Why do you save your LB?

[Ouria]

I dont .... Why?
<<< Bard main ... usually a healer there with me anyway which is probably more effective from them, so my LB is useless. Other than that I pressed it once on a lowbie PUG but I dont think it worked right...

Doesn´t it restore a fixed percentage of each party member? So it should´t matter who uses it, rather it might be better for the BRD to use it since it might be a bit problematic for the healer to stop healing and cast the LB.
Although I guess it hardly matters. When using healing LB seems tempting, it hardly works out well.

[Sessurea]

I just cant stand it when ppl save the LB for literally the last shred of HP, to get the kill and look cool or w/e. I'm guessing this is some sort of rp? theatrics? Coz its clearly wasting damage by the time its used...

[Skyhound]

I wait for the end to use my LB just in case it needs to be used in another capacity later on. I feel like just opening up with it is quite inconsiderate to the rest of the team, especially since you don't know what may happen. I prefer trying to save a run by using Healer LB than restarting.

[kukurumei]

I just cant stand it when ppl save the LB for literally the last shred of HP, to get the kill and look cool or w/e. I'm guessing this is some sort of rp? theatrics? Coz its clearly wasting damage by the time its used...

Because it's not instant. You actually loose more damage trying to do an attack LB then just standing poking depending on the amount of people alive and the phase.

The only instant LB is tank LB.

[Sessurea]

I wait for the end to use my LB just in case it needs to be used in another capacity later on. I feel like just opening up with it is quite inconsiderate to the rest of the team, especially since you don't know what may happen. I prefer trying to save a run by using Healer LB than restarting.

Everyone loves melees to LB the boss. Unless we're talking about something like the mistral shriek in garuda story mode ( the one after the vortex comes and pillars are knocked ) and it is expected that a tank LB could be needed, I think melee should just go for it. Parties that need support LBs are usually not going to make it....

Because it's not instant. You actually loose more damage trying to do an attack LB then just standing poking depending on the amount of people alive and the phase.

The only instant LB is tank LB.

What? I'm not talking about cast times lol. I have used healing and melee LBS.

[Sunarie]

For certain fights our FC usually saves LB for later..the reason is in case stuff hits the fan and we end up needing the healer 3rd rank one, cause you aren't likely to get back up to a 3rd full bar. We have recovered from an icky Titan run (all dead save for one healer, a tank, a bard, and a black mage post heart phase) with a bard using the healer limit break to get everyone up. Granted the bard also got landslide off... but a sacrificial bard isn't so bad.

Usually stuff doesn't hit the fan and it's just using the limit break later, but it's nice to have the huge rez option in case it's needed.

Everyone loves melees to LB the boss. Unless we're talking about something like the mistral shriek in garuda story mode ( the one after the vortex comes and pillars are knocked ) and it is expected that a tank LB could be needed, I think melee should just go for it. Parties that need support LBs are usually not going to make it....

It actually depends on the fight. Garuda EX we actually use the caster aoe one when some of the adds are up and on the MT (usually Supra-whatever and Garuda herself). If it's a single boss fight, no adds, we'll usually use melee. I agree with the person quoted though, as stated above. DPS LB is secondary to a healer one if crap hits the fan. Tank I pretty much never get to use.

[PArcher]

Ultimately, it depends on the fight.

Dungeons, I'll use it usually when I feel like it; it doesn't matter. It just filled both bars? Sure, I'll pop it (assuming no mechanics that could kill me)

Trials...it varies.

Ifrit HM - First LB (at Nails) is for a caster, unless there's no caster (which then LB to get rid of one Nail). After Nails I'll LB when we're near the end and the healers don't need it.
Garuda HM - Wait til after I know that the healers won't need it (DF only...a pre-made with people I know LB goes off when its best to do so, which depends on DPS and timing)
Titan HM - Can be used in the Heart Phase if DPS is lower. Then near the end of post-heart...again, after its known healers won't need it and you know you won't die during casting

Ultima HM - Tank LB. Just forget the LB exists

Garuda EX - Has to be during a feather phase near the end. Should be used to kill (or leave a sliver of HP to DoT-kill) to avoid another Sisters phase. Tank LB can be used if Spiny is killed early...but I've only seen it succeed on a feather-phase Spiny, not a Sisters Spiny
Titan EX - Caster LB on adds is best IMO. But if you don't do it, LB3 after the Gaols after the second adds (likely will land during stomps)
Ifrit HM - Third Nail Phase. You likely won't have it back after, but if you do then just use at 1

Coil 1-5 - Completely depends on group and your strategies. There are so many ways to use LB and its completely on the group.

Notice a pattern? Holding the LB as a safety for healers. Dead people do no DPS/Healing/Tanking, and a Healer LB3 can save a group should things go wrong.


EDIT: Forgot CT. Lol, just use it whenever. Who cares.

[kukurumei]

Tank I pretty much never get to use.

Tank LB is useful in ex primals (and of course ultima). Since it's the only instant LB you have. Meaning you can time it to within a few seconds.

Garuda EX for instance if the spiny is dead, a lvl2 or even lvl1 Tank LB can prevent a wipe. Same for Titan, if you time it just right, you can do certain things.

Healer is probably the weakest LB of all, but attack LB is pretty worthless if you have dead people. The damage reduction of a dead members make is pretty worthless.

If you have more then 2 people dead, attack LB is nearly the same as not using at all, unless you have a specific purposes (meteor adds, or precast)

[Surian]

There's barely any need to even use the LB unless it's a Primal battle, just some emergency situations.

I feel it's good to save it till a point where you do need it. Rather than having blown it before on something trivial, and then not having it when you do need to use it.

For instance, i had an interesting Stone Vigil run not too long ago.

We were fighting the very first boss, naturally no one got hurt and got out of the way, and near the end of the fight with everyone at full HP the White Mage used the Limit Break, and then complained to us endlessly about why we werent using it earlier. Not only did he blow it and we couldnt use it to finish it off anymore, there was no point for it in that fight in the first place, the 5 seconds we would have saved to kill the boss, while no one was even remotely in danger of dying or running out of MP would have been a waste. Less of a waste than the WHM using it because it was up and no one else used it, but hey.

Long story short, we get tired of argueing with the White Mage, and then when he decides we can go cure ourselves and he wouldnt be doing it anymore, we kicked him. We end up getting through the trash mobs just fine with the three of us. But at the second boss, where we -COULD- have used that LB it wasnt charged up yet and we die with him at 5%.

So really, why do we save the LB? To use it at a point in time where it can save our party. Not to blow it for an extra few seconds saved going through a dungeon faster.

[Sunarie]

Tank LB is useful in ex primals (and of course ultima). Since it's the only instant LB you have. Meaning you can time it to within a few seconds.

Garuda EX for instance if the spiny is dead, a lvl2 or even lvl1 Tank LB can prevent a wipe. Same for Titan, if you time it just right, you can do certain things.

Healer is probably the weakest LB of all, but attack LB is pretty worthless if you have dead people. The damage reduction of a dead members make is pretty worthless.

If you have more then 2 people dead, attack LB is nearly the same as not using at all, unless you have a specific purposes (meteor adds, or precast)

I suppose. I've never viewed the tank dps as instant because it certainly locks me in place and all when I have used it until the animation ends, but the animation is shorter than the healer one (I don't have a dps limit, so I can't speak to those two).

Our group has always just found it more useful to use DPS limit breaks, even for the primals. The only exception is Ultima, or when there are LB bars left after a wipe in Twintania, I'll pop the tank LB and run in. I can't say we've used an attack LB with many people dead.. as that's usually when a healer LB is used (assuming we've gotten to the third bar). That's our group's strategy though, and clearly this thread has illustrated how different strategies can be.

Ultimately though, to the OP's question, I think the answer is mostly "in case all hell breaks loose".. as to why people wait to use the dps limit until towards the end of the fight.