Starting fresh - Any tips?

[arisoh]

Wow.. Took me like 3 hours to get 2 levels or less... Then again I do the daily turn ins for my GC and such.

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I just starte a month ago and have:
42 monk
30 Gald
15 lance
15 something

And then all professions/gather skills 15+

Lol I would have more, but I kept deleting/starting my character because of looks xD. Lala, no wait..fem Roe..WAIT, Elezen.. No!Miqo...

[nomorepriest]

I was going to be a warrior but now im a monk.. Love monk

[DeadmanWalking]

Wow.. Took me like 3 hours to get 2 levels or less... Then again I do the daily turn ins for my GC and such.

- - - Updated - - -

I just starte a month ago and have:
42 monk
30 Gald
15 lance
15 something

And then all professions/gather skills 15+

To be fair I played back in Open Beta and a month of paid, but when I bought the box set I accidently created a second account on top of the open beta one which had beta/headstart bonuses so they rolled it into the second account, then I quit because I can choose to spin my tires in 2+ mmos or actually raid in 1, since my college friends were doing warcraft that was the way I went. Then since 2013 I lost my paper with all of my passwords/account ID's for pretty much everything I do and when I decided to go back to FFXIV a few weeks ago I could only seem to pull up the original beta account. Since I remember that Monk had a lot of positional requirements that I wouldn't remember and other basic stuff I wouldn't remember I decided just to start over.

Long story short, since I had already done up to Garruda and remembered the story I could skip all the cut scenes up to that point, after that it was just a matter of playing the Game of Teleports. Since I had already explored the game I could cut through a lot of the game.

[nomorepriest]

Ah.. I watch all the cut scenes ... Hehe :-) I am enjoying the story.. So yeah that would cut a lot of time

[Kazgrel]

For the most part, do the main story and ignore just about all the side quests/events with a few exceptions. The exp from the main quest has been buffed enough that you should hit level 50 pretty quickly, not to mention the MSQs give gear now.

The few side quests/events worth doing are:

Retainer stuff - this unlocks your bank and access to the market board (AH). You can have 2 for free, and more by paying a little extra on your subscription. 2 should be enough.
Dye quest - allows you to dye some pieces of gear (some dungeon/raid sets can't be dyed)
Aesthetician - barbershop dude so you can change hair styles/face paints etc.
Challenge Log - basically free exp/gil every week for doing stuff you'd probably be doing anyway
Dungeons not unlocked by the MSQ:
Halatali - level 20: Talk to Nedrick Ironheart in Vesper Bay
The Sunken Temple of Qarn - level 35: Talk to Nedrick Ironheart in Vesper Bay
Cutter's Cry - level 38: Talk to Silbold in Ul'dah Market Wards
Dzemael Darkhold - Level 44: Obtain rank Sergeant First Class in your Grand Company, then speak to your Grand Company commander to start the quest Shadows Uncast.
The Aurum Vale - Level 47: Talk to Nedrick Ironheart in Vesper Bay OR Promotion Quest for Grand Company rank 3

There's more I've missed I'm sure, but that's the highlights anyway.

Pretty much this. Focus on main story quests, hit the side quests mentioned here...oh and do your class specific quests as well.

[Xeones]

Just wanted to hop in and say thanks for all the input in this thread. Kinda handy for me since I just decided to give FFXIV a shot and there is a lot that is easy to miss.

[Brytallica]

I recommend keeping up your hunting log as you level. I went back and caught up my rogue and grand company logs when I hit a level 46. However, there is a lot of XP in the hunting logs and they are worth doing as you level because the enemies will be in the zones that you are already in for the MSQ. Note that the Grand Company hunting log makes you go into a dungeon for some of those mobs.

[Deleted]

To be fair I played back in Open Beta and a month of paid, but when I bought the box set I accidently created a second account on top of the open beta one which had beta/headstart bonuses so they rolled it into the second account, then I quit because I can choose to spin my tires in 2+ mmos or actually raid in 1, since my college friends were doing warcraft that was the way I went. Then since 2013 I lost my paper with all of my passwords/account ID's for pretty much everything I do and when I decided to go back to FFXIV a few weeks ago I could only seem to pull up the original beta account. Since I remember that Monk had a lot of positional requirements that I wouldn't remember and other basic stuff I wouldn't remember I decided just to start over.

Long story short, since I had already done up to Garruda and remembered the story I could skip all the cut scenes up to that point, after that it was just a matter of playing the Game of Teleports. Since I had already explored the game I could cut through a lot of the game.

I rerolled because I wanted to change class and server, and I've kind of done the opposite to you - I'd just done Garuda before I rerolled, and now I'm replaying the MSQ so much more alertly because I know what happens up to that point and want to know how well it's done. And it's done so well. I know I'll replay the whole thing again once I'm 60 and actually finished the whole story. The story and the storytelling are amazing imo.

[Graeham]

I rerolled because I wanted to change class and server, and I've kind of done the opposite to you - I'd just done Garuda before I rerolled, and now I'm replaying the MSQ so much more alertly because I know what happens up to that point and want to know how well it's done. And it's done so well. I know I'll replay the whole thing again once I'm 60 and actually finished the whole story. The story and the storytelling are amazing imo.

You rerolled, eh? What server are you on now if you don't mind me asking?

[Deleted]

You rerolled, eh? What server are you on now if you don't mind me asking?

Yeah, the call of the bard was too strong Identical character (since perfection can't be beaten!), but lots of black leather and... yeah It was about 20% BLM playstyle and 80% harem pants that was the tipping point for rerolling, tbh.

I am on (*checks*) Ragnarok now, it seems nice

[Graeham]

Yeah, the call of the bard was too strong Identical character (since perfection can't be beaten!), but lots of black leather and... yeah It was about 20% BLM playstyle and 80% harem pants that was the tipping point for rerolling, tbh.

I am on (*checks*) Ragnarok now, it seems nice

I wish you the best of luck with catching up with your previous character's progress then. You're in for a treat!

[Deleted]

I wish you the best of luck with catching up with your previous character's progress then. You're in for a treat!

Aww, thank you so much

I'm loving it! Bard/archer is so much fun, and redoing the main story is actually awesome! Seeing so many little things I'd missed first time round, and seeing things differently now I know some of what happens next...

One thing I'd love to know, though, is how to find a good FC, the official realm forum seems to be almost all aimed at serious raiders and the search tool isn't that great for trying to narrow anything down. I keep getting random invites without a word, even from people standing right next to me when they invite me, and I just ignore them on principle, but maybe I shouldn't? I don't know, I'm confused :/ I don't know anyone IRL who plays so I feel a bit lost about it sometimes.

[Graeham]

It's a matter of luck, honestly. I'd suggest trying to find one that advertises itself as being 'social' and then join up. It may involve trial and error until you find one that clicks though. When I was looking for a FC I wanted one that dabbled in every aspect of the game - including RP - and it took me a while until I found one that was just the right size, had people with a similar sense of humour to me and was relaxed and active.

[Deleted]

It's a matter of luck, honestly. I'd suggest trying to find one that advertises itself as being 'social' and then join up. It may involve trial and error until you find one that clicks though. When I was looking for a FC I wanted one that dabbled in every aspect of the game - including RP - and it took me a while until I found one that was just the right size, had people with a similar sense of humour to me and was relaxed and active.

Thank you, that's encouraging I found one I like the sound of except it seems a bit small (about 30 members total, so I don't know what that is in terms of people actually logging in), but I might just give it a go and see. Problem is, I really hate leaving guilds if I don't think they're right for me, and I've seen a few comments somewhere that people can get quite nasty if you leave a FC so I'm a bit wary. But nothing ventured...

[Graeham]

Thank you, that's encouraging I found one I like the sound of except it seems a bit small (about 30 members total, so I don't know what that is in terms of people actually logging in), but I might just give it a go and see. Problem is, I really hate leaving guilds if I don't think they're right for me, and I've seen a few comments somewhere that people can get quite nasty if you leave a FC so I'm a bit wary. But nothing ventured...

Yeah, some people can be...difficult about it. At the end of the day, though, your fun is what's most important. If you're not enjoying your time with a FC then leaving is the best route to take. If you stay somewhere that feels like a chore then it'll only impact negatively upon your experience of the game.

[Scufflegrit]

The main reason people will toss out random invites to FCs is that it earns the FC credits. These are mostly spent on some FC exclusive buffs, but there are also a handful of items for the FC house that you can only purchase with FC credits. There are also a few other items you can buy. but those can be crafted as well.

FC credits are also earned by doing most anything in the game, but the random invite spam is just people looking for easy credits.

[Deleted]

Yeah, some people can be...difficult about it. At the end of the day, though, your fun is what's most important. If you're not enjoying your time with a FC then leaving is the best route to take. If you stay somewhere that feels like a chore then it'll only impact negatively upon your experience of the game.

You're right. Wise words

The main reason people will toss out random invites to FCs is that it earns the FC credits. These are mostly spent on some FC exclusive buffs, but there are also a handful of items for the FC house that you can only purchase with FC credits. There are also a few other items you can buy. but those can be crafted as well.

Heh, yeah I suspected there was some big ulterior motive, the amount of random invites really reminded me of levelling alts on random servers in WoW when the guild cashflow/levelling stuff came in. Thanks for the information, it's good to know.