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On Healing Hands - A Comprehensive WHM Guide
Leviathan.Cimime
サーバ: Leviathan
Game: FFXI
Posts: 2
By Leviathan.Cimime 2013-03-04 09:24:32
Your haste set is nice but ppl often forget about
http://www.ffxiah.com/item/17577/capricorn-staff
Ragnarok.Ashman
サーバ: Ragnarok
Game: FFXI
Posts: 4251
By Ragnarok.Ashman 2013-03-04 09:42:28
Stupendous work. I have a very minor comment in regards to the commentary on the shield mastery trait:
ghishy said: While supporting, one will most likely be wearing a PDT set that includes either an Earth Staff or a Terra’s Staff.
If mp is over 75% I'd use owleyes/genboob if not whacking stuff. Under 75% an earth staff with oneiros coincides with your comments <3.
Cerberus.Maxiel
サーバ: Cerberus
Game: FFXI
Posts: 80
By Cerberus.Maxiel 2013-03-04 13:37:37
Something I'd add to Part 5 Tips and Tricks is giving cureskin to your DD even if it'll heal for 0. Some mobs can destroy someone's max hp before you can even react, and that 300-350 skin can go a long way.
Odin 2's Kai and initial hits his adds will do to one person, as well as Pony and Paramount Gallu in Legion are some good examples. Of course this is only good in these zones cuz you usually have a brd, that's why it's a tactic you should be the judge of based on your mp conservation.
I'm also guessing you dont have Chrysopoeia Torque in your "Notable Refresh gear" list because embrava will be nerfed soon? Still it has its uses if you got a sch in your pt with Adloquium or Voidwatch if you wanna drink a monarchs.
Phoenix.Bohgo
サーバ: Phoenix
Game: FFXI
Posts: 83
By Phoenix.Bohgo 2013-03-04 15:11:51
Sorry if I missed these in the guide if they are there, but you could consider adding something in the barspell section about how to counter certain status ailments. I find myself casting barfira for mobs that inflict amnesia, barthundra for mobs that stun, etc. Also, you could add something about boosting backline jobs and firestorming Corsairs.
Nice guide...can see a lot of effort was put into it! The world needs more White Mages who know what status ailments are inflicted by what moves, know how to remove them, and basically give a ***about playing the job to full potential.
[+]
Bahamut.Dannyl
サーバ: Bahamut
Game: FFXI
Posts: 1550
By Bahamut.Dannyl 2013-03-04 15:14:44
Great work ! I look forward to "Part 6 – Applying Mace to Face – “Stop! It’s Hammer Time!”" and you adding /NIN under subjobs!
[+]
Bismarck.Pebbs
サーバ: Bismarck
Game: FFXI
Posts: 19
By Bismarck.Pebbs 2013-03-04 16:33:54
Because of this question:
hmp Build?
Could expand the hMP section with information about refresh?
Actually this is me begging you to. Please save my sanity!
There are a lot of players who don't know about hMP, especially newer players who "grew up" in abyssea, and who still struggle with the concept of MP conservation and recovery.
Things that come to mind:
Salvage
Sky (long Kirin kiting fights to teach people what kiting is)
Non-abyssea XP parties (the ones without a PL, so that people learn that cure 5 is not the best thing to use when you have a scratch.)
Ragnarok.Ghishlain
サーバ: Ragnarok
Game: FFXI
Posts: 1081
By Ragnarok.Ghishlain 2013-03-05 22:19:03
Sorry for lack of updates everyone, I've just had 2 straight days of 12 hour shifts, so I haven't had time to sit down and rework the sections, but I will be as soon as I can. Thank you for all the suggestions, I will comment on individual points once I get the time to do so.
Ramuh.Austar
サーバ: Ramuh
Game: FFXI
Posts: 10481
By Ramuh.Austar 2013-03-05 22:43:05
Needs a 75 level sync section.
サーバ: Sylph
Game: FFXI
Posts: 529
By Sylph.Binckry 2013-03-06 01:25:30
Non-abyssea XP parties (the ones without a PL, so that people learn that cure 5 is not the best thing to use when you have a scratch.) Most abyssea grown whms I know use cure VI a lot more than IV and V, even though III or IV are more than enough ._.
サーバ: Asura
Game: FFXI
Posts: 1363
By Asura.Pergatory 2013-03-06 13:45:41
Great posts, however, I noticed that the Cure section doesn't mention that the true cure potency cap is similar to the haste cap; the number shown on armor can be misleading.
Each 1% cure potency = 10/1024 potency which is actually slightly less than 1%. So at +50% potency from gear, you're really only gaining 500/1024 = +48.8% potency. You need 52% potency from gear to hit the actual cap of 512/1024, although 51% gets you damn close at 510/1024. So I'd suggest that 51% is the desirable number, unless you can get the last 1% at zero opportunity cost.
Also, the recommended sets you give tend to ignore everything except the actual cure value, which I think is short-sighted. There are other things that matter as well, like enmity down or conserve MP. This is the set I'm currently using and consider ideal:
Cure4 = 900
Cure5 = 1115
Whether you leave items like the Bishop's Sash in there, I don't care, but you might want to at least mention that the focus of the sets you provided ignored everything except the cure value so that people don't misinterpret that as you saying that nothing else matters. Unless that is what you're saying, but I hope it's not.
Phoenix.Kaparu
サーバ: Phoenix
Game: FFXI
Posts: 249
By Phoenix.Kaparu 2013-03-06 13:50:51
Unless you're dropping a cure on somebody who's freshly engaged- at which point you're splitting hairs- your enmity is inconsequential. Outpacing the enmity accumulated by consistent damage output hasn't been realistic for a long, long time.
Ramuh.Austar
サーバ: Ramuh
Game: FFXI
Posts: 10481
By Ramuh.Austar 2013-03-06 13:53:20
Unless you're dropping a cure on somebody who's freshly engaged- at which point you're splitting hairs- your enmity is inconsequential. Outpacing the enmity accumulated by consistent damage output hasn't been realistic for a long, long time. It's pretty important in Odin 2 with MNK strategy.
Phoenix.Kaparu
サーバ: Phoenix
Game: FFXI
Posts: 249
By Phoenix.Kaparu 2013-03-06 13:57:27
Not familiar, but if there are special (newer) circumstances where it becomes important, they should be treated as such: special.
"You should tell people that your set is lacking in this extremely important aspect that's only relevant in one situation in the entire game" seems a tad unwarranted.
[+]
サーバ: Shiva
Game: FFXI
Posts: 71
By Shiva.Bigslank 2013-03-06 16:37:20
very nice guide but that's allot of gear to carry around but i guess this is more for the career whm
Leviathan.Kaehlan
サーバ: Leviathan
Game: FFXI
Posts: 28
By Leviathan.Kaehlan 2013-03-06 18:22:38
I'm stuck on one concept that I've never quite understood: If cure potency caps at 50% (or 51-52%, then rounded down), why does additional mnd or healing skill matter? Why not haste/fastcast/conserve mp? Why not just keep the healing magic skill gear for things like curse removal?
サーバ: Sylph
Game: FFXI
Posts: 529
By Sylph.Binckry 2013-03-06 19:18:21
Leviathan.Kaehlan said: »I'm stuck on one concept that I've never quite understood: If cure potency caps at 50% (or 51-52%, then rounded down), why does additional mnd or healing skill matter? Why not haste/fastcast/conserve mp? Why not just keep the healing magic skill gear for things like curse removal? It still increases your cures. Rather, it increases power, which is something in the cure formulas. I'd think the higher cure numbers would also be for the bonus on the Emp. legs+2, and also for a higher cureskin.
[+]
Phoenix.Kaparu
サーバ: Phoenix
Game: FFXI
Posts: 249
By Phoenix.Kaparu 2013-03-06 21:15:16
Leviathan.Kaehlan said: »I'm stuck on one concept that I've never quite understood: If cure potency caps at 50% (or 51-52%, then rounded down), why does additional mnd or healing skill matter? Why not haste/fastcast/conserve mp? Why not just keep the healing magic skill gear for things like curse removal?
One's actual curative capacity is determined by several factors. "Cure potency" is one of these, and its effectiveness has a cap, at which point you're only able to further increase your curative power by other means(MND, healing magic skill, etc.)
Leviathan.Kaehlan
サーバ: Leviathan
Game: FFXI
Posts: 28
By Leviathan.Kaehlan 2013-03-06 22:00:02
So then, theoretically, would there be no cap on the total cure power or capacity from potency, mnd, and skill?
サーバ: Sylph
Game: FFXI
Posts: 529
By Sylph.Binckry 2013-03-06 22:56:15
Leviathan.Kaehlan said: »So then, theoretically, would there be no cap on the total cure power or capacity from potency, mnd, and skill? Well, you already said earlier the cap on potency is 50%. And we all know it IS 50%... so <_<
サーバ: Valefor
Game: FFXI
Posts: 17
By Valefor.Thelaughingman 2013-03-07 00:22:21
While writing this post I noted that it was about a year ago we found a working formula. On this note while I write out this post I'd like to make a shout out to Motenten and Aleste who did most of the important work.
Leviathan.Kaehlan said: »So then, theoretically, would there be no cap on the total cure power or capacity from potency, mnd, and skill?
There is a cap on (almost?) everything when it comes to cures, there just tends to be different caps. While you should go check out the Cure Formula Changes thread on the Official Forums (over in the White Mage subsection over there) for more detailed information, here is a basic bit of information about the various caps, and a tiny bit about the formula itself.
So the formula is calculated in stages, first you got your power calculations to determine the base cure - power numbers are fed into a formula depending on which cure it is. After this you have Cure Potency, which multiplies the base cure. Then you have day/weather bonuses, which themselves are multiplied on the last number (meaning the effect is multiplicative with potency, which is important to know, although moreso for Scholar). Then you take cure potency received (which is a separate category from cure potency) and multiply it on the last number. Somewhere after all of this you calculate Rapture and Divine Seal bonuses and then calculate total cureskin, then check the WHM AF3 pants bonuses for what refund you get.
Cure power numbers for single target cures are power = floor(MND/2) + floor(VIT/4) + skill, this cure power number is then taken through a different formula depending on the tier of cure. Caps for all the parts of a cure go as follows:
Power - 700
Cure Potency - 50%
Day/Weather Bonus - 50%? (This effect might not actually cap.)
Cure Potency Received - 30%
Cureskin - 300~400 (Depending on if you're using Orison Bliaud +2 or not.)
AF3 pants MP refund - Caps at only refunding the cost of the spell, no free MP.
With the exception of weather bonuses from various gear pieces, we know all of this caps at various amounts, including cureskin (mostly only ever a problem for Cure VI, but you shouldn't be casting that anyways... this being one of the reasons).
Ragnarok.Ghishlain
サーバ: Ragnarok
Game: FFXI
Posts: 1081
By Ragnarok.Ghishlain 2013-03-07 18:26:09
Spoiler-ing as this post is wickedly long, lol. Replying too many comments posted since I got time now.
A few small upgrades to hmp:
Eidolon Pendant > Gnole Torque
Refresh = +3.3333 hmp (if I'm not mistaken) so,
Wivre Hairpin > Mirror Tiara.
Stearc Subligar with Refresh & at least +2 hmp > Menhit Slacks
Great guide!
Adjusted, thank ya ^^
Oooh, how have I never seen that one before. I just purchased one for myself now that you've mentioned this, lol! Adjusted.
Something I'd add to Part 5 Tips and Tricks is giving cureskin to your DD even if it'll heal for 0. Some mobs can destroy someone's max hp before you can even react, and that 300-350 skin can go a long way.
Odin 2's Kai and initial hits his adds will do to one person, as well as Pony and Paramount Gallu in Legion are some good examples. Of course this is only good in these zones cuz you usually have a brd, that's why it's a tactic you should be the judge of based on your mp conservation.
I'm also guessing you dont have Chrysopoeia Torque in your "Notable Refresh gear" list because embrava will be nerfed soon? Still it has its uses if you got a sch in your pt with Adloquium or Voidwatch if you wanna drink a monarchs.
I'm surprised I missed both these points. The first because I used to do that a lot myself, but even with the high refresh, it is possible to burn out MP quickly if used frequently, so I'll make a note of that. I added this into the pre-emptive curing section as it follows in a sort of same vein.
In terms of the Torque, I forgot it existed, oops ^^;...
Sorry if I missed these in the guide if they are there, but you could consider adding something in the barspell section about how to counter certain status ailments. I find myself casting barfira for mobs that inflict amnesia, barthundra for mobs that stun, etc. Also, you could add something about boosting backline jobs and firestorming Corsairs.
Nice guide...can see a lot of effort was put into it! The world needs more White Mages who know what status ailments are inflicted by what moves, know how to remove them, and basically give a ***about playing the job to full potential.
Added ^^ To three different sections of the guide in case people are skimming over for specific details. Because of this question:
hmp Build?
Could expand the hMP section with information about refresh?
Actually this is me begging you to. Please save my sanity!
There are a lot of players who don't know about hMP, especially newer players who "grew up" in abyssea, and who still struggle with the concept of MP conservation and recovery.
Things that come to mind:
Salvage
Sky (long Kirin kiting fights to teach people what kiting is)
Non-abyssea XP parties (the ones without a PL, so that people learn that cure 5 is not the best thing to use when you have a scratch.)
I quoted that full post in that section for now until I can tabulate it effectively. I have an idea, so hopefully it turns out well when I get to it.
In terms of MP conservation, I'm not sure where I can add a topic like this that isn't sorta explained in a slightly capacity in the guide. I'll think on it more. I did make a small adjustment to my Cure section to reflect Cure V's usage.
Needs a 75 level sync section.
Can't tell if serious...? ^^;...
Great posts, however, I noticed that the Cure section doesn't mention that the true cure potency cap is similar to the haste cap; the number shown on armor can be misleading.
Each 1% cure potency = 10/1024 potency which is actually slightly less than 1%. So at +50% potency from gear, you're really only gaining 500/1024 = +48.8% potency. You need 52% potency from gear to hit the actual cap of 512/1024, although 51% gets you damn close at 510/1024. So I'd suggest that 51% is the desirable number, unless you can get the last 1% at zero opportunity cost.
Also, the recommended sets you give tend to ignore everything except the actual cure value, which I think is short-sighted. There are other things that matter as well, like enmity down or conserve MP. This is the set I'm currently using and consider ideal:
Cure4 = 900
Cure5 = 1115
Whether you leave items like the Bishop's Sash in there, I don't care, but you might want to at least mention that the focus of the sets you provided ignored everything except the cure value so that people don't misinterpret that as you saying that nothing else matters. Unless that is what you're saying, but I hope it's not.
Is there any documentation substantiated the fact that Cure values are slightly under 1%? I can see the logic given Haste Value, but this is personally the first time I've actually heard this argument being made, so I am curious as to where you have seen this discussion from.
I did add a small bit in the cure section regarding -enmity if the White Mage feels it is a prudent decision at the time.
very nice guide but that's allot of gear to carry around but i guess this is more for the career whm
I designed the guide to gear up career White Mage as I am a career White Mage myself (I even use this as my own reference at times, lol!), so there is a lot of gear to carry around. I personally roll in 90 pieces of equipment on my White Mage with satchel to bag swaps as needed depending on the fight or what I'm doing.
Nonetheless, a lot of information here can be applied to the overall performance of a White Mage. The gear sets posted are what I would define as the pinnacle of their performance, but I am hoping that each section imparts enough knowledge where a player may choose their gear depending on their current selection and game knowledge.
Leviathan.Kaehlan said: »So then, theoretically, would there be no cap on the total cure power or capacity from potency, mnd, and skill?
I think this has been explained well enough in the few posts before and after, but I will add the fact that the 'Power' stat of a Cure caps at 700 since I have apparently omitted that fact.
A general thank you for all the feed back and positive comments thus far ^^
サーバ: Sylph
Game: FFXI
Posts: 529
By Sylph.Binckry 2013-03-08 08:43:04
Ragnarok.Ghishlain said: »I personally roll in 90 pieces of equipment on my White Mage with satchel to bag swaps as needed depending on the fight or what I'm doing. I feel you >:
Cerberus.Kvazz
サーバ: Cerberus
Game: FFXI
Posts: 5345
By Cerberus.Kvazz 2013-03-08 09:26:02
I've started to just leave out all mab-gear, unless I know it'll help speed up azure-building in abyssea. :<
Ragnarok.Ghishlain
サーバ: Ragnarok
Game: FFXI
Posts: 1081
By Ragnarok.Ghishlain 2013-03-08 12:17:35
I've started to just leave out all mab-gear, unless I know it'll help speed up azure-building in abyssea. :<
Sad things is, I don't even have a dedicaged MAB set, I hardly nuke as is that I didn't feel the need for it (only thing I really carry around is an A'as Circlet). I currently just stack as much MND as possible when I nuke and let it be done with. Even for Azure farming, my Banishes and Holy's do enough thanks to Atmas and Arka I.
サーバ: Asura
Game: FFXI
Posts: 1363
By Asura.Pergatory 2013-03-08 13:19:37
Ragnarok.Ghishlain said: »Is there any documentation substantiated the fact that Cure values are slightly under 1%? I can see the logic given Haste Value, but this is personally the first time I've actually heard this argument being made, so I am curious as to where you have seen this discussion from. I haven't seen any documentation. I only know because I tested it myself when I picked up Iaso Mitra and was reworking my Cure build. I made a build that had exactly 50% potency and tried a Cure V, then I swapped my Novia Earring for Orison Earring (no change to MND or healing skill) and my Cure V was a few points stronger at 52% potency than it was at 50%.
You're welcome to confirm it with your own tests. I was a little surprised at it as well, because I had never heard anyone mention it and I think it's not very well known.
Not familiar, but if there are special (newer) circumstances where it becomes important, they should be treated as such: special.
"You should tell people that your set is lacking in this extremely important aspect that's only relevant in one situation in the entire game" seems a tad unwarranted. Good thing that's not what I said. Nice job putting words in my mouth, though. Makes for a nice straw man. What I did say, is that you shouldn't ignore enmity down outright.
Enmity down is important is several areas of modern endgame, not just Odin 2. Legion is another example where enmity down matters. I can and do still sometimes pull hate in those fights even with the enmity down in my Cure gear, especially since we're often quickly engaging new targets after the old target is down. Even on targets we haven't just engaged though, if the DD buffs start to wear off and a fight slows down and DDs start taking more damage, I can still end up pulling hate. I think a lot of people who spend too much time in Abyssea/Voidwatch or doing old Lv75 content underestimate just how much healing a good WHM can accomplish.
Arch Omega is another example. He does hate resets frequently and the lower your enmity, the better off you'll be.
Not to mention your original exception of casting a Cure when someone had just engaged a fresh mob is by itself enough justification for working at least a little enmity down into your setup. Again, I'm not talking about giving up potency and a few dozen healing skill. I'm talking about trading 3 healing skill for 7 enmity down, or 5 healing skill for 6 MND, Enmity-4, and 5 Conserve MP. I'm talking about only doing it where it makes sense. I'd rather have 20% less enmity on my cures than have my Cure V restore 1120 instead of 1115.
Ragnarok.Ghishlain
サーバ: Ragnarok
Game: FFXI
Posts: 1081
By Ragnarok.Ghishlain 2013-03-08 23:10:52
Ragnarok.Ghishlain said: »
Is there any documentation substantiated the fact that Cure values are slightly under 1%? I can see the logic given Haste Value, but this is personally the first time I've actually heard this argument being made, so I am curious as to where you have seen this discussion from.
I haven't seen any documentation. I only know because I tested it myself when I picked up Iaso Mitra and was reworking my Cure build. I made a build that had exactly 50% potency and tried a Cure V, then I swapped my Novia Earring for Orison Earring (no change to MND or healing skill) and my Cure V was a few points stronger at 52% potency than it was at 50%.
You're welcome to confirm it with your own tests. I was a little surprised at it as well, because I had never heard anyone mention it and I think it's not very well known.
Hurm, I can't seem to produce your results.
Are you sure it wasn't another factor?
Ragnarok.Kogenta
サーバ: Ragnarok
Game: FFXI
Posts: 214
By Ragnarok.Kogenta 2013-03-09 15:08:06
Zenith pumps augmented with healing magic +6 and cure pot+4%
This set while healing others should be SLIGHTLY better than the currently posted one by 3 healing magic skill (still losing 3 mnd tho).
Ragnarok.Ghishlain
サーバ: Ragnarok
Game: FFXI
Posts: 1081
By Ragnarok.Ghishlain 2013-03-10 18:20:27
Zenith pumps augmented with healing magic +6 and cure pot+4%
This set while healing others should be SLIGHTLY better than the currently posted one by 3 healing magic skill (still losing 3 mnd tho).
Updated. I was originally not gonna do so citing the random pool augment issue, but after some considering, I felt it was appropriate. It's not like I haven't been going to the wall with some of my gear choices as is (~coughs~ Yagrush ~coughs~). The overall idea is to give aspiring White Mages the "optimal" set and give them several options afterwards.
General aesthetic update and formatting edits completed for the guide. FFXIAH links added to the majority of spells as there is easy access to each type of Wiki from that page. Will probably be set for now until SoA gets released.
Bahamut.Raenryong said: »Well written so far. The three tiers of sets for Healing Magic for instance there is a very powerful way of helping people who are reading in my opinion and I think you should use it on the other sets too.
EDIT: and if you really want to go all of the way, record yourself healing something challenging (ie not with too many other healers) so that a newer WHM can *** your priority order (who do I heal first? Status effects or healing first? etc) and reaction speeds etc. Some people learn better from watching than reading, and even if this is not the case it can be very useful to see it in action. If they're good at video editing it could make for a great learning tool if they pause it and go about what they're thinking at that moment then resume, etc.
Ninja Edit: I want to go back to this comment for a moment, from both Raen and Kali. I do have the means to record myself, but not exactly sure what to record ATM. I currently don't do Meebles, I was thinking of doing a full Salvage run recording (using 4-6x speed between rooms/running, etc). But it would be a fairly lengthy video and I'm not sure how well that'd help anyone. Still, it's a thought.
I have two other videos that are 'party based' ATM - one is a White Mage's primer for Cerberus Seether and another is just a general Hall of Mul Legion run, I'm not sure either would be a fair representation of the above points.
Thoughts?
サーバ: Asura
Game: FFXI
Posts: 387
By Asura.Tawhoya 2013-03-11 10:36:40
Thanks for this and great work! My whm is 12, so I know(knew) so little about the job. My friend finally caved and gave me his retired accountwith whm as main... I was just so bad at it, it didn't do a whole lot... This changes everything! Now to learn how to bind keys for macros.
Ragnarok.Ghishlain
サーバ: Ragnarok
Game: FFXI
Posts: 1081
By Ragnarok.Ghishlain 2013-03-18 18:40:23
This Cure set has been brought to my attention via PM.
ItemSet 284234
Which, I will say, does beat out the other optimal set posted... by about 1 power. It's not much, but I am striving for optimization, so it shall be posted!
I would like to bring up this point in my guide though:
Ragnarok.Ghishlain said: »Gearing for your single target cures is dependent on your desires. The only stipulation I would put on any Cure set is to hit that 50% potency threshold.
So, just because people see these sets and go "OMG, I can't get that! O-o", just make sure to have 50% potency and slowly work on improving your sets afterwards.
Also, a small update on "Knowing thy enemy" has been added to the tips section for those looking for some general game play tips, but for a White Mage, nothing beats knowledge and experience in this field.
Note: The guide will not be updated at this time due to personal real life commitments. My completely biased opinion is that this guide is still an incredible resources for any WHM, aspiring or not, and the majority of the theory presented in this guide will most likely remain appropriate for many years to come. Item sets have not been updated since August 17, 2013.
On Healing Hands - A Comprehensive WHM Guide
Part 1 - Introduction - “So… I hear you enjoy healing!”
Part 2 - Job Traits and Abilities - “Wait… I can do that…?”
Part 3 - Sub Job Selection and Merits - “I put on my wizard’s hat, no wait!”
Part 4 - Spells and Equipment - “Ooooh… shiny!”
4a) Healing Magic - “Making sure a DD only cares about flattening things”
4b) Enhancing Magic - “Proccing Haste, huh?”
4c) Divine Magic - “I got a laser… that was blessed by the heavens!”
4d) Enfeebling Magic - ~ Insert malicious grin here ~
4e) Miscellaneous Spells and Gear Sets - “What’s that in your Gobbie bag?”
Part 5 - Tips and Tricks to playing White Mage - “Nuances? What’s a nuance?”
5a) White Mage Spellcast - “Can you PLEASE stop blinking?!”
Part 6 - Applying Mace to Face - “Stop! It’s Hammer Time!”
6a) The Right Tools - “Preparation Time”
6b) Weapon Selection - "Do I use Meat Tenderizer A or B?"
6c) Wardrobe of Mass Destruction - "I think the title says it all"
6d) Nuances of Smashing Face - "How many hands do you think I have???"
6e) White Mage Melee Spellcast - “Smashing Supporting!”
Part 1 - Introduction - “So… I hear you enjoy healing!”
White Mages are masters and mistresses of the healing arts. No class in the game can heal as quickly, efficiently, and effectively as a White Mage. With defensive job abilities and traits, the most powerful Cures, several status recovering methods, and a wide variety of enhancing magic - it is difficult to compete with a White Mage on the defensive scale. If fast paced spike heals and a challenge to keep your allies alive and unhindered in even the most desperate of situations is your cup of tea, than White Mage is for you.
White Mages is one of those classes where you are more dependent on your knowledge and your wits than you are in your gear. Does this mean gear is less important for a White Mage? Not at all, but a lack of gear can be made up with quick reflexes and prior knowledge to an encounter. It doesn’t matter if you have the best gear in the world if you do not realize that one of your party members is petrified thanks to a Rock Smash from an opposing troll or if your entire offensive line is paralyzed thanks to a potent Roar from a tiger. Not only are there reactive measures, there are also preventative measures a White Mage can employ. You see that notorious monster readying a highly damaging Area of Effect attack? Prepare that Curaga IV and watch as your parties HP goes from red back to white in an instant.
Where a White Mage truly shines is in large scale melees with huge spike numbers. White Mages are capable of revitalizing your entire front line by themselves, and with a little support can keep up that scale of healing indefinitely.
In this guide, you will find a comprehensive review of many of the spells and abilities White Mages bring to table. Included in this review are optimized gear sets as well as good and easier to acquire alternatives for some equipment.
As a disclaimer, the majority of this guide is written from my own personal experience and knowledge as playing a White Mage as my only job for the majority of my FFXI career. There are different playstyles and some may be more suitable for an individual than others. I wish to present this guide in a way where it can provide players with insight and knowledge that may otherwise be hard to find or located in an obscure part of cyberspace. How an individual wishes to apply this knowledge afterwards, it is up to them. I hope you enjoy this guide!
Version Update
1.9 - August 17, 2013 - Updated item sets to reflect new gear introduced August 8th, 2013 as well as adjusted iLevel gear
1.81 - July 14, 2013 - Updated items sets to reflect near gear introduced in July patch
1.8 - July 11, 2013 - Rough melee sets completed for melee guide; aesthetic and description updates to specific sections in the guide
1.7 - May 23, 2013 - Partially completed Melee section added
1.6 - May 2, 2013 - Gearset update with the April 29, 2013 patch including some clarifications
1.5 - March 28, 2013 - Gearsets update with the introduction of SoA
1.41 - March 18, 2013 - Small update for optimal single target Cure and Tips section
1.4 - March 10, 2013 - Aesthetic updates and links for most spells to a respective FFXIAH page so players may have quick access to other wiki's. Also, pictures!
1.3 - March 7, 2013 - Minor tweaks and edits as suggested by the community.
1.2 - March 3, 2013 - Added Section Content section for easy searching
1.1 - March 2, 2013 - Edits and clarifications
1.0 - March 2, 2013 - First iteration posted
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