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FINAL FANTASY XIV Online > Guides > rwx's Guides
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New Player Essentials: Your first day in Eorzea!
By rwx
This is a general overview for starting your adventures in the land of Eorzea. It is a short starting guide that gives some basic tips that are easy to miss, but make playing the game a lot more fun!

Note*: This guide still has the potential to be expanded greatly. Last updated 2/1/2018
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rwx
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Category: Characters, Classes, Co-op, Game Modes, Gameplay Basics, Maps or Levels, Story or Lore
Languages: English
Posted
Updated
18 Feb, 2014 @ 10:14am
19 May, 2020 @ 7:27pm
35,755 Unique Visitors
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Guide Index
Overview
Introduction 
Chapter One: The first launch! 
Chapter 2: Getting off the boat (or the cart) 
Chapter 3: Goals, Dungeons and Leveling 
Chapter 4: FAQ's and UI help 
Outro 
Comments
Introduction
Welcome to Eorzea, Steam!

I absolutely adore this game. While I would like to get into the overall design philosophy and who the target demographic of the game is, this guide will just be focusing on starting the game and streamlining the experience so that you'll not find yourself getting stuck in your first few levels!

Things to keep in mind: This is a Final Fantasy game. It is also an MMORPG. Traditionally in MMORPGs, you can skip quest dialogue and blow through the content. While it is still possible to do this here, please note that there is a pretty solid story throughout the game and immersing yourself in the dialogue of the quests helps make sense of things. As it is an MMORPG, expect to group up with people occasionally, but as it is also a Final Fantasy game you can solo a lot of the content until you hit the end-game.

Now... Onto the guide!
Huzzah!
Chapter One: The first launch!

  • Picking a Data Center and Server
    When choosing a data center, you can try to connect to one in your region (though most, if not all EU and NA servers are based in Canada).

    If you don't care about any of that and are looking for the best server for thing A or thing B, here are some tips.

    There are two types of servers: Legacy and Normal. Legacy servers are servers that were created for players of FFXIV1.0. They are harder to establish yourself in due to how expensive things are on MB and how outgeared most players are. The most popular NA Legacy server is Balmung. Legacy servers are locked from transfers out of it (so if you roll normal, transfer to Legacy, you can't leave right now. OR, if you start on legacy, you won't be able to transfer out*). Gilgamesh is the highest population NA server. Ragnarok is highest EU population server and Tonberry is highest SEA server (also has largest about of english speakers).

    The unofficial Legacy RP server is Balmung. The unofficial normal RP server is Gilgamesh.

    (For more server stats: check out http://xivsoul.com )

    *Update: As the economies of non-Legacy Worlds have now had time to mature, restrictions on World transfer for players on Legacy Worlds will be lifted on March 1, 2014 at 12:00 a.m. (PST)


  • Beginning the game, you have the opportunity to create any kind of character that you'd like.
    Pick the character appearance that you like the best (if you are one of those people who like to BiS (Best in Slot) race doesn't really affect much in the end-game). Why? Because you'll only have an opportunity to change your character appearance once (or pay to do so after the first time). Due to the fact that you can level all classes and jobs on your character, it is best to pick something that you like. I don't think I can stress this enough.. PICK A CHARACTER YOU LIKE.
    Please note: There is only one race that you should be picking, Lalafell ;) (just kidding!)

  • Your starting class determines what city you start in.
    The class that you start with, determines what city you will start in. You will not be able to travel quickly to the other cities until you are around level 15-20.
    City
    Class
    Gridania
    Conjurer, Archer, Lancer
    Ul'dah
    Gladiator, Pugilist, Thaumaturge
    Limsa Lominsa
    Marauder, Arcanist

  • What class should I play?

    FFXIV uses the Holy Trinity (Tank, Healer, DPS) for its party content. Each class leads to a different job and when using Duty Finder, you'll be put into an appropriate slot based on your class.
    Tanking Classes: Gladiator, Marauder
    Healing Class: Conjurer
    DPS: Arcanist, Pugilist, Thaumaturge, Archer, Lancer

    Tanking Jobs: Paladin, Warrior
    Healing jobs: White Mage, Scholar
    DPS Jobs: Summoner, Dragoon, Monk, Black Mage, Bard*
    I'll expand on jobs in chapter 3
    *Bard is a support DPS, that uses songs to boost DPS or restore MP/TP

    If you aren't wanting to tank or heal, make sure you pick one of the other classes! Tanking and healing are rewarding class/job roles but carry a good bit of responsibility

  • You can change classes at level 10*
    As long as you are up-to-date on your starting class quests, you can switch classes at level 10. To change a class, go to the class guild that you would like to change to. Talk to the receptionist, accept her quest, and turn it into that class guild master. It's easy, fast and fun! To swap classes after completing the quest, just equip the appropriate weapon.







Chapter 2: Getting off the boat (or the cart)
*This section is still being edited


    Post introduction: What the hell is going on..?
    As soon as you get through your introduction scene, you'll be bombarded with a new UI as well as a bunch of quests. There is an onscreen tutorial about controls as you go, but here is your priority list as a new player.
  • Do your main scenario quest:
    This is so important, that I can't stress it enough. In order to unlock almost EVERYTHING in the game, you have to do your main scenario quests. How can you tell the difference between them and your other quests? They have a special meteor icon around the Q marker. This icon looks like...
    For your first battle class, you can almost level to 50 by doing these quests alone (as well as dungeon and fates... but more on that in a bit). Try to make sure you stay up-to-date on these quests, they are the backbone of your unlocks!

    Update: 2/1/2018: Main Scenario Quests are now persistent at the top left of your UI. You can toggle this off and on, but you should have no trouble figuring out what is next in your line of quests!


  • Do your battle class quests (or crafting quests!)
    The other thing you should try to knock out is your battle-class quests. In order to unlock jobs later on, as well as several skills and the ability to unlock new classes, battle class quests must be completed. Your journal should be able to provide insight into these. You'll get a new battle class quest every 5 levels!

  • Attune to Aetheryte crystals and chocobo porters
    In every major city there are Aetheryte crystals spread out at different locations. Attuning to all of these makes teleporting around cities a breeze. The large crystals can also be used to set your home locations. Anytime you enter a new map, you should try to attune to one of the crystals. Large crystals that you've attuned to can be teleported to from nearly anywhere in the game, making travel less tedious. Keep in mind, there is a gil fee for teleportation!
    Chocobo porters are the equivalent of WoW "Flight Paths" and are cheaper for travel but take a little bit longer. They are connected in networks as well and unlocking more of them allow for a larger range of travel. Chocobo porters are cheaper and better for use at low levels than teleportation.

  • Join a Free Company (or don't!)
    A Free Company is FFXIV's equivalent of a guild. If you've played MMORPG's before, a guild is a community of players that work together with a common mindset. Free Companies in FFXIV have several perks such as an up to 10% Experience buff, reduced teleportation fees, Free Company housing and a network of players that will help you out in dungeons and trials. However, with a community comes people. If you prefer to solo, joining a FC isn't necessary, though having companions and making friends is a good bonus on top of the other perks!

  • How to use your quest tracker
    The quest tracker will tell you two things: The title of the quest in gold and the short description in blue. The map system in FFXIV can be a bit confusing for the first few levels, but the easiest way to tell where to go for a quest is by clicking either the blue description text on your quest tracker (this opens the quest map) or by clicking the title and then pressing the map button under the full description. Quest markers and mobs will be noted either by a red circle on the map or by a gold Q with a wing like shape in it.

Chapter 3: Goals, Dungeons and Leveling
(currently being edited)

    When do I get ______
    There are several "checkpoints" to your experience in the game. I'd like to call these goals and let's answer 'em here!
  • Dungeons
    You unlock your first dungeon at level 15 (if you've been keeping up with your main scenario quests) The first dungeon you unlock is called Satasha. There are 3 ways to enter it:
    • Duty Finder: Pull up your duty finder, check Satasha and wait! Duty finder checks all the servers in your data center for people queued for that dungeon and builds an appropriate party from it.
    • Party Finder: This is server based and can be found under your social tab. It is mostly used for end-game groups and fate parties, though it can be used to gather a group of 4 for low level
    • Gather your own party of 4 by inviting people to a party! Do this and then select the Duty Finder, and you'll be good to go. You can use any composition of party with this method, but try to stick with the Trinity (unless you're just goofin' off)

  • Guildhests, levequests and Trials
    You unlock Guildhests and levequests at level 10 (assuming you're following your main scenario quest line). Guildhests are like little mini-dungeons that help teach basic mechanics and are required for a few quests later on.
    Levequests are quests that you can pick up in an area for several reasons. 1. In case you've blown through all the quests in that area. 2. If you are wanting to level a crafting class, levequests help give another method for getting experience. Levequests use allowances. You obtain a few allowances a day and they will cap at 99 allowances. Levequests are quick and easy for when you need that extra little boost to level!
    Trials are like dungeons but they are just a single boss fight. You queue up for them the same way as you would a dungeon!


  • Joining a Grand Company (or "How I Met my Chocobro")
    At level 20, you'll have to join a Grand Company as part of your main story quest. The Grand Company you pick will allow you to use a currency called seals to purchase gear for yourself, as well as accessories and other perks. Honestly, it doesn't really matter which one you choose (I'd say pick the one you like best) but for the sake of Best in Slotting...here is what most people recommend.
    Maelstrom - Tanks
    Twin Adders - Physical DPS
    Immortal Flames - Mages
    Also at level 20, after picking your Grand Company and completing the first quest for it, you can unlock the quest for your Chocobo! (Your first mount) In order to purchase your chocobo license, you'll need 200 Grand Company seals. You can earn these seals by doing Grand Company Levequests or by grinding fates (Fates are a much faster way to earn those seals).

  • Jobs, jobs and jobs! (and cross-class)role abilities

    This will only be a cursory glance at the jobs. I'll make a more in depth guide about individual jobs later on.

    It takes two classes to unlock a job. A third class (tertiary) can be used for cross-class abilities, but two classes are mandatory per job that you wish to unlock. Jobs limit the amount of cross-class skills you can use, but add a MASSIVE stats boost to your main stat +20! They also unlock additional skills that wouldn't normally be found on the class skill tree. 9 times out of 10, you'll want to have your job stone equipped (SquareEnix may change something in the future to counteract this, but as of now not having those extra 20 stat points hurts!). There are instances where this may not apply, but it's definitely worth using your job stone.
    Update: 2/1/2018 - It no longer takes two classes to get a job. I guess the economy is booming in Eorzea now!

    The requirements for each job is as follows!

    Warrior: Marauder (Level 30)
    Paladin: Gladiator (Level 30)
    Bard: Archer (Level 30)
    Dragoon: Lancer (Level 30)
    Monk: Pugilist (Level 30)
    Scholar: Arcanist (Level 30)
    Summoner: Arcanist (Level 30)
    Black Mage: Thaumaturge (Level 30)
    White Mage: Conjurer (Level 30)
    Ninja: Rogue (Level 30)

    Expansion Jobs:
    Dark Knight: Any Disciple of War or Magic (Level 50)
    Astrologian: Any Disciple of War or Magic (Level 50)
    Machinist: Any Disciple of War or Magic (Level 50)
    Samurai: Any Disciple of War or Magic (Level 50)
    Red Mage: Any Disciple of War or Magic (Level 50)

    Note: You must finish all of your primary class quests for the job you want in order to unlock the quest for that job!


    A few additional notes on cross class skills [/h1]
  • Classes can use other classes skills (some of them).
    To see what abilities are available to you, open your "Actions and Traits" tab, go to classes and you can pick and choose abilities from other classes that you have leveled. A class can equip up to 10 cross-class abilities when reaching level 50.

    Jobs can only use cross class abilities from 2 other classes
    Jobs limit your cross-class skills to 5 slots (at level 50) and only two other classes (depending on the job stone you have equipped).

    Update 2/1/2018: At some point over the past 3 years, Cross-class abilities were removed and replaced with Role Actions. I'm sure this was due to some redundancy and balancing, but by removing cross-class abilities, it greatly simplified needs for leveling. Role Actions work the same as Cross-Class used to, except no longer needing to get a specific class up for a specific skill. At level 70, you can select up to 5 Role Abilities.

  • Color your World (Level 15 Dye quest)
    Ready to step into the fabulous world of coloring all of your gear Pink? Maybe you'd like to mix purple, green, red and yellow for a nice putrid color! Well you're in luck, at level 15 you have to opportunity to unlock dyes in the easiest quest in the universe.
    First obtain an Orange juice. They are cheap and found on the Market Board and also on several food vendors around the world (Coffer and Coffin in Central Thanalan is one such vendor).
    Secondly, head on over to Vesper Bay (North of Horizon), and there's a lovely Rhoegadyn that's sitting on a bench in the court yard of Vesper Bay. Her name is Swyrgeim. She's probably pretty thirsty too. Hook her up with that sweet orange juice and you unlock the ability to dye your armor!
    Easy peasy, lemon...erm orange squeezy.

  • Ahead of the Craft!
    Coming soon

  • Retainers and Marketboard!
    Coming soon






Chapter 4: FAQ's and UI help
Incomplete

FAQ

  • What are some basic chat commands?
    Here are some of the most common and quick commands for accessing the different chats.
    Party: /p or /party
    Linkshell: /l# or /linkshell# (The # represents what number LS it is. So if you're trying to activate Linkshell 1 chat, just type /l1)
    Shout: Shout is zone general chat. (Dark orange by default) Mostly used for looking for groups, but can be full of banter as well. To access shout /shout
    Yell: Similar to /shout, but yellow text and only around a certain radius around you. /yell
    Alliance: Used in 24 man groups (such as Crystal Tower), /alliance
    Whisper: /tell Player Name

  • What's the fastest way to level?
    2/1/2018: The best way to level these days is to do the Duty Roulettes. Each day, you're rewarded a bonus for completion. As you gain more levels, the more roulettes become available. Definitely the most bang for your buck!

    Your first duty roulette of the day gives a massive amount of experience. Highly recommend doing a Low-level duty roulette once a day for maximum experience. As of 2.1 Dungeons are the best form of experience, but class queue times can make them take a while to get into...So what should you do during your wait?
    Fates: Fates used to be the defacto way to grind levels. While they are still good for quick exp, the speed at which you can clear a fate has been turn way down. Fates are good around level 10-15, mid 20's, mid 30's, and 45-50. If you plan on grinding fates, I recommend joining a Fate party. Look for the people shouting LFM FATES or check Party Finder to find a fate group. The bonus exp from a large party is crazy.
    Update 2/1/2018: I don't think anyone grinds fates anymore. Maybe only do it for a little bit of XP..
    Levequests: If you've got a lot of leve allowances, Levequests are a fast way for quick quest experience.
    Main Scenario Quests: In theory, you should be able to level your first job to 50 by just doing Main Scenario quests and dungeons alone. Try to knock these quests out between dungeon queues or in downtime!
    Area quests: Area quests are nice to level with, but they are limited. Once you've completed them on one class, you can't repeat them. Many people skip them on their first go around, and use them to help speed up leveling of alts.

  • Gil Sellers and RMT
    There is a slight plague of RMT in game at the moment. SquareEnix is dedicated to removing them, but as there are lots of new ones each day, you'll find yourself wanting to go strangle 'em.
    The best way to deal with them is to blacklist them. There are a few ways to blacklist a gil seller.
    The first way is to right click their name after they whisper you and select "Add to blacklist".
    The second way is to create a handy blacklist macro.
    /blist add <r>
    will automatically block the last person who whispered you when you press the macro button! My preferred method.

  • Creating Macros
    Coming soon!
  • Changing your UI and HUD
    Coming soon![/list]
    USER FAQS
    • How does one exchange items between own characters?
      Unfortunately at this time, you cannot directly send items between two characters that are on the same account. You'll have to get a friend to help you transfer (annoying, I know!)

    • More as they come!
Outro
I hope this guide has helped some of you getting started on your new adventure!

Thanks for reading, and I'll address any questions you may have for me!

If you'd like to hit me up in game, shoot me a /tell!
Server: Gilgamesh
Name: Klein Beldyn

Happy Hunting!


Edit 5/18/2015: There have been a lot of changes to this game and I've been inactive in Eorzea for a while. I apologize for the lack of updates.

Edit 2/1/2018: I started playing again. Updating this because it's real old. Be patient.
85 Comments
< >
Alien Queen 29 Jul, 2023 @ 9:15am 
so ar ther any class ho got minions and summon pets like all this FF movies??
Princess 5 Feb, 2023 @ 8:09am 
I am new to FF14 And I have entered my Product code on steam but I think some of or the dlc is missing because I should be able to create a female Viera is what I was told. But For some reason the game has been acting like I don't have anything but the basic game, Was there another Code that I need to find somewhere? I'd really LOVE someone to tell me how I Can fix this problem. I cant create any Viera and its stupidly grayed out along with the other last race on the list.
BigCMGN 13 Jul, 2021 @ 3:24pm 
Super cool guide :) Do you write guides for any websites by chance? I ask because I run MGN, and I'd like to post your content (and pay you for it) if interested!
rxantos 24 Nov, 2020 @ 10:44am 
Treat it as a theme park of Final Fantasy. When the rides get boring or the people get rude. Is time to leave.
Elissar 7 May, 2020 @ 1:36pm 
PRO TIP: No toxicity allowed
Fembussy 31 Jan, 2020 @ 12:47am 
Thanks, very helpful even now in 2020 :)
§єǫuєᴋʜaɴ ⚶ 5 Jan, 2020 @ 11:47am 
lol @Gensai then you can take it a step further and fish in ffxiv as well as fish in black desert online for that 6th dimensional fishing feels
Gensai 24 Dec, 2019 @ 12:18am 
As a new player (less than 2 weeks). I find the game overwhelming, and trying to play catch up is "not fun". So I have gone from being highly optimistic about being part of the community, to a hermit fisher. As my expectations of the Materia system and Triple triad card game were crushed. More so when you finally venture into a town, to see a high level player driving a vehicle themed mount on top of a table in a bar...where you suddenly realise that the rules of this world...don't exist. There are no rules, it's a mash up of everything a fan of Final Fantasy wanted in a game poorly executed.

But fishing, fishing saves FF14. You're away from the furries, RMT dealers and hardcore pro raiders. You're in your own little world, and can interact with other fishers, who comfort you with the knowledge that all the high level gear becomes redundant and the economy is a meme.

Fishing is the true end game, so join us. And let's make FF14 the best damn fishing simulator there is!
ム2Bム 15 Apr, 2019 @ 6:49pm 
The unofficial NA RP server non legacy is Mateus, not gilgamesh. Gilgamesh is mostly Raid focused.
Uwawa 25 Jan, 2019 @ 3:32pm 
@Lynkos
I would suggest you Become a Dragoon , and lvl that one to 50 till you can switch to Samurai

It Gives you alot of Extra Skills , and will allow you to Complete Dungeons Quicker
Lancer also stops giving you any new skills after lvl 30 (i think)