Teratotaur

 

Last week in a comment I mentioned my troubles with Brayflox. I was naively thinking it was merely a lack of MP for those longer battles. Shortly after that I realized I was completely missing out on Freecure. I had removed my first level Cure spell all together thinking it was useless now that I could nuke life into my fellow dungeon runners and my controller hotkeys were tight on space. I was fine with added MP cost. I assumed my heals would be that much more potent. However, I was missing out on the potential for a FREE Cure II cast. This opened up my magic pool a bit, but still it wasn’t enough. The problem wasn’t my own.

I’m starting to unearth the depths of party dynamics in FFXIV. They are similar to those found in other MMORPGs, but I feel they are enhanced by the smaller party sizes. One weak link in the chain, and everything is thrown off. Perhaps they aren’t enhanced, and I am just noticing them more in my new ‘Healer’ role, but there are a lot of factors that play into a successful dungeon run from my point of view.

–= Aggro Management =–
If everyone in the party is getting hit, more damage is being done. Not everyone in the party has the defense to absorb damage like the tank. Spells are being interrupted, and my cast times are being dispersed over multiple targets, draining my MP pool very quickly. AOE heals require more to cast, and often put me in harms way.

–= Enemy AOE Control =–
In one of the many failed attempts at Brayflox we had a tank that did well up until the end when he/she decided it was best they stand in the middle of the dragon’s breath EVERY SINGLE TIME! Perhaps they have never noticed the red areas drawn on the ground as a warning, or their reaction time isn’t quite there for an MMO, but it was ridiculous. Bringing around 800 HP back to someone every 10 seconds is not efficient. While that’s an extreme example, a tank that will aim mobs away from the rest of the party consistently is one I like to hang around with.

–= Versatile Damage Dealers =–
Damage dealers that find the gap between destroying face and the abilities of the tank keep things flowing smoothly. It is their job, as much as the tank if not more so, to ensure my pool of sparkly life dust doesn’t run out. They can cause enemies to attack all over the place, and allow the fight to drag on for far too long. They can also offer all sorts of support like sleeping or disposing of adds, improving resistance and regen, and stepping up for tanks or healers that are a bit overwhelmed. Let’s just hope they are Disciples of War that want nothing to do with my loot. 🙂

Brayflox is over, my gear is… alright, and I’m on the home stretch to level 40. I look on to new challenges, larger duty parties, and now that Dexter is over, my wife playing again!

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