobs are completely wasted on RDM, but I guess you guys don’t think so, eh? So you can have more than one sub, is that it? I was under the impression that one was the limit, but if you can have as many as you want, there’s no reason not to just have a whole shit load of them and switch depending on the situation, it seems. I haven’t heard anyone say much about Dragoons, which looked pretty interesting to me, what’s up with that?
Melee subs are pretty much wasted in a party setting on a RDM, they’re just excellent when soloing.
Well, you can only have one sub on at a time, but it’s best to have multiple subs levelled (the max level being 37). And as TD said, they’re not completely useless. Just don’t bring it to a party.
As for Dragoons, they were very recently changed. Their old 2-hour ability was to be able to call their wyvern… Lame, I know. But now, it’s been changed so that Call Wyvern is now a 20-minute timer. Their new 2 hour is called Spirit Surge, and the Dragoon and their wyvern combine together. It adds STR, HP, TP and other stats to the DRG, plus alters their Jump abilities. Jump does more damage, High Jump drains enemy TP (but does not add to yours), and Super Jump also helps to shed half of a party member’s enmity (hate).
In parties, DRGs function much like any other DD. You’ll mainly be subbing /WAR for all the sweet benefits of Berserk, Double Attack, Attack Bonus, etc. Some DRGs sub /THF at 65 so that they can stack a whole bunch of +STR gear for Sneak Attack/Trick Attack Wheeling Thrust (Sneak Attack is a guranteed critical, Trick Attack transfers hate). A neat utility sub for DRG is WHM. At a certain percentage of your HP, when you cast a spell, your wyvern will use Healing Breath. For 4 MP, you can be healed for 300 HP. It’s cool, but mainly used in soloing/some HNMs. Very few parties are desperate enough to invite a DRG/WHM for main healing. 
As for why DRGs aren’t talked about… a long time ago, there was a “nerf” on TP gain. This caused Dragoons to whine, which made the rest of the community hate them.
Ok seriously. I don’t know why they’re not talked about. They’re not mediocre DDs by any stretch, but when the wyvern accounts for half your damage, you just don’t look as good as other DDs. Their multi-hit WS is not as strong. Penta Thrust will average ~300, whereas Rampage usually averages 450 - 500 damage. The other big thing, is that until 65+, DRG just cannot wear the same kind of DD gear most of the other melees can.
I miss FFXI a lot, but I don’t think I could live with the PvP. 
The PvE is perfect, imoimo. The PvP is worse than shit.
Nobody’s making you stop
I hate FFXI. One of the reasons is I can’t say I beat all the final fantasy games because you can’t beat XI
Oh, I don’t think i’d include FFXI as a “normal” FF game as far as saying you beat them all.
Well, sometime in March (probably, maybe a little earlier), i’ll be getting on. I can’t wait to play with you guys!
Let us know. We can hook you up with a Worldpass to get on Phoenix.
Sorry about posting yet another question, but what’s a Worldpass? Do you have to have certain passwords to get onto specific servers or something?