Final Fantasy XI Beginner's Guide, Day 4

Day 4: Going it alone

Today we'll walk you through the first 10 levels of your adventuring career and give you tips to maximize profit while doing it.

Conquest

Once you create a character and find your way out into the wilderness, the first thing on your mind is going to be slicing up monsters. But before you begin your bloody career, you should become acquainted with the "Conquest" system. Why? Because Conquest will be where most of your money comes from for the foreseeable future.

The nations of Vana'diel vie for control of the land - remember that "friendly competition" we mentioned? That's the Conquest system. The world is divided into regions, and the nation whose citizens collectively die the fewest number of times while defeating the most enemies for a week will claim the region (after a tally every Sunday morning). If enough people from all regions die, the area will be claimed by the computer-controlled Beastmen.

Those that participate in Conquest will receive elemental crystals from battles along with experience points, as long as the region is controlled by one of the three nations. These crystals are, in turn, used to power item creation, or "Crafting." As you can imagine, they're in high demand.

Above: Talk to these guys to jump-start your Conquest career

In order to participate in Conquest and get crystals, you'll need to have your nations "Signet" cast on you, and for that you'll need to find one of your nation's Conquest reps. The gate leading out of any of the starting cities is flanked by one of these characters: in Bastok, look for people with the initials "I.M." next to their name, San d'Oria "T.K." and in Windurst "W.W." Talking to these Conquest representatives will bring up a menu. Select "Can you cast Signet on me?" The Signet then marks you as a Conquest participant, and will ensure that those sumptuous crystals fill your pockets while you kill monsters. While participating in Conquest, you'll also earn Conquest Points which can be spent on some cool items later on.

One note about crystals and items in general: crystals and many items can be stacked together to save space, but for some reason the game doesn't do this for you automatically. If you find your inventory is full, open it up, "Auto Sort" it and stackable items will be grouped. You can sell single crystals and stacks of crystals, but the latter will definitely make you money a lot faster.

Latest in Final Fantasy
Final Fantasy 14 Dawntrail
Final Fantasy 14 patch makes an effort to combat mods that can enable harassment, but players report it’s "very easy" to reverse newly hidden account IDs
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
28 years after Final Fantasy 7 introduced a generation to the concept of waifus, Tetsuya Nomura says Tifa's popularity is "not just about appearance"
Final Fantasy 9
Final Fantasy 14's Yoshi-P was unsure about referencing Final Fantasy 9 so heavily because it's a "masterpiece, and everyone has a strong emotional attachment to it"
A Final Fantasy 14 character points to something off the screen as two others in the background watch on
Final Fantasy 14's 7.2 patch launches in under 2 weeks, kicking off a run of MMO content that the community has been waiting for since Dawntrail launched last year
Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster
The Final Fantasy series has sold a whopping 200 million copies, while the Pixel Remaster reportedly outsells FF16 with 5 million copies
Final Fantasy 14 Dawntrail screenshot showing the Warrior of Light, a man with lengthy swept-back brown hair, blue eyes, and facial hair stubble, smiling slightly
As Final Fantasy 14 fans gear up for patch 7.2, Yoshi-P teases that the update will be the MMO's largest ever
Latest in Features
Google Pixel 9a smartphones on a beige background
One Google Pixel 9a feature could make it a better gaming phone than most budget mainstream models
Yasuke and Naoe ready to fight on the Assassin's Creed Shadows On The Radar thumbnail
On The Radar: Assassin's Creed Shadows coverage hub
Captain Planet #1
Captain Planet is back after 33 years with a "sexy" makeover and a message that's as important as ever: "Reality has gotten a lot less subtle"
Daredevil: Born Again trailer
Daredevil: Born Again episode 5 isn't a filler episode, it brings back the magic of old-school episodic TV
Assassin's Creed 3 screenshot of Desmond hilding a circular Isu artifact
Assassin's Creed Shadows' modern storyline is kind of non-existent and I couldn't be happier about it
An Assassin's Creed Shadows On The Radar thumbnail showing Yasuke and Oda Nobunaga armored up and on horseback, ready to ride to battle
"We really wanted you to live this history": Assassin's Creed Shadows is all about "perspective", says the game's cinematic director