Help me decide on gear please

Hello
I leeched my way up to level 90, only used WHM as a subjob so I'm kinda lost.
I don't want to buy gear that I would stop using after getting level 90.
Also, AF pieces..

What's worth getting? (other than AF3+2 cause I'm currently working on those, plus trials Staff)

(I don't have any gear for WHM, not even past AFs)

It all depends on how serious you intend to take whitemage...

Generally you'd go:

Light staff, Nobles tunic, Blessed hands/legs/feet
AF3+1(2) head and legs
(Suryas +2), Augur Mitts (or serpentes hands/feet set), Orison cape/earring, medicine ring
AF3+1(2) body
Switch medicine ring for Roundel earring/ (Fylgia Torque+1 or augmented zenith pumps)

Then start on your situationally useful gear:

Additional refresh gear (owleyes, refresh hairpin, stearc subligar, moonshade earring)
Barspell enhancing gear (Relic pants)
Regen enhancing gear (Relic body)

And then start building gearsets (resting gear, enfeebling, enhancing, divine) that you find useful.

Agreement with Aleste's list here, especially on the Empyrean head and legs items - I think those are generally regarded to be the best pieces. If you're lucky with trophy augmentation you can try to get the elusive Refresh+1 Cure Potency+14% WHM/SMN body piece too. I'd like to put in a good word for Cure Clogs - they may be pricy and they're annoying to camp from Bonnacon in Uleguerand Range, but having lots of cure casting time reduction is always nice and I find these really noticable.

Depending on how far you want to take WHM, gearsets for all your magic skills (except healing, ironically) are definitely worthwhile. WHM isn't just about healing, and being able to land or fully strengthen these spells when no-one else has them is important.

Enhancing: Relic pantaloons, Blessed Briault or preferably Orison Bliaud +1/2, Enhancing Torque/earring and Beneficus club, all excellent for barspells. You need quite a lot of skill for small increases in potency, though. The Briault/Bliaud and Beneficus add MBD to barspells and are very good to have.

Enfeebling: Dark/Earth/Ice/Wind staves (preferably HQ) for landing Sleep/Slow/Paralyse/Silence reliably, AF body too if necessary. WHM doesn't have a high rank in Enfeebling Magic, but if there's no-one else to cast these then it's important for us to land stuff on resistant mobs. I see you have RDM90 in your signature so you probably are already fully aware of this!

Divine: AF legs, Augur's Jaseran (no skill but light magic accuracy and lots of MND), Apollo's Staff - all good for Repose.

It's also worthwhile having some haste gear for spells like flash, haste itself, esuna, raise and so on. The Blessed set is dripping with haste bonuses and other equipment like the Capricorn Staff can enhance this further. Most spells that benefit from haste don't have variable potency like Cure and enfeebles so conserve MP can be slotted in here too.

If you plan on playing outside of Abyssea, and depending on who you play with, I recommend putting some effort into making a max MP set and a really good hMP set. Be certain to swap out the MP gear for potency gear as you use up the "gear MP" and you could be looking at boosting your effective MP pool by 400-500MP. Even if you've not got capped cure potency in your max MP gear, you're getting FREE cures that you wouldn't otherwise have. That's relevant in situations where you're not getting much support. Maximising your MP recovered whilst healing is important when you're really busy and only going to get a tick of two of hMP at best. Like I said, though, this is somewhat irrelevant if you only intend on WHMing inside Abyssea.

Max MP: Blessed Briault/Pluviale, Healing/Dryad Staff, Bifrost/Serket rings, Zenith Mitts/Tide Gages, hairpins, Graiai Earrings etc. Swap it out when it's used up!

hMP: Dark Staff/Numen Staff, Mirror Tiara, Vita Cape, Eidolon Pendant, Avocat Pigaches, Austerity Belt, Nisse/Menhit Slacks etc, and each tick of gear refresh is approximately worth 4hMP.

At any rate, Aleste's list comes before mine in terms of general utility, but with WHM I think a lot of people forget any spell that isn't Cure, and it's important to fully consider all our spells.

Assuming that you actually capped everything on RDM, you still have gimped Healing magic and divine magic, so until you cap those, it doesn't really matter what you wear, you're still gimped.

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Originally Posted by Babekeke

Assuming that you actually capped everything on RDM, you still have gimped Healing magic and divine magic, so until you cap those, it doesn't really matter what you wear, you're still gimped.

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I spy an anti-leecher! If you aren't going to help him gear correctly, regardless of how he got to 90 and what his magic skill levels are, don't bother posting. I've seen some level 90s that I WISH would ask for gear help, and I remember pre-Abyssea level 75s that didn't know how to gear either. Asking for advice and then USING that advice say to me that this person wants to play their new job correctly, regardless of how they got 90. But this isn't a thread about leech/anti-leech, so back to the original subject.

Assuming you didn't leech RDM as well and you had capped RDM skills at 75, your healing shouldn't be all that bad and probably won't take too long to cap. If your divine is severely under cap, I recommend casting at least flash (and banishes, if time and mp permit) on every single mob you fight. Just keep in mind that when gearing for cure, cure potency+ will usually get you further than +mnd and +healing magic. Aleste and Jerbob covered pretty much everything else.

Okay, first off, I know it isn't gear, but:

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Originally Posted by Quedari

Assuming you didn't leech RDM as well and you had capped RDM skills at 75, your healing shouldn't be all that bad and probably won't take too long to cap. If your divine is severely under cap, I recommend casting at least flash (and banishes, if time and mp permit) on every single mob you fight.

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Yeah, sure, you could focus on capping your skills. Alternatively, just level /SCH for a sub, use Light Arts, and then you won't have to focus on leveling your skills - you can do it in the background as you do things.

That said, you are a terrible White Mage if you don't work on Staff and Club. Ideally these should be capped, but they should both be at least high enough for access to every weapon skill. Quest your WSNM WS. You don't have to be a glorious melee White Mage, but you are gimp until you can use every non-H2H blunt WS.

For Easy to get Gear:

Okay, for gear, you'll mainly want three things - Cure Potency and Haste. You can also probably do builds for mACC, or certain magic skills and other stuff if you really desire, but Repose generally sticks if your skill is half decent, and if something is so hard to enfeeble that stacking Mind and Light Arts for B+ Enfeebling isn't working, you generally want a Red Mage or can't enfeeble it.

Even when curing I recommend wearing some Haste gear for recast timers - since White Mage doesn't have massive fast cast or recast reduction on their gear.

For Haste, a W turban, Blessed Hands, Pants, Boots, and a Swift Belt should get you 19% Haste. This isn't capped, but it does give you a massive reduction to recasts while being easy to obtain.

For curing in, you'll want to cap cure potency at 50% and then start stacking Mind. Mind rings and blessed gear is a good way to do this until you can get more of the AF3. A Noble's Tunic and a Light Staff will get you a long way, as will the 1% cure potency neck piece from getting your job emote.

You will want to cap out Cure Potency by getting your Noble's Tunic (10%) or the HQ or Augmented pieces (8-15%) AF3+2 hat (10%), the AF3 cape (3%), the AF3 earring (2%), Augur's Mitts (4%), a Surya's Staff +2 (22%, seriously, if you don't have this, you are just lazy). There are other, harder ways to get capped cure potency, mostly involving blowing a lot of gil, but unless you plan on using some of it for your Red Mage as well, it probably isn't worth blowing the gil on. I also recommend against the Serpentine set or Cure Clogs in most cases, because for much cheaper, you can just use the Blessed Pumps, and benefit from stronger cures and noticeably faster recasts without a quarter of the effort. Don't forget your AF3 pants - they are what make a White Mage the most MP efficient cure caster in the game currently.

For other sets, like Enhancing Magic, mACC, MAB, Refresh, Accuracy, STR/MND, it will take a bit more work to set out on, so unless you are serious about being a career White Mage, or you have hybrid job pieces for another job you play more, all of this is much more optional to being a decent White Mage. With a half decent Haste set and a capped cure potency set (even if you don't use the AF3 body) you will get great results.

Cure Cast time is most important for cures, Feet-15% are 600k and neck is 1M for 10%

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Cure Cast time is most important for cures, Feet-15% are 600k and neck is 1M for 10%

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This is incredibly wrong. If it was true, then the 5% extra cast time reduction from Fast Cast (from subbing Red Mage) you get over Light Arts (from subbing Scholar) would be more important then the recast advantage you get from Light Arts, or the MP cost reduction you get from Light Arts.

Cure Potency, MP cost reduction, Mind, and recast reduction are all usually more important then cast time reduction gear, since cure spells take no more then 2.5 seconds to cast, you can merit 20% off this, AF3+2 pants can give 12% reduction and you can get 10-15% off this further by subbing either Scholar or Red Mage. Between all these you can get over 40% off your cast times, which is more then enough in most cases.

Most of the time, you have a bigger issue with waiting for your recast timers on Cure IV/V then you do with casting the spell itself, and there is a lot of gear you are better off prioritizing before you even think about getting expensive items like Cure Clogs. Anyone telling you to prioritize cure cast time over other stuff is probably trying to sell you the fifth set of Cure Clogs they have farmed this week.

Problem is with a good cure potency build there's really not much room for haste gear. You could probably sacrifice the MND on waist/feet and get up to 9% haste there but it would cost you a few gil (N.Sash/Blessed+1).

Always have haste on yourself (Something a lot of WHMs don't do for some reason) and you should be fine on recasts.

Cure casting time gear is always worth having though, I use Marduk body/AF3 neck/AF3 pants/cure clogs which gives me -67% cure casting time. Any more and I'd probably risk gear not being equipped properly mid-cast when the cure goes off. Your own reaction times probably matter more.

Big Thing not mentioned is create a macro where you can take advantage of Cure Clogs and Emp Feet +2. The Clogs only need to be on at the beginning of cast to get the benefit of -15% cure cast time and if you have the Emp Feet on at the end of cast for the MND bonuses.

Wouldn't the cure potency from the Serpentes set be a little more beneficial to throw in there? Sure, Augur's gloves gives 4% potency - which is only 1% below the Serpentes set - and some extra healing magic and MND, but the Serpentes set also gives a constant regen and refresh effect. Also, isn't the stoneskin from Solace only measured by a percentage of HP healed? I don't remember anything else being put into the equation, so maybe I'm wrong, but it seems like more cure potency for Solaceskin and a refresh effect would be more beneficial for casting cure spells than the MND on the +2 boots.

Just buy the Cruor Gear Next too the NPC where you get Time too enter Abyssea.
^^ Best idea ^^ Save money

Cure Potency is overrated- especially in Abyssea.
In Abyssea I mainly focus on -cure casting & magic reduction gear.

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Originally Posted by Retsujo

Wouldn't the cure potency from the Serpentes set be a little more beneficial to throw in there? Sure, Augur's gloves gives 4% potency - which is only 1% below the Serpentes set - and some extra healing magic and MND, but the Serpentes set also gives a constant regen and refresh effect.

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Cure potency caps at 50%, and it isn't hard to cap it with Augur's. The shear amount of Mind that you can get from Augur's and even a pair of Blessed Pumps is quite large, to the point that you will be able to cure more between capped cure potency and other stats. Refresh is the only reason you'd have to chose the set over Augur's, but I can imagine situations it might be helpful.

All that said, possession is 9/10ths the law. If you have one and not the other, the choice is much, much easier.

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For everyone still arguing for cure cast time over all else in Abyssea, I cannot disagree more. I can count on one hand the number of times people have died due to a cure casting too slowly, but the number of times things have gone poorly to a recast timer still ticking down I cannot.

I guess there are plenty of ways to look at it. I like to get the most out of my cures, and I believe making sure Solace is at its best takes a huge part in combination with cure potency. With EA body +1/2 You lose about 10~14% depending on your preference, And making up for that to cap isn't hard, but you sacrifice quite a few equip slots for it. Of course when you have 100% of the extra potency and the solace bonus, it doesn't really matter how much MND you have, but I can see sacrificing slots that can have recast time reduction on them a hinderance.

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Originally Posted by Economizer

For everyone still arguing for cure cast time over all else in Abyssea, I cannot disagree more. I can count on one hand the number of times people have died due to a cure casting too slowly, but the number of times things have gone poorly to a recast timer still ticking down I cannot.

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-50%+ casting reduction from gear
-20% casting reduction from merits
-10% casting reduction from light arts or -35% from /redmage fastcast1 & 2.

My cure6's go off at the speed of quickcast.
My curaga4's breeze through like a Cure 5.
I can cast both Cure 5 & 6 in the amount of time it takes a lesser WHM to finish casting just one of those spells.
I don't know why a WHM would sit there waiting on Cure5 and 6's recast timer when Cure4 and Curga4 are viable, but you can keep on wearing those blessed pumps.

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Originally Posted by InsideOut

-10% casting reduction from light arts or -35% from /redmage fastcast1 & 2.

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Fast Cast job traits do not stack, unless you mean to tell me that Red Mages insta-cast spells 100% of the time. Sub Red Mage gives a -15% effect.

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Before I even go on, I really hope that the following reference to Curaga IV was referring to curing at least two people. Even contemplating a situation where you are so desperate for cures that you need to Curaga a single person is just painful. If it is being used as a multitarget cure, extra kudos for making use of it, the spell has great potential in the rare cases it can be used effectively.

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Originally Posted by InsideOut

I can cast both Cure 5 & 6 in the amount of time it takes a lesser WHM to finish casting just one of those spells.
I don't know why a WHM would sit there waiting on Cure5 and 6's recast timer when Cure4 and Curga4 are viable, but you can keep on wearing those blessed pumps.

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I don't wait on Cure VI's recast timer, because I avoid using it. Usage of Cure VI is a mark of something horribly wrong going on, whether it is being lazy, or the group failing in some way.

If you want to be a poor White Mage, routinely get into situations where you need Cure VI. Maybe you can afford throwing away your MP and good habits away in Abyssea, but this class is the MP efficiency master at cures. Throwing that away should only happen when bad things are happening.

Seriously, I don't think I would miss the spell if it disappeared tomorrow. Cure VI is utter crap.

Again, Cure Cast Time gear is certainly nice, but anyone trying to sell you on it as anywhere near necessary to even be the best White Mage in the game, let alone a barely competent one (not hard to do on the cheap) is trying to sell you snake oil and the sixth pair they just farmed from Bonnacon.

If it fits your play style, by all means use it, but don't be fooled that you need Cure Clogs any more then you need Cure VI. If cure cast time was a big an issue as some people make it, Red Mage, not Scholar, would be known as the better sub for White Mage, as it gets a 5% boost in that area.

For absolutely full disclosure for anyone trying to make this decision, I will admit I have a pair of Cure Clogs rotting away in my Mog Sack. I couldn't count on one hand how many times I've needed to use them, because there has never been a situation where Cure Clogs would matter more then bigger cures coming in more often at cheaper MP cost, nor a situation where even macroing them in precast would be worth the extra effort, for me.

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Originally Posted by Economizer

Fast Cast job traits do not stack, unless you mean to tell me that Red Mages insta-cast spells 100% of the time. Sub Red Mage gives a -15% effect.

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Before I even go on, I really hope that the following reference to Curaga IV was referring to curing at least two people. Even contemplating a situation where you are so desperate for cures that you need to Curaga a single person is just painful. If it is being used as a multitarget cure, extra kudos for making use of it, the spell has great potential in the rare cases it can be used effectively.



I don't wait on Cure VI's recast timer, because I avoid using it. Usage of Cure VI is a mark of something horribly wrong going on, whether it is being lazy, or the group failing in some way.

If you want to be a poor White Mage, routinely get into situations where you need Cure VI. Maybe you can afford throwing away your MP and good habits away in Abyssea, but this class is the MP efficiency master at cures. Throwing that away should only happen when bad things are happening.

Seriously, I don't think I would miss the spell if it disappeared tomorrow. Cure VI is utter crap.

Again, Cure Cast Time gear is certainly nice, but anyone trying to sell you on it as anywhere near necessary to even be the best White Mage in the game, let alone a barely competent one (not hard to do on the cheap) is trying to sell you snake oil and the sixth pair they just farmed from Bonnacon.

If it fits your play style, by all means use it, but don't be fooled that you need Cure Clogs any more then you need Cure VI. If cure cast time was a big an issue as some people make it, Red Mage, not Scholar, would be known as the better sub for White Mage, as it gets a 5% boost in that area.

For absolutely full disclosure for anyone trying to make this decision, I will admit I have a pair of Cure Clogs rotting away in my Mog Sack. I couldn't count on one hand how many times I've needed to use them, because there has never been a situation where Cure Clogs would matter more then bigger cures coming in more often at cheaper MP cost, nor a situation where even macroing them in precast would be worth the extra effort, for me.

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You speak about MP cost and efficiency as if that is really an issue for a WHM using refresh atmas in Abyssea. Spamming cures of any tier should not be a problem unless your party is destined to fail anyway. Cure 6 is quick and powerful. If you stopped using it for emergency cases only then maybe you would have a lesser DBR rate (death by recast). This is not a cure clog argument, we're talking about -casting reduction. Getting up to -50% in cure casting reduction gear makes a big difference than walking around curing in just AF3 pants and cure clogs. Aceso's choker(-10% ), the Surya's Staff ( -12%), Marduks body ( -5%).
I'm now starting to believe that you want recast reductions so you can sit around casting CureV all day and use the timer excuse when someone dies. Vanadiel is filled with many WHMs like you so we invite backup healers solely for your recasting convenience.
I'm not against curing in recast gear but the swap between -casting reduction to a recast setup is noticeable. Switching from Cure5 to Cure6 is the only time I have a recast problem. Other than that, never.

What I am against are WHMs gearing up in nothing but potency and MND gear as if that means much in abyssea.

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Originally Posted by InsideOut

You speak about MP cost and efficiency as if that is really an issue for a WHM using refresh atmas in Abyssea. Spamming cures of any tier should not be a problem unless your party is destined to fail anyway. Cure 6 is quick and powerful. If you stopped using it for emergency cases only then maybe you would have a lesser DBR rate (death by recast). This is not a cure clog argument, we're talking about -casting reduction. Getting up to -50% in cure casting reduction gear makes a big difference than walking around curing in just AF3 pants and cure clogs. Aceso's choker(-10% ), the Surya's Staff ( -12%), Marduks body ( -5%).
I'm now starting to believe that you want recast reductions so you can sit around casting CureV all day and use the timer excuse when someone dies. Vanadiel is filled with many WHMs like you so we invite backup healers solely for your recasting convenience.
I'm not against curing in recast gear but the swap between -casting reduction to a recast setup is noticeable. Switching from Cure5 to Cure6 is the only time I have a recast problem. Other than that, never.

What I am against are WHMs gearing up in nothing but potency and MND gear as if that means much in abyssea.

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You're trying to argue with Econ about playstyles of whm when clearly all you know is whm in Aby, and even then, just from what you've said, I'd be willing to bet that you aren't familiar with actual whm skill, since your solution is to just spam your strongest cures...you're destroying your own credibility here.

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Originally Posted by Bubeeky

You're trying to argue with Econ about playstyles of whm when clearly all you know is whm in Aby, and even then, just from what you've said, I'd be willing to bet that you aren't familiar with actual whm skill, since your solution is to just spam your strongest cures...you're destroying your own credibility here.

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womp! I have been a WHM for years and we are specifically talking about Abyssea ->
...as if I only did both light affinity trials for my nonexistent blue-mage triggers...
Careful, you're destroying your sense of comprehension.

In abyssea you do not sit around waiting on your Cure5 timer,toss cure3's like you're healing a tank, and then(after someone dies) use the excuse that your timer wasn't ready. Sorry, that doesn't work. If I was on anything but WHM and I saw someone healing like that, I would change jobs immediately.

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Originally Posted by InsideOut

...we're talking about -casting reduction. Getting up to -50% in cure casting reduction gear makes a big difference.....the Surya's Staff ( -12%),....

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Not to nitpick, but my Surya's+3 has 23% cure potency on it, no casting time-%.

On the grounds of casting time -%. I've never had problems with merits, /sch, af3+2 legs and orison locket.

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Originally Posted by Aleste

Not to nitpick, but my Surya's+3 has 23% cure potency on it, no casting time-%.

On the grounds of casting time -%. I've never had problems with merits, /sch, af3+2 legs and orison locket.

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There is more than one Surya Staff trial.
I don't have a problem with wearing universal gear setups like that, but to overlook the benefits of a -cure casting build in Abyssea is silly. However, I don't believe the WHMs here have have worn enough nor tested high percentage -casting reduction builds to speak from experience.

The -% Surya's Staff trial is tedious, most people don't have marduks body, and the acesors choker and clogs can be expensive and seem unnecessary to people who have the orison locket.

Its OK if you don't have enough gear to test out these things but don't argue the usefulness of -cure casting gear based on your experience with 'cure clogs'.lol

Ok, I'll assume for the second that you're being deadly serious about cure cast time gear, to the point where you've killed 1,400 mobs with light damaging spells for a -12% staff.

Cure spellcasting time -%
Surya -12% (~1,400 mobs)
Aceso's -10%
AF3+2 -12%
CClogs -15%

Fastcast
Vivid Grip -2%
Incanter Stone -2%
Loq. Earring -2%
Marduk body -5%
Veela Cape -2%

/SCH -10%
Merits -20%

-92% Casting time

Recast reduction cap is 50%.
Casting Time reduction cap is 80%.

Average cure has a 2.5 second casting time; and with maximum alloted reduction is 0.5s.

Spellcast is quick, but factoring in latency to server there is no way you're using that much fastcast and getting the full quality cure off... and if you're introducing artificial delay in there to assist in precast and midcast, then what is the point in having the fastcast in the first place?

--edit clarity
I highly doubt you're getting 21 gearswaps done in under half a second.

Aleste-
I have said ,more than once, that cure potency is overrated in abyssea.
There should have been no reason for you to think that I would swap in anything mid-, pre- or after casting.

I immensely disagree with that.

There's a difference between casting cure V for

1,000 w/ 250 stoneskins every 5.5 seconds for 85mp;
and
1,300 w/ 400 stoneskins every 7.5 seconds for 57mp;

Granted both of them end up with the exact same HP healed over time, but the latter does it much more efficiently.

The only arguement for that much fastcast/-cct% is for the curaga series, and I'd hardly advocate those.

/blinks eyes
/stares blankly
/exits thread

There is no latency with the server in regards to gear swapping. That is all done client side, and then the results are sent to the server. If you want to be really anal about having -80% Cast time, just set a custom midcastdelay for 0.1 seconds and get the best of both worlds.

That said, I still think this debate is functionally retarded. With the release of the +3 Surya's trials, there's really no reason not to pursue a +3 Cure Potency staff alongside a +2 Casting Time staff. There's really no need for a Recast staff since Recast caps at 50%, which is easily attainable with minimal effort (25% gear, 15% spell, 10% Arts).

Like I said, some of this goes down to playstyle, but ultimately, you don't need Cure Clogs to cure efficiently. If you are a good White Mage you'll be a master of timing cures to land just as the damage does, even without unnecessary gear like Cure Clogs or a neck piece.

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Originally Posted by Aleste

Granted both of them end up with the exact same HP healed over time, but the latter does it much more efficiently.

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But here is the thing - you can get a reasonable amount of recast reduction and cap cure potency. Recast reduction has a much larger impact, for much cheaper cost, then cast reduction does.

Ultimately, I favor wearing more haste gear and recast gear then many White Mages, and I see benefits from it. I can afford to avoid Cure VI like the plague it is, and pump out massive amounts of curing using lower tier cures, and I won't be an Abyssea only White Mage who wonders why I have to rest every thirty seconds after spamming Cure VI.

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Originally Posted by Aleste

The only arguement for that much fastcast/-cct% is for the curaga series, and I'd hardly advocate those.

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If you can find a situation where you are curing the majority of your party, they can be quite useful, especially since your AF3 pants can make a Curaga free to cast if you hit enough people. Of course, given how often one of these is casted, busting out a Celerity would generally be more effective then Cure Clogs.

Gotta agree with aleste on this one. I mean both preferences have their advantages and disadvantages, but personally I prefer the potency+ and solace bonuses over super-fast casts. I have had zero problems in and out of Abyssea, so it's my most comfortable build towards cures. Granted I don't have all the best gear ever to satisfy your standards with my argument, but that shouldn't deter an honest, intelligent, open-minded look at other possible ways to play your job than the one you're most comfortable with.

Of course I'm not saying you should consider changing the way you play, either.

Of course there is no reason for anyone to have problems using a potency build in or outside of abyssea. Thats why it is the universal playstyle.
Still, that doesn't change the fact that a -%cure casting build has an advantage in abyssea.
Curing faster allows for more time to do other things. From my experience, those 2-3 extra seconds of casting time matter. If someone is getting beatdown while you're casting haste,stoneskin,bar spell, or even curing, those 2-3 seconds matter. Its great to know that your next cure is going to go off like a quickcast. I think every whm has been there.

Potency is wasted in abyssea because most of the time you will be over curing. So if you're under curing you're playing it wrong. lack of MP and enmity gain should be of little concern.

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Originally Posted by Greatguardian

There is no latency with the server in regards to gear swapping. That is all done client side, and then the results are sent to the server. If you want to be really anal about having -80% Cast time, just set a custom midcastdelay for 0.1 seconds and get the best of both worlds.

That said, I still think this debate is functionally retarded. With the release of the +3 Surya's trials, there's really no reason not to pursue a +3 Cure Potency staff alongside a +2 Casting Time staff. There's really no need for a Recast staff since Recast caps at 50%, which is easily attainable with minimal effort (25% gear, 15% spell, 10% Arts).

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All true. That staff is one of the main reasons I choose the -cast casting build over the others.
The +2 casting time staff is useful in a lot more ways than curing. It works for every light magic spell(including songs if you're a brd). Rushing in to cast Protectra ,Shellra, and auspice mid-fight, status removal spells, regen, raise/reraise, light dmg spells... it all goes by noticeably faster. The sigel sash plays a part as well.
Its a good staff and is definitely worth it.

Now that its possible to swap between the potency staff and the +2 casting time staff, I might start doing that.

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Originally Posted by InsideOut

Of course there is no reason for anyone to have problems using a potency build in or outside of abyssea. Thats why it is the universal playstyle.
Still, that doesn't change the fact that a -%cure casting build has an advantage in abyssea.
Curing faster allows for more time to do other things. From my experience, those 2-3 extra seconds of casting time matter. If someone is getting beatdown while you're casting haste,stoneskin,bar spell, or even curing, those 2-3 seconds matter. Its great to know that your next cure is going to go off like a quickcast. I think every whm has been there.

Potency is wasted in abyssea because most of the time you will be over curing. So if you're under curing you're playing it wrong. lack of MP and enmity gain should be of little concern.

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[regarding inside Abyssea] I agree with what you're saying, but you can't disagree that while potency doesn't help those "OSHI~" times, it certainly helps diminish the frequency those times come up. I only have +1 EA armor, and I think the best gear I have are the Serpentes gloves/boots and Surya's Cure Potency Staff +3. Not once have I ever encountered an "OSHI~" moment other than the mobs that have throat-stab like moves. And even then I'm quick enough to hit the appropriate macro to cure at about a little after the enemy's ability goes off.

With full potency on, your Cure IIIs could do a modest amount towards a base Cure IV, making even that beneficial to use if recast timers are all down on IV, V and VI (which it will usually never be that way, but even so). Give the Solace benefit from EA body+1/2, and you get a respectable 300-400 extra stoneskin to save an extra hit or two depending on the mob. It helps with reducing the need for cure spell casting over time, which alleviates the worry about casting/recast timers immensely. That allows for the standard casting times of other spells like Reraise, Banish, etc.

For the over-curing statement, if a person doesn't have the abyssites to increase the HP% from cruor buffs, maybe so. But if a WHM knew what they were doing, they can look at the amount of HP the player has, estimate what % that amount is to the player's total HP, and calculate quite simply which cure would be best to cast to recover enough HP to not over-cure. That all sounds a lot more scientific than it actually is, but that's the only way I can describe it. haha.

Again, each playstyle has its advantages and disadvantages, and each playstyle excels at one point while the other excels at the other. Both points call for a pretty good WHM if they know what they're doing, so neither way is the right or wrong way to play WHM. I'm just sticking up for potency's side because you claim cure casting is more important than potency, when I disagree with that statement ^^

Also, that's a good point with the casting time reduction staff +2.

Thanks.
I wear the AF3 body full-time with my -50% cure casting gear and I believe that is one of the motives for intentional overcuring. The solace stoneskin effect is based on how much HP you heal so,as long as there are no MP problems, casting cure4 or 5 to heal someone who needs 450HP is more appealing than casting cure3. You're right, that too gives a relief.

The best thing about a -cure casting build is not that you're curing fast enough to remedy an "OSHI~" moment. The build gives time to move on and do another task. But there are many abyssea NMs with massive HP killer moves so it does help to a be able to cure very fast.( especially in alliances)

I don't use any -casting gear outside of abyssea so ,yes, I am well aware of the differences. Potency is good because it can save MP when properly used. In abyssea, MP is much more plentiful and can seem endless.

Quote:

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Heka's Kalasiris:
[Body] All Races
DEF:51 MND +17 Cure Potency +15%
"Cure" Spellcasting Time -15%
Adds: "Refresh" Effect
Sphere: Enhances "Fast Cast" Effect
Set: Enhances "Refresh" Effect
Lv. 95 WHM / BLM / RDM / BRD / SMN / PUP / SCH

The Refresh effect is 1MP/tick.

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SE knows whats up. ;) The refresh will go up to at least 2MP a tick with the set.

That actually looks more like a good RDM piece, imo. Very good if you don't have WHM Body +2 :D