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 party! It's not too terrible. This guide is aimed at helping you become an effective party leader and putting together an exp group.

Why Me?

Why not? 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!

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.

Level Sync Considerations
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. Potential party people are often curious about the level sync and location of the party. Let them know! Ex: "Hello! Party? Sync 29 Yuhtunga Jungle."

Party Compositions

Please be advised that the following information on party compositions is a guide and not the standard. In FFXI, and especially so on Horizon, there is more than 1 way to do things. PAFO, etc.

Traditional Party
The traditional exp party consists of 1 main tank, 1 main healer, 1 support, and 3 damage dealers. A party also needs a dedicated puller, someone who will pull mobs to the camp using boomerang/bow/xbow/pebbles. Pullers can also be a damage dealer or support depending on the job. Examples of jobs that will traditionally fill those roles are:

• Tank: PLD NIN WAR(rarely, and only when using a shield with Defender ability) SAM(using Seigan and Third Eye abilities)
• Healer: WHM RDM SMN*
  (*42+)
• Support: RDM BRD SMN WHM* DRG/WHM**
  (*consider whm x2, rdm x2, smn x2, or asking drg to /whm if no other support or healer is seeking your level range.)
  (**60+ and only if it's a skilled group)
• Puller: WAR BRD THF SAM RNG DRK MNK (SAM and RNG are not ideal because it'll add a lot of enmity to them)
• Damage Dealers: WAR MNK BLM THF DRK BST RNG SAM DRG

If going traditional party route, consider first searching for tanks and healers in your level range and syncing to the tank or healer.

Magic/Mana Burn Party
Typically consisting of 2 SMNs and 4 BLM. Both SMNs skillchain and BLMs burst. 1 SMN pulls and 1 SMN buffs and heals.

Pet/Jug Burn Party
5 BSTs 1 Support

Melee/TP Burn Party
4 Melee/NIN 1 Healer 1 Support
5 Melee/NIN 1 Sad RDM
4 melee/nin, 1 RDM, 1 DRG/WHM?

...Add more types of party compositions here...

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. Don't be afraid to at least suggest certain party member's do certain things. Ex: "SMN and WAR please skillchain together. Raging axe > Double Punch Gravitation". Here are some common battle tactics to consider.

Skillchains
An effective exp party has skillchaining. Skill chaining boosts damage against mobs for faster kills and opens up the option of magic bursting. As leader it will be on you to at least encourage the use of skillchaining. You want to aim to have at least one dedicated opener and a dedicated closer in skill chains. Usually this is between 2 melees. But a tank can be an effective opener and a summoner can be an effective closer. THF makes for a VERY effective closer with sneak and trick attack. Ideally you want to have 2 skillchains going in your party. Partner up!

Study up on skillchains with these charts:


These charts are Horizon/Era+ accurate as of 8/6/2023.

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

Note: Distortion is a very popular skillchain at lower levels, especially with THF in a party to close it with sneak/trick attack. Many jobs, even summoner, can open/close distortion.

Magic Bursts
Magic bursts are boosted on Horizon. Bursting will significantly boost damage against mobs for faster kills. And faster kills = faster exp! After setting up skill chains, you want to also encourage magic bursting if you have casters in your party. Traditional jobs that can magic burst: BLM, RDM, SMN, NIN, DRK. If you have a BLM in your party, ask them what their highest level nuke is, and consider setting up a skillchain that the BLM can burst with that nuke.

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 while main tank recovers. Especially if the job has a ninja or samurai subjob 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. An off tank can also be considered a "first voke", a front line job that will provoke the mob at the beginning of a fight, and allow a THF to sneak and trick attack on the main tank.

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.

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, you can target mobs 10+ levels. You generally want to aim for consistent exp chain 4-5s.
For non-traditional/new player parties you can certainly target lower level mobs.

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. Study up!

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.

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. In the ideal situation everyone has at least 2 hours to party but unfortunately RL trumps FFXI. 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?" Party members may also tell the party they need to go soon in chat. If anybody needs to leave, you 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 to exp for reps.

Does the party need to break? 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 is when somebody gains a level. Ex: "Anybody close TNL?" "I'm 500 tnl." "OK let's call it when RDM gets their level."

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.

Setting the Tone

With great power comes great responsibility! As party leader you set the tone of your group - what is acceptable and what is not acceptable behavior. Usually party people are easy going and want to cooperate 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 party tactics, the camp, or their role in the party? As party leader you have the option of talking to them, making adjustments as needed, or "No Thanks" and giving them the option of leaving the group or adjusting to what you are asking them to do.

Is someone being offensive or rude? Don't be afraid to call them out on their behavior. Nobody likes a party pooper! Are they continuing to be rude/offensive? As party leader you have the option of dealing with it or kicking the person after warning them.

Conclusion

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 add to it! Thanks.