Thread: [contest] Stacking Diciplines: Low level gameplay enhancement suggestions.

Hi! I'm Phantos Lunaris. I joined Origin forum during beta testing and have really enjoyed the community here. Anyway, here is my tutorial on my current project, combining and stacking disciplines!

LEGEND:
BLACK=Legend/body text
RED=Intro
ORANGE=Crafting
OLIVE=Gathering
BLUE=Weaponry Combat
VIOLET=Magic



WHY LEARN MULTIPLE DISCIPLINES:

Stacking disciplines in FFXIV is a powerful way to get you off on a strong start in Ezoria. By learning many disciplines early in the game, you give yourself a strong base of abilities with which to work off of. Why? The reason is because many abilities you learn can be used by other disciplines you will want as your main class, helping and strengthening what you would like to do right from the start. It feels slow but in the end you'll have a much stronger base with which to work from.

Well, That's the simple answer at least. Another reason why one would choose to tackle multiple job classes at once would be the unique environment that FFXIV poses to a player where, instead of having benefits for working hard in one class, one is actually punished to an extent when only playing one class for a length of time due to fatigue.

Playing in one class:


By taking a rest in that class, or changing your class, you can replenish your fatigue.


This is all very basic I'm sure, but it poses a unique opportunity in lower levels to learn new skills and boost what will become your core classes. Say, a Lancer by himself is a powerful force to be reckoned with, but he'd be a lot better if he also could heal in a pinch and cast a spell like scourge, wouldn't he?

The meat and cheese of it:


Since you'll probably notice that your Lancer will have a hard time right before level 10 to gain more EXP, by simply picking up a scepter and by leveling a conjurer to level 4 not only gives you a wider range of skills but also will boost your physical level all while your lancer fatigue is recovering. It would seem that certain abilities that carry over to other disciplines are altogether helpful to whatever your own style may be. In addition to all of that, level 10 in any class is quite easily obtainable and most very useful abilities are obtained from level 1 to level 10. So why not?

COMBINING CRAFTS:

Combining crafting disciplines early in the game is not only good for leveling up but good for your crafts. At level 10 each disciplines will yield and enhanced ability for synthesis to succeed. This will greatly help when crafting things with rarer items and higher level synthesis that you will try to preform. Of course they all learn useful things as they go up in level, but at least getting every one to level 10 should serve you well for now. You'll thank yourself later for all the work you put into it.

Here's a list of LV10 abilities for each craft:

• ALCHEMIST – PRESERVE – Temporarily maintains favorable synthesis conditions; best for finished items.
• ARMORER – BLINDING SPEED – Temporarily increases success rate for Rapid Synthesis; best for mass production.
• BLACKSMITH – MAKER'S MUSE – Temporarily increases success rate for Standard Synthesis; best for mass production.
• CARPENTER – TENDER TOUCH – Temporarily reduces loss of durability; best for parts.
• CULINARIAN – HARMONIZE – Reduces risk; best for finished items.
• GOLDSMITH – EPIHANY – Increases chances for improved craftsmanship of next synthesis; best on parts. (probably least useful of all abilities)
• LEATHERWORKER – FULFILLMENT – Temporarily increases rate of success; best for materials.
• WEAVER – MASTERPICE – Temporarily increases success rate of bold synthesis; best for mass production.

All of these abilities are beneficial to each other class. Getting each of these classes to level 10 will pose to be rather challenging but will pay off in the long run.

Just as a side note, when you pick a craft to say with for a while, pick one that will be beneficial to your other classes. If you can craft your own weapons, armor, or power-up items, you'll be a lot better off. It might also help to have a side craft to do when you are reaching the level threshold of your main craft which would be most helpful if it can make items for your main craft. Another thing to keep in mind is that Alchemist can break-down crystals into shards at level 10 which will definitely save you, maybe even gain you some Gil; that with Preserve is enough to start dabbling for me.

GATHERING:

Disciples of the land don't have much stacking ability but are good to learn for crafters as they get you many raw materials and crystals. They only really get useful beyond that for things that you can get with guild marks. For example, at level 1 for 5000 guild marks a fisherman can learn Llmlaen's Ward which increases your chance to find Wind Crystals (which there are many crafters that have a difficult time finding), this would bring in a lot of Gil and also help out your crafting a lot. There are other abilities, again, bought for guild marks that increase battle stats like strength which might also be useful. That said, obtaining guild marks is hard up until level 20 (or so I'm told) so it might be better just to practice just for materials for now.

One other thing to note is that a gatherer at level 3 learns an ability that may increase movement speed when far away from a gathering area which is always handy when traveling. You can achieve level 3 with just a few guildleves to boot, so why not?

COMBAT AND MAGIC:

This is one thing I've been having the most fun playing with because there are so many combinations. It's very nice to be able to cast some enfeebling magic while you're hacking away at enemies or hack at enemies while you're casting magic. There is virtually no line to draw between disciples of war and disciples of magic. This can give you a great edge in combat situations no matter what your preference.

Before we go into more detail, there's a few things you should consider:
1.) Not all mobs are a tough as they look – your physical level matters! Depending on how you've added your points you'll be able to take on tougher monsters. My general rule is that if my mid-level (around lv6) can take it on no problem then my level 1 could take it on with a bit of strategy even if it's a yellow to him. Be careful, but all your hard work does pay off.
2.) Focus your stats – Even though you'll be doing many different things now, your main discipline should be what you keep in mind when putting points on stats. Having an all around decent character is good and all but your future parties will appreciate if you can excel in something. Wouldn't it be nice to be awesome after all of this anyway?
3.) Point re-distribution – you can re-distribute points if you are really struggling to make those last few levels but don't over do it. You can only do 15 points at a time and I'm not sure when you can do 15 more.
4.) Find a direction – Find what you'd like your character to do and pick abilities to match. I like absorbing HP, for example, so that's what I focus on for my character.

Disclaimer: Although many different abilities can be used for different classes there are learned abilities that can only be used for one character class such as a thaumaturgist's Phantom Dart.

USEFUL MAGIC:
The best magic to use with other job classes, I find, are enhancing or enfeebling magic. These types can drastically change the tide of battle whether you specialize in sorcery or swordsmanship, plus the basics are super easy to learn. Well worth the price of the scepter or wand.

Conjurer levels/abilities and how they help:

Leveling a Conjurer to 6 will not only give you a bit of elemental magic to toy with but also give you healing, and enhancing spells that you can utilize to strengthen any party you are in. Further leveling to 8 gives you more enhancements for you and your party and also an enfeeblement spell, making any rough battle you or your party may encounter much easier to overcome. A thaumaturge may even want to level conjurer to 10 in order to gain Radiance and Profundity to gain more MP during battle and also to increase the potency of their spells. In parties where a someone finds themselves too close to the physical fight may even want to raise to level 14 to utilize soughspeak to reduce enemy anger upon themselves.

Transferable reference list by level acquired:
LEVEL 1 - Stone (earth damage), Water (water damage), Thunder (lighting damage, Blizzard (ice damage), Fire (Fire damage), Aero (wind damage)
LEVEL 2 - Trance Chant (intensify next cast/prevent interruption)
LEVEL 4 - Cure (Heals HP of allies in area of effect)
LEVEL 6 - Stoneskin (Allies absorb damage)
LEVEL 8 - Shock Spikes (Allies gain ability to stun and give lightning damage), Repose (Enemies immobile)
LEVEL 10 - Radiance (Astral damage, user gains MP equal to damage dealt), Profundity (increase magic power, increase cast time)


Thaumaturge, the dark arts and you:
Right from the start, just equipping a scepter gives you Scourge and Banish that deal damage and leave the opponent weak to that type of damage. At level 2 you learn Blood Rite which allows for enhanced spell casting which is great in a pinch or if you're just not good at magic. At level 4 thaumaturgists learn Sacrifice that heals and casts Regen on all you cast it upon which is also very handy on long battles. By level 10 you'll learn enough enfeeblement spells to make any monster want to run and hide. It certainly can't hurt to have the option, can it?


Transferable reference list by level acquired:
LEVEL 1 - Scourge (Umbral Damage, weakens Umbral defense), Banish (Astral Damage, weakens Astral Defense)
LEVEL 2 - Blood Rite (enhance magic)
LEVEL 4 - Sacrifice (Heal MP, Cast Regen)
LEVEL 6 - Poison (reduce enemy HP over time)
LEVEL 8 - Slow (slows stamina regeneration of enemy), Gravity (reduces movement speed of enemy)
LEVEL 10 - Punishing Barbs (deal back damage to an enemy), Damnation (Umbral damage, recover MP)

WEAPONRY COMBAT:

ARCHER:
Although my research has not been completed on Archery, it would seem that this class is good if you want to learn how to keep an enemy in place and hit multiple enemies. Abilities like Puncture at level 2, and Wide Volley at level 8 can hit or go through enemies. Moves like Raging Strike at Level 4, or Shadow Bind at level 6 can increase your attack power and render your opponent motionless. While finally at level 10 you learn Quelling Strike that allows you to be as stealthy as a ninja without reducing your attack power as a Conjuror's Soughspeak would.

GLADIATOR:
This discipline is for people looking for power and to be the one that opponents attack. If Quelling Strike sounded like a good idea to you you may not want to gain any of the abilities here but if you crave the ability to destroy your opponent this is the place to gain ability from. Gladiators begin at level 2 by gaining Red Lotus which deals fire damage to your enemies which is wonderful for any other weapon class. Rampart at level 4 and Phalanx at level 8 will give you nice boosts to your defense while circle slash at level 6 will deal slashing damage to nearby enemies. If you are the one who wants to take the brunt of damage in a fight then level to 10 to learn Provoke so that all enemies will focus on you.

LANCER:
This is the ultimate party enhancer to study. With this class you'll learn moves to enfeeble your enemies while also enhancing your allies. I highly recommend leveling to 10 to learn Speed Surge, which not only quickens your stamina regeneration but also enfeebles your enemy and allows your party members to gain HP with each attack! Sure Skewer and Moonrise are nice but Speed Surge will definitely be nice while in a party.

MARAUDER:
Although this is not the most useful of all classes, Blood Bath is highly worth leveling to 6 in this class. With Blood Bath you are able to regain HP for the damage dealt on your next attack which is very helpful when you are about to use a large attack next. It does take 100 seconds to be ready for use again but can save you in tight situations.

PUGILIST:
At low levels, a pugilist has a few decent abilities to carry on to other disciplines. Feather Foot at level 12 is nice to up evasion which pairs well with Taunt at level 10 to get enemies off your allies' backs. The best is probably Second Wind at level 6 that you can use every 60 seconds to gain HP at the cost of 250 TP. All in all, pretty good to at least learn up to level 6.

There are many other wonderful abilities to learn as time goes on but I tried to stick with just the low-level, easy to accomplish stuff. Try it out and see how much you can strengthen yourself just by dabbing a bit into other classes!

Your guide already looks really nice, good luck i the competition. I would love to thank you for the post, but in the event of a tiebreaker, thanks will be decided by the community. Anyways, can't wait to see upcoming edits, your guide already looks awesome.