Now I know you’re a great PUP Mal and have learned not to (I guess I didn’t quite learn…) underestimate Puppetmasters, I don’t think I’ve been in a situation like that to see you(‘re Puppet) shine like that with black magic.

Now I know Puppetmaster’s will still not be the most welcomed, but I think most people are – as I was – ignorant to just how powerful and strong their puppets truly are. But at least I know this now ^^/

I almost always end up taking some secondary healer role and support (aka “Light Arts lolSCH”) in an alliance, giving around Firestorm and such to my pt, while keeping the whole alliance alive. Since I do a quite good job at that (and because those melees love that STR+7, for some reason), I think I’m of more use to the whole run in that role, even though my “real” heart would like to nuke the sh*t out of those stupid mobs. But with the inherent lack of people who want to keep other people alive in our LS (usually, our runs would have around WHMx2 and me for two whole alliances in cities and WHM+SCH in Northlands & Dreamland), that’s just not viable. I’d have to admit casting Armageddon V or going nuts with WS Doomsday probably *is* more fun than doing such pansy stuff like keeping others alive and well buffed as well as – to a lesser extent, because I actually love that – controlling the mobs. That at least would explain the incredible numbers of DD we always have…

Which leads me to the point why you might have ben booted out of the BLM pt. In the setting you were in, the relevant questions are: Is Accession Hailstorm + Manifestation Klimaform more useful to the pt’s damage output than a fifth BLM? And if it is, would the other four BLMs know that, or would they assume it’s their leet uberness that made them perform so well?

The first obviously depends on the BLM that is going to take your slot. Taking your chart into consideration, it seems a permanent INT+7 and a MACC+unknown on about 1/3 of all nukes – Manifestation + Alacrity + Klimaform would or should come up about every 3m, as to not run out of Stratagems; and people wouldn’t use Blizzard IV or Freeze II onry – would outperform every single nuker you have listed except for maybe the top three ones. Of course these are just assumptions, but again, I don’t think I’m too far off. An average bump of maybe 30~50 points of damage to the 4 BLMs seems possible, given your numbers on SCH. Then, add your own occassional nukes. Sounds like it’s close, at least.

But, that’s my guess, you won’t get much credit for all that. A 5th BLM will, no matter what, always be better. Because the grass on the other side is greener. You know that.

Says someone who has nuked for {insert single-digit number here} times in Dynamis, eventually being disposed the day people figured out Firestorm actually gives STR+7 to them and started drooling over that. Oh, and the BLM leader seems to hate any forms of Fast Cast, because he loves them timed nukes so much and never ever comes anything different than BLM/WHM. I guess my fate was decided before I even had entered the LS. >.>

I guess I’m gonna parse my next Dynamis run and figure out how much that STR+7 (and maybe En-spells) actually does. And then decide whether I’d have surpassed myself by nuking. Dynamis – San d’Oria sounds like a good place to do that. It’s kinda boring there, anyway, unless some lolAvatar goes Astral Flow…

~ SKudo, <3 walls of text!

I won’t deny for a minute that we are more self-efficient as well as self-reliant. I never denied that. Another part of the reason I wanted to be in the group was that I didn’t want to just nuke. I wanted to do what I feel I should do as a Scholar – help enhance the party. In this case it’s mages which mean usually Hailstorm. After that, klimaform. I wouldn’t of nuked as much in a party, but I’m still certain that the numbers of the whole would of improved a lot.

I was picked up for the BLM pt on SCH/RDM with around 311/101+7+7 (give or take a few), but left on my own will once the 5th BLM spawned out of nowhere, because I felt (and still do) it’s better that way. Between Aspir, Sublimation and Parsimony spam (no Alacrity for Klimaform, because I felt somewhat cocky on about 311/115 with HQ staves), SCH does not need to /heal or rely on other forms of Refresh. Wizard’s Roll made me cry a bit, but I still think it’s the best the six nukers of us could get out of that situation.

So, while all other “reasons” you got for your /pcmd kick might be invalid, SCH indeed is more “self-sufficient”, even without Stoneskin. But I don’t think I’m telling you news here. I’d just suggest to perform and not be frustrated over that. Show them your results if you feel like it, but don’t make it your “proof” of you belonging to them. And get used to not be in the BLM pt once it’s 6/6. Might be sad to you, but it’s true.

I’m sorry.

Have a meeting now. Maybe I’ll throw in another wall of text after that.

~ SKudo

/end-emo-kid-rant