Help De-gimp A Returning Player?

Hey guys.

I quit around July 2011 leaving myself with WHM60 and MNK85 (iirc). I'm back, hopefully for good, and got my MNK and WHM to 99 and started working on Empy+1. WHM is obviously the more needed job, so it's going to be my "main". My gear is pretty weak, though, and I could use some suggestions on what to make my highest priority. I'm pretty broke, so budget options are always appreciated!

**Gear set has been edited since this OP**

ItemSet 294194

Should I wear Teal Chapeau over Orison Cap +1 until I get more Empy? Is it worth it to lose the Fast Cast set bonus?

I need a new staff, been using Light/Dark Staff since 51. What should I go for?

Thanks for the help. I've missed this game a lot.

First and foremost are you a spellcast user ?

btw the best thing about whm is its damn near all free to build

My first suggestion would be to take a look at the "Healing Hands" guide stickied at the top of the page. It has a lot of useful information, including gear sets (one of which contains cheap/obtainable gear for "new" players), and the rest include pieces that you should work toward. It's at least a place to start, even if you end up needing more interactive answers here.

Nope, I'm playing on Xbox360.


Thank you. I've read On Healing Hands and look back to it frequently. I'd assume you're referring to this gearset:

ItemSet 290271

FFXIMath isn't my greatest subject, so comparing gear can be a bit difficult for me. Would all the pieces in that set be an improvement upon mine? It's labled: "A simple set for level 70-75 White Mages entering Abyssea for the first serious time," and I'm sure some of my equipment (ex. Teal) is better than some of the pieces on that set.


That's awesome to hear haha.

I can't make any guarantees, I've only just started back after a break myself - and I'm on a new char so I've not looked over this stuff yet, but..

ItemSet 294837

That should be a cheap and easy enough set to put together. I've tried to use what you already have as part of the base.

For the necklace, there's also a +5 skill "Inquisitor's Chain" that would be more than suitable if you can't get hold of the first. Healing Magic now plays a much bigger role in Cure1-4, letting a good WHM Cure4 for almost as much as C5, so don't be afraid to stock up on healing magic over MND in some slots.


EDIT: Also, you can trade in "Battle Trophies" (KI's gained from NM's in Heroes Abyssea zones) to (I think) Dominion Officer for a chance at a Refresh/Cure Potency augmented Facio Bliaut.

What Hitetsu gave you was good for your situation. Light staff can last you until you can finish the trials for Arka IV (not particularly difficult, but a huge pain in the rear and a time sink). Making one would be high on the priority list though. It becomes superior to Light staff even when you're only about halfway through the trials. You could also buy an Ephedra ring off the auction house to use instead of the Star Ring. (Healing magic skill is a bigger deal for single target cures these days.) If you have friends to help you, Abyssea items are likely the cheapest way to go (the Orison accessories, Serpentes hands/feet, and +1/+2 gear) and probably the most worth your time in regards to preliminary gearing of WHM...

But yes, the set you posted was what I was referring to. The body/hands/feet in that set are superior to Teal and easy to obtain if you're looking for gear to use to help you get the Abyssea gear. What you really want to be looking at though, once you've gotten that far is the middle set. Most of that gear is fairly easy to obtain, and is either cheap or free assuming you have friends to help you.

my top priorities would be arka iv, noble's/facio, and af3 legs.

The nail has been hit on the head above, so I'll just add one more thought to it.


Add AF3 Head to this small list as well.

Cure Potecy is the most important stat for any cure set. Being able to multiply your final cure value by X% is a huge bonus compared to increases one can get by stacking Skill or Mind. As such, capping 50% Cure Potency is the #1 priority any White Mage should be aiming for when building their cure set. That is also why there is such as a huge difference between the mid level set I put in that guide versus the optimal set.

A small nuance to the above statement. orison bliaud +2 is a better body piece over Noble's if you are using Afflatus Solace AND if you are 39% or higher in Cure Potency in other slots. Otherwise, stack more Cure Potency on that slot. The eventual goal is hitting 50% potency while wearing AF3+2 body. From there, any upgrade you make to the set will be minor but useful upgrades.

Summary: Cure Potency > Skill > MND > VIT

You guys are the best. All very helpful responses!


This was exactly what I was looking for, thanks so much!

Yeah, I've stocked up quite a few trophies and was looking for something to spend em on. I'll take a look at grabbing that AUG Bliaut.


Oh wow, I'll start working on that Arka right away. Sounds tight.

I'll go check the ring on the AH right now.

The Aby stuff sounds easy, I have some good friends and a good LS.

Wow, I suppose Teal wasn't as nice as I thought lol. I noticed the legs were pretty wack, for WHM at least.

Thanks! :)


Will do! Thanks.


Yeah, I've got my +1 Head already, definitely working on the +2.

50% Potency is top priotiyu... got it.

Thanks for the response, and especially for that little priority chart lol. Very helpful.

Edit: Made some changes based on what I could get off the AH at the moment, will keep an eye out for more while working on Arka trials + Empy+1/2.

may i suggest iridal staff over light staff the are both pretty cheap but iridal has hte following benefits

A: also acts as a resting pieces for mp

b: once arka IV is done iridal can still be used as an enfebling staff



here is what i did on my gf whm mule

Orison head +2
Orison body +2
Serpentes hands
Orison +2 legs
serpentes boots

Orison cape
Orison neckpiece
the conmp ammo slot item (name escapes me)

orison earring
roundel earring
ephedra ring
sirona ring

its not great but its get the done job with 49% cure potency + enhanced as stoneskin from afflatus solace 4tic/refresh (swapping out staff for owleyes)

there is also the job emotes quest which willngive you a 1% cure potency item which will put the build at 50%

all cheap and easily obtianable,except expensive roundel earring and pain in the but to build arka iv.

Thanks for the reply!

I actually bought an Iridal the other day, funny enough lol. Ran me about 150k, which may sound cheap to some buuut I'm pretty broke haha. It's on my main set in the OP now.

I like that setup, seems like a very good starting point. :) Time to put in the work!

uhh iridal gone back up in price
i bought mine for like 10k

once you get you allround/cure set done i wil ladvice looking into spellcast for a better an easier way to use idle/refresh gear and fastcast without it beeing a compromise against cure potency.

if speelcast is not you thing. then the next gear set i woud ladvice to get is you bar/boost set

there is a club from cujiented nm in abyaltepa (bring a nin frind to tank it and proc it with your monk in blunt times

and the whm relic pants +2 does wonders for you bar-elemental spells as well
just use 4/5 orison gear + club + cleric legs and you are starting to have a decent bar set

Lucky you! lol.

I've updated my main set with my improvements the last few days. How's it looking?

I'm pretty much just working on Orison Neck+Back+Earring and starting my +2 gear at the moment. I've got my Chest and Hands +1'd but they seem very inferior to Noble's Tunic and Healer's Mitts at the moment.

Isn't spellcast some sort of program? Idk. I'm on Xbox.

Thanks for the tips on the Bar set! I'll get to work on that once my Cure set is rounded out. :)

orison earring and orison cape are both easy to acquire items for your potency set to work on. I'd also recommend looking at the Serpentesset (serpentes cuffs and serpentes sabots) as your next acquisitions. That's a solid 10% potency right there.

Combine the above items with an Arka IV and orison cap +2 and you're looking at 44% potency. Even with only a cure potency staff, you're looking at a very nice 42% potency which is well on your way to having a good set.

Bare in mind that orison bliaud +2 doesn't look good compared to noble's tunic without help. orison bliaud +2 increases the potency of the Stoneskin granted via Curing while Afflatus Solace is active. Because Cure Potency caps at 50%, the best sets are those that reach that 50% threshold without relying on a body piece so they can maximize the benefit of the "Enhance Afflatus Solace" effect on the AF3+2 body.

AF3+2 body adds an additional 10% bonus to the Stoneskin granted, making the total Stoneskin HP equal to 35% of the cured amount (1,000 Cure V grants a 350HP Stoneskin).

Mathematically speaking, this means that AF3+2 body is better once you hit the 39% threshold for Cure Potency in other slots, a goal that is easily reachable for any serious WHM.

As spoken earlier, Enhancing sets are very important as well. I'd also start looking at Idle sets (stacking Refresh+ gear). Thankfully, the basic refresh gear also doubles as great Curing gear, making it easier on the inventory. I would do a combined Refresh + -PDT set for now (Earth Staff is a great item in this case) so you can have good Refresh while being pulverized, if that suits your fancy.

Yeah the Orison accessories should be easy to grab with a few friends.

That Serpentes set is so nice! I'm definitely keeping an eye out for those as well.

Getting Arka has been a pain in the butt for me, mostly because no one wants to waste time killing Saplings with me lolol. Ordelle Caves seems like a pretty good place to get it done with help.

Thanks a lot for that explanation on Bliaud vs Tunic. Looks like I'll be holding on to this blue tunic for a little while longer!

Enhancing, Refresh/PDT sets are priority after Potency then, sweet. :) Very helpful post. I appreciate it.

To start the Arka trial, I recommend Grauberg (S). There's a patch with EP Treants and virtually constant weather. Usually find a few people there on SMN or BLM starting their trials too.

Question:

Incantor Stone (Fast Cast) vs Claurus Stone (Conserve MP)


Oh nice, thanks for the tip! :)

Suggestions on an Earring I could get to replace my Gifted Earring? I won't be finding 4mil to spend on a Roundel Earring anytime soon.

Healing Earring, Orison Earring if you can make use of the Cure potency from it, or MND Earrings (Star should be cheap to start with).

I'm the OP btw, FFXIAH just made me 2 different accounts on 1 account or something? idk. But I already have Orison, as seen in the OP.

Healing or Star is the best option aside from Roundel?

Healing most likely yeah, there's better options than Star but they're more expensive (should be a MND+4 earring available if you can get hold of it, Aquasoul Neptune's pearl :D) Though I've not really paid attention to newer WHM gear, so don't take it as the perfect option :P

Ah, alright! Thanks again. :)

I lied, it was Neptune's Pearl that I was thinking of. Edited my other post! :D

Not exactly a piece that benefits stats for whm as such, but I'd suggest spending some time in Gustav Tunnel with your MNK to try get a Liminus Earring from the chest if you haven't got one, and just wear that as one of your earring until your skills are capped. Really makes a difference in skilling up your magic skills! getting your healing skills/enfeebling/divine/enhancing up faster will probably be more valuable than getting extra MND/MP on your ear.

Thanks for the tip! My skills are actually pretty gimped at the moment, sadly. Enhancing and Healing take foreverrr to get up, especially Healing. That earring could help quite a bit.

I am nearly certain the serp set is %5 cure potency when you have the set, not 5% for each piece. If you have friends that will let you do adoulin stuff the Bokwus gloves are smexy.

Roundel isn't required anymore provided you have access to Bokwus gloves or whatever they are called. WHM can hit 51% potency in items now; 24% staff + 10% af3+2 head, + 13% hands + 4% neck from Bismarck -- and this still leaves body and legs open for af3+2 usage (cureskin and mp saving feature on legs).

Even non whm jobs now can reach cap without the earring if they can use the gloves. SE broke a lot of previous expensive/must-get items with this patch in more places than just weapons. I sold my earring since I don't play DNC and it's already dropped 1.5m in price since plasm items came out. I haven't exactly parsed the "perfect cure" set out to see if their are better cure/mnd/skill/vit combos out there but that set is damn near free (minus the geodes and carbites) works great.

Ah, I see. The new gear is pretty ridiculous... What would you suggest putting in the Earring slot instead of Roundel?