Kay's Idiot Guide to Scholar

Scholar is an intensive job requiring a certain amount of gearing and TLC. There is no way to successfully walk into the Scholar job without prior knowledge of it's job abilities and job-specific uses(which extend far beyond Embrava). The uses of their Strategem job abilities and the boosts from subjobs give Scholar a myriad of niches to fill.


Grimoires and Strategems
The core of the Scholar class, Grimoires enhance magic capability while Strategems enhance magic usage. Strategems vary by grimoire, Light Arts strategems pertaining to healing and enhancing while Dark Arts strategems pertain to nuking. Strategems have 5 "charges", and each of them refreshes individually, adding 47 seconds to the timer each time you pop one. So, you pop 2 strategems. The timer is set to 1minute 34 seconds, and there are 47 seconds until you gain another strategem charge.

Light Arts :
Light Arts enhances "light" magics, capping the character's Enfeebling, Enhancing and Healing magic skills to 404(B+ Rating) instead of the normal 334(D rating). This places them on par with other mages for healing and enhancing, especially with the use of Aurorastorm and Elemental Obi/Twilight Cape.
Light Arts Strategems:
Penury : Reduces the MP cost of your next White Magic spell by half.
Honestly, I never use this strategem unless I'm Embrava'ing or in a really bad situation. I usually have better uses for my strategem charges.

Celerity : Reduces the casting AND recasting time of your next White Magic spell by half.
One awesome strategem for raising people, this is also very useful when under the effect of Tabula Rasa, if you're trying to get the most from your 2-hour. Rarely used otherwise.

Rapture : Enhances the potency of your next White Magic spell.
Basically Divine Seal, this is a life-saver when used in combonation with Accession, as it can give your Cure IV the power of a Cure VI.

Accession : Extends the effect of your next Healing or Enhancing White Magic spell to party members within 10 lms. Doubles MP cost and recast.
The bread and butter of Scholar, this strategem is the most important regular-use in Light Arts. This affect stacks with -na spells, cures, other strategems, storm spells, regen and enspells(on your party only), embrava, Animus spells, Pro/Shell, Stoneskin, Blink, Phalanx, Aquaveil, Sneak, and Invisible. It does NOT STACK WITH HASTE. SCHOLAR CAN NOT HASTEGA. This allows you to remove debuffs from not only your party, but any party you can cast on, in alliance or otherwise. Accession is NOT alliance wide, however, and requires the party members to be within 10 yalms of each other. Support-role scholars should be casting "curaga" by using Accession+Cure(1-4) on any party required, removing -na spell debuffs (paralyse, virus, silence, petrify, etc), and keeping their own party buffed properly (Accession+Perpetuance storm spells, hastes, etc).

Perpetuance : Increases the Enhancement Effect duration of your next White Magic spell.
Another extremely important strategem, this increases the duration of Embrava, Regen, Haste, Storm spells, Enspells, Phalanx, Aquaveil, Invisible, Sneak, Animus spells, etc. when used with the AF3+2 hands, it increases the duration by 250%. (A 60-second duration spell now lasts for 2:30min).

Addendum: White : Allows access to additional White Magic spells while using Light Arts.
This strategem gives you access to the Raise/Reraise spells, the -na spells, and Erase. Any Scholar in a support/healer role should always have this active. Once used, it stays active until you switch grimoires or jobs/subjobs.

Dark Arts:
Dark Arts enhances "dark" magics, capping the character's Dark, Elemental and Enfeebling magics to 404(B+). The uses of storm spells further enhance the job's usefulness when nuking, enfeebling, and stunning.
Dark Arts Strategems:
Parsimony : Reduces the MP cost of your next Black Magic spell by half.
Useful for solo nuking, though follows the same rules as the Light Arts version (Penury). It's used mainly when using Kaustra.

Alacrity : Reduces the casting time and recast time of your next Black Magic spell by half.
God's Gift to Scholars everywhere, this Strategem, coupled with a Scholar's dark magic skill and gear, is why Scholars who sub BLM are so valued. With Embrava, Haste, and gear, a 3 second Stun recast allows us to virtually stun lock a mob with ease. This strategem is also useful for Sleepga, nuking with higher tier spells, and Kaustra.

Ebullience : Enhances the potency of your next Black Magic spell.
Basically Elemental Seal, this strategem increases your nukes and drain/aspir significantly, allowing a Scholar to keep up with Black Mages in certain situations.

Manifestation : Extends the effect of your next enfeebling Black Magic spell to targets within range. MP cost and recast are doubled.
Giving Scholar this spell allows us to make certain spells Area of Effect, such as Sleep, Gravity, Drain, Aspir, DoT spells, Poison, Break, and Bio. Very useful for a support scholar, it allows us to play as a crowd control position.

Immanence : Makes it possible for your next Elemental Magic spell to be used in a Skillchain, but not in a Magic Burst.
Exactly as it says, this allows Scholars to act in a capacity which allows others to benefit in damage. Paired with someone trying to break a weapon, or in situations where it is imperitive to Skillchain->Magic Burst to take down an enemy, it's possible for Scholar to facilitate in creating complex three-part Skillchains and still magic burst. This strategem is rarely used by common people, and usually considered a waste.

Addendum: Black : Allows access to additional Black Magic spells while using Dark Arts.
Gives Scholar T4/T5 nukes, Dispel, Break, and Kaustra. Once used, it stays active until you switch Grimoires or jobs/subjobs.



Subjobs:

Scholar's magey uses facilitate the usage of all three Mage subs, White Mage, Black Mage, and Red Mage, though usually it's best to use Red Mage or Black Mage, depending on the situation. This opens up a new realm of spells, job abilities, and uses. White Mage sub does not really give anything important.

Red Mage : Allowing the Support scholar to Accession+Perpetuance Phalanx and mitigate a good amount of damage when under Light Arts due to Enhancing Skill / Gear, Red Mage is the perfect support Subjob. With Convert to facilitate MP consumption, a good Scholar can heal as well as a White Mage and enhance better than a Red Mage.

Black Mage : Access to Stun, Sleepga, Escape, WarpI/II, and Tractor, subbing Black Mage for nuking and/or crowd control is imperitive. The most common usage of subbing BLM is taking advantage of Scholar's ability to constantly stun. Subbing BLM also gives a boost to MP.


MP:
Sublimation : Scholar is blessed with Sublimation, an ability that slowly drains and stores HP until it's needed, converting it to MP. "Charging" sublimation allows the ability to store HP, draining a few HP per tic. This effect stops when the MP limit is reached, or when HP hits 50%. To retrieve the MP, activate Sublimation again. Wearing gear with "Enhances Sublimation", +HP, +%HP increases the amount of HP converted. MP->HP gear does not affect Sublimation. Some of the "Enhances Sublimation" gear only decreases how long it takes Sublimation to charge instead of increasing the HP drained per tic. No Scholar should ever be without a fully charged Sublimation, and needs to learn quickly to rotate it through. Sublimation stops the Refresh spell from landing.

Convert : A popular reason to sub RDM, Convert swaps your MP and HP. Usung Convert when you have 10MP and 1000HP results with you having 1000MP and 10HP, so use it carefully to preserve your life.

Refresh : Usually not utilised when Scholar main, Refresh gives a steady tic of MP regeneration while active.


Specific uses of Scholar :

While a capable Scholar can sub in for a White Mage or a Nuker at will, there are some events currently (Feb2013) were Scholar is above-average and some would say required.

Legion: Within Legion, a Scholar is utilised in two manners. Scholars who are labelled as "Stunners" should come /BLM with a proper Stun set (See gear section). They should be prepared to keep up Klimaform, bring Pear Crepes for Magic Accuracy, and be in Dark Arts, utilising Alacrity. Scholars who are noted as "Support" should be /RDM, utilising Light Arts / Addendum:White, and supporting the alliance via Accession/Perpetuance Thunderstorm for the Stunners, Accession -Na spells for the DD parties, and Accession cures to support the WHMs.

Neo-Nyzul Isle: NNI is usually run with two Scholars, one who stays at the lamp and is used mainly for Embrava and Accession Firestorm/Enspell/RegenV. This Scholar stays vigilant, ready to take the party up as soon as the objective is completed. The second Scholar, labelled the "Chaser", follows the DDs around, completing the haste rotations, curing, and dealing with debuffs. Both Scholars should be /RDM and have Embrava, Cure, and Nuking sets.

Provenance: When a group goes to Provenance Watcher, a Scholar who /BLM stuns ALL of the boss' spells, enabling the group to take it down with ease and disabling it's ability to create Fetters.


Gear
ALL SCHOLARS REQUIRE THE FOLLOWING GEAR SETS:

Enhancing - Requires 500 skill (Or as damned close as you can get). This will cap your Embrava and boost your phalanx to awesomesauce level.
Healing - 50% cure potency REQUIRED. After that, priorities are Healing Magic, then mind.
Stun(Haste) - A reasonable set of haste with M.ACC mixed in.
Stun(Resists) - A set with Dark Magic and M.ACC stacked.

It's useful to have a nuking set, but I can rarely carry mine. This is a minimum guide. You should, realistically, also have a fast cast set, enfeeble set, etc.

If you are one to prefer making your own gear sets, I recommend using myFFXIgear.kicks-ass.org. If you want to look at other people's sets, I have mine on FFXIAH (Naoruru.Asura).


Macros
For you crazy people that can’t figure out your own macros:

Accession/Perpetuance | Accession | Perpetuance | Rapture
Regen V | Haste | Paralyna | Stona | Cursna | Cure 3 | Cure 4 |Firestorm | Enspell? | Phalanx | Stoneskin

Alacrity | Manifestation | Ebullience
Stun | Random nukes? DoTs? Enfeebles?

xxxxxxxxxxx––-Embrava Macro––-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
/ja Tabula Rasa me
/ja Accession me
/ja Perpetuance me
/ja Penury me
/ja Celerity me
/ma “Embrava” <st>
((((I’d suggest <st> on Embrava because it ensures you’re casting the right place and not wasting time/mp)

If you’re a support sch, after casting Embrava, go through the roof with buffs. If you’re in a DD party, A/P/P/C enspells, firestorm, adloquium, regen, phalanx. If you’re in the mage party, A/P/P/C regen, hastes, thunderstorm, phalanx, stoneskin, etc.
If you’re a Stun sch, try to Embrava JUST before running in to preserve the most time for charge-free strategem stuns.

Storm Spells
Keeping up a Storm spell significantly increases your usefulness. Hailstorm augments Ice nukes and enfeebles. Thunderstorm helps to stun. Aurorastorm helps to cure. Firestorm gives DDs +str. Don’t be an idiot.

ON AN ENDING NOTE:

Every FUCKING PERSON who CASTS SPELLS or DOES ACTIONS should ALWAYS CARRY Echo Drops, Remedies, and Holy Waters. Stop being lazy fucks.