Originally Posted by
RAIST
The problem isn't that SMN is getting lots of XP by AOE healing people, it's that the WHM is just trying to get points ONLY from curing--and is only maximizing one aspect of it. On the other hand, the SMN is likely thwacking things with a stick, using offensive BP's, potentially taking some collateral damage from the AOE's and recovering that HP (at least, that's what I do). Compare that to the WHM who may very well be basically idle except for curing. It's very much like it was in campaign (I used to love to go /SAM and just smack the crap out of mobs for sh!ts and giggles...good times). You have to work for it if you want to get more out of it on mage jobs.
Out of curiosity, I changed my main to my gimped WHM and run out to fart around in Ceizak with a pair of toothpicks. Didn't cure a single person at all, didn't even cure myself (just kept Regen4 up). When all I did was beat stuff and take virtually no damage, was getting around 800 a pop. If I got more aggressive, made a few chains, enfeebled/nuked a little (well, as best a WHM can nuke in mediocre gear)...I got upwards of 1200 a pop, up to 2250 on one. Granted, I am geared more appropriatley for smacking skels in a KRT burn and this was with a pack of about 20 people ripping through them like locusts...but I only faired about twice as well when I was doing them on MNK in the same way, likely because I was simply able to dish out more damage, grab more hate, and take a much more thorough beating on that job.
So, in short....it sounds more like the problem isn't that SMN has found it's way to make up to 5k a pop on reives, it's more that the WHM's haven't found their way yet, but the potential may well be there if they put forth the effort.