WHM 2nd ability focus?

[Nettle]

It's called a secondary stat for a reason. Though, I would say the argument against crit for a WHM is legit.

You can clear all content with a focus on determination.
You can clear all content with a focus on spell speed.

Both sides have their benefits. Pick your preference. Or go totally crazy and stack crit just to say you can.

[Estellios]

I think they all have their merits, but it is best to stack whatever you prefer.

[MartaDemireux]

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I'm not obsessed with it just giving accurate information. You can directly see how much benefit SpS gives you by equipping the gear and looking at the ability, no need for a parser. If you stack a ton of SpS and your cast time/recast time drop by a significant amount (at least 1s/.5s respectively) then I'd say go for SpS but if you stack it and you only see minimal change, it's likely better to gear for determination until you can get more SpS to make a difference. This is because a .4s reduction in cast time shouldn't make or break you in a good design. Determination over crit because it gives ensured benefit. Also, I do believe I read testing that said there is a crit cap and of a low % which made gearing for crit on any job (BRD included) a bad idea.

Edit: And for an example: I equipped the Moogle CNJ weapon and compared to the Garuda. Since there's a small amount of SpS given I was able to find out it would take around 100 casts of a cure in succession to gain an extra cure. Doesn't seem worth it to me in that isntance, but if I had a ton of SpS to reduce casting by a noticeable amount then you know I'd be using SpS.

[BrodyAlgana]

I hate parsers, accurate or not, because it turns a fun game into something everyone only cares about numbers and trying to make the Cure 1 hit for 950 instead of 948...

[Nettle]

Spell speed isn't just about "how many cures I need to cast in a row before I fit in an extra cure."

Spell speed is also about getting off any potency of a cure after your tank takes a huge spike to prevent a killing blow. Or getting a stoneskin off in time right before a big hit you know is coming. Or getting off any spell before having to move out of an aoe. I realize in a "perfect design" you shouldn't be coming down to a split second, but no one plays perfectly and bad things can happen, and these split second moments DO happen.

These are all intangibles that can't be measured by a spreadsheet. I used to be a proponent of determination. I still think it's a solid and good choice. However, combined with the fact the spell speed is only minorly behind determination in effective HPS on a spreadsheet, it was enough for me to rethink my position to personally favor speed.

[Zaft]

snip

First off, I'm extremely curious as to what fight you're spamming spells in. Unless you're carrying a very undergeared tank, I don't see a fight in a game that requires that. Second, you CAN account for RNG ground aoes. The only one I can think of that you'd be referring too is Liquid Hell, which is on a set timer, has a cast bar, and can be entirely avoided by simply moving at the beginning of the cast. Third, yes, you can account for crits. Enemies do not have double/triple attack or other random bonuses like this. The enemy attacks at a specific attack speed. You know when that attack is coming, and when his skills are coming, so even if he crits three times in a row, you and your co-healer should have prep'd heals for the normal damage output, which will land, and then you simply top him off with another. Not a big deal. Fourth, what "big hits" are you talking about? Death Sentence? Again, it, like every other ability in the game, is on a specific timer, so you can prep a stoneskin to land inbetween the auto-attack and the Death Sentence, no Swiftcast required.

Again, you mention HPS, which has no place in a game where you stand idle 90% of the time. Maybe when we get a Patchwerk encounter, it'll matter, but right now, no. If you want to calculate anything, calculate your throughput per spell per MP used vs MP regeneration. That's far more important than HPS in a game that has zero spammy encounters.

[Nettle]

All of the above might be true, but ask yourself if an extra 50hp on a Cure really makes a significant impact either? If any of it goes into overhealing, it's completely useless. Healing up 2000hp with a 1000hp/cure or a 1050hp/cure is still 2 heals either way.

The point is your WHM isn't going to be obsolete if you choose spell speed. Spell speed and determination are BOTH viable choices. People championing one over the other need to realize this.

[Zaft]

snip

Absolutely. You're free to choose either and you'll not see a huge difference either way. This is just for purposes of min/maxing.

[Brises]

As a WHM for secondary stats, you're currently looking at det > SpS > crit. Here's what I posted as to why in a previous thread.



In other words, because of the scripted nature of these fights, SpS is not as useful as it would be in other MMORPGs. Now, that doesn't mean it will always be this way. For example, we may get a Patchwerk-style encounter in the future that requires constant spam healing, and that would (probably) favor SpS. But with the encounters currently in-game, SpS is not very useful.

On speed runs where the tank pulls several groups of mobs at once, sometimes I am at the limit of my cool down just to keep the tank alive. In these situations, yes I would like a little more speed.

How much does det really boost potency? I haven't seen any reliable data on this.

As far as crit... I wouldn't want to rely on a critical chance in a pinch. It seem like even when buffed, criticals are pretty rare in this game.

[Nettle]

It's been awhile since I've looked at the extrapolated formulas, but I believe it's roughly 5 det = 1 mind. I believe how much mind cures depends roughly on your weapon's potency, among other things, but I think at 50 it falls somewhere between 1-2 hp per 400 potency Cure for each point of mind. So you're looking at 1-2hp per Cure per 5 det.

Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. I'm typing this out based off what I remember from several weeks back, but I think it's close enough to give a general idea.

EDIT: For a determination BiS vs a spell speed BiS setup, the differences are:

Det BiS: +73 determination ( approx +30hp / cure, approx +49hp cure 2 )
SS BiS: +71ss (-0.07 seconds per 2.5s GCD ), +25 piety