new whm needs advice

[BRIANNON]

I'm a new whm and am kinda worried that I picked the wrong job after reading these posts. It seems that people have some big problems with some of the whms that are playing now, can you guys give me some advice so that I don't become one of the over amped jerks you guys lothe?

[Darkedge]

Keep your spell book up to date. Spells take preference over equipment in importance, but if you're going for equipment +MND gear is awesome to have. Since you have no BLM sub, you need absolutely NO +INT Gear. I've seen so many low lvl whm's with +INT or -MND gear =/

Don't spend every second of party play casting Cure then Cure II then Cure. In parties without an RDM you'll be casting Paralyze (the less the enemy attacks, the less MP you spend Curing) and other Enfeebling spells.

Since it looks like you're in Windurst you can farm Crawlers at low levels. The give Silk Thread (10-11k stack in Windurst on my server) and items you can use for quests for fame. If you're stuck killing easy prey because Decent Challenges and Up are too tough, try to kill the ones that drop more expensive Crystals. Keep Signet on too, Conquest Points can get you equipment that you might want.

Edit: Also when you start partying and fighting (Incredibly Tough) monsters, pray for a back-up healer or ask your party leader if you can get a back-up healer (Red Mage, or Black Mage/Summoner with White Mage Sub Job)

[BRIANNON]

thanks for the help, my bf got me started just this week on the game and this means alot to him so I don't want to let him down so I'm trying my best to bust ass to level up and be able to play with him (he's a RDM lvl 60 or so) I got a long way to go but I would rather earn respect along the way than piss people off to get what I need

[Brennon]

Having just recently started WHM myself, but also being fairly experienced in the game, I'll share my thoughts on the first 30 levels of whm.

One thing I think alot of newbie whm's overlook is that it is not just the tanks job to control aggro with provoke. It's everybody's job. The tank has to pull as much aggro as possible, and the whm has to keep everyone alive long enough to kill the monster, without drawing too much aggro. It's not always an easy balance to find, but here's a couple ideas.

Pay attention to who the monster is currently attacking. If the puller has taken some hits, but doesn't currently have aggro, he can wait a little bit for cures. Don't try to keep everyone at or near max HP the entire fight. Sometimes it will be possible, but sometimes not. Unless a person is taking damage, they can wait till the end of the fight to be cured.

Use the lowest level of cure necessary. This not only helps keep aggro on the tank, but depending on your stats, its more MP effecient. When you first get Cure II for example, you're probably not going to be healing 90 HP with it. 3 Cure's cost the same MP as 1 CureII, but will heal more HP. As long as your not attempting to heal someone that is taking damage faster than you can cure it, don't use Cure II.

Many newbie WHM over look Regen. This is an *incredibly* useful spell, and you should start using it as soon as you can get it. As long as your enhancing skill is decent, it is far more effecient way to cure people. Not only that, but it cures alot of HP while drawing almost NO aggression (perhaps none? not really sure)

At lvl 31, Cure I is still the main cure spell that I use. I put regens on people that are yellow, as well as the tank, and then use Cure I on the tank as needed. If things start looking iffy, i might fire off a cure II or two. If we are in major trouble, people dropping into the red very quickly, i'll fire off a cure III. Chances are at my level, if I ever have to use Cure III, some other people just aren't playing well.

Don't overlook debuffs. Dia, Paralyze, Slow, etc are going to be needed pretty much every fight. (perhaps not so much with T's, as long as the monster is T to the rest of your party also) The effects of debuffs are not as obvioius as damage or cure spells, so it can be hard to see the effects of them, but if your not partying with a RDM or a BLM, you should step up and do whatever debuffs are appropriate for the monsters your fighting. If you have a RDM that knows his job well, you won't have to worry about this as much, but most times at low levels, you wont, so practice up.

My last piece of advice is this, at low levels, WHM are few, compared to all the other jobs out there. You'll be wanted desperately by people trying to start parties, and will almost never be seeking for party for more than a couple minutes. Do not let this get to your head. This is a luxury, which has the effect of turning many newbie WHM (people whos first job is whm) into stuck up little pricks. Not all, but some As WHM you'll always be wanted in parties, but you are *not* the star of the show, and it will never be the same again as it was during your Valkurm/Qufim/Kazham days.

[Darkedge]

Originally posted by BRIANNON
I'm trying my best to bust ass to level up and be able to play with him (he's a RDM lvl 60 or so)

Have you tried asking him to lvl a job like PLD or NIN so he can party with you? ^^

[Kitalrez]

Brennon made some excellent points there, but I'd like to add a little to them if I may:

1. Always remember that F1-F6 will target party members. Lots of people either don't know this, or forget. This makes your job much easier.
2. Macro. Macro macro macro. If you can cast it, and have actually been in a situation where you've used it, think about creating a macro to cast it faster. Square gave us 10 full banks of 10 CTRL and 10 ALT macros, use them. There are two ways to go about this:
a. /ma "Cure II" <st>
This allows you to select a spell to cast, then using the select target argument (the <st>), choose who you want the spell on using the Function keys. Replace the spell in quotes with whatever you intend to cast, just remember to capitalize each new word in a spell if you have more than one. This method is what I'm using now, it's better for later on when you have more party hp to work with and can afford to spend a few fractions of a second hitting the Function keys to select. It frees up a lot more macro space too.
b. /ma "Cure II" <p0>
This method allows you to bind a macro to just cast a spell on a particular party member. The party selection designations are pretty easy to learn, p0 is always you, and p1 is usually the person listed directly under your name. This method is slightly better for the lower end of the game, when you don't have a lot of variety to your spells, and often need to help people pretty quick.

(For future reference, <a10>-<a15> and <a20>-<a25> are for alliance members if you need them. First set is for upper group, second is for lower. You shouldn't need to use these very often, and if you're trying to heal more than your group or the main alliance tank, it's a good time to start complaining about how things are running, because that's usually a sign of something going horribly wrong.)

3. Use a club whenever you can. Doesn't matter what type really, although I suggest wands for party and hammers for solo, just make sure it's one handed so you can hold a shield too. You've got a shield skill for a reason, and it can save your butt many times over if you actually make use of it.
4. While you always want to carry a club, many people don't want you actually using it. A good rule of thumb is never take out your club and melee anything with an AE dmg attack, or an AE status effect that does something like Petrify, Paralyze or Silence. Some party members erroneously believe that when the WHM whips out a club and start meleeing, aggro will bounce all over, you won't remember to cure them, or any number of random apocalyptic events will occur. This is not the case, but you may as well humor the fool, since you may be stuck with him awhile. If you're using macros, it doesn't take you any longer to cast a cure whether attacking or not. Plus, as a WHM your melee skills are usually low enough that you aren't hitting often enough to steal aggro or give the mob noticable TP gains.
5. Staves serve two purposes, Farming and Post-50 grouping with Elemental Staves. You do want to level this skill sometime, just don't make it a part of your normal grouping in any situation where a shield would serve you better. Try to keep it at about half your current club level. To level staff, go to any newbie zone, fight the easiest monster you can find, and when it stops giving you raises, work up to the next harder monster and so on. When things start to be actually tough, either get a partner or stop until you level some more and can buy better armor.

Most importantly:
6. Always remember that while you can get a group relatively easily, your friends can't. Don't do anything stupid in a group that would not only label you a prick, but anyone with you by simple association. Don't be the loser who gets all your buddies blacklisted. Conversely, make every effort to not be the doormat who gets run all over by half the server, either. Neither gets you any respect, so try to strike some kind of balance. The more you play, the easier this balance is to recognize.

[Zaleshea]

All good points. I will provide emotional advice.

WHM is(not terribly) expensive at low levels, no matter how many silk threads you have. If you try to have updated spell and armor AT the same time, the true expense of WHM begins to shine. This can be discouraging ~ but dont let it discourage you. Remember, spells come first. By lv20, then you should try to upgrade armor. But always always, think spells first gil second(cause you're gonna blow it on spells) and armor/wep last. This doesnt mean... Take Doublet(lv11 armor) set all the way to lv30 lol.

Barspells you may have to buy at AH primarily til you get to Jeuno. As for the others. Never buy them at AH. They are often, very often cheaper at the shops than AH.


I'd like to press the issue of "instaparty" that 10-30(and beyond?) whms are blessed with. Yes..DONT let this go to your head.

...Healers(of any kind with whm sub too) have a strong influence on non healers/and melees, I think. It means a bunch when you cure someone who's like on the side of the road near death /healing(sitting) themselves. Hehe, little things like that always felt good. I LIKE DOING IT. Especially when you just cure them to FULL and buff them with protect and shell..and I'm getting carried away.

Oh hell..

I'll get carried away! You can like read this just for..reading pleasure, this is more than you should know for right now atleast.


Now for your initial concern. Yes we, if I can speak for every good whm out there... have a serious problem with fools tarnishing the jobs' credibility. It's these peoples attitude. You seem like a polite person(a plus for this job hehe..).

When I first leveled BLM long time ago, it was my first cycle away from the whm setting. During those 18 levels, I understood clearly why people had problems with whms. See when YOU are the whm, you do not SEE how bad people play the same job as you, until its "level that sub time". You are granted a certain quality(your own ) when YOU are the whm. You bring a certain quality to the pt. If you're good, you know your party will be fine. They wont have to put up with an idiot of a whm.


Whee~~

[BRIANNON]

Originally posted by Darkedge
Have you tried asking him to lvl a job like PLD or NIN so he can party with you? ^^

Yes actually he has a lvl 9 PLD he is currently helping me with and all of the members of our LS were helping me power lvl a couple nights ago. I am happy to say I am now at lvl 14.....yeah for me. I would also just like to tell you all thank you soooo much for helping me out.

[Gryff]

Originally posted by Kitalrez

3. Use a club whenever you can. Doesn't matter what type really, although I suggest wands for party and hammers for solo, just make sure it's one handed so you can hold a shield too. You've got a shield skill for a reason, and it can save your butt many times over if you actually make use of it.

Please never ever melee in an exp party.

Whatever people say, it increases your downtime and if you do hit you will give the monster tp. Also if you use items such as lifebelt/dex rings your wasting equipment slots.

If you want to skillup for hexa strike join coffer keys / nm parties and work it up that way, its not worth slowing your parties down be meleeing.

[Kitalrez]

I disagree with Gryff's statement, although I'd like to point out that the point I was trying to make with the comment in quotes is that using a club/shield combo allows you the benefits of a shield (whether you actually hit auto-attack or not). I see a bunch of WHMs starting out with staff exclusively, sure you may need that someday, but we don't exactly get a Parry Skill.