CON advice.

Hey all,

Just hit level 30 GLD and now I'm going to start on CON. I've never, ever played a straight healing class before, so is there any advice I can get for leveling it, like should I strictly keep the tank targeted and do nothing but spam cure like the XI days? And best way to survive soloing?

P.S. I'm on PS4

At low levels, cure is about it. Depending on your tanks gear level, you may have enough time to drop some DPS to help speed up the run. I wouldn't suggest jumping in and out of cleric until you get a good feel for how squishy your tank is.

A helpful tip is to put some tt macros on your aero and stone spells. That way you can do damage to who the tank has targeted without having to shuffle through targets.

For conjurer's its really important to know when NOT to heal. They pull aggro from bad tanks really easily at lower levels. I main SCH and discovered what healer aggro was when getting stone skin.

Dont panic simply because the tank hp drops. I'd start precasting cure 1 whenever you expect the tank's hp to drop below 50%. That way you dont overheal. Only use medica when u wont have the time to cure 1 each member of the party. Medica spam will have mobs on you in a second. I agree bdp12 about getting comfortable with the class before u start stance dancing to dish dps.

Good call on holding back on your heals too Dark. Some tanks at this level are just getting started on the game, so holding back on heals will buy the tank a little more time to up their enmity.

As for medica, not a lot of need for it at low level dungeons. I won't consider it until it will heal at least three people with no overheal. It's a good idea though to get a feel for its range, it will certainly be needed later down the line.

Silly question: does the tank pull more aggro if he throws a Cure I on him/herself?

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Originally Posted by EricCartmenez

Silly question: does the tank pull more aggro if he throws a Cure I on him/herself?

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Yes, but gladiator heals are pathetic and I'd assume the same goes for marauders.

Thanks for the replies guys. So should the macro read /skill "aero" [TT] ?

Only needs quotations if there is a space
ex. "Aero ll" is correct while "Aero" is not.

Luckily as CON you also get Esuna fairly early on to help you in dungeons, although for the most part you'll only be dealing with the occasional Poison or Paralyze, so not a big deal. Typically the order in which you Esuna people should be based on the debuff and the HP of the person at the time.

Paralyze though is fairly obvious, if you ever get paralyzed you need to esuna yourself first because it wreaks havoc on interrupting you every other cast. After yourself, check around for whoever needs healing, get them to a safe point, then esuna them if needed, typically starting with the tank first.

As others have stated it's knowing when not to heal rather then just spamming your heals. You never want to heal right as the tank runs into a pack of mobs, more often then not you'll end up pulling all but 1 mob onto yourself. Also if you do manage to get aggro, it's best to run to the tank (if safe to do so), instead of running around like a chicken with it's head cut off. Yes you will take some damage, but you'll make it that much easier for the tank to pull it back off of you if you run to them.

Medica on the other hand probably won't be used much early on in the level 15 to 30 dungeons. Unless your dps just isn't great at dodging red circles on the ground. Thousand Maws of Toto-Rak you will see a lot of Poison go out though, so be wary of melee heavy groups and try to stay at max range of any enemies you are fighting. Haukke Manor can also take first time healers for a spin due to the amount of damage of the last boss. Although it is fairly easy to dodge most of the spells the last boss casts, a lot of new tanks will not know this mechanic, and just end up taking spells to the face.

I'm not sure how it works on PS4, but setting some of the bosses as your focus target can also be helpful, so you can anticipate a big hit coming on the tank by watching the cast bar of the enemy.

Other then that, always try to upgrade your weapon first and foremost. The spell damage on the weapon, along with the mind stat, is what makes our healing a lot better. If you go from using a level 5 wand, to using a level 20, you'll notice a significant difference in your heals, and it will become far easier to heal your group. As far as gear goes, it shouldn't be too difficult to get if you are running dungeons a lot. The jewelry will be a little sparse, but that's normal.

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Originally Posted by Theodin_Morgoth

...should I strictly keep the tank targeted and do nothing but spam cure like the XI days? And best way to survive soloing?..

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I am quite sure any satisfied XI WHM can play WHM in ARR very good automatically. ^^;
But I don't remember WHM in XI days only spam cure...
sneak/invi, reraise, dia, slow, magic-burst (holy MB?!), regen, haste, tons of spells to heal each debuff, sitting for mp recover.... not simple as ARR!!!

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Originally Posted by bdp12

Good call on holding back on your heals too Dark. Some tanks at this level are just getting started on the game, so holding back on heals will buy the tank a little more time to up their enmity.

As for medica, not a lot of need for it at low level dungeons. I won't consider it until it will heal at least three people with no overheal. It's a good idea though to get a feel for its range, it will certainly be needed later down the line.

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Another Medica use is if the tank blows themself up in copperbell mines during the Ichorous Ire fight you can spam medica and heal tank the boss and the bombs, sometimes it's almost easier to heal tank this fight than to have the tank actually tank it imo.

The CNJ storyline will actually walk you through a little taste of how to heal and toss out some dd as you can. Still, from what you're asking:

First, I am hoping a gamepad/PA4 healer can explain this better (I play KB+M), but I know from my husband's experiences, you'll need to make sure you have your targeting settings adjusted so you don't have issues switching from healing to dding or from party to alliance or to others. Everyone is different, so just know if you're having trouble targeting who/what you want to target, mess around with your targeting settings, or specifically ask PS4 ppl what settings and/or macros they're using. But since targeting is a little more complex for healers (you need to be able to target mobs, party members, yourself, and others vs. DD's/Tanks mainly only needing to worry about mobs), making sure you can target who you want, when you want ASAP is your first order of business. Macros as some have suggested can also help (if well-written).

As to healing low level:

Novice (when you're new/ and/or 'at level' for the dungeon)
Don't worry about swapping in/out of Cleric's Stance. You're DPS isn't that critical for a win, but keeping people healthy is.
Usually, on each pull (assuming normal pull w/ normal tank), you can toss out at least an Aero/Stone combo on his target (1). After this, the tank probably needs a Cure. Rinse/Repeat this until things are dead. When you feel more comfy, you'll just know when to pre-cast cures etc. But a good beginner threshold is if the tank is at 70% health or less, Cure him. I know others say, 50% or even 40%....and that IS true, but beginner tanks/healers are typically better 'safe than sorry' So I suggest 70% because it gives you time to respond. Also, if you're 'at level' your heals and most likely gear, will be less potent, so you give yourself a little more breathing room this way.

Moderate Skill Level:
-So after a run or two in a place, and/or once you've gotten more use to party play, Now you can play with Cleric's stance. Now is the time to work on swapping in/out of it....and more importantly, learning how to read your party and know if you can actually dd or if they will need you to be a cure bot. Just because you can DD as a cnj/whm, doesn't mean it's always wise. While learning the CS trick, I still suggest healing the tank at roughly 60% health (again, you'll let him drop to 40%ish laters when more comfy), but I suggest 60% when learning the CS dance, because it gives you time to 1. realize 'damn need to heal' 2. turn CS off 3. Heal By the time that happens, the tank usually takes an additional hit (dropping his HP's to the 40-50% range).

Expert:
By this point, you should feel totally comfy swapping in and out of CS/buffing and healing. Now the trick is not being noticed. A good healer works in the background and if they do it right, the party never needs to stop for buffs, MP regeneration, deaths, or heath. So now the name of the game is learning how to tag Stoneskin on a tank right as the killing blow is being landed on the last mob of the pack...or getting that regen up right as that first flash is going off....or reposing the extra add that accidentally got pulled. Also, learning how to use effectively Shroud/Pres. Of Mind etc all come into play now.


Other notes:
-DDing as a healer. Even without cleric's stance on, dding as a healer (as you can) actually helps you manage your hate a wee bit as well the way hate works for healers is this: Any mob that hates the target you healed, gains some hate on you for every heal you do to said target. This means, that if it's taking a superlong time to kill the 3 mobs in the pack, the tank runs a high risk of losing the 3rd mob to you, because that mob gets angrier and angrier at you as time goes by. However, by assisting with even just Aero/Stone 1-2 times on mobs 1, then 2....you've now shortened the time it takes the Party to kill those mobs and focus on an attacking Mob 3=less heals you had to do=less hate on that mob. Tanks don't tend to lose hate on the mob they and the DD's are focusing, they tend to lose it on the 3rd+ mobs as they aren't comboing them as often/Flash only does so much.

-Fluid Aura So....here's the thing.
Pros: Free DD spell (No MP); binds target;knocks target back;instant
Cons: Pisses the hell out of Melee/tanks as they don't like playing ping-pong with mobs

So...you need to be super-selective when you use this skill. Don't use it as a 'finisher' (if you don't finish the mob, you just made ppl chase it for a sliver of health :/)

-Great to use if Reposing an Add. Fluid Aura will knock the add out of the pile + Repose keeps em slept until the party can handle it.
-Great to use on LARGE, can't be knocked back mobs (many bosses can't be knocked for example). It does good damage, and is FREE (and instant)....and on a role that is very MP consuming, it's nice to be able to toss a free DD skill out here and there

Difficulty Jumps as you level:
1-24 is actually not too bad, there's a couple things here and there that can catch a party off-guard, but generally speaking most of this content is straight-forward and highly forgiving of errors.

Level 24: Thousand Maws- Esuna is your friend. This is the first (modest) scale in difficulty. Just remember Esuna is your friend. Also, if a target has 50% or less HP's and poison, CURE them then Esuna less OMG they almost died that way;).
Level 32ish? Brayflox: This is where many tanks go to die....their dreams of tanking crushed forever...in part, because the scale in difficulty for tanks/healers jumps drastically in this dungeon. Again, Esuna is your friend...as is Repose if Tank is taking wayyy to much damage. Also, this is probably going to be the first dungeon you'll stuggle with MP issues. (at level anyway)
Level41: Stone Vigil: This dungeon is more a 'Tank Awareness/Pulling and Skill check' than healer check.....but with an 'at level/ or undergeared tank' (or if you are at level/undergeared) this dungeon can get dicey fast. If you have a good tank that avoids getting adds in their pulls, and knows how to keep hate/use damage mitagation buffs, you'll be fine. But as you'll learn by this point in leveling....that doesn't always happen and if you have a less-skilled/geared (both) tank, this place can be long, deadly, and rough.
44+: If you don't do the 'first room' clear group runs you see in PF for these dungeons, but level normally, you'll be fine (same difficulty as SV tbh). But if you decide 'meh, I'll just heal those first room pulls' be prepared. You'll need to have good gear, food and be very good at Holy spam+cure spam. The healer on these runs carries the most burden.

Lastly, take 3 friends with you the first time you go heal Satasha....you'll feel less pressure to be perfect, and if something goes horridly wrong, you'll all laugh, dust yourselves off and charge back in. But if you've already leveled and play tank, you should already know the pulls/battles well enough to predict 'tanks gonna get pounded' in many cases which should help a lot.

Nice thread. About the GLD healing themselves for threat, as mentioned it's a pathetic heal, and in that cast time you could use flash or a threat skill, by the time your cure has gone off the mob would have hit you again kinda negating the cure itself.

I have never been a heals before. My motto was always, I kill..I don't heal.

Well my WHM is currently 46...it has surprised me and become a very fun job. I didn't reach and every post here so some of what I will say may have been covered already.

Focus target(FT) is your friend. I put the tank as FT so that I can quickly select him when needed. This being because I am healing other party members and have them selected. This also allows me to keep an eye on the tank if I have to deal with other things / mobs.

My UI has the party list to the left of my quickslots. This way I can easily select a party member that is in need of heals as opposed to trying to tab through or mouse over them.

I always put dots on the mob the tank is currently engaged in. An example of my aero macro is:

/micon "Aero"
/ac "Aero" <t>
/ac "Aero" <tt>

Having it set up this way give me the icon with the CD timer, it also prioritizes... So if I am in the field it will shoot off on my target <t>. When healing it will apply to my "Targets Target" <tt>

Aero and stone I place on every mob. Not huge, but it helps.

Here is a post with some useful macro's if your interested in that sort of thing. >>CLICKY<<

GL to you on the road ahead, it's actually pretty fun.

Syn

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Originally Posted by Synestr

Nice thread. About the GLD healing themselves for threat, as mentioned it's a pathetic heal, and in that cast time you could use flash or a threat skill, by the time your cure has gone off the mob would have hit you again kinda negating the cure itself.

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I don't know as I pay much attention to my own health most of the time, I wasn't looking for a way to grab enmity by curing myself, just curious. That said, last night, my healer DC'd, and my little, low level 20 MRD was left to die. :D Kept going with BLM and myself healing until a real healer arrived.

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Originally Posted by EricCartmenez

I don't know as I pay much attention to my own health most of the time, I wasn't looking for a way to grab enmity by curing myself, just curious. That said, last night, my healer DC'd, and my little, low level 20 MRD was left to die. :D Kept going with BLM and myself healing until a real healer arrived.

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Nice work!

I got into a Bray HM the other day on my BLM, healer had connection issues only during bosses...so I was main heals with just psykic (sp?). It worked out.

Sorry to hear your MRD ate it. Happens though, and the dirt in these places is sometimes,..well...DELICIOUS!!!!

^.~

Syn

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Originally Posted by Synestr

Sorry to hear your MRD ate it. Happens though, and the dirt in these places is sometimes,..well...DELICIOUS!!!!

^.~

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Way too funny. :D

Wow, thanks for all the info guys. Though I should say that I'm a GLD main and only planning on taking CON to 15 for the PLD Job, lol. But I'll still keep all this in mind if I ever try to level it further, thanks.

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Originally Posted by Theodin_Morgoth

Wow, thanks for all the info guys. Though I should say that I'm a GLD main and only planning on taking CON to 15 for the PLD Job, lol. But I'll still keep all this in mind if I ever try to level it further, thanks.

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You need to take it to 34.

Not to unlock PLD . But for Stoneskin, which you most def will want as a cross-class skill on PLD.

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Originally Posted by Kinseykinz

You need to take it to 34.

Not to unlock PLD . But for Stoneskin, which you most def will want as a cross-class skill on PLD.

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Very much so this.

Stoneskin....yes, I put it off for way too long. When I finally got it I was kicking myself for not just getting it to begin with. Then 4 months later I decided to finish off WHM and I'm almost 47 now lol.

But yea, get stoneskin, it is essential.

Syn