Possibly returning - Questions

[Coren]

Can I solo the story content or will I need a party?
Are the level caps hardcapped and quested or just keep leveling up to 90?
Do I need to worry about gear at all? Or just use whatever crap I get from quests?

Thanks guys!

[Anoat]

You can solo a majority of the story. Most story dungeons thru Heavensward can be done with a party of NPCs if you wish. There are dungeons and trials that still require parties, but story mode stuff is generally very easy and especially if you tell people it’s your first time someone will let you know if there is anything super important to know.

You can outlevel the story really easily but dungeons, trials, and solo duties will be level capped to be appropriate to where it falls in the story.

Heavensward caps at 60
Stormblood caps at 70
Shadowbringers caps at 80
Endwalker caps at 90

But like you could still be like level 70 for example still doing a Heavensward dungeon and it will sync you down to level 55 or whatever.

If you are playing a DPS or healer I’d say post 50 you really only need to upgrade gear on the capstone levels. Don’t worry about getting the best of the best stuff. That really only matters at endgame. If you are playing a tank I’d say post 50 you want to upgrade whenever you can but at the minimum every 5 levels. If you are dying in just a few hits as tank due to being undergeared it’s gonna be a bad time.

[Corrderio]

Do I need to worry about gear at all? Or just use whatever crap I get from quests?

Chiming in on the last one: When you do 50/60/70/80 dungeons as well as daily roulettes you'll get Allagan Tomestones off Poetics. You can exchange these for gear from special NPCs near the Aetheryte of each expansion's main city that can last you 5+ levels before dungeon gear would replace it.

The NPCs at the Limsa/Ul'Dah/Gridania Aetheryte provide level 50 gear
The NPC at Foundation provides level 60 gear
The NPC at Kugane provides level 70 gear
The NPC at The Crystalarium provides 80 gear

These NPCs will show up on your mini map as a blue bag icon.

It's in no way necessary but these can be a huge help. Especially for weapons. And since you're returning after a long time a ton of gear will be new for you so you can get quite a bit of gear probably.

[arus2001]

Unfortunately, unlocking poetics gear for the respective expansion usually comes late in the expansion, so if you aren't leveling multiple classes, it's pretty easy to be close to 70 by the time you unlock the 60 stuff. If you're desperate, you could probably buy cheap stuff off the AH, but I'd limit that to X+1 gear with X being the level caps.

If you are multi-leveling, and BLM and SMN seem your most compatible pair, just do 2 with one, then 2 the other. Since you can run with Trusts in HW stuff, you won't be cursed to 15+ minute queue times, either. The run will take a bit longer in comparison, but imo it's usually faster than queuing overall.

[Prothescar]

Would not recommend blm as your first job to come back to the game with. It requires advanced knowledge of individual fight mechanics and often also needs your team to work around you in some capacity. The other two casters are much less demanding in this regard, especially smn.

SMN in general is the easiest to learn, play, and optimize job in the game currently while also being one of the flashiest.

[arus2001]

I can't say I agree. BLM's rotation changing throughout the caps is annoying, sure, but it doesn't need Savage-tier proficiency or people bending around you to be serviceable. I can only really think of 2 MSQ encounters that would be annoying for a first-timer on the job.

Spoiler: show

Shinryu and Zodiark

And that's solely because they fuck with the arena.

[Coren]

It's been a hot minute since I've played, obviously, but I used to be quite good and dedicated to getting my rotations right, etc. Is there a resource to learn the best rotations for each level cap for each job?

I was thinking of doing BLM and DRG, but DRG is only 49 and can't get xp from the lvl 50 mainline quests. Where do I need to go to get lvl 50 in a reasonable amount of time? FATES around mor dhona used to be good.... but it seems nobody is doing them (for obvious reasons). I also wonder if I should just level a new class to 50 so I can relearn the damn game. I loved ninja in FFXI; is it still a similar job?

[arus2001]

Best bet is just run Aurum Vale a few times until you ding 50 if you're not gonna use roulettes.

[Corrderio]

I can sorta see both points. BLM feels like the black sheep (pun not intended) of casters because cast time for them is a significantly huge factor when compared to SMN/RDM. However the job can be an absolute beast in the right hands.

[Gokulo]

For rotations etc I think you can check The Balance discord.

And no XIV ninja is nothing like in XI

[Corrderio]

Yeah, The Balance has some decent guides for leveling. They give pretty helpful rotation advice for BLM: https://www.thebalanceffxiv.com/jobs...eveling-guide/

[Coren]

What 3rd party apps are good? Is there one to show active DPS, etc?

[Corrderio]

ACT for parsing works well.

https://advancedcombattracker.com/download.php

You'll have to whitelist the app in your firewall settings but the program is pretty helpful for that kind of information.

[Anoat]

What 3rd party apps are good? Is there one to show active DPS, etc?

Just fyi don’t ever, I mean EVER mention or imply use of third party apps in your ingame chat, that is something SE is really cracking down on and if someone reports you they will ban you for it.

[Coren]

Finally finished the ARR MSQ. Now for Heavensward! How long can I use the noob network? I may have to find a linkshell or whatever they are called at some point.

[Zealot]

NN lasts until you start Endwalker.

Sent from my SM-N981U using Tapatalk

[Coren]

NN lasts until you start Endwalker.

Sent from my SM-N981U using Tapatalk

Is that what is giving me +50% xp? Maybe I should take advantage of that and not rush to 90 with the first 2 jobs.

[Corrderio]

I'm not sure on the rate but I'm thinking that might be bonus EXP from when you log out in a sanctuary.

[Koyangi]

NN lasts until you start Endwalker.

Sent from my SM-N981U using Tapatalk

Irony is not lost that you post that on November 1st.

Spoiler: show

NN, No Nut (November)

[Coren]

So is anybody else on Sargatanas?