Back in Black - A Black Mage Guide

So through the years the Black Mage job has changed quite a bit, and there are bits and pieces of information scattered amongst the interwebs. As some of you may already know, I have created a new Black Mage guide that will be maintained and managed well into the future. The purpose was to compile any and all information into a single place. For veterans, those new to the class, and those new to the game in general. A lot of the Black Mage community has been great and contributed a great deal to this. Any feedback is welcome, and if there are any ideas, thoughts, suggestions, inputs or any questions you may have, I am always available on reddit, twitter, the forums or in game on Sargatanas.

Anyways, this is in no way to detract from what Aikaal has done with The Black Mage Sanctuary thread. I just wanted to create this post so those of you out there looking for answers can have access to this information. Please enjoy and a huge thanks to all of those that have contributed.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1...it?usp=sharing

And here is the Reddit thread started as well:

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

Thanks for making this, as a player who choose to switch jobs based on raid team I really didn't know where to start so this helped me a lot to get back into the class.

For a noob like me, this is perfect.

Thank you a lot for making this...

Thanks. I'm very glad I could help

Hey!

I remember when you put your guide on Reddit, and I just want to say I love it! Your analysis and calculations of the 3.0 openers really helped me fix what was a ridiculously subpar opener (I was originally taught the Blizz 3 opening x.x) and the face target point was something I never knew was possible to fix!

Keep up the great work!

Ok, question/comment: When doing AoE, would it be worth it to do Fire 3 -> (No mp tick) -> Thunder -> Flare -> Transpose? Obviously, The ideal AOE rotation is Fire 3 -> (mp tick) Fire 2 x 2 -> Flare -> Transpose -> Repeat, but adding in the Thunder lets you use MP and the time that would be otherwise wasted waiting on the Transpose - to me, it seems like a good idea, but there might be something obvious I'm missing. I mean, I am playing around with extra piety, but that shouldn't be the reason I can fit in a Thunder on a quick mp tick.

There isn't anything else to use your time and mana on in that case so you might as well cast Thunder then. You were able to do F1 - Flare in 2.x, but not anymore. RIP.

Fun fact: enough SS (around 900, not sure what the minimum is) lets you do F3 - F2 - F2 - Flare - TC - Transpose (Transpose - TC makes your GCD to go on too long) and fit all that inside the 15 seconds. You still get the instant mana tick after Transpose and my 938 SS puts me at 14,57 seconds for the whole thing. The GCD from TC ticks down during the time that would otherwise be spent waiting for the mana tick and sligthly more to guarantee enough time for two ticks before F3 goes off. If you could somehow guarantee always having TC at that point, I wonder if Thunder would always be worth the cast regardless of pack size.

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Originally Posted by Kaebora

Ok, question/comment: When doing AoE, would it be worth it to do Fire 3 -> (No mp tick) -> Thunder -> Flare -> Transpose? Obviously, The ideal AOE rotation is Fire 3 -> (mp tick) Fire 2 x 2 -> Flare -> Transpose -> Repeat, but adding in the Thunder lets you use MP and the time that would be otherwise wasted waiting on the Transpose - to me, it seems like a good idea, but there might be something obvious I'm missing. I mean, I am playing around with extra piety, but that shouldn't be the reason I can fit in a Thunder on a quick mp tick.

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Hmm. This is incredibly tricky, especially with our Spell Speed continuing to rise. I'll have to do some serious testing. Obviously if you don't get the tick, casting a Thunder is better than doing nothing at all for 2 seconds. Plus you have the added benefit of possibly getting TCs which would be an advantage.

The thing I'm struggling with though is, would it be more beneficial to wait an extra second to guarantee you get the second Mana tick. My theory is, it would completely depend on how many mobs you are fighting. For this you have to weigh 2 x Fire IIs against Thunder with a 10% chance at a TC for each mob. You also have to then take into consideration how long the mobs will survive for. I will take a look at the numbers and get back to you on that. Good point though.

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Originally Posted by Garotte14

The thing I'm struggling with though is, would it be more beneficial to wait an extra second to guarantee you get the second Mana tick. My theory is, it would completely depend on how many mobs you are fighting. For this you have to weigh 2 x Fire IIs against Thunder with a 10% chance at a TC for each mob. You also have to then take into consideration how long the mobs will survive for. I will take a look at the numbers and get back to you on that. Good point though.

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Thunder alone probably isn't worth it. I did some notepad math on Eno upkeep during AoE against six mobs, and you had to get a third mana tick for 3xF2 Flare per rotation for it to be comparable to just the normal F2x2 Flare and even then it was a tiny bit worse. F2x2 with B4 added in was just bad.

Yeah, I would def never recommend trying to keep Enochian up during AoE. You wanna hit that flare as quickly and often as possible.

I was bored and went to test stuff (and also noticed I did a pretty big rotational error with my notepad math) against three dummies and got:

Eno refresh F3 - F2 - F2 - F2 - Flare - B4
1789.85 17% (11% Flare) crit 5:07
1840.57 20% (16% Flare) crit 5:06

Eno no refresh F3 - F2 - F2 - Flare
1852.39 14% (20% Flare) crit 4:59
1851.18 14% (15% Flare) crit 4:57

Thunder added
1909.58 17% (15% Flare) crit 5:04 3 TC procs
1935.39 18% (17% Flare) crit 5:07 5 TC procs

I could see the gap getting slightly smaller as pack sizes increase, but I Don't think it can ever catch up, though, as 50% Flare is still more PPS than F2. I wanted a run with more TC procs, but got hungry.

Well sharpcast thunder for multiple adds and if those crit,, oh my
I was lucky enough the other day to have my thunder crit, lol
It really to me does depend on what situation if you want to keep enochian up or even use it for aoe.
F3>F2>F2>Flare>Convert>Flare> etc... works well enough for certain situations

Keep in mind i do not always do this, just situations like mentioned*

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Originally Posted by Garotte14

You wanna hit that flare as quickly and often as possible.

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Made me want to test F3 F2 Flare. Same three poor dummies in Central Shroud.

1811.08 14% (15% Flare) crit 5:02
1788.15 12% (13% Flare) crit 4:50

Flare casts went from 20 to 25 (good)
F2 casts went from 41 to 27 (bad-ish?)
F3 casts went from 20 to 25 (bad)

The bad outweighs the good in this case. Timing is also super strict and I had to try a few times to get clean runs. PPS against six mobs is 289.2 compared 306.3 with normal.

Some hybrid (F3 F2 F2 Flare when Eno is up, F3 F2 Flare when not) thing I wanted to test:

1850.75 15% (17% Flare) crit 4:52
1828.71 14% (17% Flare) crit 4:52

I guess it was expected to fall between.

Updates to the guide have been made for 3.2

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

I dont get why this isnt the main BLM thread. This guide is way more indepth and detailed than Aikaal's guide + Aikaal hasnt updated in months.

Well that would be because Aikaal left the game unfortunately. But yes Garotte or Alayna i guess? Has done a great job with the guide

Yes, the main reason I wanted to create this guide is because I wanted to have something that wasn't solely for level 60 Black Mage, but also could help new ppl. I knew Aikaal was leaving the game as well so it just seemed like the best time to build a guide. I don't plan on leaving this game. I just hope it helps ppl enjoy the class and the game in general.

Just a suggestion, I think you would be better putting the pot values for HQ rather than NQ. Any self-respecting BLM will be using HQs

The +127 int from max-pot is pretty op :D

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Originally Posted by randysquirrel

Just a suggestion, I think you would be better putting the pot values for HQ rather than NQ. Any self-respecting BLM will be using HQs

The +127 int from max-pot is pretty op :D

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I can do that.

thank you! This guide is just what I need now.

Question for BLM; I recently aquired the level 230 Lore staff. I placed two pieces of level V materia into it (Determination +24). Someone was telling me I fucked up, not sure why though. Was this a good choice? The base stats on the staff already had SS, Crit Hit, Vit, and intel.

If you got the hailstorm staff
It is crit capped but not spellspeed capped (80 when the cap is 114)

So yeah 2 quicktongue V would have give you 104 spellspeed

2 Quicktongue V's would be the best way to go.
You can remove the materia and remeld at the cost of losing a V materia in your case.

Yep, others have already stated the reason. If you are unaware, there is a place called the Bonfire, which is north of Black Brush Station in central than. Go there and speak to the gobby to remove your materia. Det is the lowest stat weight so you shouldn't be melding Det unless you have no other choice.

I have a question about Enochian... When your in your 3rd rotation and its off cooldown I usually go Blizzard 3 -> Sharpcast -> Thunder -> Enochian -> Thunder 3 (Thundercloud) -> Fire 3... Is that near enough the "right way" or is there something else that I could/should do to restart the timer?

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Originally Posted by IceSpear

I have a question about Enochian... When your in your 3rd rotation and its off cooldown I usually go Blizzard 3 -> Sharpcast -> Thunder -> Enochian -> Thunder 3 (Thundercloud) -> Fire 3... Is that near enough the "right way" or is there something else that I could/should do to restart the timer?

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If you are using Sharpcast on Thunder, which is fine, you should not be using it that early. Unless you are talking about fighting two mobs then that's fine as well. But on a single target, if you use that rotation you described above, your initial thunder isn't even ticking once, meaning you're wasting a 2.5s cast time on 30 potency.

I would recommend doing this instead: Sharpcast > Thunder > Enochian > Fire III > Fire IV X 2 > Fire > Thundercloud. This way your initial Thunder is 150-190 potency.

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Originally Posted by Garotte14

If you are using Sharpcast on Thunder, which is fine, you should not be using it that early. Unless you are talking about fighting two mobs then that's fine as well. But on a single target, if you use that rotation you described above, your initial thunder isn't even ticking once, meaning you're wasting a 2.5s cast time on 30 potency.

I would recommend doing this instead: Sharpcast > Thunder > Enochian > Fire III > Fire IV X 2 > Fire > Thundercloud. This way your initial Thunder is 150-190 potency.

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And what should I do when I come to refresh Enochian with Blizzard IV since by the time I use the Thundercloud it would still be ticking should I use Blizzard or just use Thunder again?...

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Originally Posted by IceSpear

And what should I do when I come to refresh Enochian with Blizzard IV since by the time I use the Thundercloud it would still be ticking should I use Blizzard or just use Thunder again?...

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Its more about watching your mana and the server tick, but in a nutshell, yes. If you are using Thundercloud in the back half of your Fire rotation, use Blizzard instead of Thunder. Your TC is 745.5 potency, but if you refresh it with Thunder at that point, it reduces it down to 535.5 potency. 535.5 + 283.5 for another T1, is 819 potency. A full TC plus B1 is 934.5 potency with the same cast times.

However, if you happen to get a quick server tick after you cast Blizzard III, you'll be able to omit the Blizzard altogether and go right into BIV and let your TC tick its full duration.

Also, there is the possibility of getting another TC and if that does happen, then it is fine to refresh that first TC with another one in that scenario. You're then reducing your first to 535.5 potency but adding another 745.5; putting you at 1281 potency for the same 5 seconds of cast time.

I have a question that's mostly irrelevant. I personally find the 6x Fire IV opener to be too tight for me to pull off reliably (I'm skirting 834* splspd at 214) and I've been using the standard rotation as my opener instead. Is the potency loss by doing this so dramatic that it would be noticeable? I'm currently upgrading gear and working in more splspd, but I'm not a raider so I've got little more than personal interest to push on that front.

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Originally Posted by Kerii

I have a question that's mostly irrelevant. I personally find the 6x Fire IV opener to be too tight for me to pull off reliably (I'm skirting 834* splspd at 214) and I've been using the standard rotation as my opener instead. Is the potency loss by doing this so dramatic that it would be noticeable? I'm currently upgrading gear and working in more splspd, but I'm not a raider so I've got little more than personal interest to push on that front.

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If you're not raiding, then no. It doesn't really matter if you aren't doing the "optimal" opener. Once you get around 890 SS, is when you will start to see that opener a little easier to pull off. Over a thousand SS, and you can do it without a problem even if you have to move during it. I wouldn't worry too much about it though.

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Originally Posted by Nekotee

If you got the hailstorm staff
It is crit capped but not spellspeed capped (80 when the cap is 114)

So yeah 2 quicktongue V would have give you 104 spellspeed

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Alright, thanks for the information. I will have to aquire a few SS materia now. Sucks I wasted two level V Determination materias though.

Well it does, but note for the rest of your gear if you can add determination, IV materia should suffice, save your weekly V Materia reward for Spell Speed and crit i would suggest.

I have a quick question.
With my current gear should I be able to beat the AS8 dummy clean? I have full 230 left side and almost full 230 right side, I have 2 ilv220.
Like...I'm able to clear it but its highly dependable on my procs and I can't clear it if I don't get much thunderclouds, I usually always hit 4% or 1%.
Also I'm not using Pots if I use pots I can beat it easily, I'm going in unbuffed aside form the Piety food so I can use the opener.

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Originally Posted by xxvaynxx

I have a quick question.
With my current gear should I be able to beat the AS8 dummy clean? I have full 130 left side and almost full 130 right side, I have 2 ilv120.
Like...I'm able to clear it but its highly dependable on my procs and I can't clear it if I don't get much thunderclouds, I usually always hit 4% or 1%.
Also I'm not using Pots if I use pots I can beat it easily, I'm going in unbuffed aside form the Piety food so I can use the opener.

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I'm assuming you meant 230 and 220, and yes you should be able to clear it with that gear. With a high proc % you should be able to clear it at i220 with sephirot weapon. I'm assuming, your around i227-228 by what you said. At that level, you shouldn't have to rely too much on procs. There might be something you're doing that's not optimal in your rotation, but I can't say for sure without seeing it

Oops yeah I meant 230 (edit) and yeah I'm ilv228...so my rotation?
Hmm...seems like I'm doing things right..like..the first time I cleared it I had like 8secs but I haven't been able to clear it with that time ever since, it always 3secs left or I don't clear it at all.
I start with the new sharpcast opener, then I go from there. I do the normal rotation F4x2, F1(Thundercloud) , f4x2, B3, T1(Or B1 if thunder still ticking around 15secs), B4.

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Originally Posted by xxvaynxx

Oops yeah I meant 230 (edit) and yeah I'm ilv228...so my rotation?
Hmm...seems like I'm doing things right..like..the first time I cleared it I had like 8secs but I haven't been able to clear it with that time ever since, it always 3secs left or I don't clear it at all.
I start with the new sharpcast opener, then I go from there. I do the normal rotation F4x2, F1(Thundercloud) , f4x2, B3, T1(Or B1 if thunder still ticking around 15secs), B4.

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Well there are a few things to consider. First, Because you can stand still for its entirety, Firestarter procs aren't going to make much of a difference for the dummy. Even though the PPS is higher on a Firestarter vs. a Fire IV, during such a short parse, it's hardly noticeable. So the two big factors that will effect such a parse is going to be Thunderclouds and crits. Crits make an even bigger difference in your opener. With Raging Strikes up, a crit on a Fire IV is like an additional 2% on that dummy. So if you don't get any crits during your opener, you could end the first 30 seconds at around 84% HP left. 3 Crits could put you about 78% in the same time frame. When you're talking about a game of inches, that can be the difference between clearing it with 8 seconds left and not clearing it at all.

It sounds as if you're doing everything properly so it could just be a case of bad luck. I would take a look at your crit %. I'd be willing to bet on the times you don't clear it, your crit rate is really low.

Just in case any Black Mages were wondering, The chest piece that drops in The Weeping City of Mhach is a great upgrade until you can get the chest from A8 and would be BiS if you don't do Savage. I've only seen it drop on Ozma so far, and I ran it 7 times this week.

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Originally Posted by Garotte14

Just in case any Black Mages were wondering, The chest piece that drops in The Weeping City of Mhach is a great upgrade until you can get the chest from A8 and would be BiS if you don't do Savage. I've only seen it drop on Ozma so far, and I ran it 7 times this week.

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According to Garland Tools it can drop from Calofisteri too.

Edit~ I can confirm it does drop from the 3rd and final boss... The amount of times I ran for it... Never want to go again.