Question: Start Cities and Jobs

[CassandraJean]

Okay I just started playing beta for the first time, and although I intend to start in Gridania when I play, I want my character to be a marauder. However, since I selected Marauder I'm now in Limsa! Not a big deal to me since this is just Beta 3, but for the real deal, should I just select a job I don't particularly want to start in Gridania? what do you recommend?

[Havoc Snow]

Sadly you'll need to pick a class from the city you want to begin if, so you'll need to balance what you want more. To start as a Marauder, which forces you to begin in Limsa; or to start in Gridania, which forces you to start as a Lancer, Archer, or Conjurer.

[CassandraJean]

I see.... hm... I'll have to think on that, but it would be very easy to alter my character's story so that he can begin in Limsa. It might even make more sense. Though I feel bad about changing things around! (at least I'm changing it before the game's release!)

[Folken]

What I would do, is start in gridania as a conjurer. By the time you level it to 10 when you can pick up new classes you'll have earned abilities you can cross-class that will make everything else a lot easier for you.

 

The natural story progression has you go to all the cities anyways once you get your airship pass, and after the starting city the story merges into Ul'dah as it is.

 

 

So either or, you can level a job your character doesn't have IC to start in the city you want. Or you can start as the job you want but it'll net you in the city you don't want.

[Amadeus]

You could just start in Limsa as a murader and high tail it to Gridania when you're ready, then start your story.  No one will call you out in a year and say "I saw you in Limsa on day one!"

[Mycroft]

Limsa ain't such a bad place to begin yer 'venturin' of ol' Eorzea.

Just ye be watchin' out fer them boatless troublemakers, the Twelve know we 'ave more than 'nough o' them, also be sure ta sharpen yer blade fer the blasted fishbacks makin' their homes on our fair coast.

 

Kidding aside, I don't see why you should let your story be limited by such a mechanic.

Your character could still be an axe-wielding "smack-you-in-the-head" fighter, who begins his/her journey in Gridania. Gameplay-wise you'll just have to wait till level 10 (to be able to switch class) or 15 (the story quests allow you to travel to other city-states at this point).

[Moonfire]

I am in a similar position. I originally wanted to be a Paladin so I set up my character to be from Ul'dah but then I tried lancer for S&Gs and loved it.

I plan to remedy this by having my character be raised in Ul'dah but then proceeds to Gridania for some reason and decides to take up the lance. Then have her ready to go back home. Kinda like she is going to lancer college lol. I don't have a problem RPing that she is new to her lancer training though. This wouldn't work if you want to be more of a veteran at your class.

[Nee Ninean]

I think it would best to decide which city you want to be part of, to interact with the npcs who are the leaders or important individuals of that city and getting familiar with the lore. By level 10 you can switch to another class and for the main quest it is not too long before you will get access to the other cities. Seeing as how you want Marauder, it would not be a bad idea to get some levels in conjuror for skills such as heal and protect. Also archer has a useful skill called raging strike. Personally when I started in 1.0 I chose the city I wanted to live in. Just my 2 cents.

[Xenedra]

To unlock all your junk for Marauder, you'll want to stay in Limsa at low levels. It'll save you travel time and monies! Eventually, though, you'll be able to pick your grand company, just pick Gridania then, IMO. That's kinda like saying you're from there, yea? I for one will not go about hounding you if you HAVE to start in Limsa, but say your character is from Gridania, fo' sho'.

[Kari Illderthane]

Remember at the start of the game you are travelling to the city and the NPC asks if it's your first time. Choosing where you start (in this case your class) doesn't necessarily mean you are from there.

[Grott]

What Xen said. You pick a Grand Company at 20, so that kind of becomes your allegiance. Nothing is stopping you from being a Marauder, starting in Limsa, then choosing Gridania as your GC and pretending the whole thing never happened. Trust me, I won't chase you down and yell that you leveled Marauder in Limsa. Sometimes the game mechanics don't support RP and vice versa. It's just something we have to work around.

 

I'm in a similar situation. Uther is from Ishgard, he left on the eve of Bahamut's attack in hopes of helping the Grand Companies. He later became an instructor at the Lancer's Guild (which works because as a lancer, I start in Gridania), but I really want him to choose Limsa as his GC once his adventure starts rolling and he has to leave Gridania. There's no IC reason for it yet, but I love Limsa and I want Uther to reside there.

[Rhostel]

There's pretty much an inbuilt reason why your character not just would but pretty much has to go to Limsa Lominsa to start his adventuring career: That's where the Marauders Guild is. If he's going to learn to axe fight, he's got to learn it from those who have the time and resources to teach him.

 

Alternatively, maybe he starts his career out in the Black Shroud, learning the ways of one of the local guilds. Eventually he gets frustrated one way or another, and hightails it for Limsa Lominsa and the Marauders Guild. He won't start as a Marauder, but it gives you an in character grounding in Gridania and motivation to later take up a non-Gridanian fighting art.

 

In other words, don't bemoan the Class/starting city ties, use them.

[E'irawen]

In my personal experience, IG isn't always equal to IC. So, depending on your priorities, you have a couple options (most of which, I think people have already touched up on).

 

If it's more important to you to have your IG-ness start in Gridania, start out as a Conjurer/Lancer/Archer, and play through 'til level 15-16, when you can access all the cities.

 

If the job is more important to you, go ahead and start as a Marauder in Limsa. After all, it won't be very obvious in game where you really started from, from an RP standpoint. On your wiki, you can still easily write that your character is from Gridania.

 

Just my opinion on the matter.

[Myxie Tryxle]

One cunning way you could work this in for your character is to start in Gridania as a woodsman, since that's where the botany guild is.  Keep your starting combat class OOC until level 10 when you can pick up a botanist axe, then when you unlock the ability to go to Limsa around level 15, make it a big character decision for him to go from using the axe primarily as a tool to wielding it with proficiency as a weapon, requiring a trip to the Marauders guild.

 

Also, as stated before by another post, when you start the new character intro, the NPC on the wagon asks if this is your first time in .  You could just make your character a Marauder, say this is your first time to Limsa, and write your prologue backstory in Gridania.  Thus you can be a Gridanian marauder from level 1, you just happen to be visiting Limsa to learn from the best.

[Nee Ninean]

This is a good idea and reminds me how annoyed I am that we could not start as a gatherer or crafter. In 1.0, I started as a botanist.

 

 

One cunning way you could work this in for your character is to start in Gridania as a woodsman, since that's where the botany guild is.  Keep your starting combat class OOC until level 10 when you can pick up a botanist axe, then when you unlock the ability to go to Limsa around level 15, make it a big character decision for him to go from using the axe primarily as a tool to wielding it with proficiency as a weapon, requiring a trip to the Marauders guild.

 

 

[Tabrett]

At first, this really frustrated me. I really wanted to start in Limsa, because I knew it was going to be my favorite right off the bat. I was upset, initially, that I had to roll Marauder jus to be there. But, it actually turned out well for me! Marauder became my favorite class and it fits well with Kerr's background in piracy. It was the beginning of a love story, I just didn't know it at the time. (Ul'dah and gld also rock though)

[Niteshade_Rune]

The job being tied to start city is new to ARR/2.0 isnt it? hmm, what does this do for us bringing out our old 1.0 characters?

 

 

Side/unrelated note: I remember setting aside a day to go on a small adventure and visit the other cities that I hadnt started in, and somewhere I think i still have the opening cinematic of each saved. I found I liked each of the cities but I found myself rather found of Limsa for some reason which is shown by my certificate lol