Who Do You Prefer As A Healer?

[Susurrus]

Just wondering what job people prefer to be their pt's healer.

[kazuri]

Personally, I like WHMs... even when there arn't any BRDs or RDM's, I can depend on a WHM/BRD for a simple Ballad for the mages while I pick up stronger run&gun type melee classes... the negative effects arn't so bad~

[711rocks]

I had a pt once with thf/nin(me), nin/war, war/nin, blm/whm, and 2 rdm/?. All the melee had utsusemi so the rdms didn't have to even worry about healing too much, and kept each other and the blm refreshed very well. If you can get a party setup where not much healing is needed like that, rdm will do just fine as main, and in cases like that I'd prefer them over a whm. Overall though wouldn't whm just be the most usefull healer?

[Marvul]

WHM, as long as we have a refresher (brd or rdm).

[kuu]

Umm a pt don't nessasarly need a main healer. Sometimes 2 or 3 part time healers, other times, you need full times, etc.

It will really come down to how your pt functions with what mix of jobs.

[Mephisto]

Depends entirely on PT setup >.>

[Vinen]

What Mephisto said, but in general I prefer RDM as primary healer in XP groups. The only benefits WHM have over them is Cure V, Raise 2/3 (Which XP group shouldn't need) and Stonea and Regen2/3.. and a few higher level group bar spells.

RDM BRD BLM TANK DAMAGE DAMAGE, makes for some damn efficent and effective XP groups.

[:+:Pal[A]diN:+:]

What Mephisto said, but in general I prefer RDM as primary healer in XP groups. The only benefits WHM have over them is Cure V, Raise 2/3 (Which XP group shouldn't need) and Stonea and Regen2/3.. and a few higher level group bar spells.

RDM BRD BLM TANK DAMAGE DAMAGE, makes for some damn efficent and effective XP groups.

/signed

this is the best party setup in my time on FFXI minus the times you might possibly get unlucky and die, but you make that exp up really fast. little to no downtime for the whole party

[Kafeen]

Depends on the tank. With a NIN tank I prefer me (RDM) and a BRD. With a PLD I usually prefer to have WHM or another RDM so me or the other RDM can focus on other RDMly duties.

[Riceman]

SMN aint that bad of a main healer

[Miriamel]

I like anyone who knows what they are doing and are able to adapt to the party's needs. ^^; That can be either of these three jobs.

[Jei]

pure healer i'll go for whm of course... having raise 2/3 as a back up is a god sent gift.

[Skygto]

Overall I like Whms more. They have so many useful spells including Raise 2/3. I mean, they ARE the main healing job in the game.

[tazirai]

Overall I like Whms more. They have so many useful spells including Raise 2/3. I mean, they ARE the main healing job in the game.

Couldnt agree more^^
But I dont mind being the healer, but i'll also do attacking to of course.
Leavign a free carbuncle out and have him do target healing or group healing is great. With juice i dont even need a rdm for refreshing. Free rat = WOOHOO!!

[lionx]

Well being a WHM and feeling that i feel i am at least decent..well yeah WHM O_o But i do prefer if you dont have a refresher to let me sub BRD at the least to keep up the MP especially with PLD tanks. In leveling other jobs, usually the other jobs dont heal as well as the WHM as i noticed, and the RDM although great, does better when theres 2 at the least because of all the job duties they need to attend to. SMN however also does good(except vs hard hitting mobs..no access to CureIV).

[Omniblast]

Might be a little biased, but I want experience points too. I prefer being the main healer so others can do other stuff. I'm sure summoners would like to do Blood Pacts more and red mage would rather enfeeble & nuke. So I'll heal, you do your job, let me do mine. That's just fine with me.

[Icemage]

Won't discuss healers prior to level 11, as pretty much everyone solo's or duo's up to that point anyway, and there's little or no difference between mages at that level as far as healing goes.

11-13, WHM is hands down superior due to Cure II and Protectra, as well as various -na spells.

14-24, RDM/WHM gets pretty much everything WHM main gets except Shellra and Barfira. RDM/WHM is the winner here.

25-39, WHM back in control. Raise is very useful. SMN get Auto-Refresh at this level range, though they don't have anything above Cure II, and no access to Regen yet, which makes them flaky main healers at this level. RDM have no significant advantage here other than Dispel, though Raise shows up for them at level 38.

40, RDM gets Convert, which tips the scales in favor of RDM/WHM over WHM unless Haste is needed (Ninja tank). SMN still gimpy at this level as healers.

41-47, RDM gets Refresh, making them far and away the superior healer in this range, though WHM still have the Raise and Haste advantage. At level 42, SMN get access to Regen and Cure III from their WHM subjob, giving them enough of the necessary tools to main heal.

48-55, RDM get Haste, WHM have Regen II. RDM still on top here. WHMs get some interesting subjobs abilities in /BRD and /SMN at level 50/25+, but still doesn't erase the difference.

56-75, Beyond 56, ideal healers depend on party configuration. WHM's get Raise II at 56, Cure V at 61, Regen III at 65, and Raise III at 70. SMN get offensive Blood Pacts at 65 and 70. RDMs get somewhat stronger nukes as they progress. All 3 are viable healers in this range, however.


Icemage

[Miriamel]

Very good points. RDM get Raise at lvl38, though, making WHM's only advantage from 41-47 Haste.

Oh, and Reraise I find to be very handy in case of wipeouts. It's happened to me, and I doubt I'm the only one. ><

[Elesirdur]

Depends on what you're fighting. If I don't need WHM spells like Stona and the like then my prefered setup for mages is Brd/Whm, Rdm/Blm, Blm,Whm. Nearly unlimited MP with Ballad + Ballad II + Refresh so I can basically take care of myself.

However, if I'm fighting something like Cockatrices then you need to have a WHM in your pt as a healer otherwise you're going to die very quickly.

I still lean towards the Brd + Rdm combo just because it makes the pt so powerful and I get a good chance to up my Healing Magic Skills :D

[Pounce]

I'll always look for a WHM main healer first.

RDM is very capable of main healing, but quite frankly, I don't trust most RDM out there. There's still a lot of Red Warriors who cast very little other than Enthunder.

At least with WHM, I can be fairly certain I'm not going to get any beef from them about main healing.

[Raqua]

whm, whm all the way lol, even though as blm i've had to main heal a couple times lol

[Tokitoki]

WHM may not have as big an MP pool as a RDM (Convert) or a SMN, but they have higher cure spells available as well as higher raise and the status effect cure spells. Mages hit by the raptors sickness attack and no whm? well guess what? no mp for you.

[fuz]

As a rdm myself, I find being healer, enfeebler, refresher, and haster in one a bit... stressful. I'm always running out of mp as refresh and haste eat up so much. I always prefer a whm around to offload half my job so I can concentrate at being much better at everything else.

I can't only concentrate at only healing since enfeebs, paralyze in particular save a lot on mp. I can't rest much since I always get up for dispel, heals, refresh and haste... I can skimp with a gimpy protectra(2), but a 3 or 4 single cast on everyone and my MP is gone. Mobs that add stus effects like exorays and toramas basically mean I can't rest. Almost never leaves room for MB (in mp and time), and dealing with an add/link/pop just throws me into convulsions.

Of course, the workload is somewhat manageable with a nin tank, but pld tanks drive me up the wall. I prefer at least a SMN or WHM for main healing, and a RDM or BRD for backup.

[Raqua]

i usually back up heal when i need to as blm, since i'm a taru i have a lot of mp, and can usually spare a little

[TheGrandMom]

As a rdm myself, I find being healer, enfeebler, refresher, and haster in one a bit... stressful. I'm always running out of mp as refresh and haste eat up so much.

I totally agree. Not too long ago I had a pt in which I was the only mage. While I didn't have many to worry about as far as refreshing, it was giving me grey hair! The haste's, the regen's, the curing (whew!), mb'ing (they insisted), debuffing, individual protects, etc.....man never again! LOL

Then I recently had a pt where everyone would eventually need a refresh! Pld, Drk, Smn, Whm, Blm, & Rdm (me). Pld and drk wanted haste also. Smn wouldn't cure a lick, he wanted to be a dd only. Blm didn't cure, but then again most of them don't (at least the ones I've pt'd with). So curing was a priority too as were debuffs and mb'ing. Then the whm started to slack off and made me pull the weight. She even decided to melee..../sigh. Like you said, you can run out of mp fast. I really love when you run out, convert isn't up, and they start yelling at you. I truly believe that GOOD rdms are underappreciated. LOL

I agree that for different pt's, different setups work. But if I had to average out all the different set ups, I'd have to say that I prefer a whm most of the time.

[Raqua]

>< i've meleed as whm before, only when we had another whm in the party, we took turns curing/meleeing lol

[TheGrandMom]

/sigh Read my post. That was not the case here. In this case the whm meleeing was a bad thing.

[Raqua]

yeah i know, when would the whm meleeing be a good thing? lol

[Vinen]

As a rdm myself, I find being healer, enfeebler, refresher, and haster in one a bit... stressful. I'm always running out of mp as refresh and haste eat up so much. I always prefer a whm around to offload half my job so I can concentrate at being much better at everything else.


I'm sick in the head. I don't find being a healer, enfeebling, refresher and haster that stressful... if im not doing that I start wondering what I should be doing... I get bored fast. This is partially because I leveled from 1-75 almost exclusivly as a primary healer in groups.

RDM/WHM Tarutaru <3

[TheGrandMom]

yeah i know, when would the whm meleeing be a good thing? lol

I have no idea since I never melee'd with any of my mage jobs. In fact, you would probably know better than I since you do melee:

>< i've meleed as whm before, only when we had another whm in the party, we took turns curing/meleeing lol

[ClydeArrowny]

Even with ninja tank I like whm main healer lol. Hastes, cures, -nas, R2/3, <3

[TheGrandMom]

Yes Raise 2 and 3 are a huge draw for a whm. At times, I think thats the only reason I get pt's on my whm. LOL

[Macht]

Yes Raise 2 and 3 are a huge draw for a whm. At times, I think thats the only reason I get pt's on my whm. LOL Yeah, that's why I like WHMs but man when you got a party going crazy fast. I mean were having like 2 links still don't slow you, as long as you don't have a death your fine. >.>

[ClydeArrowny]

Well, my only high level jobs are thf and pld. Neither are suited for fast chain merit PTs but can always get 4-5k/hr easy in a balanced PT. Whm rdm brd is my personal favorite backline lol. Rdm refresh+enfeeble+nuke, brd buff+debuff+backup cure, whm buffs+main cure is what I'm kinda used to.

[Etra]

I've always prefered WHM with a RDM backup. :x But then again, I'm a WHM. >.>;

[Vinen]

Even with ninja tank I like whm main healer lol. Hastes, cures, -nas, R2/3, <3

all of which RDM/WHM can cover execpt raise 2/3

Also, you mentioned Paladin isn't suited for fast chain merit parties?

I've made 6-7k a hour in a PLD/WAR DRK/WAR MNK/WAR RDM/WHM BLM/WHM BRD/WHM party... then again the DRK was tanking more then the Paladin...

[Tokitoki]

RDM/WHM doesnt have all the -na spells. For example, you're fighting cocks in terrigan and they petrify you. Stona is lv 38 or 39 and thus a RDM cant use it even when subbing WHM, but the WHM sure as hell can.

[Pai Pai Master]

Moved to JOBS forum.

[tazirai]

Best Healer is the ehaler that knows when to heal and when not to.
Best healers ignore "HEAL" and uses their powers correctly.
Best healer s know when to take one for the team so that all survive.

[Raqua]

would say that goes for every job within a party

[Tokitoki]

Thats true, but WHM are needed in certain cases and party setups. Its hard for a SMN to heal a PLD if they dont have someone to help them out because of the damage PLD take and the range of cure spells the SMN has.

[Enialas]

as a rdm/smn i was main healer till 48, with the ocasional pt with a whm. one of these, an otherwise awesome pt, but the whm meleed and would not back up heal. That was at revolution rock in Altepa. since i'm leveling blm now for the "have to" sub :rolleyes: , i did find a couple of uses BLM provides. so far Warp, and i have yet to see Aspir. Drain? like en- spells, phalanx, stoneskin and blink, not needed in xp pt. if the pt's ok w/ you meleeing en- spells are nice addition (and get your enh skill up), the others are only needed if the rng or other back up voker wusses out to be SATA'ed off of, which only happened once.

1st and only pt wipe i've experienced was in CN at 51, whm had reraise and the Linked Beetles killed everyone w/ the glk pld being the last one standing. Trying to sleep beetle and them being Diaga'ed didn't help. Recipe for a dead rdm. Phalanx and stoneskin might have helped me live 1 hit longer but at that moment, spamming Cure IVs on the tank seemed to be of higher importance, that way the whm could carry on while i was dead (gave him time to cast reraise and i already had 1 beetles hate) Things just really hate being slept for some reason >_>

As an Elvaan Rdm, MP conversation starts early... really early, 1 dia per mob, early ;) I've never understood how other rdms could make it to dunes and not know the importance of enfs. sure, when i started and found out enfs were rdm's specialty i was /sarcastic "wow," but after i ran out of mps and couldnt cast dia on a mob, i saw a difference. when i cast paralyze on a mob and saw:

/em Casts Dia (to pull)
/em Casts Paralyze.
Orcish Grappler is paralyzed.
Enialas hits Orcish Grappler for 6.*
Orcish Grappler is paralyzed.
Enialas hits Orcish Grappler for 5.*
Orcish Grappler is paralyzed.
Enialas hits Orcish Grappler for 7.*
Orcish Grappler is paralyzed.
Enialas uses Fast Blade.
Enialas hits Orcish Grappler for 20.
Enialas defeats Orcish Grappler.

* amount damage is a guess, i dont remember the damage i was doing.

well, paralyze became my favorite spell, for a minimal casting cost (8), in this example i saved 24mps (net) from cures.

after this tho, seeing rdms in dunes who will not or do not enf, sure a stone is nice everyonce in a while, but if i have to cast 10 cures on the tank after a screwdriver (smn/whm, blm/whm) what are they doing?

EDIT: lol, i realized i didn't answer the question. WHM, the -ra spells, protect especially are very nice. Protect IIIing everyone is very costly in MP, in PLD parties, I keep them refreshed and hasted but they must cast those spells on themselves if the pt expects to be protected and shelled.

[Arris]

well i played WHM/SMN/RDM 70+

and I'll say I still like WHM as main cure. I see it like this WHM MP pool is mainly for curing. Someone one told me no no that's not WHM only purpose but let's face it what spell do you get when you start the game of as a mage? WHM=cure BLM=a nuke(stone), and RDM=an enfeb(Dia). RDM anyways I find it hard to have two of in a 70+ party because of what I like to call the RDM stopper gets them (Maat). But I like the fact that RDM and SMN are more versitile then WHM. They can DD and cure and SMN's autofresh is pretty sweet.

What seems to always happen in a RDMx2 party one refuses to split the job of refreshing and curing, one starts to over nuke/refresh self onry, and three becomes melee crazy -_-;;. End result one RDM will duck or "DC" out of the PT fairly soon after it has started.

Party setup for me atleast 70+ WHM,RDM,BRD. >.< And don't tell me nobody else notices the the BLM /kneel almost the whole entire fight >.>;;

[Coinspinner]

My favorite main healer was PLD/WAR. With a RDM and BRD. Ownage.

WHM is the most realiability you can have in a healer. Best Raise, Reraise for wipe protection, lower enmity than RDM, and they can cure anything. Much <3.

RDM is too good as support to waste as healer. I avoided having two RDM.

Least was SMN. They're awkward, and make me uneasy. I always thought SE gave 'em random abilities similar to what summoners have had in the past but without really thinking about how the class should be played. Actually... all the RoZ jobs but SAM seem that way to me. ><;

BRD is support onry. But he'd better be healing (unless the healer is totally underwhelmed) or his spot is better taken by DD or mage. ><;

BLM is wasted as a healer in EXP sessions. They're ok at healing in the lower levels and at higher levels on quests and missions if the enemies are lower level than you. I usually just healed and skilled up weapons on key hunts and other quests.

BUM/PIR is the worst of the worst healers though. White Wind sucks at less than 200% TP and they always pull aggro with their stupid !Keelhaul JA. :p

[Gwynn]

Ah, a very good question, one with several answers (as many people have been doing).

If I have a good Ninja as tank, then I prefer either having Brd/Whm and myself (Rdm) or Smn/Whm and myself. With a Brd, I can main heal and keep up with my duties easily, and if something bad happens the Brd can backup. If the Smn is there to main heal, he can use Cure III as well as a variety of Blood Pacts (Earthen Ward, Fenrir's spiffyness, etc.), and I can back up.

If theres a Pld, then I really want a WHM. I actually haven't been partying with many Pld lately tho, so I've grown more fond of Smn as a main heal.

Favorite Party set-ups:

Nin/War, War/Nin, Thf/Nin, Rng/Nin, Rdm/Blm(or /Whm), Brd/Whm (or Smn/Whm, but I prefer Brd)

Nin/War, Rng/Nin, Rng/Nin, Blm/Whm, Rdm/Blm, Brd/Whm

Pld/War, Sam/War, Rng/Nin, Blm/Whm, Whm/Blm, Rdm/Blm