As a level 30 Conjurer I wanted to test out the solo capabilities in Nanawa mines with the new MP issues. I get the fact that I Nanawa mines is all crowded and AOE is very difficult there but I wanted to test it anyway.

So I went in, did ok on the first 8 out of 10 mobs I had to complete. Was getting 150 SP per with GA. The experience was ok, but at this rate you're still not going to get to 50 in 3-4 months like Yoshi has stated in his producer letters.

How was the overall experience?

I am all for increasing MP requirements on spells to make healing and casting more important, but the current rate of health gained vs MP lost is not optimal for survival.

This patch has killed solo play, killed leveling in general for people who prefer not to lather themselves in masochist grind parties, and overall has killed casters.

While I approve of making caster play more challenging and exciting, this patch did not do achieve that. It could be in part due to stats meaning next to nothing still (which is being addressed in 1.19) or the fact that the MP increase is just way to high.

Also, was AoE toggle REALLY so bad? I shouldn't be needing to heal my tank every 3 seconds, it's not my fault if he's taking on too much damage for what he is. But now with all this curaga crap my skill list is bloated.
Yes it was terrible. I am still saddened by the fact that it exists on other spells as well. The action bar clutter will ease itself when we get to keybind the rest and have multiple action bars available on screen.