The dunes needs a full time info desk..Follow

I have been leveling my Whm and my Smn lately. I just made it to Khazam with my Smn but am still 18 with my Whm. So I have at least one more session for the Dunes. (I have to be able to pull myself away from Smn though, which I find myself falling in love with more and more each level lol)

Anyway, it wasn't until last night in a party in Khazam with my Smn that I actually had the party proactively pull off regular "non-accidental" skillchains. The players were much better and the experience points rolled in.

However, I used the opportunity of leveling in the Dunes and Qufim to try and offer some guidance to perhaps "wayward" players. The key is to be as tactful as possible so you don't hurt anyone's feelings or offend them. People are usually very receptive to your input as long as you are diplomatic about giving it.

For instance, I was able to get a few players to do their first skillchain when fighting Pugils on Siren Sands. In Qufim Island I let a thief know that if they continue to level thief, they really should invest in a bow/arrow or gun/bullets combination because future parties will usually expect them to pull.

And of course some of the players might send me a tell asking me a question, which I respond to politely. A Whm asked me in Qufim Island where I got my Pilgrim's Wand so I gave her some information which would help her eventually get her own.

So, bottom line is, remember that you were once a newb and try to exercise some compassion for players who might not know everything yet. Use it as an opportunity to give them some direction which can potentially help them become better players. You don't have to do things for them, but instead empower them to do things for themselves.

Sidenote: I usually ask them if they look online for information. If they really like what they are doing, they will want to learn more about it and eventually will be able to research and understand their job better, and become better players. For myself, I didn't become substantially better until I discovered the many online forums where I can find information. Now, I don't even begin to level a job until I have scoured that job forum for information about it. I usually tell them to check out this site and ffxiclopedia.com

Edited, Nov 9th 2006 at 8:47am PST by galapagosiananna

I think I can safely say I'm well and truly in the newbie category, so probably have and will do some silly things. I had a long break from the game due to rl and am only just getting back in to it all. With the release on XI on xbox there are a lot of new players and so far I have had little trouble getting a group - tho my char was WHM, will see how it goes this weekend now i am BLM/WHM :)

The downside to the dunes xp grind is there are always some who get impatient if the xp is less than 200 per kill (and usually leave you for dead should the worst happen) I've made some great friends from my dune grind time...and the advice and help they've given me has been greatly appreciated - so keep those hints flowing I for once certainly appreciate any advice from more experienced players as things like the art of skillchaining can be daunting at first!

And I have met some fabulously helpful people since coming back who have made it so easy getting back in the swing of things and happy to help any way they can. And to all those high level WHMs who do drive by rezes <3

I hate x2 post but this one seemed worth it.
While heading to get my worm yesterday I noticed two rmt camps right by one another. ( 8-10 member ally each, all lvl 1 gear save for the 2 "killers" per group) The person that was going to help me get my worm had not shown up yet so I thought I'd solo a bat or 2. Instead I ended up watching these 2 rmt groups fight for mobs. Every other mob someone from the one party tried to steal the other parties pull. It was classic, Funky letter name one got in range and started to pull. Funky name two voked it and returned to it's camp. FN1 looked for another mob and tried to pull it. ( he lost a few times because group 2 sent out a second voke and ran it to the zone)
I'm not sure how long they where there but I got a good laugh for the 10 minutes I was there. Seems even rmt's hate rmt's. 0.o

Honestly, i too hated Valkurm, but i hated qufim even more. Yes, in Qufim people are more likely to know what they are doing, however i hated the small passages and the little alleys you had to pass through and even 1 undead or such could block the route.
To me Valkurm is more fun because it is as many people have said a learning ground. Here is where many people get into their 1st pt. I never really liked Valkurm, many people were annoying, however when i started out i got some of my most valuable info here.
To me everything else>Valkurm>the jungles> qufim
but hey, i'm skipping over valkurm entirely on this toon, i'm soloing to 20 and possibly beyond.
Finally, so long as the person isn't intentionally getting others killed/offending others i could care less.

Dunes aint to bad, just remember, if the party starts to die, RUN!!!!

Never mind...I found the list of abreviations I was looking for...cleaning up my noob posts. I just wish I could figure out how to delete them

Edited, Mar 29th 2007 2:32pm by Duhkha