Assistance with Materia for WHM Main

[Packetdancer]

Overall, I need some assistance with Materia for my WHM main. I am in the process of getting a full set of Augmented Facet gear at this time. I do not raid, but I may slowly dip my toes into doing the occasional Extreme primal in the future. I don't have any static group I am with, though I am in an FC and my husband mains as a Dancer.

First, out of curiosity, why Augmented Facet gear as opposed to Neo-Ishgardian? If it's a matter of just cost, I understand that, but I know folks who think Neo-Ishgardian is only needed if you're raiding and... while maybe true, that doesn't mean it isn't good gear for non-raid content if you have the option.

I know a lot of things in regard to healing comes with skill. Heck, I did Twinning last night and it was one heck of a ride. The group I had was amazing and patient with me, but I realized that I did have some trouble keeping the tank (GNB) alive. I don't really think I have mana issues, as I use Lucid Dreaming when I am ~ 7k mana.

I'd be curious where/how you felt you had trouble keeping the tank alive, because it might not be a materia thing (or even a skill thing) so much as a strategy thing, if that makes sense? I know a lot of people who approach healing reactively, but if you are proactive it can be far more effective.

I know a lot of people who save Benediction for "oh shit" moments, for instance, but a lot of times it can be far more effective if you deliberately let the tank drop to about 30% and then slap Benediction on them. (Too much below 30% and you run the risk of them dying before you can get Benediction off, in my experience. Thank you, server ticks...) That leaves more options to heal throughout the fight, since you haven't blown through all your lilies and won't have Tetra on cooldown.

Similarly, I find it's often better to mitigate damage or rely on passive healing rather than healing actively when you can avoid it. When the tank settles in, I drop Asylum on them or pop Temperance (for the damage reduction). That means I have to do less healing in the first place, and I'm far less likely to run out of options if I do need to heal the tank up.

This isn't to say you might not just be undergeared and having trouble actually putting out the healing 'oomph'! But it doesn't hurt to examine what can be done differently strategically, too.

So what should I look for in regards to Materia?

There are probably more optimal builds than I use, admittedly. But I personally go for spell speed until I reach my personal preferred cast time (2.40 seconds, which usually takes very little SpS melding), then Crit, then Det, then DH. I probably could up my damage output slightly if I melded more DH, but Crit and Det apply to both DPS and healing (since heals can crit) whereas DH only applies to DPS.

As others have noted, piety's not really necessary for WHM in general. However, if you also play AST and share gear between the two, a bit of piety may make sense because AST gets pretty MP-starved at times. I tend to meld piety onto my AST weaponry rather than the shared gear, but depending on the gear set, sometimes adding a tiny bit of piety doesn't hurt.