Starting As a PLD

This guide is intended for getting people new to the game started down the path to PLD. Starting as a PLD has a large number of benefits. It introduces you to the game as a job that gets rapid invites, and is in high demand for parties until endgame. Further, it allows you to skill up defensive skills like Evasion and Parry in parties, which can really boost survivability in any job. Additionally, until level 75, there really is only one subjob for PLD, meaning that you don't need to do a lot of leveling in preparation. There are downsides, however: You need to keep up on gear a lot more than other jobs. Falling behind too far can lead to severe issues. This means that you're likely to do a lot of farming. Another problem is the lack of a place for PLD in endgame. It sucks to hit 75 for the first time, finally be able to merit, and suddenly people avoid you like the plague. Starting as a PLD is just a suggestion, but I believe it's a great idea. It's very linear, and doesn't suffer from some of the backtracking for subjobs that other jobs experience.

Starting Out. Or: Punch it!
When you start the game, the first job you should level is... No, not Warrior, that comes later. You should start out as a Monk! Monk is one of the most common starting jobs, because it allows you all manner of versatility as a subjob from 1 to 30, with bonuses to HP, and the ability Boost. If you started out because a friend introduced you to the game, they'll probably help you out with acquiring gear. If not, it's not that much harder to go to the monk page and find an equipment guide.

One problem you might have as early as your first level is money. There's a wide variety of items that you can make money by selling at the Auction House. Some popular ones for lower level adventurers are [Beehive Chip]]s, dropped by bee type mobs, or Silk Threads dropped by Crawler mobs outside Windurst. However, you ought to look around. Hoard the items you get, and find out what sells on the Auction House, and what sells well to Merchants. Additionally, you may benefit from searching your starting city for quests that pay in cash (Or useful gear like the Justice Badge!) that are easy, repeatable, and/or require items that are easily acquired from low-level mobs.

Basically, as a MNK, you shouldn't have much trouble starting out. Find mobs and punch them to death. I've seen people do this with and without weapons (Though you ought to have a weapon at level 5, or you'll have trouble with it) The Bronze Harness Set is something you ought to try to pick up a few parts off, because it can be worn by most jobs at level 1, and gives more defense than your RSE (With the exception of the gloves and boots, which are the same as your RSE)

So, go out and punch things. Get some levels, get some stuff, and try to get some gear. You can follow other guides for tips on how to deal with the first 10 levels as a MNK. These are the only levels where no one else will care about your gear, because it doesn't affect them. Once you hit level 10, things change.

Parties, Ho! Or: Yes, you have to do this three times, and then again when you want to do any other job.
Things to be sure you do to prepare for the next trip: Get your hands on enough gear to get you as high as possible. The longer you can go between visits to town, The better off you'll be. With recent updates, you will be able to get at stuff in your Mog House using the Nomad Moogle in Selbina, however, it's a long hike to Bastock or San d'Oria to get new gear. And trying to travel back to Windurst ought to be avoided. Also, try to have at least 1 stack of 12 Silent Oils. They can be a lifesaver. Prism Poweder can also be useful, but if you can survive without it, a penny saved is a penny you can spend on gear.

If you began in Windurst, you may be in a bit of trouble. See, there are two areas for parties level 10-20. One of them is within easy reach of Windurst. Unfortunately, few people party out there anymore. If someone introduced you to the game, ask them to help you get to Mhaura on the other side of Buburimu Peninsula (Also, make sure they swing you by the Crag of Mea in Tahrongi Canyon for your teleport crystal). Once in the villiage of Mhaura, 200 gil will get you on a ferry to Selbina. Anyone who started in San D'Oria or Bastock will only need to travel across one simple zone to reach...

Valkurm Dunes DUN DUN DUNNNNNN!

When you start off, you will want to be on the Konschtat Highlands side of the tunnel. The tunnel is full of horrible Bats that will eat you if you don't cross it with a party to help fight them, or a higher level player to clear them out, or with Silent Oil to avoid their attention entirely. Other things to watch out for are goblins and Skeletons at night. You ought to learn to avoid goblins by avoiding being seen. However, the undead provide a bigger challenge, since they aggro by sound, which can only be avoided by keeping your distance. In the menu, select Party. Then, set yourself to "Seek Party" in order to have the little icon pop up telling people you're looking for a party. As a MNK, you may have trouble finding a party, but it'll happen eventually.

Until it does, however, you can kill monsters in Konschtat Highlands! Be sure to use "Check" to determine if you ought to fight it or not. Goblins are usually a bad idea to attack, while Sheep should wait until you're a little higher level. The Worm mobs in the area near to the "SAM Job Quest" spot are a great place to level. The only thing to worry about is the ghost that spawns at night next to the tunnel. Worms will 'Link', meaning that if they see you fighting another worm, they will attack you also, so be sure they aren't too close together, or you'll have more worm than you can handle. If all else fails, they're kind of stuck in the ground. Fleeing is an option (As long as they don't bind you!)

When you get invited to parties, do as your party leader says. Basically, you'll be punching monsters while someone else provokes it, and a White Mage cures them. Other guides will go into detail for what a MNK should and shouldn't do in parties, and some guides disagree on the topic. Basically, you should wait where everyone else is for the monster to be brought into camp, and then auto-attack it. Keep up with it, and use Boost right before Combo when you have 100 TP. If your party asks you to do anything different, take it into consideration. You're learning how to play here, so take any criticism as advice to improve your abilities.

Another thing you'll want to do is be friendly and social. This is especially true if you didn't start this game because someone else showed it to you. One of the most useful tools in the game is a linkshell. It's basically a big party that you can always chat with. Being friendly with an LS is very helpful to you in the long run. Especially once you hit level 18...

There are three items you'll want to get when you are level 18. Crab Apron, Magicked Skull, and a Damselfly Worm. As you party, you will fight crabs and flies. The skull is the one that is difficult to acquire. Get help, either from a party, a friend, or your Linkshell. They're used for the Elder Memories quest to unlock the ability to get a subjob.

WAR! Huh! Yeah! What is it good for? Or: Second verse, same as the first!
Now, either go back to your starting city, or go back to any city for that matter. Go change your job to Warrior and set your brand-new subjob to Monk. The way this works is that, at all times, you have all the abilities of a monk 1/2 your current level added to what you have now (Basically) in order to boost yourself. Now, people vary in opinion of what you should do now. Most say that you should get a sword and shield if you want to be a Paladin. This is the cheaper option. While most will point to the benefits of having Sword skill when you start leveling Paladin, the only real value of this comes from having bought all the swords you'd need. Other people will tell you to use Axe and Shield if you want to be a Paladin, because you'll get Shield skill ups, but still do the higher damage of an axe. Still others will tell you to eschew the shield altogether and just use a Greataxe. If you enjoyed being a damage dealer as a MNK, and have a good source of income, I suggest alternating between Axe and Shield, and Greataxe. Axe and Greataxe are the weapons used by Warriors who intend to stay Warriors. If you don't have them skilled up, then you'll be in for a hard time if you ever come back to WAR at a later time. If you're hard up for cash, but still have a good grip of how to farm for it, you ought to go with Axe and Shield. If you do come back to WAR, you will likely be WAR/NIN, and using Axes, not the Greataxe. However, if you're strapped for gil, and really don't like farming, it's alright to use a sword and shield this early. Just remember not to sell them back when you're done.

Basically, this should go the same as before, just a little smoother, since you are stronger, tougher, and now have a better grasp of the game. Other guides can help you narrow in on what gear to buy, since most of the best MNK gear can't be worn by WARs.

Welcome to Tanksville. Or: Anger Management
When you come to the dunes this time, people will expect you to do something completely different. Remember that one guy who was provokeing the mob and getting beat on? That's you now! And will be you for the next 112 levels! Now, here's what you need to know to be a good tank:
 * Provoke is the best hate-grabbing ability in the game. You get it at WAR 5, and get access to it again at PLD 10.
 * It should be the first thing you do to get a mob's attention.
 * Provoke has a recast timer of 30 seconds. Once 30 seconds are up, how long it takes you to Provoke again is the difference between a good tank, and a bad tank.
 * Provoking every 30 seconds should keep hate for the whole fight up until around level 40. For the most part, if you provoke on time, then if someone else is getting hit, it's their fault, not yours.
 * While /MNK (Using MNK as a subjob) boost is available to you.
 * Boost gives a respectable amount of hate. About 6 of them are equal to one Provoke.
 * Boosting every 15 seconds is the difference between a good tank and a great tank.
 * As you acquire (or regain access to) other job abilities, try to keep track of which ones give good amounts of hate, and try to keep track of recast timers. When in doubt, look it up on the wiki!

As a tank, you also need to keep yourself outfitted with updated gear.