Help starting Taru mage...Follow

Playing my first char (who never got enough levels to be worth talking about), I got my little Mithra butt saved numerous times by kindly WHM/RDM who would Cure/Protect me when I needed it, and sometimes when I didn't. So I decided that I want to start my own WHM to pass on some good karma, and my Mithra didn't offer me the flexibility I wanted. I sat down and thought about it... and read the boards, and discovered that spells of all kinds do not come cheap. So, here's my plan.

I've started a Hume, and I'm going to alternate levelling THF and WAR until I hit 18, and then just charge ahead as a THF/WAR for awhile. With this char I'm doing a lot of item camping and some crafting, to gather money for my as-yet unborn Taru mage char. That way, when I start the Taru I have access to all of my spells as I level up. The Hume will also offer me the opportunity to do what I really love best -- beating the living sh*t out of things with an axe, and profiting from it. So that works out for me...

My real question is about the mage char. I can't make up my mind what I *really* want to spend most of my time doing, so I think what I'd like to do is start with RDM and level up to 18. That would allow me (I assume) to level up my magic skills and also be more viable as a solo player, as I'm working through a deep distrust of groups right now. At 18 I plan to start alternating between levelling up WHM and BLM, and eventually I hope to have two totally flexible characters. I'm not too concerned about advanced jobs, because obviously it'll be like four years before I can get one at this rate. :) So, other than the monstrous amount of time I'll be spending, is there any reason why this won't work? Anyone have any ideas/suggestions/improvements? I'm still a total newbie so any help I get will be appreciated!

That's a good point, and I definitely do want to play at least two totally different types of characters. :) My logic for keeping the THF/WAR levels up the way I want to is just that, at low levels, it's not hard to make money -- and I want lots of money. Once I hit level 13 or so on both jobs I'll probably start trying (*trying*) to power-level the warrior to 18, because at that point a lot of the stuff I'm killing for drops will be "too weak to be worthwhile" and I'll have to move into Tahrongi, where it's harder for me to rack up gil. Really on the hume char it isn't about levels so much as cash.

Actually, on that note, I'm thinking about doing a guide for my fellow newbies starting in Windurst. A lot of people don't understand what to hunt -- people spend an hour looking for crawlers while speeding by dozens of Carrion Crows, which can make you at least as much money.

But basically, yeah, I'm easily bored and I need a variety of things to do. I figure maging(grouping), meleeing, and crafting ought to keep me busy for awhile! Thanks for the input. *smile* Whew. Better stop reading and start playing, or I'll never even get a subjob.

...*thinks*...

Really, I'll probably never get one anyway. LoL

That's a great idea. :) Of course, the best part about this game is that there's very little item depreciation, so any "whoops!" purchases can be sold back for very little, if any loss - and sometimes a gain if things work out right. But the mage will definitely be receiving tons of cash. :) Hehe... as soon as I make some back after outfitting my melee!

If you're really looking to play 2 completely different types of characters, you can probably still get away with it just leveling up the one Hume. The biggest drawback to leveling two characters is, as Ske mentioned, the really pain-in-the-buttaru quests. Getting the skull (or god forbid, the bloody robes) for the subjob sucks. Camping for Khazam keys sucks. Not to mention the time needed to work up fame for the better "easy" quests. I won't discourage you from running 2 characters, but just make sure you're not biting off more than you can chew.

My suggestion is to work up the Hume and get to level 30 before you decide to invest time in a second character.

There are some days I wish I had been Hume so I could try the melee classes without having to redo those two quests or work my fame back up. Then again, I love my Taru too much. I'm hearing that I can get away with being a PLD/WHM as a Taru (and that I'll have more MP than a Hume WHM at the same level). If you play smart, as they say, you can work around any racial shortcomings and contribute to your party. :)

I usually just get new gear for the occasion and then sell it at the AH when i'm done, except for my main (whm) gear. E.G. if i wanna go PLD for a while i'd buy a scale armor set, a shield and a bee spatha, go level until next armor is available, then just sell the scale set for the same amount. Armor and common weapons always sell pretty fast.

This way i'm never really at a loss for storage space...
And anyway, that is nothing when the alternative is building a new character from scratch :P

As for the race thing, IMO humes seem to do good in any class (the main thing here is how you play anyway, except taru pld or galka mage maybe)...

RE: hiking from Windy to Bastok, it's pretty easy (albeit long) to walk from Windy to Buburimu / Mhuara. From there, it's 200gil to get to Valkurm / Selbina. If you're alone, walking from Valkurm to the Highlands sucks (there's a tiny tunnel with aggro'ing sandbats). However, the Dunes is usually packed, and people will clear the bats pretty often.

If you're on Fenrir, /sea Sprits and if I'm in the area, send me a /tell and I can escort you.