Combat Infor

Now for the good stuff. Combat is definitely one of the greatest aspects of Final Fantasy XI, and it's rather simple to learn the basics of battle. But there is more than just hacking away at a monster to think about. Yes, there is actually a strategic element to battle.



The Heat of Battle

• Keep your cool
  
• Fight hard and
  
• Look out for you companions.

Partying is what you'll be doing most often when playing Final Fantasy XI. Usually a party consists of 6 members including one party leader. The leader assembles the party and give's out the orders. That person must also try to assemble the best party they can consisting of a variety of different types of jobs. For instance: There can't be too many people of the same job type in one party or, in most cases, the party will fail. You'll know when you're in a good party when the Exp starts rolling in, monsters are plentiful, and your just having a great time.



Fighting

To fight monsters, all that you need to do is lock onto them and choose "Attack". Then just get close enough to the monster and your character will start hacking away. But i suggest checking the monster's toughness before you choose to attack.

Toughness	Description	Exp Gained
Too weak to be worthwile:	Don't even waste your energy.	0
Easy Prey:	Almost 100% chance of victory.	10-50
Descent Challenge:	75% chance of victory.	50-75
Even Match	50% chance of victory.	100
Tough:	Fight in a party of 1-3 people.	100-140
Very Tough:	Fight in a party of 3-5 people.	140-180
Incredibly Tough	Fight in a party of 5-6 people.	180-200+

Party Dynamics

Partying will most likely consume the majority of your time. Whether it's looking for a party, assembling a party or fighting in a party, it will always be on your mind. A party should consist of a few certain types of people:

• Healer
  
  
• Back-up Healer
  
  
• Damage Dealer
  
  
• Nuke
  
  
• Tank
  
  
• Filler

Now, I'm pretty sure you all know what a Healer is and what a Damage Dealer is, but what about a "Nuke"? A nuke is basically a Black Mage that sits in the back "nuking" the monster with powerfull spells. A "Tank" is the guy that's in the front of the party, taking all the hits from the moster. A "Filler" is basically a fill-in position. You could have another damage dealer, another tank, or something like a theif to increase the amount of items your party gains from monsters.



Keep in mind that every party will be different. Most likely, you will never have quite the same party as you did the last time around. You may have a different arrangement of jobs, or different people in the party, but always remember to have a good time and keep the experience rolling. Nothing will kill a party more easily than when there's no Exp being gained.