Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn

Character Creation & General Advice

• The choices you make at character creation have minimal gameplay impact, so just focus on making a character you find aesthetically pleasing.

• Creating a character on "Preferred" and "New" servers comes with incentives such as temporary double experience gain and in the latter's case, a million gil at level 30. If you have a friend that plays, you can also get a Recruit A Friend code from them which unlocks a variety of useful rewards, though mind that this must be used before you subscribe to your first month.

• You will eventually be asked to choose a Grand Company to join. They are largely identical aside from their location, so go with whichever seems coolest. You can also change your GC later if you want.

• Every major city has a system of fast-travel points called the Aethernet. By unlocking all these points, you'll gain access to fast travel out all the main exits for that city.

• In addition to using the normal teleport location list, you can also teleport to any attuned Aetherytes by simply selecting them on your map.

Questing & Leveling

• The main questline should be your top priority as many gameplay features such as mounts are unlocked by progressing in it. Any non-main quests that unlock something new ("Feature Quests") are marked with a + next to the quest icon and are also worth picking up.

• Always make sure you do your class/job quests as they become available, which is every 5 levels in the base game and every 2-3 levels in the expansions. Non-expansion Jobs are unlocked for combat classes upon finishing the level 30 class quest.

• Any sidequests you complete will remain completed even if you switch classes/jobs so if you're not in an immediate need for the reward or experience, consider leaving some for your other classes/jobs.

• Every combat class/job receives a +100% EXP bonus if you have one at higher level already, up to level 69.

• You don't need to keep all your gear constantly up to date while leveling, though a high-damage weapon should always be a priority. Tanks will also want to stay up to pace with their armor. At level 50, 60 and 70 and after sufficient progress in the story, "Allagan Tomestones of Poetics" can be used to purchase high-level gear from Revenant's Toll, Idyllshire and Rhalgr's Reach respectively.

• The Palace of The Dead is a randomly generated dungeon unlocked by a lvl 17 quest in New Gridania which is available after clearing the Copperbell Mines dungeon. While a poor substitute for leveling normally for one's first character, it's a solid if slightly repetitive method of advancement for any later combat classes or jobs. Plus, it has a small storyline and clearing it is required to access the lvl 61-70 equivalent in Stormblood so you'll want to do it at some point.

• Finally, you can simply buy level/story skips with real money from the Mog Station store, though it goes without saying that this is not a recommended method for your first character unless the slowness of the original ARR storyline really has you on the verge of quitting. The increase in game quality is very noticeable in the expansions.

Crafting & Gathering

• While gathering and crafting classes can be extremely useful once leveled up, they also take a lot of time and effort to reach that point. The game does provide various ways to level them up such as Beast Tribe daily quests and Grand Company turn-ins, but it might still be best to focus on at least one combat class/job first and come back to them later if you feel so inclined.

• Crafting and gathering classes all support each other. In addition to cross-class skills, a Blacksmith/Carpenter/Armorsmith can make everyone better tools, a Weaver/Leatherworker/Goldsmith better gear, and a Culinarist/Alchemist can support them with buffs. Fishers, Botanists & Miners meanwhile provide the materials to make these items.

• Most basic low-level crafting materials can simply be bought from vendors. Check the city's vendor hubs and the class guildhall if you're missing something.

• Remember that you can send your retainers out to gather ingredients for you. This is especially useful for monster bits (collected by a combat retainer) which might otherwise take a lot of grinding.

• The +50% Rested bonus to EXP gain you get by logging out in a town ("Sanctuary") is one of the few major EXP boosts that also applies to crafters and gatherers. Also, crafting levequests and other repeatable item/material turn-ins provide double experience if you turn in High Quality items.