The Art of Healing: WHM Macros

Yesterday a friend asked if I could share my WHM macros with him. I've been meaning to write them up anyway, for a long time now, so this gave me the kick in the pants I needed to finally get it done. Thanks, Esca!

You can access the full version here, which includes (most of) my gear swaps and the actual commands:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AmC0_Z2msbv7dFk5dGVaNjYzS0Z2Rm9obkZZOXVacHc

Inspiration for this macro set came from the Scholar Macro guide on FFXIclopedia. Features include:

• Navigational controls, to get to various macro sets quickly
  
• Support for both /SCH and /RDM subjobs
  
• Quick access for important job abilities
  
• Optimal layout for your most-used spells
  
• Macros for commonly used temp items
  

One thing I don't have is a Sublimation macro. I find that since Sublimation ticks so slowly as /SCH, it's not too much of a bother for me to go into the job ability menu manually when I need to use it. If you're the kind of person who might forget about it, you might want to stick it in the macros somewhere.

A brief intro/explanation of each macro set follows.

Macro Set 1: Navigation

CTRL: LArts | CGa3 | Cures | sNa  | Buff   | sBar    | sNuke  |sRaise | SlpGa | Refresh
ALT:  ASPIR | aSol | aMIS  | DivS | MPshow | (blank) |eBattle | eRest | KEY   | CONVERT

The CTRL line is your navigation. LArts activates Light Arts. Macros 2 (CGa3) to 8 (sRaise) switch to the appropriate macro set. For example, pressing the Cures macro will execute the "/macro set 3" command, switching your macros to bank 3, which contains your cures & regen spells.

SlpGa was created for Dynamis runs; it does an AoE Sleep II (assuming you're /SCH). I don't really use it, and honestly forgot it was there, heh. Refresh casts refresh on yourself, and is found on most banks set so you'll have easy access to it should you be /RDM.

ASPIR is fun. It casts and AoE {Aspir}ga, which I used often in old-school Dynamis to quickly get a bunch of MP back when I was running low. Note that this will boost your enmity quite a bit, so be careful; best to use it on sleeping mobs. It looks like this:

/ja “Dark Arts”
/ja Manifestation
/ma Aspir
(gear swap lines)

aSOL & aMIS activate Afflatus Solance & Misery, respectively. DivS is Divine Seal. MPshow tells the party how much MP I have. eRest will equip my hMP resting gear, and eBattle swaps back into my normal gear. KEY is used for opening chests in Abyssea. CONVERT is my handy convert/Cure VI macro, in case I am /RDM.

Macro Set 2: Curaga / Melee Set

CTRL:  TOP  | CGa5 | CGa4 | CGa3 |   CGa2  |  CuGa  | BoxStep | Quick  |Stun  | Healing
ALT:  ASPIR | CuA3 | CuA2 | bDEX | Auspice | eMelee | Realm   | Mystic | Hexa | Utsu

Line 1 contains Curagas 1 - 5 in descending order, plus the /DNC job abilities Box Step, Quickstep, Violent Flourish, and Healing Waltz. I like /DNC a lot for meleeing on WHM; it can be especially fun in Dynamis, which is why those macros were made, for use with proccing.

Line 2 has our {Aspir}ga, Cura III, Cura II, Boost-DEX, and Auspice. The last two are very useful with melee-ing, though you might want Boost-STR instead; I haven't decided which is best. eMelee swaps into my TPing set. Realm, Mystic, Hexa are various WS sets, and Utsu will cast Utsusemi, should I be /NIN. The macro tries to cast Ni first, then tries to cast Ichi if Ni's not available.

Macro Set 3: Cures / Haste

CTRL:  TOP  |CGear | Cur6  | Cur5 | Cur4 | Cur3  | Cur2  | Cure     | Accession | Penury
ALT:  ASPIR | Idle | Haste | Reg4 | Reg3 | DIAGA | Flash | Devotion | Celerity  | Refresh

Your base macro set. Most of the time, you'll be on this bank. I've positioned it as set 3 rather than having it as set 1, because from here, you can go one set 1 to get to your Curagas, or one set down to get to your -Na spells. As -Na & Curaga are your next-most used spells, putting the sets in this order gives you the quickest access to the stuff you'll use most often.

Most of the macros on this set should be self-explanatory. CGear/Idle are due to me playing on an Xbox; since I cannot use Spellcast, I have to manually switch into an idle refresh set.

You don't need Diaga/Flash on this set; I have them here because I've been doing a lot of Voidwatch lately, and needed quick access to them (Diaga spam is required for Lancing Lamarok, and Flash is your quickest spell to cast when attempting to proc, whether it's in Abyssea, Dynamis, or VW).


Macro Set 4: -na/erase spells

CTRL: TOP  | PoiNa | ParNa     | BliNa | Silena |Stona | Viruna   | Cursna   | Accession | DivS
ALT: ASPIR | Erase | Sacrifice | Esuna | aMIS   | aSOL | DivCares | HlyWater | ECHOdrop  | Vicars

aMIS is on this page so I can swap into Misery if needed for its enhanced Esuna effects. Likewise, DivS lives here because I primarily use it for its Divine Veil effect rather than boosting my cures.

HlyWater for removing Doom, though frankly I usually just spam Cursna on myself... but it's good to have the macro just in case!

Do make an ECHOdrop macro. As a healer, it's very important that you can get Silence off yourself quickly. My macro tries various temp items before it will use an Echo drops, and looks like this:

/item “Catholicon”
/item “Catholican +1”
/item “Vicar's Drink”
/item “Cleric's Drink”
/item “Echo Drops”

Macro Set 5: Buffs

I'm thinking about moving this set further down, and moving the barspell & nuking/enfeebles up higher, as I tend to use those more... haven't decided yet. Anyway, this is what it looks like:

CTRL: TOP  | PrSh5 |   bVIT  | bDEX  | bMND  | bINT     | Pr5     | ShV  | Accession | Penury
ALT: ASPIR | Haste | Auspice | SSkin | Blink | Aquaveil | Phalanx | bAGI | Celerity  | Refresh

PrSh5 is my Protectra/Shellra macro, looking like this:

/p {Gather together.} {Protectra} & {Shellra} in 3
/wait 3
/equip ring1 “Sheltered Ring”
/ma “Protectra V”
/equip legs “Clr. Pantaln. +2”
/ma “Shellra V”

Also on this bank are the various Boost- spells, single-target Protect/Shell 5, and other buffs. Remember that Phalanx is /RDM only.

Macro Set 6: Barspells

CTRL:  TOP | bStone | bWater  | bAero  | bFire    | bBlizz | BThunder | FAN    | FOOL   | Sacro
ALT: ASPIR | bSleep | bPoison | bBlind | bSilence | bPara  | bVirus   | bPetra | bAmnes | Refresh

FAN & FOOL are Fanatic's Drink and Fool's Drink, respectively, for use with Voidwatch. Sacro is our newest job ability, Sacrosanctity. Rest is self-explanatory.

Macro Set 7: Nukes/Enfeebles

CTRL:  TOP  | Repose | DiaII | Silence | Slow | Paralyze | Diaga | Addle | CGa3  | Cur4
ALT;  ASPIR | Ban3   | Ban2  | Banish  | Bga2 | Bga      | Holy  | Holy2 | Flash | Refresh

Occasionally, you'll need to do a magic proc in Abyssea or Voidwatch. I just recently added a Curaga 3 and Cure 4 macro to this set because it's annoying to have to swap back a few pages to my cures if someone needs healing, then flip a few more pages back to this set to try the next proc. Ugh. Cure 4 is probably the single-target cure I most use; with the healing magic skill update to the cure formulas, it's quite potent these days, so it works well as both "oh shit someone's in red" and "this person needs topping off".

I chose Curaga III because it's the middle of the line; not *too* overpowered if all I need from a Curaga is waking the party, but still powerful enough that it'll be good to use if we got hit with a TP move.

One macro on this page that you might want to duplicate elsewhere is Repose, our light-based sleep.

Macro Set 8: Raises

CTRL: TOP   |  Ra3 | Ra2  | Raise   | (blank) | RRscroll | (blank) | (blank) | Celerity | Penury
ALT:  ASPIR | ReR3 | ReR2 | Reraise | (blank} | (blank)  | (blank) | (blank) | (blank)  | Refresh

RRscroll is my newest macro; it will try using a Dusty Reraise and Instant Reraise scroll. Good for annoying Voidwatch NMs that like to kill everyone; it's faster to use a scroll than cast reraise, and sometimes your MP is too low to cast, anyway.

My Reraise macros look like this:

/ja “Light Arts”
/ja “Afflatus Solace”
/ma “Reraise III”

You should always, always, always have Reraise up. And if you're /SCH, you should have Light Arts up 99% of the time. Also, you should primarily be in Afflatus Solace for its Cureskin effect. This macro takes care of putting all three of these on, so you won't forget any of them.

And that's it! Free free to send me a /tell or leave a comment here if you have any questions.

The Art of Healing: Removing status effects

When people think of the White Mage job, maybe of them think, "cure bot" - aka, someone who casts cure spells on the party. While it's true that cures are our primary function, one of the most important aspects of the job is its ability to remove status effects. No other job can remove them as quickly or efficiently as an WHM can. To me, this is what makes WHM the best healer in the game.

Unfortunately, many people who play white mage don't understand just how powerful it is at this function. This article will explain all the different ways there are to remove status effects, so you can elevate yourself from the Abyssea-burned masses.

The most basic of white mages should know the following:

• Paralyna: Removes Paralyze.
  
• Poisona: Removes Poison.
  
• Blindna: Removes Blind. Doesn't work on Flash.
  
• Stona: Removes Petrification.
  
• Silena: Removes Silence.
  
• Viruna: Removes Disease and Plague.
  
• Cursna: Removes Curse and Doom.
  

Erase removes most other status effects. It will not remove Amnesia (prevents job abilities), Muddle (prevents the use of items), Encumbrance (prevents you from using gear/weapons), or ST20 (super curse).

If the entire party has been hit with a status effect, the most basic of white mages will cast Erase or the appropriate -na spell separately on each player. This is not efficient! There are more efficient/quicker ways to do AoE status removal. We'll explore each of them below.

Method #1: Esuna

Esuna is one of your most powerful spells. It's my absolute favorite spell for white mage (no, seriously). BG wiki has a very good description:

Esuna: Removes 1 negative Status Effect from the casting White Mage and anyone within 10' that is normally removed by Viruna, Cursna, Blindna, Poisona, or Paralyna.

There are more advanced methods to using Esuna, which we'll explore in a bit; for now, focus on this. If all you learn from this article is using Esuna to remove Paralyze from everyone instead of casting individual Paralynas, you will already be better than many WHMs.

Note that for Esuna to work, the White Mage must be inflicted with the negative Status Effect in order to remove it. I.e., you must be poisoned yourself to use Esuna to remove poison on everyone. This is why if you've ever partied with me, I might have yelled at you for casting a -na spell on me. :p

Also: Esuna only works on members of your own party, not on members in the other parties of your alliance.

Method #2: Sacrifice

"But wait, what if my DDs got hit with something but I didn't because I was standing far enough away? I can't use Esuna then!" Ah, but that's where Sacrifice comes in! BG Wiki

Sacrifice: Transfers one enfeebling effect from target party member to yourself. Afflatus Solace: Increases effect removal potency.

* Removes 1 negative Status Effect from the target that is normally removed by Viruna, Cursna, Blindna, Poisona, or Paralyna and applies that status effect to the White Mage.
* With Afflatus Solace active, it can remove up to 2 Status Effects, including those normally removed by Erase.
o In addition to removing spells removed by Erase, Sacrifice is the only spell that can remove the effect of ST20 (super curse).

I fully admit that Sacrifice is one of my weaknesses as a WHM; I'm aware of the spell and have used it in the past, but I feel I don't use it nearly as much as I should. Need to work on that!

Method #3: Divine Veil

Divine Veil is a job trait that White Mage gets at level 50. Basically, what it does is let you AoE -na spells and Erase by using Divine Seal. Your entire party hit by slow? Divine Seal + Erase = GONE!

Benefits:

• It's quick!
  
• You don't have to be inflicted with the status yourself.
  
• It works with any -na spell & Erase.
  
• If used with a -na spell, it can work across parties in the alliance. (Erase is party-only).
  

Drawback: you can only use it every ten minutes. Still, it's a very nice tool, and these days I use Divine Seal only for its Divine Veil effect. Learn this trick, and you'll be well on your way to being a good WHM.

Method #4: Accession

Accession is a job ability you get if you sub Scholar, and is one of the many, many reasons I main WHM/SCH rather than WHM/RDM. Accession will turn the vast majority of Healing/Enhancing spells into AoE.

For the purposes of removing status effects, think of it as a more frequent Divine Veil (though it can do more than just that!). It has a drawback, though: MP cost is doubled and casting time is tripled.

Like Divine Veil, you can use Accession on other parties in the alliance, provided the spell you're casting is not party-only.

Method #5: Afflatus Misery

The very best white mages in the game know how to use Afflatus Misery to quickly remove status effects.

At level 40, WHM gets access to two job abilites, or stances: Afflatus Solace and Afflatus Misery. They each do a variety of things, but usually, a White Mage is in Afflatus Solace because under when the WHM casts a cure while under that effect, the target receives a small Stoneskin effect (often called "Cureskin" by players).

Most of the time, you will want to be in Afflatus Solace: cureskin is just that good.

To understand when you should flip into Afflatus Misery, we need to look at the advanced usage of Esuna:

Esuna: With Afflatus Misery active, it can remove up to 2 Status Effects, including those normally removed by Erase.

Normally, you'll be using Esuna to remove a single status effect that can be removed with a -na spell. But, what if:

• the party is inflicted with Paralyze AND Poison?
  
• the party has multiple stat down effects on them?
  
• the party has been hit repeatedly with Diaga or Slowga, and both Divine Veil and Accession are down?
  

In each of these cases, you can change over to Afflatus Misery and use Esuna.

Note that Afflatus Solace/Misery have a 1:00 recast. That's not THAT long, but it's long enough that if you're being hit with multiple status effects repeatedly, it can be difficult to go back into Solace for Cureskin. In general, you'd want to stay in Solace and use one of the other methods above for removing status effects.

But, if you find that the mob is spamming nasty moves constantly? There is absolutely nothing wrong with staying in Misery for an entire battle, if it means you can get those effects off your party quicker. I've done it many times.

So, in conclusion, the tl;dr version:

• Esuna removes one status effect that could be removed with a -na spell from your entire party while under Afflatus Solace. You must have the status effect yourself for it to work.
  
• Sacrifice absorbs up to two status effects while under Afflatus Solace, including those removable by Erase. Under Afflatus Misery, it absorbs one status effect, -na only.
  
• Divine Veil and Accession make any -na spell (can be used on other parties in the alliance) or Erase (your party only) into an AoE. Don't need to have the status effect on yourself.
  
• While under Afflatus Misery, Esuna removes up to two status effects, whether the status effect would normally be removed by a -na or by Erase. You must have the status effect(s) yourself for it to work.
  

Any questions? Leave a comment here or send me a /tell in game.

The Art of Healing: WHM gear options

This is not meant to be the be-all/end-all guide for WHM gear options; rather, it's a general guide for someone who's relatively new to the job. I'm only going to be looking at end-game gear (aka, what you'd wear at level 99. If you're looking for the optimal sets for WHM, there's many threads on the most popular forums discussing just that; one such example is this thread at FFXIAH.

In general, your gear selections should be based on the following criteria, in rough (but not exact) order:

• Cure Potency. Current cap is 50%. Get as close to that cap as you can.
  
• Healing Magic Skill, for use with single-target cures.
  
• MND. Good especially for Curagas and MND-based enfeebles
  
• Enhancing Magic.
  
• Fast Cast
  
• Enmity- gear
  
• MP
  

Never, under any circumstances, should you use gear that ONLY gives you MP. For the love of Altana, people, don't use Graiai earrings or similar HP/MP convert earrings/rings. Max MP just isn't needed in this day and age. Between temp items, Lights Arts and Sublimation (if you're /SCH), Refresh and Convert (if you're /RDM), and gear auto-refresh, it is very rare that you'll ever run out of MP. Also, there are soooo many options that give you MP AND something additional, such as fast cast or extra MND. Always choose items like that over a straight MP item.

Anyway, here's some options!

Main

Best option: Arka IV, Cure Potency 24%
Other Options: Apollo's Staff, Nathushne +1", Tefnut Wand

If you intend on playing WHM often, make an Arka IV. It's not that hard. Even just taking it up to Surya's Staff level (trial 1701) beats an Apollo's/Light Staff.

For a while the Tefnut Wand when paired with an augmented Genbu Shield beat the Surya's, but that's no longer true. Still, it's a nice alternative if you don't have the Arka.

If you don't have a Tefnut/Nathushne or Arka/Surya's, then you should be using an Apollo's Staff (preferred) or Light Staff (acceptable).

Sub

What I use: Verse Strap +1, MND+3 enmity-1

Any grip that has MND or enmity- is good on it. With the new change in cure formulas, the Curatio grip with Healing Magic Skill+3 might beat the Verse Strap +1, but I suspect it'd be pretty negligible.

Ammo

Ideal: Mana Ampulla, MP+20 MND+3 hMP+2
What I use: Incantor Stone, MP+10 Increases "Fast Cast"

Actually, the ideal is to precast in Incantor and finish in Mana Ampulla, but since I play on Xbox and thus don't use Spellcast, I just stick with Incantor.

Head

Ideal: Iaso Mitra is the currently acknowledged ideal, I believe. DEF:30 MND+10 Healing magic skill +10"Cure" potency +11% Enmity-5

What I (and pretty much everyone else) uses: Orison Cap +2, DEF:30 MP+50 MND+10 "Cure" potency +10% Enhances "Divine Veil" effect Set:Augments elemental resistance spells

You need the Orison Cap +2 for your max barspell set anyway, and it's still a really, really good piece for cures, so yes, do make it.

While you're working on getting your Orison Cap done, the Walahra Turban or Cleric's Cap +2 are good alternatives.

Neck

Ideal: I've seen both Phalaina Locket (MND+3, "Cure" potency +4%, Potency of "Cure" effect received +4%) and Colossus's Torque ([Light] +20,Healing magic skill +7, Enhancing magic skill +7O, Lightsdays:Healing magic skill +10, Enhancing magic skill +10) recommended as ideal, depending on capped cure potency....

What I use: Fylgja Torque+1, HP+12 "Cure" potency +3% Enmity-2

Recomended: Assuming the person reading this is NOT going to be maining WHM.... I'd go with the Colossus's Torque. It does take some effort to get, but it's not exceeding difficult, plus it's free! And it's a very, very good piece, which is recommended for max enhancing anyway. So, yeah: a pretty good piece for cures (possible the best piece?) plus the current best enhancing neck piece makes the Colossus's Torque a win.

I currently use Fylgja Torque+1 for cures, and Colossus's Torque for my enhancing set.

Earrings

What I use:
Loquacious Earring, MP+30 Enhances "Fast Cast" effect
Roundel Earring, DEF:1 "Cure" potency +5%"Waltz" potency +5%

There's many good options, here! I believe Roundel is still considered the best earring for cures; nothing else comes to mind otherwise. Loquacious has been around for a while, but is still very strong. If you're a main mage and your Moonshade earring isn't otherwise used, you might want to consider a Refresh+1 augment on it.

If you can't afford or don't want to buy a Roundel earring, the Orison Earring at "Cure" potency +2% Enmity-3 is a very nice alternative.

Basically, your earring choice should either increase your cure potency/MND or quicken your spellcasting.

Body

Ideal: Orison Bliaud +2
DEF:49 HP+45 MP+45
Healing magic skill +20
Adds "Refresh" effect
Enhances "Afflatus Solace" effect
Set:Augments elemental resistance spells

It gives extra Cureskin. This makes it the best option for your single-target cures, provided Cure Potency is capped otherwise. If at all possible, you want to use this.

However, to be effective, you really do need your cure potency to be close to the 50% cap, so if it's not, you'll want to use something else. Best options are

Heka's Kalasiris
DEF:51 MND+17
"Cure" potency +15%
"Cure" spellcasting time -15%
Adds "Refresh" effect
Sphere: Enhances "Fast Cast" effect
Set: Adds improved "Refresh" effect

which is what I use for my Curaga set, as they don't get Cureskin. You can also use

Noble's Tunic
DEF:40 MP+17 Adds "Refresh" effect "Cure" potency +10%

Orison Bliaud +2 is also the best body to wear for elemental barspells. For all other enhancing magic, the current best is

Anhur Robe
DEF:48 INT+14 CHR+14
Enhancing magic skill +12
Elemental magic skill +12
Summoning magic skill +12
Enhances "Fast Cast" effect
Sphere: "Magic Atk. Bonus"+5
Set: Magic Accuracy+5

Heka's is also the current best for MND-based enfeeble potency, IIRC, but if you don't have Heka's and want a cheap alternative, then your choice is

Praeco Doublet
DEF:50 INT+15 MND+15 CHR+15
Magic Accuracy+5
Song spellcasting time -10%

Hands

Ideal: Augur's Gloves
DEF:20 MND+7 CHR+7
Healing magic skill +5
Enhancing magic skill +5
"Cure" potency +4%

I've been wanting these since the moment I first laid eyes on them. Alas, I still don't have them. {/cry}

I've seen the following recommended as an alternative these days:

Healer's Mitts
DEF:14 MP+15 STR+7 MND+7
Healing magic skill +15
Enmity-4

I'm hoping to do some Limbus soon so I can get these myself. In the meantime, I use:

Blessed Mitts
DEF:18 MP+15 MND+7 Haste+5% Enmity-3

I had used my Orison Mitts +2 when I first got them, but honestly, they're kind of meh for general usage. Blessed Mitts with MND and haste are better. You'll want to get the Orison Mitts +2, though, for your elemental barspell set.

Rings

Recommended/Ideal: Sirona's Ring, VIT+3 MND+3 Healing magic skill +10
Ephedra Ring, DEF:4 Healing magic skill +7Enhances "Cursna" effect

GET. THESE. They are the current best rings for your cures. The only way to improve on it would be the Haomas Ring which is the HQ of the Ephedra.

A lot of WHMs like/recommend the

Prolix Ring
MP+20 Enmity-3
Enhances "Fast Cast" effect

I agree this is a mighty fine choice, should you be lucky enough to have one.

Before the healing magic skill update, I used two Star Rings, which give MP+20 MND+4 [Water] +9 MP recovered while healing +1. Still a nice alternative... but Sirona's/Ephedra are better these days.

Like earrings, there's a lot of great options to choose from. Just don't use a convert HP/MP ring, please.

Back

Ideal/what I use:
Tempered Cape, DEF:9 Healing magic skill +4"Cure" potency +4%

Alternatives:
Oretania's Cape, DEF:7 HP+20 "Cure" potency +4%
Orison Cape, DEF:8 MP+10 "Cure" potency +3%Enmity-4

Those are your best options for a curing back piece. For enhancing, it's probably

Merciful Cape
MP+25 Enhancing magic skill +5
Elemental magic skill +5
Dark magic skill +5

..and I'm now wishing I chose that from the Mog Bonanza instead of the Altruistic Cape. Oh well.

Waist

What I use: Cascade Belt, MND+7 Enhancing magic skill +3

There's lots of good options for belts, but I haven't kept up with what is the most ideal for the spot right now. For cures, it's possible that the Bishop's Sash with DEF:5 Divine magic skill +5Healing magic skill +5 is the best right now; I'm really not sure. Choose anything with MND, Enhancing Skill, or Healing Magic Skill on it. I believe there's also fast cast belts, too, which are also a good choice.

Legs

This one's easy:

Orison Pantaloons +2
DEF:41 MND+7
Healing magic casting time -12%
Converts 5% of "Cure" amount to MP
"Divine Benison"+1
Set:Augments elemental resistance spells

SO. GOOD. OMG. When the Orison set first came out, this was the item I most wanted from it. These pants are what makes WHM so MP efficient these days. Get these. Use them for your cures. Use them for your -na/erases, too: they quicken the spellcasting time on them.

You should also have the following:

Cleric's Pantaloons +2
DEF:40 HP+24 MP+24
Healing magic skill +18
Enhancing magic skill +18
Enmity-5
Elemental resistance spells +25
Augments "Shellra V" effect

Use these in your elemental barspell set, your enhancing set, and when casting Shellra V. These pants are also mindblowingly good. If you want to be the best WHM possible, you should have both.

While working on getting these, use either the regular quality Cleric's Pantaloons, or the

Blessed Trousers
DEF:32 MP+25 MND+6 Haste+3%
Enmity-5

I still use my Blessed Trousers for meleeing.

Feet

Ideal for cures: Zenith Pumps +1 augmented with cure potency/healing magic skill

Ideal for enhancing: Orison Duckills +2
DEF:18 HP+30 MP+30 MND+8
Enhancing magic skill +20
Enhances "Auspice" effect
Set:Augments elemental resistance spells

You need the Orison Duckills +2 for your enhancing/barspell set. They're also a good choice for cures, though not the ideal. You won't be a bad WHM if you use them for your cures.

I use the following for my cure set:

Marduk's Crackows
DEF:20 MP+3% MND+10
Enfeebling magic skill +5
String instrument skill +5
Summoning magic skill +5
Enmity-4
Set: Enhances "Fast Cast" effect

I'm pretty sure these were considered the best feet for cures before the healing magic skill update, provided you were capped potency otherwise. They are still a mighty fine choice... though the augmented Zenith Pumps+1 are better, if you get good augments on them.

A lot of white mages use the following hands/feet combo:

Serpentes Cuffs
DEF:16 HP+17 MP+17
Daytime: Adds "Regen" effect
Nighttime: Adds "Refresh" effect
Set: "Cure" potency +5%

Serpentes Sabots
DEF:14 HP+13 MP+13
Daytime: Adds "Refresh" effect
Nighttime: Adds "Regen" effect
Set: "Cure" potency +5%

Benefits: Cure Potency +5% is nice, plus a permanent refresh/regen effect, plus some HP & MP.
Drawbacks: It takes two equipment slots to get this.

They're a good choice if you need the cure potency and don't have other means to get them. They're also a really good choice for an idle set (I idle in the cuffs; I don't have the boots). However, they're not the ideal choice; Augur's Gloves with some good MND feet would be better.

Sometime in the future I might work on posts that look at individual gear sets, rather than discussing pieces by slot. In the meantime, if you have any questions, send me a /tell in game or leave a comment here.

The Art of Healing: How to /SCH

Although just about any job can make an effective subjob for WHM, the three most commonly used are Black Mage, Red Mage, and Scholar. All three make good choices, though /RDM tends to be better than /BLM due to its increased options for MP conservation.

However, I personally believe Scholar makes the best subjob for White Mage in most situations. In this article, I'll explain how to play with this subjob.

Step 1: Light Arts

The very first thing you should do as a WHM/SCH is activate Light Arts. It provides the following benefits:

• Reduces casting costs of light magic spells by 10%
  
• Cuts effective casting time and recast of white magic spells by 10%.
  
• Grants a bonus to Divine Magic, Healing Magic, Enfeebling Magic, and Enhancing Magic. The bonus is equivalent to the amount required to bring the skill ranking to a B- grade
  

In other words: it makes your spells faster, cheaper, and stronger.

For example, take the line of raise spells. They cost 150 normally. With Light Arts active, that cost is reduced to 135. This means you can cast more spells before you have to rest.

The stronger bit won't affect your healing/cures - we already have the best healing magic skill in the game - but it WILL affect your Enhancing magic, thereby making your barspells and Stoneskin stronger.

Step 2: Sublimation

Your next order of business is to activate Sublimation. What it does is slowly siphon off your HP, converting it into a pool of MP. Once the pool is full, you can then use it to get a chunk of MP back at once.

The amount you get back depends on the HP you had while it was ticking. As a hume with my current gearset, I get get back 327 MP at a time.

I find that WHM's native auto-regen cancels out the HP slip effect normally caused by Sublimation, whereas on SCH main I tend to cast Stoneskin lest I end up in yellow HP.

Because you are technically losing HP (even if it doesn't look like you are), you cannot rest if Sublimation is active unless you cast Stoneskin.

Note that because Sublimation is effected by HP and generates pretty slowly as /SCH, I find it's not great to use when weakened; you don't get that much back. Still better than none, but eh, to me it's normally not worth it, since I'd have to cast Stoneskin in order to rest. So I just skip the sublimation/stoneskin and rest up instead.

Step 3: Understanding your {Light Arts} Job Abilities.

Scholar has a LOT of job abilities (called Strategems) to use, and as /SCH you'll have access to a few of them. They are as follows:

Addendum: White
I mention this only so you're not wondering what it is. As Scholar main, this ability gives you access to spells you ordinarily wouldn't be able to use. For instance, in order for a SCH/RDM to cast Reraise III on themselves, they have to activate Addendum: White. As far as I know, all spells that SCH would use Addendum: White for are spells WHM already has, so there should be no reason for you to use this JA.

Celerity
Reduces the casting time of your next White Magic spell by 50%.

My favorite use is to toss a Celerity -> Raise III at a dead body in the heat of battle, so I can get them up quickly and get back to curing. Also good for getting everyone on their feet again after a wipe, as your Raise spells will be available sooner.

Penury
Reduces the MP cost of your next White Magic spell by 50%

I haven't needed this one as much as in the past. Used to be that my MP pool would dwindle low enough that I'd have to use Penury -> Cure V/VI in order to heal someone. Not so much these days.

Still, it's GREAT to use in combination with your Raise spells when there's been a wipe. Light Arts already reduces Raise the cost of Raise to 135; with Penury, you can cast raise for as little as 68 MP. NICE.

Accession
Extends the effect of the next Healing or Enhancing White Magic spell to party members within range. MP cost is doubled and casting time is tripled.

I already covered some uses of Accession in my post on removing status effects, which I recommend reading. Accession can also be used with buffs.

For example, back in the old-school Dynamis days, we often ran with two parties with me as the main/only healer. I would cast Protectra/Shellra on my party, then do Accession->Protect V followed by Accession->Shell V on a member of the other party, to give that entire party protect/shell. That LS still runs Dynamis to this day, though often it's just one party--so I end up doing Accession->sneak/invisible instead. :D

I also like to use Accession'd buffs before NM fights. Most commonly it's with Stoneskin, and sometimes Blink, if there are no NINs or /NIN in the party. If I'm with mages or NINs/people subbing /NIN, I'll commonly give everyone Aquaveil instead.

Note that you can only Accession spells that Scholar gets natively. This means no Accession->Haste.

Also, do be aware that it increases the recast time of the spell. It can be very frustrating waiting for Erase to be available again after you Accession'd it.

Step 4: Dark Arts

Generally, you won't be using Dark Arts much, however you should have a basic understanding of what it offers.

Dark Arts does everything Light Arts does, except it works on elemental/dark-based enfeebles instead. While under Dark Arts, you have access to the following job abilities:

Addendum: Black
This one is actually useful to a WHM, as it gives access to Dispel & Sleep. I don't often have reason to use this JA, but it's worth knowing. Primarily, I use it in Abyssea seal parties, if the BLM I am with is subbing /WHM or /BRD and thus doesn't have access to Dispel.

Alacrity
Reduces the casting time of your next Black Magic spell by 50%. I haven't used it as WHM/SCH, but you should know what it does in case you want to use it.

Parsimony
Reduces the MP cost of your next Black Magic spell by 50%. Again, I haven't had reason to use this as WHM/SCH.

Manifestation
Extends the effect of your next enfeebling1 black magic spell to targets within range. MP cost is doubled and casting time is tripled.

Okay, this one I have used with WHM/SCH! Mostly, I used it in old-school Dynamis to do an {Aspir}ga:

/ja “Dark Arts”
/ja Manifestation
/ma Aspir

You can also use it to do an AoE Sleep:

/ja “Dark Arts”
/ja Manifestation
/ja "Addendum: Black"
/ma Sleep

Stratagem Recast Time

To be an effective WHM/SCH, you need to develop a good sense of when your stratagems are available to use.

Each stratagem takes 1 charge to use. As /SCH, it takes 2 minutes for a stratagem to charge, and you can have a max of 2 charges available at any time.

Switching from Light Arts to Dark Arts doesn't count as a stratagem; it's like switching from Solace to Misery.

In my two examples above, I could use Alacrity with my {Aspir}ga macro because it only used one stratagem as written. However, I could NOT use Alacrity with the second example, because the AoE-Sleep macro already requires two stratagems (Addendum: Black and Manifestation).

Thus, when buffing your party/alliance before battle, you'll be able to Accession at most 2 spells... after that, you'll have to wait 2 minutes to do the next one.

To check how many stratagems you have available, you can use the /recast command. I usually do /recast penury. It will look like this:

[Penury] 1:13 (1)

This means I currently have 1 stratagem available, and the next one will be available in another 1 minute 13 seconds.

Summary

Scholar is a very powerful subjob for white mage, allowing you to be more effective and efficient at your job. In a nutshell, /SCH gives you:

• 10% Faster casting and recast times while under Light Arts
  
• 10% Reduced MP costs while under Light Arts
  
• MP recovery with the use of Sublimation
  
• A boost to your Enhancing Magic skill (from C+ to B-) and Enfeebling Magic Skill (from C to B-)
  
• Job abilities that let you reduce your next spell's MP cost by 50% (Penury) or its casting time by 50% (Celerity)
  
• The ability to cast AoE buffs, -na, and Erase (Accession)
  
• Access to Dispel and Sleep while under Dark Arts
  
• Access to Aspir (best cast in Dark Arts; while you CAN cast it in Light Arts, it will be 10% slower/cost more)
  

Any questions? Leave a comment here or send me a /tell in game!