"A Guide to FFXI That Even A Monkey Could Understand" Part 2 - Races & Stats
The Stats
Before I can explain the differences between the various races in FFXI, you'll need a description of the stats. In addition to the standard HP & MP (which shouldn't require an explanation) there are 7 stats that make up your character.
Strength (STR)
Strength determines how much damage you will do with physical attacks - it has no effect on ranged attacks. Obviously, anyone who plans to be doing any meleeing will want a decent strength.
Dexterity (DEX)
Dexterity affects your accuracy with physical attacks, as well as your chance of landing a critical hit. This is a very important stat for any fighter-type, since you won't do any damage if you miss, regardless of how strong you are. It should be noted that even the limit-break style special moves in this game have a chance to miss. Dexterity also affects the special Thief abilities Sneak Attack & Trick Attack.
Agility (AGI)
I always figured dexterity and agility were the same thing - appearantly Squenix knows better... Agility affects how well you can avoid attacks and how fast your turn comes-up in combat. It is also the stat that rules ranged combat, determining both your chance to hit and your damage.
Vitality (VIT)
Vitality is a measure of your physical toughness. People with high vitality will have more hit points and be more resistant to physical attacks. It also affects how many hit points a Monk gets back when he uses Chakra.
Intelligence (INT)
Intelligence is the Black Magic stat. A high intelligence will give you more MP as well as increase the damage of direct-damage spells. Obviously, if you're not going to be casting any spells, you can probably let this stat slide.
Mind (MND)
Mind is the White Magic stat. Mind will affect how much HP you restore when you cast a healing spell. It is also a measure of your overall resistance to magic attacks. Because of this, this stat is important to non-spellcasters aswell.
Charisma (CHR)
Charisma determines the power of a Bard's songs. It also affects a Beastmaster's ability to control monsters. If you're not playing one of those two classes, it's unclear if this stat will have any effect on you at all!
As mentioned before, stats in FFXI are not player-assigned, nor are they random. They are determined by your race, your level, your current job, and your equipment. Two different 10th level Hume Warriors wearing the same gear will have exactly the same stats. Also, stats in FFXI are overall numerically lower than in most previous Final Fantasy games. When a ring only grants a modest-seeming +1 bonus to a stat, that's actually pretty good.
For those interested in seeing how stats compare between levels/races/jobs, a very nice stat calculator exists online. It might not make sense until you learn about the races & the job system, but it's a resource you might want to bookmark for the future.
The Elements
In addition to HP, MP, and the seven stats, your character will have a rating in each of the 8 elements. These determine how resistant they are to that particular element, and not just to damaging spells, but also to status ailments. For instance, Silence is a Wind effect, so having a high Wind will give you a better resistance to Silence inducing effects.
The eight elements in FFXI are Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Ice, Lightning, Light, and Darkness. As mentioned earlier, these are also the names of the days of the week (Lightsday, Firesday, etc.). What day of the week it is will have a minor effect on spells. For example, on Firesday fire spells will be slightly improved and ice spells will be slightly weakened. Light and darkness oppose each other, obviously, and the other six elements oppose each other in a circular fashion like so:
Fire > Ice > Wind > Earth > Lightning > Water > Fire
The Races
There are five different races in FFXI. Unlike your character's job, which you can change all you want, you're stuck with your race forever, so choose carefully. It helps to know what sort of job(s) you might like to play before you pick your race. I'm only going to discuss the various gameplay aspects of each race. If you're interested in their cultures or appearance, the official site can meet your needs better than I.
Hume
Squenix can come-up with all the fancy names they want, but it doesn't change the facts that "Humes" are bascially just Humans. Humes are pretty-much average in every way. They don't excel in any given stat, but they don't have any weaknesses either. They're a good choice if you don't want to commit yourself to one particular job, or if you want to be skilled in a mix of abilities.
Elvaan
Elvaan are a far cry from your traditional Tolkien-esque elves. They actually make very bad archers and magicians. Rather, Elvaan are powerful melee fighters and skilled healers. Their highest stats are STR and MND. They are a bit tougher than Humes, with more HP, but they have less MP. An Elvaan White Mage would be able to heal more HP with a single cure spell than a Hume White Mage would, but couldn't cast it as many times. Elvaan fighters can hit for more damage than a Hume, but they miss much more often, so the total damage balances out. Elvaan make excellent Paladins, but very poor Black Mages.
TaruTaru
A.K.A. "Nut-jobs" A.K.A. "Brown-nosers" A.K.A. "They should've been moogles"... Ahem! TaruTaru are a frightening little race with very tiny bodies and very big brains. It is hard to deny that they are the ideal race for any spellcasting intensive job. Tarus excel in INT, have buckets of MP, and are actually pretty agile too. (Be afraid if one of these little dinks pulls a gun on you.) They are, however, extremely fragile. A melee job is a waste of a Taru's potential, not only because you'll be handicapped in STR, VIT, & HP, but also because non-spellcasting jobs have 0 MP, regardless of race, so one of your biggest advantages is completely lost.
Mithra
A scary race of Amazonian cat-women, playing one of these might be worth it just for how instantly popular you will become with all the fanboys you'll be playing with. Mithra are perfectly level with Humes in matters of HP & MP. They have lower STR & CHA and in exchange get bonuses to DEX & AGI. A Mithra Monk would land many more punches than a Hume one, but they would be doing much less damage. Mithra excel at jobs like Thief or Ranger, or at any melee job - if you prefer consistant hits over powerful ones. Considering that they take a hit in a near throw-away stat like CHA, in exchange for bonuses in an almost universally useful stat like DEX, they may seem unbalanced compared to Humes.
Galka
These big, gorilla-like brutes believe in reincarnation, and as such, don't believe in things like gender, even if they do all look male. They may be asexual, but this doesn't change the fact that they can take a beating better than any of the other races. Galka exceed in the area of VIT, having more HP than any other race. They aren't as strong as the Elvaan, but they are still stronger than Humes. Naturally, Galka can do very well in most, if not all, of the fighter jobs. They make simply abysmal mages though. Not only will your spells be weak, but you'll only get one or two off before you're twiddling your big, meaty thumbs, waiting for your MP to regenerate.
Now I must note, that these descriptions are over-simplifications of the races, and any advice I offer is just a way to stack the deck in your favor. Picking a race that "matches" the job you want to play will make your life a lot easier, but it is by no means required. With the right mix of stat-bolstering equipment, intelligent tactics, and patient friends, even TaruTaru Monks and Galkan Black Mages can somehow survive and thrive in Vana'diel. You should pick a race that you will enjoy playing.
Coming up next... Part 3 - Game Mechanics