I played from 2003 - 2008 and started on Nasomi in June. I've never dual-boxed and I don't think I ever will, so you're not obligated to listen to the ppl who feel a need to obsessively min/max everything in their lives. Find a flow that works for you and go at the speed you like.

You're doing a good job using your CP to get gear, and it sounds like you've discovered the cost/benefit of vendors, so that's great. Flip that stuff on the AH, as mentioned previously. Some of the best money drops around Bastok are beehive chips. You can also synth those into beeswax because it's a very low level skill. Check out the ffxi wiki site for info on crafting recipes because it's invaluable. Chips sell really fast, and the other bee drops will sell eventually (though I tend to sell insect wings to vendors).

An important note about the auction house: you can put 100 items up for sale on it, but you cannot view more than 7 at a time. This is because retail FFXI only let you list those 7 items, but Nas changed things to make it easier for us. So don't hit the 'Sales Status' button because it'll glitch things because of this and you'll have to zone to clear it. Just list what you want to sell - without undercutting too drastically - and wait for your delivery box to fill up while you're out soloing other jobs.

Lastly, and related to that last point, I would recommend soloing at least one mage job to ~12. White Mage is the logical choice, but Red Mage has a lot of appeal and versatility. Once you have your subjob and can solo things as 4WAR/2WHM (for example), you'll be able to cure yourself a couple times in a pinch. Having that option really helps soloing early levels, and is also the key to soloing Beastmaster and Dragoon in later levels. And, again, make sure to buy your spells at magic vendors instead of the AH. They're located in Bastok Markets by the zone to Port Bastok.

Good luck, and feel free to message me in-game if you need a hand since I'm a Bastoker too.

_________________
LSs: DysKai | FunWithJugs | Ragnarok
formerly Krinkle of Kujata
some handy tips for total newbies: Click Here

I think I'm done posting for a while. I'd rather just find an exp group.

_________________
"Xyyth" / Hume / MNK-THF-? / Home City: Bastok

Go it. Thank you. I appreciate it.

_________________
"Xyyth" / Hume / MNK-THF-? / Home City: Bastok

Is this really what we're picking for the next thread to blow up?

_________________
this was more funny before everyone copied Kanodin

Eh if you need /mage to cure in a pinch to keep yourself alive, you're fighting the wrong monsters. Melee should be 1-2 shotting ep-dc the whole time for the best xp/time due to the huge buff to ep/dc xp. No subjob really helps that much low-level; /mnk counter and /thf evasion bonus is at 10, but at 12 you can /nin for shadows which is better 100x if you're not 2boxing.

_________________
啦體恩的雨水主要下降在其原野中
Making gil starting out!
Nasomi troubleshooting!

well dual boxing isn't required but it definitely make life easier. I think it was mentioned but you can't sync before lvl 10 so party before lvl 10 is pretty much you and your alt (if you so desire).
the rules about dual boxing is not written perfectly what it means is actually controlling them at the exact same time. like sending 2 command to two client at the same time with one keyboard click. I think most of people had this dilemma at the beginning until it cleared for them.

it's not a bad idea to have whm to lvl 25 atleast to have sneak/invis for you whenever you want for example. it's still your choice. and sooner you do it sooner you learn to play the game tactically and less of panic mode. at first you will be a little slow but eventually you learn the rope. since your kinda forced to use macro and can't be lazy by just using menus. at least that what happened for me.

the exp divide between two character of same lvl is kinda like 3/4 of solo to each (so 100 exp become 75 to each) with 2 character you usually kill things or atleast the same speed faster so your kinda exping faster. be warned though dual boxing isn't always fun and it's not for everyone. I think it doesn't hurt to try it and see how it goes. and if you liked it then continue if not well there are pretty successful (or in top 10) single characters out there.
the sooner you test and find it out better as doing the same quests for your alt may become boring. so you can do all the missions and quests with you and your alt and don't need to repeat them again.

personally I usually lvl in the bastok mines (zeruhn mines something) to lvl 10 to do some mining too. and get some stuff that can be traded to npc for little gil and reputation that make things cheaper to buy later (reputation lower prices of different stuff you want to buy)