BLM 2.1 PvE Feedback, the things that need some changes.

Black Mage is an awesome job, we are not the top DPS but we are also not the lowest. Like everyone else we have our strong points and weak points, we are never useless to any group and we can always add to it. However, the Job have several spells which are utterly useless by design, things that does not make scene not one bit.

This thread is not asking for a buff or a nerf, this thread aims to provide feedback to improve quality of life, to change certain spells from being the very worst in the game to something useful.

For the general player base whom are not invested in BLM in end game, please I beg of you, do not post about something you don't understand or what is used to skip content for your stupid WP SR, SE don't like it (No dev like to have players skipping content they designed. Proof? AK Nerf.) and we as end game BLMs don't really care about.

Freeze: "Covers a designated area in ice, dealing ice damage with a potency of 100 and binding enemies that enter."


The description does not make sense, as the spell does not function as described. It is still one of the very worst spells in game. The sad part, it is a BLM job spell that has 0 actual usage, aside from skipping contents for SR. The targeting mechanism makes it worse, it is already slow enough to cast as PC player but what are you exactly expecting from PS3 players with a controller?

The design of the spell need to actually match the description, if we are selecting an area to cover in ice using a manual targeting mechanism then why is it not functioning like Shadowflare for example?

Making this spell function as a DOT with slow effect for example on the ground won't make us OP, it will just make the spell useful.

Apocatastasis: "Increases a Disciple of War or Magic party member's resistance to Fire, Ice, and Lightning by 30%.
Cannot be reused on an individual for 60 seconds from when the effect wears off. Cannot be cast on self"

Hands down the most useless spell in FF XIV. I recall Yosida saying they don't want end game to be about elemental resistance. Dear Mr.Yosida, why do we have this spell then?

Not to mention every boss worth mentioning uses Physical attacks to punish the tanks, rarely would it be magical attack and even more rare to be one of the 3 Fire, Ice & Lightning. Ifrit and Twintania, they both use Fire, yet their attacks don't care much about elemental resistance. Unlike Virus or Eye for an Eye, this spell need some change to make us want to cast it on our tanks, something to make it at least useful in few situations.

Aetherial Manipulation:"Rush to a target party member's side. Unable to cast if bound."

Why is it tied to a party member? This spell could provide the balance BLM needs in contents where constant movements is required, it could have been used to reposition ourselves in a very effective skilful manner. Yet, I find it to be the coolest way to pass Allagan rot when I'm bored.

Just one small change would make me want to have it on my hotbar, remove the party member requirement and make it a ground target. It has a 30 sec CD, you can increase it to 3 minutes for all I care so long we can actually use it. Heck, even making it just rush us forward in a straight line would make it better than what it is atm.

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I think those three spells are the one's that require some attention the most, the rest good or bad can wait or be ignored, but not those 3 IMHO. Changes to these spells won't make us out DPS MNKs or SMNs nor would it make us OP, just increase our enjoyment and our Job uniqueness.

Freeze could actually be awesome if it did match the description. A slow-effect DoT aoe (like Hydra's one) on ground. The description seems to describe Hydra's aoe, not BLM's freeze.

Aetherial is bad because of the targetting but also because it is not a warp.
To make it actually useful we need a GROUND TARGET like almost EVERY warp spells from mages in any RPG/MMORPG and a TRUE WARP, not a rolling nor a sliding. It's more a dash than a warp at the moment.

Apocatastasis, what can we say about it.. Why is it a BLM job spell ? Is BLM support ? It is nonsense for a BLM.
This spell should LOWER the elemental defense of 1 mob. BLM is the burst class by excellence yet our BLM job spells don't give us any burst, we are using ARC's one.
Hell, we are BLM, not WHM.

I agree BLM should not outdps monk in ST, but why don't you want it to outdps SMN or at least equal it ?
SMN is more a support than BLM for a simple reason : In-battle Resurrect. Plus it is not affected as much by aoe dodging.
Because the class is all about dots ? Yeah... SMN is poorly designed imo (I got one), but that is out-topic.

Freeze definitely comes across as a placed ground effect spell and not a manually targeted AoE. It would be quite nice if it worked like Shadowflare, that could be put in the path of incoming adds to keep them in place for a few seconds and maybe deal some damage (they'd have to lower the potency back to 20, though). Even if it only lasted for about 10 seconds and was an Off GCD spell (much like Shadowflare), it could provide some additional utility. At the moment, I just use it because it's a ranged AoE for UI.

I have to say, though, that I have no issues with placement spells and I play on PC with a controller. A little pre-emptive thinking can help out, but it isn't something you can always rely on and not all players are equally as capable of doing the same things; especially with a controller. That said, I wouldn't be adverse to some QoL modifications to help speed this up.

Apocatastasis does have some uses, but the small range of resistances makes it a very limited buff. It is useful when it can be used, but I'd prefer to see it apply to all resistances. I know, I know - BLM uses the Fire, Ice and Thunder elements, and that's why it makes sense. But until we get Ramuh and Shiva, it's only worth using in a small number of places and even then, that's only 2 more scenarios. My main use for it is against those Succubus like enemies, especially the last boss in Haukke Manor HM. The 30% increase to resistance seems to be a good cut on Void Thunder/Fire spells, so I tend to put it up on the healer after a beguiling mist goes off just in case. Limited utility, though, and is one ability that I would swap, given its current use, to give us Burst (before any level cap increase gives it us).

AM is something you forget even exists until you are out of a party, when you might use it for the giggles. In certain fights, I can see it being useful, but it is often far easier to just (Sprint) move out of trouble than it is to find which person to target, and then to use the spell. Unless you know in advance, like the Rot scenario you mention, it's just too much trouble to actually make useful. But seeing as you commented about controller users with regards to Freeze, I think making it a ground target based ability is a bad thing to consider. The only way I make it work quick for me, is to be prepared in advance. Which is the same problem it currently has in my opinion. It's a tough solution to find that would make it a very fast ability to use, in terms of actually executing it. Given that you only have 1-2 seconds to respond to things that matter (less in some fights), any method to use it needs to be able to be used in a pinch with quick reflex. Perhaps the best way is to make it like Elusive Jump or Repelling Shot and have the caster move so much space in a given direction? Of course, the current implementation means you can move (almost) in any direction you choose.

One thing I wouldn't mind seeing changed a little is Surecast. In PvE, I've yet to use this on purpose. It would be nice if it allowed a cast whilst moving. It would need to be on a longer recast to account for the balance change, but that would be a fair trade. Whilst not exclusive to BLM, I can see it having a little more use. Otherwise, I'd rather exchange this for something else and let Surecast be a PvP only skill (where it is very useful what with 100% interrupt on damage).

Sad to see you find little use with aetherial manipulation when I use it quite frequently. It's insanely useful when you absolutely want to maximize DPS. Ifrit Ex is a great example. After I run from the eruptions with the group (using swiftcast + fire 1/3 while on the move), I sit at the back and finish my rotation/begin again. After that first spell goes off, I simply aetherial to the offtank or melee and start casting immediately. Sprint is insanely useful for Ifrit Ex so not having to waste it is a nice thing. Same thing with many other mechanics. I use it on Twin quite frequently.

Apoc has more uses than you think..however I think the duration is too short to warrant it. You basically need to use it on things like chained breath attacks by Ifrit or fireball from Twin.

I agree that freeze is a piece of junk. It takes too long to cast and is prone to fumbling around due to the targeting reticule.

Surecast could use some changes, sure, but there are very few events in this game where your casting is interrupted outside of PVP. Again, Twin's fireball is about the only place I use it. It's just a glorified cross class ability that is more useful to healers than it is to us.

My biggest complaint about BLM is lack of cooldowns. We get one. And that one has a huge cooldown itself.

There are a lot of problems with BLM that make it feel watered down but that's just the nature of FF14. It's really sad when it boils down to this:

http://i.imgur.com/BcFD9Wm.jpg

I did not even know BLM had a buff that boosts elemental resistance \o/

but but... your aetherial manipulation looks so cool ! I so want it as a SMN T_T

NO! You can't have it! In fact, you can't have thunder either! *snatches*

Well, I want Bio and Resurrect.