A bad night?

Sorry for the cryptic title but last night I had a really weird night of unsuccessful attempts at dealing with Garuda and I've never had such a poor night before and kinda wanted to understand if the problem was of my own making or it was down to having been assigned players who maybe need to get some new gear.

Have healers ever had an issue whereby a tank is in a situation where they are taking on more damage than you can heal safely without neglecting other players with you or even your own available MP?

I had three attempts where we got within a few percentage points before my low MP and already used shroud caught up with me, this is mainly my fault though I'm sure. Another party and the tank was receiving so much damage (regularly diving below 50% HP after just a single hit with almost full HP) that I couldn't keep up.

The players I had were awesome though so I'm not slating them. Any thoughts? Anything I might be missing or was it just an unfortunate night?

Garuda is one of those fights with mechanics that test every role. It's tough to say exactly where the problem is in the fight without actually seeing it, but a lot of the damage is avoidable.

As for the tank losing more than 50% of their hp every hit, they were either not using their CDs at the right time, very much undergeared, or not dodging. If the tank was stunned afterwards, that is Garuda's "Wicked Wheel" ability. Tanks need to dodge that cone attack, but it has a very short cast time and has no telegraph so it may require some learning. Dodging it requires the tank to be closer than usual to Garuda so they can quickly run behind to avoid it.

As for healing, I can't really say anything without knowing more. For the time being, all I can say is to conserve MP and be very careful not to overheal (even avoiding topping the tank off if necessary). You may also use shroud of saints earlier in the fight so you can get a second use later.

I just noticed looking at your char, but I hope the current gear shown is simply a town set. As cute as it looks, you will want equipment that give stats to MND and PIE. Those will increase your healing power, make Shroud of Saints more effective, and give you more MP. You will want all of your gear to have as much MND, PIE, DET, and/or Crit as possible. If you have been using that gear, changing it to those stats may solve your MP and healing issues. The crafter gear in your hat, body, and belt slots will severely reduce your healing power and mp.

Just like to add that upgrading your gear to your current level would help a lot. Do your level 45 quests to get your 4 pieces of AF, upgrade your weapon, belt and jewelry to as close to level 47 as possible. It's a difficult fight for a healer, having done it many times as whm and sch, you need all the help from gear you can get. Hopefully you find others who know the mechanics of the fight well, otherwise it's a wipe fest.

I don't believe I've made it that far yet. I'm only level 24 on my first character in the game

However, I wanted to say I enjoy healing much more in this game than others. People don't run all over the place and make it difficult to keep track of them.

The only thing I dislike and annoys the hell out of me is after a huge battle and you spend most or all your MP the group just runs straight to the next fight without waiting for your MP to replenish. It's like PEOPLE! I need that to heal you or you'll die, do you not understand!? lol

Interesting you say that because (I'll be honest here) I prioritized DEF and Magic Defense as a means to surviving longer and didn't put much thought in to MND, PIE or DET. I didn't think it'd affect what I was doing a whole deal as it was only one or two extra in some cases but if it has that bigger of an impact then I'll shift my priorities a little!

I always avoid topping off if I can help it as it's MP I could put to better use when someone is actually in need of it. I find (after a failed attempt) I try to determine when the tank is about to take a big hit and begin a cure II in the hope I can get them back up to a manageable level quickly. Maybe I've been worrying about the strategy of it all more because of my gear selection? We did Stone Vigil first time so assumed that was all I needed to keep doing to get through Garuda.

Thanks for your comment, and I'll take action on that next time I'm in game!

as a PLD, WHM, and BLM, all maxed and close to 90,my WHM and pally are 93 and 94 respectively and BLM is 84, i have played all 3 roles in garuda and WHM/pally in T1-4 and titanex, and pally for titan clear, never cleared on WHM, and phase 3 on T5. i include this just so you know that i have experience as all 3 classes, tank and healer specifically.

first, whicked wheel is not dodgeable, and has no cast time, and no indicator, and it is circular, not cone. slipstream however, does. it is the cone attack mentioned above that causes stun. it is dodgeable, and is dodged easily, if your paying attention. garuda/suparna visibly charge the move, and even if you are just on the edge of the attack range, you can dodge it.

i always keep tanks topped off. if you try to anticipate a big move, and youre wrong, with a cure 2, that 1.7k overcure easy. i hardly use cure 2, unless its the proc. my cure 1 does more than enough to compensate. for dps, i keep them as close, if not toppped off.i have never had a problem with mp, bevause if the fight goes on long enough, you can pop shroud of saints 3 times, just about doubling my available mp of 4400(its closer to 4500, but i cant remember the exact number). unless i have to raise several times, mp is not an issue.

as far as tank taking a lot of damage, that is to be expected, it a tank, they should take most of the damage. in ifrit ex, the debuff will be applied randomly, and increases the amount of damage recieved. imagine going from 2 stacks to 5, in less than 7 seconds. i had sentinel up, and i survived with less than 1k, which is after his frontal cone swipe and the three moves adding the debuff. in garuda, a double wicked wheel, with absolutely no warning, can kill most tanks.

it is also possible they didnt know what they were doing, they were undergeared, or a combination of them both.

as for my WHM gear, i prioritize determination, then crit. i would include the main stats, like mind and piety, but those are usually at there best for that ilv.

Mm, thanks for the corrections monochromicorn. It's solid advice.

Anyway, MND, PIE, DET is ideal for endgame WHM, but you should be fine as long as you have MND and PIE gear for now. You can get VIT (accessory slots only) if you are having trouble staying alive though. Doing the lv.45 WHM class quest will definitely give you good gear, and you will only have to find a suitable MND body piece.

Anyway, if you can, tell us how it goes afterwards. We all enjoy success stories, perhaps even more than horror stories.