White Mage Nuking w/ Ballad

[AegisIvory]

So this is something that I've been experimenting with. As WHM in Wanderer's + AK if Ballad is up we pretty much have infinite MP. Knowing this and keeping Regen + Medica II up on the tank we can fire nukes off without hesitation as long as the tank knows what he's doing. This mostly applies to trash and easy boss fights (Jelly adds in Wanderer's die in 5 seconds to a Cleric Stance -> Swiftcast -> Holy x 2), on difficult encounters my focus is obviously 100% healing. Moral of the story is I've been able to out damage some tanks w/o any deaths/wipes in record time. Very curious to hear opinions on the offensive WHM. (Runs were done with my FC)

[Fiosha_Maureiba]

I'm trying to incorporate some offensiveness in the playstyle. Amdapor Keep is the only place right now that I'm comfortable with this, even without Ballad.

The primals have left me with intense guilt, as I feel like I've just dumped the entire responsibility of healing on the other healer. And while I do switch back when the tank starts to dip, I oft rely on Stoneskin refreshes to keep tanks healthier. Trying to feel out the best time to do this while timing Shroud of Saints (usually at the 3300 MP mark).

[AegisIvory]

On Primals if I have that few seconds of downtime after buffs and such, I like keeping my DoTs up (Aero II / Thunder) and it seems to make a difference. I tend to shy away from Stone in these encounters as it can get messy with Cleric Stance up in a clutch situation. However I've had great results adding DPS to Ifrit Fetters, and I'm going to experiment with Holy on Garuda Plumes. I've heard way too horror stories about Titan to even think of adding damage there. lol

[Fiosha_Maureiba]

I tried going aggressive in Garuda last night and fell into critical MP levels by the time the sisters appear. And now I see what you mean by relying on that Ballad.

In another fight, I did try to Presence of Mind - Holy the plumes in Cleric's Stance and fumbled trying to get back to the main tank for healing. It was not pretty. I admit, I was hesitant in my decision, so maybe if I responded quicker, the plumes might have been stacked up and possibly have lent itself to a little AoE?

Also, I didn't know the sisters are affected by Fluid Aura. I knocked one back into a tornado during my aggressiveness, oh boy. Party probably thought I was supra-nuts.

[Al_Harrington]

WHM are very good at DPS. In my opinion if you are not nuking a little at least during primals, dungeons, etc. then you are wasting peoples time. IE the ton of damage I can put out in CM would have to be made up by a DPS while I am just sitting there with full MP casting Regen on a tank. Or being able to take Demon Wall down before bees pop. Throw Regen on your tank and cast a few Holy. Stone II single targets. Cleric stance back and forth. Holy the plumes in Garuda. DPS Titan all the way to phase 3 and help on the rocks. Ifrit, lets not go there he can be beat with 8 WHM. Gear will effect how much you can DPS due to Cure and Regen strength. WHM A can DPS a little longer because his Regen will proc 150 more HP then WHM B kinda deal.

Go to CM and start DPSing. Not saying WHMs are the reason for fast runs but hundreds of thousands of damage done by WHMs instead of the same damage having to be done by DPS extending the fights does add up.

[JonFarron]

Yesterday I did such a good dungeon run with a tank, who only needed Regen to keep him alive... and the occasional Cure II if he got hit by a red. I was able to do so much Holy spam on the trash, because my bard friend was in the party with Mage's Ballad on after I got below 50% MP. The mobs went down pretty quickly. The tank was amazing, I'm surprised I never took aggro... once. The aggro meter never went above yellow. o-o

So anyway, if you have a good tank, Regen is definitely good enough to hold them up while you spam a couple Holy's. Also Divine Seal+Regen is OP xD

[Bridgeburner]

The difference between a good WHM and a bad WHM is whether the party lives. Healing is the WHM's job. Being good at what you're designed to do is pleasant, but not notable.

The difference between good and great is what the WHM is doing above and beyond the core role. If you can throw DPS and crowd control while seeing to your healing role, definitely do. If you find you're out of mp or can't hold it together, scale back, gear up, practice a little harder. Keep people alive first. Don't lose sight of what you're there for.

[AegisIvory]

I tried going aggressive in Garuda last night and fell into critical MP levels by the time the sisters appear. And now I see what you mean by relying on that Ballad.

In another fight, I did try to Presence of Mind - Holy the plumes in Cleric's Stance and fumbled trying to get back to the main tank for healing. It was not pretty. I admit, I was hesitant in my decision, so maybe if I responded quicker, the plumes might have been stacked up and possibly have lent itself to a little AoE?

Also, I didn't know the sisters are affected by Fluid Aura. I knocked one back into a tornado during my aggressiveness, oh boy. Party probably thought I was supra-nuts.

Yeah I've fumbled with Cleric Stance before, it's never pretty. =P I was thinking of just assisting the DDs in Garuda not dropping bombs. What I'd like to do for when the plumes come in is Swiftcast -> Cleric on -> Holy -> Cleric off -> back to healing. There's just too much to watch for.

[AegisIvory]

Yesterday I did such a good dungeon run with a tank, who only needed Regen to keep him alive... and the occasional Cure II if he got hit by a red. I was able to do so much Holy spam on the trash, because my bard friend was in the party with Mage's Ballad on after I got below 50% MP. The mobs went down pretty quickly. The tank was amazing, I'm surprised I never took aggro... once. The aggro meter never went above yellow. o-o

So anyway, if you have a good tank, Regen is definitely good enough to hold them up while you spam a couple Holy's. Also Divine Seal+Regen is OP xD

Yeah when you have a really good tank you almost have to nuke or you'll fall asleep! lol I have been playing with some cool Macros

/micon "Cure"
/ac "Cure" <tt>

<tt> = Target's target, so that while targeting the mob your cures will target the tank!

Basically replace Cure with Cure II and Regen, then you can throw cures in between nukes without changing targets! I have a macro bar dedicated to throwing bombs for speed runs and the such. Makes it a lot easier!

[AegisIvory]

The difference between a good WHM and a bad WHM is whether the party lives. Healing is the WHM's job. Being good at what you're designed to do is pleasant, but not notable.

The difference between good and great is what the WHM is doing above and beyond the core role. If you can throw DPS and crowd control while seeing to your healing role, definitely do. If you find you're out of mp or can't hold it together, scale back, gear up, practice a little harder. Keep people alive first. Don't lose sight of what you're there for.

That's an excellent way to put it! I love the job because it lets you be as good as you can be without ever hitting a ceiling! =)