Should I be using Potions? Also what food?

Since Heavensward, I've cleared all content and would as geared up as I can be for Savage Alexander.

But I wouldn't call myself that great of a healer and was wondering if potions would help with healing?

Would it be wise to stock up on some HQ Hi-Elixers and Draconian Potion of Minds?

I could see the Mind potion being very useful for when I need a big heal. Like maybe popping it + Divine Seal as Discord is being cast for a strong Medica II so I can focus on healing the tank in A4. There is Carnage missiles and orbs going out at the same time so it can be tough keeping the party healed as well as the tank during this in the story mode but I can't imagine how I would cope in Savage.

I was also suggested that maybe a VIT potion for when big hits are coming is a smart idea as well.

How do others use potions as healers?

And on top of that, I don't really have good food for healing. I'm not rich and "Ishgardian Tea" is quite pricey for me, but what would be a good type of food I can use?

I was thinking maybe Mulled Tea or Triple Cream Coffee.

I personally pop a triple cream coffee when i have mana constraints, but that's just me.

MND Potions are usually used to increase DPS, as far as I know (Pot MND bonus also gets swapped to INT in CS).
VIT Potions only increase your max HP, but don't heal for that amount, so they aren't worth using. If you really need more HP for an HP check it's better to spec some points into VIT or wear a tank ring.
We used X-Ether in progression when for better MP regen, since things can go wrong and it's a nice boost. They sharea cooldown with stat potions though.

For food, the best options would be Hot Chocolate (if you want more PIE) or Marron Glace if you want more SS. If you don't have the gil for it, you can always use "worse" food, or NHQ versions. Or ask some of your friends/fc mates if they can help you out. Same goes for pots.

HQ elixirs/ethers are useless now, they used to be good since they were worth half a shroud but now you can't even cast a cure II after using a HQ high elixir. So your best bet are draconian mind potions for that big burst healing.

Food wise, same thing, old food is total crap since the new ones add piety and since assize depends on the amount of mp you got, you want to get a decent amount of mp, having food that adds piety only adds more to the mp regain. Frozen spirits seem pretty cheap to make while hot chocolate requires more effort (lol heavenly kukuru butter).

Regarding potion potencies. But for now you are right and using Ethers is not worth it.

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Originally Posted by Bayohne

Q40. Do you have plans to increase the potency from potions and medicines to match the level cap increase?

A40. Currently the recast and the effect isn’t matching with the level, so we’re planning to make adjustments.

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Frozen Spirits would be your best bet for Piety currently I'd say. Hot Chocolate might work if you're obscenely rich; they're about 50k each on Phoenix and rather limited in supply, and the Heavenly Kukuru Powder required isn't much cheaper.

For Spell Speed, consider either Creme Brulee, Marron Glace or Sohm Al Tart, depending on which tertiary you prefer having boosted.

Determination is a bit iffy. The best Determination foods currently give Parry and Skill Speed as a tertiary stat, which makes them somewhat poor for casters in general. If you want some Determination, I'd suggest sticking to Creme Brulee or Frozen Spirits, because they give Determination as a tertiary stat.

For Critical, get yourself some Baked Pipira.

Finally, if you're looking into lots of DPS during downtimes, aim for Urchin Loaf or Grilled Sweetfish. Urchin Loaf is a 1 star Craft, so it might be a bit expensive as well. :p

For Potions, Draconian Potions of Mind is probably best. Ethers and Elixirs haven't scaled at all, so having a weaker Divine Seal will probably save you more MP in the end than you can gain with X-Ethers/Hi-Elixirs. D:

Food is like having a piece of gear more so it can helps a lot.
While for potions using them for a burst heal/DPS sounds good but to be honest I only used X-Ethers HQ for the emergencies but lately they feel less useful.

Be sure to stock up on Echo Drops at the very least. It's the only way you can cure Silence off yourself, and/or if your not a healer, others.

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Originally Posted by RiisWolf

Be sure to stock up on Echo Drops at the very least. It's the only way you can cure Silence off yourself, and/or if your not a healer, others.

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That's a real waste of potion gcd since silence lasts 5 seconds at most and every healer ability (assize, tetra, lustrate, etc) work while silenced.

Use HQ Frozen Spirits for MP, HQ Sohm Al Tart for Crit/spell speed.

There might be some better food from the master book though, if there is I haven't seen it yet.

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Originally Posted by kuma_aus

Since Heavensward, I've cleared all content and would as geared up as I can be for Savage Alexander.

But I wouldn't call myself that great of a healer and was wondering if potions would help with healing?

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The game content is clearable without using any consumable items. The idea behind consumables in FFXIV is to make up for insufficient gear (eg level 1-49) before ilevel requirements force you to gear up. If you can't complete a duty without using consumables, you're either under geared, or your strategy is terrible. If you use the consumables to "make things go faster", it's ultimately a waste of money if you aren't crafting them yourself AND playing with a static who use it as part of their strategy.

Ultimately a 2-5% change in stats isn't very meaningful on a healer when what you need is your team to quit taking avoidable damage so you don't run out of mana in the first place.

I do still use x-ethers/elixers as an "ohshit, I need a lil boost" just to put me up enough to possibly regen a tiick into a much needed medica or Cure III, etc. I know it doesn't really help much, but it does often put me right in the needed mp amount when I need it "RIGHT NAO".
That said, I wouldn't depend on them, at all. >.> they're moreso last ditch effort to crank out an instant tidbit of mp in an emergency and both Assize and Shroud are on CD. Their use in the later levels is minimal...

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Originally Posted by mp-please

That's a real waste of potion gcd since silence lasts 5 seconds at most and every healer ability (assize, tetra, lustrate, etc) work while silenced.

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5 seconds can be killer. Additionally I'd rather use those abilities for an actual emergency than in place of cure just because I got muted. :)
Also, stat boosting and HP/MP recovering potions do not share CDs with debuff curing potions like antidotes and echo drops.