If you are going to start on vanadiel, the amazing world of ffxi right now, as a veteran player that has been playing since NA Release, have done all missions, most quest and have most jobs on 75. I would like to give new players some tips so they can enjoy this game as it was meant to be (please add more tips if you feel there are more)

1- Forget about all the other mmos you have ever played. (this includes wow).. forget all you know and what you think mmorpgs are; This is just so you can understand what ffxi is.

2- Take you time to learn the game mechanics, how to move your character and fights.

3- Dont be upset if downloading the game takes a long time, same with patches; dont forget this game is old, more than wow and other games, and there has been many many patches and fixes on the game. Patience brings inmediate results.

4- Understand also most players are high levels and you wont find many players on starter zones; this doesnt mean there are no players, later on when you hit the big places like jeuno and white gate you will see lots of players.

5- Be polite and respectfull; Final fantasy XI is an asian game, the first players to play the game were japanese and this game was aimed at the japanese culture. So we americans learned from their culture and thats how the game culture runs. People are not individualistic, we love teamwork and respecting everyone. Being rude and inamture wont get you far in this game, with time people beging to learn everyone names, and people dont forget rude players easy.. hence the drama.

6- Dont feel bad if you dont level as fast as you did in other games. This game takes time, the learning curve is not super bad, but it takes time to get the good rewards in the game, but be constant and patient, you will get there, everyone does. This goes back to point 5, is you are a nice person and make friends you will get far in this game.

7- Making money is hard in vanadiel, so going back to point 5, be polite and you might find helpful friends that will provide you with items and money.

8- Going back to point 7, dont ask for money, you might think is ok but it is not, you will not only seen as a noob but as a lazy person.

9- Asking for help is ok, :) you wont be looked down for asking help with quests and missions, also check places like www.killingifrit.com and others for help.

10- Nowdays being a new player is super cool, SE has made things easier for new players with level sync and coffers that give you helpfull items.

I cant think of any more right now, if you feel there are more things please post them or if you have questions just ask, i will gladly answer them.

I am sorry if anyone posted things like this before.

And last but not least, enjoy the game, dont get burned out. Vanadiel is the most inmersive world i have ever had the pleasure to play in. Is beautifull and huge! so many places to see and explore. I can honestly say i havent seen all there is on vanadiel

Note: sorry about my grammar. english is my third language

This is all very good advice. New or potential players, you really should take this to heart.

And, OP, very well written. Your English is better than most here.

I can't EVEN begin to figure out the UI.  And the resolution is so grainy.  I have no idea how even if there are video settings.

Are there tool bars?  I can't seem to get hotkeys to work. I'm not stupid either.  The game came with no manual that i can find.

Originally posted by Kamandi777

I can't EVEN begin to figure out the UI.  And the resolution is so grainy.  I have no idea how even if there are video settings.

Are there tool bars?  I can't seem to get hotkeys to work. I'm not stupid either.  The game came with no manual that i can find.

 

Resolution and video settings are actually done outside of the game. You have a configure menu in your program list and all the settings are there. Took me a long time to figure it out.

For the UI stuff, I am still working on that but it helped when I started thinking like a console player and not a PC gamer.

There are no hotbars in FFXI.  There is no need for them cause you don't spam your skills like in all other MMOs.  This plays 70-80% slower than everything else out there!  You have time to think, and strategize your attacks and plan your next moves, as everything has cooldowns, delays and wait timers.  All the enemies as well are of the 20 different jobs that players can be and use many/most of the same skills and abilities against us.

Holding down Alt or Ctrl will bring down Macro Tabs at the top of the screen & using the arrow keys you can navigate through them; of which there are 200 slots you can manually program, and there are 20 total Macro bars you can switch between from your menu, for a total of 2000 different macros.  Or you can use the UI which works as if you're playing a 1P Final Fantasy Adventure, which works quite well too!

Give it some time and be patient, you'll figure it out eventually, and once you master it, you'll see how great it is!

Some people like the ffxi ui.. most players do :D . if feels old school.

You can change the resolution of the game on the INI files and force AA.. makes the game look soooo much better. :) like better than xbopx 360

I just downloaded the 14 day free trial last night. I have to agree with Kamandi777, the UI is ridiculous. My girlfriend is thinking about playing the game so I wanted to try it out but man, I had a really rough time trying to figure the controls out, they are certainly not intuitive. Like the original poster said, forget what you know about other MMO's, everything is very different. Many people in game suggested I use a joypad instead of a keyboard....thats just crazy to me.

Is there anyway to change all the keyboard buttons, I tried to make W, A, S, D the movement controls (instead of 8, 4, 6, 2 on the num pad), but it just kept bringing up the chat box. And is there anyway to remove the ALT + Button combo to bring up menu's? Honestly if I could just set the controls up the same way as most other MMO's I could probably get a good idea of whether or not to play the game.

Thanks in advance.

Originally posted by anomaly_a

 Honestly if I could just set the controls up the same way as most other MMO's I could probably get a good idea of whether or not to play the game.

Thanks in advance.

Therein lies the problem though, FFXI doesn't play at all like every-other MMO, and changing the control to mimic them will only be much worse in the end.  The controls are designed to be played as they are and if you give it a chance and learn how it all works you'll find it extremely well done and it enhances the gameplay experience.

FFXI is very unique and challenging, and you'll eventually see what I mean if you stick with it as its designed!  {but no, you can't change the controls to your liking, but you can turn on compact mode which changes movement to WASD!}

Originally posted by Khrymson

Originally posted by anomaly_a

 Honestly if I could just set the controls up the same way as most other MMO's I could probably get a good idea of whether or not to play the game.

Thanks in advance.

 

Therein lies the problem though, FFXI doesn't play at all like every-other MMO, and changing the control to mimic them will only be much worse in the end.  The controls are designed to be played as they are and if you give it a chance and learn how it all works you'll find it extremely well done and it enhances the gameplay experience.

FFXI is very unique and challenging, and you'll eventually see what I mean if you stick with it as its designed!  {but no, you can't change the controls to your liking, but you can turn on compact mode which changes movement to WASD!}

 

It's made for consoles, therefore it's easier to use a gamepad than a kb+mouse. I perfer the Xbox 360 though ;)

Originally posted by sanders01

Originally posted by Khrymson

Originally posted by anomaly_a

 Honestly if I could just set the controls up the same way as most other MMO's I could probably get a good idea of whether or not to play the game.

Thanks in advance.

 

Therein lies the problem though, FFXI doesn't play at all like every-other MMO, and changing the control to mimic them will only be much worse in the end.  The controls are designed to be played as they are and if you give it a chance and learn how it all works you'll find it extremely well done and it enhances the gameplay experience.

FFXI is very unique and challenging, and you'll eventually see what I mean if you stick with it as its designed!  {but no, you can't change the controls to your liking, but you can turn on compact mode which changes movement to WASD!}

 

It's made for consoles, therefore it's easier to use a gamepad than a kb+mouse. I perfer the Xbox 360 though ;)

Different for everyone, I find just the keyboard sans the mouse easier than a controller!

i also thought i would play better on 360, but after trying both, i have to say that pc is by far the best platform to play.

once u get used to controls u only need one hand to play and all is controlled with numeric pad .. but writing ofc :)

UI is horrible, but once u get used to u are almost thankful for that "simplicity" , in all ways hope they make a new UI for FFXIV :P

i played a 14 trial some months ago and i quit because i did not find a linkshell to join and i was pretty lost, but thinking in returning again, is a GREAT game, and is something completly different in a sea of eq-clon-mmorpg that we have today :/

Originally posted by Khrymson

Originally posted by sanders01

Originally posted by Khrymson

Originally posted by anomaly_a

 Honestly if I could just set the controls up the same way as most other MMO's I could probably get a good idea of whether or not to play the game.

Thanks in advance.

 

Therein lies the problem though, FFXI doesn't play at all like every-other MMO, and changing the control to mimic them will only be much worse in the end.  The controls are designed to be played as they are and if you give it a chance and learn how it all works you'll find it extremely well done and it enhances the gameplay experience.

FFXI is very unique and challenging, and you'll eventually see what I mean if you stick with it as its designed!  {but no, you can't change the controls to your liking, but you can turn on compact mode which changes movement to WASD!}

 

It's made for consoles, therefore it's easier to use a gamepad than a kb+mouse. I perfer the Xbox 360 though ;)

 

Different for everyone, I find just the keyboard sans the mouse easier than a controller!

I couldn't stand that. I had to drag out my PC controller, then I found that wasn't too great either, so I got my 360 on board XD

Originally posted by Drughi

i also thought i would play better on 360, but after trying both, i have to say that pc is by far the best platform to play.

once u get used to controls u only need one hand to play and all is controlled with numeric pad .. but writing ofc :)

UI is horrible, but once u get used to u are almost thankful for that "simplicity" , in all ways hope they make a new UI for FFXIV :P

i played a 14 trial some months ago and i quit because i did not find a linkshell to join and i was pretty lost, but thinking in returning again, is a GREAT game, and is something completly different in a sea of eq-clon-mmorpg that we have today :/

I'm looking forward to FFXIV, but like you said I hope they don't set it up so that it only works right one way or the other. They certainly should m ake it so you can choose joystick/controler (and customize the buttons) or keyboard and mouse just as easy. That only seems fair since it will be for both PC and consoles.