FFXIclopedia interview with Development Team at E3

[Khamsin]

if youre using a 2h weap you arent subbing nin.

Except they should be, so as not to give the healer a heart attack and be an MP sink.

[Xiona]

healers are there to use their MP, it builds things like MP efficiency, reaction time, priorities. if your main healer is a SMN then sure everyone subs nin, but when you have a whm or rdm, /nin isnt needed. nothing is as bad as mnk/war pt's in KRT MP sponge wise, and we all used to do them quite well.

pushing the envelope = faster xp. subbing nin is castration for jobs other than war. i have full faith that healers can maintain MP levels if noone subs nin, hell i used to and still can. plus mobs shouldnt even be alive long enough to pose any real danger to anyone blood tanking haha

[Kaslo]

Actually a mage's MP pool is alot more limited than ppl think, one person without shadows becomes a huge MP sink leading to downtime.

And people don't sub nin for dual wield, they sub it for shadows, and don't think Seigan = Shadows cause it's nowhere close.

[Xiona]

ive never had an issue with melee using /war when im healing. hell this was before a vast majority of better merits and gear so it was even harder to keep mp up. /nin is just so healers can be lazy haha

[Kaslo]

Then you don't exp on things worth exping on, that or do this old fangled way of having a RDM and a WHM in a PT.

But it also protects a player, I don't know if you've ever seen a pecking fury to pecking fury but it can be gruesome without shadows.