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Ginger has taken a few days to rest and relax after the excitement of last time. Now it's time to move on!
Ah, Ginger. Momodi said you might come. I take it you wish to undertake one of the many guildleves available here at the Adventurers' Guild?
Cutting in here to "shortcut" this explanation: levequests (or guildleves) are basically short, repeatable quests. You have to do something simple, like kill a few monsters, or escort an NPC like 500 yards. None of the tasks are really challenging, and they are available in 5 level increments. So the "Leves of Horizon" like the quest suggests are available for level 10-14.
If we start a "battlecraft leve" which is what the game calls it when you take a levequest as a combat class, we can select the difficulty, from +0 (level 10) to +4 (level 14). You get bonus experience for completing these quests at a higher difficulty level. So if you can handle a few high level enemies, it's generally worth the effort it takes to kill them.
So far so good, right? A quick and easy source of XP sounds great, especially if you're leveling alt jobs. Well, there's a downside. You have an allotment of levequests that slowly replenishes over time. The allotment maxes out at 100 and replenishes at a rate of 3 every 12 hours. Doing the math, that's 33 sets of 12 hours if you take it down to 0. If you somehow use every levequest (which is actually very easy to do!) then it will take you 17 days to replenish everything.
33*12 = 396 hours (16 and a half days). But that only counts for 99 levequests. So you need the extra 12 hours to replenish the last one, making 17 days.
While you can (and probably should) do a few levequests as a combat job just for some extra experience, the real benefit comes from doing them as crafting (or gathering) jobs. If you can create high quality items, or harvest high quality materials, you double your XP gain from the levequest!
For the most part, you'll just ignore levequests until you suddenly need to level a crafting job from 20 to 50 in like 3 hours. Then those 100 quests will come in very handy.
We're headed off to the THM guild because the level 10 quest requires you to return to Cocobani several times.
Oh hey, this bunny girl is wearing very high level armor!
Aha! You arrive before me upright and breathing. Wonderful! It is so much simpler to pose questions to a student without having to resort to necromantic divination. Tell me, Ginger, what action would you take if you found your thaumaturgical endurance is exhausted in the midst of battle?
The wiki doesn't have the text for "Brandish my scepter as a club." But Cocobani basically says that will get you killed.
Oho! Most practical indeed! A discreet withdrawal is await the replenishment of your energies is a sound strategy. But should there be nowhere left to run, a vial of ether will be your stoutest ally.
Ah, ether! The draught of the gods! We thaumaturges - indeed any who practice the arts of arcane manipulation - value this substance beyond all others.
Thus it was with unbridled fury that we received the most recent report of beastman activity. It seems that an Amal'jaa raiding party has attacked a caravan on the trade routes and made off with an entire crate of precious ether! The time has come for you to put your new knowledge to the test. Annihilate these Amal'jaa brutes and retrieve the cargo of ether-filled vials! According to the report, their armored war transport was last spotted to the south of Drybone.
Ah, and I believe Cocobuki has an additional request: while you are busy incinerating Amal'jaa, be sure to collect some samples of their blood. ...Assuming you can draw any from their smoking remains.
Look what the coeurl dragged in. Good to see you, Ginger. I'd ask what brings you, but I reckon we both know the answer to that already. Well, have I ever let you down before? Wait, don't answer that... So happens I know a fella by the name of Dadanen who needs a hand. He's a merchant by trade, sellin' precious stones to those in Ul'dah with the means to buy them. He's asked that I send any lookin' for work his way.
You can find him over in Horizon, if you fancy. That's in western Thanalan, mind you. Just cross the bridge north of Scorpion Crossing and the road will take you there. Knowin' the circles he deals in, might be he'll have some talk of the royal family that'll interest you, as well. And why not make use of a chocobo porter for the journey to Horizon? If you've the gil for it, that is. You'll find the chocobo stables just across the way from my Quicksand. Find Mimigun-he'll set you straight. Well, off you go, then. I haven't got all day to be holdin' your bloody hand!
As promised, here's Mimigun.
If we choose the Silver Bazaar or Horizon, we go out the Gate of the Sultana instead of the Gate of Nald. I think it's Nald, at least. It probably is.
We're going to Black Brush Station first.
And we're heading to the east!
If you're one of the three people who watched the video last time, you may have noticed that we only have a single entry left on our hunting log.
That was the last of the 1-10 THM hunting log creatures! So now we can hunt even bigger prey.
Now you all can go back to forgetting the log exists until I point out that we've unlocked the next difficulty rank and then show you a screenshot with a lot of unreadable text.
The THM quest wants us to go to East Thanalan to Do A Thing, but the only way over there is guarded by enemies several levels higher than we are. This is gonna be tricky...
Toxic Toads are aggressive enemies, and they're particularly annoying at that. When they see you, they pull you in with a lick and then try to flatten you. It happens with every toad-type enemiy, and is particularly annoying when you're trying to just ride past them to get somewhere.
We get past with no troubles, though! And on the other side is...
We were here very, very briefly during one of the bonus updates earlier.
Thankfully we don't have to go very far, and there aren't any aggressive enemies nearby. This is the level 15 zone, and we're on the level 10 quest!
Some Amalj'aa try to ambush us, but we're a good 5 levels above them. This is a slaughter, but not the kind they anticipated.
Can't forget to loot the transport! Gotta get the Cocos their ether.
We're here early, so I won't attune to the aetheryte yet. But we can talk to the chocobokeep and catch a ride back to Ul'dah.
When on a taxi chocobo, your aggro radius is so tiny that I don't actually think monsters can hit you. Though I swear I remember at least one NPC saying that if you somehow get attacked while on their taxi, they'd refund your fee. All 15-60 gil of it.
And we're back. That didn't take long.
Do I detect the scent of ether? And I trust that stench is Amal'jaa blood...
*hands over the blood and the ether*
Oho! Ten vials... Twenty...thirty! The sight of so much ether is just very comforting.
What have we here Cocobani? Is this the crate that was stolen? I see Ginger's lessons have had the desired effect. Hm, hm,.hm... I will assume the vile, viscous liquid you have there beastman blood. Cocobusi should be pleased...
Something you'll find is that every 1-30 job quest stars one NPC. This NPC will show up in every cutscene regardless. This gets particularly stupid in the Lancer questline, which I hope to show off at some point.
Cocobuki! You left word for me to visit the Ossuary. Have you finally decided to begin my training in thaumaturgy?
Ah, Cocobusi! Good of you to come! Ginger here was kind enough to obtain a supply of Amal'jaa blood for you. An alchemist acquaintance of mine explained how you were using the substance in your research to create a mana-amplifying elixir. Naturally we are most interested in the results of such experiments! So you see, Busi, your work as an alchemist already puts you in a position to work alongside us. You needn't become a thaumaturge to be apart of our family!
Ginger is a very tall Lalafell. She's still only like 3 feet tall, but you really don't realize how short these potato NPCs are until you play as one.
That's right Busi. Besides, the battlefield is a dangerous place, and our skills are not exactly suited to keep others safe from harm...
...I see. This is yet another attempt to dissuade me from pursuing my true calling.I do not want to cheer you on from the safety of my workbench. I want to fight by your side!
B-Busi! We cannot stand the thought of your being harmed! Pray do not do any foolish! Ahem. Ginger, if you are done here, I would speak with you further.
As I mentioned before Ginger, Cocobusi is dangerously unsuited to the wielding of thaumaturgy. Even with the proper training, he would be unable to cast magicks as we can. Were he attempted to force a manifestation of power,the strain on his aetheric reserves would likely kill him. Ah, but I did not request your presence to discuss my brother's tragic circumstance.
You have completed every trial set before you thus far. I believe you are sufficiently entrenched in the abyss of thaumaturgy that a sojurn to another guild will not unduly affect your studies.
I should hope, of course, that thaumaturgy remains your first and foremost obsession. Do not absent yourself from us for too long, Ginger!
Finishing the first level 10 job quest lets us start down the path of other jobs. So if we wanted to be a Gladiator or a Pugilist, we would now be allowed to join those guilds! We can also now take crafting and gathering jobs.
Also when we finish the first level 10 job quest, we can start creating sets of gear. This is the primary way that we'll be able to change between different jobs. Each one has a different set and we can just open our character pane and change from there.
Gonna be honest, the only reason that Ginger isn't a Gladiator right now is because I'm pretty sure that's what the character in Crash Screen's LP is. I've, uh, come around on the job since I recorded that first update, and now it's my highest leveled tank job on my main character.
This gentleman behind us is a very long ways into the story. You can't get that outfit until you're most of the way done with Heavensward.
Alright, time to continue on with the story. We're going to Horizon!
Near that trading post in the Western Thanalan is a bridge. And surprisingly, this bridge is not currently the site of a FATE. That's... shockingly rare. Usually every time I come through here, there's a siege of snake monsters attacking the bridge. It's uncanny.
Welcome to Horizon! Let me just throw this up here...
Times We've Visited Horizon: I
I can already see the smug veterans in the audience getting ready to WELL ACTUALLY me. Let me just stop you right now. Teleporting to Limsa and taking the boat is only faster if you have fast loading times. I do not have fast loading times. Yesterday it took me nearly half a minute to load into a dungeon.
Don't worry if you don't understand what I'm complaining about. You will soon enough. Oh Christ how you will understand. 
Because of the presence of that counter, you can probably surmise that we're going to be coming here a lot. Because I can't do the WELL ACTUALLY thing up above for the reasons I listed, I'm going to make Horizon our home point. Trust me, this is faster for me. Also it lets me have a running tally. Those are always fun, right?
This guy is the levemete for Horizon. Levemetes are the people who let you take levequests. This quest has no story and is solely a gameplay thing. If you like, you can think of them as job postings for the adventurers' guild.
There are some pretty good jokes hidden in the quest text. Though this was written long before Au Ra, Viera, or Hrothgar were added to the game.
I'll walk through the process of this levequest a little later. Any future ones I do, unless the quest text is particularly funny, will just be abstracted.
You can see where levequests are meant to be done by looking for a green circle on your map.
Anyway, let's talk to Momodi's contact.
Ginger Pepper, I presume? Aye, Momodi said to expect you, and so I have. Welcome to Horizon. Ours is a trading settlement that sees goods in from the port of Vesper Bay to the west-and trade we do. Nary a day goes by that Horizon isn't bustling with some manner of merchants and officials. They keep us running about busy, they do. Enough so that I wish I had chocobo legs in place of my own. And that's why I've asked Momodi to send me any souls looking for work. Twelve know there is plenty of it to be done around here. Speak to me again when you are ready to make yourself of some use.
This quest is actually setting up something for later.
It so happens that I've a situation that must be resolved posthaste-and I do mean posthaste. I'm plumb out of premium product, and my latest order has yet to arrive! If I keep my customers waiting any longer, this could irrevocably damage my reputation! What's worse, I paid my man in advance for his services. Despite his assurances that it would be a simple affair, I've heard nothing since he departed for Copperbell Mines days ago. Find Drunken Stag and give him this notice. I cannot afford any further delay.
What do you want? Hm? Dadanen's product? He can send all the notices he likes, but it won't change a thing. The Concern has closed the mines due to some incident in the depths. It's a godsdamned shame too-lost a decent haul just over yonder during all the chaos...
The "product" you heard Dadanen going on about is a valuable gemstone known as raw Nashachite. I managed to dig up a goodly amount just before the mines were closed off, actually. Packed it up and hauled it out, even. But then them Twelve-damned coblyns came along. Not like any coblyns I'd seen before, and hungry only for the good rocks. They had eyes for my gemstones, so I had no choice but to oblige. The Stone Torches had their hands full evacuating the mines, so they ignored the beasts. Even now, they're only concerned with keeping people out. Please, friend, if you're willing to face the coblyns, would you bring me my Nashachite?
For such an... interesting quest name, it's just a generic "kill monsters for their drop" quest. Although it is the first mention of Nashachite, a reoccuring mineral in this series of quests.
Almost everything back here is either part of our hunting log or involved in a quest. There's a lot to do, but not much worth reporting on. So let's just skip to the end when we've killed all the monsters, picked up the ore, and found the missing mining implements for a sidequest I didn't even bother covering.
How did you fare, friend? Did you find the raw Nashachite? Beautiful, isn't it? Rarer than many stones, and more expensive than most. They say the green is the same as the eyes of Nanasha Ul Nasha, who once ruled as the sultana. This should save Dadanen from his troubles...if there's enough left. There's far less here than what I found. I reckon those coblyns made a meal of the stuff. Bloody waste...
You'd like a chance to make some money, right? Then I know just how I can repay you for your kindness. Swarms of sun midges have been harassing travelers along the road connecting Horizon to here. It's gotten so bad that the Brass Blades have started paying folks to keep the roads clear. If you find it hard to believe that swarms of tiny midges could be so troublesome, then you've never seen a chocobo driven into a frenzy by one. There've already been some terrible accidents. Do your part and slay a few swarms. After that, let Fufulupa know. He'll reward you for your trouble, and maybe even offer you more work.
We're being paid, presumably, to kill swarms of flies. Sure, why not?
Back in town, there's this nice line from an otherwise unmemorable quest.
And then there's Fufulupa. He's generally unimportant to the story, but he's also our primary quest contact for this last arc of the intro.
Greetings and salutations, adventurer. To what do I owe this-What, you've slain how many swarms of sun midges!? You have my sincerest thanks! The Brass Blades have been struggling to keep them in check, so your assistance is greatly appreciated. Will you be staying in Horizon long? If so, there is much and more you can do to help here.
Oh right, do you see the far left item? That's an example of FFXIV's gender equality. That's a "hard leather harness" and it looks approximately the same on both men and women. It's part of a set including a "hard leather subligar". If you aren't familiar with a subligar, then...
Take a look. While it's not 
you still probably shouldn't click on that while at work. Or do, I'm not your boss. But that's approximately what the set looks like on men. The only difference on women is the addition of a bra.
I have no idea who the screenshot belongs to. Someone on Reddit posted it in 2014.
Pray allow me to enlist your aid, brave adventurer. I would have you ascertain the whereabouts of a missive I sent to Lost Hope the other day. Captain Leofric is stationed there. Ever since he was transferred, we've exchanged letters, but never before has it taken this long to receive a reply. And so I fear that the courier may have met with some misfortune en route. She must have made it to central Thanalan, or the Brass Blades that patrol the roads between here and Scorpion Crossing would have seen something. But, if she made it as far as Black Brush Station, she would have surely delivered the letter by now. Lost Hope is practically on its doorstep... I suggest you focus your search on the road to Black Brush Station, in central Thanalan. With luck, you will find her quickly.
Before we head back into Central Thanalan... again... let's take care of that levequest.
According to the minimap, we're inside the circle. I don't think you actually need to be in it, but I've always done it that way.
Next you need to open up your quest log and find the levequest. They're down in their own section away from all the proper quests.
And then you hit the "initiate" button to start.
I mentioned before you have to select difficulty. Because Ginger is level 13, it defaults to +3.
This quest is, I shit you not, to kill a single Softskin Peiste.
But before we do, we should loot this treasure coffer for some free goodies.
At low health, the peiste runs off for help. If it gets far enough away, some adds will spawn.
It doesn't get very far.
Importantly, after we finish a levequest, we're offered a free teleport back to the person who gave it to us!
We got a bonus for doing it quickly. If we'd increased the level, we'd have gotten an additional bonus for difficulty. All told it took longer for you to read the above 7 screenshots than it did for me to do the quest.
And then we double dip because to finish the Leves of Horizon quest, we had to actually successfully complete a levequest!
Not at the notification, but at...
Ugh. Guildhests. I'm going to accept the quest, but I won't dignify them with a transcription. The short version is that guildhests are basically mini encounters worth basically no experience. They're over in about five minutes and they're typically the first bit of party content that a player gets introduced to in the game. The first one is literally "how to play together in a party" and it involves such pearls of wisdom as "everyone target the same enemy" and "prioritize weak enemies first."
But it does allow me to introduce the most important function in the game... the duty finder.
The duty finder is literally an automatic group finder. All we have to do is tick the box for the "duty" we want to do, hit join, and off we go... eventually. This is an MMO, and so dungeon finder queues are a thing.
Christ, DPS queues suck. An average of waiting for 18 minutes just to get a pittance of experience from a thing that lasts for a fraction of the queue time. Guildhests are not remotely worth doing.
So let's jump over to the Central Thanalan... again.
This isn't too far from where we fought that golem.
Huh? A letter? Aye, I've got Fufulupa's missive right here. I won't be deliverin' it anytime soon, though. Got to tend to my bird's injured leg first. Even the most minor of cuts can fester if ignored. Fufulupa sent you, right? If this is a pressin' matter, why don't you take it the rest of the way? Lost Hope's just past Black Brush Station, to the northeast. Look for the tents by the river.
The early game doldrums are pretty bad. The story hasn't even started yet, and we're being led around doing bullshit quests. Knowing how much better it gets later, it's absolutely criminal that the early game is this bad.
To put it another way, these are some MMO-ass quests.
Though to be fair, most of this is "first two days" stuff. The kind of quests you knock out in a couple hours after work while relaxing. They aren't meant to be studied under a microscope like this.
Just passing through, or will you be staying a while? ...Fufulupa sent you all this way because of a late letter? <sigh> The boy is still far too earnest. Despite my demotion, he continues to call me Captain. I suspect he has no idea what it means to be transferred to Lost Hope either. The Brass Blades don't give a Qiqirn's arse about this settlement. No one in Ul'dah does. All here have been forsaken, adventurer. The refugees, their protectors. And you will be, too, if you're seen associating with us. Thank you for the letter. Now, for your own good, leave.
That's as good a stopping point as any. Believe it or not, we're making fairly decent progress. Only a couple more update before the story actually starts!
Also our queue time dropped to "average 7 minutes". Fucking DPS queues.