Getting Started: A Series of Guides for The Newbie (Volume 1)

Ack! What race do I want my character to be? What quests do I get started on? What is a mission? And where do I get a new sword? Hopefully, all your questions will be answered here with regularly posted player guides.

Volume 1 of this new series addresses the concern of many a new player – character creation. Includes a quick summary of classes and races, along with several helpful suggestions.

So. You have finally entered the realm of Vana’diel and have before you possibly the greatest decision to be made in your entire Final Fantasy Online gaming career. What kind of character do you wish to start with?

Since the different races and classes of the game are carefully covered in other sections of the Warcry website, I won’t get into detail here. Just keep in mind that first you’ll select a race. For your convenience, your selections:

Play a …

… Hume, a general all-around character with swift speed;
… Elvaan, a tall and elegant – yet strong and hardy – warrior with slightly slower speed;
… Tarutaru, a small faerie creature with wisdom and intelligence beyond its appearance;
… Galka, a lumbering hulk brimming with incomparable strength and endurance;
… Mithra, an acrobatic and dexterous cat-like being with grace and poise.

Choose some minor details (male? female? hair color?) and you’ll be onto the next step – choosing a class – or job. There are also five basic jobs that you’ll have at the start to choose from.

Choose the path of the …

… Warrior, a skilled combatant and master of strength and constitution;
… Monk, an armor-less fighter specializing in the art of hand-to-hand combat;
… Thief, master of thievery and agility with average fighting capabilities;
… Black Mage, master of damage-dealing and status inflicting spells;
… White Mage, invoker of curative incantations and heals;
… Red Mage, a “jack-of-all-trades” wizard that sacrifices arcane strength for a larger spell book with the knowledge of sword fighting.

Although your race should not entirely dictate which job you select, some races are inherently better at certain jobs due to their starting abilities. Although Humes can have equal success at any job, Elvaan (high STR), Galka (high STR and HP), and Mithra (high DEX) characters tend to make stronger melee-class players (Warriors/Monks) while Tarutaru (high INT and MIND) make excellent spell casters (White/Black/Red Mages).

The last aspect of importance that you’ll choose before entering your game is a Hometown. Three currently exist: San D’Oria, majestic and legendary home of the Elvaan; Windhurst, mystical dwelling of the Tarutaru and Mithra; and Bastok, mining colony of the Galkas.

I’d base your choice of a Hometown on possible in-game friends you might know, other than that the difference is essentially cosmetic. If you have no preference, choose the hometown that best corresponds to your race.