Attempting to solo my G3. I didn't have the Crimson Orb yet so I started in Davoi and had to do the quest to get it. Soon as I pick up the quest I (mistakenly) talk to the other guy on top of the fort and BAM, 20 orcs on me. Bonus points for not putting Reraise up first.
If there is anyone who even cares, I just want to throw out there that the "quests" to get the Dicentenniel+1 stuff are super easy, just a bit of walking around the main cities; and since it's the campaign, full mog tablets are in effect, meaning easy teleports among the capitols if you have no other means to get there.
After some disorientation involving not having really played in almost a year, I'd say it took about 2 hours? ish? to get all 30 MHMU tickets.
I might do it on my mule too tonight because damn that suit is snazzy.
At one point I did get slightly annoyed that I saw some other people doing the quests too and they were all moving faster than me and aside from flee on THF, I can't think of any class that has a base increased run speed; but that would have helped, for sure (they weren't using the kingdom gear that gives run buffs either).
Conditions for limit break quests will be adjusted as follows:
In Defiant Challenge
A new method for obtaining the required quest items has been added.
Ancient Papyrus
Collect three "ancient papyrus scrap" key items from ??? targets in the Eldieme Necropolis.
Exoray Mold
Collect three "exoray mold crumb" key items from ??? targets in the Crawlers' Nest.
Bomb Coal
Collect three "bomb coal fragment" key items from ??? targets in the Garlaige Citadel.
A new method for opening the Banishing Gates in Garlaige Citadel has been added.
Players may open the gates alone by obtaining the "perfectly weighted stone" key item from the ??? target in Garlaige Citadel (G-8) and examining each of the three gates.
Whence Blows the Wind
The Brass Door on the top floor of Castle Oztroja (H-7) will remain open for a longer period of time.
*This time extension will not apply if opened from the inside using the handle.
And looking back through the quests on ffxiclopedia.org I saw this for the first break:
[dev1095] Limit Break Quest Adjustments Conditions for limit break quests will be adjusted as follows:
Atop the Highest Mountains
The ??? target will always be present.
This means that, with some skill; every limit break, aside from the 95-99 one can now be solo'd.
That's pretty cool.
EDIT: Ah, only the latter part is live atm;the first part is still on test.
Well, last night I learned that soloing level 90+ enemies with my sword skill at about where a level 75 should be is pretty rough.
So I'm going to spend awhile focusing on bringing it up to par and hope that helps some. I just need a couple items for the 95 break and I don't want to have to waste several potions and elixers per fight just to survive.
Alternately I might just put my desire to get to 99 on hold for a bit and finish leveling DNC to 50 to use as a far better soloing sub.
That's probably the best idea.
EDIT: oh, and apparently pages from (at least) grounds of valor automagically renew after you complete one; it'll just start it over so you never have to go back to the book. If FoV does that too (hell, even if it doesn't) that's amazing, and saves so much time. Crazy.
Both FoV and GoV can be set to auto repeat. Makes 10-35ish really easy with level sync and alliances farming skeletons in Gusgen Mines. Traditional leveling is out the door now.
Yeah I need to get into an alliance to just power DNC to 50. I mean it's absurdly easy to solo with DNC, so it's not like it's slow to solo or anything; I just want to get it to 50 to use as a sub for soloing higher level content that my current PLD sub (WAR) just isn't cutting it for.
Traditional leveling is totally out the door; though I'd argue that it is mostly for the better. The main drawback is that they insist on leaving in combat/magic skills as a "thing"; and while older players probably don't have the same issue since they've been around a lot longer and have leveled up their skills more naturally; newer players post Abyssea mainly (which has been around for quite awhile now, what, 3 years?) and players taking advantage of the ease of leveling with classes they never touched before have to deal with the fact that even after you hit level 99, your weapon skills are around level 40, at best, and you have to spend an absurd amount of time going back and properly leveling your weapon skills.
A couple years ago they buffed skill ups, and up to around 200 its still super fast and easy; but post that, even with a buff, its obnoxiously slow. I killed about 30 enemies at levels appropriate to my weapon skills the other night and got 3 skill points total out of it. Most fights didn't even give me a slight bump. 3 skill points in an hour-ish isn't reasonable, considering the cap at 99 is now like 425 for A+ ranks (I'm at 274 now with Sword on my PLD, which is about the old level 75 cap). Granted, I'm almost (or already at) the point where my skills are high enough to start getting skills naturally from Abyssea enemies; but that's just for Sword. Every other job I level is going to have the same problem. Luckily you keep your skills regardless of job and all; but still, ugh.
Not really related; I'm playing both XI and XIV right now and I can't help but wish they'd just go all in and give XI a XIV level graphical overhaul. It could just be a visual engine replacement; they can keep all the mechanics of XI already in place; they don't even have to change the layout of anything in the game. They just need to figure out a way to put XIV visuals "on top of" the current engine. Keep all the same boundaries, areas, invisible walls, etc; but just "reskin" the game with the new engine.
I know some people think this will never happen, but since XI continues to be heavily played and profitable with no signs of dying out; it would behoove them to do so. The benefit of just "reskinning" the game and leaving the actual gameplay/mechanics as is, is that they could still keep the PS2 version going alongside the 360/PC versions having much higher visual fidelity.
A couple years ago they buffed skill ups, and up to around 200 its still super fast and easy; but post that, even with a buff, its obnoxiously slow. I killed about 30 enemies at levels appropriate to my weapon skills the other night and got 3 skill points total out of it. Most fights didn't even give me a slight bump. 3 skill points in an hour-ish isn't reasonable, considering the cap at 99 is now like 425 for A+ ranks (I'm at 274 now with Sword on my PLD, which is about the old level 75 cap). Granted, I'm almost (or already at) the point where my skills are high enough to start getting skills naturally from Abyssea enemies; but that's just for Sword. Every other job I level is going to have the same problem. Luckily you keep your skills regardless of job and all; but still, ugh.
I stopped playing again about a month ago, but this is one thing that remained a huge pain in the balls. Even the skill-up foods are ridiculously expensive and seem to have little effect. I had no problem capping combat skills in abyssea using a couple regen/evasion atmas and going afk for minutes at a time. Magic skills, however, are just tedious as hell. I think I got ninjitsu to around 200 before I gave up. I was just standing there flushing away time and money in the absolute most boring way possible.
I had no idea that there was food that buffed skill gains...even if it's just minor, anything helps.
So thanks for that info.
EDIT: There's a ring and earring too for higher levels that are pretty rare casket drops in a couple of zones...for combat skills anyway. Magic only has one item looks like.
Apparently different tiers of food based on what your skill level is, and whether it's combat/magic. And there seems to be debate in the discussion sections as to whether or not they're offensive only (for combat) or if they also effect defensive skills (which are still listed under combat).
Either way, gonna get me some of that; and check out the zones with the rings and stuff and see about maybe getting those super rare drops since they're rare/ex.
EDIT: The food prices, by the way, are freaking insane.
I went to Gusgen to do some Grounds pages on my own and there was a small alliance there doing a level sync thing.
Which is fine, and they invited me; but then they refused to pull Ghouls and only fought the Warriors in the entry room; which only have 8 spawns like 5+ minutes apart.
I ended up getting almost 5 levels in an hour and a half, which is probably more than I could have done solo (maybe), but if they had just done ghouls we could have gotten twice that easily.
Man I had forgotten how absurdly overpowered DNC is (at least at "lower" levels).
I love it.
Hopefully it ends up working as well for a 90+ solo sub as I think it will. My main issue with PLD/WAR soloing isn't survivability, it's speed and downtime. I'll give up an occasional Vorpal Blade in order to have virtually endless heals, with no real need for downtime unless the shit really hits the fan.
And hopefully dual wielding swords, and buying a bit of that skill up food (and maybe attempting to farm up the skill up equipment) will allow me to bring my sword skill up to par to get back to getting the items I need for the 95 break.
I'm glad you only ever have to do the breaks once.
Is /DNC useful, at all, if I wanted to get BLM up? Or is the best sub for casters still other caster jobs? I mean, it doesn't bring anything to the table mana/int wise, so it'd basically be for the "free" heals; but getting TP would require melee..sooo...I'm guessing not.
I'm just asking for down the road. I've been mainly physical type jobs my FFXI life (except prior to losing my first taru who was a caster, back when SE deleted characters), and sometime I'd like to do some spell jobs; but with DNC making it so easy to solo physical jobs, I'm not sure casters have a counterpart sub that trivializes it so much.
Then again, as a WHM I'd actually be able to do something in abyssea even at super low levels instead of just being a key bitch...so that's something.
Maybe I should just keep focusing on what I'm working on now. My primary goal is to just get to 99 finally, and having to level DNC so I can adaquately solo enemies at higher levels to up my weapon skills, to be able to function in fights at my level is about the round-about-y-ist way to get to 99, when I'm already at 95. I just know, with my weapon skills on PLD, even if I managed to solo the items I need for the cap break fight, I wouldn't be able to actually function as a tank against the boss because I can't hit a damn thing without abyssea buffs...so I have to get those skills up.
Luckily? my skill levels are about right to farm enemies in areas that drop the skill gain rate gear, so hey, maybe I'll get lucky with brown chests.
EDIT: Also SCH looks really fucking complicated.
EDIT EDIT: Also also, today is patch day. As usual for SE, no patch notes till the patch goes in. :? :? :?
Mostly level cap changes/additions; but some fun stuff for everyone too.
There's the previously mentioned changes to the cap quests, making every one except the final one soloable, finally.
These are cool too:
The Other Maps option has been added to the Map section of the main menu, allowing players to view maps and set markers for areas other than the one which they are currently exploring.
*Maps not owned by the player cannot be displayed.
The new text command /displayhead has been added and allows players to hide or display their headgear.
USAGE: /displayhead [subcommand]
Toggles display of headgear on/off.
This setting will also affect how your character appears to other players.
Pieces of headgear that cover other body parts in addition to the head will not be affected.
>>Subcommands:
on Display headgear.
off Do not display headgear.
Toggles on and off when no subcommand is specified.
Finally able to turn off headgear; that's very nice.
But yeah, other than some synthesis changes, and such, it's all end game stuff that you'll only ever see if you're in a LS doing said things.
I thought servers weren't going down till 4 PST, but I can't log into POL despite the XI site saying servers are up, soo....yeah, servers should be back up sometime after midnight pst.
One of my biggest wants with FFXI, that I know will never happen, is some way to commission gear via the AH. Like; I've been camping FFXIAH for a week or two now wanting a pair of Federation Kukri's; I wish I could just toss up some Gil on the AH and get someone to make them for me (I realize with them being a HQ proc, it'd be tough to make sure you get, but whatever). Also FFXIAH has a decent amount of lag in updating, so the few times I've seen one go up, it's gone by the time it's updated on the site and I can log in.
I could go spam Jeuno but nah. I'm about to outlevel them anyway, but I figured if I managed to get a pair I'd hang on to them in case I ever decided to level THF.
It looks like "Seekers of Adoulin" is going to be the new expansion. It'll be based in the far west and there's already mentions of it ingame apparently. There's a npc that is doing recon to find out if Dragoons are still around.
SE filed a trademark in all of the languages they support for "Seekers of Adoulin" today. Technically it's still a rumor, but it's pretty likely there will be an expansion.
If they announce it tonight i'm going to go resub to XI, hopefully they'll mention Vita support or something too.
That's pretty awesome actually, if true. It has appeared for a while that while not exactly "winding down" (they're still supporting the hell out of the game), full fledged xpacks were a thing of the past.
I mean, even major DLC packs like Abyssea seemed unlikely; but hey, no complaints if that's all it is and not a full on xpack.
The latest patch did some dorking around with the PS2 file system, if I understand it right; maybe that was in prep for something more because PS2 hard drives have long been the major inhibiting factor for further development; and (IMO anyway) why so much of the content WotG and on have been just reuse of existing content with twists.
I still want my dream of a graphic engine upgrade that is more or less just a reskin for 360/PC that PS2 players don't have to get but doesn't actually effect the engine at all. FFXI is still a pretty game but even if all it got was high-rez textures it'd make a wonderful difference.
But that's unlikely.
Total out there wish would be for them to just finally give up on PS2 support, put the game on the PS3 (my understanding is you can't play it on even a BC PS3), so that they can keep developing it into the future. It's unlikely that they'll ever move past 99, but they were at 75 for several expansions that were purely horizontal upgrades and it worked perfectly fine.
No graphical upgrades I guess. PS2 only in japan makes sense I suppose. I can't imagine many players in other regions are still playing on the PS2; particularly when you can run the game on the 360 and/or any bare bones pc you buy these days.
Hard to tell anything from that trailer since there's just an empty city and an empty area or two. Kinda weird to announce it this early unless they're just trying to say 'hey, this game isn't going anywhere. Rumors of our demise have been greatly exaggerated'
No graphical upgrades I guess. PS2 only in japan makes sense I suppose. I can't imagine many players in other regions are still playing on the PS2; particularly when you can run the game on the 360 and/or any bare bones pc you buy these days.
Hard to tell anything from that trailer since there's just an empty city and an empty area or two. Kinda weird to announce it this early unless they're just trying to say 'hey, this game isn't going anywhere. Rumors of our demise have been greatly exaggerated'
Curious about what those new jobs are though.
The expansion is still in development, so i'm pretty sure they're gonna add npcs and stuff to those areas. I think in the town itself I only saw like 1 NPC in the trailer, I think they haven't finalized whats going to populate the city just yet. They just got done hosting the dev panel, and the NA team is going to recap it tomorrow, so we'll get more information on that plus the 2nd job reveal iirc.
EDIT: Second job looks like it's got huge 2handers and spells. Looks FFV Mystic Knightish. That could potentially overlap with RDM's use of all the en- spells. Unless they gave them something similar, but still different.
Happy about Geomancer though. Curious how it will work.
Announcing the "VanaFest Golden Gobbiebag Giveaway"! (NA)
The sneaky and stealthy goblins were able to infiltrate the FINAL FANTASY XI in-game item vaults and pilfer a ton of items right from under our noses... It turns out that it was all for a good cause because they are creating a variety of Golden Gobbiebags packed to the brim with goodies for some lucky adventurers to take home.
We have prepared a special survey based on the events and announcements of VanaFest 2012 to be posted after the event. By filling it out and answering the “Gobbie” question correctly you will be entered into a competition where you could win one of many Golden Gobbiebags, each exploding with a variety of rare in-game items!
How to Participate
Complete the VanaFest survey, answer the “Gobbie” question correctly, and you will be entered into a competition where you could win one of the Golden Gobbiebags below!
Participation Period: Tuesday, June 26, 2012 to Tuesday, July 3, 2012 at 11:59pm (PDT)
Restrictions
Only one entry can be made per Square Enix account.
* Employees of Square Enix, Square Enix, Inc. and Square Enix, Ltd. and their relatives are forbidden from participating in the VanaFest 2012 Giveaway.
You will be ineligible if you do not meet the following requirements:
You must have completed migration of your PlayOnline ID to the Square Enix Account system.
You must have a PlayOnline ID linked to a Square Enix account. If you have not linked your PlayOnline ID with your Square Enix account or you do not have a Square Enix account, please read the details here and apply for the giveaway after completing the necessary procedures.
You must have a FINAL FANTASY XI Content ID.
*Players still in their free trial period will not be able to participate.
Please note that you will lose the right to obtain your prize if any of the following situations occur:
The character name or world name was incorrect at time of application.
The character receiving the prize was deleted.
You select “Return” for the prize delivered from the MHMU.
There are over 128 items in your delivery box.
You already possess the item.
Though thorough testing has been performed, in the case that you possess multiples of the same rare item, authority to claim the prize will be nulled and the item will be deleted.
Winning Entries
You must fill out the survey and correctly answer the “Gobbie” question included in the survey to be entered.
Selected winners will have their items automatically sent to the character listed during sign up.
The “Golden Gobbiebag I” winner will be selected from a combination of North America and Europe participants. All other winners will be selected by region.
* Relic/Mythic/Empyrean weapons have been upgraded to level 90.
As well as:
One Nomad Moogle Rod
One Moogle Suit Set (includes Head and Body)
One Athena Orb (Grants one-time entry into the “Heroines’ Holdfast” special battlefield)
Choice of one Ark Angel Weapon:
Ark Saber
Ark Scythe
Golden Gobbiebag II (250 winners)
Choice of one of the below items:
Golden Gobbiebag II
Sagasinger Phorcys Korazin Nares Cuffs
Murasamemaru Phorcys Mitts Nares Trews
Aytanri Phorcys Dirs Nares Clogs
Girru Phorcys Schuhs Umbral Marrow x5
Ephemeron Thaumas Hat Mulciber’s Scoria x3
Coruscanti Thaumas Coat Riftdross x60
Asteria Thaumas Gloves Riftcinder x60
Borealis Thaumas Kecks Scroll of Meteor
Ikarigiri Thaumas Nails Scroll of Arise
Delphinius Nares Cap
Phorcys Salade Nares Saio
As well as:
One Nomad Moogle Rod
One Moogle Suit Set (includes Head and Body)
One Athena Orb (Grants one-time entry into the “Heroines’ Holdfast” special battlefield)
Choice of one Ark Angel Weapon:
*Huginn, Tenryu, Khepri, Spurrina, and Iaso equipment all come with a single Abdhaljs's Honor.
As well as:
One Moogle Suit Set (includes Head and Body)
One Athena Orb (Grants one-time entry into the “Heroines’ Holdfast” special battlefield)
Choice of one Ark Angel Weapon:
Ark Saber
Ark Scythe
Golden Gobbiebag IV (5,000 winners)
One Moogle Suit Set (includes Head and Body)
One Athena Orb (Grants one-time entry into the “Heroines’ Holdfast” special battlefield)
Choice of one Ark Angel Weapon:
Ark Saber
Ark Scythe
* Please remember that all prizes won are virtual goods and cannot be redeemed for real-world money.
Prize Distribution
Prizes will be distributed by the Mog House Management Union near the beginning of July.
Some really nice rewards in the off chance you can win. Grand prize is a level 90 relic/empyrean which is pretty damn amazing; though getting it to the 99 version (or god forbid the 99+1 or +2) would still be incredibly difficult (unless you just have a couple hundred million gil lying around), but the level 90 versions are still stronger than pretty much anything else you can get.
Even the 2nd/3rd place prizes are some of the best stuff you can get. A bunch of posters in the thread are complaining that the T3 rewards are actually better than the T2 ones; but I don't know enough to say either way.
Farming for the 95 break items is really freaking tedious.
It's not hard exactly, though in Raungemont Pass where I'm farming bats for them, I have to be concerned with links; just the drop rate seems to be extremely low, and it only drops off specific 90+ enemies in very specific areas, and since I clearly missed the initial rush of everyone to 99 I can't find anyone to even duo with to make it "faster".
PLD/DNC is pretty potent; things take awhile to kill but I'm all but invincible.
However things take so long to kill I'm debating whether it'd be worth it to take either WAR or DNC to 95 (both are at 50 atm) in a couple days of Abyssea to make it faster. But then I'd need to worry about their weapon skill levels and I'm just now getting caught up on Sword and bleh.
I need to take a look at the list for the two items i still need and see if I can find any that are in areas that aren't all aggro and/or link enemies. Doubtful though. many seemed to be gobbies.
Ok, so I've got a couple jobs in the 50s-RDM and SMN. There is so much content since I last played (Treasures expansion), I really have no idea where to start again. The last time I tried to get back into it, I basically spent a couple weeks farming cockatrices for mithkabob ingredients to make some gil, then got intimidated by all the things to do/no one to do them with. Should I just race to cap?
TLDR-What's the best way to get to where everyone is, and maybe see some content along the way?
As far as what to do; 50ish is where Abyssea xp gets worth going for, particluarly if you're doing OPs and not just grinding; but even then, if you're going for grinding xp, you need to dedicate a lot of time at that level to working it up to be worth it per kill.
More often than not XP parties in Abyssea are doing Dominion ops (kill 5 things, turn in the "quest" for a bunch of xp, usually about 5k at 75). Below 75 you lose 2% xp per level, and the earliest you can get into Abyssea is 30. So at level 30 a OP turnin would grant 510 xp (for the Altepa one that is hugely popular), a level 50 one would grant 2550. In both cases, xp to level is roughly "right" to make this worthwhile xp since you're usually in a full-ish alliance and you kill so fast. In fact, usually you see the alliance just streaming back and forth between the Op giver and the enemies because everyone joins at different points and turn them in at different points. However below 50ish you're never going to see xp per kill (even at 50 I think you need to be there for at least an hour or two before you start to see more than a dozen xp per kill; you're not doing it for the kill xp till 75+), and the xp per op turnin is low-ish if you're not in a super fast alliance; what you're relying on at that point is the chest xp which isn't effected by level. Chests can grant 500-1250 xp, and require a Forgotten Key, which requires curor; which you won't have. But if you see someone spamming for people in Jeuno and you chat with them for a sec, explain you're returning, don't have any curor; but can you come along, most people if they already have plenty of DD and some heals are cool with it; even if they're saying no leechers.
Getting started in Abyssea is pretty easy. You talk to an NPC in Port Jeuno which starts the xpacks; and more importantly starts earning you traverser stones which grant you time in abyssea (honestly you would be well served reading the abyssea pages on ffxiclopedia.org; there's a lot to learn, but its a lot less complex in actual practice than it sounds like when you first read about it, like many things in XI); then you will want to travel to the zone enterances before you try to join any groups so you can get the teleport from Jeuno (this is actually something you want to do anyway because you can use those teleports to get to some areas that are otherwise somewhat obnoxious to get to, saving you time for various other things in the game). Once you can get to and from the zones then you're probably safe to go to Port Jeuno and camp for a spot in an xp/merit alliance. You'll need Traversers stones for your initial time; but generally alliances will gather more time via chests frequently enough to not worry about it too much. You'll earn more stones constantly so eventually you'll have more than you could possibly need (I think i had like 400 or something absurd when I came back last month).
Once in the zones, just ask someone what conflux/op, and then you'll have to travel to the area you're doing the op in. You won't really have any curor to start with, but once youg et some make sure you hit every conflux you can so you can quickly teleport around the abyssea zones. Carry some invis/sneak stuff with you to get past all the enemies to get where you're going the first time. Also once you get a bit of curor, make sure when you enter abyssea you always get all the temp buffs from the "vendor" next to the guy who gives you 'visitant status' (that lets you stay in the zone), so you won't get one shotted by everything.
If you are leveling a job that can't heal, just stay the hell away; as most things in abyssea has AOE attacks that can easily one shot lower level enemies; having the buffs help, but sometimes it still isn't enough. Since you're not contributing anyway, feel free to pick a goofy ass sub like WHM and toss a heal now and then so you're doing something. Once you're high enough level to actually hit shit (60ish+), and have high enough stats to not get one shotted, you are free to try to "help" but generally most of the work is done by a few high level DD'ers who are there for merits anyway
Now, if you're a healing job, you're useful even at low levels and are more likely to get an invite anyway.
Either way, everyone who is lower level and/or leeching should be doing chests. Let people who know what they're doing handle the red chests so they can get the right lights (though most people dont seem to care about that anymore either), but blue and gold chests are what you should be working on. Read the wiki for guides on how to open them. It's pretty simple, before you get keys.
Doing ops you'll gain curor pretty quickly. By the time you're at the level you can even use the equipment you can buy with curor you will likely have relatively a lot. Since you're still more or less leeching at that point, be respectful and make sure to buy a lot of Forgotten Keys so that you're contributing more to the group by quickly opening chests with xp/time/curor/temp items. Don't be a dick about gold chest loot; if it's crafting items, you can usually just nab em with no complaints, but if youw ant to be a cool homp add them to the loot list. Gear on the other hand, sometimes people are looking for something specific depending on the zone; sometimes no one cares. If you want to take something or lot it from the list, ust ask first; usually no one cares, but sometimes someone wants something specific. Most of the gold chest loot isn't that wonderful anyway but it nice for "lower (75+)" levels, and can contain certain peices of the Empyrean gear for jobs (the first tier is trash, but the +1's are really nice and +2's are generally really good but take awhile, time, and gil to get).
Yeah, That's probably more info than you can handle right now. Again, just start browsing the guide and just do it; as I've said a few times it's far easier than it sounds; but as you are aware, SE likes to give everything in FFXI goofy ass names and words, so things sound a lot more complex than reality.
If, however, for some reason, you don't have Abyssea, you're still in luck. Due to the additions of Fields of Valor, and better, Grounds of Valor; you can still regularly find parties and alliances (though not as frequent as Abyssea) doing leveling via the books; and if not you can easily solo via the same means. Past 50, solo, you're generally going to want a good soloing sub like DNC or NIN for any DD, and like, RDM for casters. Just check out the page for the Grounds Tome or the Field Manual and their respective Grounds/Fields of Valor pages (links in the pages) to know what they even are, and then find a level range that is good for you to solo and go nuts. Some areas are more obnoxious to get to than others; but generally there's no level range you can't find a good page for that you can work on for many levels at a time. Grounds of Valor is better than Fields, in general, if you want to brave dungeons, because they have scaling xp rewards, which can get really high, and award "prowesses" which are temp bonuses that can make leveling even easier.
In fact it's not a terrible idea to take a break from Abyssea Alliances every 10 levels or less, and go do some grounds pages for a level or two to keep your weapon skills up to speed so you don't run into my problem and have a seriously underleveled primary weapon skill.
That's a lot of info.
IMO, just bust through to high levels. If you're on Carbuncle and you still need the breaks pre-75, while they can all be solo'd now, I can give ya a hand and make them a lot faster when you need them. My understanding (still only 95) is that at 99 with even decent gear, you can effectively solo pretty much everything pre-abyssea; and depending on your jobs/gear even much of abyssea is solo'able and duo'able now (it was really only meant to go to 90, much past that is voidwatch and other things), particularly if you have some powerful atmas; which admitadly aren't the easiest things to get.
There's a whole lot of content I'm looking forward to finally seeing once I hit 99 that I've just been holding off for because I'm not in a real LS anymore (though I'd like to be) and was waiting to fully solo it and 99 seemed like a good place to do so. :P
Oh I know that's why they're empty. I'm just saying that showing us the empty zones isn't actually showing much.
You say second job; what is the first?
The video just has a shadow of something but I can't make anything of it.
Well if you haven't noticed there isn't much info period. We got a sparknote version of the dev panel, and the live event coverage. The NA community team is supposed to do a few write ups covering what they talked about. I do believe that the JP side had more specifics though.
Yeah the second job is Rune Fencer and it's supposed to be a tank focusing on magic damage.
Anyway, we just need to wait a little bit for more info to trickle out of Japan. The expansion does sound awesome though.
Posts
So uh..yeah...hop in and get your xp ring? I guess?
EDIT: here's the guide if you're so inclined:
http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Adventurer_Appreciation_Campaign_2012/Guide
Getting the reward gear is a bit more intensive this year it appears. Everything can be done in the capitals though, no real work.
Shit, I know what I'm doing tonight. I wasn't planning on resubbing to XI for awhile but I want those dicentenniel boots and the ring bad.
EDIT2: Patching. Good thing I remembered to check that before I actually had time to sit down and play.
Origin: Galedrid - Nintendo: Galedrid/3222-6858-1045
Blizzard: Galedrid#1367 - FFXIV: Galedrid Kingshand
Origin: Galedrid - Nintendo: Galedrid/3222-6858-1045
Blizzard: Galedrid#1367 - FFXIV: Galedrid Kingshand
And the prereq for it requires killing level 90+ enemies outside of Abyssea.
WEeeeeee, dunno if I'm gonna hit 99 unless I can get lucky and find the last people on earth who need it.
Origin: Galedrid - Nintendo: Galedrid/3222-6858-1045
Blizzard: Galedrid#1367 - FFXIV: Galedrid Kingshand
After some disorientation involving not having really played in almost a year, I'd say it took about 2 hours? ish? to get all 30 MHMU tickets.
I might do it on my mule too tonight because damn that suit is snazzy.
At one point I did get slightly annoyed that I saw some other people doing the quests too and they were all moving faster than me and aside from flee on THF, I can't think of any class that has a base increased run speed; but that would have helped, for sure (they weren't using the kingdom gear that gives run buffs either).
Origin: Galedrid - Nintendo: Galedrid/3222-6858-1045
Blizzard: Galedrid#1367 - FFXIV: Galedrid Kingshand
And looking back through the quests on ffxiclopedia.org I saw this for the first break:
This means that, with some skill; every limit break, aside from the 95-99 one can now be solo'd.
That's pretty cool.
EDIT: Ah, only the latter part is live atm;the first part is still on test.
Origin: Galedrid - Nintendo: Galedrid/3222-6858-1045
Blizzard: Galedrid#1367 - FFXIV: Galedrid Kingshand
I need to go farm up a couple items for it then I'm gonna need a full group for it; it's apparently a bit on the tough side.
I'll probably end up just spamming Port Jeuno; as the LS I was in is pretty much dead now.
Origin: Galedrid - Nintendo: Galedrid/3222-6858-1045
Blizzard: Galedrid#1367 - FFXIV: Galedrid Kingshand
So I'm going to spend awhile focusing on bringing it up to par and hope that helps some. I just need a couple items for the 95 break and I don't want to have to waste several potions and elixers per fight just to survive.
Alternately I might just put my desire to get to 99 on hold for a bit and finish leveling DNC to 50 to use as a far better soloing sub.
That's probably the best idea.
EDIT: oh, and apparently pages from (at least) grounds of valor automagically renew after you complete one; it'll just start it over so you never have to go back to the book. If FoV does that too (hell, even if it doesn't) that's amazing, and saves so much time. Crazy.
Origin: Galedrid - Nintendo: Galedrid/3222-6858-1045
Blizzard: Galedrid#1367 - FFXIV: Galedrid Kingshand
Traditional leveling is totally out the door; though I'd argue that it is mostly for the better. The main drawback is that they insist on leaving in combat/magic skills as a "thing"; and while older players probably don't have the same issue since they've been around a lot longer and have leveled up their skills more naturally; newer players post Abyssea mainly (which has been around for quite awhile now, what, 3 years?) and players taking advantage of the ease of leveling with classes they never touched before have to deal with the fact that even after you hit level 99, your weapon skills are around level 40, at best, and you have to spend an absurd amount of time going back and properly leveling your weapon skills.
A couple years ago they buffed skill ups, and up to around 200 its still super fast and easy; but post that, even with a buff, its obnoxiously slow. I killed about 30 enemies at levels appropriate to my weapon skills the other night and got 3 skill points total out of it. Most fights didn't even give me a slight bump. 3 skill points in an hour-ish isn't reasonable, considering the cap at 99 is now like 425 for A+ ranks (I'm at 274 now with Sword on my PLD, which is about the old level 75 cap). Granted, I'm almost (or already at) the point where my skills are high enough to start getting skills naturally from Abyssea enemies; but that's just for Sword. Every other job I level is going to have the same problem. Luckily you keep your skills regardless of job and all; but still, ugh.
Not really related; I'm playing both XI and XIV right now and I can't help but wish they'd just go all in and give XI a XIV level graphical overhaul. It could just be a visual engine replacement; they can keep all the mechanics of XI already in place; they don't even have to change the layout of anything in the game. They just need to figure out a way to put XIV visuals "on top of" the current engine. Keep all the same boundaries, areas, invisible walls, etc; but just "reskin" the game with the new engine.
I know some people think this will never happen, but since XI continues to be heavily played and profitable with no signs of dying out; it would behoove them to do so. The benefit of just "reskinning" the game and leaving the actual gameplay/mechanics as is, is that they could still keep the PS2 version going alongside the 360/PC versions having much higher visual fidelity.
Origin: Galedrid - Nintendo: Galedrid/3222-6858-1045
Blizzard: Galedrid#1367 - FFXIV: Galedrid Kingshand
https://secure.square-enix.com/account/app/svc/login
Origin: Galedrid - Nintendo: Galedrid/3222-6858-1045
Blizzard: Galedrid#1367 - FFXIV: Galedrid Kingshand
I stopped playing again about a month ago, but this is one thing that remained a huge pain in the balls. Even the skill-up foods are ridiculously expensive and seem to have little effect. I had no problem capping combat skills in abyssea using a couple regen/evasion atmas and going afk for minutes at a time. Magic skills, however, are just tedious as hell. I think I got ninjitsu to around 200 before I gave up. I was just standing there flushing away time and money in the absolute most boring way possible.
So thanks for that info.
EDIT: There's a ring and earring too for higher levels that are pretty rare casket drops in a couple of zones...for combat skills anyway. Magic only has one item looks like.
Here's a link to the skill up increase stuff page for anyone interested:
http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Skill_Gain_Rate
Apparently different tiers of food based on what your skill level is, and whether it's combat/magic. And there seems to be debate in the discussion sections as to whether or not they're offensive only (for combat) or if they also effect defensive skills (which are still listed under combat).
Either way, gonna get me some of that; and check out the zones with the rings and stuff and see about maybe getting those super rare drops since they're rare/ex.
EDIT: The food prices, by the way, are freaking insane.
Origin: Galedrid - Nintendo: Galedrid/3222-6858-1045
Blizzard: Galedrid#1367 - FFXIV: Galedrid Kingshand
I went to Gusgen to do some Grounds pages on my own and there was a small alliance there doing a level sync thing.
Which is fine, and they invited me; but then they refused to pull Ghouls and only fought the Warriors in the entry room; which only have 8 spawns like 5+ minutes apart.
I ended up getting almost 5 levels in an hour and a half, which is probably more than I could have done solo (maybe), but if they had just done ghouls we could have gotten twice that easily.
Ah well. Some people are weird.
Origin: Galedrid - Nintendo: Galedrid/3222-6858-1045
Blizzard: Galedrid#1367 - FFXIV: Galedrid Kingshand
I love it.
Hopefully it ends up working as well for a 90+ solo sub as I think it will. My main issue with PLD/WAR soloing isn't survivability, it's speed and downtime. I'll give up an occasional Vorpal Blade in order to have virtually endless heals, with no real need for downtime unless the shit really hits the fan.
And hopefully dual wielding swords, and buying a bit of that skill up food (and maybe attempting to farm up the skill up equipment) will allow me to bring my sword skill up to par to get back to getting the items I need for the 95 break.
I'm glad you only ever have to do the breaks once.
Origin: Galedrid - Nintendo: Galedrid/3222-6858-1045
Blizzard: Galedrid#1367 - FFXIV: Galedrid Kingshand
You need to accessorize, son!
chair to Creation and then suplex the Void.
Do you have a 360 controller; or pretty much any dual analog/10 button PC controller? Then yes; I never use the numpad.
However if you're going straight kbam, yeah; afaik you need a numpad, I'm not sure there's any other way to do a lot of things.
But I know the kbam vs controller + keyboard issue for this game is pretty decisive.
Personally I can't imagine trying to play without a controller. It just works.
Origin: Galedrid - Nintendo: Galedrid/3222-6858-1045
Blizzard: Galedrid#1367 - FFXIV: Galedrid Kingshand
Is /DNC useful, at all, if I wanted to get BLM up? Or is the best sub for casters still other caster jobs? I mean, it doesn't bring anything to the table mana/int wise, so it'd basically be for the "free" heals; but getting TP would require melee..sooo...I'm guessing not.
I'm just asking for down the road. I've been mainly physical type jobs my FFXI life (except prior to losing my first taru who was a caster, back when SE deleted characters), and sometime I'd like to do some spell jobs; but with DNC making it so easy to solo physical jobs, I'm not sure casters have a counterpart sub that trivializes it so much.
Then again, as a WHM I'd actually be able to do something in abyssea even at super low levels instead of just being a key bitch...so that's something.
Maybe I should just keep focusing on what I'm working on now. My primary goal is to just get to 99 finally, and having to level DNC so I can adaquately solo enemies at higher levels to up my weapon skills, to be able to function in fights at my level is about the round-about-y-ist way to get to 99, when I'm already at 95. I just know, with my weapon skills on PLD, even if I managed to solo the items I need for the cap break fight, I wouldn't be able to actually function as a tank against the boss because I can't hit a damn thing without abyssea buffs...so I have to get those skills up.
Luckily? my skill levels are about right to farm enemies in areas that drop the skill gain rate gear, so hey, maybe I'll get lucky with brown chests.
EDIT: Also SCH looks really fucking complicated.
EDIT EDIT: Also also, today is patch day. As usual for SE, no patch notes till the patch goes in. :? :? :?
Origin: Galedrid - Nintendo: Galedrid/3222-6858-1045
Blizzard: Galedrid#1367 - FFXIV: Galedrid Kingshand
Mostly level cap changes/additions; but some fun stuff for everyone too.
There's the previously mentioned changes to the cap quests, making every one except the final one soloable, finally.
These are cool too:
Finally able to turn off headgear; that's very nice.
But yeah, other than some synthesis changes, and such, it's all end game stuff that you'll only ever see if you're in a LS doing said things.
I thought servers weren't going down till 4 PST, but I can't log into POL despite the XI site saying servers are up, soo....yeah, servers should be back up sometime after midnight pst.
Origin: Galedrid - Nintendo: Galedrid/3222-6858-1045
Blizzard: Galedrid#1367 - FFXIV: Galedrid Kingshand
I could go spam Jeuno but nah. I'm about to outlevel them anyway, but I figured if I managed to get a pair I'd hang on to them in case I ever decided to level THF.
Origin: Galedrid - Nintendo: Galedrid/3222-6858-1045
Blizzard: Galedrid#1367 - FFXIV: Galedrid Kingshand
SE filed a trademark in all of the languages they support for "Seekers of Adoulin" today. Technically it's still a rumor, but it's pretty likely there will be an expansion.
If they announce it tonight i'm going to go resub to XI, hopefully they'll mention Vita support or something too.
I mean, even major DLC packs like Abyssea seemed unlikely; but hey, no complaints if that's all it is and not a full on xpack.
The latest patch did some dorking around with the PS2 file system, if I understand it right; maybe that was in prep for something more because PS2 hard drives have long been the major inhibiting factor for further development; and (IMO anyway) why so much of the content WotG and on have been just reuse of existing content with twists.
I still want my dream of a graphic engine upgrade that is more or less just a reskin for 360/PC that PS2 players don't have to get but doesn't actually effect the engine at all. FFXI is still a pretty game but even if all it got was high-rez textures it'd make a wonderful difference.
But that's unlikely.
Total out there wish would be for them to just finally give up on PS2 support, put the game on the PS3 (my understanding is you can't play it on even a BC PS3), so that they can keep developing it into the future. It's unlikely that they'll ever move past 99, but they were at 75 for several expansions that were purely horizontal upgrades and it worked perfectly fine.
Origin: Galedrid - Nintendo: Galedrid/3222-6858-1045
Blizzard: Galedrid#1367 - FFXIV: Galedrid Kingshand
Here's the trailer. PS2 release is only for Japan.
No graphical upgrades I guess. PS2 only in japan makes sense I suppose. I can't imagine many players in other regions are still playing on the PS2; particularly when you can run the game on the 360 and/or any bare bones pc you buy these days.
Hard to tell anything from that trailer since there's just an empty city and an empty area or two. Kinda weird to announce it this early unless they're just trying to say 'hey, this game isn't going anywhere. Rumors of our demise have been greatly exaggerated'
Curious about what those new jobs are though.
Origin: Galedrid - Nintendo: Galedrid/3222-6858-1045
Blizzard: Galedrid#1367 - FFXIV: Galedrid Kingshand
The expansion is still in development, so i'm pretty sure they're gonna add npcs and stuff to those areas. I think in the town itself I only saw like 1 NPC in the trailer, I think they haven't finalized whats going to populate the city just yet. They just got done hosting the dev panel, and the NA team is going to recap it tomorrow, so we'll get more information on that plus the 2nd job reveal iirc.
You say second job; what is the first?
The video just has a shadow of something but I can't make anything of it.
Origin: Galedrid - Nintendo: Galedrid/3222-6858-1045
Blizzard: Galedrid#1367 - FFXIV: Galedrid Kingshand
Nice
EDIT: Second job looks like it's got huge 2handers and spells. Looks FFV Mystic Knightish. That could potentially overlap with RDM's use of all the en- spells. Unless they gave them something similar, but still different.
Happy about Geomancer though. Curious how it will work.
Origin: Galedrid - Nintendo: Galedrid/3222-6858-1045
Blizzard: Galedrid#1367 - FFXIV: Galedrid Kingshand
Announcing the "VanaFest Golden Gobbiebag Giveaway"! (NA)
The sneaky and stealthy goblins were able to infiltrate the FINAL FANTASY XI in-game item vaults and pilfer a ton of items right from under our noses... It turns out that it was all for a good cause because they are creating a variety of Golden Gobbiebags packed to the brim with goodies for some lucky adventurers to take home.
We have prepared a special survey based on the events and announcements of VanaFest 2012 to be posted after the event. By filling it out and answering the “Gobbie” question correctly you will be entered into a competition where you could win one of many Golden Gobbiebags, each exploding with a variety of rare in-game items!
How to Participate
Complete the VanaFest survey, answer the “Gobbie” question correctly, and you will be entered into a competition where you could win one of the Golden Gobbiebags below!
Participation Period: Tuesday, June 26, 2012 to Tuesday, July 3, 2012 at 11:59pm (PDT)
Restrictions
Only one entry can be made per Square Enix account.
* Employees of Square Enix, Square Enix, Inc. and Square Enix, Ltd. and their relatives are forbidden from participating in the VanaFest 2012 Giveaway.
You will be ineligible if you do not meet the following requirements:
You must have completed migration of your PlayOnline ID to the Square Enix Account system.
You must have a PlayOnline ID linked to a Square Enix account. If you have not linked your PlayOnline ID with your Square Enix account or you do not have a Square Enix account, please read the details here and apply for the giveaway after completing the necessary procedures.
You must have a FINAL FANTASY XI Content ID.
*Players still in their free trial period will not be able to participate.
Please note that you will lose the right to obtain your prize if any of the following situations occur:
The character name or world name was incorrect at time of application.
The character receiving the prize was deleted.
You select “Return” for the prize delivered from the MHMU.
There are over 128 items in your delivery box.
You already possess the item.
Though thorough testing has been performed, in the case that you possess multiples of the same rare item, authority to claim the prize will be nulled and the item will be deleted.
Winning Entries
You must fill out the survey and correctly answer the “Gobbie” question included in the survey to be entered.
Selected winners will have their items automatically sent to the character listed during sign up.
The “Golden Gobbiebag I” winner will be selected from a combination of North America and Europe participants. All other winners will be selected by region.
Prizes
Golden Gobbiebag I (1 winner)
Choice of one of the below items:
Golden Gobbiebag I
Spharai Conqueror Verethragna
Mandau Glanzfaust Twashtar
Excalibur Yagrush Almace
Ragnarok Laevateinn Caladbolg
Guttler Murgleis Farsha
Bravura Vajra Ukonvasara
Gungnir Burtgang Redemption
Apocalypse Liberator Rhongomiant
Kikoku Aymur Kannagi
Amanomurakumo Carnwenhan Masamune
Mjollnir Gastraphetes Gambanteinn
Claustrum Kogarasumaru Hvergelmir
Annihilator Nagi Gandiva
Yoichinoyumi Ryunohige Armageddon
Aegis Nirvana Ochain
Gjallarhorn Tizona Daurdabla
Terpsichore Death Penalty Ebisu Fishing Rod
Tupsimati Kenkonken Kraken Club
* Relic/Mythic/Empyrean weapons have been upgraded to level 90.
As well as:
One Nomad Moogle Rod
One Moogle Suit Set (includes Head and Body)
One Athena Orb (Grants one-time entry into the “Heroines’ Holdfast” special battlefield)
Choice of one Ark Angel Weapon:
Ark Saber
Ark Scythe
Golden Gobbiebag II (250 winners)
Choice of one of the below items:
Golden Gobbiebag II
Sagasinger Phorcys Korazin Nares Cuffs
Murasamemaru Phorcys Mitts Nares Trews
Aytanri Phorcys Dirs Nares Clogs
Girru Phorcys Schuhs Umbral Marrow x5
Ephemeron Thaumas Hat Mulciber’s Scoria x3
Coruscanti Thaumas Coat Riftdross x60
Asteria Thaumas Gloves Riftcinder x60
Borealis Thaumas Kecks Scroll of Meteor
Ikarigiri Thaumas Nails Scroll of Arise
Delphinius Nares Cap
Phorcys Salade Nares Saio
As well as:
One Nomad Moogle Rod
One Moogle Suit Set (includes Head and Body)
One Athena Orb (Grants one-time entry into the “Heroines’ Holdfast” special battlefield)
Choice of one Ark Angel Weapon:
Ark Saber
Ark Scythe
Golden Gobbiebag III (1,000 winners)
Choice of one of the below items:
Golden Gobbiebag III
Adamas Huginn Haubert Khepri Gamashes
Plenitas Virga Huginn Gauntlets Spurrina Coif
Sanus Ensis Huginn Hose Spurrina Doublet
Tessera Saio Huginn Gambieras Spurrina Gages
Drachenhorn Tenryu Somen +1 Spurrina Slops
Hyaline Hat Tenryu Domaru +1 Spurrina Nails
Mextli Harness Tenryu Tekko +1 Iaso Mitra
Anhur Robe Tenryu Hakama +1 Iaso Bliaut
Fazheluo Radiant Mail Tenryu Sune-Ate +1 Iaso Cuffs
Toci's Harness Khepri Bonnet Iaso Tights
Heka's Kalasiris Khepri Jacket Iaso Boots
Mekira Meikogai Khepri Wristbands
Huginn Coronet Khepri Kecks
*Huginn, Tenryu, Khepri, Spurrina, and Iaso equipment all come with a single Abdhaljs's Honor.
As well as:
One Moogle Suit Set (includes Head and Body)
One Athena Orb (Grants one-time entry into the “Heroines’ Holdfast” special battlefield)
Choice of one Ark Angel Weapon:
Ark Saber
Ark Scythe
Golden Gobbiebag IV (5,000 winners)
One Moogle Suit Set (includes Head and Body)
One Athena Orb (Grants one-time entry into the “Heroines’ Holdfast” special battlefield)
Choice of one Ark Angel Weapon:
Ark Saber
Ark Scythe
* Please remember that all prizes won are virtual goods and cannot be redeemed for real-world money.
Prize Distribution
Prizes will be distributed by the Mog House Management Union near the beginning of July.
Some really nice rewards in the off chance you can win. Grand prize is a level 90 relic/empyrean which is pretty damn amazing; though getting it to the 99 version (or god forbid the 99+1 or +2) would still be incredibly difficult (unless you just have a couple hundred million gil lying around), but the level 90 versions are still stronger than pretty much anything else you can get.
Even the 2nd/3rd place prizes are some of the best stuff you can get. A bunch of posters in the thread are complaining that the T3 rewards are actually better than the T2 ones; but I don't know enough to say either way.
Origin: Galedrid - Nintendo: Galedrid/3222-6858-1045
Blizzard: Galedrid#1367 - FFXIV: Galedrid Kingshand
It's not hard exactly, though in Raungemont Pass where I'm farming bats for them, I have to be concerned with links; just the drop rate seems to be extremely low, and it only drops off specific 90+ enemies in very specific areas, and since I clearly missed the initial rush of everyone to 99 I can't find anyone to even duo with to make it "faster".
PLD/DNC is pretty potent; things take awhile to kill but I'm all but invincible.
However things take so long to kill I'm debating whether it'd be worth it to take either WAR or DNC to 95 (both are at 50 atm) in a couple days of Abyssea to make it faster. But then I'd need to worry about their weapon skill levels and I'm just now getting caught up on Sword and bleh.
I need to take a look at the list for the two items i still need and see if I can find any that are in areas that aren't all aggro and/or link enemies. Doubtful though. many seemed to be gobbies.
Origin: Galedrid - Nintendo: Galedrid/3222-6858-1045
Blizzard: Galedrid#1367 - FFXIV: Galedrid Kingshand
TLDR-What's the best way to get to where everyone is, and maybe see some content along the way?
This Abyssea stuff is gonna sound a lot more complicated than it really is; Start reading here, particularly a bit down the page where it says "how to get started". Once you do it once, it'll make way more sense and is far less complex than it initially sounds.
As far as what to do; 50ish is where Abyssea xp gets worth going for, particluarly if you're doing OPs and not just grinding; but even then, if you're going for grinding xp, you need to dedicate a lot of time at that level to working it up to be worth it per kill.
More often than not XP parties in Abyssea are doing Dominion ops (kill 5 things, turn in the "quest" for a bunch of xp, usually about 5k at 75). Below 75 you lose 2% xp per level, and the earliest you can get into Abyssea is 30. So at level 30 a OP turnin would grant 510 xp (for the Altepa one that is hugely popular), a level 50 one would grant 2550. In both cases, xp to level is roughly "right" to make this worthwhile xp since you're usually in a full-ish alliance and you kill so fast. In fact, usually you see the alliance just streaming back and forth between the Op giver and the enemies because everyone joins at different points and turn them in at different points. However below 50ish you're never going to see xp per kill (even at 50 I think you need to be there for at least an hour or two before you start to see more than a dozen xp per kill; you're not doing it for the kill xp till 75+), and the xp per op turnin is low-ish if you're not in a super fast alliance; what you're relying on at that point is the chest xp which isn't effected by level. Chests can grant 500-1250 xp, and require a Forgotten Key, which requires curor; which you won't have. But if you see someone spamming for people in Jeuno and you chat with them for a sec, explain you're returning, don't have any curor; but can you come along, most people if they already have plenty of DD and some heals are cool with it; even if they're saying no leechers.
Getting started in Abyssea is pretty easy. You talk to an NPC in Port Jeuno which starts the xpacks; and more importantly starts earning you traverser stones which grant you time in abyssea (honestly you would be well served reading the abyssea pages on ffxiclopedia.org; there's a lot to learn, but its a lot less complex in actual practice than it sounds like when you first read about it, like many things in XI); then you will want to travel to the zone enterances before you try to join any groups so you can get the teleport from Jeuno (this is actually something you want to do anyway because you can use those teleports to get to some areas that are otherwise somewhat obnoxious to get to, saving you time for various other things in the game). Once you can get to and from the zones then you're probably safe to go to Port Jeuno and camp for a spot in an xp/merit alliance. You'll need Traversers stones for your initial time; but generally alliances will gather more time via chests frequently enough to not worry about it too much. You'll earn more stones constantly so eventually you'll have more than you could possibly need (I think i had like 400 or something absurd when I came back last month).
Once in the zones, just ask someone what conflux/op, and then you'll have to travel to the area you're doing the op in. You won't really have any curor to start with, but once youg et some make sure you hit every conflux you can so you can quickly teleport around the abyssea zones. Carry some invis/sneak stuff with you to get past all the enemies to get where you're going the first time. Also once you get a bit of curor, make sure when you enter abyssea you always get all the temp buffs from the "vendor" next to the guy who gives you 'visitant status' (that lets you stay in the zone), so you won't get one shotted by everything.
If you are leveling a job that can't heal, just stay the hell away; as most things in abyssea has AOE attacks that can easily one shot lower level enemies; having the buffs help, but sometimes it still isn't enough. Since you're not contributing anyway, feel free to pick a goofy ass sub like WHM and toss a heal now and then so you're doing something. Once you're high enough level to actually hit shit (60ish+), and have high enough stats to not get one shotted, you are free to try to "help" but generally most of the work is done by a few high level DD'ers who are there for merits anyway
Now, if you're a healing job, you're useful even at low levels and are more likely to get an invite anyway.
Either way, everyone who is lower level and/or leeching should be doing chests. Let people who know what they're doing handle the red chests so they can get the right lights (though most people dont seem to care about that anymore either), but blue and gold chests are what you should be working on. Read the wiki for guides on how to open them. It's pretty simple, before you get keys.
Doing ops you'll gain curor pretty quickly. By the time you're at the level you can even use the equipment you can buy with curor you will likely have relatively a lot. Since you're still more or less leeching at that point, be respectful and make sure to buy a lot of Forgotten Keys so that you're contributing more to the group by quickly opening chests with xp/time/curor/temp items. Don't be a dick about gold chest loot; if it's crafting items, you can usually just nab em with no complaints, but if youw ant to be a cool homp add them to the loot list. Gear on the other hand, sometimes people are looking for something specific depending on the zone; sometimes no one cares. If you want to take something or lot it from the list, ust ask first; usually no one cares, but sometimes someone wants something specific. Most of the gold chest loot isn't that wonderful anyway but it nice for "lower (75+)" levels, and can contain certain peices of the Empyrean gear for jobs (the first tier is trash, but the +1's are really nice and +2's are generally really good but take awhile, time, and gil to get).
Yeah, That's probably more info than you can handle right now. Again, just start browsing the guide and just do it; as I've said a few times it's far easier than it sounds; but as you are aware, SE likes to give everything in FFXI goofy ass names and words, so things sound a lot more complex than reality.
If, however, for some reason, you don't have Abyssea, you're still in luck. Due to the additions of Fields of Valor, and better, Grounds of Valor; you can still regularly find parties and alliances (though not as frequent as Abyssea) doing leveling via the books; and if not you can easily solo via the same means. Past 50, solo, you're generally going to want a good soloing sub like DNC or NIN for any DD, and like, RDM for casters. Just check out the page for the Grounds Tome or the Field Manual and their respective Grounds/Fields of Valor pages (links in the pages) to know what they even are, and then find a level range that is good for you to solo and go nuts. Some areas are more obnoxious to get to than others; but generally there's no level range you can't find a good page for that you can work on for many levels at a time. Grounds of Valor is better than Fields, in general, if you want to brave dungeons, because they have scaling xp rewards, which can get really high, and award "prowesses" which are temp bonuses that can make leveling even easier.
In fact it's not a terrible idea to take a break from Abyssea Alliances every 10 levels or less, and go do some grounds pages for a level or two to keep your weapon skills up to speed so you don't run into my problem and have a seriously underleveled primary weapon skill.
That's a lot of info.
IMO, just bust through to high levels. If you're on Carbuncle and you still need the breaks pre-75, while they can all be solo'd now, I can give ya a hand and make them a lot faster when you need them. My understanding (still only 95) is that at 99 with even decent gear, you can effectively solo pretty much everything pre-abyssea; and depending on your jobs/gear even much of abyssea is solo'able and duo'able now (it was really only meant to go to 90, much past that is voidwatch and other things), particularly if you have some powerful atmas; which admitadly aren't the easiest things to get.
There's a whole lot of content I'm looking forward to finally seeing once I hit 99 that I've just been holding off for because I'm not in a real LS anymore (though I'd like to be) and was waiting to fully solo it and 99 seemed like a good place to do so. :P
Origin: Galedrid - Nintendo: Galedrid/3222-6858-1045
Blizzard: Galedrid#1367 - FFXIV: Galedrid Kingshand
Well if you haven't noticed there isn't much info period. We got a sparknote version of the dev panel, and the live event coverage. The NA community team is supposed to do a few write ups covering what they talked about. I do believe that the JP side had more specifics though.
Yeah the second job is Rune Fencer and it's supposed to be a tank focusing on magic damage.
Anyway, we just need to wait a little bit for more info to trickle out of Japan. The expansion does sound awesome though.