Wanted WHM?Follow

You'll end up solo'ing to level 10-12-ish. A white mage will be the optimum healer, until level 14, when a rdm catches up on the healing spells for a bit. Red mage also gets fast cast at 15, but white mage gets Divine Seal, which can be a life saver at times. At 16, it is important to mention that white mage gets curaga, an area of effect cure. Red mage does not naturally receive the curaga line of spells. At level 21, whm pulls ahead again with cure III. At 25, white mage gets the raise spell. Red mage gets Cure III at 26, so they've kind of caught up again, but with a lack of raise. At 32, red mage gets the dispel spell, and at 38, they get raise. At 40, red mage gets convert, and at 41, they get refresh.

Throughout the red mage career, they will never have as much mp as a white mage, and they will never get any spells that cure status effects, such as poisona, paralyna, and the sort. They will never get curaga spells, or the higher level of cure spells or regen spells. But they can sub white mage to halfway fix this problem. So, white mage has higher healing potential, but red mage has the ability to keep mp for longer, therefore, keeping the experience chain rolling, and getting more experience.

Each healing job is wanted in different situations, and I think it is important to mention that there are a few other jobs that can do a decent job of healing if they sub white mage.