Been a while since I've done one of these.  Due to not heavily camping HNMs anymore and doing sky/sea, the list has grown down quite a bit, and I can live with that just fine.

 

Before SCH came out the only subjobs my WHM had are BLM and RDM, lacking SMN.  And even at this point, SMN subjob will remain at 15 for now until I see a real reason to level it.

I'm not *entirely* sure on SCH's stat boosts as a subjob, but that barely even matters.  SCH right now is by far THE most useful subjob for WHM.

/BLM offers, uniquely, right now:
 - Elemental Seal
 - Warp, Tractor, and Escape
 - Sleepga?

/RDM offers, uniquely, right now:
 - Enspells.
 - Phalanx.
 - Slightly better fast cast when it comes to cast times.

/RDM and /BLM offer, generally, the same black magic enfeebles so that's not included.

/SMN offers, uniquely, right now:
 - Auto-refresh?
 - lolAerial Armor.
 - Shining Ruby isn't too bad.

/SCH offers...
 - Light Arts.  This is one of the best things WHM can benefit from that can far outweigh the benefits of the other 3 subjobs.  This boosts your Enhancing and Enfeebling magic skills to 256 (max).  This is really useful for a few reasons.  First, you gain slightly greater barspell power.  Secondly, Stoneskin takes even less MND to cap at 350.  Thirdly, enfeebles land a lot more reliably due to the boost and respective gear.  Divine and Healing magic are unaffected.
 - Under Light Arts, white magic spell cost is reducted by 10%.  White magic spell casting times are also reduced by 10%.  The recast times, as well, are reduced by 10%.  In contrast, black magic spell cost, casting time, and recast times are all increased by 20%.  An effective way for SE to say "Do not cast black magic with light arts up."
 - Penury (SCH10) and Celerity (SCH25).  These abilities use Stratagem Charges, and a SCH37 has two of these.  Penury lowers cost of your next white magic spell by 50% (does NOT stack with the -10% natural cost from Light Arts), while Celerity lowers casting and recast time of the next spell by 50%.  The charges take 2 minutes to recharge at SCH37.
 - Sublimation (SCH35).  This makes /SMN 'lol' for the auto-refresh.  What happens here is that HP (drains at 2HP/tick, absorbable by Stoneskin; able to wake you up from sleep if Stoneskin is not up) is 'stored' for a time and you can use it again to gain the amount of HP stored as MP.  The amount of MP gained from using this easily out-weighs Auto-Refresh from /SMN.
 - Dark Arts can be used, with addition of dark magic gear, to have decent returns from Aspir, effectively allowing even MORE MP recovered.

WHM/SCH takes more effort to play effectively, but the effort is far worth it as it has single-handedly dominated all other subjobs for WHM.

/SCH has officially made me think of the following subs in the following manner.

/BLM - Warp.  Elemental Seal won't be needed in a lot of situations; neither would Sleepga.  Tractor/Escape could be situationally useful, so it's still not a bad sub to have.  SCH also has Conserve MP now, so it's a moot point.
/RDM - Still shines with the fastest casts, with the exception of when Celerity is in use.
/SMN - Max MP only(?).  Other than Shining Ruby's situational use, I can't think of a situation where I'd sub SMN on WHM in most events.  Aerial Armor is so 2004, it's 2008 is where utsusemi is king.  Sublimation completely destroys the benefit of Auto-Refresh over time, as Auto-Refresh is only 20 MP every minute, and abusing Sublimation can easily gain more over time.  Not to mention you can use Dark Arts and get decent Aspir returns.

 

Summary:

- Fir Bholgs, least the Humes, are easy for a BLM to solo.  They're SAMs, easily gravitied, cannot be bound (I never got it to land), but can be slept.  Since I'm hume those are the mobs I had to kill to pop the chests and vortex.
- The real problem here and a very consuming time eater is dealing with links.  When they linked I was pretty much dead, but I learned a thing or two when trying to pull.
- I died twice doing this.  I had to two-hour to save time.
- I opened the chest with 5 seconds left.

Edit:

The mobs in question are Fomors.  They have slightly over 4k HP, similar to that of Ebony Puddings, but without the damage bonus.  It takes a few good nukes to kill these.  I went Thunder IV > Fire IV > Thunder IV > Fire IV > Thunder III to kill the first one, as fomors don't like ice spells.  On the second one my two-hour was up, so I did Thunder IV > Burst II > Thundaga III > (two hour wore off here) Thunder IV and easily killed it.



As one can see here, I had a few mobs on me at the end but due to the time I had left I made it out alive.  I had just opened the chest at that point.  If I wasn't so low on time I would've ended up dead from the last 
'link'.

Next time around if I can get the mobs down very fast I can give the second floor a try but due to links getting to the second floor is a "maybe".  There's times like this that I'm glad I'm Hume - Tarutaru fomors (BLMs) here have very high magic defense, as well as the Mithra fomors (RDMs).  As I still do limbus with a black mage team in Arisen, this is a thing I'm doing on the side for a sooner chance at getting AF+1.

Attacking Fortifications is the easiest EXP ever.

 

After getting the Bronze Star, I went and did another Fort Karugo-Nargo Campaign - the result is in the screenshot - my highest EXP gained yet in campaign.  And to top it off, it was mostly from attacking Fortifications on my WHM/NIN.  Mobs eventually came in so I did get hit a few times (and raised a few people), which helped the exp go up I'd imagine.  I got a merit point from it too. 

Gogo melee WHM :P

 

 
I'd also like to eventually get Byakko's Haidate and Suzaku's Sune-ate.  That'd put me at 4/5 from the sky set, so I'd eventually try to get Seiryu's Kote for completion's sake, but would never want it over a RNG for example, lol.

Other than that I want absolutely nothing from sky.

Sea's another story...

We popped another JoL recently and are now 3/3 on Novio Earring (hax).  We also had our second AV pop.. had a bunch of people just playing around with it for fun.  I didn't have any pics sadly (/facepalm) but I did take a screenshot of something during a Jailer of Justice fight (full drops btw)...


See if you can figure out why I took that screenshot (meh, it's pretty obvious)... :P

Anyways, last night I had Xarc.

We only got WHM and DRK from the NMs, but before the first NM tower we had a Kindred Bard that was generous.

Let's just say it dropped Valor Surcoat.

Near the end we also got WAR body.  The run finished two sets.  The sponsors got a couple 100 pieces, as well.  Not a bad run really.  Duration was 3 hours as we didn't go for the time extension at the eye wall, but it was a good run :P

I had my very first merit pt on BRD with NIN sub fully leveled tonight before I went to sky for some Kirin fights.

Some observations: 
 - We partied in Mamook, in an area fairly far from the zone to the Mamool Ja staging point area, but it was completely empty and the mob choices are pretty much identical.  There's Sea Puks there (they use a move I've never seen at Bhaflau Thickets that wipes some buffs), mamool, Skoffins (Watch Wyvern in Mamook), and crabs (Nipper).  There's also a NM in that area - Darting Kachaal Ja - we avoided it completely.
 - Even being a solo BRD/NIN, we managed to score a high chain, something I've only seen with a 2 BRD PT before.  With a second BRD, the party would've had extra attack and haste, and a secondary means to pull mobs if required.  This is precisely why people like 2 BRD parties - more attack and faster attack speed is always welcomed in merits, not to mention having mobs ready to die is never a disadvantage provided they can be kept under control.
 - As a BRD/NIN puller, reducing song spellcasting time will be one of your best friends, PERIOD.  Yigit Gomlek is a good option (Manteel being best for the body slot).  Minstrel's Ring works real well as well especially if you can trigger the latent on your own.

With a better means of pulling mobs to the party faster, it is entirely possible for a solo BRD PT to achieve high chains.  This is not something that requires a 2 BRD PT to do (or even a BRD + COR PT) - they just have it easier.

Observations from the "solo BRD" standpoint:
 - My LS melees had no problem getting high accuracy, effectively making the need for Madrigal outside of the THF and NIN mamool VOID.
 - Minuet IV and Victory March were enough to still see the mobs die fast, with the exception of Mamool Ja Lurkers and Mamool Ja Infiltrators (in this case, I tossed Blade Madrigal on over Victory March for more acc and we made sure evasion boost was dispelled.  (A good reason I'm saying this is because my LS members are very decently merited and well geared.)
 - I didn't like being a solo BRD most of the time, but with good melee and stuff, it is hardly a problem to pull effectively and keep songs up.  It's something BRDs have to get adjusted to.

The challenge of keeping a chain up:
 - It's not exactly easy to keep songs on both the healer and the melee and still manage to have a high chain - this is a challenge for solo BRDs in merit parties (Troubadour and Nightingale help a TON).  The reason people tend to have groups of mobs ready for their pts to kill is simple - to keep the chain up and have as much time as possible - within the limit to continue the chain - to kill the said mob.  The reason melee want Madrigal on THF and NIN mamool is simply due to their higher evasion.  On other mobs, including the wyverns, accuracy is decent enough to get away with attack and haste (provided the melee are geared up well).  My party down there was consisted of 3 MNK/NINs, 1 NIN/WAR, 1 RDM/WHM, and myself, BRD/NIN.

The way 2 BRD PTs should work - in my opinion:
 - The puller, of course, needs to sub NIN.  There's no workaround - NIN is simply the most powerful subjob for a Bard to use when pulling.  Blink and Stoneskin don't really compare, despite being very powerful defensive spells (Blink is not as reliable as Utsusemi, and Stoneskin can absorb up to 350 damage, even on Bard if you have the right gear despite no natural enhancing).  If you sub WHM and pull, make use of those two spells and have a MND build for Stoneskin, but be aware that your ways of pulling will be slower than that of a bard subbing ninja.  There's a reason /NIN shines more with a pulling Bard - the speed of Utsusemi, especially Ni.  The pulling BRD should do double March, no questions asked.  Not only does it help melees, it helps them with their Elegy, Lullaby, and mainly Utsusemi recasts (which is something I believe some BRDs tend to overlook due to their Minuet/Madrigal/etc merits).
 - The other Bard needs to sub WHM.  WHM is simply the most useful subjob for a non-pulling BRD.  This bard covers keeping Ballad up on the healer.  This Bard should be the one covering double Minuet (or Minuet/Madrigal if the mob has high evasion) as well and assist with curing if required.

Summary:
 - I really do want to slap myself for not leveling NIN to 37 sooner - I absolutely love using it in a merit party and having done it, I don't plan on playing the BRD/WHM role unless I want a break from pulling.  
 - When I'm pulling, I will not sub White Mage under any circumstances.  Like I said, NIN offers the most useful tool for a pulling BRD - Utsusemi: Ichi/Ni.  (Aka: guaranteed damage absorbtion - and depending on the mobs, this could offer more than Blink + Stoneskin combined.  Stoneskin only absorbs so much damage, and Utsusemi completely nullifies it.)
 - Ninja subjob shines a lot more when you have a very fast paced party.  I wouldn't feel as useful nor have as much fun if I was pulling and my pt wouldn't be able to get past chain 5.  In those cases, I would feel a lot more useful subbing White Mage.
 - Bards do not make the party.  They simply help the party exceed their capability.  If the melee don't have decent gear, having a Bard won't make much of a difference (It'll make the pt work out better, but not by a huge margin).  If they do, then the party just became even better, which is why I believe a lot of bards are picky with party invites, myself included.  I personally refuse to merit with a pickup party period - because I'd much rather merit with friends or linkshell mates.

Or does it?

 

Yes, I sleep.

Level 35 not good enough, right guys?

Well.

HELLO UTSUSEMI NI!



Way overdue, but finally done.

Well, last night I had Dynamis - Beauc... went for BRD, and of course it doesn't drop.  We had 14 AF2 not drop last night, but one did show up, RNG feet.  The sponsors did walk away with a M. Silver, though, so that's not bad.

If anyone in the DL2 LS reads this, there's quite a few things I'm disappointed on that I will address in an announcement after I get back from vacation if the problems persist.  I refuse to go into detail here, though.

What I will go into detail on is the following picture...



Let's just say, that outside of,
Zenith Mitts +1
Demon Helm +1
Sorcerer's Belt
INT merits
Max INT possible from food (I was wearing Melon Pie +1, it doesn't give the most INT but 5's plenty)
Not being a tarutaru
Morrigan's gear
The legs from Einherjar
Gleeman's Cape

I literally had the best gear/situation/etc on for damage.

Aquilo's, Bugard +1, Spirit Lantern, 
Wizard's Petasos +1, Uggalepih Pendant, Novio Earring (borrowed), Moldavite Earring,
Genie Weskit, Zenith Mitts, Sorcerer's Ring, Tamas Ring,
Prism Cape, Hyorin Obi, Mahatma Slops (Sorcerer's Tonban doesn't work in double weather+same day situation), Yigit Crackows

Had soul voiced double INT etudes on, also.  Didn't bother casting Burn.

Let's just say... that my jaw dropped the instant I did my first cast (the 3065 Freeze II).  Was a fun moment for me, personally.

All the fun I had with a Novio makes me want it even more...

 I never would've thought SCH's AF1 would be a spell.

In any event, I went and quested the spells I can get:

----------------------------------------------------------------------

If Scholar gets Blink and Stoneskin using the "Addendum: White" JA... it has just become one of the most useful subjobs for mages.  It now isn't just useful for WHM, least that's what I'm reading out of it.  Here's to hoping SCH gets Stoneskin (if NOTHING else) from that.

The following spells were also added...

The following spells have been introduced:
Recall-Jugner (WHM Lv.53)
Recall-Pashh (WHM Lv.53)
Recall-Meriph (WHM Lv.53)
Retrace (BLM Lv.55)
Absorb-ACC (DRK Lv.61)
Klimaform (SCH Lv.46)
Monomi: Ichi (NIN Lv.25) *Uses the ninja tool, "sanjaku-tenugui."

Right as I just leveled NIN to 25, I get the sneak ninjitsu!  Yay, no need for silent oils OR prism powders while leveling NIN!  Fucking awesome, indeed.

The Recall spells for WHM simply transport the qualified members, to, in order:
Jugner Forest [S]
Pashhow Marshlands [S]
Meriphataud Mountains [S]

Retrace simply warps the target to their affiliated nation in the past.

Never thought I'd see the day when I'd have to get another spell for BLM... I was like that with WHM too, until Repose came out.

I'm sure not complaining though, getting to the past just got even easier.

Well haven't I been lazy with updates since getting my AF+1 hat for BLM?  I also sold my Demon Helm +1 as a result of it.  Quite frankly, the AF+1's got much better stats.  All the Demon Helm +1 offers over it is INT+1, for the cost of losing out on enmity-4 and MP+30 (albeit only useful at 100% MP).  1 more INT on it's own's welcome, but in reality, it's not when you lose out on enmity-4 by using a piece of gear that offers 1 less point of INT (GOD FORBID A BLM DOES THAT, RIGHT?!).

Recently I spent 200,000 guild points on the alchemist's sign, and lemme just say that I think it's a frickin' joke that I had to spend 200k GP and not even get 1 more skill.  The plus to it? An apparently lower chance at losing synthesis materials.

Let's just say I haven't done any testing to that extent, nor would I hope to.

 

 

It's true, DL2 finally killed DL.



Our first kill's drops.  Twignberries got the ring.

All I've got to say is, one of the things I wanted to see the LS do - as an officer/core LS member - is to see this dead.  And we finally did it.

Proud of everyone.

 

Oh yeah, I got this little tidbit earlier today:



Staff's at 223 now, but I'm liking this new WS.  I went to PL my wife to 25 WHM in Qufim, and when my MP ran low, I just went and WS'd the mobs.  Never once rested.

Well I finally decided it was time to work on my NIN for all of my 3 jobs.  WHM for soloing, BLM for situational use, and BRD for TP burns.

I've reached level 25 at this point.  I've mostly avoided parties at all costs.

Went from 22 to 23 duoing with my wife's WHM.

Went from 23 to 25 duoing with a BLM and then trioing with my wife's WHM, on BST pets in Yhoator Jungle.

The amusing thing was people suggesting for us to go to qufim.  Why do that when we can kill those pets np and avoid the pain that is dealing with noobs?  Makes more sense to me to just do it this way.  Having a BLM along really speeds up the pet killing.  They only have like 300ish HP so easily taken down.