[thewolf]

Personal favorite would have to be Ulegrand Range with the following
WAR/NIN x2
NIN/WAR
RDM/BLM
WHM/SMN or SMN/WHM
BRD/NIN

If the WARs are well equipped and know what they are doing this setup has proven to be scary as to how quickly you can get Chain #19. Some of you might look at the BRD/NIN and ask wtf? It's only to help with MP consumption on the WHM's part because the shadows prevent the numerous AoE attacks from those mobs from hitting and in this party the BRD never has time to heal themselves so it's best to just prevent the damage all together.

[Vair]

Every party should start with two things: A tank and a healer. This is the basic set-up that every party has... so yeah, duh. It doesn't really matter what race the tank is becuase with the right equipment a taru could easily be a great tank, same with the healer. But if you have a galka healer with gimped gear I'd think twice...

Secondly the back up healer which would most obviously be a RDM or possibly a BLU. I don't know about the BLU, I haven't partied with enough of them.

Then the DDs. DDs are easily exchangable. Contrary to popular believe No DD is stronger than the next.. other than RNG, but Last time I partied in a high level group with a RNG was a year ago, I here they've been gimped. Personally, I would choose the DRG simply becuase of the personality difference from the DRK. DRGs are easy going most of the time, like to hang back and chill while ya'll are resting, usually pretty funny. The DRK on the other hand has some serious problems. *Coughemocough* OK, so I'm a little biased since I was the DRG... I kid, I realy do. They're great people *CoughemoCough* Just kidding... or am I? Ok, I'm getting off subject. Did I mention that [GM] Dave is my hero? That's another story.

ANYwho... Right, jobs. Finally, but certianlly not last *coughdrkcough* comes the secondary magic users. BLMs are great and so are SMNers, but SMN are hard to find...

So to the real point: Best party set up for me would have to be:

PLD~Galka~
WHM~Taru~
RDM~Elvaan~
DRG~Galka~ (Hail to the king, baby.)
THF~Mithra~ (DRG vokes first, THF SATAs offa PLD, you know how it goes.)
BLM~Taru~

[thewolf]

Whoa slow down there Vair sounds like you're getting ahead of yourself. You're right if you're talking about lower level parties in the aspect that "No DD is stronger than the next" but once you get up into the top tier there is a large difference. It's almost a gauruntee that WAR, MNK, and SAM will out parse just about everything. There is a reason that everyone wants those jobs to be in a PT, sure you can argue that a DRG has more DoT because of the dragon but it's nothing to write home about and I haven't seen any proof showing that any DRG has outparsed an equally equipped and competent WAR, MNK, or SAM. Now don't get me wrong and think that I'm really biased against DRG because it's actually one of my favorite jobs to play but it just doesn't cut it for me in a good party.

As far as RNG goes with everyone saying it's gimp. It's not gimped so much as it has been refined. RNG can no longer sit way back or way up close and get the same damage/accuracy they used to get before the patch, all the patch does is limit RNGs to a certain distance the damage is really the same.

But everyone has their own taste, I guess I'm just partial to what I have seen work time and time again.

[sevenpointflaw]

Personal favorite as a whm... I prefer bones parties. Give me monks and a bard any day.

[Suichi]

MNK/WAR
WAR/NIN
PLD/WAR
BRD/WHM
BLM/RDM
WHM/SMM

My favorite party ever.

[Icemage]

Re: Tanks

Not every party needs a tank. I XP'd on my BRD several times while levelling with BLM BLM BLM BLM SMN BRD, and recently did some BLM BLM BLM BLM BLM BRD manaburn parties - the last one which we managed a Chain #12.

Bones parties (MNK MNK MNK WHM BRD RDM usually) don't need a primary tank either. Just beat the skeletons into submission, they don't live long enough to get past Utsusemi: Ichi most of the time.

Beastmasters can make some weird parties too: BSTx2, BSTx3, BSTx5 + RDM, even BSTx6 sometimes. Interesting point, this is one of the very few party types that is actively allergic to Bards.

SMN can do something similar with SMN SMN SMN SMN BRD RDM at 70+.

---

Re: Healers

See my note above about 5xBLM + BRD parties. BST-only parties, SMN x 3 against bombs, and several other types of party have no designated healers.

--

Re: DD's

Melees have become very efficient lately, so much so that you can go out with NIN + BRD + 3x melee + Healer and churn out some really impressive numbers (XP chain indefinitely), but this only really works at level 75 when accuracy stops being a limiting factor against T/VT enemies.

--

Re: Lower levels

All the above variety doesn't really show up until the mid-50s, levelwise. Prior to that, aside from specific exceptions, you're probably going to fall into the typical Tank/DD/DD/Nuker/Supper/Healer setup.


Icemage

[pyromaniac]

SMN pt in KRT can be crazy takes 3MOuntain Busters to kill a Skeleton nd if u have 5SMN n a BRD that goes crazy

[Demus]

Ideally, I like having a WAR/NINx4 BRD/WHM RDM/WHM setup. Sole Sushi + double Minuet is sexy. The setup only works if each WAR is equipped similarly and does their fair share of tanking instead of letting one WAR take all the hits.

[Illuen]

I think the most effective party I have ever been with was NIN NIN NIN NIN BLM/WHM (me) BLM/WHM. We mages rarely had to heal, and we could focus on nuking I have also had good experience with Manaburn parties, in particular a BLM BLM BLM WHM WHM RDM.

[Veve]

WAR/NINx3 BRDx2 RDM.

[TheMidg]

I love manaburn PTs. Nothing beats being a BLM in a BLM BLM BLM BLM BLM BRD PT :D Good exp too!

[Theinen]

My favorite setup and current static is DRK,DRG (me) (Spinning Slash + Wheeling Thrust = Light SC),WHM,RDM,BLM,PLD (No offence to NIN but he can hold hate when the DRK and I are going all out.) Caedarva Mire is our prefered place to camp and we average around 13-15k exp for one night.

[Chicken_Little]

Hmmm.....haven't had one like this but I've been close. For me I think it would be friggin awesome to have

Nin/War (me obviously ^_^)
Sam/War
Sam/Thf
Blm/Rdm
Rdm/Whm
Brd/Whm

This obviously would be best +60. Sam/War vokes, opens SC (have no clue what for kickass SC can be done +60 for Sam), Sam/Thf SATA + SC close. I tank like normal and everyone else does there thing. I merely base this from an LS pt I had once that was

Nin/War (me)
Nin/War
Sam/Thf
Sam/Thf
Blm/Whm
Smn/Whm

We killed super fast and never needed to rest because the other Nin and I traded hate back and forth and with the help of both of the Sams. The Smn had Fenrir and did the accuracy/evasion buff everytime it wore off and that helped greatly. Either two of those setups I guess would be ideal for me, plus it was just hellah fun watching the Sams SC like twice every fight and the Blm MB'n like crazy. Lotsa fun ^_^

[Tokitoki]

Just had a WAR WAR WAR NIN(DD setup) BRD WHM PT at 63 yesterday... went very well with about 8-9k/hr.

[Mephisto]

It's interesting to see the first page of this post -- no one mentions any war war war, mnk mnk mnk, nin nin nin pts or anything like that. D:/