White Mage PvP Guide for FFXIV

White Mage is a powerful, well rounded healer with incredible healing and damage output. Having a low cooldown on a game changing ultimate, high damage and healing on demand and a cleanse against crowd-control, White Mage is a strong healer covering all grounds.

Note: This guide is focused on Crystalline Conflict. Much of it may apply to other PvP modes, but it is written with only Crystalline Conflict in mind.

Strengths

• Well rounded kit with damage, crowd control, mitigation, and mobility
• Excellent crowd control with an AoE stun and polymorph
• Targeted Purify effect on a short cooldown
• Game-changing Limit Break with the fastest recharge time
• Does not require the team to play around you to make use of your kit

Weaknesses

• Limited access to healing while moving, making it more punishing to be caught out of position
• Vulnerable to Cure II cast being interrupted with crowd control
• Cure II's cast time delays healing after you have been crowd controlled
• Party defense buff and AoE heal are locked behind using a gap closer on an enemy

4.

Skill Selection

Recuperate Standard-issue Elixir Guard Purify Sprint

Every job has access to a few common actions, but some will have additional info for you.

3.1.

Recuperate

Recuperate – This is your most important healing ability. MP in PVP is only used for this ability. With a max of 10,000 MP, recup will consume 2,500 and heals you for 15,000 HP. The amount of healing received can be increased and reduced by healing up or down status effects, such as Summon Seraph to increase or Biolysis to decrease. You gain 500 MP per 3 seconds passively, something to keep in mind!

Every job has access to a few common actions, but some will have additional info for you.

3.2.

Standard-issue Elixir

Standard-issue Elixir – This is your second-most important healing ability. Elixir allows you to gain back all your HP and MP, resetting yourself for the next fight! The listed cast time is 4.5 seconds, which means the cast is actually snapshotted as complete after 4 seconds, after which you can move and opponents can no longer cancel your Elixir. You'll see moments where you get hit, and the position will still finish.

When not under pressure, make sure to top up your resources for the next fight. As with the animations counted in the death timer, you will be out for 20~ seconds instead vs a 4 second Elixir!

Every job has access to a few common actions, but some will have additional info for you.

3.3.

Guard

Guard – Grants 90% damage reduction and immunity to most crowd-control debuffs for up to 4 seconds. Using another action cancels this guard early. Damage over Time effects that have been applied before Guard will always tick for the full amount and wont be negated with Guard!

Per Patch 7.1, there have been multiple abilities added that work against Guarded targets. Where Shield Smite and Chain Stratagem half the defensive bonus of Guard (90% → 45%), there are also abilities that simply ignore guard when dealing damage; Drill, Assassinate, Enchanted Riposte, Disesteem, Wreath of Fire, Serpent's Tail and Chaotic Spring

Damage per ability is now tight to animations, compared to pre-7.1 where the damage would register when pressed. This means Guard is more reactive than it has been before, but it's also possible now to start ability animations that will hit the moment your Guard ends. Beware of your surroundings and what the enemy is doing!

When you are in a fight and still have Seraph Strike while in Guard, you can use it to dash onto the furthest enemy to dash away from danger if needed.

Every job has access to a few common actions, but some will have additional info for you.

3.4.

Purify

Purify – Cleanses all common crowd-control debuffs and provides a 3-second immunity to further crowd control, draw in and knockback effects. Use this to prevent yourself from getting CC-chained to death.

With the amount of crowd-control abilities, try not to be trigger-happy when using Purify. Taking a stun with no follow up from the enemy team, doesn't bring you in danger! If you have no defensives ready against a crowd-control heavy enemy team, it's recommended to play defensively before making another engage.

Every job has access to a few common actions, but some will have additional info for you.

3.5.

Sprint

Sprint – Toggle for increased movement speed. This is a GCD and using any other action cancels the buff, so be smart in using it. Sage is a fragile job, as it has the lowest HP out of any job. If you are using off-global abilities repeatedly while running away or chasing, you should try to late-weave them if you can afford to, to avoid canceling too much of the Sprint duration.

Glare III is your basic damage spell. Glare can be used to add pressuring damage to the enemy target when you have nothing else to use. Its a good filler-gcd while you are preparing your burst or want to sneak in an easy hit before hiding behind a wall again. It low cast time makes it easy to slide-cast after all!

Afflatus Misery is a powerful AoE burst GCD with a short 16-second cooldown, making it highly effective for coordinated team plays. Its low cooldown allows for frequent alignment with your teammates' burst windows, maximizing overall damage output from a safe ranged position. As an instant GCD, it can be used during a chase, retreat or repositioning. It goes into a good combination together with your Limit Break, but combo's will be talked about later!

Glare IV is an instant AoE Damaging spell granted by using Seraph Strike and will replace your Glare III. Upon use of Seraph Strike, you get 3 uses of Glare IV that you need to use in 20 seconds. Glare IV is a buffed, insta-cast version of Glare III which is also Area of Effect.

Glare IV gives you the freedom to move around while keeping damage up on the burst target. You are able to chase targets if the situation allows it or could use it quickly before hiding behind a wall again to break Line of Sight with the enemy. While you are able to cast Glare IV, you have your OGCD slots available for Aquaveil, Miracle of Nature or simple Recuperate.

As Glave IV is an AoE damaging spell, you will hit everyone for a good amount of damage. Making White Mage a controller around the Crystal while fighting for control. Be at a good distance, jump in with Seraph Strike to provide protection, walk out while casting Glare IV or Misery! (unless you have to hold the Crystal of course)

Comparing PvE with PvP, in PvP you have limited amount of resources when it comes to healing, defensive and cleanses. Jobs like Astrologian and White Mage are known for their healing power, where they are jobs that are designed for directly healing your teammates. With this, you come to limited amount of resources you can use. There will be situations where you are able to safe your teammate, but also moments where you stall an unavoidable death. Be smart when you use your healing tools, how far you want to an safe attempt and what you need to use to keep them alive.

When your teammate is full of MP, in Guard and is taking small bits of damage, you can use a healing spell to keep them topped up for when their defense runs out. You can also prepare for the enemy team to burst into the target, as that happens often to a person who's Guard is running out. Another example is when your melee is making a deep-dive onto the enemy and you sustain him through the possible counter-damage that this player is getting.

If a player is affected by crowd control (such as stun or silence) and does not have access to Purify, sustaining them through external healing can become challenging, especially under heavy enemy pressure. Additionally, if they lack the MP to use Recuperate and there is no medical pot in sight, even prolonging their survival for a few seconds is unlikely to change the outcome, as their chances of escaping remain minimal.

As you play the role of Healer, you will find the limits on who you can safe and when you have to accept that its better to save your resources.

Cure II Cure II serves as your primary healing spell, offering the highest potency among all healers’ basic heals in PvP. However, its effectiveness comes with a notable drawback where its a 1,5 casting time + animation time making it a total of 2,2 seconds before the heal is received, making it less reliable for reactive healing.

Thought CureII isn't the best for reactive healing, its still incredibly strong for predictive healing. Understanding what the enemy team is doing and who they are targeting, you can prepare for the upcoming burst by pre-casting CureII on your team member. For example, you can counter a Meteodrive by targeting them, use a /pvpac "Cure II" <tt< macro and heal the person who they are focusing without having to check your partylist!

Cure III is a powerful heal granted by using Seraph Strike and will replace your Cure II. You have 20 seconds to use Cure III before the proc expires. Cure III is a buffed, insta-cast version of Cure II which is also Area of Effect and does not consume a charge of Cure II upon use.

Cure III is an AoE heal that needs a friendly target to be used. Where the initial target will be granted 16.000HP, the other teammates in a 5y radius will be healed for 12.000HP. Though Seraph Strike is partly used for damage, it can position you into favorable positioning if used correctly. Granting your team Protect and having an Cure III at the ready to follow up with your melees.

We made a target macro for the Cure II healing, but this macro applies for Cure III as well! When a skill is being transformed into another one, which is now Cure II -> Cure III, if you want to make a macro for these skills you need to address them by the base skill in the PvP Menu that will be transformed. Meaning, /pvpac "Cure II" <tt< is usable for Cure III once you are able to use it!

Being able to hold Cure III for a longer period of time, you can hold the healing for when there is a burst coming up from the enemy team. Having 20 seconds of an instant healing tool at your disposal can turn an enemy burst into just a scratch. Anticipate what they are planning and heal accordingly. You do not have to spam it for higher numbers on the scoreboard, use your heals wisely!

Aquaveil is an oGCD ability that instantly shields the target. It can remove one debuff that can be removed by Purify, and if it removes a debuff, its shield potency is doubled. This is your only instant, on-demand healing tool other than Cure III, which must be prepared by using Seraph Strike.

Aquaveil cleanses an effect off an target after 1,2 seconds of animation time. It removes a single debuff of your teammate that can also be removed by purify. Try to track your team's purify to gain optimal usage out of Aquaveil. It can be used as a quick shield on a target in a life threatening situation or as quick shield against a Zantetsuken, but try to avoid using it on a target who will not benefit from it. A Cleanse in a Crowd Control heavy game is incredibly powerful. With Purify being only 3 seconds, having a cleanse in your kit, it should be used with care.

White Mage offers a lot of offense and defense capabilities. It offers protection to the team, good burst and a unique crowd-control to other jobs.

Miracle of Nature has changed with patch 7.1 to a new form of crowd-control. Miracle of Nature, also known as Polymorph, has been revamped to a Silence-like ability, where you can use an OGCD to transform an enemy to an imp. It takes 1,2 seconds for the animation to connect with the enemy. The target will be not able to use any action except for Purify.

Miracle of Nature has gotten a new additional effect which is only shared with Bard's Encore of Light, which is that the ability can drain Mana from the enemy. While this ability functions like a silence, taking 2500mp from the target could be counted as removing 15k potential health of the target as well. This being on a low cooldown but also close by range, makes it amazing to catch a target with low MP off guard and preventing them from using Recuperate after the silence.

Be aware that casting Miracle of Nature has no use on enemies who have the Purify buff, Dancer's Honing Dance, Gunbreaker's Relentless Rush and the Guard buff. There will be no silence or Mana drain.

Seraph Strike is an oGCD ability that allows you to jump to an enemy, dealing damage in an area around them. It also applies a 10% damage mitigation buff to party members within 10y of the target, including yourself. It also gives you access to a single cast of Cure III and 3 casts of Glare IV.

Seraph Strike can be a powerful repositioning tool if you target the right enemy, but has the same potency as Glare III. Although it does AoE damage on the target, this ability on its own is often not worth it to put yourself into a dangerous position. You can Glare from afar, safely, for the same damage! Using Seraph Strike for the damage can be tempting, but its primary functions are mobility, party mitigation, and unlocking Cure III and Glare IV.

However, if you have plenty of resources available, It not be a bad thing if you are drawing the enemies' attention away from vulnerable allies or stalling the Crystal by jumping in with a defense buff, Cure III, Guard, and plenty of MP for Recuperate.

Afflatus Purgation is your Limit Break. Its base charge time is 60 seconds, making it the fastest charging PvP Limit Break. It stuns and deals significant damage to all enemies in a massive line in the direction of your target. It also heals party members within 30y of you every 3 seconds.

Its 40y range ensures that you only need to worry about direction and line of sight. Be especially careful about targeting an enemy that is very close to you, as it is very easy for them to move around you in a way that will point your Limit Break away from their party as your Limit Break locks in the direction.

One of the most powerful aspects of Afflatus Purgation is its short charge time. It will come back up fairly quickly, so avoid sitting on a full Limit Break gauge for too long. However, do not waste it at a time when you and your team are not in a position to follow up on it. If you are too weak or outnumbered to fight, wait until your party is recovered and regrouped.

In a desperate situation, you can use it to prevent an enemy from chasing your team down and finishing you off after you have been forced to retreat. Consider the timing of when you use it, though. You want to have it available for the next skirmish, not have it coming up right after the next skirmish ends.

On maps with dangerous environmental effects, the area-of-effect stun can be devastating. If you catch multiple enemies in the stun in the path of the Eruption on The Volcanic Heart or right before Turbulence on Cloud Nine, you can force multiple enemies to use Purify or even get them killed.

White Mage has a fast recharge on its Limit Break, which applies a good amount of damage and stun. Paired with a 60s recharging Limit Break, we have a follow up attacks into our kit that can make this burst pop even more. White Mage offers some protective playstyle with Seraph Strike, but its also an instant ability that can be used in our burst windows. In this chapter, we will go over some examples of how you can burst with White Mage.

Combining together with your Limit Break, Afflatus Purgation, your Area of Effect damage has huge value if done in the right order, able to bring a target without purify to a quarter of its health. When you want to do a full-out burst, it can look like this;

1. Glare III
2. Afflatus Purgation
3. Seraph Strike
4. Afflatus Misery
5. Miracle of Nature
6. Glare IV

Dealing to 53.000 Damage with your combo, all in Area of Effect damage, you can drain the enemies resources low quickly. A good Purgation will already drain the Purify of the enemy, meaning they are vulnerable for the follow-up attack from the rest of your team once that purify runs out. Being able to chase with your insta-casts and gap closer on Seraph Strike, wait for the purify to run out before you use Miracle of Nature, making them unable to Recuperate for 2 seconds and draining their MP by 2500, which is the equal to a heal of 15k.

White Mage has multiple hard hitting abilities that can be deployed from ranged. Part of this combo to do some is a simple;

1. Glare III
2. Seraph Strike
3. Afflatus Misery
4. Miracle of Nature (if ready)
5. Glare IV

Within every 20 seconds, White Mage is able to deal up to 33.000 damage, where the most part is AoE. Without counting in Limit Breaks, the Seraph Strike dash itself places you in a dangerous position. When doing this burst, you have instant casts after the use of Seraph Strike, which means you are free to move around and gives you the tools to either escape or simply chase a target.

People tend to play healer all a bit differently, but ill be telling part of my style here! When it comes to opening on a match with White Mage, Its okay to hang in the back before engaging on the first target. Often someone will call a target and put the 1 marker on them. This is your queue to get in position and attack, but also having to check who the enemy is going to focus!

With the starting engage, Seraph Strike is often used to give as many team mates protect, reducing their damage taken while having a Cure III is ready. Following up on the 1 marked target, you want to use Miracle of Nature if they DONT have any of the resistances on. If they do and its not Guard, use your Afflatus Misery and prepare yourself to use Miracle.

During all this, its often happening that healers are the priority target. Don't expose yourself to much in the open for open attack and make sure to know where to go after using Seraph. As the healer you should be able to switch from an offensive mindset to a defensive one, and try to heal whoever is being bursted by the enemy team. Its okay to hang more in the back and focus on healing for the first fights, as these often indicate the first percentage of the Crystal pushing. Survival is the most important part in the first fights, meaning you gotta help to kill and heal when you can!

As a healer, you are often focused by the enemy team. Kill Sustain = Win Game. When the Crystal is being pushed by anyone but you, and there is no chase happening, its okay to stay on a distance from the Crystal. Do not be on the crystal when its not needed, so you do not take unneeded AoE damage and you can position yourself to heal your team from a distance instead. Because you have a lot of ranged burst spells, you can stay in the backline and play around walls whenever you can to break Line of Sight with the enemy.

When a friendly melee with a jump is being focused, try to predict his path of running and be ready to use Aquaveil when needed. Keep a distance so that jobs like Monk with Thunderclap or Sage's Icarus, who can jump to teammates, can get out of combat by jumping to you as an escape.