So, in a post that will surely make me the target of more ridicule and mockery by my non-FFXI friends, I’m contemplating leveling white mage, to fulfill out my desire to have one tank job, one attacker job (well, two now), and one support job (DNC doesn’t really cut it since I don’t use it anywhere, and I have to push to get it included sometimes).
I’m hesitant. For one thing, it would be another job I’m completely devoid of gear. My inventory can barely handle the four jobs I have, let alone a fifth.
For another, I don’t have SCH to 37, the now defacto SJ for WHM.
But, could I handle leveling a true support job? It could easily relegate me to WHM every event for the rest of the time I play FFXI. Also, I have this annoying “I have to be good at all my jobs” obsessive/compulsive problem.
I took bard to 57, but soon stopped when I realized that I’d more or less be stuck coming BRD to every event possible. It’s also kind of monotonous.
But could I handle a haste cycle?
Food for thought.
Leveling SCH isn’t a big deal, really. Unless you solo it’s practically the same thing as WHM or RDM to 37.
If you went with RDM you could reuse some Dusk and other Haste stuff. RDM can do some interesting solos and tank too.
WHM/SCH got much more complicated to play with the last update. Lots of JAs and spells need to be taken advantage of.
You probably won’t end up on Whm all the time as you are already established in other jobs. If you level Brd or Rdm you might get cornered though. Another suggestion would be Cor. Especially for some gear crossover and sj utility.
Still, Whm is a lot more fun to xp than rdm imo. It’s stilll my favourite job. Rdm in xp sends me to sleep. Funnily enough I think my final job, will be pld :)
This is why I level pretty much nothing but melee. Engage, hit Berserk/Hasso/Jump, go to the corner store and buy a bag of chips. Come back and maybe you’ll be able to weaponskill. Works out fairly well.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v349/originone/WHMCheck.jpg
My experience with SCH leveling to 37 was weird… some parties I was a healer, others I was a BLM… all depends on the party mix. SCH doesn’t get into a pure healing role until the 40+s. Of course, if you were crazy enough, you could always organize astral burns… I’ve heard of a lot of people doing that these days, even if it is something I wouldn’t do.
I have to admit though, my SCH does require a totally different set of gear compared to my other jobs, so it does put a strain on storage. I’m sure WHM would be the same for you x.x
I wouldn’t be worried about being pigeonholed too much. It’s always good to be flexible, and if you think you’re coming too much on one job for events, just tell your leader. Hopefully they should understand and rotate things around :)
Don’t be surprised if you’re asked to go as WHM to all your events.
The key to leveling WHM without going insane is to be in another window as much as possible. So, do your haste cycle, and go do something else on your computer. Works best with NIN and /NIN, not so well with PLDs.
As an aside, I’m leveling PLD and I feel sorry for all those suckers who leveled PLD before the buffs.
You don’t update your blog anymore. That saddens me.