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 60.

• 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 and 60, "Allagan Tomestones of Poetics" can be used to purchase high-level gear from Revenant's Toll and Idyllshire 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 rewards 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.

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.