MMORPG.com Final Fantasy XI Correspondent has put togther this little overview guide for playes who might be new to SquareEnix's Final Fantasy XI. The first part of the guide puts heavy emphasis on the strengths and weaknesses of the different races available in the game.

Starting off in Final Fantasy XI can be quite overwhelming. Up until recently there was no tutorial whatsoever to introduce yourself to the game mechanics and because of this, you were forced to learn the game almost entirely on your own. Quite a lot of curious would-be Vana'dielians are sometimes intimidated by the size of the world and the intricacies of the game play and drop out of the game before things get interesting. Indeed, like certain things in life, Final Fantasy XI can almost feel as if you must engage on a long and frustrating, sometimes tedious, journey before you can bring yourself to begin to fully enjoy, even simply understand, the game. I hope to provide a general resource on character creation and the beginnings of the game, including the starting areas, classes, quests, among other things.

Beginning the process of character creation, you'll realize there are five races: Tarutaru, Mithra, Galka, Elvaan, and Humes.

Read the Beginner Guide here.