And does it take forever for them to kill a mob, and have a ton of downtime between kills? Please let me know. Thanks..
And does it take forever for them to kill a mob, and have a ton of downtime between kills? Please let me know. Thanks..
The answer to your questions is yes, depending on what you're doing. I often find myself in melee mode when I'm out with another person killing NMs and something goes wrong. I'll pull the mob away and cureskin spam myself, boring the mob with my mallet until my buddy can get up and fight again. The only thing that can put us down for good is getting caught in a really powerful aoe and not having any buffs up, otherwise you can bull your way through to victory with cure spam.
NM hunting aside, it's fun to smash random animals and eldritch creatures with a hammer, and you may find yourself enjoying it greatly after skilling up Clubs. They never do the most damage and we have somewhat limited melee gear but Hexastrike compensates by being incredible to behold the first time you unleash it on an unsuspecting Gigas's kneecaps.
I wouldn't recommend hitting stuff as a means of leveling up past 15-ish, because it takes forever to gently bump anything to death when the best weaponskill available is Seraph Strike. Low level melee equipment selection is even worse for mages than for everyone else, too.
Things do change a bit at high levels and depending on equipment, but judging by the "WHM lv. 39" by the name of the guy who made the topic, information on low levels might be relevant.
WHM melee only really becomes feasible once you get hexastrike at 68 (and even then, a lot of the "decent" gear of melee whm is 75+)
As I stand looking out from my mog house window, I reminisce about the old days and the many ups and downs of my adventures throughout Vana'diel.
It is then that I know achievement.
Slightly pedantic here but the Blessed (+1) Set, is only level 70. Even more pedantic, Healer's Mitts +1 are "only" 74.
But yeah, White Mage melee doesn't really shine hard until higher levels, partly because that's when White Mages get all their good stuff, partly because most of the lowbie gear isn't something a starting White Mage could afford that easily.
For example, at 75, White Mage can quest a weapon skill called Mystic Boon, which is essentially Spirit Taker for Club (basically, you hit the mob, the damage is returned to you as MP). This really changes White Mage, because you have way less downtime.
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Once you hit level 40, sub Dancer (which should be leveled appropriately). This will give you Dual Wield and Drain Samba, which will help significantly. From any Fields/Grounds of Valor books, get Auto-Refresh, and probably Auto-Regen. Make sure to eat attack food to increase your damage, such as Dhalmel Pie (if your attack is around 180 or higher normally), Meat Mithkabobs (if your attack is around 270 or higher normally), Royal Omelette or Imperial Omelette (since you're an Elvaan these will last to when your attack is 360/380 or higher normally, and are a better choice then normal). If you're too poor to buy the higher level food, even sticking to Dhalmel Pie or Meat Mithkabobs is better then not eating, but if you're really desperate you can buy Dried Meat from the Field Manual or Grounds Tome.
Make sure to have decent clubs for damage, such as Holy Maul (+1), Spirit Maul, Sacred Maul, Kingdom Mace or Maul (+1), with whatever had a higher damage rating in your main hand, if you're poor (likely for a starting player) you can get a Blessed Hammer at level 41 as part of your AF quests (you'll need help), which is decent, and the Time Hammer at 47 is questable but also cheap on the AH at 47 for later upgrades.
For other gear you'll mostly want to stack attack and STR when possible, and evasion otherwise. A few pieces that stand out are the Empress Hairpin or Emperor Hairpin for the head slot, Linen Doublet +1 or Holy/Divine Breastplate for the body slot, Battle Gloves or Combat Casters Mitts for the hands, Martial Slacks or Combat Casters Slacks for the pants, Light Soleas or Air Soleas (+1) for the feet, Tiger Stole or a Justice Badge for your neck, Courage Ring (+1) or Puissance Ring (+1) for rings, and since you're an Elvaan, a Olibanum Sachet for your ammo slot.
Keep your budget in mind when considering gear, and always do your own research. These suggestions are just pointers to reduce your search for gear, but since this is all written for 40 cap, it will get obsoleted quickly as you level. If you do find a party (such as in Crawlers Nest for a Book Burn) you'll find that you level so quickly that it is harder to keep any gear except maybe your weapon any where near current without needlessly breaking your budget.
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