Black Mage Sanctuary - A Guide to DPS

Eikon body is smexy, I'll be wearing mine until 3.4

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Originally Posted by Mercutial

Obviously snagged the legs for the first lore purchase, but is anyone else thinking about putting off that chest for the forseeable future? Problem being the prototype chest is hot garbage too.

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I pentamelded the 220 Crafted Chest, and I don't plan on replacing that until I get the Midan Coat.

I actually went with lore feet first as i could also get a ring. No immediate plans to change chest atm.
My ss is finally getting closer to were i want, currently @ 866 if i recall (without food). I also regret going the lazy route and using IV instead of V for some of my melds, lol

So I was just looking at ffxiv.ariyala.com, and the BLM Stat Weights have been updated, but I can't seem to find a source. So I'm very curious if its accurate.

Weapon Damage - 9.971
Spell Speed: 0.413
Critical Hit Rate: 0.206
Determination: 0.172

If these are accurate, Spell Speed is insanely high. We already knew SS is weighted higher than the rest, but that's a lot higher than I expected. And crit is still outshining Det. Anyone have confirmed Caster Accuracy Cap for A8S yet? Can't find anything concrete.

No misses at 610, I imagine 600 is probably enough.

Those numbers are from a comment in Happy's latest video. Here's the comment:

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BLM stat weights are farther down, done by another redit user named kairyuGestalter. SS>CRIT>DET
-snip-
"I've been working on the question of BLM weights for some time (Going all the way back to just before 2.2 in fact). The simulations I've run for other jobs line up close enough to Dervy's weights that I think the methodology I'm using is valid, even if the formulas I'm using are a little bit off. So here goes, BLM stat weights for 3.2 are:
WD: 9.971
INT: 1.000
DET: 0.172
Crit: 0.206
SS: 0.413
-snip-
Credit: AkairyuGestalter

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Personally, I'll be waiting for Dervy's numbers to see how they compare.

So this is probably a weird question for folks.

I am, very likely, the worst BLM that has ever existed in the history of the game. Maybe. Possibly.

I get cussed out Duty Finder sometimes especially when I am still learning an encounter.

So my question is, is there ANY sort of pointer or trick for not being that person who "sucks at BLM" when still learning an encounter? I watch videos and read up but it is a poor substitute for actually doing the fight. I just can't figure out where to stand or when to use my cooldowns when I'm still new. There is just so much movement. I really hate feeling like a useless anchor on a group.

I would say practice on that new dummy that was added, do some EX Primal fights as well such as Titan (which some still fail at) and just try different rotations
It's all about timing and having 100% enochian uptime if at all possible and when to use procs, etc..

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Originally Posted by Ayuhra

So this is probably a weird question for

I get cussed out Duty Finder sometimes especially when I am still learning an encounter.

So my question is, is there ANY sort of pointer or trick for not being that person who "sucks at BLM" when still learning an encounter? I watch videos and read up but it is a poor substitute for actually doing the fight. I just can't figure out where to stand or when to use my cooldowns when I'm still new. There is just so much movement. I really hate feeling like a useless anchor on a group.

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The most important is rotation rotation rotation

Practice on a dummy, live it, breathe it.

Once it's all muscle memory and you have a secure grip of timers, then practice it out in runs.

It's alot easier when you know your rotation well to go into fights, your only then concerned about movement

Watch other blms and see what they do, record fights you do to see where you can improve.

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Originally Posted by Ayuhra

My question is, is there ANY sort of pointer or trick for not being that person who "sucks at BLM" when still learning an encounter? I watch videos and read up but it is a poor substitute for actually doing the fight. I just can't figure out where to stand or when to use my cooldowns when I'm still new. There is just so much movement. I really hate feeling like a useless anchor on a group.

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Like others have said, practice your rotation on a dummy, especially the Sky ones so you know if your output is enough for your gear level.

Basically i210 for the A5S Dummy up to i225 for the A8S Dummy.

Other than that it's just a matter of playing BLM at the highest level you can for all content, in order to understand how to optimize it.

i.e. Holding procs for movement, target swapping, AOE, Aetherial Manipulation, Ward/Wall to limit movement, being comfortable with the rotation while performing mechanics (not losing your place in rotation or adjusting to keep Enochian)

All things you want to learn so you can adapt on the fly, which is just easier to learn by doing instead of reading somewhere that when X happens do Y.

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Originally Posted by Ayuhra

So my question is, is there ANY sort of pointer or trick for not being that person who "sucks at BLM" when still learning an encounter?

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Playing a BLM is very unforgiving, especially compared to SMN. Once you have your rotations down on dummy, practice them while "slide casting" each spell. There is a point on the cast bar that you can actually move before the spell casts and your movement won't interrupt the spell. You can use this to slide out of AOE's without stopping your rotation.

While learning a fight I just stick to the basic rotations, and save swift cast for Blizzard IV to refresh Enochian. I'm mainly focused on learning the mechanics, best places to stand, and what I can target to keep enochian up. During the 25 second rotation, I may even refresh enochian early, instead of trying to squeeze out one more F4 only to whiff B4. Once I know the fight and know where and when I can stand to do an "opener" I'll add that, and LL etc...
When you lose Enochian go back to the lvl 50 rotation. If you have AF3 just go to the F1,F1... part. Watch Enochian and right before you're able to cast it again, cast B3 (T1 if need for filler) then you'll go back to your Enochian rotation with full MP.

Other tips would be, if you are learning something put it up in Party Finder as a learning party.
Or join a large FC that is open to casual players and has a good reputation. Then find a group of players that are around the same point of the game as you and work through the content together. Usually a quick chat with the FC head will give you a good idea of if they will be a good fit for you or not.

Good luck!

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Originally Posted by Ayuhra

So my question is, is there ANY sort of pointer or trick for not being that person who "sucks at BLM" when still learning an encounter?

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As others have said, rotation should be second nature. Practice it some and then practice it more. Then turn your UI off and practice it that way. You should be able to do your rotation blindfolded. Once you have that down, you no longer have to think about it, and you fingers will do the work while your mind is paying attention to everything going on around you.

If you need any help, feel free to ask. Also check out my guide. It's currently in work for 3.2.

https://www.reddit.com/r/ffxiv/comme...ck_mage_guide/

Have folks been experimenting with Piety at all? I've been messing around with it and discovered at 314 PIE (and with a spell speed of 964), you can do a 7x Fire 4 rotation:

Blizz 3 -> Sharpcast -> Fire 3 -> Leylines + Enochian -> Fire -> Raging Strikes + Potion -> Fire 4 x 4 -> Fire 3 proc + Convert -> Fire 4x3 (Potion ends after #1, Raging ends after #3) -> Blizz 3

You'd have 1 mp to spare and 6 to 7 seconds on enochian, enough to Blizz 4, regardless of the MP tick. A good one lets you fit in a Thunder. Possibly this is an opener (though you're losing a GCD with the opening Blizzard 3, would 7 Raging Fire 4s make up for it?), almost certainly something that could be done mid-fight if you have the time to use it in. At 310 PIE, you can also do 5 Fire 4s in a 'normal' rotation if you have a good MP tick (2x Fire 4, Fire, 3x Fire 4, Blizz 3).

Testing it out with 927 spell speed seems to be cutting it closer than I'd like - Firestarter hit without the Astral Fire buff.

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Originally Posted by Kaebora

Have folks been experimenting with Piety at all? I've been messing around with it and discovered at 314 PIE (and with a spell speed of 964), you can do a 7x Fire 4 rotation:

Blizz 3 -> Sharpcast -> Fire 3 -> Leylines + Enochian -> Fire -> Raging Strikes + Potion -> Fire 4 x 4 -> Fire 3 proc + Convert -> Fire 4x3 (Potion ends after #1, Raging ends after #3) -> Blizz 3

You'd have 1 mp to spare and 6 to 7 seconds on enochian, enough to Blizz 4, regardless of the MP tick. A good one lets you fit in a Thunder. Possibly this is an opener (though you're losing a GCD with the opening Blizzard 3, would 7 Raging Fire 4s make up for it?), almost certainly something that could be done mid-fight if you have the time to use it in. At 310 PIE, you can also do 5 Fire 4s in a 'normal' rotation if you have a good MP tick (2x Fire 4, Fire, 3x Fire 4, Blizz 3).

Testing it out with 927 spell speed seems to be cutting it closer than I'd like - Firestarter hit without the Astral Fire buff.

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Read starting here and one or two pages after. I think I had another post pre-3.2, but the idea is there. 310 is probably the best, as you can get to 308 as a Dunesfolk purely from melds (if you minmax for sps otherwise), and you don't want to reallocate too many INT points to PIE. You can't do (Sharp) F1 > (Eno) F3 > 2xF4 > F1 > 3xF4 > B3 (from full MP with no UI3) with such low piety though, so if it's not your opener and you need to start from full MP, your 30s rotation will be the same as it is currently. Not really a huge deal in the grand scheme of things, I rarely find myself in a situation where I need to do super serious damage and also let every last buff fall off.

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Originally Posted by Ayuhra

So this is probably a weird question for folks.

I am, very likely, the worst BLM that has ever existed in the history of the game. Maybe. Possibly.

I get cussed out Duty Finder sometimes especially when I am still learning an encounter.

So my question is, is there ANY sort of pointer or trick for not being that person who "sucks at BLM" when still learning an encounter? I watch videos and read up but it is a poor substitute for actually doing the fight. I just can't figure out where to stand or when to use my cooldowns when I'm still new. There is just so much movement. I really hate feeling like a useless anchor on a group.

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Best thing you can do when still learning an encounter is to just focus on making sure you are DPSing. Don't panic. if you need to, do the F4>F1>F4 rotation for extra mobility OR if absolutely necessary, do your 2.0 rotation. ( I would still pop enochian for that extra bit of damage though. NOTE after you get comfortable with the fight, I would highly recommend switching over to the ENO rotation asap though.) Just explain that you are new to the fight and if a player gives you advice, consider it.

I would say, think more about how you can do more damage as you learn the fight and not so much about how everyone else views you. You will learn the mechanics as long as you focus and keep a cool head.

EDIT: One thing I would say I see BLMs do a lot is, when AOEs are under them, they over estimate how far the need to move. You only need to be outside the AOE. You don't need to move another AOE's distance from it. You can also use aetherial manipulation. Just as a side note. XD

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Originally Posted by drmambo1999

EDIT: One thing I would say I see BLMs do a lot is, when AOEs are under them, they over estimate how far the need to move. You only need to be outside the AOE. You don't need to move another AOE's distance from it. You can also use aetherial manipulation. Just as a side note. XD

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Your hitbox is, like, one pixel or whatever unit they're using in size. Half of your character can stand inside the AoE and not get hit.

so after witnessing the marvel that is 1100 spellspeed for this week i decided i never want to go bellow 1k, so i played around with ariyala to decide on a BIS and from what i saw with accuracy caps posted thus far something like this http://ffxiv.ariyala.com/T82G should work wonders(worst case drop a spellspeed meld or 2 for accuracy ones as needed).

edit:decided to try going full tryhard on spellspeed and the most i could reach with around 600 accuracy was http://ffxiv.ariyala.com/T82P

Here's what I have in mind for a BiS if acc cap is 600. You can also replace the HQ Apple Strudel with HQ Baked Pipira Pira and still be above 600 acc.

http://puu.sh/nCr6C/e93019cf6f.png

Anyone knows how short fire and fire IV cast time is with 1000+ ss with and without leylines?

My fire IV is at 2.68 seconds and my fire should be at 2.28. I have around 1050SS (20+/- don't remember the exact number)

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Originally Posted by Cherub

A little correction. 1046SS, 2.68 Fire IV cast but !!!2.24sec GCD!!!
Sorry for the wrong information

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At 876, the cast times are 2.76 and 2.30, so for 170 spell speed you're getting 2/25 and 3/50 of a second off your cast times (2.985% and 2.679%, respectively)

With Ley Lines, 876 gets you 2.34s and 1.95s casts and the reported 1046 values would be 2.28 and 1.90 (3/50 sec and 1/20 sec ; 2.632% in both cases)

So SS is boss?
Or too much SS no good since you will be in Umbral faster and be waiting for the tick?

I'm sure someone has done these tests with SMN, but I did some tests on spell speed and DoT damage. The highlights:

• Thunder DoT damage increases by ~1% per 65 spell speed
• Thundercloud initial damage doesn't get the damage boost, only the DoT ticks
• Ley Lines doesn't affect DoT damage

edit - looking at the numbers, damage increase seems equal to GCD decrease, so DoT multiplier is (2 - GCD/2.5), where GCD is your spell speed adjusted GCD

A little correction. 1046SS, 2.68 Fire IV cast but !!!2.24sec GCD!!!
Sorry for the wrong information

I see thanks!

Not really seen anything yet but for someone who hasn't done savage yet is pentamelded 220 better than a lot of the 230 stuff? I mean the tome legs and boots are good but... I just don't want to lose all this spell speed I have now.

Hey guys so been reading the past few pages but I haven't found a solid basic rotation yet for single dps. Can anyone briefly tell me the basic rotation? No need for CDs as I will adjust. I am very confused on whether I start with Fire 1 or Fire 3, in addition of whether or not we use Blizzard 4 and Thunder 2.

Very generally, you want to be using F4 as much as possible. From a cold start, this is how I do it:
(Sharp) F1 > (Eno) F3 proc > F4x2 > F1 > F4x2 > F3 proc if you have it > B3 > T1/2 (I believe 1 is usually better) > B4 > F3 > back to F4x2 > F1 > F4x2, etc etc. After your second B4, finish the third rotation, let Enochian fall off, and re-apply it after the F3 and you're full on MP. You could hardcast F3 at the very start and save Sharp for a guaranteed proc, but I really don't like hardcasting F3.
Now, because Enochian's duration changes as you refresh, your rotation changes after each refresh. It's a better idea to have Enochian as your timer. Rule of thumb is if there are 9 seconds or so left on the timer, you have time to B3 > T1 > B4. If there are six seconds or so, you have to drop the T1 before B4.

Both Thundercloud procs AND Firestarter procs are more PPS than F4 is, but you need to be smart about it. T3proc is only a gain if your previous Thunder DoT has 12 seconds or fewer on it. So if you use a T3proc and immediately get another, you should not use it, unless the timer will fall below 12s before you lose the proc. F3s I generally hold on to for if I need to move, or add at the very end otherwise. If it's not the initial 30s rotation, using any proc essentially eats a F4 cast and you should cut one from your rotation somewhere. Similarly, movement often means you'll have to cut a F4 cast. You'll get a feel for when you don't have to cut it, but better safe than sorry until then.

I generally hold Sharpcast to use it with Enochian (From UI3: (Sharp) F3 > (Eno) F4 > F1 > F4x3 > Guaranteed F3proc), as it lets me pad out my 30s rotation more. That's probably not the correct thing to do, so other people please correct me. That's just the basic rotation, I'm assuming you know to pair Ley with RS + Convert and all that jazz.

In regards to T1 vs T2, my understanding is that time spent casting T2 lengthens the time it takes until you can get back to casting F4, but it's sometimes necessary to ensure you get both MP ticks. Since you're just fishing for procs and can apply it pretty much every time you go into UI, T1 is the way to go.

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Originally Posted by Aloise

In regards to T1 vs T2, my understanding is that time spent casting T2 lengthens the time it takes until you can get back to casting F4, but it's sometimes necessary to ensure you get both MP ticks.

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Can happen with Ley if you get the absolute longest ticks possible, but it's quite rare. From the top of my head, you'll be lacking the mana to cast T2 every time you don't get a tick between B4/T1 and F3 in the previous round, too.

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Originally Posted by Aloise

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Thank you, this is what I was looking for. So generally, say, all my CDS are down. Should I start off with Fire 3 -> F4x2 -> F1 -> F4x2 -> F3 -> etc.?
In that case then is it safe for me to take off Thunder 2 and Blizzard 1 completely off my hotkeys?

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Originally Posted by Zaranghae

Thank you, this is what I was looking for. So generally, say, all my CDS are down. Should I start off with Fire 3 -> F4x2 -> F1 -> F4x2 -> F3 -> etc.?
In that case then is it safe for me to take off Thunder 2 and Blizzard 1 completely off my hotkeys?

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If absolutely everything, including Enochian, is down, you have to revert to the ARR F3 > F1* > B3 rotation. If Enochian is up but everything else is down, that's correct. I wouldn't take T2 and B1 completely off, but relegate them somewhere pretty far from normal. You can run into situations where you can't hold a T3proc for UI phase, so you use it, then transition to UI3 where casting Thunder would be a DPS loss. You can either pray for a fast tick and go straight to B4 or play it safe and B1. Also T2 is used in Leroy's opener if you Flare, but other than that I can't think of a time when it'd be mandatory to cast. If you somehow get super screwed with MP ticks and needed but didn't use T2, I'd say just go into AF3, F4 as much as you can without F1 (since you're lacking some MP), then B3 and pretend the bad tick never happened.

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Originally Posted by Zaranghae

Thank you, this is what I was looking for. So generally, say, all my CDS are down. Should I start off with Fire 3 -> F4x2 -> F1 -> F4x2 -> F3 -> etc.?
In that case then is it safe for me to take off Thunder 2 and Blizzard 1 completely off my hotkeys?

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Please check out my guide. It has all the information you seek.

https://www.reddit.com/r/ffxiv/comme...ck_mage_guide/

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Originally Posted by Rongway

At 876, the cast times are 2.76 and 2.30, so for 170 spell speed you're getting 2/25 and 3/50 of a second off your cast times (2.985% and 2.679%, respectively)

With Ley Lines, 876 gets you 2.34s and 1.95s casts and the reported 1046 values would be 2.28 and 1.90 (3/50 sec and 1/20 sec ; 2.632% in both cases)

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The ley line numbers are indeed correct.

In case people are wondering, with 1046SS, an enhanced arrow and Fey Wind, my FireIV cast is at 1.51seconds and I could do 5 FireIV's rotations. Only problem, MP ticks. I'm too fast :v But it sure felt good.

Guys i have a problem with my gear, this is week 4 coming and i'll be able to buy a A5S accessory, im also going to get my i230 weapon : http://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodest...cter/10341236/

but i feel like all those accessory are total garbage, i dont went to lose my 1070 spellspeed because i know i'm gonna lose some extra f4 under leylines and others things.

So i was thinking, spellspeed is so good right now that i feel crafted gear (on accessory at least) will stay bis forever for the blackmage, any tought on this ?

thanks

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Originally Posted by smallbeach

So i was thinking, spellspeed is so good right now that i feel crafted gear (on accessory at least) will stay bis forever for the blackmage, any tought on this ?

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I did some rough figures over the weekend for stat weights. These numbers are fore pure turret ignoring CDs and rotation, 210 weapon.

To get a 1% damage increase:

• ~12 INT
• ~57-64 Spell Speed (decreases with higher spell speed)
• ~74 Det
• ~95 Crit

On accessories the trade-off of 240 vs 220 crafted is 10 INT for at most 60 secondaries. Unless you are overloaded with Accuracy, there will probably be a better 240 option.

@ Alkimi, some of the crafted gear actually is better then the lore gear. Myself i have neckpiece and belt and have melded ss and crit. Though wish i could of had V instead of IV.. but you know Diadem, bleh
Also i am using some midas accesories which does have spell speed as well

problem i have with stats weight is that it's never rly true

higher your crit is, higher the value of crit is since u get both crit and crit dmg, so +20 crit in 800crit is stronger than +20crit in 500crit, from that it's realy hard to find a stat weight value (especialy with a drg in team)

also why does spell speed value decreases with higher spell speed ? i feel like the more you have the better it is, you can do fancy rotation, i can almost do 5 fire4 under leylines with selene buffs without casting fire


edit : i just made a final bis : http://ffxiv.ariyala.com/TAB9 any thought on that one ?

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Originally Posted by smallbeach

problem i have with stats weight is that it's never rly true

higher your crit is, higher the value of crit is since u get both crit and crit dmg, so +20 crit in 800crit is stronger than +20crit in 500crit, from that it's realy hard to find a stat weight value (especialy with a drg in team)

also why does spell speed value decreases with higher spell speed ? i feel like the more you have the better it is, you can do fancy rotation, i can almost do 5 fire4 under leylines with selene buffs without casting fire

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While crit boosts by more damage as a percentage of your base damage as you get higher, the marginal boost to damage is about the same.

Spell speed value doesn't decrease, the amount needed for a 1% increase to damage decreases; at 354 SS it takes about 65 SS for a 1% increase, at 1100 SS it only takes about 57 for a 1% increase.

What do you mean by base damage ? Damage before the multipliers like inteligence or determination ? I doubt it because my crits are approx 1.6 multiplier at 815 crit, it wouldn't be that high if that was only base damage

Also about spellspeed i did quick tests,

with 919spellspeed, my cast time is 2.74, with 108 extra spellspeed, my cast time is 2.69 =>>> thats -0.05sec and 1,86% increased castspeed

with 354 my cast time is 3.0, with 108 extra spellspeed, my cast time is 2.95, so -0.05 aswell but here we only get 1.7% inscreased castspeed

so the more spellspeed you have the better is the stat aswell

Also to compare differents bis option, i was wondering how you found out that 12int was 1% dmg? I agree with you that 58int is 1% dmg, that's exactly what i found, but for intel what you did, 5hour rotation on a dummy ?


let me know if i'm wrong somewhere

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Originally Posted by smallbeach

What do you mean by base damage ? Damage before the multipliers like inteligence or determination ? I doubt it because my crits are approx 1.6 multiplier at 815 crit, it wouldn't be that high if that was only base damage

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By base damage I mean average non-crit damage. Under the old +50% damage system, going from 5% crit to 6% crit was a boost of 0.95% damage, while going to 20% to 21% was only a boost of 0.83% damage.

I went by an early HW calculation, if I have enough crit gear I might try some tests for myself.
https://www.reddit.com/r/ffxiv/comme...mage_formulae/

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Originally Posted by smallbeach

with 919spellspeed, my cast time is 2.74, with 108 extra spellspeed, my cast time is 2.69 =>>> thats -0.05sec and 1,86% increased castspeed

with 354 my cast time is 3.0, with 108 extra spellspeed, my cast time is 2.95, so -0.05 aswell but here we only get 1.7% inscreased castspeed

so the more spellspeed you have the better is the stat aswell

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Yes, the more spell speed you have the more each additional it gives you. It takes about 65 SS to take 1% off your cast time. When you're -10% of cast time already (about 1000 SS), adding 65 SS gives you about 1.12% more casts. This is what I mean by the amount of SS needed decreasing to get the 1% damage boost.

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Originally Posted by smallbeach

Also to compare differents bis option, i was wondering how you found out that 12int was 1% dmg? I agree with you that 58int is 1% dmg, that's exactly what i found, but for intel what you did, 5hour rotation on a dummy ?

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I used multiple dummies and Blizzard II spam, getting the high and low damage number with different setups. Keeping the same DET, each INT increased damage by roughly 0.391 damage from 407 all the way up to 994. I extrapolated to my normal INT (1150), and from there it takes about 12 INT to get 1% increase in damage. Taking off an earring (-47 INT, no DET change) gave just under a 4% drop in damage to confirm.