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The Final Push While gil, items and experience points can take you pretty far in Final Fantasy XI, they're not always the answer. Today we'll help you through some of your first major milestones before pushing you out of the proverbial nest. Getting Your Support Job The first major milestone for any player is getting his or her Support Job. Support Jobs are unlocked by completing one of two quests, each accessible once you reach Level 18 or higher. There is one in the town of Selbina, and another in the town of Mhaura. Because of players' tendency to gain a level while in Valkurm Dunes, it usually makes more sense to do the Selbina quest. Support Selbina In Selbina, find and talk to Isacio, an old man staring out to sea. He'll ask you to bring him three items: a Crab Apron, a Damselfly Worm and a Magicked Skull. All three of these items drop from popular experience monsters in Valkurm Dunes; you'll be fighting there from level 13 to 20. Mhaura Madness In Mhaura, find an old woman named Vera looking out to sea. To unlock your Support Job, you'll have to bring her three items: a Bloody Robe, some Dhalmel Saliva and a Wild Rabbit Tail. To Jeuno! You won't be able to accept the quest for your Chocobo License until you're at level 20, and the minute you hit 20 you'll want to head to Jeuno. Jeuno is a neutral city located between all three of the nations, and getting there the first time can be daunting, as the path is full of aggressive monsters. While it's best to do this in groups, one can get there on their own ... if they're prepared. For all three paths to Jeuno, you'll want to bring items that allow you to go undetected by monsters. Silent Oil and Prism Powder can be found on the Auction House under the "Medicines" category, and you can get Scrolls of Instant Reraise from your nation's Conquest representative. While these will help, pretending you're Solid Snake is just as effective and will save you money. From Bastok Konschtat Highlands From Bastok, you'll want to head through Gustaberg to Konschtat Highlands, an area you should've passed through many times now. If you haven't already, go to the Crag of Dem, that giant ceramic ruin in the center of the map, and check the crystal. This will allow you to teleport back here in the future. Head northeast to the Pashhow Marshlands exit. This is where things start to get rough. Passhow Marshlands The route through Pashhow Marshlands is pretty straight forward, but there are a lot of aggressive monsters here. Watch out for Quadavs, Goobbues and Malboros, all three of which are aggressive to sound, and Goblins, who attack on sight. You'll want to head North as much as possible, and will angle northeast towards the end into Rolanberry Fields. Rolanberry Fields Rolanberry Fields is the final area before you reach Jeuno, and is exceptionally easy to navigate: just follow the road north all the way to Jeuno. Of course, the road has a number of monsters watching it, so once again be on your guard. Quadavs and Goblins are the primary threat, which attack sound and sight, respectively. From San d'Oria La Theine Plateau The route from San d'Oria to Jeuno is probably the most difficult of the three. Before leaving La Theine Plateau, check the Crag of Holla in the center of the map for a crystal that'll let you teleport back here at a later date. From there, head east to the Jugner Forest exit. Jugner Forest While there is a road leading through Jugner Forest, it can be pretty dangerous. The Tigers, Goblins and Orcish will all attack on sight, while the Walking Trees will attack sounds. Follow the road northeast until you reach Batallia Downs. Batallia Downs Once in Batallia Downs, you'll want to head directly east. Avoiding attacks is pretty easy here, thanks to the barrows and hilly terrain, but still be on the lookout for Tigers, Goblins and Orcish, all of which attack on sight. From Windurst Tahrongi Canyon The route to Jeuno begins in Tahrongi Canyon. Windurstian's pilgrimage to the central city is the easiest of the three, but don't get cocky. In Tahrongi Canyon, be sure to check the crystal at the Crag of Mea, so you can teleport here later. With that out of the way, head north to Meriphataud Mountains. Meriphataud Mountains Meriphataud Mountains is barren not only of plants, but of aggressive monsters as well. Simply follow the road north the entire way, and you'll be one step closer to Jeuno. Sauromugue Champaign Sauromugue is perhaps the most dangerous of all the areas on the way to Jeuno, so take extra care when moving around. Follow the road, but don't be afraid to stray to avoid monsters as long as you keep the road in sight. Head to the northwest, avoiding the Yagudo, Tabar Beaks, Tigers, Goblins and Raptors. All of these attack on sight, and it's a long road.
Congratulations, you've made it to Jeuno! Behold the mighty architecture and engineering of this great city, but beware the omnipresent lag one finds in highly occupied areas like this. Set your homepoint here, as this will be your base of operations for some time. Your first agenda in Jeuno is to get your Chocobo License. Head to Upper Jeuno, and look for the Chocobo Stables to the northeast, set a level below. Talk to Brutus to begin the quest. Your goal is to nurse a Chocobo back to health. To do this you'll need four pieces of Gausebit Grass, which can be found on the Auction House in the Others/Misc. section. If none are in stock, you can wait or go try to get some of your own by killing Crane Flies in Meriphataud Mountains or Wadi Hares in Dangruf Wadi, all the way back near Bastok. The Chocobo quest is spread out over six game days, which don't need to be done in succession. Each game day, trade one piece of Gausebit Grass to the Chocobo. For two days the emotionally scarred Chocobo will refuse your offerings, but will eat one each day after that. After feeding it all four pieces of Gausebit Grass, Brutus will reward your nurturing nature with a Chocobo License. Now you'll be able to rent a Chocobo from the stables in any city for a small fee, greatly improving the speed at which you can move around. Additionally, there are Chocobo time trials available from each of the stables that give a variety of rewards, including experience points. Questing Fame The most important part about doing quests isn't the quests themselves, but the "Fame" they bring. Fame is a hidden stat that is tracked in each town and in the world as a whole, and every time you complete a quest somewhere, your fame goes up. The higher your fame, the better quests you'll be able to do, some that increase the size of both your inventory and your house's Mog Safe. Additionally, any would-be Summoners will want to build Fame early, as they won't be able to fill out their menageries of summonable Avatars without it. Missions: Innumerable Missions are longer, more elaborate quests performed to advance your national rank or the global story. While your rank within your nation doesn't mean much, many players may look at it as an indication of your competence, so it's best not to get too far behind on these missions. Attaining a higher rank not only rewards you with gil, but also unlocks more gear that can be bought with Conquest Points. But, really, the more important benefit is that you'll be able to ride the airship once you reach rank 5, allowing rapid transport between Jeuno and the three nations. Each nations offers 10 rank quests, each of which contains multiple missions. Completing expansion missions opens up new areas you'll want much later in the game, but it doesn't hurt to start now - Chains of Promathia missions can be started around level 30, whileRise of the Zilart missions can be started once you get Rank 6 around level 50. |