fresh 50 sch looking for advice on how to up my game!

**TheHomieData** · 02-15-2014 11:07 AM

hey guys! so i've gotten my sch to 50 recently. still getting the hang of micromanaging my pet (took him off free-stance @32). my problem right now as a healer is that none of the pre-50 content that i had leveled with really prepared me for any 8-man content that i'd like to tackle with my scholar.

link to my current gear set up

gear progression goals:
HQ rose gold circlet w/+7 crit and either +11 pie or +16 speed
royal gloves this week
garuda ring
royal boots next week
myth pants week after
(leveling up PVP rank in the meantime for pvp chest, boots, ring, and book. i know pvp chest/book is a big loss of pie, but it just looks so cool)

i'm the melee in my static group, so i probably won't be able to really practice healing in any part of coil until 2.2.

my questions are
- what's the progression of 8-man content i should be tackling right now (in order of difficulty, i guess) so i can up my scholar game?
- is there some way on the ps3 that i can rearrange the party list so that i have MT in slot 2 and OT in slot 8?
- if tank is topped off and has an adlo/adlo+stoneskin on him, do i have enough time to pop into cleric's to get a bioII/miasma/bio on enemy? maybe even a bioII/miasma/bio/aero/shadow flare if my adlo crits?
- because of the debuff it gives, should i be regularly using shadow flare or is it better to use my bubble for Sacred Soil?
- for my super on-point scholars - about how much off-dps can a scholar clock in on the average 8-man fight while still being an effective healer?
- i plan on getting my CNJ to 34 for stoneskin [+DAT UNICORN THO] but would playing CNJ/WHM to 50 really give me much insight on how to SCH better? [generally, i've always felt like playing other classes will make you better at your own i.e. learning to tank made me a better dps, etc.] because lvling cnj right now is just patience testing
- when is it more mp efficient to stoneskin the tank instead of adlo? how often will i have enough time to get both on him (assuming that i don't have the luxury of a whm in my group)?
- for what fights is it better to have my fairy placed vs having him on heel?
- any other general tips?

**Asdamine** · 02-16-2014 11:43 AM

Hi, all of those are legit questions and I will answer them the best I can. Since you have excluded Coil in your question, I will simply answer in terms of Primals and CT - the only 8 men+ contents that are within moderate, to high, difficulty.

- if tank is topped off and has an adlo/adlo+stoneskin on him, do i have enough time to pop into cleric's to get a bioII/miasma/bio on enemy? maybe even a bioII/miasma/bio/aero/shadow flare if my adlo crits?
For Primal, you will not have the time to DPS because the tanks will be hit like a truck on a consistantly basis. Adlo and stoneskin will be gone within a matter of seconds. Only instance you will do DPS will be e.g. When Garuda is alone without the sisters or when Titan do the "about-to-fart" stance with two gaol. As for CT, you can pretty much have cleric stance on permenantly if the other healer has healing duty.

- because of the debuff it gives, should i be regularly using shadow flare or is it better to use my bubble for Sacred Soil?
This has been a debate for a long while on the healers forum. But frankly, the use of shadow flare over sacred soil or the other way around is COMPLETELY a personal choice. Personally, I would use sacred soil simply because I am a healer, and it is my job to negate damage and heal damage.

- i plan on getting my CNJ to 34 for stoneskin [+DAT UNICORN THO] but would playing CNJ/WHM to 50 really give me much insight on how to SCH better? [generally, i've always felt like playing other classes will make you better at your own i.e. learning to tank made me a better dps, etc.] because lvling cnj right now is just patience testing
I don't think it would assist you much in playing a SCH, simply because both classes are standing on the same POV. It would help you immensely if you play a tank, as it did wit mine, to know the habit and little tricks tanks do in a fight and how they move. If you really want to argue on WHM/SCH, I would say... it helps you to know you are better of raising than WHM. :P

- when is it more mp efficient to stoneskin the tank instead of adlo? how often will i have enough time to get both on him (assuming that i don't have the luxury of a whm in my group)?
I would say use Adlo instead over stoneskin, definitely. 1) Adlo gives heal, with an additional shield that gives the same amount of the heal on adlo. 2) if you scored a crit heal on adlo (my normal crit is 1.3k), you will place a shield on the double amount of the crit heal (meaning, it will be a 2.6k shield). Since cross class stoneskin only gives 10% (plus, it doesn't heal). A 10% on a normal pld tank of 6k HP would only be 600 stoneskin, now, you know where I am getting at.

- for what fights is it better to have my fairy placed vs having him on heel?
None, unless you expect yourself intentionally getting hit and want to avoid Eos getting hit as well. The only situation crossing my mind is Turn 1 whereby the boss occationally spits at you.

- any other general tips?
Macro Rouse+Whispering Dawn and the other Eos skill (which I forgot the name) for max AoE heal and execute in one button.

Macro Virus with a party announcement so that there will be no overlap/waste Virus when boss has immunity (especially when your macro is target's target, other healers usually use that too to not bother with targeting the boss and back to the tank).

Macro Physick+Embrace together to maximise heal (but some people prefer to be on seperate buttons with Embrace of mouse over for multi-heal. Personally, I do that mouse over macro for embrace on seperate button but I also macro it with physick since I often lack the awareness to press Embrace, the macro will do it for me instead.)

Get Swiftcast - NOW! NOW! NOW!

^And I mean, really get it NOW!

^^NOW! TODAY!

^^^ I will do you a favour, you are now barred from healing in any end game content until you get it! OK?!

Final advice, do not be stingy on using aetherflows on lustrate. I have seen many SCH let the tank die (accidentally or willingly) because they thought they should save it for the "oh-shit" moment. Well, tank died, that is "oh-shit" enough.

**Iymala** · 02-16-2014 12:50 PM

- for what fights is it better to have my fairy placed vs having him on heel?
Only time I place Eos/Selene is Turn 5. If not placed they will path into the wall too often during dive bombs. Not to mention if you place them in your soaking group during Conflags, they will stay out healing people while you go inside the conflag if it is on you or you have the fireball that you are feeding to it. On all other occasions I use Obey/Heel.

- any other general tips?
I macro together both Speed Buffs on Selene on one macro. That way when you hit it every 30 secs it will fire whichever one is not on cooldown.
I keep embrace on a mouseover macro separate so that I can split heals (do not be afraid to use rouse with Embrace if you know that you do not have any big aoe damage coming. There are plenty of times I want to continue to stay in cleric stance that I can rouse my fairy and keep the tank up with her heals alone while I fire off more dps).
Macro Selene's Silence and get comfortable using it. It can be a huge help if an interrupter misfires their interrupt or dies and you need to step in to interrupt the boss.
I also macro rouse/fairy aoe heal together, but i keep the resist buff on a separate hotkey as I like using things manually for different circumstances. Same with the healing buff.

If you are grouped with a warrior tank watch their debuffs, you can cleanse off their silence from their enhanced damage self buff. I forgot the name of their buff.

Get Swiftcast - NOW! NOW! NOW!

^And I mean, really get it NOW!

^^NOW! TODAY!

^^^ I will do you a favour, you are now barred from healing in any end game content until you get it! OK?!

This 1000 times over. Not only does it help get your friends who "lagged" up, but there are times when your fairy will forsake you and eat the floor.

**Mikedizzy** · 02-16-2014 01:35 PM

If you set up your heal macros correctly you can for the most part play Scholar very similar to white mage. I really like the utility of SCH being able to DOT stuff up to help out that little bit extra. The damage mitigation from SCH is very helpful in certain fights and works really well paired with a WHM. If you can get DPS in without hurting the group...dps as much as you can comfortably...just don't get overzealous and let the tank die...you will get the feel for this through playing a lot and then a lot more...I am still leveling my ARN but play WHM really well and I am looking forward to setting up my SCH this way...macro all heals withy Embrace, etc... cannot wait to play me some SCH.

**Anova** · 02-16-2014 02:34 PM

In terms of 8man progression and difficulty, it is easy to say that the difficulty rises from Ifrit, Garuda, CT, and then Titan. Coil is probably on par with Titan.

I can't answer your question about the party order although I believe it should be in the same place as the pc: your party menu that displays member location, class, etc and the up/down arrows.

It will depend on the boss and the tank's gear, but you can usually get a DOT combo off safely with an adlo + stoneskin. Be aware your tank will take some damage and may be at 50% hp after the full rotation. If you don't want to chance it, trigger the rouse + fey illumination + whispering dawn combo and have Eos make up for your healing. I use it to great effect in T4 when I use my SCH to add a full dps and shadowflare rotation on the juggernauts. Tank hasn't died once. For the most part, you will be able to dps during most primal fights and coil, except maybe Titan (depending how much damage your group is taking).

I would recommend using shadowflare over sacred soil unless you're using it to absorb a primal aoe or in coil. Your aetherflow stacks are generally better used for lustrate. Of course, feel free to sacred soil or energy drain if you have extra stacks and are using aetherflow again.

I can't give you specific numbers for SCH dps, but you will be able to contribute quite a bit. Do not discount the spellspeed and skillspeed buff from Selene. She's actually automated now too for a very quick and easy boost to party dps.

A thorough understanding of a WHM does help you in understanding their healing practices, especially the burst healing you see coming from them. As a SCH, you also have fewer aoe heals, mp management, and aggro management issues, so knowing how the WHM works does wonders for teaching you how to position yourselves and make it easier for the WHM. Generally, it will teach you to top everyone off with a barrier so you reduce overall damage and save your WHM some mp and aggro. You probably do not need to level a WHM to 50 to learn it, but just spending some time to talk healing with them should be enough. If anything, WHM seem to learn more from playing SCH than the other way around.

Adloquium is your bread and butter. It is on par with your stoneskin on a tank normally, and when it crits, is 3x more effective. You will always cast ado first, followed maybe by stoneskin. I usually put up a stoneskin before any big damage or pull, but find it less than optimal to cast during a fight. The biggest advantage is to give your tank some extra time to build aggro during an initial pull or add spawn (caduceus, T4, twintania snakes, etc) before you are forced to throw out heals on them. Be aware that an enemy will eat through adlo first and then stoneskin, which is very useful to know if you have to buff your tank up in T4 or anytime where adds appear while enemies are still attacking them.

I am in the habit of always placing my fairy. But you will find that some fights make it less than optimal. Place your fairy at any time you don't want it getting involved in a fight or if you want it in a very specific location (T2 if you're not doing enraged, twintania, etc). Be aware that placing the fairy will increase its overall healing as it will not spend time moving and will simply heal. Find the right place and you might not even have to move or re-summon it.

Otherwise, definitely get swiftcast. A caster without swiftcast is like a monk without blood for blood, pre-2.1.

I am assuming since you have rosegold circlet on your wishlist, that you want both int and mnd and are going smn as well. The Vanya hats are better if you need the extra vit and hp for survivability. Choose one or the other depending on your needs and playstyle.

**MagusVandel** · 02-17-2014 12:25 AM

Going on the points Asda made...

-Popping cleric on and off on PS3 is a huge pain. That said, if you do you the Fey Illumination+Rouse+Whispering Dawn Combo and hopefully the other healer is using medica II or the same combo, using cleric on certain sections (such as Titan Heart) is hugely beneficial, as it increases your Int from 200 to 400+ at later item levels. Usually, if the group is going well, I won't use this at all; in the case of dps just being a little too slow, however, I will occasionally pop Cleric and Bio II+Miasma+Bio and then dismiss cleric to speed up certain sections, as well as drop a shadowflare in there somewhere if there is time(this is especially useful if there are dps problems in Turn 4 of coil). On turn 4, you will wind up using Selene, so this becomes hectic.

-Also, I agree on stoneskin not having too much of a benefit over aldo, but if you can swiftcast it in addition to the galvanize bonus, I would do so. This has saved many groups I have rolled with on T1 more times than I can remember during the final boss' last phase. Bottom line: Get that swiftcast.

-My personal advice is learn both fairies as well as you can, since you will need to switch a few times in end game depending on the situation.

-And no, there is no way for you to personally set who is in box 2 and box 8 from what I've seen on ps3. Using the directional buttons though, you can target both tanks pretty quickly and press X to lock on, which can be vital when they switch on certain fights (Ultima).

**Cabalabob** · 02-17-2014 03:06 AM

Only time I place my fairy is when my tanks pick towers as far apart from each other as they can on KB and the fight starts before I can ask them to fix it, I'll place eos closer to one tower and I'll stay closer to the other.

**DBthaONE** · 02-17-2014 06:39 AM

Forgive me, this is lengthy...