i'm not a main healer

[neighbortaru]

I'm currently lvling my rdm char in valkurm and valkurm being valkurm, I get forced into being main/only healer in parties more often than not. Last night, I took a look at my skill lvls before logging off and my Healing is 42. My Enfeebling is at 39 :(

I really need to get that up, but rarely do I get the chance to nowadays... does magic skills work like weapon skills? like if I take on tougher monsters, the skill gain would be higher and if I take on easier mobs, the skill gain would be less or nil?

[Apple Pie]

Yes, if you want to cap your skill, you need to fight with "Even Matched" or stronger.

As for healer issue, you may want to be a leader to form your favorite PT setup. Because I hate to see a PT like PLD, DRK, DRK, BLM, WHM and myself, I am most of the time a leader.

[neighbortaru]

i'd love to PT lead, but I just don't have the (play)time every night to do so. On the weekends maybe.

[Vaiyo]

If you can, throw out a Dia or Slow, and maybe Blind - all three are fast-casted spells which works up enfeeble (Dia's cast time is almost nonexistent).

[neighbortaru]

I'd love to. But being hume, I need to watch what I spend my mp on. I'll usually throw down a slow, but I need to save my mp for cures (being the main healer) :(

actually, that reminds me of another question. If you had to choose only one spell to cast from Dia, Slow, Blind, Paralyze or Bio, which would you choose? Which would be the most helpful to the party and not a total waste of mp?

[Khaelyn]

Dia or Bio; both are good for enfeebling and the dmg over time effect may someday save someone's life.

Dia is faster, I think.

[Bamce Sylph]

i would in order (providing only healer) do these.
Dia, fast cast, lowers defense, cheap, doesns't stack w/ bio
Slow/Blind, effects all attacks lowers the amount of attacks, or acc of htem
Paralyze later on this becomes better as a paralyzed attack is lots of damage that just doesn't happen
Bio, expensive, if u have a blm let him do it, and u slow instead

however someth igns can change this, if you have a pal, or self healing tank, i would slow before dia, because of its longer recast time, and the mob swinging slower reduces the chance of your pal(or ghetto pal, /whm) not being interupted.

[Discordian]

If I had 1 spell to chose from I'd take Slow, it reduces the damage taken over the entire damage due to the mob's attacks to be slowed down. Haste is cool for the exact opposite reaon of Slow.

[Yuanlung]

I'd just like to point out that Bio is not an enfeeble spell... it's dark.

[EDarkness]

Two spells I use most are Gravity and Paralyze. If we have a PLD or WAR who keeps aggro, then I will lay off the gravity as it's kind of expensive. Dia and Dia II are awesome, though. When I was coming up in levels, I used Dia every chance I got. Slow is nice and worth casting since it's a low cost spell. A lot of other RDMs I've seen use Poison, but it gets resisted too often for my taste. Worth casting if you don't have Bio, though if nothing else than to build up skills. Cast and cast often. That's the general rule of thumb if you want to build up skills.

Paralyze rocks, though. The only time it's not really effective is against super strong enemies or enemies that have two attacks a round. That one attack they don't get can make a world of difference.


-EDarkness

[Echo]

Originally posted by Bamce Sylph

Paralyze later on this becomes better as a paralyzed attack is lots of damage that just doesn't happen


And I get a cheap thrill when a paralyzed monster tries to cast and gets interrupted due to paralyze...

It makes me feel that Karma works. :P

(And, yeah, then I stop laughing and resilence the devil...)

[neighbortaru]

yes I know bio is dark. I threw it out there as one of the options to use to help the party. personally, I don't like to use it because 1) it's a huge mp sink and 2) i have 0 skill in dark.

On the other hand, it does weaken mobs' attacks which, in turn, helps the healers save some mp. I'm just not sure if the equation balances out (mp spent to cast = mp saved from healing) for me to use it, especially as the only healer/mage in the PT (i'm thinking it's not).

I'm currently favoring slow because, I think, it's the best bang-for-the-buck. slower attacks = less damage over time = less for me to heal = more mp left after battlesl. I was just wondering what others thought would be the most effective spell give the particular situation I am forced into.

btw, I do appreciate all your inputs.:thumbsup:

[Uroboros]

Slow and Paralyze are the most important enfeebles IMO. They have the largest effect, and the MP cost for both is very small. They are the first things enfeebles I stick on every mob, without fail. I usually follow them with Blind if there isn't a BLM casting it.

Gravity I will throw on if I'm partied with a DRK or Ranger, there can never be too much help for them to land their attacks. The evasion reduction is supposed to be 5% but it always feels much more significant. Worth the MP cost when it can help.

Bio is a questionable spell for its MP cost. It only reduces mob strength by 5%. Not worth it for the MP, especially at lower levels when your MP pool isn't so hot. Dia costs far less, and while it doesn't have the hugest impact either (defense down 5%), at least it is MP efficient. In theory, they'd both reduce how much healing you have to do, either by the damage per hit being lessened (Bio) or by the battle duration being shortened (Dia). But neither of them has as noticable an effect as anything listed above IMO. And later on, Dia II/Bio II...I don't know, I just don't like them. Even with +120mp from gear alone before eating a pie, I don't feel like blowing 56mp on spells that don't even have as perceptible an effect as Slow, Blind, or Paralyze. All of which can be cast and then recast for less than one cycle of Bio II/Dia II.

If you're just looking to skill up enfeebling while still being useful, I'd stick to Slow and Paralyze, with Dia as an afterthought here and there, provided there isn't a BLM casting Bio. And if you're just gonna use one enfeeble, I think Paralyze has the largest effect on easy mobs, and Slow has the largest effect on tougher ones (I don't mean easy/tough as in the con, I mean easy/tough as in, Mandragoras tend to be easy, even as IT, and Undead tend to be bastards, even as even match).

[Tulerin]

I still use diaI and I have diaII... 56mp is a waste of mp for 5 more %. Just stick to dia1, there was a thread about it a while back and from what I remember, dia1 was efficient 90% of the time. However, against mobs with high defense like beetles and crabs, feel free to use Dia2 so the melee wont complain alot.

As for main healing, ive been in groups that want me to be main healer, debuff, cast refresh on 4 people, then haste 4 people. My reply to these groups is usually "no" ^.^

Refresh + healing + say gravity and paralyze(tho I usually tell the blm to cast paralyze...I tend not to group with blm's that dont have whm sub) at higher levels, ok. Refresh + haste + full enfeeble + healing = no, just leave, its not worth the exp and you could easily get another group within a few mins or so =p