I am afraid to play again.

[Tetrasol]

I started playing a year after it came out, and played it for 4 months, then dropped it because I didnt like how I would be waiting 4 hours to get a group capable of questing or leveling. I am not exagerating either I was devoted I got up to lv 26 Elvaan Warrior/lv 13 Monk, because I couldn't always get a group. I felt betrayed that I couldn't solo anything my lv. I loved the game it had an apartment that you could customize, and collect trophies, as well as I could change classes without having to make another character if I got bored. So I left and when the 2 expansion came out with the puppeteer and all I came back to find my character erased and my hopes of being able to be a newer class at the beggining. I was also spiteful that no matter what class I chose every single person my lv and my class had the exact same skills and the same armor the only comfort I had was rebuilding my apartment because it gave me a differrence. What I wanna know is have they addressed the no solo capability problem and have they addressed the lack of differrence in appearence and skills. Please people I would like to know. I was in love with FFXI, it was the first mmorpg I got to play, and the world is still more beautiful than WoW.

 

[Onewing]

There are certain jobs that are better for soloing. Of course, most of them you have to unlock once you get a main job to level 30.

I got whm up to level 15 so I could have it as a subjob up to 30. My main job is Warrior. However, most people see a War/Whm and scoff. What I would do is put up my party flag with a comment saying I'll switch to War/Mnk if you want me to party. Then I'd spend time fighting pretty easy monsters (War/Whm can handle easy monsters better than War/Mnk). I'd use my chariot band which gives me extra exp and makes fighting the easy monsters worth the while.

I actually solo'd most of my way from War 27 to War 28 doing this. I ended up getting more party requests that led me from 28 to 30 for some odd reason. Sometimes that's just the way the dice rolls.

Also, there's many ways to customize your character with all the different equipment. Given, most of the earlier levels look pretty identical. Also, I hear rumors of possible hair cuts coming in the near future.

But yeah, you should come back. I've been playing off and on more dramatically than anyone else for four years (I'm only just now unlocking my first advanced job, haha).

 

[Trish]

What I wanna know is have they addressed the no solo capability problem and have they addressed the lack of differrence in appearence and skills.

The great, or bad (lol), thing about this game is the dependence on others to succeed. However, with a job like WAR/MNK, I wouldn't think you'd have a problem finding something to solo on while waiting to be picked up for a party.

As for soloing jobs... Beastmaster, Dragoon and Puppetmaster are jobs that can be soloed. Not to say you can't party on them, but they have an easier time soloing.

Gear... There are other choices, but most often everyone sways toward the best.. especially at the lower levels when the best is more affordable. Once you grow up, you can decide which parts of your job to "specialize" in and buy the gear to compliment that. But you're only exactly the same as another WAR/MNK elvaan with the exact same gear as you. You have different stats than I would as a WAR/MNK, or Onewing's hume would.

 

[tanls]

It is very possible to solo to advance job level, but it will take a much longer time. It basically comes down to knowledge of the areas, your job and mobs. LVL 1-10 are fairly easy and are the main solo levels anyways. You start in your starter area and mover further away from the city as you go up in level. At 11-20 You move to the next zone area, which would be Konschat Highland, La Theine Plateau, and Tahrongi Canyon. And then so forth. You solo the first 10 levels because it is much faster leveling, especially if you have some kind of regen/refresh ability. A lot of ppl seem to be soloing up to at least lvl 20 now to get past the Dunes levels. Of course, once you open up a job with a "pet", soloing becomes much easier.

As far as customization goes, there is a LOT of gear available and many are situational but, some pieces are just overall better than most, and so it the most worn. There are only so many ways to make armor look, and the data base is already so large that they are repurposing graphics for higher level armors too. SE is supposed to be allowing you to mod some of your character appearance, but as far as any other mods in game....Don't think that's gonna happen. You can dress in a "walking around" outfit, and change armor for whatever you need to do and then change back. Many ppl also do that in town. So... options are there.

 

[Tetrasol]

Thank you all I will try and get my account going again. Starting from lv 1 again is gonna hurt though, but I had fun at low lvs too.

 

[Onewing]

You're first objective should be to get the Chariot Band, which costs 500 conquest points. The Chariot Band will excel you through the low levels in no time flat. When you start getting into parties, you'll probably want to upgrade to the Empress Band. You can really fly through the early stages with this stuff.

 

[Banhammer]

You're first objective should be to get the Chariot Band, which costs 500 conquest points. The Chariot Band will excel you through the low levels in no time flat. When you start getting into parties, you'll probably want to upgrade to the Empress Band. You can really fly through the early stages with this stuff.

A lot of people skip the Chariot Band entirely and go straight for Empress (or the recently added Emperor band, which lasts longer but only has three charges per week), but it's a matter of personal taste I guess.

 

[Onewing]

Yeah, that's because people often can play in 180 minute bursts. I think there was maybe one time when I had that much time to play the game in one sitting, and I lost sleep because of it. No, 90 minutes of extra xp has been perfect for me. I wouldn't be able to take advantage of the empress band, so the faster growth of the chariot band is my preference. Wow, I feel almost redundant. I should go to bed.

 

[tanls]

I never recommend the Chariot band. I realize that your play time isn't all that much, but if you have a decent party, you should be using up your charge before you even get near losing it. Granted, Chariot band would be better for soloing, but I'd rather get the extra exp from partying. As it is, I've given up my Empress band for an Emperor's band. Less charges but more exp per charge. With my end game schedule the way it is, I don't use my band as often as before, so I like to maximize the amount I get when I do merit or exp.