1. A PDT-% Set is a good thing to have when soloing single wield, smaller monsters aren't much of a trouble, but post 80s you're going to start running into a difference in our defensive spell scaling, that's where this set comes into play.
Maybe but here post level 80 maybe it just me but i am finding the baseline defense of armor sets just plain lacking. Eventually I will get back to putting more effort into crafting to see if this synergy makes any real difference in improving that but somehow I doubt it will be to the point of complete satisfaction. The last set(head,hands,body,legs, and feet) that I seen with decent DEF was back in the 70s with the dusk jerking set for 174 total defense and a bonus 23 attack but the movement speed reduction is complete bs, lol. As these level 90+ mobs hit harder the baseline total defense of armor sets need to start hitting and surpassing the 200s already without needing to be in abyssea all the time with atmas and bs. Some of the level 80 armor sets are barely any better than the late 70 stuff (not counting stat mods here) and that is just sad well at least the ones that can be AH anyway.
2. That said I'm more of the mind that this spell is more powerful than the trait itself, and with the possibility that it can be targeted or accessioned, it would greatly assist our other buff functions as well.
In this sense I can see your point but in terms of stuff proc casting a spell that may only proc like 1 or 2 times in it duration for however mp it will cost still seem better off as a trait but if it is something that you can completely count on to work consistently then yes I totally agree a spell will be way more powerful for the reason you mention. Otherwise I dont see the point in making me use my mp for it. I am really stingy with my mp, lol.
3. As far as wasting MP? Are you REALLY having trouble? Composure alone offsets this, more so if it prevents enspells (or even stacks with Enspell IIs which you can haste Samba on as well.) You shouldn't be having too much of a trouble MP wise. And if it stacks with traits, then you're better off adjusting your playstyle and enjoying the overall performance boost.
As mentioned in resposnse to number 2 i'm just stingy with my mp I dont litterally ever run out mp solo because of it. I really meant this more figuratively than litterally as far as wasting mp. If a spell cost x mp but the effect is something that kicks in every once a blue moon and when it does kick in it doesnt really do anything significant then it is a wast of mp to me. I never liked that having to pick and choose either a samba or enspell crap either but since the mp for enspells and tp for sambas is reasonable i just cut one off to put on the other. The main thing for me is that where possible I like to have affects apply to both weapons so I generally stick to enspell I over II because of this fact. Overall despite the fact I never really use much if any mp while healing gear or other refresh gear or even staves mp is never really an issue for me just to clarify.
4. Red Mage has 3 forms of hard CC[crowd control] and 2 form of soft CC. Sleep, Sleep II, and Break can easily hold down 2-3 mobs for your killing pleasure. But if you have difficulty, you can always bind pin the third and alternate gravity, though that gets expensive over time.
I must admit I havent used break all too much since I have purchased it. The only time so far I have used it was in a few Campaign battles and I was rather unimpressed when compared to the mob version of the spell I was highly pissed off since it wears off upon damage to the mob or at least it seemed that way to me. I suppose it could be more effective against non campaign mobs I will try adding it to my sleep II/I macro and see but I am still skeptical of that spell. I have also done that with bind and gravity and yest it does get expensive over time and thus why I was looking for a more reasonably mp cost effective alternative. Silence and parlyzing mobs with an additional blind /blind 2 for secondary links seem to do pretty good over all just would be nice to have a single spell to accomplish it on so i can focus more on the direct rather than impending threats while waiting for sleep recasts and all. I really try to get all the mobs sleep II though since it gives me a full 90 seconds which is a huge difference maker in situation in like those. Guess I could always sub blm but I admit I am spoiled with dual wielding and hate reverting back to sword and boarding but sometimes it is necessary (sigh)
5. What you might find helpful in the future, however, is this new JA that quickens spellcasting. (Though, no mention of recast timer reset... hmm.) Depending on how it functions it should assist in your pinning methods better without having to worry about getting new /ga spells.
I have been quite satisfied with getting spells off in general fast cast still has proven useful even with casting tier III elementals. Spell casting in general is more about timing the spell casting with the mobs attack round. In addition with the help of aquaveil, stoneskin, phalanx II, blind II and paralyze II at my disposal getting spells off is more of a non issue to me. though the recast leaves much to be desired.
Another higher tier of fast cast may resolve or put a dent in this as well at least for tier III and higher spells. I still havent gotten any tier iv spells because of the mp cost and casting time I imagine those have plus i refuse to pay more than 100k for a spell on ah, LOL. So far me being cheap and not buying tier IV spells hasnt bit me in butt as of yet as far soloing outside abyssea.
Only time spell casting starts to become a real issue for me is in the case of 3 or more mobs on me. It makes it extremely difficult to get of spells even on the current mob as they are hitting you at different intervals. When a mob becomes awake when sleep wears off is where paralyzega and silencega would come into play allowing me to buy maybe a second or two to get off the next round of sleep II/Sleep I/ and now break while still dealing with the current thread. I can barely get a cure off which is why i prefer to go /dnc over blm bc of guarantee cure in waltzes when the normal spells fail. Cure IV + Curing Waltz III is almost as good as a single Cure V if i remember correctly but i'm sure I dont. In any case this is why I think /ga spells for silence and paralyze would be useful. Getting nuked by 2 True sight imps with Fire IV or even V while trying to kill some other mob sucks but it would at least give you a chance. Whether you are able to make good on that oportunity is up to your skills. Would be nice if there was a pet command I could use to make my Adventuring fellow go attack one of the other mobs instead of the one I'm focused on that would help as well. Ga spells will just have to do because I dont see that ever happening.
6. Just keeping a good focus on the battles keeps this going as well, however. When the attention is on us, we don't need the Ga paralyze because we have ice spikes. And in any situation that involves Crowd Control, we're typically focusing on one monster at a time. So unless the monster dies quickly, our single target debuffs are fine.
Yea the mobs of late I face dont die quickly solo maybe after the next level cap. While you are correct here I think the issue to me is that Ice spikes is more governed by your enhancing skill which is generally lower than your enfeebling skill but I have to look more into that because I"m not positively sure. If I am correct that is why I would prefer a ga spell over it since it more likely to stick and stay on them longer
7.As far as sleep resistant mobs, unless they're outright immune to break, that's how you get past Paladins. (Break, Gravity, Bind, repeat.) In any situation in which you'd need that much CC and a stun to boot, just sub black mage.
Originally Posted by Hyrist
1. A PDT-% Set is a good thing to have when soloing single wield, smaller monsters aren't much of a trouble, but post 80s you're going to start running into a difference in our defensive spell scaling, that's where this set comes into play.
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