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**SharMarali** · 11-17-2006, 06:02 AM

Re: BLU/WHM Guide

Wow... Reading this actually makes me WANT to check out BLU. I didn't have any interest in playing it when I believed it was a beater-mage, doing ALMOST, but not quite, as much damage as other DD's and requiring a boatload of MP to do it. THIS, however, changes my opinion somewhat.

**Celeal** · 11-17-2006, 06:48 AM

Re: BLU/WHM Guide

This is very nice. Buffer, debuffer, crowd control and backup heal all in one package

**Karinya** · 11-17-2006, 07:17 AM

Re: BLU/WHM Guide

I think it's funny that you say you aren't going to talk about homam because it's hard to get... and then you list all the easy to get stuff like vermy, serket ring, jet seraweels, loquacious and magnetic earrings. (Granted, the first four really ARE easy to get - if you're an RMT. Except I think you might still need sea access for the loquacious, even if you buy all the Ancient Beastcoins.) Oh, and the HQ of rainbow cape, which I missed noticing the first time. Again, an RMT-only option.

Your point on best MP efficiency doesn't mention Cure V and Regens? Sure, you can beat the MP efficiency of a RDM/WHM; big deal. RDM/WHM is the most MP inefficient healer, which they partly make up for by providing their own REAL refresh (3 times stronger than auto-refresh), in addition to refresh gear that anyone can wear.

Aside from that, most of the other stuff you mention can be matched or exceeded by SMN/WHM. Auto-refresh, Earthen Ward, Lunar Roar, Nightmare (although hopefully you aren't depending on the healer for sleep in the first place) and offensive BPs. SMN can't lower DEF but they can lower EVA or raise party's ACC (or both) meaning your DDs can throw out the sushi and raise their own ATK.

Furthermore, by assuming auto-refresh and diamondhide you're limiting this to only the highest levels (even aside from gear issues). I think BLU/WHM could be viable at any level, but the discussion is obviously a bit different before Magic Fruit for example.

If your point is that BLU/WHM can be a good healer, I agree, but this isn't much of a guide. People who aren't already 75 and extremely rich won't get much help out of it: you list equipment without describing WHY you want that particular equipment, which is no help to someone who can't afford that specific piece, or is too low level, or doesn't have the missions necessary to get it. (Obviously you can substitute electrum ring for serket, rainbow cape for prism, and errant slops for jet seraweels with minimal change in performance, but what do you wear in head/body before AF for example? What's a good choice for people who can't afford vermy?) Furthermore, you don't describe what you do with all this stuff once you have it.

**eva00r** · 11-17-2006, 09:53 AM

Re: BLU/WHM Guide

Originally posted by Karinya View Post

I think it's funny that you say you aren't going to talk about homam because it's hard to get... and then you list all the easy to get stuff like vermy, serket ring, jet seraweels, loquacious and magnetic earrings. (Granted, the first four really ARE easy to get - if you're an RMT. Except I think you might still need sea access for the loquacious, even if you buy all the Ancient Beastcoins.) Oh, and the HQ of rainbow cape, which I missed noticing the first time. Again, an RMT-only option.

Your point on best MP efficiency doesn't mention Cure V and Regens? Sure, you can beat the MP efficiency of a RDM/WHM; big deal. RDM/WHM is the most MP inefficient healer, which they partly make up for by providing their own REAL refresh (3 times stronger than auto-refresh), in addition to refresh gear that anyone can wear.

Aside from that, most of the other stuff you mention can be matched or exceeded by SMN/WHM. Auto-refresh, Earthen Ward, Lunar Roar, Nightmare (although hopefully you aren't depending on the healer for sleep in the first place) and offensive BPs. SMN can't lower DEF but they can lower EVA or raise party's ACC (or both) meaning your DDs can throw out the sushi and raise their own ATK.

Furthermore, by assuming auto-refresh and diamondhide you're limiting this to only the highest levels (even aside from gear issues). I think BLU/WHM could be viable at any level, but the discussion is obviously a bit different before Magic Fruit for example.

If your point is that BLU/WHM can be a good healer, I agree, but this isn't much of a guide. People who aren't already 75 and extremely rich won't get much help out of it: you list equipment without describing WHY you want that particular equipment, which is no help to someone who can't afford that specific piece, or is too low level, or doesn't have the missions necessary to get it. (Obviously you can substitute electrum ring for serket, rainbow cape for prism, and errant slops for jet seraweels with minimal change in performance, but what do you wear in head/body before AF for example? What's a good choice for people who can't afford vermy?) Furthermore, you don't describe what you do with all this stuff once you have it.

RMT only options ?? hell no ... 2-3M isn't a big deal right now, well you can go KS30 BC (Operation Desert Swarm) and get it.

SMN/WHM is a bad healer. They cannot heal more than 200ish HP with normal spell and they can use support blood pact only once a minute.

Lv 75 BLU isn't a job for anyone who can't make himself to the sea. You don't need to be extremely rich .. just one Vermy and that's fine. The other parts of the gears you can replace with the cheap version.

**Karinya** · 11-18-2006, 12:39 PM

Re: BLU/WHM Guide

Vermy has been falling lately on Carbuncle and it *might* make it down to 3M in a couple more weeks... assuming the price decline continues, which it might not. If it does, it'll be below the lowest price ever recorded for it by FFXIAH, for as long as they have been keeping records.

According to their all-servers comparisons, there are two servers where you could pretty reliably expect to find a VC for around 2.5M: Asura and Kujata. Most servers you can expect to pay 3-3.5M, and a few as much as 4M.

If you can find some people who can do Desert Swarm without gouging you too badly, and if you get *several* of the RARE drops from it, then you might make 3M. Neither the V.Claw nor the D.Ingot are worth that much by themselves. (It typically takes weeks, if not months, to accumulate that many KS, btw.) ODS runs are only really profitable for the BLMs, and calling 2-3M "not a big deal" is just ludicrous for the vast majority of players. Some players with one or more jobs at 75 have to save up for months to raise that kind of gil. For people leveling up their first job (which is possible for TAU jobs too, there are new players joining the game all the time) it's even further out of reach.

Are you by any chance a 70+ BLM? It would explain your skewed perspective on the economy and ODS if you had been on the *good* end of a few of those runs... it looks rather different from the viewpoint of the people giving a month's worth of seals to end up with 100k of drops, or one 1.5M drop they have to split with the BLMs.

Anyway, my point was not that you need to be extremely rich to play BLU/WHM or to do well at it, but that *your post* wasn't that useful to people who weren't rich, because you don't mention what to do if you can't afford the stuff you listed. Vermy isn't necessary to perform well as BLU/WHM (or any job), but someone reading your post wouldn't necessarily know that.

This post is long enough so I'll let someone else defend SMN.

**Taskmage** · 11-18-2006, 01:28 PM

Re: BLU/WHM Guide

Karinya's good points notwithstanding, I'm glad to see an excited post about blu/whm. All I'd heard hitherto was that blu "can" main heal well, but I'd never seen it, so it's cool to see the spell effectiveness written out like that. I'm pleasantly surprised to see that Healing Breeze is still effective at that level. I thought it had a soft cap at 60.

It looks like a blu can exceed rdm as a healing/support character in parties that are light on mages. The essentials of the build only take up about 24 set points, so that leaves a lot of room for situational debuffs, job traits or attack magic.

**Karinya** · 11-19-2006, 01:17 PM

Re: BLU/WHM Guide

I don't think you'll have much time or MP for attack magic if you're trying to heal a party light on mages. Such parties tend to feed an awful lot of TP to mobs and take a huge amount of damage back, especially if AoEs are involved. If someone reads this guide and thinks "oh, I'll just get five melees and a BLU/WHM!", I doubt very much that that will work well, no matter how efficient Healing Breeze is.

However, something like BLU+RDM would probably work quite well. The BLU's mana efficiency would combine well with the RDM's ability to provide more mana and most of their debuffs stack to produce a seriously crippled monster. BLU+BRD, BLU+SMN and maybe BLU+COR also have interesting possibilities.

**eva00r** · 11-19-2006, 07:42 PM

Re: BLU/WHM Guide

What's up with you with BLU/WHM ? If you have never seen any correct setup of BLU/WHM, you shouldn't complain or doubt shit at all. A guide is a guide because of spell setup. BLU player needs to know how spells must be set because we have like 94 spells and you have to pick only the right spells for the right sub, understand ?

BLU+RDM, BLU+SMN, BLU+BRD, BLU+WHM or BLU+COR setup are great. I've tried them all.

BLU+RDM, good combo but you have to pay more attention to heal because RDMs are busy with buff/debuffing.
BLU+WHM, you will pay more attention to keep Diamondhide up and rest while WHM is healing. This works well without any BRD, RDM.
BLU+BRD, you're a full whm here. BRDs are busy with pulling and singings.
BLU+COR, not working very well except COR/WHM.
BLU+SMN, have SMN focus more on attack and stoneskin when your Diamondhide is down.

I'll say it again - SMN/WHM 75/37 is a bad main healer. SMNs are SMNs, they are not meant to be a main healer. Their buffing and attacking blood pacts are far better to use in a party. The only exception is using Leviathan for curing mass status ailments.

**IxX3xil3d0n3XxI** · 11-20-2006, 04:12 PM

Re: BLU/WHM Guide

Im a 75 RDM currently lvling BLU, maybe as a sub job for my rdm, maybe to 75, i dunno. I main heal if needed on RDM, i dont find it that much of a hassle, i main heal well and am good about MP conservation.

I refuse to ever main heal as BLU main in exp pts.

now, My BLU is only lvl 19, maybe ive been spoiled by refresh and convert, maybe i overdue main healing, but without me spending a unavailable 5m+ on gear, i cannot and willnot main heal on BLU. I like the change to melee, and i will sub nin, thf, whm, war, anything. IMO my MP pool cannot withstand the damage the common exp takes, and what is needed. I am a hume, i have merits in MP as well and my RDM isnt exactly poor(serket, HQ errant legs, feet, aqua/snow rings, enfeeb torque/earring)

what i do as RDM/WHM main heal=
-Pro/Shell up all times
-refresh me, haste NIN tank/refresh any other mages/refresh PLD
-Merits in Convert allow for more MP usuage(curaga's, an extra haste)
-full usage of -na spells/erase
-317 enfeebling magic, i can sleep most links/aggro, if cannot be slept, bind/gravity

its great to have a alternative heal, i dont perfer to main heal all the time on RDM, but i just fail to find BLU as a more effecient healer than a RDM

blu is a fun job tho

**Karinya** · 11-21-2006, 08:46 AM

Re: BLU/WHM Guide

Well, that's why I said the original post was written from a 75 perspective and doesn't adequately address lower levels. I doubt BLU/WHM could be a good *main* healer before Magic Fruit, and they don't really take off until Auto-Refresh, Diamondhide and some of the stronger debuffs (actinic burst, filamented hold, frightful roar). They can still provide a quite useful amount of backup healing and support at lower to mid levels, though, while also dealing a fair amount of damage.

Edit: The above may no longer be true after the December 2006 update, if BLU is getting a new heal spell. We'll have to see.

**SharMarali** · 12-04-2006, 05:36 AM

Re: BLU/WHM Guide

I disagree that SMN is a "bad" healer.

I don't know of ANY 75 SMN who can only use blood pacts once per 60 seconds, even BEFORE the change so that offensive and defensive blood pacts had seperate timers. My timer is 47 seconds. Most 75 SMNs I know have similar timers. If you're talking about only endgame play, you have to compare apples to apples here and consider that most level 75 SMNs have equipment that lowers blood pact timers. Even through straight-out purchase of equipment with no AF2, you're looking at a 55 second timer. With AF2 and the Yinyang Robe, the timer can go as low as 46 seconds, if the SMN in question is fortunate enough to have the incredibly rare horn.

A SMN's job, first and foremost, is to summon and blood pact. I agree with you there. But through careful usage of defensive blood pacts COUPLED with healing magic, a SMN can be a good healer in many situations. If you're talking only about burn PTs, then yes, a SMN is not the best choice for a healer. But for "standard" PT situations, there is very little difference between a SMN healer and a RDM healer, as long as the PT has a RDM or a BRD. Cure IV is the only real distinction, and any healer who is spamming Cure IV's needs to go back to mage school anyway to learn hate/MP management.

BTW, I'm speaking as somebody who is both a 75 RDM and a 75 SMN. The reason SMN doesn't work well in burn PTs is because SMN has a much harder time keeping haste up than RDM has, and it's more difficult for a SMN to get their BPs to affect everybody in the PT. SMN is ineffective as a healer if not permitted to use blood pacts, and therefore they are ineffective as a healer of a burn PT.

Now, that said... I do think it's interesting and helpful to see an "alternative" guide to the standard BLU/NIN, BLU/THF, BLU/WAR, beater-mage style. When I initially read the post, yes, I did think that some of that equipment was overboard and probably more than the average player could afford, especially if they had another 75 job or two that they needed to keep in decent gear. However, I think most people have learned by now that when they read a forum and somebody makes a post about what gear to use at 75, they're generally talking about "ideal," "money-is-no-object," "assume you have the ability to obtain any ra/ex item you want" equipment.

Most people have learned to make substitutions where appropriate to fit their own budget and abilities. This was given by the OP as a guideline, IMHO, and not necessarily intended to state that anyone who doesn't have this exact setup "sucks."

**eva00r** · 12-07-2006, 09:39 AM

Re: BLU/WHM Guide

Originally posted by SharMarali View Post

I disagree that SMN is a "bad" healer.

A SMN's job, first and foremost, is to summon and blood pact. I agree with you there. But through careful usage of defensive blood pacts COUPLED with healing magic, a SMN can be a good healer in many situations. If you're talking only about burn PTs, then yes, a SMN is not the best choice for a healer. But for "standard" PT situations, there is very little difference between a SMN healer and a RDM healer, as long as the PT has a RDM or a BRD. Cure IV is the only real distinction, and any healer who is spamming Cure IV's needs to go back to mage school anyway to learn hate/MP management.

BTW, I'm speaking as somebody who is both a 75 RDM and a 75 SMN. The reason SMN doesn't work well in burn PTs is because SMN has a much harder time keeping haste up than RDM has, and it's more difficult for a SMN to get their BPs to affect everybody in the PT. SMN is ineffective as a healer if not permitted to use blood pacts, and therefore they are ineffective as a healer of a burn PT.

Your post is contradicting to your disagreement.

SMNs are bad healers because they are not effective in burn PT, while BLU, RDM, WHM are. Also, any Mission PT, NM PT, BCNM PT that BLU, RDM, WHM can do the job well but SMN cannot. Because when you fight hard monster, you must throw in Cure 4 or even Cure 5. SMN can only be a healer in standard PT, which overall not a good healer.

**SharMarali** · 12-07-2006, 06:15 PM

Re: BLU/WHM Guide

Well, you're entitled to your opinion, but I feel that being an ineffective healer in ONE type of PT situation which one only encounters at endgame does not necessarily equal being a bad healer overall.

If you have a roving PT with no refresher, NOBODY is a good healer. Does that mean that healing in the game is overrated or impossible? No, it just means that you've created a setup that doesn't work well. Building a burn PT with a SMN main healer doesn't really work well, but I still disagree that this makes SMN a bad healer on the whole.

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BLU/WHM Guide

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