FFXIV: A Realm Reborn

[Sajiri]

So Hard Mode Ifrit isn't really all that hard.

Correction: It isn't hard when people aren't going in to troll you ):

[Rising Phoenix]

ok, so I've nabbed stone skin and quick cast and am now levelling arcanist in the process two acquire scholar. Two questions.

1) When I get the scholar job, do I have to start leveling from level 1 again?

2) Is it worth going higher then arcanist 30 for scholar? I know that for white-mage conjurer 50 is mandatory, but for scholar I hardly see any abilities in arcanist past level 30 that are worth it.

[Sajiri]

ok, so I've nabbed stone skin and quick cast and am now levelling arcanist in the process two acquire scholar. Two questions.

1) When I get the scholar job, do I have to start leveling from level 1 again?

2) Is it worth going higher then arcanist 30 for scholar? I know that for white-mage conjurer 50 is mandatory, but for scholar I hardly see any abilities in arcanist past level 30 that are worth it.

Jobs share lvls with classes. So technically you aren't lvling scholar, you're lvling arcanist. The way jobs work is you equip an item after doing a quest at lvl 30 that changes you to that job, gives you some higher stats and less cross class slots, and every 5 lvls you complete a quest to unlock another ability for use when you have your scholar item equipped, or the item for whatever other job you want. Raising arcanist to 50 will automatically give you scholar and summoner 50 if you unlock them both. When you get to arcanist 30 and do your job quest, scholar will already be lvl 30.

I wrote a little scholar guide here if you are interested http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...-Healing-Guide

[Rising Phoenix]

Jobs share lvls with classes. So technically you aren't lvling scholar, you're lvling arcanist. The way jobs work is you equip an item after doing a quest at lvl 30 that changes you to that job, gives you some higher stats and less cross class slots, and every 5 lvls you complete a quest to unlock another ability for use when you have your scholar item equipped, or the item for whatever other job you want. Raising arcanist to 50 will automatically give you scholar and summoner 50 if you unlock them both. When you get to arcanist 30 and do your job quest, scholar will already be lvl 30.

I wrote a little scholar guide here if you are interested http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...-Healing-Guide

Fewer cross class skills? Well I only need swift cast and stoneskin (and to a lesser extent protect). It's good to know that I don't need to grind from scratch again :).

Thanks for the explanation and guide, tis very useful.

[Sajiri]

For less cross classing, they get their own abilities and higher stats as compensation. The idea is that Jobs are a more focused role suitable for party play, and can only cross class from 2 classes (so for scholar, they can take skills from cnj and thm, nothing else) while classes, despite technically being weaker, are much more flexible and solo better.

[Rising Phoenix]

For less cross classing, they get their own abilities and higher stats as compensation. The idea is that Jobs are a more focused role suitable for party play, and can only cross class from 2 classes (so for scholar, they can take skills from cnj and thm, nothing else) while classes, despite technically being weaker, are much more flexible and solo better.

Gotcha. Scholars cannot get carbungle out instead of the fairies like summoner can, right?

Not that you would do that in optimum scenarios, but sometimes you need a tank.

[Sajiri]

Gotcha. Scholars cannot get carbungle out instead of the fairies like summoner can, right?

Not that you would do that in optimum scenarios, but sometimes you need a tank.

No, as soon as you switch to scholar, carbuncles are replaced, the fairies themselves have no offensive capabilities.

Summoner gets their egis through quests, it's part of their plot that they already beat the primals to summon the egi, so they're designed to get them at the appropriate levels if smn were their first job. Their lvl 30 skill gets them ifrit, at 35? (I forget) they will have defeated titan in the main plot, so after their quest instead of summoning topaz carbuncle, they'll summon titan-egi. Likewise, their 45 quest will replace emerald carbuncle with garuda-egi.

Edit: also in solo, scholar is remarkably hard to kill. It will kill very slow on its own, but when you've got your little fairy there spamming heal on you, you arent going down quick. Just use cleric stance, use your dot's and let your fairy heal you, you don't even have to run out of most aoe.

[Rising Phoenix]

No, as soon as you switch to scholar, carbuncles are replaced, the fairies themselves have no offensive capabilities.

Summoner gets their egis through quests, it's part of their plot that they already beat the primals to summon the egi, so they're designed to get them at the appropriate levels if smn were their first job. Their lvl 30 skill gets them ifrit, at 35? (I forget) they will have defeated titan in the main plot, so after their quest instead of summoning topaz carbuncle, they'll summon titan-egi. Likewise, their 45 quest will replace emerald carbuncle with garuda-egi.

Edit: also in solo, scholar is remarkably hard to kill. It will kill very slow on its own, but when you've got your little fairy there spamming heal on you, you arent going down quick. Just use cleric stance, use your dot's and let your fairy heal you, you don't even have to run out of most aoe.

I can see that.

The only thing I can see having difficulty with is managing the fairies. But practice makes perfect.

[Sajiri]

Barring some rare bugs, at level 50 its usually okay to just leave them on auto. In primal fights I still have to position Eos manually since there's a lot of running and wide aoe, I'll sit her near the tank or somewhere in the middle so she can target everyone with heals, but other than that its fine.

Edit: Anyone sharing characters yet? Here's me :D

[DrakeRaids]

Anyone playing on Famrit? I've got a conjurer aiming to spec into white mage, and soloing suuuuuuucks

[SKarious]

Well, I've seen some movies/demonstrations and I'm impressed. I think of getting the game, though I would like some questions answered first:

1) I'm thinking of playing a lancer (later a dragoon). How complicated are they to learn? Is there a lot of micromanaging to do, like the THM's fire/ice buffs or monk stances? How would you compare dragoons to a WOW class/spec?

2) How stable are the European servers now? I remember reading about a lot of disconnects and lag troubles when the game went up.

3) Is there any faction combat / Open world PvP?

4) Are there different racial abilities/traits, or does your race only dictate the starting zones/quests?

That's it for now.

[Sajiri]

Well, I've seen some movies/demonstrations and I'm impressed. I think of getting the game, though I would like some questions answered first:

1) I'm thinking of playing a lancer (later a dragoon). How complicated are they to learn? Is there a lot of micromanaging to do, like the THM's fire/ice buffs or monk stances? How would you compare dragoons to a WOW class/spec?

2) How stable are the European servers now? I remember reading about a lot of disconnects and lag troubles when the game went up.

3) Is there any faction combat / Open world PvP?

4) Are there different racial abilities/traits, or does your race only dictate the starting zones/quests?

That's it for now.

1. Lancer/Dragoon is definitely one of the easier DD's to play. It can do a lot of damage while being rather simplistic.

2. I havent played the EU servers but the last 1-2 weeks there have been a lot of maintenances to improve the servers and congestion issues, the whole game is much more stable than at launch

3. There's no real faction/open world pvp, but there is a colisseum type PVP (called wolve's den) I don't think it's implemented yet, but it was tested in beta so it will likely come in the first big patch

4. The different races have different stat bonuses but they are negligible. Unlike most mmo's your starting town and class is not dictated by your race- the town you start on depends on the class you choose. So if you start as lancer, you'll begin in gridania. After doing the lvl 10 class quest you're allowed to unlock and change to other classes

[Rising Phoenix]

Barring some rare bugs, at level 50 its usually okay to just leave them on auto. In primal fights I still have to position Eos manually since there's a lot of running and wide aoe, I'll sit her near the tank or somewhere in the middle so she can target everyone with heals, but other than that its fine.

Edit: Anyone sharing characters yet? Here's me :D

And here's mine...he currently has no fashion sense...He's gonna be my magic guy. I may make a melee guy too later on...

After the maintenance I've only received error9000 once and my log on time speed has improved dramatically.

[Neftren]

Okay, so they finally reopened digital downloads. Only now I can't get onto my friends' server (Cactuar).

[Sajiri]

Okay, so they finally reopened digital downloads. Only now I can't get onto my friends' server (Cactuar).

They reopened digital? That's good.

They're opening and closing servers as they fluctuate. Just keep checking lodestone/launcher (I think they update on which is open every day or every few days) and wait for cactuar to reopen.

[Rising Phoenix]

Ok... I am a level 29 arcanist now... so close to scholar... this better be worth the hours and hours of mindless grinding...>_<

[Sajiri]

Ok... I am a level 29 arcanist now... so close to scholar... this better be worth the hours and hours of mindless grinding...>_<

Scholar is very fun, just be aware healing at 30 is going to be somewhat difficult until you get more of the scholar skills, but since you have conjurer and thaumaturge skills already thats a good start.

[Talderas]

So I found a copy Saturday shortly after noon. I believe I got onto one of the newer servers, Brynhildr.

Anyway. Level 26 as a gladiator now. Still trying to figure out how to effectively tank multiple mobs. I can do well enough when it's just a healer getting emnity on any mob but the one I'm targeting, but if someone drops DoTs it seems like those other mobs fall off too easy or if I try to directly build emnity on them I lose it on the primary focus. Frustrating.

I will say, I hate quest given gear because it's so easy to look gawdawful. I'm not sure whether ot envy or pity the people that are wearing sets of matching gear.

[Rising Phoenix]

So I found a copy Saturday shortly after noon. I believe I got onto one of the newer servers, Brynhildr.

Anyway. Level 26 as a gladiator now. Still trying to figure out how to effectively tank multiple mobs. I can do well enough when it's just a healer getting emnity on any mob but the one I'm targeting, but if someone drops DoTs it seems like those other mobs fall off too easy or if I try to directly build emnity on them I lose it on the primary focus. Frustrating.

I will say, I hate quest given gear because it's so easy to look gawdawful. I'm not sure whether ot envy or pity the people that are wearing sets of matching gear.

Be grateful you are not a mage

[Talderas]

Be grateful you are not a mage

I'm not sure to which point are you talking.

Edit: Actually, the thing I hate most about that armor is that it's a head/body combo item that's equipped in the body slot. So that means I can't use the option to disable the head equipment. I freaking hate that helmet.

[Sajiri]

So I found a copy Saturday shortly after noon. I believe I got onto one of the newer servers, Brynhildr.

Anyway. Level 26 as a gladiator now. Still trying to figure out how to effectively tank multiple mobs. I can do well enough when it's just a healer getting emnity on any mob but the one I'm targeting, but if someone drops DoTs it seems like those other mobs fall off too easy or if I try to directly build emnity on them I lose it on the primary focus. Frustrating.

I will say, I hate quest given gear because it's so easy to look gawdawful. I'm not sure whether ot envy or pity the people that are wearing sets of matching gear.

I haven't played gladiator myself but from playing in groups it seems at lower lvls the gladiator's have a rougher time. The trick is to just cast flash a lot. The beauty of flash is that it's a blind and doesn't do damage, so if you have a thaumaturge/black mage in your group who is sleeping all the adds, you can still cast it to keep hate without waking them up. You should cast it 2-3 times at the start I think, and depending on how long the fight is, cast it a few more times occassionally. I believe Flash is centred around yourself and doesnt have a very wide range, so you have to make sure your group knows to wait til you've gathered up all the adds and cast it first.

I'm starting to think I should just not go to the official forums. They're absolutely toxic :/

[Gnoman]

I've never played an MMO that had both a monthly fee and also required buying the client. Does the purchase price include any game time (can't seem to figure it out one way or another on the site)? Trying to figure out if my budget will support trying this until next check.

[Seerow]

I've never played an MMO that had both a monthly fee and also required buying the client. Does the purchase price include any game time (can't seem to figure it out one way or another on the site)? Trying to figure out if my budget will support trying this until next check.

I'm pretty sure it comes with 1 month of game time, but you may want to wait on confirmation from someone else who has actually purchased the game, I'm still on the fence myself.

[Sajiri]

Yes, if you are a new player, you get 1 month free at the start. There are different payment plans, 30 days, 60, 90, 180..basically the more days you pay for up front the cheaper it works out in the end. You can either pay online with card/crysta (crysta is confusing, and I think some countries dont support it) or you can buy gametime cards from stores.

Gnoman I assume you mean you've played free-to-play mmos? Tbh, pay-to-play mmo's are better 95% of the time, and often, work out cheaper (to get the most out of free mmos, you have to buy from a cash shop, and the micro transactions will end up more than what you'd pay in a monthly sub usually)

Edit: Im considering making another character, though Im not sure what for. In other mmos with a multiple class system like this (except ffxi) I had different characters for different roles, and Dijana was certainly starting off as the mage one, but I've started messing around on pugilist and having fun at that too. I made a miqo'te on the character creator I really liked but didnt have the heart to change my hyur's race..if I made the miqo'te I'd want to start her in Limsa, but that gives me the choice of arcanist or marauder..I originally started as marauder on Dijana in 1.0 so I dont want to do that, and I've also already leveled arcanist to 50 on that one...dilemma!

[Gnoman]

Gnoman I assume you mean you've played free-to-play mmos?

Played a couple of free ones (Star Trek, Pirates of the Burning Sea, and some game with sci-fi aircraft) and EvE. Pretty sure I didn't have to pay for the EvE client.

[Neftren]

They reopened digital? That's good.

They're opening and closing servers as they fluctuate. Just keep checking lodestone/launcher (I think they update on which is open every day or every few days) and wait for cactuar to reopen.

Yeah everything opened up this morning.

I hopped on and made an archer on Cactuar, and I'll start playing for real tonight.

[Talderas]

I haven't played gladiator myself but from playing in groups it seems at lower lvls the gladiator's have a rougher time. The trick is to just cast flash a lot. The beauty of flash is that it's a blind and doesn't do damage, so if you have a thaumaturge/black mage in your group who is sleeping all the adds, you can still cast it to keep hate without waking them up. You should cast it 2-3 times at the start I think, and depending on how long the fight is, cast it a few more times occassionally. I believe Flash is centred around yourself and doesnt have a very wide range, so you have to make sure your group knows to wait til you've gathered up all the adds and cast it first.

I'm starting to think I should just not go to the official forums. They're absolutely toxic :/

It looks like Gladiator gets a new emnity generating skill at 26. That actually helps a little. However they don't get any AoE attacks until level 50. I'm thinking Marauder is a better multi-mob tank.

[Kaun]

It looks like Gladiator gets a new emnity generating skill at 26. That actually helps a little. However they don't get any AoE attacks until level 50. I'm thinking Marauder is a better multi-mob tank.

Yeah i actually found the mid range dungeons to be a bit harder then some the end of game ones. Simply because a lot of classes are missing key abilities for their rolls.

I wouldn't stress to much about it at level 26, you do most of the lower level dungeons once for the story quests and then move on. Fate grinding seems to be the main form of leveling which doesn't require that much in the way of tanking.

[Razgriez]

It looks like Gladiator gets a new emnity generating skill at 26. That actually helps a little. However they don't get any AoE attacks until level 50. I'm thinking Marauder is a better multi-mob tank.

If this was 1.0, Then yes, MRD/WAR would be the AoE tank of choice, hands down (Steel Cyclone back then, was absolutely ridiculous, and I know of some cases where people formed parties where two Warriors were used since they had such massive damage dealing skills. Of course, since back then, Damage was based on two stats, rather than 1 for either Melee, Ranged, and Magic, MRD/WAR had STR and VIT back then....)

Now... not exactly. The thing is, when it comes to Multi-target tanking, PLD is (at least in my experience) a bit better when it comes to the long term.

Here's the thing: Gladiator/Paladins have two major resources they can pull on for Hate: TP and MP. You get Flash which not only is an AoE Provoke, but you have the trait rather early on to also inflict Blind. And Blind is a major boon for tanks. Flash also, doesn't awaken sleeping targets, which is great if you have a WHM or BLM casting Repose/Sleep on mobs. It's easy enmity fortifying Further more, you have two easy to access ways to restore MP: Riot Blade comboing off of Fast Blade, and Ethers. It's also a Radius AoE. You then, at 50 granted, have Circle of Scorn. Now, if I recall correctly: Circle of Scorn is an Ability with about a half minute recast, but has 0 TP cost, and applies a DoT.

Now look at the Marauder/Warrior. You get Overpower: a low potency, conical AoE Enmity WS. Ok, cool.... except: it cost 100 TP. And when you start spamming 100+ WS's, that's how you run dry of TP very fast. At 46, you get Vengeance, basically, 15 seconds of of counter attacks to physical damage, on a nearly 3 minute timer. It's not bad, but you probably will only be able to call upon it once a fight typically. Now, as a Warrior, at 45 or higher, is the unlock quest for Steel Cyclone. Steel Cyclone doesn't have an "Increased Enmity" effect, but it's a 200 Potency Radial Attack with no TP cost and is on the WS Global Cooldown. And Damage does boost enmity. This will sound great.... until you realize it requires 5 stacks of Defiance. So, that' means either using Infuriate when it's available, or using 5 Wrath giving WSs So that's about 15 seconds of build up and combined TP costs. And on top of that there's two other Defiance related abilities that frankly... kinda give back more for that build up, Unchained (No Defiance Penalties for 20 seconds). and the much more powerful, single target "Inner Beast" (300 Potency, Massive Damage to HP heal).

This is not to say that Warrior is worst than the PLD. They are about the same in terms of overall tanking ability, just that they have two different ways of handling each situation. Further more, WS Enmity generation doesn't have to worry about "Decay" or building resistance to side effects like Blind.

As for the level 26 GLA WS: Rage of Halone, it's awesome. a High potency combo finisher, that also boost enmity AND inflicts 5%/10% with trait bonus, Strength down Debuff? Yes please.

[Rising Phoenix]

I'm not sure to which point are you talking.

Edit: Actually, the thing I hate most about that armor is that it's a head/body combo item that's equipped in the body slot. So that means I can't use the option to disable the head equipment. I freaking hate that helmet.

I am referring to most mage gear looking absolutely ridiculous.

Also I am thouroughly enjoying the scholar, it certainly is a class that makes you think on how to use its abilities which is great.