[Cakosama]

I am leveling whm for my subjob. As an elvaan, should i use astral rings at LV 10 or + mnd rings? I have enough mind already, so i was thinking using astrals. But astral greatly reduced my HP so someone help me out please. Thanks

[Aelith]

In almost every case, the 25 extra mp will be MUCH better than the +2 mind, whether you are elvaan, hume, galka, or whatever.

At level 10, the -25 hp is a big deal, but it's still worth it. Be VERY careful before useing two astrals at level 10 though (if you are lucky enough to have that option). I wouldn't use two until I was sure things were going well with one on.

The mp is much better though, and will make a very noticable difference all the way up into early lv 30's in my own experience. There after, it will still be great to have the extra mp, but won't be quite as noticable.

It will help your party get chains going, which will give everyone better experience, and less down time frustration. Your mind won't do that.

Mind would help with enfeebles, but usually someone else will take care of that. Worst case, Dia/Dia 2 is a guaranteed stick, regardless of mind, and you can regularly get one other off with elemental seal. And like you said, elvaan have good mind anyways.

Just make sure to to use the mp wisely. Don't start spamming needless cures, because they you will draw hate. And once you've drawn hate, you'll end up feeling that missing hp. Especially early on. .... ... on a same not, make sure you find a competent tank. My whm career so far has definitely taugh me the difference between a great tanke and a mediocre one. (not to mention the bad ones).

Anyhow, have fun with your astrals. People will be jealuous ^^.

[Icemage]

Astrals > Saintly Rings for Elvaan. While max MP isn't that important, +MND is even less so.

Playing WHM is all about learning to control your hate and MP usage. Using your MP wisely and efficiently is the way to go, but having the extra MP is still better than the +1 or 2 hp per cure you'll get from the +MND.

At later levels, +MP becomes far less of an issue, but for Elvaan, who have lots of HP but low MP, Astrals are a perfect fit.

Best option is, of course, to use both. Astrals until you burn up that top 50MP, then switch over to +MND rings when the extra max MP no longer matters.


Icemage

[Machera]

Well, I wish i could afford them, WHM is my first job, and therefore i have no chance to get one

[Cakosama]

thanks for the advice.

[Brayden]

Originally posted by Machera
Well, I wish i could afford them, WHM is my first job, and therefore i have no chance to get one

Don't worry about it, I am only just now getting around to buying them myself. I used the +mnd rings up until lvl 40, when I purchased Electrum Rings. Don't feel you will be an inferior whm if you dont have Astral Rings early in the game.

[Aelith]

Don't worry about it, I am only just now getting around to buying them myself. I used the +mnd rings up until lvl 40, when I purchased Electrum Rings. Don't feel you will be an inferior whm if you dont have Astral Rings early in the game.

-----> Seriously. The game would be a much better place if people recognized the best for what it is - the best: not normal. I honestly don't believe the best equipment should ever be expected. It's not standard gear for a reason.

And not haveing it doesn't "gimp" your xp. When you don't get it you'll get a decent, average stream of xp. Get together a part of high levels who know what they're doing and have the best gear though, and they'll get better xp.

Nothing's wrong with average. Just know how to do your job and do it the best you can, regardless of gear you have on (although please, for the love of god, make sure you buy all of the necesary spells).

[Dux]

I don't have any Astrals yet and I'm level 71.

Can you guess how many people have complained I don't have them? Zero.

[Icemage]

+Max MP at high levels isn't all that useful. Most white mages have more than enough MP to get by in XP groups at high levels (60+), even with no MP boosts from gear, with possibly the exception of a Galka WHM.

Honestly speaking though, at those levels, you just don't head out without a bard or RDM to provide +3MP/3 seconds anyway, so if you look at it from that perspective, a "typical" XP chain takes about 12 minutes (240 ticks = 720MP from refresh-type effects). That completely overshadows any max MP you might have going for you - it's still useful, but not really necessary

For what it's worth, I don't even use my Astral Rings on my WHM anymore. I've become much more attached to my Demon Ring +1s: +13HP +13MP is better than -25HP +25MP for me as a Taru WHM. I can't heal anyone if I'm dead or asleep, and the demon ring +1s help address both issues for me.


Icemage

[sylvanas]

id have to agree that past a certain point, higher mp becomes moot for a competent exp party...however unless you plan on maxing out your merit points, exp pts arent going to be your main activity at high levels.

healing on hnms is a team effort because no single whm has the mp do to so alone. discounting solo/duo lolhnms like serket/behemoth of course. even if your ls can power thru kirin in under an hour, those fights tend to be messy and every bit of mp helps. more so than any other stat you could improve upon.

[Icemage]

That's true, Sylvanas, but I also find that THE most important WHM stat in long HNM fights isn't MP, it's -enmity. Even with Cure V, spamming it long enough will rack you up tons of enmity. I got clocked by Kirin after about 30 minutes one time because I forgot to macro in my -enmity gear when curing.

That being said, there's nothing wrong with having extra MP in the tank - it makes resting more efficient, for instance, since you can get spend more useful time resting for MP when you run out.


Icemage

[sylvanas]

oh thats a good point too. -enmity is pretty key for long drawn out fights. if the fight is under control, we have our healers relog as soon as the monster looks their way, assuming they arent already dead

[Zaleshea]

I don't have astrals, and I'll never get them. I don't *need* them either for chains.

[Feenicks]

I never used Astrals for my WHM until Lv66, when I got one to use when I started levelling SMN, and thought I might as well use it with my WHM too. It makes very little difference that late in the game.

[Thekiller]

Well.. as an elvaan, you don't need the astrals.. but you would like them. I was a HUME BLM. I used 2 astrals (from my level 23WHM) and at level 10, I had roughly 82 HP, and 200+MP (rolanberry pies). I beat a taru in MP, and he beat me in HP by 1..

As my WHM, I would of loved having the astrals at level 10.. I got my first before going to qufim (gift) and my 2nd for 3.4k at level 21. (yes, 3,400 gil)

As an elvaan, you might want to have both.. although, some don't and they are really good.

Basically, have 2 astrals, and 2MND+ (to swap) use the astrals, after the 50 used MP, swap to +mnd rings (getting the 50HP back) and toss a Cure on ya. (regen later on) that is basically 50 free MP. (you can with earrings too)

-lil