Final Fantasy XIV (Guide in first post)

Chysamere

Chysamere

FF14 Free Company Master
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Vorph_sl said:
My CNJ (I was Svieri for those who might have grouped with me) impressions:

1. DPS was horrifically bad compared to real damage classes. It does get better with Stone 2, but it's still awful and as Pyros mentioned above it's even worse because you literally only have one spell to cast. I tried leveling up THM a bit to see if it had anything to offer CNJ main, but it really does not. You get Lightning, but it costs too much mana to be useful most of the time. I guess THM spells are all designed around the MP regen from ice, which makes them suck ass for other classes. Aero needs to be reworked again, because it's worthless outside of a couple irritating solo-instance quests which end up with you Aero-kiting for 10-15 minutes to kill something.

2. I know next to nothing about the 'advanced' classes (my understanding is that you don't level up WHM as a separate job, you just become a WHM at a certain point as a CNJ?), but I was really disappointed with the synergy between the basic jobs. Other jobs can get some nice stuff from CNJ if they level it to 12, but CNJ gains practically nothing from the others, just a bunch of WoW-trinket-style short duration/long cd buffs. Thaum was very disappointing, as is the lack of a red mage's existence. Pugilist was the only job I felt had any real potential as a secondary.

3. Healing is EQ1-in-1999 bland. I literally just spammed Cure 1 on the tank almost non-stop in dungeons. There was practically no risk of running out of MP ever unless I nuked too much. Strangely enough, healing with a gamepad was also vastly better than healing with kb/m. For one thing, when it's at its dullest, I can just recline in my chair and press triangle over and over (first thing anyone playing with a pad should do is switch the triggers to toggle mode). When I felt like throwing around dps though, it was really nice to be able to temporarily target a mob for one spell and then have it revert back to the tank; same thing for switching to heal a dps who decided to stand in the fire. The only interesting mechanic in the first 3 quest-dungeons was the blob fight where I got to kite all the shit around with heal aggro while everyone else set us up the bomb. I just got to the Ifrit quest a couple hours before the phase ended and didn't get to actually do it.

4. I really, really hate the 2.5 cast time/GCD on everything. The pace of combat might not be as bad as it was in 1.0, but they still need to address it in ARR. Incidentally, I don't know if this is a bug or not, but did anyone else notice that using Sprint in combat gives a massive amount of spell haste? It took my 2.5s casts down to about 1.6s.

In the end, I'll probably play a CNJ anyway despite all of the above, if I buy the game. I always duo with a friend so I'm not worried about the dps sucking ass, except in the solo instances. The downside of NOT having a CNJ/WHM available 100% of the time is too great to not have one of us pick it. I'll definitely need to see a good bit of improvement in the mechanics as phase 3 continues before I would pre-order the game, however.

Edit: For people thinking about the PS3 version, I read that everything kb/m related works just like the PC version *except* that you cannot currently get a PC-style hotkey bar instead of the cross bar. I assume that will be fixed at some point, since the cross bar is a new development. Personally I would be fine with just a USB keyboard plugged in and "direct chat"--which makes everything you press on the keyboard go straight to the chat box--turned on, and no mouse at all. The gamepad controls are very well done once you figure out the intricacies of targeting.
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I played CNJ to 35 in Beta 2 and the first instances are snooze mode when it comes to healing. Once you get to Toto-rak and Haukke manor though, spamming cure will oom you pretty fast. By 35 you have several tools for healing - Cure 1, Cure 2 (which has a proc for a free cure 2, I can't remember how to proc it), Medica, and Stoneskin. Most of the time though CNJ will heal in Battlepriest stance and act as a extra DPS'er, healing in Battlepriest stance or weaving between them as needed. The class can be min maxed pretty far if you are willing to do so.

I agree the rework to Aero was stupid. Dots in general need their Dps increased by at least 100%, they're all useless at this stage. I'm not sure if you got Fluid aura, but it adds some more DPS dimension to the class. Stone 2, Fluid Aura and the old Aero was less boring than mashing 1 over and over.

You have the option to convert from CNJ to WHM at level 30. It involves levelling a sub class to 15 (I think Gladiator for WHM?) - There is a downside though. CNJ can use abilities from any other class as long as it's shared. WHM can only draw from their two classes (CNR and GLAD)
 
K

kahilm_sl

shitlord
23
2
If you still need a beta key, this works. Just tried it myself on a separate account:

So many people still waiting to beta test Phase 3..... I unlike most people didn't get a key so i took action myself to get a key. I found away to get Beta Keys for Phase 3!!!!. Here's what you do.

1: Create a new email or if you have a alternate one use that one for the following.

2: Create a new Square Enix Account, however while doing so click choose your area as Russia.

3: Once you have done those go to the following website enter the new email address where it says email.http://www.computerbild.de/gutschein...ction=register

4: Click Betakey anfordern. This should send you a key for the Russia region.

5: Check your email that you had the key sent to go and register the key under your new Square Enix account.http://www.finalfantasyxiv.com/prepa.../index_na.html

6: Download the game from the forms and enjoy your beta test phase 3.http://forum.square-enix.com/ARR-Tes...-Test-Software

fromhttp://www.reddit.com/r/ffxiv/commen..._up_for_grabs/
 
Pyros

Pyros

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DPS isn't that bad actually, it's not as good but once you get Stone 2 and for like a dozen of levels, you kill stuff single target faster than a THM can(until they get Fire 3 which is like 32 or 34). It's not stellar but it's adequate, just the fact you only spam one spell is horribly boring.

On the GCD, one thing to note is apparently the spell speed stat also reduces GCD, so it should be able to be dropped down a decent amount eventually. Jobs are based off your main class level, so you don't need to level them. If you're a 50CNJ, your WHM lvl is 50 too. They don't replace the class though, they add new abilities but restrict the cross class abilities you can get, I mentionned that before. Iirc for WHM it's Gladiator as a secondary class, so you can only use CNJ and GLD abilities, meaning you can't use the THM stuff that makes your next spell instant for example. On the other hand being WHM gives you Regen, your own instant cast spell mechanic and some other shit(based on 1.0 since we don't know yet what spells jobs have in 2.0). Changing to a job only involves equipping the Soul for the job(you have a Soul slot that's unused otherwise), so it's like changing class it's gear based and can be done at any time.

Healing I assume gets better at higher levels. You get Cure 2 at 30 which works differently than Cure 1(faster cast time and does aoe healing around your target I believe, but also costs a lot more mp) then Cure 3 which does a ton more healing single target but cost a ton more. Each of these 3 spells also get related passives as you level, so casting Cure 1 can make your Cure 2 cast instantly and casting Cure 2 can make your Cure 3 free. So it gets better eventually, but yeah at low level you just spam Cure 1 and you can't go oom with just that. I used nukes quite a bit in the easier dungeons though, Cleric Stance > Stone a few times > drop cleric stance > heal etc. Cleric stance is off the GCD so you can swap it, makes the combat a lot more fun.

Dungeons definitely get harder as you level up, the early ones are retarded easy though, but I think they're meant to be so you can complete them even without a dedicated healer. I've seen quite a lot of different boss mechanics already so I think with the correct tuning they'll be able to make challenging content fairly easily. Also to note that group size increases to 8 at some point, I'm not exactly sure when though. More people generally more complexity possible.
 
Vorph

Vorph

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Ah, I didn't realize that's how the class/job thing worked. Seems like a huge missed opportunity there, by having only one job per class. And making WHM be a CNJ/GLD mix is really bizarre.

I see they announced Scholar as a job at E3, and it is also a healer, but they don't seem to have said anything about what its base class is...? Unless it's a job for Arcanist along with Summoner, and the first of many that will give all the classes more than one choice.
 
I

ixian_sl

shitlord
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It's only one job per classnow. Keep in mind the job system was introduced back in the 1.0 days when Yoshida's team was trying to make the game not completely awful for the people still playing it, so they didn't go too crazy with it. Scholar and Summoner are both jobs for Arcanist, yes.
 
Pyros

Pyros

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Yeah they'll have more jobs per classes, even though I'm not too sure how it's going to work yet since currently jobs use the same weapon types as their base class but to add most of the obvious classes, they'll need to change that. Assuming they decide to change though, stuff that could easily be added: Gladiator in Dark Knight, Marauder into Samurai, Pugilist into Ninja/Dancer. They're also planning to add one base class that probably won't make it for release but has been worked on already, Musketeer, which uses firearms. There's an actual Musketter guild building already(in Limsa Lominsa) and plenty of NPCs shooting pistols and muskets in the game. I assume stuff they could make out of it would be Corsair or maybe a Canoneer of some sort, maybe Puppeteer even(mechanical puppet+pistol). Thief I feel should get its own base class but could be done out of Pugilist also, Red Mage and Blue Mage could maybe be done out of THM or CNJ. They have so many FFXI classes anyway there's tons of stuff to be added easily, plus they can just tap into any of the previous FF to add stuff that wasn't in FFXI.

At release, it'll only be 1 job per class, other than Arcanist which will get two, Summoner and Scholar.
 
tower

tower

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Malakriss_sl said:
They're still 2.5 months from release and the 1.0 folks are declaring the revamp as overwhelmingly positive. If they can maintain the same development going forward then I eagerly anticipate a more rewarding experience over WoW where we ran 40man UBRS key runs until our eyes bled and I prayed a 1% Pristine Hide of the Beast would drop while warlocks bitched about every caster looting dreadmist because of crappy itemization. If I never see a Boots of Prophecy drop with Agility, two resist types, and no spell healing/damage boosts because the stat wasn't even in the game yet I'll be happy.
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To be fair, anyone who paid for 1.0 is clearly insane and their opinion not to be trusted.
 
Pyros

Pyros

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tower_sl said:
To be fair, anyone who paid for 1.0 is clearly insane and their opinion not to be trusted.
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I think he means people who bought 1.0 and quit instantly. Granted it was pretty stupid to buy it if you've played the open beta at the time but eh. One of the few games I didn't buy. Considering the reduced price tag and the state of the game now though I'm definitely buying it, unless I get into Wildstar's beta or some shit so I have something else to play.
 
Vorph

Vorph

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Pyros_sl said:
At release, it'll only be 1 job per class, other than Arcanist which will get two, Summoner and Scholar.
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Hope that makes it into the beta soon then, I definitely would want to try Scholar out before making a decision for release. Arcanist sounds like a much more interesting base class, and having the option to choose either Summoner or Scholar (or does picking one job lock you out of ever getting the soul for the other?) would be a huge advantage over just being stuck with WHM.
 
Rezz

Rezz

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Unless they are deviating heavily from the mentality that you only ever need one character(in ffxi extra characters were effectively mule accounts at like a dollar a month) I don't think choosing any class deal would permanently lock you out of doing the others. Since the souls are equippable items, odds are it is simply a quest that requires the requisite levels and potentially being far enough along in certain quest chains to get and can only be done once per character. But not once per class, just once per soul being unlocked.

Edit: Much like FFXI, I am mostly waiting for them to implement the Dark Knight class, since it was easily my favorite looking (AR gear) and most fun to play class in that game.
 
Cinge

Cinge

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I dont think the arcanist will be available till p4, which for all intents and purposes is playing for real(since no wipe). Which sucks, I was hoping to use these betas to test out which jobs I liked.

Oh and question if anyone knows. I did find a NPC in new Gradina that would level you to 29 , give you your level 30 class quest ability and 2 other options about your chocobo. I tried the level 29 option but it said something about having to be level 26 first and had some quest pre-req. Is this something for when leveling a 2nd class, considering you should have the quest done via main class, you use this to get to 29 quickly. Wonder if this is just a beta thing.
 
I

ixian_sl

shitlord
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I paid money for 1.0! ... once the Legacy program was announced.

Vorph_sl said:
Hope that makes it into the beta soon then, I definitely would want to try Scholar out before making a decision for release. Arcanist sounds like a much more interesting base class, and having the option to choose either Summoner or Scholar (or does picking one job lock you out of ever getting the soul for the other?) would be a huge advantage over just being stuck with WHM.
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Arcanist won't be in until release.
 
Pyros

Pyros

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They said they'll show the Arcanist in a video probably, so maybe we can tell a bit more. But yeah when P4 starts I'll have to make an arcanist just to check all the spells and do a last minute choice for my class. I'm interested to see if Scholar will be like token side healer shit of if there will be a way to run them as main healer in case of and stuff. I'd play a scholar then I think.
 
Cinge

Cinge

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Not counting that little video a couple pages back showing the arcanist and the 2 jobs casting their pets?

And the scholar controls a little fairy :p Haha not sure I could do that.
 
Pyros

Pyros

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cinge_sl said:
Not counting that little video a couple pages back showing the arcanist and the 2 jobs casting their pets?

And the scholar controls a little fairy :p Haha not sure I could do that.
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I believe yes something else, but it might have been that video, hopefully not, I want to see spells and shit. As for the fairy, not a big deal to me, as long as it does a proper job. That's what I don't know, will the Fairy be casting ALL the heals, will it be squishy, that kind of stuff.
 
Intrinsic

Intrinsic

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Healing Ifrit wasn't anything special either, just as boring as the other dungeons. It was a cool encounter, although the quest chain to unlock it with going from East to West Thanalar 100x was horrid. Maybe I missed something about the Chocobos or travel in general. Got my GLD to 13 pretty easily before running out of quests and used up my leves. Does seem like it would be a challenge to get more than one to two sub classes up without grinding or heavy reliance on the leves. Would love to be able to try one of the other healing classes before P4 to know which way to go.
 
Cinge

Cinge

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Intrinsic_sl said:
Healing Ifrit wasn't anything special either, just as boring as the other dungeons. It was a cool encounter, although the quest chain to unlock it with going from East to West Thanalar 100x was horrid. Maybe I missed something about the Chocobos or travel in general. Got my GLD to 13 pretty easily before running out of quests and used up my leves. Does seem like it would be a challenge to get more than one to two sub classes up without grinding or heavy reliance on the leves. Would love to be able to try one of the other healing classes before P4 to know which way to go.
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You can teleport between the huge crystals after you "connect" to them. It just cost gil(like 100-400 depending on distance) via the teleport button in the bottom right on the menu bar(I didn't look to see if there was action hotkey for it like for return). Made all the traveling a lot easier.

Will be interesting to see how it pans out when leveling sub classes, it was pretty easy up to 15ish(you can do the other cities) + fates/levees but with quest seeming to dying out after that(normal quest are kinda sparce) it would seem you are just going to be doing fates, dungeons(which are actually good exp) and levees. Those spammable group duties(forget the name) were great exp for the first completion, not so much after that(unless this resets daily, I didn't check).

I was using my levees to get seals too, maybe I will just save them and just do fates for seals.
 
Chysamere

Chysamere

FF14 Free Company Master
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Alts will be levelled with a combination of fates, leves and hunters logs. That should be enough to get you to 15 easily, where you start grinding dungeons.

Also that's not a fairy, that's carbuncle
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Carbuncle_ruby_light.png


cinge_sl said:
I dont think the arcanist will be available till p4, which for all intents and purposes is playing for real(since no wipe). Which sucks, I was hoping to use these betas to test out which jobs I liked.

Oh and question if anyone knows. I did find a NPC in new Gradina that would level you to 29 , give you your level 30 class quest ability and 2 other options about your chocobo. I tried the level 29 option but it said something about having to be level 26 first and had some quest pre-req. Is this something for when leveling a 2nd class, considering you should have the quest done via main class, you use this to get to 29 quickly. Wonder if this is just a beta thing.
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You have to be 26 and do the instance The Thousand Maws of Toto-rak which was in P2, it's in Southern Gridinia. Level skip is there because quests after level 20 are disabled. You need it to get from 26 to 29 to do Haukke Manor.
 
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