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Last weekend I finally hit lvl 75 whm, so I wanted to write a little (ok dang, turned out to be a LOT) about my experiences and how I have learned to play whm in the hopes of giving something back to the great whm community(and also to ensure that I don’t forget how to play myself lol). I absolutely do not claim that the way I do things is the right and appropriate way to play and I’m always willing to get advice on how to do things better or more efficiently, so if you have a suggestion, please add your experiences here to help me + others improve as a whm! Please note that some of this advice might seem to some players extremely basic and trivial, please keep in mind that I’m not trying to be condescending but just trying to be as accessible to players of all levels as I can.
First off, there is no set routine to playing whm. Much of how you will play as a whm is dependant on your PT makeup, and where and what you are fighting. You must really be cognizant of your PT makeup – Location, jobs, and even race will decide how you will play and what spells you will cast.
But generally speaking, the typical course of a battle will involve buffing, debuffing at the beginning of a fight, then the dynamic healing phase during the fight, and finally post-fight procedures. We’ll start with…
DEBUFFING
It is true that in PT’s containing a rdm, especially post lvl 60, a whm really cannot even come close to comparing with a rdm in terms of debuffing. The difference between an A+ lvl skill and a C ;-; lvl skill is just too much (at lvl 75 a rdm has a whopping 51 more enfeebling skill points than a whm). Does that mean you shouldn’t have your enfeebling maxed? Absolutely not! Debuffing is extremely important and for a rdm to cast all debuffs (Para,slow,gravity,blind, silence, Dia2/Bio2) can be very mana-intensive even to those convert-happy rdms! Before you begin hunting, as you make your way to camp, offer to help the rdm with Dia2 or Bio2, the most mp-expensive spells (costing a whopping 59 and 66 mp respectively). If you notice that a rdm’s spell has been resisted and he is not bothering to recast or his recast timer is not yet up, feel free to back him up and throw an enfeeble at the monster (for some spells like silence, this can sometimes be critical). In PT’s without a rdm, it is even more important that you have maxed enfeebling as you will be counted on to usually at least paralyze+slow the enemy. During the course of a battle, if you notice a debuff has worn off, and the mob does not have low health yet, be sure to recast (esp paralyze), as it can really save you a lot of mp in the long run. I also have macros to throw on all my enfeebling equipment at the time I cast my debuffs. With an enfeebling torque (+7), Elite Beret (+4), AF3 body (+10), Master Caster Bracelets(+7) I can augment my enfeebling to a respectable lvl (at lvl 75 as a whm my enfeebling is 253, comparable to a lvl 71 nekkid rdm (cap 256)).
One of the things that has really REALLY helped me in debuffing is to be able to clearly see what debuffs are on and have stuck and what has been resisted. To do this, change the color of the text that states what debuffs have landed/been resisted. In my setup I have in bright red text debuffs that have been resisted, a deep purple for buffs that have stuck, and green for enhancements. My eye tends to ignore the greens (hastes, bard songs, etc), but it is really hard for me to miss the bright reds and purples, so I am usually pretty aware of what debuffs are on at what time and what needs to be casted.
BUFFING
I’m sure that all of you already know how mp-efficient and wonderful the Regen line of spells is, so I won’t talk about that much except to say that you should always, always be using regen on your main (non-ninja) tank. I typically debuff, then cast my highest regen on the main tank (I don’t like to lead with regen b/c I don’t want to waste any of those precious ticks of restorative health). Other good uses of regen are casting on the puller as he goes out to seek or is coming back hurt from pulling, and when your main tank is in good shape, using the appropriate lvl regen spell on mildly hurt other members. Another use of regen is after you have flashed a mob and you want to heal someone, but don’t want to draw agro, be sure to use say, a regen 2 instead of a cure 3 as the cure 3 is far more likely to cause you to gain agro.
Bar spells+protectra+shellra – These are pretty basic. You want them on at all times against appropriate mobs. Run up and recast them as they wear out.
One of the most controversial spells that I see talked about is the use of haste and who to use it on. Haste is a very mana-expensive spell for a whm, so you must be extremely judicious in your use of it and who to cast it on. But it is also incredibly, incredibly powerful so you must use it when you can as mp allows. I know that some ppl don’t like to use haste on plds, only on nin tanks, but I also play a 62 pld so let me tell you that it’s almost as important as refresh for me as a pld! The key with haste is that it cuts not only the delay on your weapons, but (this is key) ALL your job abilities and spell recasts by about 10-12%!!! If you don’t see the value in this, let me explain briefly. Without haste, a pld can only reuse flash once every 45seconds. With it, he can cast this spell roughly every 28-30 seconds! Same thing with shield bash, sentinel, rampart,etc they can be used every 4:15-4:20 instead of 5 mins. This allows him to gain more agro and lets everyone cut loose more without worry, resulting in more efficient exp gains. Against extremely hard-hitting mobs, I even haste myself - With me and the PLD flashing every 15 seconds or so, it really mitigates the damage you take over time. For these same reasons, with a ninja tank, it is imperative that you keep haste on him at all times so that he can recast utsusemi quicker. With a ninja tank, you also generally have to cure less, so I tend to haste more of the melee members so that they can gain tp faster.
[more]
First off, there is no set routine to playing whm. Much of how you will play as a whm is dependant on your PT makeup, and where and what you are fighting. You must really be cognizant of your PT makeup – Location, jobs, and even race will decide how you will play and what spells you will cast.
But generally speaking, the typical course of a battle will involve buffing, debuffing at the beginning of a fight, then the dynamic healing phase during the fight, and finally post-fight procedures. We’ll start with…
DEBUFFING
It is true that in PT’s containing a rdm, especially post lvl 60, a whm really cannot even come close to comparing with a rdm in terms of debuffing. The difference between an A+ lvl skill and a C ;-; lvl skill is just too much (at lvl 75 a rdm has a whopping 51 more enfeebling skill points than a whm). Does that mean you shouldn’t have your enfeebling maxed? Absolutely not! Debuffing is extremely important and for a rdm to cast all debuffs (Para,slow,gravity,blind, silence, Dia2/Bio2) can be very mana-intensive even to those convert-happy rdms! Before you begin hunting, as you make your way to camp, offer to help the rdm with Dia2 or Bio2, the most mp-expensive spells (costing a whopping 59 and 66 mp respectively). If you notice that a rdm’s spell has been resisted and he is not bothering to recast or his recast timer is not yet up, feel free to back him up and throw an enfeeble at the monster (for some spells like silence, this can sometimes be critical). In PT’s without a rdm, it is even more important that you have maxed enfeebling as you will be counted on to usually at least paralyze+slow the enemy. During the course of a battle, if you notice a debuff has worn off, and the mob does not have low health yet, be sure to recast (esp paralyze), as it can really save you a lot of mp in the long run. I also have macros to throw on all my enfeebling equipment at the time I cast my debuffs. With an enfeebling torque (+7), Elite Beret (+4), AF3 body (+10), Master Caster Bracelets(+7) I can augment my enfeebling to a respectable lvl (at lvl 75 as a whm my enfeebling is 253, comparable to a lvl 71 nekkid rdm (cap 256)).
One of the things that has really REALLY helped me in debuffing is to be able to clearly see what debuffs are on and have stuck and what has been resisted. To do this, change the color of the text that states what debuffs have landed/been resisted. In my setup I have in bright red text debuffs that have been resisted, a deep purple for buffs that have stuck, and green for enhancements. My eye tends to ignore the greens (hastes, bard songs, etc), but it is really hard for me to miss the bright reds and purples, so I am usually pretty aware of what debuffs are on at what time and what needs to be casted.
BUFFING
I’m sure that all of you already know how mp-efficient and wonderful the Regen line of spells is, so I won’t talk about that much except to say that you should always, always be using regen on your main (non-ninja) tank. I typically debuff, then cast my highest regen on the main tank (I don’t like to lead with regen b/c I don’t want to waste any of those precious ticks of restorative health). Other good uses of regen are casting on the puller as he goes out to seek or is coming back hurt from pulling, and when your main tank is in good shape, using the appropriate lvl regen spell on mildly hurt other members. Another use of regen is after you have flashed a mob and you want to heal someone, but don’t want to draw agro, be sure to use say, a regen 2 instead of a cure 3 as the cure 3 is far more likely to cause you to gain agro.
Bar spells+protectra+shellra – These are pretty basic. You want them on at all times against appropriate mobs. Run up and recast them as they wear out.
One of the most controversial spells that I see talked about is the use of haste and who to use it on. Haste is a very mana-expensive spell for a whm, so you must be extremely judicious in your use of it and who to cast it on. But it is also incredibly, incredibly powerful so you must use it when you can as mp allows. I know that some ppl don’t like to use haste on plds, only on nin tanks, but I also play a 62 pld so let me tell you that it’s almost as important as refresh for me as a pld! The key with haste is that it cuts not only the delay on your weapons, but (this is key) ALL your job abilities and spell recasts by about 10-12%!!! If you don’t see the value in this, let me explain briefly. Without haste, a pld can only reuse flash once every 45seconds. With it, he can cast this spell roughly every 28-30 seconds! Same thing with shield bash, sentinel, rampart,etc they can be used every 4:15-4:20 instead of 5 mins. This allows him to gain more agro and lets everyone cut loose more without worry, resulting in more efficient exp gains. Against extremely hard-hitting mobs, I even haste myself - With me and the PLD flashing every 15 seconds or so, it really mitigates the damage you take over time. For these same reasons, with a ninja tank, it is imperative that you keep haste on him at all times so that he can recast utsusemi quicker. With a ninja tank, you also generally have to cure less, so I tend to haste more of the melee members so that they can gain tp faster.
[more]
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