BLM pre-70 help

[MoroMurasaki]

So I'm leveling BLM and enjoying it more now than I have in the past but at 50+ I'm kind of at a loss as to what I should be doing. Below there is very straightforward and I've read guides about how it plays at 70 but in the space between I don't want to be a burden.

If anyone is feeling generous can you give me some tips on how to integrate new skills as I get them so that I'm not just doing the fire->blizzard(thunder)->repeat when I should be doing something else? Flare seems cool but as I try to figure out how to integrate it I get confused with the MP and stuff.

Any help would be appreciated, thank you!

[Zerathor]

Do you mean what to do at level 60 after you have enochian?
Basic rotation will be b3 b1 t3 b4 f3 f4 f4 f4 f1 f4 f4 f4 b3

Opener something like pre sharp b3 eno t3 b4 f3 leylines f4 f4 f4 f4 f1 t3p convert f4 f4 f4 f4 b3. If your sps is too low for that opener, you can clip sharpcast before the f1 to use a f3p instead, but try to use convert after the f3p to not clip your gcd.

<60 is basically spam f1 and use f3p as you get them. F3 f1 until out of mp, b3 thunder, b1 once or twice depending how fast mp tic was, f3, repeat.

Aoe, I can't really remember much other than spam f2 until you're almost out then flare. Also t2/t4. After you get the trait that makes umbral hearts consume flares cost around 67ish I think, you'll basically forget f2 and become a flare machine for aoe.

[Aeducan]

Hello there,

I'm glad you're enjoying BLM! It's a fun and rewarding job when played well. Past 50, BLM play style changes due to Enochian. Let's go over 50+ skills in order to understand them thoroughly, shall we?

Lv 52 Ley Lines: Integral BLM skill even at lv 70. Use this at the start of pulls or bosses to quickly melt them. Note that it has generous duration, so be mindful not to use it too late in order to use this skill efficiently.

Lv 54 Sharpcast: Think of this as mini-swiftcast. Usually people initiate with swiftcast+ fire 3/ blizzard 3 and do what they need to do, but sharpcast can be a great substitute and gives you that extra edge. Generally speaking, this skill is to be used with fire in order to trigger firestarter so you can start dealing max dmg sooner. If you used your swiftcast on last pull and on cd, you can use sharpcast + fire and immediately firestarter so you get 3 orbs right off the bat. Not as useful as the others, but it's a nice QoL and definitely worth your hotbar.

Lv 56 Enochian: Skill that defines BLM mechanics. On its own, it's only 5% dmg increase and nothing else. However, it allows you to cast Fire 4 and Blizzard 4 at lv 58 and 60 respectively. These 2 spells don't refresh the orb, that's why we BLMs "maintain enochian". Maintaining Enochian is not difficult, but you need to know "hidden" mechanics behind orbs. When you have 3 orbs, casting the opposite element's lv 3 spell will be faster, switch the orbs, and you keep enochian (i.e. if you have 3 fire orbs, casting blizzard 3 will be faster, switch it into 3 ice orbs, and you keep enochian and vice versa). Anything but this will be less than ideal. If you have 1/2 orbs, casting opposite lv 3 spells will have regular speed (risk of losing enochian to time) but you still keep enochian. When you have 1/2/3 orbs, casting the opposite lv 1/2 will remove all orbs and you lose enochian. This is BLM's equivalent of ninja's bunny; we screw up our rotation in this scenario.

Lv 58 Blizzard IV: Part of your rotation not due to necessity, but because it gives Umbral Heart buff so you can stay in fire longer. Having said that, casting it even when there are multiple enemies nearby is recommended because you'll be able to cast fire 2 more often when you go back to fire later. Casting another ice or thunder preserves the heart, so it's not "reduce mp cost for the next 3 spells" kind of thing.

Lv 60 Fire IV: Where BLM dmg comes from. Great for single target, but stick with fire 2 and flare for mobs.

At this point, BLM play style is pretty much complete until lv 70 foul which is like the cherry on top of the cake cause it's like the game's way of saying "you've done well maintaining enochian for 30s, here's a bonus dmg spell for you". Lv 62-66 are QoL skills. Lv 68 enables you to triple cast Flare. Generally speaking, as BLM you will want to:

For mobs: get 3 ice orbs -> cast thunder 2/4 and Blizzard 4 -> cast fire 3 to switch up to fire mode -> fire 2 spam and flare for finishing spell
For single target: get 3 ice orbs -> cast thunder 1/3 and Blizzard 4 -> cast fire 3 to switch up to fire mode -> fire 4 spam (be careful of time's out, you can use fire 1 to refresh the time) until few mp (try not to go all out and have almost 0 mp and make sure you have enough to cast blizzard 3) -> cast blizzard 3 to get 3 ice orbs and repeat

You have swiftcast, triplecast, leylines, transpose, among other skills to maintain enochian easier.

I hope I'm clear enough and you'd find this information helpful. Pretty sure there's a big BLM guide thread here somewhere, but I've been out of the loop these days on the forum. In ideal world, we BLMs are turrets. But we are required to move so many times during fights, so take the rotation guide there with a grain of salt and use your best judgment. The essence of what you should be doing remains the same as mentioned above. Good luck and have fun!

Cheers!

[MoroMurasaki]

Thanks to you both! Between these explanations and a chat I had in discord today I think I understand where to go with things now.

I appreciate your time, thanks again!

[Zerathor]

Also, use single target if 3 or fewer targets, aside from thunder. 3 targets you can use t2/t4 but use single target fire spells. And only apply thunder during umbral ice, not astral fire. Your MP in AF is precious and should be reserved for fire spells for maximum potency.