Black Mage Power

[Achillas]

I'm in the process of leveling Black Mage up. I was leveling Scholar, but I like being able to hit things a little harder. ( Sch39, Blm 48 ) I guess what I was wondering is if anyone could show me the true damage potential of a blm. I'm not talking the best geared, because that will take me a while to get. I'm just talking average gear with HQ staves and generally easy to AH obtainable gear.

Also, can some people give me some tips as to what to expect and all coming soon? I know that the Sorcerer's Ring doesn't really benefit me until much later, but anything that you guys think would be useful would be awesome. Thanks

[Drex]

You're 2 levels away from being able to one-shot your solo mobs (assuming you're soloing, if you aren't you should start at 50). That will probably leave you giddy until 75. It certainly did for me.

BLM doesn't need a lot of money to do useful damage, that's why RMT find it so appealing. If you're talking bargain bin blm with hq staves, then you'd be looking at something like:

hq staves, bugard+1 strap, phantom tath, af hat or demon helm, ele torque, moldy/phantom earrings, weskit, AF hands or goliard or z mitts (do you do sky?), diamond rings, rainbow cape, pen rope, errant slops, yigit feet. That's a pretty good build for on the cheap.

That doesn't make it wise to stay NQ BLM forever. You'll need good enfeebling gear at the very least, unless you like constantly recapping buffer because of dying from resisted sleeps at events.

[Psion]

Screw blm, level pup.

[Achillas]

Well, I'm not planning on being a bargain blm forever. I was just wondering what my potential is before I start getting the better gear. You know, was I going to be considered gimp from the begining. I Actually plan on making it my main because of how much fun I'm having with it. I need to get red mage up to 37 though because that will be what is wanted at later levels right? I have Sch and Whm to atleast 37.

I've already started getting my gear ready for the higher levels, usually on items where RMT is trying to price fix. I know on Fenrir they are playing with snow rings dropping them down to ~200k and then back up to about 500k. So, I'm trying to catch things like that. I also got a penient's rope dirt cheap.

I have noticed it a little hard to keep my dark and enfeebling capped compared to my elemental. I haven't started soloing yet, but I think I'll be coming soon. I've been getting decent parties. I can't wait until I get some AM, just the power to do that damage is awesome. Where are some good places to go to skill up my magic? Is there anything better than just spamming dia and bio?

[Not Kuno]

Do you want to see a Black Mage's true power?

Spoiler: show

Ok but seriously, crazy damage is nice but you have to worry about not dying quickly afterwards. Also the utility spells are really nice, which is why I like it more then my sch. Sorry I don't have any SSes of crazy numbers and stuff, after a few years of blm you don't worry as much about thing's like that. >.>

[Achillas]

Originally Posted by Not Kuno

Do you want to see a Black Mage's true power?

Spoiler: show

>.>

lmfao. That is probably the best picture I've ever seen.

I know damage isn't the end all be all, but I also love with a drk who just brags a lot. lol I'm just wanting to see what the damage potential is. Like what are the damage spikes and what is considered average.

[Linktri]

As a starter BLM at 75, you're looking at an average of 1200 for a tier IV nuke and about 1400-1600 for AMII. Tack on a little extra damage if you're a Taru.

[Achillas]

I'm a Hume.

[Spekkio]

while damage is a major part of a blm's toolkit, don't forget a blm brings more than that to the table. a blm is a form of control too. sleepga can take many mobs off the table as a threat for a time, while stun if timed well can save the day. perfect example from a while back. fighting goober in dyna valk. i knew when his HP hit the TP @ 100% threshold he would have more than enough TP to fire off an attack and there was a decent chance of it being charmga. in anticipation, i had a stun in the chute and denied him. considering the sloppy nature of that run to begin with, there's a very real chance that my actions there made the win happen. asking questions like what your max damage output at 75 would be leads me to believe that like so many blm today, you're experiencing tunnel vision on your job's abilities. don't focus so much on the "e-peen" damage, melees can pick that up. focus on knowing how to use all your tools and that when you need something like a sleep or a bind to connect, you don't have to wonder if it will or not.

[thatwasnifty]

Everyone always forget the Vicious Mufflers. If you don't so sky, then grab a couple of friends to get this item. It gives that same MAB+5, which is all you need if you're not going to activate a sorc. ring (which, if you're a bargain BLM, then you probably don't have anyway), it's free, and SCH can use it, too. The pop item might take a little while to drop, but the NM itself has a pretty high drop rate. My ls made a night of it a few months ago, and with I think 9 pops we got 6 or 7 drops.

[Shirahime]

Decent for kirin.

[Achillas]

lol. I'm not caught up in only pumping out big numbers. I'm just honestly curious about the jobs ability. I am the type of player who likes to used my abilities to the fullest. The other day we were partying in The Crawlers Nest when somehow the thf linked several things. Had it not been for sleepga, if would have gotten messy. I understand thats not like saving a large run, but still.

I really want any tip that could be useful to a new blm. I don't want to be one of those players who get to higher on a job and realize that they were missing out on something they had the whole time. But the damage potential does help the epeen a little.

When I hit 50 should I start soloing over getting in parties?

[Spekkio]

no reason not to solo as long as you don't let your understanding of hate fall to the wayside because of it. if you do so, you should keep most of your skills near or at cap, so you're not risking letting enfeebling magic fall behind like some people i know.

as for tips, i'd read through this: Kanican - BLM Guide (Part I)
while it's more geared towards a 75 blm with toys aplenty, it doesn't invalidate it for a lower level to understand some of the concepts like standing gear sets and to introduce some good ideas and good practices at an early level. other things i could say are just the standard issue claptrap like don't forget you have cures/nas if you're partying, a blm helping with paralyna or blindna can save the day, stuff like that.

[gandorf]

I would party while I still can and then solo when the invites stop..

You can keep dark leveled by using aspir drain and stun.

You will want max inventory space. Blm has a lot of gear and even 70 inventory space isn't enough some of the time.

For gear you will want to have a hmp, mp, nuking, and sleeping set. You may also want to invest in wizard cookies and maybe carry a few mp drinks on you when you solo. You will also need reraise earrings.

When shit hits the fan you may want to sleep and zone or /logout to reset hate.

A lot of people including myself had a really hard time doing bibikibay while soloing. It will almost make you want to quit the job but stick with it and don't give up.

I will add more later.

I hope you enjoy blm its a great job and you can do so much with it.

[MrBubbles]

Besieged was where I capped Dark and Enfeebling for BLM, just run around Bio II'ing stuff and casting Dia (seemed to be most efficient way to cap it). Plus get a few free XP, also I heard you can do the same on Campaign mobs if you don't get an Allied Tag.

Advice: Get used to using Stun/Sleep/Bind to save yourself and others, have them always macro'd with your main macroes. If you're getting the crap beat out of you, learn when to start casting them so that you don't get interrupted. Most of the fail BLMs I see really don't know how to use those spells right. Also, in terms of most longer casting spells, you can start moving usually right before your spell goes off, allowing you to get some hax distance between you and a mob chasing you.

[Redshift]

If you want to cap Enfeebling, just go to sea and spam non-damaging enfeebles on dolphins

[Maaglin]

Originally Posted by Linktri

As a starter BLM at 75, you're looking at an average of 1200 for a tier IV nuke and about 1400-1600 for AMII. Tack on a little extra damage if you're a Taru.

Unless you are talking about puddings, I think these numbers are a little high for a "nq" blm. I'd think more in the 1000-1100 for IV's and 1200-1400 for AMII.

[Celebrindor]

1. if you plan on soloing at 50 (highly reccomended, nothing like seeing 10k/hour solo for 15-18 levels!), you'll need /NIN and /RDM, depending on the level. Both /NIN and /RDM give a nice INT boost compared to WHM (not sure about /SCH), and /NIN will give you utsusemi long before either WHM or RDM gives stoneskin. /RDM will give you gravity at the right level too for soloing. (another fun thing about /NIN even earlier than 50 is dual wielding INT wands )

2. Use stun/drain/aspir (if mob has MP) every time the recast timer is up in parties. That will definitely help your skillup rate.

3. Use dia I in exp situations to level enfeebling. Its cheap MP, and can be overwritted by dia II, bio, bio II if your RDM or main enfeebler cares to (god I speak like its 2006).

4. To solo in the 70's you'll want enfeebling gear. JSE Tiara, AF body, spider torque (enf. of course if you can afford), HQ staves (pluto's, aquilo's, auster's for enf. primarily) should be enough for most situations. I honestly don't know what its like to enfeeble without enfeebling merits, as RDM was my first to 75.

5. For later on, learn your elemental enfeebles. They are extremely powerful if used correctly in large scale situations where you need to speed up damage from other party members. Not really a place for them in soloing of course (as you'll want to be able to sleep most things you solo, if you can).

6. At 75, BLM merits are great. Potency merits are immediately noticable, and should be high on your list of to-dos. As well of course as elemental/enfeebling magic merits. AM II is fun, but should come after getting several magic skill merits, and I think after some potency merits personally. But that last one is up for debate.

[Fogo]

I want to reiterate what's been said about enfeeble. While blm doesn't have a huge enfeeble base skill, it's still an incredibly important magic skill, and a few points can make the difference between living and dieing in many situations, both solo and in groups (whether xp or event).

A lot of blms potential comes from not just being a glass cannon but also versatility to situations. Like has been mentioned, elemental dot's are great for a lot of event things, enfeebles; nukes of course but within reason, know your hate limit and when to back off or even not cast at all. Heck, you can even do some crazy things like nuke hard to pull hate off your tanks for a minute if they look like their floundering, kite whatever it is for a little bit till things are back under control. Even if you die if you saved the tanks/healers then it's worth it imo. Of course there's a time and a place to all of that, not saying that happens very often heh.

[Achillas]

Spekkio thats for that link. I've read about half of that and there is a lot of useful information there. I'll finish reading that when I get home tonight or tomorrow.

As for my enfeebling skill, I know it's lower than it should be. I just have a harder time keeping it capped in parties. I think thats something I'll have to dedicate a weekend on getting it back up to cap. My staff skill it pathetic. I think it's only at earth crusher. (Isnt that the AoE one?) My dark magic is about 10 levels from cap. I'm usually able to keep it up there, but can't keep it capped. I use stun, drain and aspir almost everytime they are available.

For my subjobs, do I need to go ahead and start leveling /rdm or will I be alright without it for a while? I really just don't feel like starting another job at 1 right now. I already have to bring my /nin up to 37 because it's only at about 25 now. Would sch provide any other benefits to my blm other than the mp cost and recast time? (Since I already have it and whm at 39) Or should I go ahead and just suck it up and start /rdm?

Where and what should I start soloing?

[Hanyoko]

/rdm is *best* 68+ as you will have stoneskin
/whm is good all around sub
/nin is situational; really good pre staff for dualwield wands
/smn is decent 50+ for autorefresh and some more int

But yea. want to emphasize the "Its situational"

I've yet to try blm/sch and would be interested to hear some pro/cons about it.

[Fogo]

The only time i've used /sch for any event is for Jailer of love. While a decent sub, it offers almost no survivability. I think and have heard it's a pretty good sub for pudding camp, but i've not tested it myself.

[Guppy]

Originally Posted by Fogo

I think and have heard it's a pretty good sub for pudding camp, but i've not tested it myself.

It's also excellent vs. Ranger Qiqirns. Just stand back from the mob and blaze away at each other until one of you drops.

[astura]

as for /nin vr /rdm vr /sch depends on gear and if your able to constantly and reliably (90% or better) 1 shot pets with am /sch is better for mp saved (or casting in 1/2 the time) /nin is more survivability and will beat /rdm at pso'ja and newton camps because there's not enough kiting room. it alos garanteed that you can get 2 nukes before have to recast shadows. That means you can level more effective 2 shoting mobs with more mp effecient spells then trying to 1 shot. /rdm is also nice as well with gravity and fast cast to help. The main idea to soloing fast as a blm is survivability and damage output.
Just know when to use each sub for the situation and you'll be fine.
cant kite or reliably 1 shot /nin is best to get 2 hits (pull +2nd nuke) use signet for hhp
cant 1 shot reliably but can kite /rdm is a option gravity and fast cast helps but your sol if you start getting hit
you can 1 shot pets reliably (90% or higher) then /sch is best for 1/2 mp cost or 1/2 casting time.

(ps if you have access to sea use /rdm and spam enfeeble spells with stun and aspir over and over till you caped on goldfish which shouldn't take long)

[gandorf]

I used to enjoy doing campain as blm/nin. I would use a staff with refresh from sigil and refresh from a body along with aspir I would keep my mp up and I would have fun while doing it. You may also want to join windy from the past they got decent blm armor.

I didn't have rdm as a subjob on my blm till after I was 75 but I soon realized it would have made solo a little easier if I did have it lved. /whm and /nin is nice but sometimes you just need /rdm.