White Mage: Guide to Weapons and Armor

Introduction
The purpose of this guide is to analyze gear by level for WHM to provide an idea of what are the top choices regarding gear for aspiring WHMs. Two sets of gear are provided: party and melee. Party gear focuses on gear that would help a WHM to main heal and focuses on stats like MND, MP, and Cure Potency as well as macro gear like HMP, enfeebling skill and HP. Melee gear is meant for the ballista or solo WHM and focuses on stats like haste, accuracy, attack, STR and MND. Although WHM does not blossom as a solo melee until after Hexa Strike, there may be situations you will want to melee at lower levels, such as in capped Ballista for the adventurous or to farm.

It is important to keep in mind that this guide is a guide and therefore not the end-be-all list of what a WHM can and cannot wear. Gear is situational and a WHM with multiple sets of gear will serve better than a WHM with a single set, not matter how “uber” that set may be. To help the aspiring WHM out, here is a list of recommended gear-sets for WHM.


 * Party:


 * General Gear - For the lazy WHM who does not want to lug around different macroed gear sets, or for the WHM who wants "universal gear" that can be used for a variety of spells, use the stats: "Refresh" > -Enmity > Haste % > MP = MND.


 * Curing Gear - This is the first gearset you will focus on in the beginning of your career, as well as the most important set. Stats that you will wish to focus on are Cure Potency +% > MND = -Enmity > MP > Healing Magic Skill. There are very few pieces of gear that directly affect cure potency +%, and these pieces will increase your cures the most dramatically. MND comes next, which augments cures to a lesser (but still noticeable) extent. At low levels MND will help keep your cures at cap. At higher levels, MND will help you break soft caps by small amounts of HP, and will noticeably increase your Cure V. -Enmity helps you get off larger cures (especially Curaga) without pulling hate. MP is the last mod. Unless you're MP handicapped like a Galka or Elvaan, the amount of MP you have isn't as important as how well you manage it. Healing Magic Skill for some reason helps your cures extremely little, which is why you should never sacrifice a good MND or -Enmity piece for it.


 * Advanced Curing Gear Suggestions- Higher level WHMs can consider other pieces of gear to add to their cures. One are the Cure Clogs which decrease cure cast time by -15% (remember to have them on BEFORE casting in your macro to make them work) and when used in conjunction with -cast time merits and haste, may be a valuable piece of gear (especially for Curaga!). Since light weather affects cures substantially, WHMs who work with scholars or in Temenos a lot may find the Korin Obi worth getting. Another piece of advanced cure gear is the Medicine Ring. This ring gives a whopping 10% bonus to cures, but only if your HP is less than 75%. In order to activate this latent, a whole extra set of gear is required. The WHM must first put on enough -HP or Convert HP to MP gear on in one macro, then use another macro to switch to curing gear and effectively take all of the -HP gear off. If enough HP is subtracted (usually 200~400 HP is needed to subtract, depending on race, so usually a full set of Zeniths or Zeniths supplemented with items like Serket Ring, Astrals, etc is needed) then you will be left with 75%~ HP and your latent activated. In order to keep your latent active and safe from Auto-Regen and cures from other well meaning party members, you will have to switch this macro on and off so simply using Poison Potions or Sublimation are not feasible latent breakers. It is important to note that keeping your HP low is dangerous in situations with bouncing hate or lots of AoEs so the ring is a situational piece of equipment.


 * Resting Gear - Probably your second gear set you buy, used as soon as you get Pilgrim's Wand. This gear you macro in while you rest to get as much MP out of as little ticks as you can. A good WHM knows to rest whenever they are not casting or running to get MP back. Obviously, the most important stat is MP Recovered While Healing. Other stats to look at are -Enmity (to help you lose accumulated hate faster) and MP.


 * Advanced Resting Gear - An advanced WHM may have a "max-MP gear" that he or she may switch on after filling up their regular MP bar (by taking off MP recovered while healing gear and putting on MP) to fill up to a large amount of MP during downtime. The extra chunk of MP can be used to fuel buffs like reraise, protectra/shellra, and hastes. After using up the extra MP, the WHM can switch to their usual -Enmity/haste/mnd gear and still be at full MP.


 * Haste Gear - This gear is not usually feasible until end-game, but Haste% gear decreases recast time and spellcast time. Macro in Haste % gear into anything you may cast on several people in row (like Haste, Regen, Erase, Raise), and anything that just plain takes a long time to cast (Reraise, Protectra, Shellra, Stoneskin, Teleports, Warp). Remember that you cap out at 25% haste from gear. After maxing out your Haste %, focus on -enmity and MP for your stats while casting these spells. If you have it, Conserve MP gear can also be used in conjunction with haste gear to also reduce MP cost of these buffs.


 * Enfeebling Magic Gear - A good WHM regularly enfeebles exp mobs when there isn't an RDM or BLM, and is also capable of landing enfeebles during solo or duo situations. Stats to focus on for debuffing are Magic Accuracy = Enfeebling Magic Skill > MND > Haste % > MP = -Enmity. The rare Dia Wand can be used for Dia, as well.


 * Repose Gear - An important set of gear to have to sleep monsters. This macro is a must have once you are able to cast Repose. Focus on Divine Magic Skill = Magic Accuracy > MND > Haste %.


 * Regen/Barspell gear - The only piece of gear that directly affects Regen is the afv2 Cleric's Briault. Barspells can be aided with Blessed Briault and Cleric's Pantaloons as well as Enhancing Magic Skill (if only by very minute amounts).


 * Devotion Gear - The amount of MP restored by Devotion is affected by the amount of HP you have. In order to maximize the amount of MP you give to your party member, put on HP+ gear and cure yourself to full before using Devotion. This will make a big difference in how much you MP you can give to your PLD or fellow mage.


 * Melee Gear


 * TP Gear - TP gear is the gear you use while meleeing a monster. Stats to focus on are Haste% > Club/Staff Skill > Accuracy > Attack > STR/DEX. The amounts of Haste %/Accuracy/Attack are situational and will have to be tailored to what you are fighting. For a weak monster that you have no problem hitting (like farming leeches) you can focus on Haste % and Attack, while on harder mobs you will have to focus on Haste% and Accuracy. For extremely hard to hit mobs, you may even have to sacrifice Haste% for Accuracy (such as trading your Walahra Turban for an Optical Hat). Remember that Haste% caps at 25% from gear.


 * Utsusemi Gear - As a WHM/NIN you will want to macro on gear with Haste% > Evasion > Parry Skill > -Spell Interruption when casting Utsusemi onto yourself to reduce cast-time and to keep Utsusemi: Ichi from being interrupted. You will also want to macro this gearset into Stoneskin when soloing or tanking a monster.


 * WS gear - As a melee WHM your #1 WS is probably Hexa Strike, with other notable WSes being Black Halo and the staff Retribution and Spirit Taker. Your mods for all of these WSes are STR and MND, and as such, you should focus on these stats. Depending on the mob you are fighting (and ESPECIALLY for landing all hits of Hexa Strike) you should also wear Accuracy gear while WSing. The perfect balance will vary on what you are fighting and what WS you are using. If you have a Prudence Torque or Temperence Torque, you should keep those on for WS.


 * Other WS options are the sea gorgets. For Hexa Strike you use Flame or Light Gorget, for Retribution you use Soil or Aqua Gorget, and for Black Halo you use Breeze Gorget.


 * Note: When out meleeing you will probably also want to bring along your HMP gear as well as Devotion or your hardest hitting cure gear to the field.

Italics will note items that you may wish to hold on to for level-capped events, such as ballista, CoP missions and BCNM. Although only the best items for their level are listed, bold items are considered the pinnacle of their level and are sometimes hard to get.

=Weapons=

Melee
Melee WHMs tend to prefer clubs over staves because of Hexa Strike, however before then the choice between Staves and Clubs is a personal one. Even after Hexa Strike, Spirit Taker and Retribution may make you want to keep a good DD staff handy.

Grips
You use grips in junction with staves.

Melee
=Armor=

Shield
Only shields used by WHMs in parties are mentioned here because most WHM melee are dual-wielding WHM/NIN.

Party
Quick end-game hat comparison for general curing: Raven Beret = Errant Hat = Zenith Crown < Yigit Turban < Zenith Crown +1 < Mahatma Hat < Goliard Chapeau < Healer%27s Cap %2B1.

Melee
{| class=sortable width="100%" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" border="1"
 * BGCOLOR="#FFDEAD" width="20%" align="center"|Name
 * BGCOLOR="#FFDEAD" width="5%" align="center"|Lvl
 * BGCOLOR="#FFDEAD" width="30%" align="center"|Effects
 * BGCOLOR="#FFDEAD" width="45%" align="center"|Comments
 * Circlet (Circlet +1|+1)
 * align=”center”|1
 * Def: 1 (2)
 * Or you can use hairpins.
 * Traveler%27s Hat
 * align=”center”|6
 * Def: 3
 * The MND is good for club WS.
 * Compound Eye Circlet
 * align=”center”|9
 * Def: 4 Evasion: 5
 * ’’Level cap item: 20’’
 * Sol Cap (r/ex)
 * align=”center”|10
 * DEF:3 Adds "Regen" effect HP and MP Recovered While Healing +1
 * Obtained through recruiting people into FFXI and then waiting 70 days. Regen at such an early level is helpful. ’’Level cap item: 20’’
 * Garrison Sallet
 * align=”center”|19
 * Def: 5 MND: 1 CHR: 1
 * Can macro into club WS if you want. ’’Level cap item: 20’’
 * Emperor Hairpin/Empress Hairpin(r/ex)
 * align=”center”|24
 * HP: -15 DEX: 3 AGI: 3 Evasion: 10
 * Expensive, but is an amazing melee piece for most jobs. Evasion is great for soloing. ‘’Level cap item: 30, 40, 50’’
 * Ea%27s Tiara (r/ex)
 * align=”center”|25
 * Def: 8 MND: 1 MP: 1%
 * Salvage piece. If you want to be unnecessarily uber, then you can macro this into your WS.
 * Dandy Spectacles (Fancy Spectacles)
 * align=”center”|30
 * Nighttime: Accuracy: -20(-3) Accuracy: +2 (+3)
 * Daytime only, obviously. ‘’Level cap item: 30, 40, 50’’
 * Mercenary Captain%27s Headgear
 * align=”center”|30
 * Def: 10 STR: 1 DEX: 1
 * WS gear unless you don’t have hairpin. ‘’Level cap item: 30’’
 * Windurstian Headgear (Federation Headgear)
 * align=”center”|34
 * Def: 11(12) STR: 1 DEX: 1 In areas under own nation's control: MP: 10(12)
 * WS macro unless you have no Hairpin. ‘’Level cap item: 40, 50’’
 * Rain Hat (r/ex)
 * align=”center”|41
 * MP: 20 MND: 2 CHR: 2 Rainy Weather: Adds "Regen" Effect
 * Noble Mold is difficult to camp, but if you managed to get this then you can use it as a club WS macro. Staves should stick to Federation Headgear.
 * Voyager Sallet (r/ex)
 * align=”center”|41
 * STR: 3 DEX: 3
 * Beats Rain Hat but is difficult to get. It’s worth it. This armor is great for all DD jobs. ‘’Level cap item: 50, 60’’
 * Storm Zucchetto(r/ex)
 * align=”center”|50
 * Def: 15 Accuracy: 4 Magic Accuracy: 2
 * Rare assault appraisal, but is great for all sorts of jobs. ’’Level cap item: 50, 60’’
 * Super Ribbon
 * align=”center”|52
 * HP: 5 MP: 5 STR: 1 DEX: 1 VIT: 1 AGI: 1 INT: 1 MND: 1 CHR: 1 Accuracy: 1 Attack: 1 Ranged Accuracy: 1 Ranged Attack: 1 Evasion: 1
 * If you’ve been stuck with Fancy Spectacles and Federation Headgear, at last here is an upgrade for you. ‘’Level cap item: 60’’
 * Healer%27s Cap(r/ex)
 * align=”center”|54
 * Def: 21 MP: 13 MND: 4 Vs. Dark: 15 Enmity: -1
 * AF hat. Good for WS with MND mods. Stick to Voyager Sallet or Super Ribbon if you’re using a Staff or True Strike. ‘’Level cap item: 60’’
 * Green Beret (Green Beret +1|+1)
 * align=”center”|65
 * Def: 19 Evasion: 1 (2) Accuracy: 1 (2)
 * Upgrade to Super Ribbon. Tabin Beret +1 is slightly better because it has HP.
 * Tabin Beret (Tabin Beret +1|+1)
 * align=”center”|65
 * Def: 19 HP: 10 (12) Evasion: 1 (2) Accuracy: 1 (2)
 * Upgrade to Super Ribbon.
 * Maat%27s Cap (r/x)
 * align=”center”|70
 * STR: 7 DEX: 7 VIT: 7 AGI: 7 INT: 7 MND: 7 CHR: 7 Enchantment: Teleport
 * Obtained by defeating Maat (LB5) on all possible jobs. As such, it is a difficult to get piece, but is the best WS hat for WHM due to having high STR and MND.
 * Optical Hat (r/ex)
 * align=”center”|70
 * Evasion: 10 Ranged Accuracy: 10 Accuracy: 10
 * Considered a rite of passage for melee jobs, this is the best TP hat for WHM where accuracy is an issue.
 * Gnadbhod%27s Helm (r/ex)
 * align=”center”|71
 * Def: 24 STR: 6 DEX: 4 Slow: 5% Attack: 8
 * An SCNM drop, so it is hard to get (especially if WHM is your main job!). Rivals Healer%27s Cap %2B1 for best WS piece.
 * Healer%27s Cap %2B1 (r/ex)
 * align=”center”|74
 * MP: 28 MND: 7 MP Recovered While Healing: 1 Enmity: -1
 * MND augments all of your WSes as a WHM, making this a great macro hat for melee.
 * Walahra Turban (r/ex)
 * align=”center”|75
 * HP: 30 MP: 30 Haste: 5%
 * This turban is your top choice for TP and is great for reducing recast timers on WHM/NIN.
 * STR: 7 DEX: 7 VIT: 7 AGI: 7 INT: 7 MND: 7 CHR: 7 Enchantment: Teleport
 * Obtained by defeating Maat (LB5) on all possible jobs. As such, it is a difficult to get piece, but is the best WS hat for WHM due to having high STR and MND.
 * Optical Hat (r/ex)
 * align=”center”|70
 * Evasion: 10 Ranged Accuracy: 10 Accuracy: 10
 * Considered a rite of passage for melee jobs, this is the best TP hat for WHM where accuracy is an issue.
 * Gnadbhod%27s Helm (r/ex)
 * align=”center”|71
 * Def: 24 STR: 6 DEX: 4 Slow: 5% Attack: 8
 * An SCNM drop, so it is hard to get (especially if WHM is your main job!). Rivals Healer%27s Cap %2B1 for best WS piece.
 * Healer%27s Cap %2B1 (r/ex)
 * align=”center”|74
 * MP: 28 MND: 7 MP Recovered While Healing: 1 Enmity: -1
 * MND augments all of your WSes as a WHM, making this a great macro hat for melee.
 * Walahra Turban (r/ex)
 * align=”center”|75
 * HP: 30 MP: 30 Haste: 5%
 * This turban is your top choice for TP and is great for reducing recast timers on WHM/NIN.
 * Walahra Turban (r/ex)
 * align=”center”|75
 * HP: 30 MP: 30 Haste: 5%
 * This turban is your top choice for TP and is great for reducing recast timers on WHM/NIN.