CDC build and BLU Melee Build and spell sets suggestions

[hideka]

im trying to perfect a CDCbuild , and a Melee Build

My current CDC build
Main: Almace
Sub: Shashmir +3 (fire path)
Ammo: Thunder Sachet
Head: Aias Bonnet
Neck: Snow Gorget
Ear1: Brutal Earring
Ear2: Supanomimi
body: Loki's Kaftan
Hands: Homam Manopalas (looking for an alternative)
Ring1: Thundersoul ring
Ring2: Rajas Ring
Back: Atheling Mantle
Waist: Snow Belt
Legs: Mavi Tayt+2
Feet: Rager Lesledens

My Current TP build:
Main: Almace
Sub: Samshir+3 fire path
Head: Zelus Tiara
Neck: N/A Need Suggestion
Ear1: Brutal Earring
Ear2: Suppanomimi
Body: Loki's Kaftan
Hands: Homam Manopolas
ring1: Epona's Ring
Ring2: Rajas Ring
Back: Atheling Mantle
Waist: Twilight Belt
Legs: Mavi tayt +2
Feet: Homam gamberias

this build totals 25% haste, im looking to upgrade hands to brego mitts soon for +26% haste. any way i can improve this build?

Spell Build
Acrid Stream 3
Demoralizing Roar 4
Empty Thrash 3
Heavy Strike 2
Animating Wail 5
Blazing Bound 3
QuadContinuum 4
Delta Thrust 2
Mortal Ray 4
Barbed Crescent 2
Auroral Drape 4 `
Wind Breath 2
Fantod 1
Sudden Lunge 4
MagicFruit 3
Amorphic Spikes 4
Benthic Typhoon 4
Battery charge 3
Occultation 3
Total: 60
Traits:
Tripple attack
Store TP
Fast cast
Dual wield III

[Annahya]

I am still working on my Almace, and I wager I am not as accomplished as some others in this forum, but something stands out to me that seems worth mentioning:

While Triple Attack is nice, as BLU we have access to many more ways to improve Double Attack than we we do for Triple Attack. Others may step in and prove me wrong, but it would seem to me to be wiser to save the set points used to upgrade Double to Triple Attack (namely: Acrid Stream and Demoralizing Roar) and just boost the crap out of the Double Attack percentage.

Then, with the set points you saved, you could add either Goblin Rush or Quadrastrike to gain "Skillchain Bonus" for your solo skillchains. Which one is going to be a situational matter; Efflux'd Quardrastrikes are nice, when possessed of +Critical Damage modifiers, and the +STR it offers is always helpful to BLU, while Goblin Rush is cheaper to cast, and provides +DEX if needed for your CDC modifiers (especially if you really counted on the +DEX that you were getting from Acrid Stream).

Just some ideas that popped up when I read your post.

[hideka]

i set tripple attack because im /warrior and already getting a far superior double attack

[Annahya]

Fair enough - I have shifted to /WAR as well, as my Almace is progressing nicely and I want to be used to it when the time comes.

I recognize that Epona's will always create the risk of losing out on your Double Attack (since DA and TA cannot peacefully coexist), but I tend to favor just helping Double Attack be as consistant as possible (which it seems you have already), with Epona's providing the occasional surprise. That way, I am afforded more set points for spell variety as opposed to boosting a Job Trait that can't play well with others.

By no stretch would I say that you are wrong to do so - just wanted to put my thoughts out there since you asked for feedback.

[Transmit]

For CDC you will want

TP bonus earring from WotG over suppa
Rancor Collar over Gorget
Aclide Mittens +1 / Athos's for hands (There may be some new gear I'm missing)
I believe Cuch Belt beats ele belt.
Aclide Feet +1 is what I currently use as well.

Theres a lot of new Athos's / Kurcura (?) gear to look into as well.

For TP the first thing which strike me is the Loki / Tiara combo. Unless I'm adding it up wrong you aren't capping haste, you're at 25%, and you could do this with Dusk Gloves +1 (because BLU cannot use Brego Gloves), or by switching to AF2 +2 head / body.

+11dex +11agi +7 store TP +5% crit hit damage +8% haste

vs

+24 acc +7sword skill +9% haste +2mp per tick refresh

Between Loki / Tiara, and AF2.

Though really I think the best TP head/body combo out is Mextali / Head +2, and dusk gloves+1? To cap haste and get the dual wield boost.

Just my opinions anyway.

[Neisan_Quetz]

Blu can't wear Brego or Rager. Did you copy the wrong set? Current gear on left, changes on the right.


Aias > Ocolomeh(+1)
Loki's > Athos or Toci's
Homam > Even mirage is better than this, Kacura+1/Athos/Alucinor are better
Unless you're having accuracy problems, in which cause you would probably use Anguinus, Cuchulain's beats elebelt. New Dex10 belt is also an option.
Thundersoul > Epona's
Mavi > Tumbler's unless pdif capped
Lithe is better than w/e you're not using on feet, Athos and a new rare dex/agi 10 feet replace it. Kacura feet are once again an option, assuming you can get your hands on it and not Athos.

Not sure why you'd bother with zelus/loki's except for like... fodder inside? I don't see the point in -inv when mavi+2 is pretty much equal on fodder outside and wins on harder mobs. Cuahitl+1/Mextli Harness is better than both in pure damage.

[Doombringer]

i dunno about your server, but on mine, dusk gloves +1 are cheap as hell because of brego. like from 2 mil to 100k in about a week.. you should prolly look into that.

[doctorugh]

Another head option Anwig Salade (+4 Agi 2% WS damage, +4 DEX +2%Crit damage)

[hideka]

sorry your right, the rager lesledens were from my RDM set, and the brego mitts were for my rdm set, dunno why i typed em up there. must have not been paying attention. my feet were orgionaly lithe boots for the dex, but now ive moved up to kacura leggins.

[Defiledsickness]

the problem is that you have a rdm set :P lol

you should add Skillchain bonus to your spell set. i never set Fast Cast because blu doesnt really get interrupted. TA vs DA depends where you are. inside abyssea its Very easy to stack TA with shinryu's atma or Lion (each with 10%). outside i dont bother setting TA. Store TP? idk if that one is worth it but i've never tried to calculate it. could consider Counter or Acc Bonus.

[Neisan_Quetz]

the problem is that you have a rdm set :P lol

you should add Skillchain bonus to your spell set. i never set Fast Cast because blu doesnt really get interrupted. TA vs DA depends where you are. inside abyssea its Very easy to stack TA with shinryu's atma or Lion (each with 10%). outside i dont bother setting TA. Store TP? idk if that one is worth it but i've never tried to calculate it. could consider Counter or Acc Bonus.

Ignore almost everything written here. Unless I'm mistaken the Fast Cast trait for Blu is still gimped, so it's not worth setting in the first place to lose 9 points for 5% Fast Cast.

[hideka]

only reason i set fast cast is because i dont want to drop Auroral drape. -60 ACC far outweighs sc bonus imo.

also Wind based blind = own. makes it so you can pretty much blind anything that isnt wind based.

[Defiledsickness]

Ignore almost everything written here. Unless I'm mistaken the Fast Cast trait for Blu is still gimped, so it's not worth setting in the first place to lose 9 points for 5% Fast Cast.
ignore what i wrote yet you agree with me? w/e

if you still use goblin rush it pairs with benthic typhoon for SC bonus. dont see why not to use it. at least for fast cast we did get an upgrade to a regular Tier1.

[Annahya]

I did some very light number crunching on the "set Triple Attack or not" question; inspired by this thread, but also just for the fun of it.

The following numbers are dealing strickly in "opportunities to attack," not actual swings/misses/etc. - merely cued up attacks that check against Triple, and then Double Attack. Also, these numbers assume a BLU99/WAR49 equipped with an Epona's Ring, a Twilight Belt, an Atheling Mantle and a Brutal Earring (as this was described in your gear set).

1000 attack opportunities (regardless of how fast they come via DW or Haste) translate into:

1283.1 opportunities w/ no Triple Attack set - Outside Abyssea
1380.1 opportunities w/ no Triple Attack set - Atma: VV
1548.6 opportunities w/ no Triple Attack set - Atma: Apoc
1630.6 opportunities w/ no Triple Attack set - Atma: Apoc & VV
1725.6 opportunities w/ no Triple Attack set - Atma: Apoc & Alpha/Omega
1797.6 opportunities w/ no Triple Attack set - Atma: Apoc, Alpha/Omega & VV

1371.6 opportunities w/ Triple Attack set - Outside Abyssea
1463.6 opportunities w/ Triple Attack set - Atma: VV
1637.1 opportunities w/ Triple Attack set - Atma: Apoc
1714.1 opportunities w/ Triple Attack set - Atma: Apoc & VV
1814.1 opportunities w/ Triple Attack set - Atma: Apoc & Alpha/Omega
1881.4 opportunities w/ Triple Attack set - Atma: Apoc, Alpha/Omega & VV

This was rough math, as I said - figured by taking 1000 attack opportunities and applying the percentage of Triple Attack, then checking the percentage of Double Attack against opportunities outside Triple Attack, which left the remaining opportunites failing to produce either. This is not intended to be perfect, merely a way to wrap one's brain around the impact of Triple and Double attack on a BLU/WAR geared as described, in a way that considers Triple Attack's elimination of the chance for Double Attack to occur.

What this shows, again in a very vulgar fashion, is that the estimated value of our Blue Mage Triple Attack job trait (5%) is an increase in opportunities to attack by a value that ranges from 8.35% to 8.85%, over not setting it and letting Double Attack ride, depending on which of the above Atma are set.

So, all that said, I suppose it comes down to deciding if said increase in attack opportunities (8.35~8.85%) is worth the set points you are spending to acquire it.

Hope that helps someone.
~Anna

[Neisan_Quetz]

ignore what i wrote yet you agree with me? w/e

if you still use goblin rush it pairs with benthic typhoon for SC bonus. dont see why not to use it. at least for fast cast we did get an upgrade to a regular Tier1.

You use Lion's atma, you don't set TA, You don't think stp is worth setting. That's what I said ignore.

[Defiledsickness]

i dont use lions atma i said it has 10% TA (same as shinryu's. diff is 10% pdt instead of auto-reraise/insta-cast)

i also didnt say i dont set TA i said you can use DA outside and TA inside (since the person i was talking to said they didnt know if TA was worth it). its like saying to use Crit Rate outside and not inside aby. doesnt mean dont do it, just an easier rule of thumb until you decide what works best for your situation.

is STP1 really worth it for dual wielding? im pretty sure even with maxed STP you wont shave off a hit from x-hit. maybe after 1000 hits so it's worth it during xp parties? honestly im asking. it's easy enough to set Sudden Lunge + Fantod (1point and 2dex/agi) but im not sure when you'd use it. especially since the only other STP gear i have heard of blu's using is Chiv Chain and Rajas Ring.

[Neisan_Quetz]

Apoc is 15% TA, Lion is 7%, they aren't the same. Why bother mentioning Lion's if you don't use it lol?

[Prothscar]

Store TP is worth the extra 1 set point. You should already have Sudden Lunge on at all times.

[Nightfyre]

only reason i set fast cast is because i dont want to drop Auroral drape. -60 ACC far outweighs sc bonus imo.

also Wind based blind = own. makes it so you can pretty much blind anything that isnt wind based.
Do you have proof that it's wind based? As far as I know that would be the first case of a blue magic spell debuff that isn't aligned with the standard element. Regurgitation's bind is ice based, Magnetite Cloud's gravity is wind based, etc.

[Prothscar]

It is most definitely not wind based.

[Tashan]

Think Limbus should verify what element it is.

It's how I found Head Butt's Stun to be Thunder as it was resisted only by Earth Elementals.

Auroral Drape has two debuffs though. I'm guessing the Silence is why it's Wind.

---

Hmmm Fast Cast vs SC Bonus.

I wonder how this debate unfolds when Delta Thrust is thrown into the room.

My money's on Fast Cast.

[Prothscar]

SC Bonus provides more than our crap 5% Fast Cast.

[hideka]

it sticks like a charm to dark elementals, and undead, and other high blind resistance mobs.... i dont think ive ever seen its blind get resisted.

[hideka]

Do you have proof that it's wind based? As far as I know that would be the first case of a blue magic spell debuff that isn't aligned with the standard element. Regurgitation's bind is ice based, Magnetite Cloud's gravity is wind based, etc.

Blank Gaze: Light Elemental Dispell
Magic Hammer: Light Elemental Aspir

theres two, im sure theres more.

[Neisan_Quetz]

Magic Finale...?

Just how did you come to the conclusion magic hammer acts like Aspir? One of them deals damage and is affected by MAB, the other is not.

[Defiledsickness]

SC bonus vs Fast Cast would depend on if you can even SC on the mob. there's no xp mobs left that can survive a SC (at least when using CDC) so you wouldnt benefit from SC bonus in this case. but if you're fighting something you can WS multiple times, you'd want the bonus as SC is our largest damage dealer. Cdc - spell = SC - spell = Magic burst. also MB's now allow easier Enfeebling. Blu doesnt suffer from subbing Rdm so if you really need fast cast im sure you could do that. if you're spamming delta thrust over and over then obviously you arent worried about SCing because i REALLY hope you're not fighting a tough NM. or good luck surviving his tp spam because i know you're not wearing any defensive gear if you're so worried about spamming a spell to max your damage.

[Neisan_Quetz]

SC bonus vs Fast Cast would depend on if you can even SC on the mob. there's no xp mobs left that can survive a SC (at least when using CDC) so you wouldnt benefit from SC bonus in this case. but if you're fighting something you can WS multiple times, you'd want the bonus as SC is our largest damage dealer. Cdc - spell = SC - spell = Magic burst. also MB's now allow easier Enfeebling. Blu doesnt suffer from subbing Rdm so if you really need fast cast im sure you could do that. if you're spamming delta thrust over and over then obviously you arent worried about SCing because i REALLY hope you're not fighting a tough NM. or good luck surviving his tp spam because i know you're not wearing any defensive gear if you're so worried about spamming a spell to max your damage.

Just... what?

[Nightfyre]

Blank Gaze: Light Elemental Dispell
Magic Hammer: Light Elemental Aspir

theres two, im sure theres more.
There's precedent for Blank Gaze in Finale, along with Sheep Song and Yawn in Repose and Lullaby. Damage > MP is unique (and Poroggos are light/water based) but even then it doesn't work on undead.

At any rate it's quite clear that you didn't properly test it; 5 minutes in Sky was sufficient to prove that the blind effect is dark based. Casting Auroral Drape on a Wind Elemental will blind but not silence it, and casting on a Dark Elemental will silence but not blind it (Chaotic Eye followed by Auroral Drape will result in the "no effect" message).

[Nightfyre]

Just... what?

MACROS ARE HARD

I only set Fast Cast in lowman/solo situations, sometimes not even then. Solo is easier to justify because Sub-Zero Smash and Auroral Drape are usually both useful in that context anyway. Benthic Typhoon + Quadrastrike makes Skillchain Bonus so you should have it set regardless of use if you're using spells for damage.

[Defiledsickness]

ok so your spamming delta thrust in VW and you can swap ur set in time to not get hit? its just not realistic. are you spamming on seal mobs? i understand delta thrust is a good spell but i dont understand how people can act like they use it anywhere but xping and then say its worth wasting half your set points on fast cast. TA, DA, SCbonus, AtkBonus, AccBonus, +str/dex from spells... these all outweigh fast cast unless ur only blitzing and procing so delta is the only DD spell u set for more proc space.

[Nightfyre]

Do you speak English?

[Annahya]

ok so your spamming delta thrust in VW and you can swap ur set in time to not get hit? its just not realistic. are you spamming on seal mobs? i understand delta thrust is a good spell but i dont understand how people can act like they use it anywhere but xping and then say its worth wasting half your set points on fast cast. TA, DA, SCbonus, AtkBonus, AccBonus, +str/dex from spells... these all outweigh fast cast unless ur only blitzing and procing so delta is the only DD spell u set for more proc space.

Gearswaps are a touchy subject, what with Windower plugins like spellcast that allow people to gearswap multiple times during a given action (read: spell) to maximize the situational buffs of various peices of equipment. So, as much as it irritates me to say: you are unfortunately incorrect by calling it unrealistic (at least for PC players). I am trying very hard not to launch into a tirade about Windower plugins, so I am going to change subjects.

I am not sure what you meant by including the "where do you use Delta Thrust" and "setting Fast Cast" in the same assertion - as one is regarding use of a spell, and the other is about set-point economy, and both of these can easily coexist at 99. As such, I will address them separately.

Delta Thrust, aside from its amazing cost-to-damage ratio, also has a chance to stick the mob with a debuff. I don't know why one wouldn't use Delta Thrust on everything, including NMs, breakfast bagels, the dancefloor, and so on. As many individuals have pointed out in various threads here in the BLU forums, TP feed is not the real concern - TP feed considered against the efficacy of your action is what matters.

Setting Fast Cast (I or II) hardly takes half of our points; and depending on the situation could outweigh at least two, if not three, of the traits/benefits you listed above. I am not arguing that one should set Fast Cast as a BLU, merely that it can't be reasonably asserted as costing half of our points - unless the caveat is made that this assumes we have already spend the twenty points on DWIII and that you are specifically referring to the remaining balance (though, admittedly, nearly half would be more appropriate in this instance). I apologize for the semantic nitpicking, but hyperbole should be reserved for the part of the argument that makes the emotional point, not used in the part of the argument that actually discusses the details of your position, as it undermines credibility for humor that text prevents everyone from getting.

Bringing the two points together, as you did toward the end of your post: Even when proc'ing one can set quite a few damage spells unless one is lazily setting the procs for every element at once - and even then, Delta Thrust should be a main part of your casting cycle. This is not because it is all you have, it is because it is really good. If you meant setting Fast Cast II and a good selection of proc-spells when you made that point, I would counter that if you know that your main job in said party is Yellow !!, one could save those 15 set-points by subbing RDM and as such also provide the party with Dispel as a dark option. A low man group's BLM will likely be subbing BRD, and the tank will likely be able to provide the NIN spells - but perhaps this is my own limited experience.

I apologize, but for the above reasons, I have to disagree with much of your post.

[Neisan_Quetz]

Can I get some, any evidence Delta Thrust's plague actually sticks on relevant NMs?

[Nightfyre]

Up to 12% in rings, 5% back, 5% neck, 4% body/waist, 30% PDT and 22% MDT in a single macro. Yep, defensive swaps are for Windower users only.

I've never seen Delta Thrust's plague effect land on any NM of consequence. It's a very MP-efficient spell and also useful when farming fodder mobs (hello Dynamis), but sadly not useful on NMs.

[Prothscar]

Plague does not stick on NMs in any capacity from any source. In order for us to receive a full powered 10% Fast Cast trait, we have to spend 15 of our points, Blue Mage does not receive Fast Cast I and II, we receive Fast Cast .5 and Fast Cast I. While 15 isn't half of our available points, it is 25% of our total available set points being spent on one trait with two of the spells being largely useless in any situation, and the other two only being useful when you're solo or require the extra -40 ACC of Auroral Drape over a normal Blind spell, (30 v. Kurayami), to maintain a capped evade rate.

When I'm solo, Fast Cast is on by default, but not because I was setting it consciously. 5% Fast Cast simply is not worth the cost of 6~9 set points unless you're actually using the spells attached.

And not having a PDT or MDT gear swap is ridiculous. Both of these sets are crucial to survival in Voidwatch, the NMs hit far too hard to consider being close to otherwise.

[Defiledsickness]

i didnt say i dont use the necessary gear swapping. but if you're a blu procing in VW you have to stand in range of the mobs attacks for almost every proc spell. (blitzstrahl and regurg being the only ones i know of that are distant enough). now if you're also spamming delta thrust its going to be difficult to properly time everything and if you dont have the mobs attacks toward others filtered your log will be very very full of text. after you proc yellow on a seal nm then sure, spam away. but unless you've capped lights you shouldnt be trying to kill a VW mob anyways. i mean you can normally get what, 2 delta thrusts in per blitz during VW? thats if you're right on time after the recast and arent using your better dmg spells (which will be ready again for the next blitz and you should have decent refresh in VW).

so you can use delta all you want but plague wont land in VW and your pld's and whm will probably hate you. luckily reraise scrolls are easy to obtain in VW, but i think you'd get better drops if you were procing and let the other jobs DD.

[Neisan_Quetz]

you won't be spamming delta thrust if you need to proc, if you are you are doing it terribly wrong. What the hell is wrong with using filters...?

There is just so much else wrong with your scenarios I can't take it seriously.

[Prothscar]

If you aren't capable of dealing damage from the start and still have capped lights on a VWNM, particularly now that Extreme proc exists, idk what to tell you. There's no reason not to be killing the NM as fast as possible.

Fail tos ee how the plague is at all relevant in VW, Delta Thrust is simply an efficient expenditure of MP in between Chant du Cygnes. Also fail to see why your PLDs and WHMs will hate you, if you're implying that the TP gain will cause anyone to bat an eye then you're either horrendously uninformed about VWNMs or have horrible PLDs and/or WHMs that need to be replaced ASAP.

[Defiledsickness]

i dont think you're reading my posts correctly... i guess everyone is different and you can play how you want. the only thing i meant to add to this thread is commending the SC bonus Job trait (since the post was about cdc and SC bonus is one of the ways to increase its damage).

its hard to know how to respond at this point. you just said to not use delta if you're proc'ing... so you personally spam it before a blu proc is called then later when ur bored waiting or after lights are capped? seriously i've read about delta thrust a lot and i do agree its decent damage but for the situations that have came up i dont see why people are recommending it or what it has to do with CDC, fast cast, or anything else that was actually in question in this thread.

you're complaining about my posts yet you're adding very little to any overall understanding of.. anything.

i'd address the filters comment but i dont think it would get us anywhere so better to just drop it.

[Nightfyre]

Why are you even talking about Delta Thrust again?

Also worth noting that it would be easier to understand you if your posts weren't completely incomprehensible.

[Prothscar]

i dont think you're reading my posts correctly... i guess everyone is different and you can play how you want. the only thing i meant to add to this thread is commending the SC bonus Job trait (since the post was about cdc and SC bonus is one of the ways to increase its damage).

its hard to know how to respond at this point. you just said to not use delta if you're proc'ing... so you personally spam it before a blu proc is called then later when ur bored waiting or after lights are capped? seriously i've read about delta thrust a lot and i do agree its decent damage but for the situations that have came up i dont see why people are recommending it or what it has to do with CDC, fast cast, or anything else that was actually in question in this thread.

you're complaining about my posts yet you're adding very little to any overall understanding of.. anything.

i'd address the filters comment but i dont think it would get us anywhere so better to just drop it.

Don't know what Delta Thrust has to do with Fast Cast or SC Bonus either, however you're arguing points and tossing out horrible information that no one should ever follow, so your contributions to this thread are even more worthless than those of us who have actually added useful information to it.

[Defiledsickness]

there was a post right before proths last (on page 4) that i was replying to

not every VW attempt hits the full lights proc
not every VW has enough healers (or ones that actually cure)
delta thrust spam is what i was talking about, not delta thrust in between other spells (i didnt bring it up)

i wasnt aware VW was as easy as abyssea now and that all the DD's just sat on the mob in full attack. clearly asura isnt up to speed with your servers or maybe its the fact that decent gear is 50times more expensive.

[Nightfyre]

You made the jump to VW out of nowhere. You made the jump to Delta Thrust spam out of nowhere, not that the original post mentioning Delta Thrust made much more sense... Why that specific spell of any spell when comparing the two traits? And yeah, if you have a competent group DDs should be able to engage most of the time thanks to Fanatic's spam. Gil being expensive is just... lol. Gil has never been easier to come by and few things are anywhere near as expensive as gear used to be at 75.

You're never going to be able to wrangle this into something remotely resembling a logical train of thought, just let it go.

[Prothscar]

there was a post right before proths last (on page 4) that i was replying to

not every VW attempt hits the full lights proc
not every VW has enough healers (or ones that actually cure)
delta thrust spam is what i was talking about, not delta thrust in between other spells (i didnt bring it up)

i wasnt aware VW was as easy as abyssea now and that all the DD's just sat on the mob in full attack. clearly asura isnt up to speed with your servers or maybe its the fact that decent gear is 50times more expensive.

Insufficient healers are your own issue. I have no patience for any job that cannot pull their weight, healers especially. If you don't have 2-3 WHMs that can heal properly, I suggest their replacement posthaste, it is not an excuse for mediocrity or downright failure.

As for Delta Thrust spam, I saw no one mention the words "spam", "Delta", or "Thrust" in the same post until you came along. "Spamming" Delta Thrust is idiotic in a setting such as Voidwatch.

And except for a select few NMs, mainly the newest ones added, Voidwatch isn't hard. All you need is a coordinated group of people who don't suck. I regularly do PUGs for Qilin, Kaggen, etc. with no problems, oftentimes they're 4-6 minute fights.

[Defiledsickness]

meh w/e. my vw groups consist of 1whm, no rdm, no sch and typically no brd. with my LS things are different but i assume most on these forums do shout groups (i do both since the drops suck) so i was in a state of mind that your party isnt that great. i switched the discussion to VW because honestly what else are you fighting? xp mobs it doesnt matter what you do they'll die quick enough.

according to this thread TP feed doesnt matter in VW, so sorry i suggested it. and i guess i did simply post useless info because i think only VW matters atm and yet i also believe blu should only proc in VW so my JT suggestions mean squat.

[Prothscar]

meh w/e. my vw groups consist of 1whm, no rdm, no sch and typically no brd. with my LS things are different but i assume most on these forums do shout groups (i do both since the drops suck) so i was in a state of mind that your party isnt that great. i switched the discussion to VW because honestly what else are you fighting? xp mobs it doesnt matter what you do they'll die quick enough.

according to this thread TP feed doesnt matter in VW, so sorry i suggested it. and i guess i did simply post useless info because i think only VW matters atm and yet i also believe blu should only proc in VW so my JT suggestions mean squat.

Your group setup is complete garbage.

TP feed doesn't matter in Voidwatch. Most of the NMs have a large Regain effect already, which substantially detracts from the impact of feeding TP. You'll likely also have enough melee on a mob at a single time to make TP feed a moot point either way. If the melee do not have Fanatics, they're either tanking or not on the mob, thus also alleviating TP feed. BLU is not exempt from this rule.

Your belief that BLU should only proc in Voidwatch is one of the most stupid suggestions that I've ever seen on these boards. If your BLU can't hold its own in the damage or tanking department, that's your own problem. Mine and many others, however, do not have this issue.

[Defiledsickness]

swapping out procs (id assume you're not bringing more then 1 blu) while you're meleeing the mob doesnt seem smart to me (no healing while spells are reset). though you do get temps from procing you cant proc if you're not using ur elemental spells (the ones used to proc).

im not setting up these groups btw. and we havent lost a single Kaggen yet. does your position still stand when it comes to Pil? i havent fought him ina while so i dont remember but if you're constantly attacking him doesnt he keep putting his shield up? its one thing to say everyone should be meleeing now, but when VW first releases each step its not so simple. whether a zerg is practical is based on the situation and i personally dont agree with spreading zerg tactics onto a forum. you dont have to even be decent to zerg a mob so whats the fun in talking about it?

[Prothscar]

...again, why don't you have healers capable of, oh I don't know, healing you? Potions and a competent WHM as well as Fanatic's Drinks are more than enough to sustain my life. Magic Fruit is not a necessary or preferred method of dealing with HP loss in Voidwatch.

Does my position still stand for Pil?

http://i384.photobucket.com/albums/oo282/Prothescarduo/CDCPil.png

Just three out of the dozens that I've done. You tell me. He doesn't put his shield up any more rapidly while you're doing damage to him, he will use TP moves regardless.


Since when was zerging the only practical application of physical damage?

[Defiledsickness]

i asked about pil i wasnt saying i knew i was simply asking. i only fought him when he first came out i havent fought since 99cap. i was rdm so i only remember seeing his shield go up, up up up in a row sometimes and not other times.

what is your spell damage like on Pil? because CDC is by no means the strongest WS. Nin does better dmg with Kannagi, not to mention 2handed weapons. with all the TP wings its easy for blu to run in and WS and/or SC but my personal opinion is that blu should focus on Procs instead of DDing without procing. if you really DD the entire fight and get every proc that is at least mentioned, then grats.

i stay back during VW because i've seen tanks get 1shotted (mostly back during ironclad/hahava fights) and if someone doesnt save the mages and hold hate well enough for pld's to recover, you dont often finish the fight. thats when i bother to engage the mob. as a healer and a Blu i dont expect Blu's to be cured. ochain/aegis pld's at 99 maybe dont need the attention they used to but taking time away from healing them was always a bad idea in my experience. do you ever play whm? i personally try my best not to let anyone die, but as far as decent Endgame shells are concerned blue mage isnt typically a priority on the healing list.

[Prothscar]

So instead of BLU offering what damage it can put out, it should stand there and leech until a BLU proc comes up? I'm sorry, but you are narrow minded, naive, and to be quite frank: stupid.

If your tanks are getting one shotted, they need to suck less. Nothing short of a doom/death move should be capable of one shotting anyone that would be in melee range. Your healers are lazy and horrible if they don't heal everyone that they're accountable for, that includes Blue Mages. From the sounds of it, your linkshell is just bad, and your ideals are either shaped by your experience with them or you're bad as well. I truly hope no one takes your advice and stands on the sidelines leeching instead of being productive.

[Neisan_Quetz]

Wait wait wait, ochain/aegis prd and they die in one move to Hahava/Voidwrought at 99? Just what am I reading.

[Prothscar]

By the way, NIN is on par with BLU at best, it certainly does not surpass it.

[Tashan]

Wow, well this thread blew up.

Regarding what I said about FC vs SB, I only mentioned DT because in a situation where DT is viable to be spammed it's godlike. Not many situations are considered viable to that extent these days however since SE has provided 0 relevance in content outside of VW.

CA's minimum recast time is 1:40 seconds. During that time it possible to cast DT w/o FC a maximum of 6 times (6.6 recurring). WIth 5% FC, you are able to cast DT 7 times (7.1 iirc). Now SB is an 8% increase in SC DMG. Let's be optimistic and assume BLU X's average Amorphic Spikes dmg is 2500 (it's not, but I'm only theory fighting.) your SB will be an additional +200 damage, assuming you can consistently get full darkness damage everytime (you won't). Thats nice.

However, DT has a higher average than this. Let's be pessimistic and say BLU X's average DT is 500 (it's not, but I'm only theory fighting). That extra DT you will be able to cast within 100 seconds will do more than your SB would and certainly in terms of DoT. Unless you're able to get an average 6.3k darkness' as your average.

Of course all of this really adds up to being as relevant as Easter Eggs at Christmas.

[Nightfyre]

Heavy Strrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrike

Fast Cast on a 0.5s casting time spell is pretty negligible, so the (theoretical) main benefit would be the effect on recast. The catch here is that you'd have to actually cast within a timeframe of less than one third of a second (15*0.85*0.025=0.31875) to benefit from said recast reduction (assuming haste buff but no haste gear/af3 hands/marches, less with those), and even if you casted within that timeframe some of the benefit would be lost since you won't cast at the perfect moment every or any time.

Skillchain Bonus is only relevant once every 1:40-2:00 if you're the only one meleeing. With other DDs present it's likely relevant a lot more often than that. Situational as always.

[Tashan]

Lol HS too xD. Fucking accuracy. -.-

Yeah all of what you're saying is as true as blue.

I'm just laughing that the whole thing added two pages to this xD.

[Tashan]

SC Bonus should have been more than 8% ._.

[hideka]

lol i love heavy strike >_> normaly have no problem landing it on T1-3 VW's with the exception of a few lol, does great damage, low recast, low MP.... for anything inside of abyssea its pretty much one of the best spells in the game for bluemage in terms of damage to MP.
not to mention i can get 4-7kCA's on it no problem on most abyssea NMs lol...

[Tashan]

Yeah I love it too. I just don't get a decent hit rate on it without some type of acc buff.

[Annahya]

None of this is meant as combative, it is merely conversational. As text and the internet often blurs tone, I wanted to specify before anyone took it differently than it was intended.

------


Up to 12% in rings, 5% back, 5% neck, 4% body/waist, 30% PDT and 22% MDT in a single macro. Yep, defensive swaps are for Windower users only.

I think my statement was taken out of context. I did not say "swaps are only for Windower users." I was speaking to the other poster's assertion that it was unrealistic to make swaps while "spamming delta thrust in VW and you can swap ur set in time to not get hit? its just not realistic."

I am aware of how fast a person has to use gearswap macros, as I don't use Spellcast; but the tone of this quoted statement implies that he does not believe fast swaps can be done. As such, I was pointing out that the fact that Spellcast exists makes inhuman amounts of gearswapping realistic, thereby making him incorrect. Citing the third party software shortcuts any need to even address anecdotal evidence of who does what - Spellcast's existence negates any ability to argue on this point. Perhaps I should have been more clear on this, however.


I've never seen Delta Thrust's plague effect land on any NM of consequence. It's a very MP-efficient spell and also useful when farming fodder mobs (hello Dynamis), but sadly not useful on NMs.


Can I get some, any evidence Delta Thrust's plague actually sticks on relevant NMs?


Plague does not stick on NMs in any capacity from any source.

I never said one would cast Delta Thrust strictly because of the additional effect. I was supporting the many people who champion the use of the spell, by clearly spelling out the spell's capabilities to someone who appeared not to fully comprehend its value.

(As an aside, I would like to challenge notions of relevancy and consequence as it relates to the discussion - what you are doing at the time is relevant to you, or you wouldn't be there and anything that helps what you are doing is of consequence. While some may accuse me of "playing with semantics" here, I would say that doing so is just poor critical thinking. It would be better to argue against using Delta Thrust for its plague effect - and in that case, I would agree. But, back to the point...)

Am I arguing that Delta Thrust will stick plague on Tier III Voidwatch NMs? No. I am not arguing it will stick on anything. I am stating that the spell has that effect, which is icing on an already attractive cake.

Also, I am happy to see this pointed out:


You made the jump to Delta Thrust spam out of nowhere...


As for Delta Thrust spam, I saw no one mention the words "spam", "Delta", or "Thrust" in the same post until you came along. "Spamming" Delta Thrust is idiotic in a setting such as Voidwatch.

I am fairly certain quite a few of his responses were directed at me, and my statements regarding the ubiquity of casting Delta Thrust was not intended as an assertion regarding the frequency of its use. Thank you, Prothscar and Nightfyre, for pointing this out.


Blue Mage does not receive Fast Cast I and II, we receive Fast Cast .5 and Fast Cast I. While 15 isn't half of our available points, it is 25% of our total available set points being spent on one trait with two of the spells being largely useless in any situation, and the other two only being useful when you're solo or require the extra -40 ACC of Auroral Drape over a normal Blind spell, (30 v. Kurayami), to maintain a capped evade rate.

I understand the choice of terms you use, as the Fast Cast that Blue Mages acquire is not equitable to that provided to, say, Red Mages. However, for conversational purposes, calling them I and II is functional, as this is all obviously within the context of "provided by Blue Mage Job Traits," so I think the distinction is essentially unnecessary. I chose I and II because I was trying to stick with the terminology used on the Blue Gartr wiki entry for Blue Mage Job Traits, in the interest of clarity.

Also, I was not stating, in my post, that one should set Fast Cast, merely that it is inaccurate to state that it costs half of our set points to do so. I felt this was pretty clear in my initial post, but perhaps it was not. Also, I will admit that, as with any situational discussion, I included a caveat that Fast Cast might outweigh some of the traits that were being weighed against it, but even in so doing I offered that in at least one of those situations (as an example) one would be better served just subbing RDM.

------

But, again, I want to stress that none of that was intended to come across as fighting about it. I just wanted to clarify, as I know I can very fairly verbose.

Have fun, all!
~Anna

[Edit: Removed a "First," from the beginning of a sentence that was a legacy of a previous structure. It may have caused some confusion regarding tone, so I took it out.]

[hideka]

ok please... back to topic!
please fill out this list with what you feel is the Ultimate Setup for the Thread title lol....

CDC Build
Main:
Sub:
Ranged:
Ammo:
Head:
Neck:
Ear1:
Ear2:
Body:
Hands:
Ring1:
Ring2:
Back:
Waist:
Legs:
Feet:

Melee TP Build
Main:
Sub:
Ranged:
Ammo:
Head:
Neck:
Ear1:
Ear2:
Body:
Hands:
Ring1:
Ring2:
Back:
Waist:
Legs:
Feet:

Spell List:
1-
2-
3-
4-
5-
6-
7-
8-
9-
10-
11-
12-
13-
14-
15-
16-
17-
18-
19-
20-

Traits Gained:

Logic:

Tactics:

[Nightfyre]

I think my statement was taken out of context.
Mmm, I don't think so. Let me quote the sentence that best exemplifies what I took issue with:


So, as much as it irritates me to say: you are unfortunately incorrect by calling it unrealistic (at least for PC players).
As I showed, you can negate 30% of all damage taken (assuming plain 5/5 Shellra V as a baseline for MDT, more with any enhancements) with a single standard macro. That's realistic for everyone, not just PC users. There was no reason to mention Spellcast at all and doing so was in fact counterproductive because that + the quoted text implies that those who don't use it can't realistically use defensive swaps effectively, which is simply untrue.


First, I never said one would cast Delta Thrust strictly because of the additional effect. I was supporting the many people who champion the use of the spell, by clearly spelling out the spell's capabilities to someone who appeared not to fully comprehend its value.


Delta Thrust, aside from its amazing cost-to-damage ratio, also has a chance to stick the mob with a debuff. I don't know why one wouldn't use Delta Thrust on everything, including NMs, breakfast bagels, the dancefloor, and so on.
I assumed that you had enough experience and understanding of BLU mechanics to know that physical spell damage, especially the damage of spells that neither have an attack bonus nor the ability to crit, will take a nosedive on high level/def targets and thus could only infer that you were using Delta Thrust on such NMs for the Plague effect given that it would otherwise be quite useless in that situation. I apologize and assure you I will not make that mistake again.

[Annahya]

As I showed, you can negate 30% of all damage taken (assuming plain 5/5 Shellra V as a baseline for MDT, more with any enhancements) with a single standard macro. That's realistic for everyone, not just PC users. There was no reason to mention Spellcast at all and doing so was in fact counterproductive because that + the quoted text implies that those who don't use it can't realistically use defensive swaps effectively, which is simply untrue.

This shows, rather pointedly, that you did take my statement out of context, however. To take a statement that begins with "so," without considering it against what came before it, is evidence as such. Even the qualification regarding "at least for PC players" is a contextual nod to the example I gave; one that is stripped of its relevance by separating it from the previous statements.

My statement spoke to the ability for people to use third-party macros/programs to do a great deal in the span of casting a spell, with relative ease should they be on a PC, so much so that it negates the ability to consider the timing "unrealistic." Your comments about a standard macro support my position that it is incorrect to state that it is unrealistic; but my cutting straight to the chase was not counter-productive. Your statement was a more concise counter to the person who made the original comment, but doing so does not show that it is counter-productive, nor does it invalidate its function as a conversational device.

My statement doesn't address anything about the capabilities of those without Spellcast, either - it merely states that because Spellcast exists, one cannot state that inhumanly fast gearswapping is unrealistic, because Spellcast makes it real. That is all. What I am guilty of, in the initial post regarding Spellcast, is my inability to restrain the disgust I feel for its use - and while it does bother me that I suffered from such lack of restraint, it in no way created the implication, in my words, that it was required to do so.

I entirely agree that one can defend oneself with standard macros, but defending oneself was not the crux of my statement.


I assumed that you had enough experience and understanding of BLU mechanics to know that physical spell damage, especially the damage of spells that neither have an attack bonus nor the ability to crit, will take a nosedive on high level/def targets and thus could only infer that you were using Delta Thrust on such NMs for the Plague effect given that it would otherwise be quite useless in that situation. I apologize and assure you I will not make that mistake again.

I hope I am mistaken in reading combative tone into this - it reads as though you are insulting me for clarifying my position in a way that used your quotes to thank you, and make a general obsevation about "consequence."

"To someone who" wasn't a reference to anyone but the one who said "i understand delta thrust is a good spell but i dont understand how people can act like they use it anywhere but xping and then say its worth wasting half your set points on fast cast."

And in my initial post, like others also said, I commented that combining this into one sentence was confusing, so I was addressing the points separately. "I understand delta thrust is a good spell but i dont understand how people can act like they use it anywhere but xping" influenced my comment of "clearly spelling out the spell's capabilities to someone who appeared not to fully comprehend its value." To wit, "why would you use it on anything but exp?" "Because it has great damage-to-cost ratio, and can debuff the monster."

Hopefully that clarifies any confusion.
~Anna

[Edit: I went back and removed the "First," from the beginning of a sentence you quoted. This was a legacy from a previous structure that I had not caught in the proofread, and I feared it may have cause some confusion regarding tone, subjects, etc. - the initial post also bears a note regarding the edit. I apologize if that was part of the confusion.]

[Nightfyre]

superfluous
Indeed. Perhaps a better venue for a superfluous anti-windower comment would be due next time, if that is indeed all it was. I'm sure you can understand my confusing it for a post intending to convey useful information in a thread created with the express intent of doing so.




And in my initial post, like others also said, I commented that combining this into one sentence was confusing, so I was addressing the points separately. "I understand delta thrust is a good spell but i dont understand how people can act like they use it anywhere but xping" influenced my comment of "clearly spelling out the spell's capabilities to someone who appeared not to fully comprehend its value." To wit, "why would you use it on anything but exp?" "Because it has great damage-to-cost ratio, and can debuff the monster."

Hopefully that clarifies any confusion.

Allow me to clarify for you then.


why would you use it on anything but exp?
This is the question.


Because it has great damage-to-cost ratio, and can debuff the monster.
This would be a reasonable answer, but that's not how you framed it initially.


I don't know why one wouldn't use Delta Thrust on everything
Perhaps less verbosity is in order in favor of better initial word choice if your intent is truly to clarify rather than retcon. Otherwise, carry on.

[Annahya]

I was making some time consuming edits and did not see a response. I admit that this constitutes poor forum etiquette, despite being accidental. I am not trying to counter any claims made in responses that came after my edit, and apologize for that conflict.

That said, no retconing was intended in any of my posts - save the legacy edit that I pointed out.

I did state that Delta Thrust can have its place on any mob, and I stand by that. Not every NM has the high defense you refered to in your posts, so it is out of turn to make blanket statements like "useless on NMs" and then criticize my broad language.


Indeed. Perhaps a better venue for a superfluous anti-windower comment would be due next time, if that is indeed all it was. I'm sure you can understand my confusing it for a post intending to convey useful information in a thread created with the express intent of doing so.

It was not all it was, that merely leaked into a valid point regarding the statement made by another; for which I apologized.


This would be a reasonable answer, but that's not how you framed it initially.

Isn't it?

"Delta Thrust, aside from its amazing cost-to-damage ratio, also has a chance to stick the mob with a debuff."

If you are refering to this:
"I don't know why one wouldn't use Delta Thrust on everything, including NMs, breakfast bagels, the dancefloor, and so on."

Then I reference (from the same post):
"I apologize for the semantic nitpicking, but hyperbole should be reserved for the part of the argument that makes the emotional point, not used in the part of the argument that actually discusses the details of your position, as it undermines credibility for humor that text prevents everyone from getting."


In quoting me: I don't know why one wouldn't use Delta Thrust on everything

This statement was intended to convey the feeling "Delta Thrust is so great, I would put it in my coffee!"

But, by removing "including NMs, breakfast bagels, the dancefloor, and so on" it is robbed of the context needed to do so.

Would the coffee thing have been a better joke? Perhaps, perhaps not; but I didn't think of it at the time. I had hoped that the statement regarding casting it on food, or on a dancefloor, would have carried the requisite silliness to show the nature of the sentence. Apparently, that failed.

Regardless, I do use Delta Thrust on "NMs." Do I use it on every NM? I don't think I have, but whether or not that is the case depends on the situation - but I am open to doing so. I wouldn't cast cure when I didn't need to, and I won't cast Delta Thrust when I don't need to - but I am willing to use it if the need arises.

Indeed, carry on.

I believe there was a request for people with Almace experience to give pointers on a gear/spell set?

[Prothscar]

Only filling this out because I'm bored.


CDC Build
Main: Almace
Sub: Shikargar (fire)
Ranged: X
Ammo: Thunder Sachet
Head: Ocelomeh Headpiece +1
Neck: Rancor Collar
Ear1: Moonshade Earring (Attack + TP Bonus)
Ear2: Brutal Earring
Body: Athos's Tabard
Hands: Athos's Gloves
Ring1: Epona's Ring
Ring2: Rajas Ring
Back: Atheling Mantle
Waist: Cuchulain's belt
Legs: Athos's Tights
Feet: Athos's Boots

Melee TP Build
Main: Almace
Sub: Shikargar (fire)
Ranged: X
Ammo: Mantis Eye
Head: Ocelomeh Headpiece +1
Neck: Rancor Collar
Ear1: Suppanomimi
Ear2: Brutal Earring
Body: Toci's harness
Hands: Dusk Gloves +1
Ring1: Epona's ring
Ring2: Rajas Ring
Back: Atheling mantle
Waist: Twilight belt
Legs: Athos's Tights
Feet: Athos's boots

Voidwatch Spell List:
1- Quad. Continuum
2- Delta Thrust
3- Barbed Crescent
4- Blazing Bound
5- Animating Wail
6- Mortal Ray
7- Empty Thrash
8- Heavy Strike
9- Demoralizing Roar
10- Acrid Stream
11- Fantod
12- Sudden Lunge
13- Proc
14- Proc
15- Proc
16- Proc
17- Proc
18- Proc
19- Proc
20- Proc

Traits Gained:
-Dual Wield III
-Triple Attack
-Store TP

Logic:
/WAR and these traits provide a platform for very powerful melee ability, putting BLU in around the top 5 for melee DD.

Tactics:
Kill shit. Keep temps up, Berserk, Warcry, food of some description (preferably attack, on some NMs sushi or pizza will be necessary)




As for other spell sets, there are far too many to list. BLU is very situational, there is no one spell set to rule them all. Even in Voidwatch it will sometimes be prudent to switch to magical spells such as Regurgitation, Dark orb, and Everyone's grudge rather than head on melee.

[Nightfyre]

CDC Build
http://www.ffxiah.com/item-sets/140349

The effects of Rancor Collar and Rancor Mantle do not stack, so you have to choose between the two. This setup slightly edges out Collar + Atheling.


Melee TP Build
http://www.ffxiah.com/item-sets/134076

Hmm. Actually, looking at that again I might change Alucinor Mitts back to Dusk +1... I had them in there initially for the sake of inventory conservation because they functioned as both TP and CDC hands at 95, but if you have Athos's Gloves they're for TPing only. Haste+4 either way. Tweak body/head as you please if you feel that you need refresh. Rancor Collar if able of course.

EDIT: Changed Alucinor Mitts to Dusk Gloves +1. They're generally the superior option and much easier to come by. If you desire the Mitts because of movespeed concerns or some other reason, like I said before, it's haste+4 either way.

Adjust each for accuracy as needed.


Spell List:
I'll just cover a few traits, spells are situational enough that anything more would be fairly narrow in scope and ultimately futile.

Accuracy Bonus if needed, fairly obvious choice. Frenetic Rip + Vanity Dive is the cheap way to set it but Disseverment's poison should not go overlooked if you're able to exploit it on anything with a decent HP pool.

Attack Bonus if not /WAR. Stick to Battle Dance + Uppercut unless you have good reason to use one of the other spells, they're the only options with decent stat benefits.

I usually set Auto-Refresh aside from Voidwatch, where temps are sufficient. Any two of Winds of Promyvion, Actinic Burst, and Plasma Charge (remember, STR+3 DEX+3) as appropriate.

Conserve MP is also very powerful if working with limited MP. This one's easy, Zephyr Mantle and Chaotic Eye all the way.

Double Attack/Triple Attack depending on subjob and points availability. I prioritize Empty Thrash and Heavy Strike.

Dual Wield... The third trait is a big step up from DW II, but at 21 points it's not cheap. You've got 3 or 4 useful choices here, set accordingly.

Benthic Typhoon and Quadrastrike are hardly bad to begin with, so you'll probably have Skillchain Bonus set by default.

Store TP is pretty powerful given CDC, and Sudden Lunge is already a great spell so 1 extra set point will hardly go amiss.

[Nightfyre]

Voidwatch Spell List:
1- Quad. Continuum
2- Delta Thrust
3- Barbed Crescent
4- Blazing Bound
5- Animating Wail
6- Mortal Ray
7- Empty Thrash
8- Heavy Strike
9- Demoralizing Roar
10- Acrid Stream
11- Fantod
12- Sudden Lunge
13- Proc
14- Proc
15- Proc
16- Proc
17- Proc
18- Proc
19- Proc
20- Proc

Traits Gained:
-Dual Wield III
-Triple Attack
-Store TP

Logic:
/WAR and these traits provide a platform for very powerful melee ability, putting BLU in around the top 5 for melee DD.

Tactics:
Kill shit. Keep temps up, Berserk, Warcry, food of some description (preferably attack, on some NMs sushi or pizza will be necessary)




As for other spell sets, there are far too many to list. BLU is very situational, there is no one spell set to rule them all. Even in Voidwatch it will sometimes be prudent to switch to magical spells such as Regurgitation, Dark orb, and Everyone's grudge rather than head on melee.
Just highlighting this real quick since it's a solid "how-to" for effectively playing BLU in Voidwatch. Focus on the big traits, use your best DD sub (not like shadows do anything regardless of Fanatic's), leave a few slots open for procs. Now that you can identify not only the element but the magic type, you should have no trouble nailing procs quickly and you won't waste time on procs you can't hit to begin with.

EDIT: He's not kidding about damage potential either. We have great accuracy and a strong DEX mod weaponskill, so critrate on CDC is still decent. With the Athos's set available now and 3/5 being best-in-slot for CDC (I've got Tabard at a narrow second currently, assuming 2%/piece), it's even stronger. Obviously your place in the parse will depend on a wide variety of factors. Maintaining a steady flow of temps and not dying are important priorities, but BLU can definitely put out respectable damage in Voidwatch given the opportunity.

[Prothscar]

On most NMs we should be capable of capping or coming close to cap on dDEX. In the set specified above, that gives us a 55% crit rate thereabouts on CDC @ 100TP, 75% with Champion's Drink, which becomes 95% at 300 and over 100% with Champion's. CDC is a very strong WS, really wish it was given a bit more credit.

BLU also maintains a somewhat unique trait of being incredibly sturdy if properly geared/buffed.

Quick question btw Night, why Moepapa/Rancor over Rancor/Atheling? The latter should be superior.