Time for my second rant on this Flameboard...
What the hell is up with the mages today? And I mean all mages. White Mage, Black Mage, Red Mage, Bard... It's actually really scaring me. You see a White Mage in Garlaige that doesn't know how to cure. And when that WHM does cure, it takes it forever to get to it. Like... my friend was in a party a couple nights ago... and the WHM let two people die because she wasn't paying attention. I partied with another WHM a couple months ago that took him so long to cast Cure, I was dead before I got the mob down to like half health.
It's also making me feel strange seeing nothing but Elvaan BLM's leveling up now. Elvaan have the worst INT, and second-worst MP in the game. Compared to a Taru, who would do like 10x the damage that an Elvaan would do. Especially when seeing that Elvaan BLM's don't go for any other equipment other than DEF equip.
The Red Mages and Bards seem to do nothing but Refresh. That's not all they're good for. You see some good Bards out there that go back and forth and make sure every character has the exact right songs, then they help the healer with the curing and stuff. You see other Bards there that use Ballad, then maybe at the most would use Spirited Etude on the WHM (which still awes me because MND is damn useless for cures). Also, some RDM's are good and stuff, and they use Refresh, and Dispel, and Cure, and nukes... You see lots of RDM's who just spam Refresh on the party the whole fight. In fact, lots of times I have to spam "(Refresh) (Can I have it?)" to the RDM. Even then, the first priority of Refresh is themselves, then the BLM, then the PLD, then the DRK, then the WHM.
Or people who wear completely irrelivant armor to whatever mage job they're using. Like the WHM I partied with the other day, he was wearing STR and DEX equipment. He had no MP or MND equip on at all. Or the other WHM I saw wearing nothing but INT equip. Or BLM's wearing DEF equip.
The one I notice the most are Bards who wear nothing but MND and MP equipment. Especially when they're Mithra or something that actually NEEDS Charisma.
Also, I'm getting sick of Mages running past people who are either dead or low on HP or something. I'm resting after a long fight as WAR or something solo, and a WHM75 passes me, and stops, then just keeps going. I was in Delkfutt the other day, and this RDM passes me. I ask him for a cure, he rests beside me. After like 2 minutes of resting, he cures me to full, rests again, Protect and Shells me, then gives me Haste. THAT is what Mages should do. I do it all the time. People appreciate little things like that. I'm sure you all know what I'm talking about. I always stop to cure people or raise people. I even Escape people from dungeons if I'm not in a hurry to power level or party or something.
Anyway, let's hear your opinions to this. See who agrees, who disagrees, who knows who I'm talking about.