Succor before boss pull?

[Mikita]

Hello. I play White Mage main, and sometimes go as Scholar. There's something I see a lot of Scholars doing ... and when I go as Scholar, should I be doing it too?

Before boss pulls, the Scholar will often cast Succor to put up the Galvanize shield on all party members. With a shield duration of only 30 seconds, is this really useful?

I can see how the shield would be useful for the tank, but wouldn't Adloquium on only the tank be better than Succor on the party? Adloquium has a higher cure potency so it shields more, and can also crit for even more shielding.

And because of the short duration, the Scholar usually tries to cast Succor right before the pull. Sometimes -as- the tank is charging... which, if the timing was just a second off, can cause the Scholar to pull aggro and get killed.

On boss fights where there are adds from the start, such as Twintania or the intermediate Syrcus Tower fights, I can see how the party-wide shield -might- be useful... But for the most part, shouldn't the main and off-tank be the only ones taking the initial hits at the start of those fights as well? By the time the rest of the party starts taking damage, the Succor shield is usually gone.

In short: Right before the pull, should I be using Succor or Adloquium on just the tank?

[Lyrinn]

Priority should be: Adlo on main tank > Adlo on second tank > Succor on everyone else. As you said yourself, succor usually wears off before the first raid-wide AoE but there are a few fights where it can help. That's part of knowing the fight, but it's not necessary.

[Sebazy]

Depends on the encounter, On Ifrit EX for example, a precast succor blocks the first knockback. Super useful!

[Cynfael]

In short: Right before the pull, should I be using Succor or Adloquium on just the tank?

Both. This isn't really an either/or proposition.

If you literally have time to do only one, of course prioritize Adlo on the main tank. There are many fights where the OT has pretty much nothing to actually tank, so I don't bother shielding them up the wazoo unless there is a tank swap mechanic or adds that actually matter.

There's no reason not to shield the party before a duty or a boss fight commences. If you don't do it, it's not like anyone is likely to die from lack of that shielding in the first 30 seconds, but that buffer gives you time additional time to get your personal DPS going regardless of whether your party turns out to be pro or very accident prone. Think of pre-fight Succor as a short-lived AoE Stoneskin.

[Mikita]

Thanks for the advice, everyone. ^^

[Sleigh]

Fights off the top of my head pre-Succor helps:

Ifrit HM/EM
Garuda HM if your group just ignores the dodging as is so popular right now
Titan HM/EM
Ramuh
T5
T6
T12 (I think, not sure if Succor reaches the first Whitefires)