Alright, I'll guess I'll stick it out and continue my hume black mage.

I don't hate humes, I like them in fact. That's why I picked one over a taru. I like them better than the tarus and didn't think the stats would be that much different. I thought no one would take me seriously if I played a taru.

I'd sub summoner to make up that intelligence I lose to a tarutaru, but I hear black mage/summoners get no group invites. Black Mage/Summoner would probably be the ideal choice for me, because I don't like to heal, need that extra MP, and want to make up as much damage to the taru as possible, but I'll bite the bullet and go red mage for invite's sake.

I don't think I'll be leveling white mage at all. Two of my alts were cleric/shaman in Everquest for the PS2, and that's just not me. People always begging for rez, begging for spirit of the wolf, asking for buffs, blaming you when the group dies. That just isn't me. Sure I'll get a few less invites going red mage then I would going white mage, but I just don't have the patience and can't deal with people well enough to be a white mage.

I don't know about trying another class. I guess that's what one of the good things about the hume is. They can play pretty much any class decently. I wanted to be a nuker when I started playing FFXI. I was a rogue in Everquest, which was the second strongest melee character. I noticed in Everquest that the melees were always in less demand in the high end game then casters. Wizards would be the prime pick for those uber mobs, and us melee would always be dealing the inferior damage. Nobody wanted a rogue, everyone wanted a wizard or a necromancer. I notice this trend in FFXI as well.

I hear the ranger does more damage than the black mage in Final Fantasy XI. I guess I could give that class a shot once I meet the requirements. I'm not used to the whole ranged attack deal. I've never been an archer before, except for that one time I played Gauntlet at the arcade.

I think above all I'm just going to work on my intelligence. I have some self assurance in knowing I'm not a glass cannon like the taru blackmage. It's a trade off. I get some HP, they get some intelligence. I feel a bit better about myself now. I'm gonna rough it a while longer and just see how it goes. I think once I'm out of the dunes with my red mage I'll feel a lot better.