Gear and Job Quests

Keep up to date with job quests; job quests will give you solid spells or vital gear. Make sure your gear has mind stat on it. You should always aim to keep your gear up to date, roll for dungeon gear with mind, and spend your tomestones on tomestone gear to equip it when you hit 50, 60, 70, and 80. You can find the vendors in Mor Dhona (50), Idyllshire (60), Rhalgr’s Reach (70), and Eulmore (80). Major cities also have Sundry Splendors, which sells the gear based on the zone’s level.

Introduction

This guide will help a casual player looking for advice playing White Mage while leveling. Below I’ll explain per level group how to use your abilities while leveling. If you’d like to learn more about White Mage, I suggest checking out other guides like the Basic Guide or reading your tooltips.

Glossary

• WHM: White Mage.
• CD (Cooldown): The time it takes before you can cast an action again.
• GCD (Global Cooldown): Spells share the same base recast time. On WHM, these are mostly spells with about 2.5s recast time.
• Instant (Instant Cast): GCD Spells that do not have a cast bar.
• oGCD (Off Global Cooldown): Abilities that don’t share the 2.5s base recast time can be used while GCD spells are on cooldown. Weaving: Using oGCDs in between GCDs. To avoid delaying your GCD, you can safely weave two oGCDs after an instant cast GCD or one oGCD after your casted damaging GCD.
• HoT (Heal over Time): Actions that heal the target over time. These actions heal for their listed potency once every three seconds.
• Regen: Another word for HoT.
• DoT (Damage over Time): Actions that damage the target over time. These actions deal damage for their listed potency once every three seconds.
• Haste: Buff that reduces cast and recast time during its duration; this seems like SPS but doesn’t act the same as it doesn’t increase DoT/HoT damage.
• AoE (Area of Effect): Actions that affect every target in a specified area. AoE heals heal all allies in a circle around their source. AoE damage abilities affect all enemies in an area specified by the ability; enemies can perform AoE attacks too.
• HP (Health Points): Your life. Don’t let this hit zero.
• MP (Mana Points): This resource allows you to cast spells.
• Lily (Lillies): Refers to your healing that requires your Lily job gauge

Role Actions

Levels 1-29

New Abilities

• Stone (level 1): Single target damage (GCD).
• Cure (level 2): Single target heal (GCD).
• Aero (Level 4): Single target DoT (GCD, instant cast).
• Medica (level 10): AoE heal (GCD).
• Stone -> Stone II (level 18): Single target damage (GCD, replaces Stone).

Healing

Your heals are barebones here, use Cure for tank healing or help a party member who took extra damage. Use Medica as needed.

Damage

During boss fights, keep your Aero on the boss, refreshing it when it has a two or less seconds left on the boss. Stone should be used to fill time. If you do not need to heal or do anything else, you should be using Stone. When doing trash pulls, Aero the mobs as your tank moves to gather everything up and use Stone when they stop.

Levels 30-50

New Abilities

• Cure II (level 30): Single target heal (GCD).
• Presence of Mind (level 30): Self haste buff (oGCD).
• Regen (level 35): Single target HoT heal (GCD, instant cast).
• Cure III (level 40: Targeted AoE heal (GCD).
• Holy (level 45): AoE Damage (GCD).
• Aero -> Aero II (level 46): Single target DoT (GCD, instant cast).
• Medica II (level 50): AoE HoT Heal (GCD)
• Benediction (level 50): Single target heal (oGCD)

Healing

Cure II is an upgrade over Cure, letting you heal much more for more mana. Cure becomes more niche and is only used if you’re low on mana. Regen becomes your best healing tool, restoring 1,200p over 18s, and should be kept on the tank during dungeon trash pulls as it is worth almost double Cure IIs potency.

Cure III becomes an upgrade over Medica with just a slightly smaller range. It costs more mana while having a smaller range, so Cure III shouldn’t be used too much. Your best AoE heal becomes Medica II. Medica II becomes equal to Medica with one tick and stronger than Medica with two ticks. Medica II should be your primary AoE heal if you need to heal your party and they aren’t in danger of dying.

At level 50, you get Benediction, and this should be used proactively, letting tanks get low during trash pulls and instantly healing them to full. Using Benediction as close to on cooldown as possible is the best use, and it will save you a lot of healing effort.

Damage

At level 45, you gain Holy, one of the best spells for dungeon mobs; it stuns for four seconds for the first time, two seconds for the second time, and one second for the last time, stunning groups for a total of seven seconds. Holy is what makes WHM so good for dungeons. Use this for trash pulls as long as you can hit more than one mob.

Levels 51-60

New Abilities

• Afflatus Solace (level 52): Single target heal (GCD, instant cast)
• Asylum (level 52): ground target, AoE, HoT (oGCD)
• Stone II -> Stone III (level 54): Single target damage (GCD)
• Assize (level 56): AoE heal, AoE damage (oGCD)
• Thin Air (level 58): Self MP reduction buff (oGCD)
• Tetragrammaton (level 60): Single target heal (oGCD)

Healing

At level 52, you unlock Solace. Solace is one of your three Lily spells. You should use Solace over Cure II, as it does not cost mana. You also unlock Asylum, an ability that provides a powerful regen to any party member standing within. Asylum should be used often as it has a decent cooldown of 90s. Asylum can also be used just for healing tanks during trash pulls.

Thin Air is unlocked at 58. It’s okay to hold Thin Air unless mana is a concern. If it is, try to use it for your high mana cost spells. At 60, you get Tetragrammaton. Tetra has a strong single-target heal. It’s primarily used as a tank healing tool but can also be used to top off a low DPS. Tetra should be used often during trash pulls over cure II and Solace since it’s a free heal.

Damage

At level 54, your Stone II upgrades to Stone III, but Holy is still more damage for two or more targets. At level 56, you gain Assize, which has a heal and a damage component. Assize should be used on cooldown as possible; it should be treated as a damage ability that also has the side effect of healing. If it’s coming off cooldown, you should delay any other healing to get the healing value out of Assize while also using it for damage.

Levels 61-70

New Abilities

• Stone III -> Stone IV (level 64): Single target damage (GCD)
• Divine Benison (level 66): Single Target shield (oGCD)
• Plenary Indulgence (level 70): Buff that triggers additional healing to self and nearby party members (oGCD)

Healing

• Divine Benison should be used as much as possible, as it’s a free 500 potency shield; use it on cooldown during a fight or pre-pull. Plenary Indulgence should be used if you are ever thinking of using Medica, Medica II, or Cure III, as it adds a 200 potency heal to these skills on a short 60s cooldown.

Damage

You get an upgrade to Stone at level 64. Nothing changes about damage priority again.

Levels 71-80

New Abilities

• Aero II -> Dia (level 72): Single target DoT (GCD, instant cast)
• Stone IV -> Glare (level 72): Single target damage (GCD)
• Afflatus Misery (level 74): Targeted AoE damage (GCD, instant cast)
• Afflatus Rapture (level 76): AoE heal (GCD, instant cast)
• Temperance (level 80): Healing buff to self & Mitigation buff to self and nearby party members (oGCD)

Healing

Afflatus Rapture and Afflatus Solace are your go-to GCD healing spells after unlocking Misery, as you lose no damage for using them. Plenary also affects Rapture, so if you need extra healing for Rapture, keep that in mind. At level 80, you gain Temperance, giving you a healing buff and everyone in your party a mitigation buff. Use this during pulls, as it just gives your tank extra mitigation, and it also increases your GCD heals, including Regen, which is a great tool to keep your tank healthy.

Damage

At level 72, Aero changes to Dia, and Stone changes to Glare. Both are purely visual and potency upgrades. Their only significant impact on your rotation is that Holy is no longer worthwhile on two targets over Glare if you don’t need the stun. At level 74, you get Afflatus Misery which makes Solace and Rapture a damage gain even in uptime; three lilies and a Misery add up to 1,240 potency over four GCDs, while four Glares is 1,160 potency. Misery makes Solace/Rapture your preferred GCD heals, as they both heal and refund damage, especially during downtime, where they come at no Glare cost.

Levels 81-90

New Abilities

• Glare -> Glare III (level 82): Single target damage (GCD)
• Holy -> Holy III (level 82): AoE Damage (GCD).
• Enhanced Healing Magic (level 85): Healing spell up
• Aquaveil (level 86): Single target mitigation buff (oGCD)
• Enhanced Divine Benison (Level 88): Gains a second charge of Divine Benison (oGCD)
• Liturgy of the Bell (level 90): Ground target healing (oGCD)

Healing

You get a lot of improved healing at level 85. Aquaveil becomes a mitigation tool to help your tanks with tank busters and heavy autoattacks from bosses. Try to use it often, but holding it for a tankbuster is okay too. At level 88, you get a second charge of Divine Benison; you should always keep at least one on cooldown, and the second one can be used as an extra tank CD or to help a player who just needs a little more health.

At level 90, you get Liturgy of the Bell; Litergy is a ground effect that heals each time you take damage. Litergy should be used, however, getting clipped by AoEs so your Litergy can heal will cancel Holy casts. For this reason, I suggest using Litergy for its expiration effect.

Damage

At level 82, Misery becomes neutral to Glare III. You will no longer have to use Lillies during a fight; it’s still a damage gain to use it during downtime or for trash with more than one enemy. Glare and Holy get upgraded; your damage priority when it comes to Holy and Glare doesn’t change from level 72.