To cap or not to cap Enfeebling & Elemental

[Brothershadow]

This weekend I was in debates as to what next on my list to start capping. I considered my last to spell categories seeing as theyre both at 100 and my Dark Magic is always capped. But
noticing my Marksmenship has also taken a back seat for a while
i also wanted to make it another priority. I guess my question is this: How often do you higher level DRK's really use these two
spell categories when in an xp party other than the obvious for a burst, and is the burst from these that relevant to justify capping them as opposed to a DRK's augmented melee swing, or for that matter missing an opportunity for more TP? I know bursting with darkness is cool, but the latter? I in the end decided on capping my crossbow for my current level of 53.

I'd prefer some input from the 60-75 DRK groups on these
questions, but it's open for all to discuss.

[TheColes]

My suggestion, and Im far form a high lvl but I try my bets to udnerstand all aspects of night.. Like you I keep my dark capped for beloved things like drain and aspir, and I even have my Elemental near capped.. and its plain for me personally, leave the Magic bursting to a dedicated blm if u have one, more often than not.. (I should hope) you do. My suggestion is to raise Enfeebling, simeply because it tends to lag behind the others.. and then it lags more so whenever you do actually get to use it it's most often resisted, wasted your MP _and_ hasnt raised your skill. Just my suggestion. Elemental and especialyl dark tend to go up on their own during regular fights (If you like to mix it up of course..) In personal experience and from seeing others.. Enfeebling doesn't get as much use aside form the occasional poison pull, or bind spell.

[Yangsing]

I rarely use enfeebling and elemental spells. Maybe I should more often, but I find that it takes away from my DoT. I MB, but thats only because I want to skill elemental up in my exp pt's.

BLM in my party does more damage with Aero mb, then I do with Aero II mb. In the time that it takes for me to cast Aero II, I could hit the mob one more time not only to add damage but build more TP as well.

Personally, I'd just try to keep elemental capped. And join a couple skill up parties if you really want to cap enfeebling. No one will expect you to use elemental/enfeebling spells in exp pt's. The only spells people expect you to use is Stun and Absorb-AGI/VIT.

[kisada]

I never worried about elemental as I leveled up. The way DRK/THF builds TP just makes it difficult to participate in any SC if you are casting too much. I've never really found it to be worth it in any sense, as far as dmg, mp cost, and time spent casting.

However, if at all possible try to cap your enfeebling magic. The reason is that later on when you're doing missions or whatnot, sleep 2, and occasionally bind will save you a bit of trouble at times. I'm not sure there's any practical use for sleep in an exp pt as you'll almost always have blm, rdm, or brd... but its a very nice option to have. At 75 its easy for me to get into a spot where I'll think I'm ok vs 2 or 3 monsters, but when I start getting beaten down sleep keeps me alive.

Looking back I definitely should have made an earlier effort to keep it capped. It's really not that hard if you pull with poison, or if you can't get skill off of that, sub WHM in a skill up PT and spam dia. You'll find use out of sleep 2, for sure.

[RELIC]

Definitely cap your enfeebling skill. It's saved my life and my friends lives countless times while doing quests, skilling up, or even in exp PT's. Don't underestimate the power of Sleep I & II as being just luxuries... they're extremely useful. Elemental skill is not too important to cap, but it can be fun. My elv 75drk with capped elemental was able to mb just a little under 300 dmg on some weaker mobs with ABS-INT. Drks have a higher elemental skill rating and higher base INT than RDM's @_@; Still can't outdmg their spells though >.>

[Mithrael]

RDM outdamages us on Magicburst because of Magic Attack Bonus, not because of INT. Sadly, we have none. Nonetheless, I can burst for about 200 on a light renkei when I feel moved to. It does take away a swing from TP gain, but 200 dmg from Fire II is more damage than a standard melee swing with a THF sub. I cap elemental because i like it, but i know a lot of DRKs could care less.

Capping elemental is pretty easy, and can be done without magicbursting and without causing delays in your swings. Simply cast stone as soon as you start to swing. You'll fire off a stone for mad dmg (read: 0 dmg) and you'll continue your next swing on schedule. Alternatively, if you are your party's puller, pulling with stone will cap it pretty fast too.

As for enfeebling, I agree that you "should" cap it. It is extraordinarily useful. It will at some point save your life, or the life of a party member. If you have multiple links without a BRD, it can get very hairy. BLM has a hard time getting off Sleep spells when they're getting hit, your sleep can easily take some of that pain away.

That being said, it is a total nightmare getting and keeping enfeebling capped. Since the only enfeebling spells we have access to are Poison, Poison II, Poisonga, Bind, Sleep, and Sleep II. Poison and Poison II are problematic because you spend so many levels fighting mobs that are strong to water. Poisonga is dangerous or impossible in many leveling locations. Sleep, Sleep II, and Bind are generally undesirable for obvious reasons. Unfortunately, you only get enfeebling skillups when you successfully enfeeble, so it's rough going. You already received the best advice though. If you want to raise enfeebling, sub WHM or RDM and spam Dia a lot. There are a few good safe places that you can do this solo. I got enfeebling from about 100 to 140 in 2 hours at the eastern zone line of Ifrit's Cauldron and Yhoator by picking on bees and zoning. Be warned though, they store TP even after you zone, so keep your HP high enough for when they randomly decide to Final Sting as soon as you aggro it.

[RukawaSCSU]

I think Elemental cap is almost worthless. Maybe on some special fight, but well, not in use much.

For enfeeble, you wont see yourself sleep IT mob or VT on exp pt, maybe you can but very low chance. However for stufsf like mission, Dynamis, solo etc, its incredible useful. I can sleep melee mob 80% of the time, and lower rate for mage mobs.

As leveling enfeeble, sub WHM, go sky farming or something, dia dia dia dia. Up super fast . Cast stone for elemental

[Brothershadow]

This is some great Intel. I'll definitly try all of the above. I've never used WHM, but it seems it'll help in this situation.