Some testing done on stats (courtesy of Kaeko), and also some good mage advice from kro.
http://lodestone.finalfantasyxiv.com/rc/diary/entry?e=264722
Sentinel:
* Provides -60% damage reduction (rounded up)
* Reduction does not change with affinities/cross-class (only duration/recast does)
* The most damage you can ever take with Sentinel active is 4000.
One of the most overpowered skills in the game. Given how easily it is to level a job to 36 at this stage of the game, would highly recommend all players who take endgame seriously to get this skill. Reduction is not affected by trait, which is nice. Found it interesting that the "cap" on damage with Sentinel on appears to be 4000, which is an easily attainable max HP in 1.19.
*******
Stoneskin II:
* Increasing MND did not increase Stoneskin II
* Increasing VIT/Enhancing magic did increase Stoneskin II
* Profundity I/II did not affect the amount of HP absorbed
* Affinities do play a role with 80% HP absorbed w/o trait, 90% with trait
* +1 Enhancing Magic Skill equates to roughly +0.5 HP absorbed
* Most CON stoneskins will fall around 490-500 HP absorbed.
* Stoneskin I appears capped around 75 HP absorbed (?)
Disappointed with this spell in v1.19 simply because there doesn't seem to be a viable way to enhance this spell with any sort of build or gear selection right now. There's no direct way to enhance your Enhancing Magic Skill without stacking VIT, which is an odd stat for a mage to stack. Even if you tried to add say +100 VIT, it would only give you maybe ~15 HP absorbed. Nice to know the HP it absorbs, but not worth making a build for this right now in my opinion. Still one of the strongest spells in the game regardless.
*******
DoT Spells:
* Damage per tick affected by both user PIE/enfeebling and the mob's elemental resist
* The damage per tick on spells appears to have a cap (30 for Poison II)
Admittedly, these tests were done rather crudely. For instance, I did not even note my actual enfeebling magic skill during these tests, only the PIE change. Overall I was extremely disappointed with DoTs (especially at the very low Poison II cap...), which probably led to the lack-luster testing and lack of a formula determination. This would be an interesting set of tests to revisit when we are able to re-allocate stats, but for now, I think SE has killed a DoT build (which was admittedly overpowered prior to 1.19) for the time being with the very low caps. Of note I do not know what a Poison II would deal to Ifrit since this is a difficult topic to test on high level mobs without knowing their elemental resists; so I am unable to answer the question of "should I use DoTs on Ifrit?"
*******
Slow:
* Slow grants roughly 65-80% increase in auto-attack delay time
The test was fairly crude so the only information I feel safe in calling is that Slow with a normal THM w/o any gear on gives anywhere between a 65-80% increase in auto-attack delay. Whether or not PIE/enfeebling magic affects this or not I do not feel safe in calling, though I would assume it does. Either way, incredibly powerful spell on something like Ifrit when each normal attack does 600-800 damage.
*******
Cure III:
* Healing Magic +1 improves Cure III more than MND +1
* I'm unwilling to go any further than that regarding an accurate formula
* When critical hit occurs, the HP cured increases by roughly 20-25%
* Cures appear to be a random value between a set min and max value (not normal)
* No testing was done on Second Wind I/II, Cure I/II or the Sacrifice Spells
The above testing falls far short of being able to find a definitive formula for Cure III; however, I think it does tell us a couple of important things. First off, that the randomness in cure values does not seem to follow a normal distribution, but a random one (where all values between min and max have an equal chance of occuring). Secondly, it at least gives us the general idea that 1 or 1, healing magic is better than MND. I gave a sample formula, which is likely horribly flawed, but you're free to follow up on it if you'd like. In that sample, I imply that every Healing magic skill increases Cure III by roughly 1.5 HP while every MND increases it by 0.25 HP. Finally, Crits seem to add 20-25% HP cured, though I have not tested anything regarding Crit gear. Overall, I'd say a Healing Magic build on Head/Weapon may be worthwhile for a dedicated healer, but givent he expense of Healer's Hand IV, I probably wouldn't invest in any double socketing at this point. Max MP builds (or MND since it adds MP as well) are probably a more realistic goal for a dedicated healer in 1.19. Again, something well worth revisiting in 1.20 with stat allocation.
http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/...me-Healing-Con?p=425343&viewfull=1#post425343
I put MP into every slot possible. Adding large amounts of MND or healing potency gear doesn't seem to have a significant effect on how much HP gets healed - at least not nearly as noticeable as healing someone with or without Prime Conditioning.
Higher max MP definitely increases the amount of MP gained from Tranquility. I believe it also increases the amount of MP you regen by standing still. I also noticed that MP food such as Pumpkin Cookies gave me higher bonus MP when I upgraded my gear with more MP materia (+50 mp -> +52 MP). So MP food is probably percentage-based.
With Full Party and food I have about 1560 MP. Another mage in my LS has double-slotted MP materia on all gear and gets around 1680 MP. Oftentimes, we'll get to Hellfire on Ifrit with 80-90% MP remaining with Tranquility still up. That's like 300-400 more effective MP during phase 5 than a mage that does not slot MP.
I also feel that -Enmity is not worth it. In long fights, Accomplice makes hate management trivial. In shorter fights such as beastman strongholds, I find that taking hate is largely dependent on what actions you take. Use Stoneskin and single-target heals on MRDs spamming Storm's Path and you shouldn't pull hate. Use Curaga early on and you will always pull hate. If necessary, Curaga and activate Sentinel along with a few shield skills since mobs die fast anyways.
In any case, gear to consider:
Wand: Wand of Gales
Staff: Jade Crook (M.Acc) / Ifrit's Cane (M.Pot)
Shield: Eagle-Crested Round Shield or Square Ash Shield (M.Acc)
Head: Felt Hat Green (M.Acc) / Electrum Circlet Rubellite (MP+Fire Resist) / Mask of the Mortal Hex (M.Pot)
Body: Felt Robe Red (MND) / Felt Robe Green (M.Pot)
Hands: Boarskin Ringband of Gales / Leather Mitts (MP)
Legs: Felt Gaskins (Brown)
Waist: Raptorskin Satchel Belt
Feet: Peisteskin Crakows Red
Accessories: Blue/Red Coral Wristbands / Black Pearl Rings
Materia to consider:
Wand: MP or Healing Potency
Staff: M.Crit
Shield: HP+MP (Lifethirst)
Head: MP or Healing Potency or M.Acc
Body: MP
Hands: M.Crit
Legs: MP
Waist: MP
Feet: HP or M.Eva or M.Potency
MND and enmity don't do enough to justify the slot. Healing Potency still needs to be proven. Magic accuracy can be useful (Slow and Blind on Ifrit will save a lot of MP), but how much of an effect this has on land rate remains to be seen.
MP is the most universal and a safe bet (probably the cheapest too). Feet have bad choices for mages so get whatever there.
