svlyons wrote:
Because you're hurting your own MP efficiency by doing that. You're basically cutting your MP pool by 20%. You may not feel it in a lower level dungeon when everything goes perfectly. But then, if everything goes perfectly, you probably don't need to worry about being too high on the hate list from normal Cures. It's when unexpected bad things happen that you may find yourself needing that extra MP.
Returning to my previous example with the HP bars, let's envision a scenario where the Tank takes a big hit and just watch it play out. For the sake of this example, a few basic elements
Regular Strike = deduct X's (x5)
Critical Strike = deduct X's (x14)
Regular Heals = restore X's (x10)
Cleric Stance Heals = restore X's (x8)
Regular Heals-----------------------------------------
Cleric Stance [xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx_____________] (15)----(19) [xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx_________] *Normal Attack Cycle*
[x___________________________] (01)----(05) [xxxxx_______________________] *Critical Hit*
[xxxxxxxxxxx_________________] (11)----(13) [xxxxxxxxxxxxx_______________] *Cure*
[xxxxxx______________________] (06)----(08) [xxxxxxxx____________________] *Regular Strike*
[xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx____________] (16)----(16) [xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx____________] *Cure*
[xxxxxxxxxxx_________________] (11)---(11) [xxxxxxxxxxx_________________] *Regular Strike*
[xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx_______] (21)----(19) [xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx_________] *Cure*
And so on and so forth.
I can concede that full heals have an slight advantage in the amount that is healed, but I would direct your attention to second line (which is kind of the essence of my argument). How many hearts in the party just skipped a beat? Is the tank wising he had updated his will at that point? Is his vulnerability to dying from a hit by an Add just a bit too close for comfort?
MP efficiency matters if you're spamming heals, and so far everyone is in agreement that back-to-back heals is probably only happening in a situation as in the above, and more often than not, it should be avoided. If the fight is dragging out long enough that your MP is out (and you're out of Ethers), I daresay your problems are quickly becoming less of staying alive and more of biting off more than your party could chew.
I would suggest that the difference in heals is negligible, but the margin of safety is considerable. By no means do I expect this to sway anyone, but I would offer as something to ponder. In seven (overly simplified) rounds, regular heals brought the tank precipitously closer to death (and a possible party wipe) versus my suggested use of Cleric Stance. And at the cost of only two points (in example above), which seems like a fair trade for a more reliable Tank HP bar.
And I know this doesn't cover everything and there is a vast array of factors that could probably go for or against my suggestion, but I leave that to eveyone else to consider.
edit: hopefully improved my diagram >.>;;
Edited, Sep 19th 2013 10:38pm by Jjnnyrr Edited, Sep 19th 2013 10:40pm by Jjnnyrr