[Slip]

I was leveling my Drg solo today as Drg/Whm and notice something for the first time. If I cast a Cure while my hp was low enough to trigger a healing breath and then killed the mob before my wyvren had a chance to cast the Healing Breath the poor dragon would get kind of blocked up.

He'd glow like he was in the process of casting it but no tp was spent, no message appeared and no extra hp were recovered. I'm guessing this is a known "feature" (aka bug they don't care to fix) but I figured it wouldn't hurt to check with you who might be more familiar with it.

[Ellipses]

Yep, that's how it goes. Not such a big deal, just cast/sing a self-buff of some sort (that won't bring you over the threshold on its own) after battle to trigger it.

[Slip]

Yeah, it's definitely survivable, the downside to it was in terms of mp efficiency. Fighting EP I'd need at most 1 Healing breath per mob and more often 1 per 2 mobs. Tossing 2 cures out due to "clogging" meant having to rest sooner.

I'm guessing the best answer is just to go Drg/Brd next time which in turn means I better finally go unlock Brd I suppose. I hadn't planned on that but Drg is proving to be so cool and fun it's worth it.

[Ellipses]

What level is your DRG? I wouldn't suggest DRG/BRD before 25 (Spirit Link and 3 HB triggers). I only did DRG/WHM pre-Dunes, and didn't get the hang of Healing Breath at all (didn't realize Curing to over the threshold would make it not trigger), so I can't really suggest much on that.

[Balodoth]

Actually, it's not a bug. It's designed that way for elemental breaths, which carries over to Cure and Heal breaths by virtue of standardized programming. If your wyvern is readying a breath attack after your WS, but you get the last hit in, it's set to stop the breath and conserve the TP for your next battle. In that context it's useful. But with healing HP. . . yeah, it can be annoying.

I'm big on /BRD myself. No MP = No Downtime. Plus if I'm in a situation that I could really benefit from ATK, ACC, EVA, regen, or whatever, BRD's got it. At one level I tested that minuet put me 2 ATK higher than a WAR sub. Granted, I didn't have Berserk, but I believe that sharing that ATK w/ teammates 100% of the time would have been as good as Berserk 60% of the time. I hope to convince a party to let me use it once in the 50's. Ballad + Minuet + occasional Paeon + DoT = Sign me up!

I'm also mildly interested in /BLU. I think I'm going to unlock it and try it out. Being able to personalize my stats and traits is amazing. Then you get a 1 MP Heal Breath? Depending on accuracy while subbed, it could become the first mainstream mage sub for our job.

[Oogami]

Erm... there is a 1 mp spell?
I thought the lowest mp for blue spells is 5 mp. (They do cast very fast though)

[Slip]

Originally Posted by Ellipses

What level is your DRG? I wouldn't suggest DRG/BRD before 25 (Spirit Link and 3 HB triggers). I only did DRG/WHM pre-Dunes, and didn't get the hang of Healing Breath at all (didn't realize Curing to over the threshold would make it not trigger), so I can't really suggest much on that.

I solo'd and duo'd a bit on Sat and got from 21 to 24 (solo'd 22 and 23, duo'd 24 with a lvl 21 Thf friend).

I worked on the Crabs in Buburimu the whole time and only died when a damn Bogy spawned right on me (Slip thinks: "Funny I don't remember Crabs being able to ready Stonega before....owwwie!")

I'm getting Healing Breath down (been Drg/Whm since lvl 1) but it certainly helps that crabs are slooow and don't hit particularly hard. I actually had more problems in Korroloka thanks to Gastric Bomb and Silence from the worms.

[Ellipses]

Hey Balodoth, do you use food for DRG/BRD at all? I'm hoping at some point (and hopefully before AF helm) I can ditch the Carbonara for something cheaper and still chain Toughs reliably. So far, though (levels 22-31), that seems to be one of the biggest factors in my survivability.

Yeah, crabs and big bats have been nice. In Buburimu I wasn't picky at all, fought pretty much everything but pugils. From there to Qufim where I started just logging out when the undead showed up, and now Korroloka for the crabs and pugils there. Getting more confident, and with what I've got now, I've taken EM-T pugils; they're do-able, but Screwdriver at the wrong time is instant death.

[Djonma]

It's not just the wyvern that does this.
It's a general thing.
If you're a mage, and you're casting on a mob as it dies, sometimes you'll get stuck too. It's really funny!

But yeah, it's just one of those things, unfortunately.

Enjoy drg/whm!

[Balodoth]

To tell you the truth, I haven't used it as a genuine solo sub. Or rather, I should say I don't solo seriously. Personally, I find it's a good sub for farming EP-DC mobs while LFP. I don't use food unless I have something lying around, which is seldom. And I know that I can take an EM without food. At level 40 I can quite easily spam Healing Breath every 4 seconds if I have to without stopping, and yes I have had to. Sure it lowers DOT, but taking on Epialtes and getting 72 EXP when it's all said and done. . . If S-E would give more equipment choices to DRG and a few ways to increase the wyvern's HP at pre-AF levels, I might seriously prefer carbonara to a party.

Come to think of it, if I didn't have to get a job to level 75 to get merit points for simple stat boosts. I think I could be semi-godly right now.

[Oogami]

Hmm.. good info about the carbonara. Food of choice so far has been meat mithkabobs, but carbonara is looking to be better for tougher mobs.

I usually only hunt DC-EP at level 55+ because it is more efficient (and less risky). Now I can kill about 4 mobs before I have to rest. That is 300xp with the 75%xp boost ring or about 160 without. Each kill takes about 1 minute, and it is very good for when I only have like 1 hour to play, or when LFP.

The HB clog-up is not that bad, unless you're fighting a link ><

[Djonma]

I use rice dumplings for soloing, or sometimes pies, depending on what I'm fighting and my gear.
Even as a taru I had low mp as drg/whm.
I've solo'd a LOT though, I love it.
Drg/whm can solo as well as bst.
We can take T's with a little bit of work.
So EM's can be chained for fun!

Rice dumplings are still my favourite food;
* HP +17
* Strength +3
* Vitality +2
* Agility +1
* Attack +20% (Cap: 45@225 Base Attack)
* Ranged Attack +30% (Cap: 45@150 Base Ranged Attack)
* HP Regeneration While Healing +2
* MP Regeneration While Healing +2
* Accuracy +5
* Resist Paralyze

Pretty much perfect for a drg, I use them in parties, and still great for soling. I'd take them over carbonara because of the Accuracy +5 and the hhp and hmp. When I'm properly soloing, I adjust my gear so I have mp+ gear, so I don't need pies anymore.


As for the HB clog up when fighting links.
It doesn't matter.
Your wyvern will just hit the new mob as per normal with the visual effect of the HB clog still going on.

[Tirrock]

I'm surprised more people don't use rice dumplings. It's better than sushi on accuracy at lower levels too.

Avatars are effected by this bug too. If an avatar is attacking a target and is preparing a defensive blood pact and the monster dies before it finishes, the avatar stops and and the SMN has to wait another 45 seconds to a minute to do another blood pact.

[Ellipses]

Rice dumplings are my favorite party food, or probably would be an option if I went DRG/WHM. I use Carbonara for DRG/BRD soloing because of the huge +HP (14%), which helps with the HB threshold. At level 31, that adds 70 HP to my total, which means I can trigger HB at 15 more HP than without food. The Attack+ and Store TP are nice, too. Accuracy doesn't seem too big an issue against DC-T at level 31.

If I'm feeling cheap and want to just crank out EP-DC constantly I usually go foodless or grab spare Rice Dumplings or Seafood Stew.