Eyes on Final Fantasy Forums > Final Fantasy: The Quickening > Final Fantasy XI Online > Tanks

[Ouch!]

Originally Posted by Loony BoB ^

Thankyou for your help. :D Any advice that you can collectively give Danielle for her Mithra WHM (she's also interested in the Summoner job) would be neat.

BLM and SMN are both passable subjobs for WHM (BLM for increased MP) and SMN past level 50 for the auto-refresh job trait. However, since SCH's release, nothing will ever come close to WHM/SCH. Light Arts offers a 10% MP cost reduction to white magic, 10% reduction to recast and casting timers, and also a few other abilities which reduce MP cost and casting time dramatically. At level 70, access to Sublimation which allows you to store a virtual MP pool makes /SCH the end-all-be-all of WHM subs.

As for SMN, you're almost always /WHM, mostly because the ability to support heal will trump just about anything else you're going to get from a support job. As mentioned, people do try and put SMN/WHM in a main healing role at lower levels. Despite the massive amounts of MP SMN has to offer, with /WHM, you're always a cure spell behind (Cure II at level 22? Awful!), and this comes with huge penalties to the party as a whole. Luckily, astral burn parties are becoming more popular, and if you can get the people together for them, they're fairly easy to organize and not especially time consuming. The major problem with astral burns is the severe penalties they inflict on your ability to gain skill points in summoning magic, but, then again, you have to sit on your ass summoning over and over to cap that anyway (hint: use a script).

[Mirage]

Another hint: Don't tell anyone ingame that you're using a script. :)

[Ouch!]

Originally Posted by Mirage ^

Another hint: Don't tell anyone ingame that you're using a script. :)

This is key.

[Mirage]

Originally Posted by Omecle ^

Originally Posted by Mirage ^

war/nin is probably about about as good as nin/war whenever the two have access to the same utsusemi spells.

Highly disagree as far as tanking goes.

You're right, i had my brain hung up in exp/merit party mode.

[Loony BoB]

Danielle will probably not mind healing considering she's a WHM at the moment and seems to enjoy the role well enough. I guess we'll be a SUM/WHM or WHM/SUM for Danielle and PLD/WAR or WAR/??? for me depending on how we feel (or, of course, what is needed).

[Ouch!]

If you two don't plan on exploring the wonderful world of endgame, WHM/SMN will be passable as a support job. Just keep in mind that if you ever do plan to foray beyond into any sort of endgame event, Danielle will get quite a bit of flack without having SCH leveled as a support job.

The Final Fantasy XI community is very demanding when it comes to support jobs. Exploring alternate support jobs, while fun, is usually not permissible. It's an attitude some find off-putting. My personal approach to it is that it's acceptable to experiment with support jobs as long as everyone you're partying with don't mind (a rare occurrence). As such, I usually leave experimenting to solo play.

Some might argue, "I don't pay $12.95 a month to have people tell me how to play the game!" Others argue, "I don't pay $12.95 a month to have other people waste my time with sub-optimal job combination." I, personally, tend to fall into the latter category. I encourage experimentation, but not at the expense of others' time.

At any rate, my point is that while SMN is certainly a good choice for a sub, it's not the best, and she'll probably, at some point, get flack for it.

As far as potential support jobs for WAR go. At early levels you'll get by with /MNK. I don't see that very much at high levels unless people are feeling particularly nostalgic. /THF has its place, although that's fairly rare as well. These days, it's /NIN if you expect to be pulling hate and taking a few hits or /SAM if you just want raw damage potential.

[xXsarahXx]

Originally Posted by Miriel ^

I hate when people ask you to main heal as a SMN. =/

Summoner is an amazingly fun job. One of the best things I have ever done in this game is to successfully beat the avatars in the level 20 avatar battles. That was a blast.

Im looking to do my summoner quest myself, always fancied it.
My friend said that up until level 20 is dire though.

I was lvling my Drg and ive gotten fed up for now so im lvling Dnc, i love it

[Ouch!]

Originally Posted by xXsarahXx ^

Originally Posted by Miriel ^

I hate when people ask you to main heal as a SMN. =/

Summoner is an amazingly fun job. One of the best things I have ever done in this game is to successfully beat the avatars in the level 20 avatar battles. That was a blast.

Im looking to do my summoner quest myself, always fancied it.
My friend said that up until level 20 is dire though.

I was lvling my Drg and ive gotten fed up for now so im lvling Dnc, i love it :D

Most jobs are fairly easy to level to 20 these days. The biggest problem with SMN is that if it's your first job to 75, you're short-changing yourself by not having access to the avatars before level 20 when you can do the capped battles. Even then, you can't get Fenrir and Diabolos from those battles.

I've always viewed SMN as a second job at minimum since you can't even get all your avatars unless you can do the prime battles. I suppose you could have people do them for you, but that just takes the fun out of it. Then again, I'll not hesitate t admit to being something of an elitist as well.

I wouldn't be able to bring myself to level SMN unless I'd already completed the prime battles to have access to all the avatars from level one.