Loss of offencive effectiveness at lvl 43-ish?

[Vedauwoo]

I started a Conjurer and got into the White Mage Job. Up to this point, it's been fairly easy going, my 2 offensive attacks seem to work well, and I would seldom need to even heal myself in an altercation....

But as I get to level 45-48, it seems there has been a tremendous loss of offensive effect.....
Am I expected to have my Chocobo out fighting from this point on and concentrate on healing her? Or is there some other trick I am missing?

I seem to die constantly now.....

[Liam_Harper]

You can easily kill open world mobs at all levels with WHM. If you're dying it's more likely is your gear isn't up to date.

Chocobo's are quite useful, but don't make great tanks. Ideally you're better off letting it focus on dps and using a Regen on yourself from time to time.

[Mesarthim]

A mistake I've seen of people make is they've often plowed through the story without keeping their gear up to date. Back in late Shadowbringers when I was catching all of the ARR Big Fish I had to help several people kill a quest mob at the Daniffen Pass fishing location. Chocobo companion helps but I don't think enemies, even quest ones, in the overworld should have that much of a leg over you.

Once you hit level 50 and get some ironworks gear (endgame ARR gear) you will obliterate overworld enemies at that range.

[Vedauwoo]

I noticed that some of my gear....notably, jewelry, was in fact way under level...fixed that....

But, is there a good "up to date" guide about the job and rotations and such? I tried searching for some, but they seem to mention skills which I do not have access to...perhaps from a previous update?

For instance, several mention that i should have the Skill or action "Holy" at level 45, which I do not have and do not see any reference to in my "abilities and traits" page.

EDIT: Ok....NVM on the "Holy" ...just got it for completing job quest.... lol

[Sebazy]

Is the thing I'm fighting non threatening and probably going to die quickly? > Chocobo in offensive mode.

Is it going to either hit actually kind of hard or just take long enough that I can't be bothered to watch the screen whilst I mash 1 button for 27 seconds at a time? > Chocobo in healer mode and I'll watch something else on the second screen.

If you're dying in the overworked as WHM you're either in completely the wrong area for your level, your gear is broken/beyond obsolete or you fell asleep. If your gear isn't great to the extent where stuff is killing you as fast as you're killing it, just throw a regen on yourself pre pull.

[ty_taurus]

I noticed that some of my gear....notably, jewelry, was in fact way under level...fixed that....

But, is there a good "up to date" guide about the job and rotations and such? I tried searching for some, but they seem to mention skills which I do not have access to...perhaps from a previous update?

For instance, several mention that i should have the Skill or action "Holy" at level 45, which I do not have and do not see any reference to in my "abilities and traits" page.

EDIT: Ok....NVM on the "Holy" ...just got it for completing job quest.... lol

If you are interested in learning about your job rotations and how to use your jobs effectively, the best resource that I know of is The Balance discord. You can find a discord link here on their Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/thebalanceffxiv?lang=en

This resource does offer information about what to do at various level thresholds, not just max level. Having said that, there's really not a "rotation" for WHM, or healers for that matter. You're not really going to get much more in the way of damage, so for the most part it'll just be you making sure to apply your damage over time spell and reapply it when the DPS falls off, then mashing your Stone spell like you're playing Pokey Pummel in Mario Party 7 (or Holy if there are multiple enemies).

That said, there is a priority system for your healing. Here are some tips:

• You'll learn healing abilities like Asylum and Tetragrammaton once you get into the 50s and reach 60. These can be used in the second between casting stone spells.
• Cure I's power should've started to fall off by now, and it's only going to get worse as you get stronger. There's really no point in using it anymore.
• Practice getting comfortable with the healing over time effects from Regen and Medica II. They heal a lot over their duration, but it's not a burst of healing and can be intimidating to wait for them to heal you or your tank. You'll want to get a feel for when you can rely on them, and when you need something more immediate.

[AnotherPerson]

I noticed that some of my gear....notably, jewelry, was in fact way under level...fixed that....

But, is there a good "up to date" guide about the job and rotations and such? I tried searching for some, but they seem to mention skills which I do not have access to...perhaps from a previous update?

For instance, several mention that i should have the Skill or action "Holy" at level 45, which I do not have and do not see any reference to in my "abilities and traits" page.

EDIT: Ok....NVM on the "Holy" ...just got it for completing job quest.... lol

Yeah, a large portion of any job's ability to function well comes from job quests until lv 60 because job quests are generally tied to skills and capstone abilities. After lv 60, there's only one or two locked behind a job quests (the lv 70 job quest in particular and lv 80 for Sage/Reaper).

Healers don't have a job rotation outside of just mashing the attack button and using abilities between each attack. As a WHM, you don't get abilities until starting from 50+. Instead, you just rely on popping a regen and using Holy (AoE + stun) between enemies in the overworld or Stone (Single target). The main thing about playing healer is just knowing how much your skills can roughly heal up (eyeball / estimate the % healed based on potency of the skill), and then making calculations on when you need to heal from then going forward. As long as you aren't using Cure I (heals very little and you aren't able to do damage to the enemy, so you just run out of MP overtime from using it), you're more or less good to go.

Gear is usually the biggest factor and concern with being unable to keep up with enemies at your level from lv 1 to 50. it's generally more difficult to gather up-to-date accessories from 1 to 49 unless you go out of your way via marketboard / craft / get lucky with drops. Primarily, the first major capstone is lv 50 for gear - as the multiple patches from 50 onwards signifies a huge change gear's item level (50 to 130), before normalizing again in the next expansion from lv 51 to 60.

[Alien_Gamer]

Gear upgrades are pretty simple after 50. At levels 50, 60, 70 and 80 you can buy augmented tome gear with poetics. That gear will last at least 5 levels, then you can start replacing it with dungeon or vendor gear until your next augmented set. Augmented can last up to 10 levels but it depends a lot on your job and skill playing it. Gear at 90 will be more complicated but you've got some time before you need to worry about it.

[Haadrak]

Yeah I was about to say, WHM...rotation...? Apply Aero or Dia and then Stone or Glare until mob dies or 1 button breaks. Rinse and repeat.