White Mage Guide by XsiX

Introduction
This guide was at first written for beginners that just started playing WHM, but now it has become more and more for advanced and expert players as well. The guide is written for those who want to be healers in a party, not for the ones who want to go soloing, doing damage etc. The guide will be updated every time I come up with some new stuff that I think will be able to help others, or if someone give me a good idea on the talk page for something to be added. Hope you will have use of what I have written, and enjoy reading it, I certainly enjoyed making it.

About White Mages
If you have not yet created your White Mage, and you are uncertain on what Job or Race you want to have, you have to think of a few things: If you can answer more or less yes, to these two questions, then I would say go for it. You can always change your Job later on, if you dislike it after all. As for the Race, I would say there are 3 main Races I recommend; Hume, Elvaan, and Tarutaru.
 * 1. Do you like being the one everyone depends on, the life of the party, you may call it.
 * 2. Do you like the idea of spending most your time on keeping everyone alive.

Hume
As Hume, you got pretty much average of everything, MP, HP, etc. They make just fine White Mages. They don't have to focus on any particularly stat.

Elvaan
As Elvaan, you get a very high Mind (MND) skill, but on the other hand they lack MP. These make good White Mages, due to their high MND skill, they can produce a larger Cure, than any other Race, if you choose this Race, you will want to focus on getting some MP gear.

Tarutaru
As Tarutaru, you get so much MP, you almost don't know what to do with it, their HP, and stats are low tho, so they can easily get killed on a few hits. These make good White Mages as well, with the huge amount of MP, you can focus on getting other stats such as MND, Enmity(aggro,hate) down, HP recovered while healing, and HP.

Playing the White Mage
As a White Mage you are very much dependent on the Tank, if your Tank has low armor, the job will be of course be harder for you, if the Tank does not use Provoke enough, you or a DD (Damage Dealer) might get aggro, which also makes your job much harder. So it would be a wise choice to find a Tank partner, that plays at the same times as you and tanks well, so that when you find partys, it doesn't matter much if the other party members do little damage, only problem will be your MP pool. As for playing, it is the most important to keep everyone alive, you may think it is more easy to just keep the tank alive, and heal him, even tho a DD has lost some HP, but no, when anyone lose HP, just give them a small, but suitable, Cure or Regen, and on to healing the Tank again. If a DD dies, you will kill the enemy slower, and therefor you have to heal the Tank even more, so it is almost always more MP efficient, keeping everyone alive. In battle, every time you see yourself being able to Rest for 20 seconds or more, do it. If anyone is able to get below 50% HP on 20 seconds, don't do it. Another very important thing, is the buffs, make sure everyone have Protect and Shell at all times. Also Bar spells can be useful, depends on what you are fighting. These buffs can save you a really lot of MP during battles. Keeping Regen on your Tank at all times is also a good idea, since Regen has the best HP / Each MP, as show in the Healing Chart. If your Tank is a Ninja, it is also a good idea to cast Haste on him every three minuets. Yet another important thing is to remove debuffs, strong poisons must be removed right away, where weaker ones can be removed after the fight. Debuffs such as Evasion Down, Paralyze, and Silence, must be cured of the Tank as fast as you can. Sometimes you get AoE (Area of Effect) debuffs, these can all be removed at the same time using Divine Viel, this is sometimes worth it (and sometimes not), if you have a lot of melees, killing would be slower with an ex. Attack Down, and therefor you would have to heal more. As a White Mage, it is most important, that you stay alive, if you die, chances are big that everyone dies. So make sure you are close to full health at all times. Also once you hit level 33, you must have Reraise on you all the time, remember to recast every hour! Keeping Dia, Flash, and/or Paralyze on a target, could in the long run also save you some MP, due to the target, getting killed faster, not attack, etc. I would not suggest attack, with either spells or melee, I know some White Mages are against me on this, but even tho it is possible to focus on both things, I belive focusing 110% on healing, will get you the best outcome.

Macros
Now at first, I would like to say, that there generally are 3 types of healing macros. This type, is the one I personally use, first you target with the function keys (F1-F6), the target you wish to heal, and then use the marco. This type is also used by many White Mages, When you use it, it brings you up a target arrow, and then you can cycle throw the party members using TAB, and press enter when you found your target. This one is also used by a few White Mages, I must say, that I'm personally against this type, since you take up 6 marco buttons for the same Cure spell, and you have to look at the party box more, to see for health, where I prefer to cycle throw the party members using the function keys.
 * 1: /ma "Cure" 
 * 2: /ma "Cure"
 * 3: /ma "Cure"  to 

/ma "Cure"  /p {Casting Spell} {Cure} >> [  ] /wait 7 /echo Healing Ready! This is the type of marco I use for all my Cures, Poisona, Paralyna, etc.

/p {Casting Spell} {Benediction} {Provoke} {Please} /wait 2 /ja "Benediction"  /p {Casting Spell} {Protectra} in 3. {Gather Togehter} /wait 3 /ma "Protectra"  /ja "Divine Seal"  /wait 1 /ma "Curaga"  Check here for more info on making macros: Macro

Sub Job
Once you reach level 18, you can get a Sub Job by doing either one of these quests: I would really only recommend 3 classes as Sub Job for White Mage.
 * Elder Memories, from Isacio, at (G-10) in Selbina.
 * The Old Lady, from Vera, at (G-10) in Mhaura.

Black Mage
As a BLM you get a nice MP boost, this is nice for the Elvaan WHM, since they lack the MP, also gives some nice Enfeebling. Spells also worth mentioning is Warp, Escape, and Aspir. Conserve MP, Elemental Seal and Magic Attack Bonus, are the best Job Ability and Job Traits.

Red Mage
The RDM, adds a nice MND boost, and would therefor be nice for the Tarutaru, that have plenty of MP, but lack a little in stats. Spells worth mentioning is Dispel, Gravity, and all of the spells that start with en-. Fast Cast is really helpful while Cureing.

Summoner
The SMN, give you the best possible MP boost, so this might even be better for the Elvaan WHM's, and also adds a small MND bonus, so good for Tarutaru as well. Spells worth mentioning is Aerial Armor. Auto Refresh is probably one the best Job Trait you can get from a Sub Job as a WHM. But the avatars and enfeebles are pretty much worthless, since they are Sub Job.

Equipment that Enhances Cure Potency
Note that not all of this gear can be used as a White Mage

Merit Points

 * After reaching level 75 and max EXP, 43,999, you automatically start gathering Limit Points, by fighting mobs of Easy Prey or higher, you can also gather Limit Points, before reaching max EXP by switching from EXP mode to Merit Points mode.
 * You need to gather 10.000 Limit Points, and then they are made in to 1 Merit Point, for you to spend.
 * All Merit Points are combined, meaning that you don't have to play White Mage to get Merit Points for White Mage. Ex. you can earn Merit Points on your 75 Red Mage and then spend the points on your White Mage.
 * You can max save up to 10 Merit Points, after that you any earned Merit Points will be lost.
 * After you spend a Merit Point, you can cancel it, and then it will be lost, but you can not get it back.

White Mage Related Merit Upgrades

 * MP - You can upgrade this Merit max 8 times. And this adds 10 MP each upgrade. The first upgrade costs 1 Merit Point, the second cost 2, the third cost 3, the forth cost 4, the fifth, sixth and seventh cost 5 each.
 * Mind - You can add a total of 5 Merit points here. Each adding 1 to Mind. The first upgrade cost 3 Merit Points, the second 6, the third, forth and fifth cost 9 each.
 * Healing Magic - You can max get 8 upgrades here, adding 2 to skill each upgrade. The first cost 1 Merit point, the second 2, the third, forth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth cost 3 points each.
 * Enfeebling Magic - You can max get 8 upgrades here, adding 2 to skill each upgrade. The first cost 1 Merit point, the second 2, the third, forth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth cost 3 points each.
 * Enhancing Magic - You can max get 8 upgrades here, adding 2 to skill each upgrade. The first cost 1 Merit point, the second 2, the third, forth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth cost 3 points each.
 * -Enmity - You can upgrade this max 4 times, adding -1 each upgrade. First upgrade cost 1 Merit point, second 2, third 3, forth 4 points.
 * Spell Interruption Rate - You can upgrade this max 4 times, adding -2% each upgrade. First upgrade cost 1 Merit point, second 2, third 3, forth 4 points.

Group 1 Merit Points Cost each upgrade [1>2>3>4>5] Max Merit Points that can be used in Group 1: 10 (for each job) Max points in each upgrade: 5

Group 2 Merit Points Cost each upgrade [3>4>5] Max Merit Points that can be used in Group 2: 6 (for each job) Max points in each upgrade: 3 Group 1 Group 2 Taken from Merit Points, as I could not explain it better myself.
 * Divine Seal Recast (-20 seconds per upgrade)
 * Cure Cast Time (-4% cast time of all Cure spells per upgrade)
 * Bar Spell Effect (+2 potency of Bar spells, +2 Magic Defense Bonus per upgrade)
 * Banish Effect (+2 damage, +2 seconds duration of Defense Down effect per upgrade)
 * Regen Effect (+1 HP/tick recovered per upgrade)
 * Martyr (-2 minutes 30 seconds recast per upgrade)
 * Devotion (-2 minutes 30 seconds recast per upgrade)
 * Protectra V (+2 Defense Bonus per upgrade)
 * Shellra V (+1 Magic Defense Bonus per upgrade)

 Note  If you want to know more about Merit Points, I suggest you read the info about it here on FFXIclopedia, as this is where I have most of my knowledge about Merit Points from.
 * FFXI Calculator Merit Point Calculation

MP
More MP is always nice for a White Mage, but this Merit is quite expensive, 30 points for maxing it to get 80 MP, unless you are a race with low MP, I would not recommend this as one of your first places to spend Merit Points. (You could also get the same, just with HP instead, but max combo is 8, and so is max each item. So you could get +80 HP instead, or +40 MP and +40 HP, +60 MP and +20 HP, you get the picture. This way you save some points by getting the lower ranks which cost less Merit Points. I however would not really recommend this either, since as a White Mage, you should not have to get hit at all, and therefor HP is not nearly as important as MP.

MIND
Mind is very important as a White Mage, since this is what our Cure spells are effected of, as well as Enfeebling Magic, Magical Defense and Resistance, and damage of Banish. Most important tho is the effect on the formula for Cure V. (Healing magic skill / 3) + (MND * 1.5) + 430) However to max this Merit, you need 36 points, and this is a lot, but could be useful for a Tarutaru, or other races with low MND.

Healing Magic
Healing Magic is also very important for White Mages and their Cures. This also effects the formula for Cure V. (Healing magic skill / 3) + (MND * 1.5) + 430) Your Healing Magic skill will also effect the chance that you resist spell interruptions while casting Healing Magic spells such as Cure etc.

Enfeebling Magic
Enfeebling Magic is not a Merit I suggest you take as a White Mage, however, it will help you resist less while casting your Enfeebling Spells, so after you maxed your Enfeebling Spell, and you still find yourself getting a lot of resists at higher levels, you could take this Merit. Your Enfeebling Magic skill will also effect the chance that you resist spell interruptions while casting Enfeebling Magic spells such as Paralyze etc.

Enhancing Magic
Enhancing Magic skill improves the strength of your Enhancing Spells. I think most important is Stoneskin, since it absorbs more damage depending on your MND and Enhancing Magic. The formula for the Stoneskin is:
 * X = ([Enhancing Magic Skill] / 3) + MND
 * F is the the amount of damage reduced.
 * F = X  (if X < 80)
 * F = X * 2 - 60 (if 80 <= X <= 130)
 * F = X * 3 - 190 (if X > 130)
 * Caps at 350 damage.
 * Note, this is multiply not "to the power of."

Taken from Stoneskin A more easy way to calculate this, is to download the Merit Point Calculator, in the calculater, go to "Statistics -> "Magic", and type in your MND and Enhancing Magic Skill, and it will do the rest for you. Your Enhancing Magic skill will also effect the chance that you resist spell interruptions while casting Enhancing Magic spells such as Regen and Protect etc.

Enmity
There has not been uncovered any exact formula, for enmity yet, however we all know it will change the amount of hate we gain. There is also a lot of gear with -Enmity. I would say it is quite good to have this Merit, as lower Enmity, means you can cast more and larger Cures without getting hate.

Spell Interruption Rate
When you cast a spell as a White Mage, you ofc have a chance of being interrupted, before your spell has been cast. This is affected by your skill in the category of the spell you are casting, i.e. if you cast a Cure, your chance of being interrupted is depends on your Healing Magic Skill, the amount of damage done by the attacker, also has an effect, and so does the level of the attacker. If you are hit by a lower level mob than you, there is a smaller chance of you getting interrupted. If you cast a spell from your subjob (that belongs to a skill your main don't have) the chance you are being interrupted is higher. You can also get interruped if you get a status effect such as: sleep, stun, silence, knockback, paralysis, intimidation. Note that these status effects are not effected of your -% chance of getting interrupted. (Both from items and Merit).

Divine Seal Recast
Divine Seal doubles the potency of your next healing spell. This is mostly used with higher ranks of Cure and Curaga, however this extra healing will give you a lot of hate, a Curaga with Divine Seal is often seen as dangerous as using Benediction. If you use Divine Seal with Divine Veil, your next status curing will receive a small AoE. Upgrading this Merit, depends on how much you use Divine Seal, you can get a max of -100 seconds Recast time for 15 Merit Points. That will reduce its Recast time from 10:00 min to 8:20 min. With 8:20 Recast Time you would, after casting Divine Seal about 10 times, have earned up 1 extra cast, compared to the normal Recast time.

Cure Cast Time
So as you can see the -20% Cast Time does quite a difference, especially on the HP / Each Sec, so I would definitely recommend upgrading this Merit.

Bar Spell Effect
Bar Spell +2 potency and +2 Magic Defense Bonus per WHM Merit Points upgrade. Magic Defense Bonus only applies to magical attacks of the Bar- Spell's element.

Banish Effect
(+2 Damage, +2 Sec on Defense Down with Banish Each Upgrade) 5 Upgrades total. Lowers defense of Skeletons and Ghosts. Spell damage vs undead is multiplied by 1.5 (150% damage) I'm afraid I have not been able to gather enough info on Banish to add anymore than this. But I would not recommend this before almost anything else, as this is mostly for soloing purpose.

Regen
Conclusion: Its very effective in lower levels when using rank 1 of Regen, but becomes less efficent at higher levels, its still very good tho.
 * This is the greatest HP:MP ratio of any sort of healing spell

Matyr
Sacrifices HP to heal a party member double the amount. 25% of current HP of user is taken and converted to twice as much HP to another player. Stoneskin may be used to mitigate damage the user takes, with no penalty to amount healed. You use the first upgrade to get the spell, then for each upgrade more you do, you reduce the Recast Time by 2:30 min.

Devotion
Sacrifices HP to grant a party member the same amount in MP. 25% of current HP is taken and converted to an equal amount of MP. The HP loss from this ability can be mitigated with Stoneskin. You use the first upgrade to get the spell, then for each upgrade more you do, you reduce the Recast Time by 2:30 min.

Protectra V
Spell cost: 84 MP You use the first upgrade to get the spell, and then the next 2 upgrades, increase the Bonus Defense by 2 each upgrade. Not sure if its worth taking this one, you have to spend either 3 Merit Points on getting the spell for 5 more Defense, or maxing it with 12 Merit Points and getting 9 more Defense. Up to the individual really.

Shellra V
Mana Cost: 93 MP (+2 Magic Defense for each upgrade after the first one). I actually don't know how much the total Magic Defense it adds. Don't really know if its worth spending Merit Points on, as i would guess, that it is almost the same as Protectra V, with almost no difference between rank IV and V.

Credits
Well I made the guide myself, but many parts of it is something I have read on FFXIclopedia. There is no copyright at all what so ever.