Final Fantasy XI Online
For the PC and Playstation 2 Console

FAQ for Those Really Important Questions
V 0.1

By: Morph at fudgeit2k@hotmail.com for http://www.GameFAQs.com

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Revisions
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V 0.1 - [08/11/04] Started writing the guide

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Table of Contents:
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  I. List of Questions
     - Starting
     - Party & Hunt
     - Auction House
     - Quests & Missions
     - Miscellaneous
     
 II. Answers
III. Wrapping Up

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I. List of Questions
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This is a no frills FAQ to those really important questions that need to be 
answered.  If it's important, you'd find the answer here.  To best utilize the 
FAQ, use the CTRL-F to find keywords of questions you are looking for.

- Starting -
1.  What is the best job to start out with?
2.  What nation is the best for starting out?
3.  How do I find my way around?
4.  What should I be doing?
5.  How do I make money?
6.  What are crags?
7.  What are linkshells?
8.  What is crafting and fishing?
9.  What is farming and what should I farm?
10. How do I trade items?
11. How do I talk in Japanese?

- Party & Hunt -
1.  How do I find people to party with?
2.  What are foods/drinks and what should I be using?
3.  What are medicines and what should I be carrying?
4.  What are macros and how should I use them?
5.  What equipments and spells should I have?
6.  What jobs make up a good party?
7.  Where should I go to hunt?
8.  How do I use the auto-translator function?
9.  What is my role in the party?
10. How should I act so I won't be seen as a "newbie?"
11. What subjob should I have on?
12. I've been sitting here for 8 hours, looking for a party, what is going on?!
13. What is (Skill) (Up) (party)?
14. I can't find my party members, what should I do?
15. What is renkai, skill chain, and magic burst?

- Auction House - 
1.  How do I sell things in auction house?
2.  Can I make money off of auction house?
3.  Why isn't anything of mine selling?
4.  What nation is <outland area>'s auction house connected to?
5.  How do I get a deal out of the auction house?
6.  What is bazaar?
7.  How do I sort items in the auction house?

- Quests & Missions - 
1.  How do I ride a chocobo?
2.  What is a subjob and how do I get it?
3.  What is an advanced job and how do I get it?
4.  How do I find information for <quest name>?
5.  What is an alliance?
6.  What is the importance of nation ranking?
7.  What is the importance of signet?
8.  What is the importance of conquest points?
9.  What is the importance of fame ranking?
10. How do I get more fame for <place>?
11. The NPC does not give me the quest, why?
12. How do I ride the airship?
13. How do I get <location>'s map? 
13. What does (limit) (break) 1 (party) (paper) mean?
14. What does (Location) (Artifact) (key) (party) mean?
15. What is BCNM?

- Miscellaneous - 
1.  What're chat filters and how should I utilize them?
2.  What does <acronym> mean?
3.  How do I sort my items in my inventory?
4.  How do I split apart a stack into individual items in my inventory?
5.  Why are there so many anonymous people?

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II. Questions and Answers
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- Starting -
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1.  What is the best job to start out with?

In my opinion, red mage is the best job to start out with.  They can weaken 
enemies via "debuff" spells, swing swords with proficiency, cure themselves, 
and cast deadly spells (nuke) against enemies.  It is very possible to fight 
all by yourself as a red mage before until level 15.  And since you are able 
to cure and nuke, you'd always be welcomed in every single party.  After 
level 41, your presence is indispensable in every single group composition.

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2.  What nation/race is the best for starting out?

It depends on what race you'd be playing, for which nation.  If you're going to 
be Tarutaru or Mithra, pick Windurst.  If you're going to be Hume or Galka, 
pick Bastok.  If you're going to be Elvaan, pick San d'Oria.  In most servers, 
San d'Oria usually rank #1 in the "Balance of Power" scheme of things.  If they 
aren't #1, they will be sooner or later.  

Being #1 ranked in the "Balance of Power" means that NPC merchants sell more 
variety of items, and that there are more places in the world that you can set 
your home point and recast of signet.

So being an Elvaan is recommended.

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3.  How do I find my way around?

Go to the (Menu), then go to (Map) to see a map of your current location.  If 
you do not have the map of the area, try visiting online websites to print out 
maps.

Here're some websites ~

http://www.clanwind.com/ffxi/zonemap.asp
http://www.speakeasy.org/%7Esticks/ffxi/treasure/title.html

You'd notice that the maps are done via coordinate system -- the letter A to O 
for West to East, and number 1 to 15 for North to South.  If you want to find 
out your current location, type "/say <pos>" in the textbox and it'd appear.

It is hard to find where you are going when you are starting out, since nothing 
is very exact with the coordinate system.  So, if you are lost, asking people 
is the easiest ~ most people will be kind to new player and be willing to show 
them around.  Remember not to use the "/shout" chat command to ask where you 
are going, rather see who is around you and ask them via the "/tell" chat 
command.

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4.  What should I be doing?

When you are starting out, first is to find out where to go to give your newly 
acquired "Adventurer Coupon."  To find out, go to your map, and click on the 
"Markers" menu.  It should show where the person is.

Once you trade the "Adventurer Coupon" to the person, you should get some money 
(gil).  Now find your way around and go outside.  Outside is marked by a Red 
Arrow, and other part of the city is marked by a Black Arrow.  

For example, in "Bastok Market," "South Gustaberg" is written in Red Ink with a 
Red Arrow, that's outside.  "Port Bastok" is written in Black Ink with a black 
arrow.  

Right before you go outside, find special gate guards that will "Cast Signet" 
on you.  Once you get outside, target a monster by 1) Clicking with your mouse 
2) Hitting "Tab" key until the monster is highlighted 3) Hitting F8 on your 
keyboard when you are facing it and close enough 4) Typing command "/targetnpc"

When your monster is targeted, hit Alt-C to "consider" the monster.  If it says 
"decently challenge" that means you can kill it!  Hit Alt-A to start attacking.

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5.  How do I make money?

Making money when you are just starting involves selling items on the auction 
house.  Before you go outside to kill monsters, you should have gotten "signet"
cast on you.  With the signet, you'd get "crystals" from enemies that you kill.

These crystals can then be sold at the auction house for money.  Do not sell 
the crystal to NPC merchants; you won't get much money at all from them.

Once you acquire a bit of money, the next step to make big money is to fish.  
Fishing requires patience that I don't have.  But if you want a lot of money, 
that's the best route to take without a good amount of starting capital.  

Most fishing guides are confusing, and you won't make much sense out of what 
they are trying to say until later.  So here's what you need to know in a very 
short and concise manner.

1) Buy a carbon rod from the auction house via "Weapons" "Ammo & Misc" "Fishing 
Gear"

2) Buy some insect paste or lugworm from your local fishing shop.

3) Find somewhere to sit for a while, preferably where others are fishing 
inside the town.

4) Start fishing.

You'd eventually level up your fishing skill after 10 hours.  It's hard work, 
but worth it according to people better than me.  You'd be going after moat 
carps eventually, as they'd make you a lot of money.

Now that you've accumulated 100k+ in gil by selling hundreds of stacks of moat 
carp, you can try your hand in crafting skills.  Goldsmiths makes the most 
money, but you'd be fishing a lot to support your craft.

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6.  What are crags?

Crags are locations in the Vana'diel world where you can "teleport" to.  
Teleports are offered by white mages level 36 or higher.  There're three 
"nations" crag, and 3 other crags you can teleport to.  

Teleport-Holla > La Theine Plateau
Teleport-Dem   > Konschtat Highlands
Teleport-Mea   > Tahrongi Canyon
Teleport-Altep > Eastern Altepa Desert
Teleport-Yhoat > Yhoator Jungle
Teleport-Vahzl > Xarcabard

You should get the three nations crag (Holla/Dem/Mea) by the time you are level 
20, Altep/Yhoat by the time you are level 30, and Vahzl by the time you are 
level 48.

The crags are gigantic white egg-shell super structure that looks scary at 
first.  Run up to it, and click on the spinning "blue crystal" to get the "gate 
crystal."  Once you have the "gate crystal" you'd be able to teleport to that 
location via the help of a white mage.

In all three nation's crag, there are chocobo NPC that will let you ride 
chocobo for a fee (usually very expensive).  You need to be at least level 20 
to ride chocobo at the crags.

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7.  What are linkshells?

Linkshell is a guild.  Those with the same linkshell are able to communicate 
with one another via a chat channel across the world.  You can form your own 
linkshell and pass "link pearl" to other people, or ask for "pearl sack 
holders" to give you a pearl so you can join a "linkshell."

Basically, the hierarchy goes like this ~

Linkshell Creator > Linkshell Pearl Sack Holders > Linkshell members

You can become a linkshell creator by buying linkshells from NPC merchant in 
each of the starting nations.

Port Bastok          >  Ilita (E-7)
Port Windurst        >  Khel Pahlhama (H-9)
Southern San d'Oria  >  Paunelie (E-8)

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8.  What is crafting and fishing?

There are 9 different "crafting" skills you can choose from.

1) Woodworking
2) Smithing
3) Goldsmithing
4) Clothcraft
5) Leathercraft
6) Bonecraft
7) Alchemy
8) Cooking
9) Fishing.

Crafting for 1-8 is done by getting the recipe and using the appropriate 
crystal to synthesize the resulting product.  For example, to use your 
"cooking" skill to "craft" a "roasted corn" you will do the following ~

1) Go to your Item screen (Alt-I)
2) Select "Fire Crystal" in your inventory and push enter
3) Select "Use" and push enter
4) Select a blank slot and push enter
5) Select "Millioncorn" from your inventory
6) Push enter and select just 1 "million corn"
7) Select Ok and push enter
8) Done!

Crazy huh?  Imagine repeating this for hundreds of time just to level up your 
cooking skills.

Fishing is simpler.  Just buy a fishing rod from Auction House "Weapons" > 
"Ammo & Misc" > "Fishing Gear" and buy some bait, find a place with water, and 
type "/fish"

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9.  What is farming and what should I farm?

Farming is the act of killing monsters that are way below your level for items.
These items you will sell for a profit in order to buy what you need.

You should farm things that sell well.  For example, if you are from Windurst, 
you can farm "Crawler" for "silk thread."  A stack of silk thread will sell for 
7,000 gil.  

Remember that thief have a special ability called "Treasure Hunter" that will 
allow you to obtain items more frequently from monsters you kill.

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10. How do I trade items?

Select a person, hit enter to go into the person sub menu, and select trade.  
If the person is giving you something as well, remember that you can select 
what the person is giving you to verify the item.  

Always verify items before hitting your OK button to finish the trade.

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11. How do I talk in Japanese?

Unless you buy imported copy of Final Fantasy XI, you cannot type in Japanese.  
However, by using the auto-translator function, your words come out in Japanese!

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- Party & Hunt -

1.  How do I find people to party with?

You do not need to party with anyone until you hit level 9.  Once you reach the 
proper level, you can find people to party with via the "Search" menu function.
But I would recommend using your own search string to find who to party with, 
else it'd get confusing what your criteria are before long.

Here're some examples -- 

1) /search level 10<12 inv region
- This command uses "level" "inv" and "region" keywords.  It searches the 
surrounding area (region) for those that are looking for party (inv) that falls 
between the level 10 to 12.

2) /search level 10<12 inv all
- This command differs from the first by replacing "region" with "all".  It 
searches every single location in the world instead of just regional.

3) /search level 10<12 war all
- This command uses "level" "war" and "all" keywords.  "war" means to look for 
only warriors.  

There are more in depth examples that you can find in the "Commands FAQ" 
written by Nalyr.  

However, if you do not want to learn the command, here is the official command 
way to do it.

(Menu) > (Search) > (Select one of the search criteria) > (Select "Search 
results) > (Select another search criteria)

Example >> To find a level 50 paladin from San d'Oria with rank 5 in all 
locations

(Menu) > (Search) > (Level) 
    - Min = 50, Max = 50
(Pick Search Results [always the first line from the resulting window]) > (Area)
> (All Areas)
     - Now you should get a lot more results
(Pick Search Results) > (Rank) > (Rank 5)
     - Now it narrows down some
(Pick Search Results) > (Job) > (Paladin)
    - Narrows down further
(Pick Search Results) > (Country) > (San d'oria)
     - Finished!

An equivalent command would be "/search 50 pld home san rank 5 all"

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2.  What are foods/drinks and what should I be using?

Food gives supplement to your basic stats.  It make you stronger by just a bit.
For melees, it's said that "meat mithkabobs" make them much stronger!  For 
casters, it doesn't help all that much to help a bit more mana.  Foods are 
expensive, and you'd soon need to farm on a constant basis just to keep up with 
the cost of eating food while you are getting experience points.  Usually, each 
use of food only lasts 30 minutes.

Drinks give casters a small boost of mana for a very short duration.  Usually, 
it won't save your party, so don't bother with them.

- If you are a melee, eat "Meat Mithkabobs"
- If you are taking hits, eat "Boiled Crab"
- If you are casting healing spells, eat "Roasted Mushroom", "Apple Pie", 
  "Melon Pie"
- If you are casting attacking spells, eat "Apple Pie" or "Melon Pie"
- If you have mana and need faster mana regeneration, drink "Pineapple Juice" 
  or "Yagudo Drink"

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3.  What are medicines and what should I be carrying?

Medicines range from potions that give you some HP or MP instantly, to powders 
that make you invisible for a short duration, to items that would resurrect you 
upon death.

For all experience points party, you are not expected to carry any type of 
medicine.  However, after level 50, you'd be appreciated if you have your own 
prism powder and silent oil.  Prism powder makes you invisible, and silent oil 
gives you "sneak."

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4.  What are macros and how should I use them?

Macros are a very important part of the game, especially when grouping/partying 
with others.

Basically, it's to allow you to hit a button over and over, and never have to 
do anything else.  

You set up macros by going (Menu) > (Macros) > (Select a slot)

There is an entire guide dedicated to Macros by nemes1s.  Refer to it if you 
need to.  But in reality, here're the three major macros you'd ever need.

1) 
/ws "Weapon Skill" <t>

example: /ws "Burning Blade" <t>

2) 
/ja "Job Ability" <t>
example: /ja "Provoke" <t>

3) 
/ma "Spell" <t>
example: /ma "Cure" <t>

4)
/party TP: <tp>

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5.  What equipments and spells should I have?

To appear not "gimped," as a melee, you need to have equipments that are within 
5 levels of your current level.  Casters on the other hand, could be wearing 
any type of clothing but must have all the important spells.

Melees, it really doesn't matter what kind of equipments you are wearing ~ just 
make sure all the pieces are within 5 levels of your job, and that you look 
cool.  For jewelries like necklace, earrings, belts, and rings ~ it depends on 
your job.

Just remember one thing, if you can buy it, you can sell it back!  So you 
aren't wasting any money.

Casters, you could be level 75 and still be wearing Robe wearable by level 1.  
As long as you have all the spells important, that's all you'd need.  As for 
exactly what spells are important ~ ALL THOSE THAT YOU CAN USE! BUY THEM ALL!

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6.  What jobs make up a good party?

This is my own opinion ~

Before level 25, make sure your party has 1 person that can take damage 
(warrior and paladin), 2 people that can deal out damage (warriors, thieves, 
rangers, dark knights, monks, dragoons, samurai, 2 people that can heal (white 
mage, red mage), and 1 person that can nuke (black mage, red mage).

From level 25 till 41, the same party configuration as above will do fine, but 
swap out one healer for a bard if possible.

From level 41 till 75, try for this party configuration

1 Rich Ninja or Paladin
1 Rich Ranger 
1 Samurai
1 Black Mage
1 Red Mage or Bard
1 White Mage

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7.  Where should I go to hunt?

Anywhere that's not crowded is a good place.  The best location is the whole 
zone with just your party killing whatever.

But let's pretend you are level 45, and you have no idea where to go.  Just 
type this command in!  "/search 44<46 all"

At the time of typing, the result returned 51 people.  Now, look for names in 
light blue and yellow ~ and a majority are in "Quicksands" and "EastAltepa".  
Now you know where to go!  "Quicksands" or "EastAltepa"  

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8.  How do I use the auto-translator function?

Type the first few letters, and hit "Tab" key.

Example:

"Cong" + "Tab Key" will give you a sub menu of "Congratulations!"  Select it 
and hit enter.

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9.  What is my role in the party?

Warrior > To take damage and deal out damage
Monk > To deal out damage and pull monsters to camp
White Mage > To cure people and get rid of status ailments
Black Mage > To dish out damage
Red Mage > To weaken enemies by "debuffing," Cure or nuke, and mana battery.
Thief > To deal out damage and pull monsters to camp
Paladin > To take damage
Dark Knight > To deal out damage and pull monsters to camp
Beastmaster > You stay out of groups, go away.
Bard > To sing status boosting songs, and weaken enemies
Ranger > To dish out damage
Samurai > To dish out damage and form skill chains
Ninja > To take damage and dish out damage
Dragoon > To dish out damage
Summoner > To dish out damage, and cure people

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10. How should I act so I won't be seen as a "newbie?"

- Always ask stupid questions in private (/tells) to the one that talk the most
- Always follow the person who seem to have the best equipment, or highest rank
- Always eat food prescribed at least once when the party first starts fighting
- Learn skill chain and magic burst
- Make good macros and use them often
- Chat minimally
- Have at least one good piece of equipment that's really expensive for your 
  level
- Use the auto-translator function often
- Your subjob should always be half of your level (ie, level 53 means your SJ 
  is 26) and of course, your equipment being within 5 levels!

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11. What subjob should I have on?

Very simple ~ just follow the crowd!  If you are a level 40 thieve, just do 
"/search 39<41 thf all"  

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12. I've been sitting here for 8 hours, looking for a party, what is going on?!

You must be aggressive and form your own party!  If parties won't invite you, 
you make your own.  If you fall into the sad category of "non-vital" jobs like 
"dragoon," you'd have to make your own almost always.  The key is "right time, 
with the right people."

After level 41, every single group require 3 essential classes ~ a tank, a 
healer, and a mana battery.  If there are 2 out of 3 of these online and not 
grouped, you have a chance to form your own party!  

First, how to find these people?  Simple!  Make 5 macros.  In our example, we'd 
pretend you are a level 60 dragoon, one of the hardest job to find a party with 
~ cause no one needs you (let's all cry).

1) /search level 60<61 pld all
2) /search level 59<61 nin all
3) /search level 58<61 whm all
4) /search level 58<61 rdm all
5) /search level 58<61 brd all

Remember, you are making a party, 2 out of 3 are essential to forming a group.  
But, here are some additional criteria ~ 

- If you find a paladin, you must have a white mage.
- If you find a ninja, you don't need a white mage, so that opens up who the 
  2nd essential will be.
- If you find a white mage, you must have either paladin or ninja.
- If you find a red mage, you must have either paladin or white mage, or a 
  ninja.
- If you find a bard, you must have either a paladin or white mage, or a ninja.

In essence, you need a tank and a healer ~ the mana battery is just an extra, 
and easy to find.  So after an hour of pushing these 5 macros, I found a level 
61 paladin seeking, as well as level 59 red mage.  I must remember that I'm 
merely a dragoon, a job no one wants to be associated with.  So you must trick 
them!

You first must already be a party leader, so they people won't see that you are 
all by yourself!  So, invite another "non-essential" person into your party 
first ~ like a monk.  A monk would be happy with an invitation and will join 
you regardless of who you have in your party or if you are by yourself.

Then, you send tell to the paladin, saying this, "/tell Paladin (Hello!) 
(Experience Points) (Party) (Do you need it?)"

The asshole paladin will mostly ask, "who do you have in your party?" before 
joining ~ so you reply with, "I got some people on the way, red mage and monk 
already joined."  Now, if he asks you later, you can just blame it on grammar.  
The red mage isn't really on the way, but since red mage is looking for group, 
it's very likely red mage will join.  The monk is in group already, not a lie =)

Now, the paladin won't want to look too much an ass, so paladin will accept the 
invitation ~ if not, fall back to hitting the 5 macros.

Right after inviting him, do the same exact thing with the red mage, and trick 
the red mage too!

And after you got the paladin and red mage, your group is nearly done!  Now you 
can send tells to any black mage and white mage, seeking or not saying, "hey!  
Do you want to join our party?  Almost full!"

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13. What is (Skill) (Up) (party)?

Normally a true (skill) (up) (party) does not exist.  They all are for a 
purpose like getting a special item or getting a quest completed!  So if you 
see one of those forming, don't be shy to ask "what is it for?"  You might get 
what you need done accomplished too.

(skill) (up) is where people would use their other weapons to fight monsters to 
"level up" their weapon skills.  Because their other weapons' skill level is 
rather low, they won't use these weapons in actual experience points group.  So 
a (skill) (up) (party) is necessary.

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14. I can't find my party members, what should I do?

This happens when you are trying to following the highest ranked person or the 
person that look the coolest but somehow fell behind and not sure where you are 
going.  Couple of choices are opened to you now 1) Be honest and say you are 
lost or 2) Hit Alt-Tab, open up a web browser and print out maps of location 
that you are going, and get back into the game.

By going to the map menu, or using "/map" command, you can see where your party 
is located at with special marker.  Just hit "Marker" menu, and hit left and 
right arrow until your party members show up on the map.  

Now do "/tell <yourself> <pos>" you can find your own location on the map 
printed out, and be able to track where they are going!  Remember that the 
markers of your party members do not update automatically ~ so remember to 
close the map and reload the map.

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15. What is renkei, skill chain, and magic burst?

There is a wonderful guide written by Master LL on Renkei and magic bursting.  
I would recommend studying the guide thoroughly, or else be called a newbie.

But, here's my take on it, very simple.  In a party that you'd join, people 
will say, "(In what order shall we do our skill chain?)"  Just stay quiet if 
you don't know what the hell is going on.

When other smarter people figure out the skill chain, listen in closely.  
They'd say something like similar to :

SmartPerson>> (Fast Blade)>(Burning Blade)>(Thunder Thrust) is (Skillchain)

Now, if you are going to be hitting the monster on a regular basis (melee), see 
if you have the weapon skill (Fast Blade) or (Burning Blade) or (Thunder 
Thrust).  You can see the list of weapon skills you have by hitting "Alt-W"

If you have both (Fast Blade) and (Burning Blade), the proper question to ask 
is, "Should I do (Fast Blade) or (Burning Blade)?"  The SmartPerson will tell 
you.

Next, refer to how to make a macro, and make sure you have a macro that will 
report your TP percentage and also a macro that will perform the weapon skill.  
As a reminder, it is 

"/party TP: <tp>"

Here's the tricky party, if you are assigned to do (Fast Blade), you'd have to 
make an extra macro that says something like

"/party (Ready to start skillchain!) <call0>"

Now, when the battle commences, watch for the other person reporting their TP.  
If no one is saying it, just ask, "What is your TP?" every few seconds.

When everyone is over 100%, hit your macro that says, "(Ready to start 
skillchain!) <call0>"  Then wait 2 seconds, and hit your macro that'd perform 
(Fast Blade).

You're done then, nothing more to worry about.

---
If you are assigned to do (Burning Blade), just report your TP every once in a 
while, and watch for other people's TP as well.  When you see someone readies 
(Fast Blade), count to three seconds, then hit your macro to do (Burning Blade)
You're done.

---
If you are a black mage, you're responsible for magic bursting.  Just ask the 
SmartPerson this question, "what element?"  And SmartPerson will say something 
like "Fire & Light" or "Fusion."

So, watch for the melee people do their weapon skills.  At the last weapon 
skill performed, you'd see a special effect happening around the monster.  For 
fusion, it's a big spherical burst of flame, very pretty.  When the special 
effect is over, that's when your spell needs to land.

So start casting "Fire" soon as you see the special effect (or whatever element 
you need to be casting).  Below is a list

Scission = Earth 
Liquefaction = Fire 
Impaction = Thunder 
Indurations = Ice 
Reverberation = Water 
Shrinkage = Darkness
Transfixion = Light 
Detonation = Wind 
Fusion = Fire/Light 
Distortion = Water/Ice 
Fragmentation = Wind/Thunder 
Gravitation = Darkness/Earth

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- Auction House -

1.  How do I sell things in auction house?

- Find the auction house, it's shown on /map (map)
- Run up to the windows, and find the Auction Counter (push F8)
- Select "Sell"
- Select the item you want to sell
- Pick a price, and sell!

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2.  Can I make money off of auction house?

Yes, that's the whole point.  Now, if you don't have any good to sell, but you 
have a small capital, you can make money by buying from one auction house, and 
selling to another auction house.  Or buy low and sell high!  In Bastok, fire 
crystal stack sometimes sell for only 2000 gil, and sometimes sell for 3000g.

In Jeuno, a weapon might cost only 3000 gil ~ but in Windurst, it might sell 
for 5000 gil.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.  Why isn't anything of mine selling?

You must sell things at prices that people want to buy them at.  To see how 
much your item sold for ~ you can 

1) Put the item on sale
2) Go to "Sales Status"
3) Select the item in question, and hit enter to see "Price history" menu item
4) Look at the price history

or 

1) Find the item in the Auction House via the "Bid" menu
2) Location the item, select it and hit enter to see "Price History"

Now, look at the latest price, that's how much you should sell your item for.  
But wait!  Everyone else, who owns the same item as you, will try to sell it 
for that price too.  It's no good; the auction house is random and might sell 
everyone else's item before selling yours! 

So, undercut them before it happens!  The auction house will always sell the 
lowest priced item first.  If an item last sold for 1800 gil, put yours up for 
sale at only 1701 gil.  It'd sell faster =)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.  What nation is <outland area>'s auction house connected to?

Try selling an item, then go to Jeuno.  From Jeuno's Auction House, look at 
Sales Status, and it'd show what nation your item is being sold from.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5.  How do I get a deal out of the auction house?

People will tell you to be patient, and wait until someone put up an item for 
sale that's within your price range.  But let me tell you something different.

Look at who is selling these items ~ if the item is not unique, you can buy 
from the person directly.

For example, a Dark Staff sells for 300,000 gil.  I wasn't going to pay 300,000 
gil.  So for 3 days, I went to the auction house to look at price history for 
dark staff, and then took note of everyone that has sold Dark Staff in the 
Auction House.  At the end, I found only 7 people sells the Dark Staff.

Then for the next two days, I constantly did "/search <person> all"  And soon, 
I talked with all 7 people.  To each, I made an offer of 260,000 gil for a dark 
staff.  And half of them counter offered for 280,000 gil.  At the end, one 
said, "270,000"

I saved 30,000 gil, isn't it great?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6.  What is bazaar?

It's to sell items that you have on person.  An icon pops up beside your name 
ticker above your head that indicate you are selling items!  Go to (Menu) > 
(Bazaar).  It's pretty self-explanatory.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7.  How do I sort items in the auction house?

After seeing the gigantic list of item for sale under (Material) > (Alchemy), 
you must learn how to sort, else never find what you are looking for.  

Select any item under (Alchemy), and push enter.  Instead of Bidding, select 
(Sort).

That's it.

===============================================================================
- Quests & Missions - 

1.  How do I ride a chocobo?

You must be level 20 to do the chocobo quest from Upper Jeuno.  You need 4 
Gausebit Grass to do the quest.  It's recommended to buy the Gausebit Grass 
from an Auction House that's not Jeuno!  

When you reach Upper Jeuno as a level 20, find Brutus in the Chocobo Stable.  
You'd have to try feeding the chocobo 6 times.  You can only feed the chocobo 
once per Vana'diel day.  

Here's a trick.  

If you wait until 23:45 Vana'diel time to feed the chocobo, you can feed the 
chocobo again right when it reaches 00:01 Vana'diel time just seconds later.

After you get the license, you can ride chocobo from your home town even if you 
are level 15.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.  What is a subjob and how do I get it?

A subjob is a job that's half the level of your main job.  It allows you to do 
stuff you normally couldn't without the subjob.  For example, if you played 
warrior and thief both to level 10, you can have your main job as thief and 
choose warrior as your sub job.  The ability from the warrior will only be as 
strong as that of a level 5 though.

But, since warrior gets job ability of "Provoke" at level 5, that would mean 
you can provoke as a thief now!  Isn't it great?!  WAAA!

So, to enable sub job, you first need to be level 18.  There're two ways to 
achieve the one goal.  

1) Talk to Isacio from Selbina
2) Collect Crab Apron, Damselfly worm, and Magicked Skull.

or 

1) Talk to Vera from Mhaura
2) Collect Wild Rabbit's Tail, Dhamel Saliva, and Bloody Robe.  

Since Valkrum Dunes is the place to party, it's preferred to do the quest via 
Isacio from Selbina.  From level 13 onto level 20, if you stay in Valkrum
Dunes, you'd kill Snipper, Damselfly, and Ghoul for all three items.

Magicked Skull is the hardest to get, if you happen to have a party that needs 
the skull, you can go to Gusgen Mine for more concentrated attempt on getting 
the magicked skull.

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3.  What is an advanced job and how do I get it?

Advanced jobs include
- Ninja
- Paladin
- Dark knight
- Samurai
- Bard
- Beast master
- Ranger
- Dragoon
- Summoner

You can get the advanced jobs after reaching level 30 with one of the normal 
jobs.  Get details about the advanced jobs from 

http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/quests.html?fqtype=Job%20Related

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.  How do I find information for <quest name>?

http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/ 
or 
http://mysterytour.web.infoseek.co.jp/ffxi/us/quest/view.htm

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5.  What is an alliance?

An alliance is formed between two to three parties.  If you are a party leader, 
you can form an alliance with another party's leader by selecting him, go to 
the sub menu, and "Form" an alliance.  You can also do "/search 
PartyLeaderName" and then select the name here, and select "Form" in the menu 
that will appear.

Alliances are only necessary for missions and quests that are very difficult.  
You probably won't need an alliance for anything until you hit around level 
40ish.  

An alliance does not have a special chat channel, it'd look like one huge party 
still, except everyone in the other parties are hard to target. 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6.  What is the importance of nation ranking?

The higher your nation is ranked, the more land it controls.  The more land it 
controls, the more location you have for getting signet refreshed and set home 
points at.  

The more land it controls, the more good merchants of your nation will sell.  
However, some merchants sell stuff via what region your nation is currently 
controlling.

An example of why ranking is important ~

During the rare instance of when Bastok is ranked #1, I was able to buy quest 
goods (La Theine Cabbage & Cornettes) necessary to raise my fame to max for 
Windurst, Bastok, and San d'Oria.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7.  What is the importance of signet?

Without signet, you would not earn conquest points nor get elemental crystals 
during your experience point party.  

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8.  What is the importance of conquest points?

Conquest points allow you to buy stuff that's otherwise unobtainable.  Also, 
some of these items can be sold for good amount of gil!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9.  What is the importance of fame ranking?

With high fame, items from NPC merchants are cheaper and you are allowed to do 
more quests.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10. How do I get more fame for <place>?

Refer to the Fame FAQ written by Violence Jack.  But, I recommend turning in La 
Theine Cabbage in Selbina, and Cornette in Windurst.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11. The NPC does not give me the quest, why?

- You might need to complete your current mission before you can get the quest.
- You might need more fame.
- You might need to do other quests.
- You might need to be certain level.
- You might need the sun and moon to be in perfect alignment with Jupiter's 
  second moon.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12. How do I ride the airship?

To get the airship pass, you must complete Mission 10 (Magicite).  Refer to 

http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/quests.html?fqtype=Mission

For more information on the missions that must be done.  Other than Mission 6, 
everything else can be done solo or with one helper.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
13. How do I get <location>'s map? 

Refer to 
http://mysterytour.web.infoseek.co.jp/ffxi/us/tips/map/map.htm
and
http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/quests.html?fqtype=Map

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
13. What does (limit) (break) 1 (party) (paper) mean?

When you reach level 50, you cannot advance to level 51 until you perform a 
quest.  The details of the quest can be found at 

http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/quests.html?fqtype=Level

(Limit) (Break) 1 is the most difficult in my opinion because of the time 
involved with it.  Depending on luck, (paper) could be gotten in an hour or it 
might take weeks.  Paper is the one of the three items required by Maat.  Its 
true name is "Ancient Papyrus" dropped by "Lich" in "Eldieme Necropolis."  

The best location to hunt Liches is going via (Ronfaure East) > (Ranguemont 
Pass) > (Beaucedine Glacier) (Batallia Downs) > (Eldieme Necropolis)

Once you reach (Eldieme Necropolis) via this route, go down the stairs, past 
two small room on left and right with lich in each room, down more stairs.  At 
this big room, you'd see two liches, go past this room and head south.  You'd 
be in a big cavernous room now, follow the right wall, and you'd be in a tunnel 
connecting two cavernous rooms.  Make your camp in the middle of this tunnel.  
Pull 2 liches from the north, and 2 liches from the south.  If your party feels 
happy, pull 2 more liches from the room further north.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
14. What does (Garliage Citadel) (Artifact) (key) (party) mean?

When you reach level 50, you'd start to worry about collecting artifact armors.
For each job, there will be some pieces of the artifact armor lying in treasure 
coffer somewhere in different dungeons.  

These coffer require a "coffer key" to open them, and the monsters that drop 
these "Coffer key" often require a party of at least level 55+ to kill.

If you aren't level 50, don't worry about it.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
15. What is BCNM?

It stands for Burning Circle Notorious Monster.  In Port Jeuno, there is a fat 
man named Shami that'd trade different types of Orb for "Beastman's Seal" or 
"Kindred's Seals."

Once you acquire an orb, you go to a specific zone with these burning circles, 
trade the orb to the burning circle and your party can go into a special arena 
to fight against crazily difficult monsters.

Each battle has a 30 minute time limit, and the reward is usually pretty good!  

===============================================================================
- Miscellaneous - 
1.  What're chat filters and how should I utilize them?

Chat filters stop the crazy game from spamming you into oblivion.  They are 
pretty self-explanatory, so I won't go into details except for two things.

1) Special actions initiated by others - This should always be off!
2) "Hold" works wonder.  Put Party chat on "Hold" is required!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.  What does <acronym> mean?

There aren't any in FFXI because of the Japanese population!  If either side 
starts to abbreviate things, no one will know what anyone is talking about.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.  How do I sort my items in my inventory?

1) Alt-I to go into Inventory
2) Hit '+' to go to Sort menu
3) Select 'Auto' sort.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.  How do I split apart a stack into individual items in my inventory?

1) Alt-I to got into Inventory
2) Hit '+' to go to Sort menu
3) Select 'Manual' sort
4) Select item stack that you want to split apart
5) Select the same item stack

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5.  Why are there so many anonymous people?

Because of crazy people like me who'd send you a tell if you are my level 
without a search comment indicating what you're doing.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
III. Wrapping Up
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The one page that link everything important to FFXI, go visit 
http://ffxi.somepage.com/links/

My favorites are:
http://ffxi.liquid-x.net/renkei/  : FFXI Renkei Calculator
http://www.hi-ho.ne.jp/gulif/ziq_topeng.html : Mining points!
http://www.pyogenes.com/pyog-timer.html : Timer for what's happening
http://mithrapride.figarocastle.org/vana_time/index.html : Airship schedule!
http://www.clanwind.com/ffxi/zonemap.asp : Interactive Map

If you know a question that has been asked over and over and isn't found here, 
I'd be happy to add it!

All comments, questions, corrections, problems, etc > fudgeit2k@hotmail.com

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal, 
private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed 
publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other web 
site or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a violation 
of copyright.

Copyright 2004 Morph.

-EOF