The Way of the White (Mage)

I’ve been at this WHM thing for basically 6 months now and I’m up to 54 – almost all party XP because as we all know, WHMs can’t solo for crap past 15 or so. I’ve read a number of WHM guides and spent a lot of time on Halifirien’s blog, trying to learn how to be a good white mage. Lord knows invites during the week are few and far between…

First off, let me preface this whole rant with one thing: I take being a WHM very seriously. Keeping the party alive (or at least preventing a wipe in a bad situation) is my top priority. I am more than willing to die if it means everyone else remains standing. That’s really the whole point of Reraise, anyway. Everything I do is based on the notion of keeping the party alive, buffed and efficient. I do not mind at all if I get hit once or twice, especially if it gives the fighters time needed to set something up, reset ability timers, etc. Since I’m usually at full HP, I can take a few hits without real worry.

Basically, all the advice I’ve read, and my own experience, boils down to this: Use Regen when you can for max efficiency, then use the most efficient Cure-line spell needed for the job. After that it’s Haste, Bar-, and Erase during the fight. Then Curagas, Protect and Shell between fights and healing cycles. And finally, Reraise – ALWAYS Reraise.

This all seems pretty simple, right? Well, for example, Kuftal Tunnel in the Altepa Desert. Mobs there like the Robber Crabs are hitting for around 100 on normal hits and nearly double that on TP moves. Those crabs also spam an AoE (Bubble Shower) that depending on all sorts of factors, can hit the whole party for over 100 per.

If the tank is taking 100 per hit (ignoring super moves and criticals) then it’s only 2 hits to equal a Cure III (mine cap at 190). Since the mob is hitting twice in only a bit more time than it takes me to throw a C3, I could spend all day chasing one person’s HP. But I also have to maintain Haste/Regen cycles, the appropriate Bar- spells, and emergency cures for out-of-hand AoEs or super moves.

So of course in this situation, I like to use Cure IVs mixed in with Cure IIIs. YES, I KNOW ABOUT THE HATE. If the tank or tanks are doing their jobs on the hate-holding (via provokes, flash, heavy damage, skillchains, etc.) then the mob shouldn’t even sniff in my direction after a Cure IV. If it does come after me, it should only get in one or two hits before the tank or DDs aggravate it more than I did. And yes, I know once I’ve pulled the mob off the tank, I have a habit of just standing there like a doofus taking my lumps (unless the zone is nearby). I’m not about to run past other mobs and link-die, and I can’t cure anyone while I have the mob’s attention, see?

The above is similarly true with Curagas, especially when boosted by Divine Seal. I won’t usually throw these out (anymore) mid-fight because I KNOW I’m about to provoke. I try to hold these to the very end of the mob’s life or between fights.

OK, now that all of that has been established, my original impetus for writing this came for a party led by the excellent Drewman. Our paladin was NOT doing a good job of hate-holding, and everyone was taking hits. Our Taru BLM was going red with just two hits and we somehow were beset by pop-links more than once that wouldn’t sleep.

At some point after a few close calls as a result of having to spam Cure IVs, I got a talking-to. I don’t mind constructive advice, and I listened and presented my counter-arguments. What I didn’t do was rake the PLD over the coals for the crappy hate management. I was put into a situation where I had little choice but to use Curagas AND Cure IVs because multiple members were rapidly taking yellow and orange damage.

My very next party, which did not have a PLD, was much, much tighter on hate control. Yes, the fact that we were a level or so higher helped too, but it was obvious this crew knew how to run the show. Even though we pulled NONSTOP by using pop-links, I rarely had to call a warning for low MP or go into cure-bomb mode. I did use C4, but really didn’t need it – Regen II was enough.

And a final note – My melee-mage days may be coming to an end. Since hitting the fifties, I’ve been far too busy with the whole Haste/Regen/Bar-/Erase/Cure routine. I really could fight, at least in tight parties, but in the last two the Bard was doing the “one song for mages, then run to melees for a different song” routine meaning I had to stay away if I wanted Refreshing.

I really don’t want to give up meleeing but until I get into solid parties with hate management and a RDM for targetable Refresh, I’ll prolly have to wait. Then there’s the fact I want people to understand just how serious I am about doing my job.

I STILL maintain that either meleeing or standing front-line is better than staying back-line. I believe that if I do provoke off the tank that by being right there, the DD output doesn’t wait for the mob to hit me then return. Also, the vokers tend not to freak out if the mob never goes anywhere. And I still like being an emergency meatshield, to take the heat off of someone else for a bit.

I do have to watch for something though – I got Staff up to 70 and unlocked Earth Crusher – Fantastic damage at 300TP but it’s an AoE weaponskill! Oops!