Which Job Should We Level Up First as an FFXI Returning Player

Returning to Final Fantasy XI presents a critical decision: choosing your first job to level in a game that has evolved significantly since its early days. This comprehensive guide synthesizes expert analysis and community wisdom to help you make an informed choice that aligns with both efficiency and enjoyment.

Understanding the modern FFXI landscape requires considering multiple factors including gil efficiency, endgame viability, and personal playstyle preferences. The right initial job selection can dramatically impact your progression speed, economic stability, and overall gaming experience.

Many veterans emphasize that while statistical advantages matter, the most sustainable choice often comes down to what genuinely captures your interest and keeps you engaged long-term.

When evaluating the core starting options—White Mage, Black Mage, Red Mage, Thief, Monk, and Warrior—experienced players consistently recommend prioritizing melee classes for your initial investment.

Mage classes present substantial financial barriers for new and returning players. Each spell requires individual purchase with FFXI gil, creating cumulative costs that can exceed millions for comprehensive spell sets. This economic burden often slows progression significantly compared to melee alternatives.

Physical damage dealers like Thief, Monk, and Warrior operate with significantly lower overhead. These classes primarily require weapon investments rather than extensive spell libraries, and early armor can often be obtained through quests and battlefield rewards rather than direct purchase.

Monk, while possessing impressive durability and health pools, typically falls behind Warrior in consistent damage output. This performance gap becomes particularly noticeable in solo content and group situations where damage per second directly impacts clear times.

The optimal pairing emerges as Warrior and Thief, offering complementary strengths. Warrior delivers exceptional damage-dealing capacity and tanking versatility, while Thief provides economic advantages through treasure hunter and gil farming capabilities.

Strategic progression follows this sequence: establish Warrior as your main, develop Thief for economic stability, then pursue mage specialization or additional job unlocks once financially secure.

Warrior: The Versatile Foundation

“As someone returning with a fresh account, Warrior proves ideal as your initial level 99 target. It seamlessly transitions between damage dealing and tanking roles while maintaining compatibility with most support job combinations. This flexibility makes it valuable both as a main and support job for future character development.

“My Warrior main demonstrates exceptional power at level 99, particularly when equipped with Nageling gear. I strongly recommend leveling and mastering this job for endgame content readiness.

Thief: Economic Powerhouse

“Thief stands as the most versatile job I’ve experienced for accomplishing objectives. With sufficient job points to equip SU4/SU5 daggers, solo Omen farming becomes achievable in 10-12 minute runs, generating approximately 10 million gil weekly with consistent effort.

Mage Classes: Accessibility Analysis

“Starting fresh recently revealed Red Mage as surprisingly accessible. Most essential spells remain relatively affordable and obtainable. White Mage generally maintains reasonable costs despite occasional expensive spells, while Black Mage consistently demands premium investment across all elemental spell lines.

Personal Preference Priority

“Your first level 99 job should ultimately be the one that captures your interest. Until you’re prepared for challenging endgame content, maintaining engagement through enjoyable job mechanics remains paramount for sustained progression.

Building your character efficiently requires understanding the interconnected nature of job progression. The Warrior/Thief combination provides both immediate combat effectiveness and long-term economic sustainability.

Begin with Warrior as your primary focus, leveraging its straightforward mechanics and strong performance across various content types. This foundation establishes reliable damage output and survivability for tackling early and mid-game challenges.

Transition to Thief development once your Warrior reaches level 30-50, enabling effective subjob utilization. Thief’s treasure hunter ability significantly enhances item acquisition rates, accelerating gear progression and gil accumulation.

Economic stabilization through Thief activities funds subsequent job development, particularly expensive mage classes requiring substantial spell investments.

Advanced players should note that Warrior’s true potential unlocks with specific gear sets and weapon skill combinations. The BF6 Weapons Unlock Guide provides essential information for maximizing your damage potential in endgame scenarios.

For comprehensive strategic planning, consult our Battlefield 6 Complete Guide to understand how job selection integrates with broader game systems and content requirements.

While community preferences heavily favor Warrior and Thief combinations, successful long-term play ultimately depends on selecting jobs that maintain your personal engagement and enjoyment throughout the leveling journey.

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