This guide has been written primarily in the hope that I might become a premium member. Its long, but without further ado, here it is.
TUBucks {Can I Have It?} {Please}
BLM GUIDE v1.0
1 ) Introduction
2 ) About The Author
3 ) Why Play A BLM
4 ) Job Basics
5 ) Races
6 ) Sub-jobs
7 ) Spells
8 ) Equipment
9 ) Advanced Strategy
10 ) Tips + Tricks
1 ) Introduction
Hello, thank you for reading (or at least planning to) this guide. Black Mage is a complex job, and this guide does not pretend to teach you everything - not even close to that in fact. I will, however, do my best to introduce the concepts needed to be a good BLM. Please note that I have tried to be objective in this guide, and where possible opinions will be marked out as such. The guide is written for fairly experienced players, who are moving to Black Mage, or for Black Mages to learn a bit more about their job.
2 ) About The Author
I am a level 51 black mage, at the time of writing, and have played several other jobs to mid/high levels as well. Now for the guide:
3 ) Why Play A BLM
Simply put, most people enjoy playing Black Mages because they enjoy killing monsters. If this is your ultimate aim, then either BLM or RNG is the job for you. There is one other thing I particularly enjoy about being a BLM – the control. BLMs are, more than anyone else, the person who decides the speed of combat. They can look on a battle from a detached distance, and know that it is up to them how long the battle takes. Judging this well is obviously a critical skill for would-be BLMs to develop.
4 ) Job Basics
So what exactly is my job anyway?
Black Mages main role in any exp party (or other types as well typically) is to deal damage. Maybe other jobs can hit harder than you, but generally a well-played BLM can be the most damaging single party member, if they want to. Note the “if”. The key to damage dealing as a Black Mage is timing. Although it is fun to simply see how much damage you can do to a monster, this is hardly ever an effective strategy. You are invited by leaders to allow them to kill monsters fast for exp chains primarily. You can also, depending on your sub-job, be used as a backup healer or enfeebler.
Hate control
This is one of the most important things for any BLM to learn. Nuking too fast will only get you killed. Ultimately, this is something you have to discover for yourself. A good starting point though, is to wait 10 seconds between casting each nuke, or other high-strength spell. Obviously this is not a hard-and-fast rule, but merely advice. If you find on the higher chains (4+) you have mp to spare, go ahead and reduce this gap. The amount of hate you can get away with generating varies on the tanking and monster set-up you are using. This is based on being workable for “any” tank, within reason. Generally: Fighting very high level monsters (compared to you/your tank) will make you more likely to get aggro, and vice versa (tanks find it easier to hold hate on lower level monsters), and also the tank themselves has a massive effect. Tank player skill is the most important factor in this, but generally a Paladin holds hate better than a Ninja.
Enfeebling
Black Mages enfeebling skill is nothing special, and a Red Mage will normally be better at it than you, but in many parties you will need to cast enfeebling spells. Spells like Blind, Paralyze, and sometimes Bio save a huge amount of mp – far more than there casting cost. Unless no party member can stick them, most parties should try to use enfeebling magic to weaken the monster. If you want to be able to use this valuable ability, keep your enfeebling magic capped. If you let it get more than 10 levels behind or so, you will find it very hard to catch up again, and will be unable to get the most from your job.
Know Your Foe
Don’t just charge into a battle unprepared – know what you’re fighting against, and its weaknesses/strengths. Don’t be afraid to ask party members or your linkshell what element(s) a type of monster is weak too. To optimise your mp usage, try to only cast spells of elements that the monster is weak too. If in doubt, the most common weakness is to Ice. Generally, Ice, then Thunder, Fire, Air, Earth and finally Water is a good order. Ice is the least-commonly resisted element, then Thunder etc. This is not a hard and fast rule, just a general statement.
Magic Bursting
This is a great way to boost your damage. Ask your party members to put together a Skillchain, and choose a spell of the same element (or one of – Skillchains can have several elements) with which you will “Magic Burst”. For spells from level 1 to level 20, start casting your spell just after the second weaponskill hits. For spells 21-49, start as the second weaponskill is readied. For Ancient Magic, you will need to start about 8-10 seconds before the first weaponskill, and for non-A.M. spells 51+, start casting just before the second weaponskill starts. A magic burst lowers the spells chance of being resisted, and increases its damage by 33%.
Resists
It is a common misconception among inexperienced players that “nukes never miss”. While this is technically true, they can, and do get resisted. There are two types of resist – full, and partial. A partial resist halves the damage the spell does, while a full resist reduces it to just 20%. The chance a monster has to resist a spell is modified by a: how many levels higher it is than you, b: your elemental magic skill, and c: whether it is weak or strong to the element. This is why you should try to use equipment that boosts elemental magic skill (such as AF Gloves), and always stick to the right element. If your damage as a BLM is lacking, it is often because you are getting resisted.
Miscellaneous
As a moderate level BLM, others will also depend on you for Warp II’s (after almost everything), and Sleep(ga) spells (in certain BCNMs etc).
5 ) Races
I will give a brief description of the different races, and there benefits and disadvantages.
Tarutaru
Considered by many the best race for BLMs, they have unequalled mp, and INT. The biggest downfall of tarutaru’s is there very low hp. Hate control is especially important for them – learn it well, or you will die often (as I did).
For: Massive mp pool, high INT, good AGI
Against: Horribly low hp, low VIT, fairly low MND
Hume
Another good race choice for a BLM, Humes have a nice mix or everything. They have good (2nd only to Tarus) mp and INT, good hp, and also some nice RSE Boots (which use one of the least powerful early/mid level item slots for BLMs to gain a significant INT boost.). The lower INT vs taru does not make a great difference, and the lower mp pool is not too crippling either.
For: Good mp, INT, and stats generally. Nice RSE Boots too.
Against: Wont be able to nuke quite as hard as a tarutaru, or for as long.
Mithra
Another good race, Mithra are extremely similar to Humes. They have identical INT and mp, and are almost identical, except for those Boots lol.
For: Good mp, INT, and stats generally.
Against: Wont be able to nuke quite as hard as a tarutaru, or for as long.
Galka
Galka are not a good race to play… There INT is ok, but there mp is appalling. They can still make ok BLMs, but they will never match up to the other races, without exceptional gear, and that gear really isn’t cheap. (think Morion +1s here).
For: High defense (but shouldn’t be needed).
Against: Poor INT, Awful mp.
Elvaan
Just when you thought it was as bad as it gets, another, even worse (in my opinion) race turns up. Elvaan have low scores in all the stats most useful for a Black Mage. That said, I know some excellent Elvaan BLMs. Its not impossible to be a good elvaan BLM, just very hard.
For: Good MND…
Against: Very bad mp and INT.
Personally, I am a Tarutaru. Remember – your race is your choice. I’m not saying Elvaan BLMs suck here – just that it is much harder to play them well. If you want a challenge, then there it is.
6 ) Sub-Jobs
There are only really 3 or 4 useable sub-jobs for a black mage in a party environment. Several others are useful while farming/camping (eg /RNG, /WAR, /THF) but I will not cover these here.
/WHM
The most common sub-job for most (if not all) of the game, BLM/WHMs are popular mainly because of the access to healing magic and status curing spells. I agree that “BLM r not healerz”, but it is still useful. What would you prefer – a dead tank, and a nasty looking monster running in your direction (yep – you guessed it – a BLM will often die too when the tank does), or spending a few mp, and keeping the tank alive? Also, being able to Poisona/Erase is a valuable ability if the party is hit by an AoE effect, because it can take some time for a lone WHM to remove all the status’s. Healing aside, /WHM gives a good mp boost (2nd only to /SMN) and a respectable INT boost (4th, after /DRK, /RDM, and /SMN). Stoneskin and Blink also are helpful defensively.
/RDM
This is, in my opinion, the main other sub-job for BLMs. It does give healing abilities, but at higher levels, and without the status curing or the AoE heals. However, it gives a very good INT boost (2nd to /SMN) and a decent mp boost (3rd best). Fast Cast is also a very useful trait to have, especially after level 70 (35 = Fast Cast II). Dispel is nice sometimes too, and Phalanx makes stoneskin that bit better while farming.
/SMN
Summoner sub-job is often regarded as inferior to the others, although it does have benefits. It gives the best mp boost (58 higher than /WHM at 75 I believe) and the best INT boost (1 higher than /RDM at 75). Also, Auto Refresh at level 50 (BLM level), adds 1mp every 3 seconds, which is nice. Using avatars to heal with is a waste of time/mp, and they will be far too weak to use in combat. Maybe the AoE Blink (Garuda 25) and Protect/Shell (Carbuncle 24) will be useful, but the loss of healing magic is not, in my opinion, made up for by these advantages. I’m not saying you can’t play a BLM/SMN, just advising you to think first. As an afterthought it may be a good choice for Elvaan and Galkas.
/BRD
Bard is an extremely rare sub-job choice for BLM, and to be honest I don’t even know why I’m bothering to include it. You will only be able to keep one song up at a time, and you wont be able to stick songs on exp level mobs. Only real use for this sub-job is at 50+, for Mages Ballad. I personally would never do this in a pick-up exp party, but would consider it in a static.
7 ) Spells
These are what makes you what you are – a mage. Below is information on the more significant spells, that I consider worthy of note.
Elemental Magic
The main spell line for BLMs, in which they have skill rank A+. These are the spells you will use most (probably). They are your straight damage nukes, and split into 2 types, AoE, and non-AoE. The AoE spell’s names are all suffixed with –ga (such as Stonega, Firaga), and will do damage to all monsters within a certain range from your target. Their damage is reduced if the spell hits more than one monster (eg Thundaga III = 1400 on a single monster, maybe only 950 each on 2). Always check if there are any other monsters near your target when using these. AoE spells tend to have a higher mp cost for their level (eg Stonega = lv15, 37mp, while the next non-AoE nuke up is Blizzard = lv17, 30mp), and will be less efficient for your mp. That said, your strongest spell (other than Ancient Magic) will normally be an AoE type spell. This makes them good choices for Magic Bursts. The single target nukes will be your main spells. The higher level ones are less likely to be resisted, the lower level ones are more efficient, both for hate, and mp (if they aren’t resisted). Make your choice on what is important to you.
Elemental Enfeebles
These spells, learned between levels 16 and 27, are elemental magic, but they act like enfeebling spells. Each ones effects are detailed below. The damage over time effects are 1 damage every 3 seconds – insignificant, but they will prevent a monster from being slept. The stat-down effects wear off gradually, over time, like DRK Absorb spells. There are conditions for casting each spell.
Shock: lv16, 15mp = Reduces MND and deals damage over time. Overwrites Drown, cannot be cast if Rasp is active. Lowers white magic spell power and lowers spell resistance rate (Easier to stick spells on them).
Rasp: lv16, 15mp = Reduces DEX and deals damage over time. Overwrites Shock, cannot be cast if Choke is active. Lower accuracy and critical hit rate.
Choke: lv16, 15mp = Reduces VIT and deals damage over time. Overwrites Rasp, cannot be cast if Frost is active. Increases damage taken from physical attacks.
Frost: lv16, 15mp = Reduces AGI and deals damage over time. Overwrites Choke, cannot be cast if Burn is active. Lowers evasion and ranged accuracy.
Burn: lv16, 15mp = Reduces INT and deals damage over time. Overwrites Frost, cannot be cast if Drown is active. Increases spell damage (against the monster)
Drown: lv16, 15mp = Reduces STR and deals damage over time. Overwrites Burn, cannot be cast if Shock is active. Lower monster attack.
As you see, it is only possible to have up to 3 active at any one time. Of those spells, the only one I recommend using often is Frost. Lowering its evasion makes your melees hit more, and thus get more TP, allowing you to do more magic bursts. Good for everyone^^, without wasting loads of mp on them.
Ancient Magic
These extremely powerful spells are learnt between levels 50 and 60. The scrolls for all but 2 of them are very expensive to buy (comparatively). There is one for each element. They also reduce the monsters resistance to the next spell down the list (in level).
Freeze: lv50, 307mp = Deals Ice damage and reduces resistance to Fire.
Tornado: lv52, 322mp = Deals Air damage and reduces resistance to Ice.
Quake: lv54, 337mp = Deals Earth damage and reduces resistance to Air.
Burst: lv56, 352mp = Deals Lightning damage and reduces resistance to Earth.
Flood: lv58, 368mp = Deals Water damage and reduces resistance to Lightning.
Flare: lv60, 383mp = Deals Fire damage and reduces resistance to Water.
Although they will be your most damaging spells when you first learn them, they are very expensive in mp, and will be inefficient. They are fairly often used for Magic Bursting.
Dark Magic
The Dark Magic spells are very useful to a BLM, and there power is always directly proportional to your dark magic skill.
Bio Spells
Bio: lv10, 22mp = Reduces attack and causes damage over time, as well as damage on hit.
Bio II: lv34, 36mp = Reduces attack and causes damage over time, as well as damage on hit.
These spells reduce the attack of the monster by 5% and 10% respectively. They cannot stack with Dia spells. The first spell causes a minimal amount of damage, both initially and over time, while Bio II causes a large amount, making Bio II well worth using. The effectiveness of Bio I is questionable. These spells will also help level Dark Magic skill fast.
Drain And Aspir
Drain: lv12, 21mp = Drains hp from the monster.
Bio II: lv25, 10mp = Drains mp from the monster.
These spells, both with 1 minute recasts drain hp and mp respectively from a monster. The amount drained will vary greatly, but it will always be based on how high your dark magic skill is. If your hp/mp is full, these spells will still reduce the monsters hp/mp, even though it will say “0 hp drained”. Go out and drain a Tiny Mandragora to see this for yourself. These spells are very useful, but you cant rely on them. Both scrolls can be got from easy quests (buy item from ah), but are expensive to buy in ah.
Stun
This spell owns lol. It will (if it hits) interrupt spells, even abilities if you time it right. Black Mages are rarely relied on for Stuns (DRK is the main stunner), but its always good to chuck one in if the monster starts doing something nasty.
8 ) Equipment
As a blm, your first priority is going to be enhancing your ability as a magic based DD. I will list the main things you will look for in equipment here.
Elemental Magic Skill: This substantially affects your spells chances of getting resisted (in a good way lol). Found on higher level equipment only, it is one of the most important things to look for as a BLM.
Magic Attack Bonus: This increases your spells damage, and is another big factor in increasing your strength as a BLM. Mag. Atk. Bonus adds slightly lower than that many percent to your spell damage (actual increase is dependant on your total Magic Attack).
Emnity Reduction: This means items like Mycophile Cuffs (Emnity – 2). It reduces the amount of hate you gain.
Magic Accuracy: Another big one – this acts like Elemental Magic Skill, but works for all magic. Great stat, but not much gives it.
INT: Affects spell damage, and probably spell accuracy too, but not very much.
MP: Obvious. Tarutaru shouldn’t bother with this, other races might want to take a look.
Elemental Staves: These get a special section all of their own J They, aside from being powerful items on there own, each give (for NQs) a 10% bonus to the power and accuracy of their element, and the HQs give 15%.
9 ) Advanced Strategy
o_O and you thought it was complicated already lol. Theres not actually that much to write here really – its all really simple tbh. First for exp chains. The most efficient way to gain exp is to use exp chains to maximise the amount you get per kill. To do this well, you must conserve your mp early on. Next up – killing excessively tough monsters solo for keys etc. Kite them to a zone, and stack DoT (Damage over Time) on them. Zone, zone back, and wait. Good for keys. Manaburning. This is a party setup involving 5 BLMs and normally a BRD. Your job is really simple – cast Freeze or whatever at the specified time. To be honest, all there is to advanced BLM strategy is experience. Find out your limits, and know them – follow the basic rules, and you’ll become a great BLM. The key to playing any job well is interpretation of these rules.
10 ) Tips And Tricks
Easy Soloing
Past level 50, when you first learn Freeze, a BLM can get very good solo exp by fighting T-VT pet monster (like Goblin’s Leech). They will normally be one-hit-killed, and the pets ‘owner’ will resummon one soon afterwards. All pet mobs have an apostrophe ‘ in their name. For soloing stronger monsters in the higher levels, just buff up, sleep, (rest), nuke and repeat till dead.
Abusing Tractor
Tractor can be used to pull a dead person through certain doors, or up impossible jumps. This can be used to great effect in many missions or areas.
Fun With Warp
If you cast Warp II on a WHM as they teleport you, timed so both spells will go off together, they will go to their home-point, and you to the telepoint. Timing is critical. There isn’t really much point to this, but it can be funny. Also 2 BLMs can Warp II each other.
What Macro Tags To Use
Choose wisely between <bt>, <t> and <stnpc> tags for monsters. <bt> is the monster currently in red. <t> is the current target, and <stnpc> gives you a blue cursor with which you can select a monster. I recommend <bt> for most spells, except Sleep spells, for which <stnpc> is perfect. Again, with party members choose between <me>, <stpc>, and <p?>. First two are obvious, for the third subtract one from the position down the pt list the person is, and replace the ? with that. For example <p2> means the third person down the pt member list, including yourself.
Spell Damage Formula
This is not the full spell damage formula. The full one is overcomplicated, and requires information about the spells which hasn’t been tested yet. All I’ve included here is the basic information about how to increase damage.
(Base_Spell_Damage + INT_Difference * Spell_Tier_Factor) * MAB * ESB = Spell Damage
Ok – Base_Spell_Damage is the base damage for the spell., INT_Difference is how much more, or less INT you have than the monster. (Does get capped, but not in any normal situation). MAB is your total Magic Attack Bonus, and ESB is the bonus you get from your elemental staves.
Day Effects
Spells of the current days element gain a significant enhancement (10% damage), and spells of the element weak to the current day a 10% damage penalty. Bear this in mind when choosing spells.
Sleep Overwrites
Sleep spells cannot be cast successfully onto sleeping monsters normally, to prevent you from keeping something slept indefinitely. However, Sleep(ga) II does overwrite Sleep(ga) I or a BRD Lullaby song. This allows you to extend the duration of your sleeps, by casting the weaker one first.
What Has MP?
All mage monsters, beetles and crabs have mp, and should be aspir’d.
The End...
Hope you liked it. If so, I'dd appreciate some points. This took a long time to write. Please reply someone - I know your reading it.
Pyrolol
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