Party Leader Guide

CAUTION!

This article is only a guide. Information expressed in a guide is usually more opinion than fact and should be taken as such. Guides are written by players, based upon their experiences, successes and mistakes, and are meant to aid other players. However, there may be differing opinions than those expressed in a guide. Strategies and information in guides may not work for everyone.

Tired of spending hours seeking for an exp party? Consider making your own! It's not too terrible. This in-depth guide is aimed at helping you become an effective party leader, putting together a good 6-person exp group targeting incredibly tough mobs, and provides tactics/strategy tips for group play in FFXI Horizon.

What's a Party?

A party is a group of gamers who game together. The game is to level up. And you play the game by fighting high level mobs together to make exp by defeating said high level mobs. Exp parties usually involve 6 people.

There is no auto queue in FFXI. It's old school. Someone is going to need to reach out to other gamers to start the party....how bout you?

Why Me?

Why not? Being a party leader puts you ahead of all the other party seekers and allows you to get leveling sooner rather than later. Get to exping faster instead of sitting in town for hours waiting for an invite. Any job can make an effective exp party leader.

You don't need to know everything to be a party leader. But having some general knowledge of roles for a successful party is good to have. To start- 4 frontline and 2 backline is the basic equation for a standard party of 6 members.

DD jobs typically wait longer to get an invite than the tanks/healers/support jobs. If you want to level up fast as a DD, consider being a party leader!

Usually there are tons of people seeking at multiple level ranges. Especially during prime time. All it takes is someone to wrangle a group together. That someone can be you!

Party Roles

Putting the right jobs together for a full 6-person party can be a bit of a puzzle. This in-depth guide will help you solve it!

Please be advised that the following information on party compositions and job functions is a guide and not the standard. The following tips/tactics may not be as necessary if your party is defeating mobs at an acceptable rate for exp gains. In FFXI, and especially so on Horizon, there is more than 1 way to do things. PAFO, etc.

Generally, aim to have 4 frontline jobs and 2 backline/mage jobs for a full exp party. Or, consider having at least two jobs that can heal (1 main healer, 1 backup).

At higher levels consider only having 2 mages (WHM RDM BLM SMN) in your leveling group. Typically 1 mage will be the main healer and 1 mage will be the backup healer+DPS/support. 3 mages (ex: WHM RDM BLM) is doable but melee should really consider NOT subbing /NIN for this type of setup. Subbing /NIN for melee is a DPS loss in favor of damage mitigation which is not necessary if you have 3 mages that can heal and have refresh.

The biggest factor in a successful party lineup is whether or not there is a main tank. Basically, if you have a tank, then you don't need a support. And if you don't have a tank, then you want to have a support.

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Standard Party The traditional/standard exp party consists of:

• 1 tank- holds the mob, uses defensive abilities, takes most of the hits/protects the DPS, can open/close skillchains for additional DPS when they have TP, provides stability for sneak and trick attack/enmity control abilities

• 1 main healer- keeps everyone alive, cures, regens, heals status ailments, can do some minor debuffs on mobs and provide some party buffs (haste, refresh)

• 3 damage dealers- typically organize to skillchain and magic burst with each other to defeat mobs. Ideally will be 3 different DPS jobs/using different weapons for increased skillchaining/magic bursting opportunities.
  • 1 of the damage dealers can fit in a flex/hybrid roll that can DD + support/heal such as DRG/WHM (lvl 60+), DRG/RDM (lvl 60+), melee/BRD, BLM/WHM, or BLM/RDM.

• 1 puller - someone who will pull mobs to the camp using boomerang/bow/xbow/pebbles/songs. The puller is also a hybrid role, in addition to being the puller they can be a DPS (THF) or be a support (BRD) depending on the job.
  • DPS pullers prioritize bringing mobs to the camp in lieu of dealing damage. DPS is important...however consider disengaging from the mob at around 5%-10% HP left (depending on how quickly your group is defeating mobs) to bring another mob to camp. The 3 DPS will focus on high DPS.

• Support - A party may also have 1 person acting as a "support" role. Swap the tank or a DPS spot for this role. This role could also be for the puller.
  • A versatile role...buffs the party (haste, refresh, songs), debuffs the mob (dia, paralyze, acid bolts, etc), and can off heal depending on the job. Could also be a puller, magic burst, skillchain, and do some damage depending on the job. Depending on the job and party lineup may allow melee DD to sub something outside of /NIN due to increased healing support.
  • The support role typically does not contribute much/if any personal DPS to the party. Instead it focuses on supporting the party members to do extra damage and decrease downtime.
  • Note: A support is not necessary for all parties! Your party can do great with a main tank, 1 of the DD on flex/off-heal support, and 1 main healer. Without a dedicated support, your party will quickly kill mobs with coordinated burst/spike damage but downtime may catch up with resting between chains. A support makes it so mob kills are steady, with less downtime in-between chains. Unless you are facing mobs that have a lot of AoE/status ailments, or if your party does not have a main tank, then having a support/backup healer is a good idea. If your party does NOT have a support, consider including a DPS in a flex/support role: BLM/WHM, Melee/BRD, DRG/WHM, etc.

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Examples of jobs that will traditionally fill those roles are:

• Tank: PLD NIN WAR* SAM**
  (*Using a shield/stacking defense armor, eating defense food, and using Defender ability. Decent at lower levels but tends to shift to a DD/using great axe after around levels 30-40. WAR/NIN x2 can also dual tank+DD)
  (**Using Seigan and Third Eye abilities at level 35+)

• Healer: WHM RDM* SMN**
  (*RDM sub /WHM if main healer)
  (**42+ for Regen and Cure III)

• Damage Dealers: WAR* MNK BLM* DRK BST RNG SAM DRG
  • If WAR is DD, make sure they are using an axe/dual welding axes or using a Great Axe. Polearm/Scythe/Great Sword may be acceptable at lower levels as well.
  • If you have a BLM as one of the DDs, try to coordinate at least 1 skillchain between the melee DDs/RNG for the BLM to burst off of. But having partners/two chains is more fun for everyone. BLM can perform well in a 4 frontline (THF, tank, 2 melee DPS), and 2 backline (healer + BLM) type of party if they are on top of magic bursting and supporting/off healing the party as needed.

• Puller (Hybrid/Doubles as a DD or Support): Typically THF or BRD fills this role but any DD with a ranged attack can do it. SAMs or 30+ melee with /SAM sub job can be effective pullers as they have third eye. WAR and NIN tanks could pull in a pinch as well. MNKs and BSTs best option for pulling would be to use pebbles.
  • If THF is the puller/DD, make sure they have an xbow and acid bolts at level 15+. Defense down from acid bolts is great for the melee DPS. Also, try to coordinate a skillchain for the THF to participate in. Ideally THF will be a closer but they can be effective opening for RNG, especially at higher levels. THF + BLM work pretty well together in a standard party as both jobs are looking to make a skillchain.
  • You don't need both BRD and THF in the same group. However, if you do, coordinate who will be the puller. BRD may want to consider subbing /WHM to backup heal/cleanse/dia if THF is pulling.

• Support (not necessary for all parties depending on party lineup/camp) : BRD SMN RDM* BLM** WHM** DRG/WHM*** THF****
  (*If RDM is support, have them sub /BLM for more INT with magic bursting and drain for more DPS. RDM will need to focus more on double magic bursting/draining if RDM+WHM in a standard party with a tank or the party DPS/kill rate may suffer. And/or consider coordinating a transfixion/fusion/light skillchain for the WHM to burst Holy/Banish on for increased DPS. Melee consider nixing /NIN and subbing /WAR /SAM /THF for increased DPS if RDM+WHM backline since both mages can heal and will have refresh.)
  (**consider blm/whm, whm x2, rdm x2, smn x2 backline if no other support/healer available. These jobs can off-heal/support/co-heal the frontline.)
  (***60+ and only if it's a skilled group)
  (****THF can act as a support/DPS by being the puller, creating skillchains, debuffing mobs with bully/status bolts, and managing the party's enmity with collaborator and accomplice (45+)).
  • Your party can make quick work of mobs with 3 dedicated-non-puller DPS instead of 2 by nixing the support if you already have a tank and healer roles covered.

Woah woah woah! What about a refresher?
Without a dedicated refresher/support your party can still quickly take out mobs with coordinated burst/spike damage. What may happen is that downtime creeps in between exp chains due to mobs being killed fast/waiting on respawn time and a window opening for mages to rest some MP. Compared to steady mob kills and lower downtime with a support in your party. Both strategies can produce satisfactory exp gains. As long as you have at least 2 people who can heal, and you are knowledgeable of your lineup and mobs you are facing, your group should be a good one.

Refresh/ballad is nice but actually not that necessary. Certain jobs and job traits have been era+ on horizon to get around not having a refresh in your party. If you nix the support/refresher (or can't get a support because nobody is LFG on a support/refresh job) for another dedicated DPS, you can defeat mobs much faster than if you had someone on refresh duty and doing less (or no) DPS. It's always a good idea to aim for at least 3 dedicated DPS + puller in your parties.

• WHM has Devotion at 45, it's an MP bomb every 10 minutes.
  • Consider having only either 1 DRG/Mage, 1 PLD, or 1 DRK in your parties if WHM is main healer with no support. WHM can only give MP to 1 party member at a time every 10 min. BLM can usually get away without a refresh/devotion.
• WHM has Divine Veil at 50. This will double the strength and length of the next regen spell after Divine Seal is used. WHM can use it on the tank and rest a lot of MP up without having to worry too much about healing while they are down.
• PLD has Chivalry at 45, it's another self MP bomb every 15 minutes.
• PLD also has access to hammers and can make use of Starlight, an MP battery weapon skill.
• If your healer is RDM then you already have a refresh
• The Resting MP formula and Clear Mind traits have been era+ (boosted) on Horizon for faster MP regen via rest.
  • Especially for WHM. They can get MP back pretty quickly by resting.
  • With a BLM + WHM or RDM backline, BLM should expect to backup heal/(cleanse subbing /WHM) so the healer can rest more often.
• DRG/RDM or DRG/WHM (at level 60+ using AF helmet) can be an effective backup healer + dedicated DPS as well.
• It's always a good idea to bring drinks and ethers to your exp parties for additional MP support.

The standard/traditional party is cozy. There is usually a lot of utility/synergy amongst the party to kill mobs quick, prevent things from going awry, and also to deal with anything that may go wrong.

With a tank (and preferably some form of hate control), melee DPS do not need to sub /nin (rng should probably stay /nin though) for more damage options as the tank will be holding the enemy, mitigating damage via shadows and/or defensive abilities, and if it's a Paladin will cover/cure any DPS that may take aggro. Melee not subbing nin do need to be mindful of managing their aggro though...if melee want to "unga bunga" (i.e.: starting a fight with a WS and taking hate...) then sub /nin or they will be a hindrance to the healer and cause downtime.

Starting at around level 30+, the traditional party setup can take on mobs 9+ levels higher than the party depending on skill and gear of the group. Before that consider aiming for mobs no more than 7-8 levels higher unless your group is strong and skilled.

At levels 50+, a THF or melee subbing /THF may be something to consider for trick attacking behind the tank for more enmity control. Melee start getting very strong WSs at level 50+ which may cause issues for a tank's enmity, especially if melee are not subbing /NIN.

It may be difficult to put a traditional party together as it needs a specific line up of jobs (specifically healer/tank/support roles). It may be easier to forgo the tank/support in favor of getting to exping faster depending on what jobs are seeking.

The traditional party's DPS/exp rate may suffer if there is both a tank a main healer and a support in it, and all melee/frontline DPS are subbing ninja and/or there isn't at least 1 skillchain organized with a strong closer (i.e. RNG THF WAR) and/or a magic burst (i.e. BLM RDM NIN).

Searching for and Inviting Party Members

Type in the command /sea all x-x invite. (You can also use inv instead of invite.) Where X is the levels of folks you want to search for. For example: /sea all 19-29 inv will populate a list of people leveled from 19 to 29 seeking a party.

If you see someone seeking for a role you need to fill in your party you can select them from the list and message them directly via /tell and ask them to join your party.

Note: ***It is considered rude to invite people without first talking to them.***

People typically use the auto translate when /telling party seekers to invite them. Ex: (Hello!) (Experience points) (Party) (Level Sync) 36 (Crawlers Nest)?

Note: Multiple jobs can fit multiple roles, i.e.: RDMs can act as a main healer or support in a traditional party. Make sure to ask if they can fill that role. Some folks prefer a specific role.

Once the party seeker agrees to join your group, you can invite them from the populated list you created from the /sea all x-x invite command.

Consider "spamming" the "/sea all invite x-x" command.
People that want to party are logging in all the time. Especially during prime time. You have a better chance of catching someone by spamming "/sea all 20-30 invite" over time for example."

Note: Some party seekers have a few questions about your party before they agree to join...where's the camp, what's the level sync, etc? You don't have to have an exact answer but just have a general idea. Ex: "Thinking 29 Level Sync at Bibiki Bay. We @4/6, got heals and tank covered."

It can take some time to get a full party together! 20-30+ minutes is not uncommon. Patience wins the day.

Level Sync Considerations

When putting a party together, most of the time you will have 1 person be the Level Sync. This basically means everyone else will be synced to that person's level. Having the party level synced evens out the exp gains for everyone and makes it much easier to decide on a camp. Level sync allows up to a 10 level difference between all party members without any exp penalties. You technically have a 20 level range to search for party members to fill needed roles. Make sure you check in with your party member about agreement on the level sync.

Level sync only works by syncing levels of people who are higher level DOWN to match the person who is the level sync. Backline jobs/mages may be under the level sync by a level or two (maybe even more at higher level ranges). An under-leveled mage is not as big of a deal than an under-leveled frontline melee.

Not finding the right jobs for your party? Try yelling.
/yell in a city and you can broadcast what you are seeking for. Ex: (Experience Points) (Party) (Looking for Members) (Level Sync) 40 @4/6 Need (Healing Magic) and (Support Role Job) (/tell)

Still don't have a full group and not finding the right jobs?
Try asking your current party members. They might have someone in their linkshell who could fill the missing spot as a healer or DPS/etc.

Party Tactics

You're the leader! Huzzah! That means you set the tone and your party members will look to you for setting up party tactics. 2 important things to coordinate in a party are DPS skillchains and Magic Bursts. Sometimes the DPS jobs are knowledgeable in skillchaining and magic bursting and they will naturally coordinate with eachother. Sometimes they may need some direction.

Skillchains
A skillchain happens when melee use their Weapon Skills in certain combinations. Depending on the order of WS an effect will happen and extra damage is created. Melee need 1000TP+ to use a WS, so in order to SC effectively and seamlessly melee will need to be looking at eachother's TP in the party menu. As soon as the opener sees they and their partner have TP to WS they use their WS. The partner follows after.

Melee 3 and 5 have TP to SC (HXUI addon)

Jobs that magic burst will also be looking at melee TP as well because it will tell them when the melee are going to SC and they will follow with bursting.

If your DD jobs are not skillchaining and bursting you are leaving a lot of party DPS on the table and it will take longer to defeat mobs. Don't be afraid to at least suggest certain party member's do certain things if you, the leader, are noticing a lack of coordination. Ex: "SMN and WAR please skillchain together. Raging axe > Double Punch Gravitation".

Skillchains have been buffed on horizon (no longer a chance to resist the damage) to incentivize players to work together. Skillchains add additional damage (40%-100% of the WS used to close the chain) against mobs for faster kills and open up the option of magic bursting. As the party leader it will be on you to at least encourage your melee to skillchain with each other at level 30+. You want to aim to have at least 1 dedicated opener and 1 closer in your party. You can certainly spam weapon skills but you are missing out on additional damage with chaining. Especially if you are partying with a THF.

Any melee, tank or summoner can be an effective closer or opener. THF and /THF makes for a VERY effective closer with sneak and trick attack. Tanks can make effective openers for a higher DPS/melee to close.

Ideally your party will want to have at least 2 skillchains set up. With 4 frontline, each of them will have a partner. Alternatively, your frontline could set up a 3 step chain.

Study up on skillchains with these charts:



For more details about skillchains and horizon era+ skillchain changes, check out: https://horizonffxi.wiki/Category:Weapon_Skills

Note: Distortion and Detonation are very popular skillchain at lower levels, especially with THF in a party to close with sneak/trick attack. Many jobs/weapons, even summoner avatars, can open/close distortion and detonation.

Magic Bursts
So know that you know about SCs MBs are like extra extra damage. Magic bursts are boosted on Horizon (+magic accuracy, +magic attack bonus, -enmity) for even faster kills. If you're partying with a black mage you most certainly will want to coordinate at least 1 skillchain (between 2 melee DPS, melee/tank + THF, tank + melee DPS, tank/melee DPS + summoner) for them to burst on. The MB damage on top of the SC damage can be devastating. A decently geared party (~level 30+) that coordinates skillchains and magic bursts can make quick work of mobs 9+ levels higher than them. Traditional jobs that can magic burst: BLM, RDM, SMN, NIN, DRK. NINs consider (double) bursting with ninjutsu.

De­to­na­tion = Burst Aero
Im­pac­tion = Burst Thunder
Scis­sion = Burst Earth
Rever­be­ra­tion = Burst Water
Li­que­fac­tion = Burst Fire
In­du­ra­tion = Burst Blizzard
Trans­fixion = Burst Light
Com­pres­sion = Burst Dark
Fu­sion = Burst Fire and Light
Frag­men­ta­tion = Burst Thunder and Aero
Dis­tor­tion = Burst Water and Blizzard
Gra­vi­ta­tion = Burst Earth and Dark
Light = Burst Light, Fire, Thunder, Aero
Dark­ness = Burst Dark, Water, Earth, and Blizzard

Off Tanking and Enmity Considerations
PLD WAR SAM and NIN can be main tanks but it's also a good idea to consider having an off tank in your party, someone who can take hate for a bit (Using provoke as WAR main or sub job) while main tank recovers. This is especially effective with ninja or samurai sub/main jobs to mitigate damage. SMNs can also support damage mitigation with blink or stoneskin. This gives more breathing room for the main tank and also allows THFs to trick attack multiple people in your party. At lower levels an off tank can also be considered a "first voke", a front line job that will provoke (subbing WAR or WAR main) the mob at the beginning of a fight, and allow a THF to sneak and trick attack on the main tank. WARs and SAMs make great off tanks. A "first voke" is not necessary at level 50+ if partying with a THF for Trick Attack as that's when they get the Assassin job trait.

WAR and SAM tanks may struggle a bit keeping enmity on their own and will benefit a THF buddy tricking on them and/or off tank buddy. NIN tanks may also struggle a bit in keeping enmity and maintaining damage mitigation with shadows at lower levels and will also benefit from off tanking/SATA.

Food
Nudge your party members to eat food! Your party members will perform much better with the increased stats that food provides. Especially when fighting incredibly tough mobs. Generally tanks want to eat seafood/defensive food, melee want to eat meat for attack or sushi for accuracy, black mages want to eat pies for +INT, and healers want to eat cookies or mushrooms for +hMP/-enmity.

Speed of kills
1 other consideration for xp party tactics is controlling the rate of how fast your party is defeating mobs. This becomes more important at higher levels when DPS jobs become more powerful. The exp chain timer caps at about 1 minute past exp chain 5. This means in order to maintain a chain 5+, your party must be defeating a mob at least every 50-55 seconds.

It is possible to obtain chain 20+, 30+, 100+! The longer your party can maintain an exp chain, the more exp your party gains over time. However, if your party is consistently quickly defeating mobs...the camp will run out of mobs for the puller to pull. The puller will then need to wait on respawns....and the exp chain will break. Your exp chain will start from 1 with a smaller exp bonus, instead of continuing a consistent higher exp bonus with chain 5+.

Consider communicating with your DPS to time defeating mobs every 50-55 seconds at higher level/merit parties to maintain chain 5+! Ask if everyone can use an addon that tracks exp chains/timers. Sometimes it's better to hold TP/free nuking/DPS by keeping mobs alive long enough to allow timely respawns and maintain exp chains, instead of always doing as much DPS as possible.

Leveling parties can do well with only 3 DPS that are coordinated. The rest of the spots can be filled with a healer, puller, and either a tank or support. More DPS can overkill and cause respawn issues which will break chains.

EXP Camps

A good party leader will be knowledgeable of where the party can go to get some exp. Visit: https://horizonffxi.wiki/EXP_Camps for ideas in where you can camp.

The sweet-spot/target-level of mobs you want to fight with a full party is 6-9 levels higher than the level of your party. These mobs will check as Incredibly Tough and it is considered the most time-efficient manner in getting exp. If your party is skilled and/or has a bard and/or black mage, you can target mobs 10+ levels. You generally want to aim for consistent exp chains 4-5s.

An alternate camp mindset is to target mobs 4-7 levels higher than the party, and aim to quickly defeat them for high exp chains (6+). The quick pace of defeating lower level mobs is comparable to targeting higher level mobs that give more exp. Players that aren't well geared may benefit more from this type of party as player to mob level difference is not as big. The puller will need to pull full faster or consider having a "roaming party" where your party moves around the area, defeating enemies quickly, instead of camping in 1 spot. There kinds of parties get more popular at the higher levels (~68+). A main tank is less necessary for these types of quick parties and most likely frontline will be subbing /nin for shadow damage mitigation. A main healer may not be necessary as well, where healing is shared among the backline mages.

For non-traditional/new player parties you can certainly target lower level mobs. Just be mindful that you cant gain exp chains on mobs that are lower levels than your party is.

Consider What You Are Fighting
Does the mob use silence or paralyze attacks? Do they have defense up abilities? Are they casters? Consider bringing jobs that will counter monster abilities! You may need someone who can dispel/silena/poisona/stona in your group to effectively fight certain monsters.

• Consider having a BLM in your party for big magic bursting if fighting crabs, pugils, crawlers, or beetles. These mobs have higher than average defense and/or evasion. Extra bonus points for having a RDM or BRD or /RDM (64+) for dispel because these mobs have abilities that will further increase their defense/evasion.
• Consider having at least 1 ranged DD (BLM, RNG) in your party if fighting flies. Cursed sphere against 4 front line jobs is ouch.
• Consider asking BLM to use /WHM subjob and lean more towards an off-healer/debuffer/cleanser if your party is going to be facing mobs with AoE or multiple status ailment abilities (flies, courels, beastmen, evil weapons, etc), and the party does not have a support job like SMN or RDM (4 frontline, 2 backline type of setup). BLM can still magic burst and cast drain for extra DPS, but may want to consider holding back free nuking, to save mp for supporting the party.
• Consider having a WHM in your party if fighting Courels (silence, paralyze), Lizards (petrify), flies (Cursed sphere, AOE) or Cockatrice (petrify, silence). At later levels RDM/WHM can cover silena. RDM/WHM will never have stona to cure petrification however.

Consider Camp Limitations
Some areas can only support 1 party. It's a good idea to search an area before heading there to see if there already is a party exping there. Use the menu or type the command /sea "ZoneName" to pull up a list of people and their levels in an area.

The zone names require abbreviations that aren't always intuitive, though. Use this link for a list of abbreviations. Ex: /sea "CrawlNest" will show you a list of people currently in Crawler's Nest. Note: ***Be advised that you need to have been in that zone before in order to see a list populate of who's currently in the zone!

Although any mob unclaimed is technically up for claim it is considered rude to camp on top of another party and won't help your reputation on the server.

Alternate Party Compositions

If there aren't the right types of jobs seeking for a traditional party setup, don't fret! These alternate lineups can work out fine.

No Support? No Problem.

This strategy is for a a viable EXP party setup that does not rely on traditional support jobs (e.g. Bard). When executed correctly, this lineup offers competitive EXP/hour, high player interaction, and reduced downtime waiting for specific jobs.

Era+ changes (job traits, weaponskills, Magic Burst adjustments) and modern addons (e.g. TParty, HXUI, Chains) significantly improve the consistency of this strategy compared to original 75-cap FFXI.

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Party Composition

• 1 Tank
• 2 Melee DPS
  • One melee opens skillchains
  • Ranged DPS (RNG) can fill one melee slot
• 1 Thief (THF)
  • Puller, enmity control, debuffs, skillchain closer
• 1 Black Mage / White Mage (BLM/WHM)
  • Magic Bursts, crowd control, backup healing/debuffs
• 1 Healer
  • WHM, RDM, or SMN

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Core Concept

If a party has a reliable tank and healer, a dedicated support job is not required.

Instead of waiting for a Bard or support to log in, the party fills remaining slots with DPS and a Thief and immediately begins gaining EXP. This setup emphasizes Classic FFXI mechanics: skillchains, Magic Bursts, enmity control, and coordinated play.

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Core Strategy

This party functions around burst damage cycles:

1. Melee + THF execute a skillchain
2. BLM performs one or more Magic Bursts
3. Mob is defeated quickly
4. Repeat every pull or every other pull

Coordination is required, but the payoff is high burst damage and efficient kills.

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Role Breakdown

Thief

• Primary puller
• Applies defense debuffs via Acid Bolts
• Manages party enmity (SATA, Collaborator, Accomplice)
• Closes skillchains behind the tank using Sneak Attack and Trick Attack
• Setup improves significantly at level 50+ with Assassin

Note: Use of Bully + Acid Bolts is strongly recommended for fast kills.

Black Mage (BLM/WHM)

• Performs Magic Bursts (often double bursts)
• Crowd control (Sleep, Bind, Stun)
• Backup healing, debuffing, and cleansing as needed
• May reduce free nuking to conserve MP in longer chains

Other Melee DPS

• Focus on sustained DPS
• Avoid weaponskills during the primary skillchain unless assigned
• Can form secondary skillchains when coordination allows

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Advanced Optimization: Dual Skillchain Rotation

With sufficient coordination, the party can establish two alternating skillchains:

• Chain A – THF + partner → Magic Burst
• Chain B – Tank or other melee → Magic Burst

This creates a consistent rhythm:

• Mob 1 → Chain A → Burst
• Mob 2 → Chain B → Burst
• Repeat

Result: Increased kill speed and higher EXP/hour.

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Multi-Step Skillchains

• THF + melee can form 3-step chains
• BLM may land 2–3 Magic Bursts
• Tank maintains enmity independently

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Recommended targets (low AoE, predictable behavior):

• Crabs
• Crawlers
• Bats
• Birds
• Dhalmels
• Courels
• Beetles
• Bees
• Raptors
• Doomed
• Buggards
• Sheep

Avoid when possible without support:

• Flies
• Evil Weapons
• Rabbits
• Beastmen
• Rocs

If fighting AoE-heavy mobs:

• BLM may sub /WHM
• Party should lean on bursts, debuffs, and controlled pulls

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Tank Considerations

Paladin (PLD)

• Sword preferred for increased damage and skillchain flexibility
• Club viable for MP sustain (e.g. Starlight)
• Use Cover if opening chains
• Consider accuracy food (e.g. Ikra Gunkan)

Ninja (NIN)

• Strong tank for dual-chain setups
• Enables frequent alternating skillchains

Alternative Tanks

• WAR/NIN, DRK/NIN (37+ with Stun), SAM/WAR are viable for a first voke/hate
  • Dual Skillchaining highly recommended for fast kills/before shadows are all out
• At least one melee should sub /NIN for SATA positioning

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Healer Considerations

White Mage (WHM)

• Emphasize Regen spells for MP efficiency
• Divine Seal + Regen (50+) is highly effective
• Devotion MP prioritized for PLD tanks

Red Mage (RDM)

• Strong due to Refresh
• May struggle with Petrify Virus or heavy AoE
  • Remedies recommended

Summoner (SMN)

• Viable but MP-intensive
• Must choose between buffs (Hastega) and healing throughput

BLM handles self-care; healer focuses primarily on frontline.

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General Notes

• Expect less Haste than BRD parties; Magic Burst damage compensates
• Requires communication and coordination
• Strong at low levels, excellent at 50+, and highly competitive at 66+
• Can rival traditional support parties when executed well

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Alternative Variations

• BRD may replace THF as puller (fewer skillchains, weaker enmity control)
• Extra melee may replace THF or BLM with increased risk
• All-melee /NIN setups possible with shadow rotation
• Heavy DD (RNG, DRG) may replace BLM with careful threat management

No tank? No problem. AKA Melee/TP Burn Party

This section describes a melee-focused DPS EXP party setup that operates without a dedicated tank. Damage mitigation is handled through Utsusemi shadows, enmity rotation, and rapid kill speed. This setup is commonly referred to as a Melee Burn or TP Burn party.

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Common Party Compositions Any of the following variants are viable:

• 3 Melee/NIN + THF (Puller) + Healer + Support
• 3 Melee/NIN + THF (Puller) + Healer + BLM
• 4 Melee/NIN (one acts as puller) + Healer + Support
• 4 Melee/NIN + BRD (Puller) + Healer
• 4 Melee/NIN (one acts as puller) + Healer + DRG/WHM
• 4 Melee/NIN + THF (Puller) + Healer

Note: Parties consisting of 5 Melee/NIN + 1 Healer are doable but fair warning/discouraged due to healer strain and limited crowd control.

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Core Concept

When a dedicated tank is unavailable, this strategy replaces tanking with shadow rotation.

All frontline melee sub /NIN (level 24+) to gain Utsusemi: Ichi. Damage is mitigated by rotating enmity between melee as shadows wear off, while the healer and support stabilize HP and MP.

This setup relies on:

• Fast kills
• Controlled pulling
• Active enmity awareness
• Strong healer/support coordination

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Role Expectations

Melee (/NIN)

• Maintain Utsusemi shadows at all times
• Rotate enmity when shadows drop
• Avoid holding hate without shadows
• Communicate when shadows are down
• At least one melee should provide:
  • Provoke (WAR/NIN or SAM/WAR with Seigan or DRK/NIN with stun)
  • Temporary hate control when needed

Thief (THF)

• Primary puller
• Applies defense debuffs via Acid Bolts
• Assists with enmity control
• Can briefly tank using Sneak Attack + Weaponskill
• Bard may also be the puller instead of THF

A competent THF significantly increases party stability.

Healer

• Maintains frontline HP aggressively
• Monitors shadow uptime and enmity
• Healing load is heavier than tank-based parties

This setup is most comfortable with:

• WHM main healer
• Backup healing or support present

Support / Utility

Bard (BRD)

• Most common support choice
• Often pulls mobs with songs and sleeps
• Provides songs, debuffs, and pulling
• Enables faster TP gain and smoother rotation

Red Mage (RDM)

• Provides Refresh and debuffs
• Consider sub /BLM to contribute Magic Bursts and Drain
• MP economy is weaker than in retail; solo-healing 5 melee is risky

Black Mage (BLM)

• Provides crowd control (Sleep, Bind)
• Stuns when shadows drop
• Debuffs and Magic Bursts on skillchains
• Backup healing and self-sustain

BLM should strongly consider sub /WHM and lean into a support/debuffer role.

Summoner (SMN)

• Provides Hastega and Refresh-ga and Warcry-ga
• Backup heals
• Light DD with bloodpacts, closes chains

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Recommended Mage Count For non-tank melee burn parties:

• At least two mages are recommended (WHM, RDM, BRD, SMN, or BLM)

Single-healer setups with no backup support greatly increase the risk of deaths and downtime.

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Job-Specific Variations

Samurai (SAM/WAR)

• Acts as hybrid tank/DPS
• Uses Seigan and Third Eye
• Provides Provoke for first hate and emergency enmity control

Dragoon (DRG/WHM or DRG/RDM)

• Acts as DPS with backup healing
• Provides utility without stressing healer MP

Paladin (PLD/NIN (swords) or PLD/SAM (staff))

• Functions as DD, support, and pseudo-tank
• Can Flash on pull and stabilize hate early
• Can Focus on creating light based skillchains to MB Holy.

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Skillchains

• Skillchain coordination is not as common in TP Burn parties
• Damage output relies primarily on sustained melee DPS
  • Chains may be coordinated however if your party contains a PLD or BLM for MBs.

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Risks and Limitations

• HP can drop rapidly if shadows fall unexpectedly
• Healer workload can be high
• Limited crowd control without a mage support
• Mistakes are punished more severely than in tank-based parties

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Magic/Mana Burn Party

Typically consisting of 2 SMNs and 4 BLM. Or 2 SMN and 4 WHM for cure burning.

Both SMNs skillchain and BLMs burst. 1 SMN pulls and 1 SMN buffs and heals.

Have a plan for when SMN skillchain misses.

Manaburn parties can take on mobs at least 10+ levels than the group. Just make sure all mages are up to date on -AGA/AoE spells.

Pet/Jug Burn Party

• 5 BSTs, 1 Support

• 4 BSTS, 1 THF/BRD/Puller, 1 healer

Merit Parties (74+)

Party composition is a bit different than traditional parties with the aim to reduce damage taken/downtime. Basically all melee use /NIN subjob for utsu ichi/ni, and play "hot potato" with the mobs (/SAM is OK for 2 handed weapon using seigan and third eye but not recommended for all front line to use). Emphasis on a "tank" is not as needed at 74+ as melee have access to utsu ichi/ni. BUT a first voke/flash is highly recommended.

It is possible to set up a merit party like a standard party though . If you do have a PLD/WAR or NIN/WAR + THF for keeping hate on them in your merit party all other melee could sub /sam /war or /thf even for increased DPS.

Note: At least 1 WAR/NIN, NIN/WAR, SAM/WAR (using siegan and third eye), WAR/SAM (using seigan and third eye), or PLD/NIN recommended for a first voke or flash.

A merit party may also consider having less than 6 people in it, nixing a DPS. If all DPS are highly geared/skilled, your group may be killing too fast and be waiting on mob spawns, meaning loss of exp chains/exp rate. Additionally, with signet on, groups gain bonus exp with less than 6 people in it.

• Another idea is to form a low man farming+merit party.
  • 3-4 level 75s can get together and target EM-VT mobs that drop valuable items and crystals to sell on the Auction House. Your group can also farm beastmen and kindred seals like this too. A balanced trio of 75s can make consistent chain 5s against T-VT mobs. 4-5 75s can target VT-IT mobs for consistent chain 5s. Make some money and get some merits+beastmen/kindred seals!
  • THF/NIN + melee/NIN or RDM/NIN + mage/WHM or WHM/whatever is a good baseline to work with. You'll probably want a WHM if facing mobs that can petrify for Stona. If the mage is WHM try setting up a light or fusion chain for MB Holy.

Time Considerations

So your SAM and DRK are skillchaining, your BLM is bursting, your BRD is pulling, and your RDM has heals covered! Things are moving smoothly... However unlike other modern MMOs there is no "end of instance/party" that is established by the game. It is up to the players to determine how long they are going to be partying for. Ideally everyone has hours to party but RL does trump FFXI at the end of the day.

Typically, the average player has about 90 minutes to party. At around the hour mark, consider checking in with your party about how long they have left to exp. Ex:"Anybody need to go soon?" "Everyone good to keep going for at least 30 more minutes?" Party members may also tell you/the party leader they need to go soon in chat.

At higher levels (50+) the exp needed to level up jumps considerably. Consider providing time structure to your party. Not having a sense of when the party is over or when they can take a break can be stressful to your party members. Generally, it is a good idea to plan for and tell your party members that after an hour everyone can take a break. Food buffs are generally 30m-1hr so this strategy can sync nicely with game mechanics. Ex: "Hey everyone let's exp for an hour and then take 5."

If some party members need to go soon you do have some options. Do you need replacements? If it's only 1-2 people that need to leave soon, consider searching for other people to replace. Sometimes party members will happily search for their rep, sometimes they may ask you to find a rep. Consider having at least another hour available for the rest of the party to exp for reps.

Does the party need to end? If 3+ party members, or yourself, need to head out then it may be best to call it soon. A popular way to call a party's end is when somebody gains a level. Ex: "Anybody close TNL?" "I'm 500 tnl." "OK let's call it when RDM gets their level." Another common way to end a party is at the end of a chain 5 exp chain. Ex: "Let's call it after this exp chain."

Are you the one that needs to leave soon? If you need to leave but everyone else is good to keep going, ask if someone wants lead and find yourself a rep.

Breaks are fine! It's OK to ask to take a 5-10 min break. Exping can be tiring. After an exp chain 5 and/or when your food buffs wear off is the ideal time to take a breather. Run to the restroom, refill the coffee, take out the dog, stretch, make a snack... Ex: "Hey guys after this chain 5 let's take 10. (Breakga)."

Make Some Contacts

Was the healer on top of heals/hastes/debuffs? Was the black mage on top of the magic bursts, debuffs, and off heals? Was a melee pumping out the DPS? Was someone especially entertaining/vibing with the group? Consider taking note of good party people and searching for/inviting them to your next party! Or ask them what their schedule is like to coordinate a time to party again in the future.

You may consider creating a linkshell and inviting players to your linkshell that you liked playing with. This will make it easier for you to keep in contact with them and you might even make some long time friends that will help you with progression/missions/quests/etc.

Setting the Tone

With great power comes great responsibility! People talk/suggest, but the party leader is the one that makes the decisions (i.e.: where the camp is, what jobs will be in the party line up/who to invite, etc.). As the party leader you also set the tone of your group - what is acceptable and what is not acceptable behavior. Usually party people are easy going, want to cooperate and will adjust if asked, but sometimes party people need more direction.

Is someone a newer player to FFXI? They may need some extra help in learning their role in the party and/or finding the camp.

Does a party member not agree with the party strategy? Ex: a melee does not want to skillchain, or BLM does not want to backup heal or MB.

Is someone being offensive, rude, or complaining too much? Don't be afraid to call them out on their behavior or change the subject. Nobody likes a party pooper! Are they continuing to be rude/offensive/complain?

As the party leader you have the option of talking to them, making adjustments as needed. Or "No Thanks", finding a rep and kicking the problem player who just wants to do their own thing/is being rude.

When deciding to kick a problem person from your party, consider first looking for a rep and once the rep arrives, you can kick, to reduce downtime. But... if the problem person is REALLY being a problem then kicking them sooner rather than later is probably the best thing to do.

Overall the most important thing about being a party leader is COMMUNICATION. Chat with to your party members. Tell them what you are thinking. Help them understand their role more if they need direction. Praise them for doing a good job. Thank them for the heals. Applaud their DPS. Congratulate their level ups. Joke around with them. FFXI is a SOCIAL game. The flow of combat is pretty chill/slow compared to other/modern mmorpgs, so there is room for typing/chatting/being social.

Conclusion

As the party leader you get to call the shots! Don't try to control every little thing though if things aren't going perfectly. If the party is getting experience points at a decent rate and things are going smoothly it's better to to just let things go. Have fun. It's a game.

Many people think that starting an exp group is stressful but I hope this guide helps you overcome that. Being a party leader in FFXI can be a rewarding experience that can't be matched on other MMOs. All it takes is some general knowledge of party tactics, job roles, camps, giving directions, and being friendly. OK so maybe that is a little bit stressful :)

This guide was created by Grayson. This guide is considered an ongoing work in progress so please feel free to visit again for more updates! Thanks.