RDM/SCH more than a nuke sub

[Javir]

Yup, this is in my mind a fact. There are times/places where Erase/Curaga isn't needed, whether because of the type of mobs or because the erasable things are rare and barely a detriment. Namely Colibri and Mamool merits (plus other similar instances).

No/either Strategems: Conserve MP, resist Silence, Regen II, Sublimation

Light Arts + Addendums grants you all /WHM does, minus erase curaga, Prot/shellga and reraise. Healing and Divine Magic are increased to B+. Then the 50% MP or 50% casting/recast time up to two charges every 4min.

Dark arts increases Elemental and Dark Magic Skill to B+, ignoring the nuking factor, the Dark Magic skill is useful if you have mobs you can Aspir and Drain is always nice (atleast when you have skill to back it up). With Aspir I have taken as much as 80MP with /SCH and some Dark Magic Skill gear from the WHM and BLM Mamools.


Maybe other things I missed, and admittedly /WHM is going to be better for a majority of NMs and events where Curaga and Erase alone are irreplaceable. But if you get into groups, especially where you have a BRD and/or a COR, sublimation is supirior to Refresh (for yourself, obviously still refresh others as needed), especially since you can cycle yourself in for a refresh between using and renewing sublimation (I usually refresh once then sublimation after it wears.. and note use Sublimation first as Refresh can't overwrite it). Note Sublimation doesn't require any MP and gives back about the same MP you'd have gained by casting refresh on yourself in roughly the same time, with the potential for more if you don't need the MP right away. Obviously the damage caused by charging Sublimation is a trade off but stoneskin usually handles it reasonably well.

Anyhow, thoughts, ideas, comments?

 

[Courtney]

Sublimation is only 2MP/tic subbed, plus the cost of curing/preventing the HP loss...

I find that pretty much any time I use a /WHM (which is most of the time) is because I need the Erase (and likewise when I'm not /WHM, its the Erase I miss most). The annoying effects of Light Arts on Black Magic Enfeebles worry me a bit too.

I see it as kind of a niche sub, but really don't use it for anything other than nuking, and haven't really seen any situations where I really want it...

 

[Neisan]

Chainspell Drain!

 

[charlo]

/sch is THE best sub for merits at birdies PERIOD.
/sch is the best nuking sub PERIOD.
/sch is the best solo sleep nuke style kill PERIOD.
/sch is the best MP managment sub PEROID.
/sch is the best aspir, drain boost PERIOD.

Where you need to main heal and don't need erase or curaga use it.
Where you need to support and dont need sleepga, elemental seal or warp(Buy a club u lazy gimp) use it.

Oh and refresh is alot better than sublimation. Just remember to fully charge sublimation before you start though then use it and start using refresh after.

This is all what i've found using this sub. lol yea i love it.

 

[charlo]

Edit misunderstood.

 

[pchan]

For the events I do ...

salvage : /sch can do good except when sleepga is needed. You need to rely on your whm or brd for erase. Requiring abilities is not bad as you will get ability after the 3 melees most of the time (convert).

Dynamis : /blm only for sleepga.

Limbus : .. no SJ is fine, who cares, limbus is easy. /drk for boss usually. I'd still go for /blm for sleepgas in normal zones.

Einherjar : Odin-> /nin for kiting purpose. In other chambers, I prefer /blm for crowd control. We always have whms for status spells.


I don't merit alot on rdm personnally because I find it boring, but I never ever found /whm to be useful, so /sch cannot be bad. There are only a few things that need erase (blu spells ?) or -na.

 

[Lukas]

I found /WHM handy for meritting against Mamools because it gave me Barfira to counter Firespit, and curaga is nice. Also, yes you get access to Erase in case you don't happen to silence the mage mamools quick enough.

I can see /SCH being fine on birds. I would however miss erase when the occasional Dia or Elegy gets reflected on a party memeber. But you get Regen II!

 

[Lucki]

edit: I'm an idiot... disregard this post

 

[Linhjah]

Just like /NIN and /DRK, /SCH seems to be pretty situational. If you do a lot of soloing (or even duoing) on RDM, it can be great. If you are short on BLMs, a RDM/SCH is better than a RDM/anything else to help nuke.

For most party/alliance situations, I find /WHM is most useful. /BLM for dynamis and /DRK for stun gun situations, but most of my time is /WHM. (I tend to main heal a lot.)