Blink (spell) - Please remove the randomness.

[Kavik]

Utsusemi: Ichi - Uses the ninja tool, "Shihei". Creates shadow images that each absorb a single attack directed at you.


Blink (spell effect) - Creates shadow images that each absorb a single attack directed at you.


(these are the official descriptions, on wiki i would like to point out it goes on to state in the 'notes' -- Creates 2 Shadow Images. Unlike Utsusemi, however, it is not guaranteed to block the first two attacks, but will take effect randomly, wearing off after the second shadow vanishes. )

ok, i would like to bring everyone's attention to the writing i have highlighted in RED. Utsusemi and blink (from the spell most mages get called "Blink") have IDENTICAL descriptions, but do vastly different things. For in fact anyone who has casted both blink and utsu knows... blink is completely unreliable. At the VERY least the description on blink needs to be changed to "Creates shadow images that each occasionally absorb a single attack directed at you."

For example
Scenario 1) Player casts Blink, Blizzard 4 - mob casts Blizzard 5 - Player takes 1200 points of damage - player casts sleep, cure 3, cure 3, cure 3. (assuming the player doesn't have access to a higher tier spell and the mob can be slept AND that you have 1200 hp to survive etc etc).
Scenario 2) Player casts Blink, Blizzard 4 - mob casts Blizzard 5 - One of Players shadow images absorbs the damage and dissapears! - mob casts blizzard 4 - player takes 950 points of damage!
Scenario 3) Player casts Utsu, Blizzard 4 - mob casts Blizzard 5 - One of Players shadow images absorbs the damage and dissapears! - mob casts Blizzard 4 - One of Players shadow images absorbs the damage and dissapears!

Why oh WHY is Blink so random if it has the EXACT same properties are utsu to a weaker degree? 2 instead of 3 shadows that are subject to the same aoe strips and other things that utsu are? Is it that the dev team wants it to be random if a mage survives a giant nuke but a Nin or /nin will survive 100%? I am probably just overly sensitive to this because it has killed me about 5x today. But why was this implemented in the first place? Even if blink were 100% reliable it would not overpower mages that cannot cast it on anyone other then themselves and it already doesn't 'stack' with utsu which most would agree is better due to the nature of having 3 shadows at minimum. And before people tell me to suck it up and /nin it, i do, but why should i have to, when a simple tweak could give a mage what they get standard for their job a much better role? "This is a buff that may or may not save you"... who wants that?

All i ask for is 2 little shadows that do what their description says.Creates shadow images that each absorb a single attack directed at you. Please for the love of all mages take out the randomness.

[Malamasala]

Or make the ninjutsu be random as well. Though I assume nobody likes fairness when it is bad for you, they prefer it when it is good.

[Carth]

Why oh WHY is Blink so random if it has the EXACT same properties are utsu to a weaker degree? 2 instead of 3 shadows that are subject to the same aoe strips and other things that utsu are? Is it that the dev team wants it to be random if a mage survives a giant nuke but a Nin or /nin will survive 100%? I am probably just overly sensitive to this because it has killed me about 5x today. But why was this implemented in the first place? Even if blink were 100% reliable it would not overpower mages that cannot cast it on anyone other then themselves and it already doesn't 'stack' with utsu which most would agree is better due to the nature of having 3 shadows at minimum. And before people tell me to suck it up and /nin it, i do, but why should i have to, when a simple tweak could give a mage what they get standard for their job a much better role? "This is a buff that may or may not save you"... who wants that?

Ultimately:

Blink is not a source of damage mitigation, but rather an ability to stall, a safety net, if you will. Stoneskin, Protect, Shell, Barspells, etc. are all sources of damage mitigation, especially Stoneskin. Mages can also sleep mobs, bind/gravity them and run away, use Break, etc.

All NIN really has is Utsusemi and their own evasion skill. There's also the added setback of it costing a ninja tool (which affects all jobs). Note I'm not counting Slow/Para/Blind because the mage jobs have that as well.

Blink's randomness comes from the fact you pretty much cast it for free and you have oh so many other things that come with it. So there's really no need to rely on this.

TL;DR - Cast Stoneskin, don't get hate, etc.

[Laciante]

No need to change the effect of Blink imo, because of the reasons stated by Carth
But they should change Blink description to mention that it's random

[Bubeeky]

I think they do need to make it more reliable...blink that did just what it says and absorb the next two attacks just like utsusemi wouldn't be overpowered because it takes forever to cast, so it's not like we could spam it, it would just make our stoneskin effectively last longer.

[Kavik]

"don't get hate, etc. "

If you're solo'ing this is a moot point. As for stoneskin, even with capped enhancing magic skill it only absorbs 350 damage, it is not going to save you from a 1200 damage nuke, it may reduce damage but it will not mitigate it. This has happened to me a lot, i throw blink and stoneskin up as sch/rdm, i nuke the mob then sleep it, nuke it again and before i can sleep it again, it runs over, and double attacks me, taking out my stoneskin in 2 hits (no my enhancing magic isn't capped so i get about 300 points of dmg mitigation outta stoneskin), then it proceeds to interrupt me no matter what i try to do and i die... with blink still active. Even with phalanx/protect/bind/paralyze/slow etc etc etc, if you can't CAST them because your getting HIT because your retarded 'random' shadows aren't being used up (assuming the mob is susceptible to them at ALL, i have fought a lot of stuff that is just flat immune to everything) none of it matters, whereas in a /nin scenario Nuke > sleep > nuke > Shadows take damage > sleep while you've got shadows up. It is not too much to ask that they do what their description says "Absorb an enemy attack directed at you" not "Sometimes absorbs an enemy attack directed at you".

[Vold]

This has happened to me a lot, i throw blink and stoneskin up as sch/rdm, i nuke the mob then sleep it, nuke it again and before i can sleep it again, it runs over, and double attacks me, taking out my stoneskin in 2 hits (no my enhancing magic isn't capped so i get about 300 points of dmg mitigation outta stoneskin), then it proceeds to interrupt me no matter what i try to do and i die... with blink still active.

Are you not using Aquaveil?

I'm often very bad about using protection on a mage job because RDM spoiled me and I hate recasting so often, but I've lost count of the times that I've learned my lesson in regards to not using aquaveil. Doesn't stop me from not using it but still, I know the value of it. It's probably the most important spell to use on a mage job I would think. Monsters love to strike at you when it's a life or death situation in the next several seconds.

[Cabalabob]

All i ask for is 2 little shadows that do what their description says.Creates shadow images that each absorb a single attack directed at you.

this would be all fine and good if blink was the only spell tht gav blink shadows and only gave 2.

but consider this: BLU/WHM + SMN/SCH
occulation(7-8 blink shadows) zephyr mantle(4 blink shadows) blink (2 blink shadows) aerial armor (3 blink shadows) accession + blink (2 blink shadows). that is 19 blink shadows in a row, that's a bit more than 2 little shadows. + thers the fact blu can also spam head butt and blitzstrahl for stun and the smn culd chaotic strike for a possible 15 seconds of stun.

blu wuld kind of eat nin's if they made blink shadows 100%. but i do agree that the description is misleading and should be changed to occasionally absorbs an attack directed at you.

[Kavik]

Occultation
Blue Mage Level 88
* Creates Blink shadows. Number of shadows depends on blue magic skill (8 shadows at 400 skill).
* Does not produce 100%-successful Shadow Images like Utsusemi.

Zephyr Mantle
Blue Mage Level 65
Notes
* Self-target only. Can be used with Diffusion.
* Provides the user with 4 Blink-like Shadow Images.
* Overwritten by, and does not overwrite: Utsusemi, Blink, Aerial Armor.

My point being that you could not in fact have 19 shadows on at once.

I'm not sure at what point "Stun" came into this thread about Blink. Also I have been interrupted many times with aquaveil up. Probably because of the last part of this statement. each time you are struck while casting a spell, the spell will not be interrupted, and - Aquaveil may or may not wear off -. that being said, it has nothing to do with the randomness of blink.

[Khajit]

"don't get hate, etc. "

If you're solo'ing this is a moot point. As for stoneskin, even with capped enhancing magic skill it only absorbs 350 damage, it is not going to save you from a 1200 damage nuke, it may reduce damage but it will not mitigate it. This has happened to me a lot, i throw blink and stoneskin up as sch/rdm, i nuke the mob then sleep it, nuke it again and before i can sleep it again, it runs over, and double attacks me, taking out my stoneskin in 2 hits (no my enhancing magic isn't capped so i get about 300 points of dmg mitigation outta stoneskin), then it proceeds to interrupt me no matter what i try to do and i die... with blink still active. Even with phalanx/protect/bind/paralyze/slow etc etc etc, if you can't CAST them because your getting HIT because your retarded 'random' shadows aren't being used up (assuming the mob is susceptible to them at ALL, i have fought a lot of stuff that is just flat immune to everything) none of it matters, whereas in a /nin scenario Nuke > sleep > nuke > Shadows take damage > sleep while you've got shadows up. It is not too much to ask that they do what their description says "Absorb an enemy attack directed at you" not "Sometimes absorbs an enemy attack directed at you".

A: Stoneskin is higher than 350 damage mitigated if you have EASILY OBTAINABLE gear
B: get an mdt set. that 1200 nuke should be for 600 pre stoneskin
C: get your merit abyssites already because 1200 damage wont kill most mages inside abyssea and if you did take 1200 damage you just lost enough hate for the other guys to get it back
D:You don't see at all why being able to spam "utsu" every 3~6 seconds would be overpowered at all?
E: Learn how to kite/pin on a mage if solo without nin sj
F: Dont get hate
G: Aquaveil
H: if all else fails there is more than enough spell interruption gear to cap for mages atm I believe.