Black Mage advice

Hi all,

I\\'ve been casually dipping into PVP through the Feast 8v8 and Frontlines. I main BLM and I hear a lot about how the class is very difficult to use effectively compared to other classes and if you\\'re not exceptional, you will struggle to get positive results. I have noticed this in my limited time. On occasion I\\'m struggling to keep up with the other DPS numbers even though I feel like I\\'m in the thick of things.

I\\'m just asking for any advice or strategies for playing as BLM. Is there an effective way to weave between damage and CC? Is there a good burst rotation to shoot for when I have an opportunity? How best to shake off a tank that\\'s chasing me the whole time? Any PVP skills I should be prioritizing putting points into first? Also, I\\'m just in lore gear with INT at this point. Is it recommended I use a lot of VIT as BLM? Basically, what do you guys look for in decent BLM?

Thanks for any help or resources you can point me to!

BTW, I'm not really looking to get into top-tier ranked 4v4 type stuff. I just think PVP is fun and interesting and I'd like to not embarrass myself too much, if possible. Sorry for all the weird dashes in the post above, somehow the formatting on my phone messed up.

I don't know much about black mages but sleep is the best thing you got and you should learn to use it effectively/the timing for when it won't be resisted after using it.

Also try to get at or above 10k pvp health. The asuran fending ear ring is really good for this and changing your attribute bonus to full vitality would be good too. I see too many casters sporting 9.2k health it makes me cry sometimes.

2/3 Vit Accessories so you can survive melee LB.

Burst rotation is just Fire 4's, 3 of them on a focus'd target pretty much guarantees a kill. If no Enochian, it's just the standard Fire 1 spam. Your main utility, sleep and bind, are what will win matches. If you're being chased down, use thunder to get procs so you can contribute to killing a target while kiting. If your taking some healable damage just pop Equanimity and down the focus'd target. Try and bait them towards your bridge so they can't LOS you.

If things are getting too much and there's more than one trying to take you out, use defensive CD's and try to CC with bind or sleep. Remember you have Aetherial Manipulation - you can teleport to a party member. Use it.

Its pretty standard for a BLM to do 80-100k damage because you CC. Its all about how effective that damage was.

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

This guide is pretty good for BLM, but keep in mind it was written before the cast interrupt changes, you can be a bit more offensive now. Still, always aim to have more than 10k hp, but I wouldn't go as far as rolling with 3/4 VIT accs, at least not on solo queue.

The best advice I could give you is use your procs right. F4 spam will be your bread and butter but its also very obvious and anyone with half a working brain will LOS you before you get the 2nd F4 off. To counter that try to have a proc to follow up a F4 cast.

As an example, RS > Phantom Dart > F4 + T3/F3 proc is a death sentence. So is RS > Phantom Dart > T3 proc + F3 proc. Use Sharpcast to get procs, then sleep the healer and someone dies. Easier said than done, but that's what you should aim for imo.

For skills, prioritize Purify, then Phantom Dart and Nightwing. Surprisingly, Mana Draw is excellent. You may be a mana battery, but this lets you keep sustained burst for longer periods of time. Equanimity is not worth the points anymore after the cast interrupt changes imo.

Thanks, everyone. Helpful tips! Hoping this will allow me to better time my bursts and cc.

Cast sleep as much as possible. Even when opponents start to resist, keep casting. Counts as non-elemental DoT and teammantes will appreciate your effort.




update.
..kidding.

I would say exactly the oposite... I hate BLMs wich rely only on sleep... u are a DPS as a main, not a sleeper... So focus on Damage please...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Fodemhouse

I would say exactly the oposite... I hate BLMs wich rely only on sleep... u are a DPS as a main, not a sleeper... So focus on Damage please...

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He was being sarcastic...I hope xD

Quote:

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Originally Posted by auron_seifer

Its pretty standard for a BLM to do 80-100k damage because you CC. Its all about how effective that damage was.
As an example, RS > Phantom Dart > F4 + T3/F3 proc is a death sentence. So is RS > Phantom Dart > T3 proc + F3 proc. Use Sharpcast to get procs, then sleep the healer and someone dies. Easier said than done, but that's what you should aim for imo.

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Exactly my tought, but usually I use Fire IV > Phantm Dart > Fire IIIproc, I know that the 1st Fire 4 won't get buffed this way but usually when someone see a phantom dart on him feel the "I'll burst you".
When I declare my burst on someone usually I land a Lethargy too, to make his LoS attempt a little dumber.

Equanimity since the "everything-will-not-anymore-interrupt-you" buff is not such useful, BUT if you need to cast while harrased by a class that can pop high numbers (like the damned WAR or DRG) just pop it.

Also a "tip" I can give you is enjoy bursting WHMs under ther sacred prism, use Leylines and go with your PvE rotation, you will melt them (phantom dart is useful too there).

From my perspective, there are 2 ways to play BLM, Thundermage and Firemage.

Thundermage:
This playstyle relies heavily on crit/det as your secondary stat priorities. This playstyle is very effective in Frontlines, not so much in Feast. Bread and butter of Thundermage is Swiftcast->Sharpcast T3, guarentees you a proc and you toss the proc on a second target. I personally like to spread T1 after that on different targets and fish for procs. The bulk of your damage here will come from Scathe and Thunder procs.

Firemage:
This is probably what you want to start with and fit it to match your own playstyle if you want an all around style for Feast and Frontlines. As mentioned by others, main source of damage here comes from heavy F4 damage. You can either prioritize crit/det as before or Spell Speed/Crit (Which is what I do).

My typical opener is:
Swiftcast -> F3 -> Sharpcast -> Enochian -> F1 -> Raging Strikes -> F4 x2/x3 -> F3(Proc for damage and reset) -> PD

You can decide to use PD earlier but it's really hard to stick to 1 target in Frontlines so you can just stick that at the end for extra burst of damage to secure a kill. You can switch up the opener to whatever suits you and such. F4 x2 -> F3 -> PD can melt a tank even without High/Fever. Many people don't expect it coming. As far as refreshing Enochain, again, this is up to you. It really depends on the situation, just fiddle around with it till you feel comfortable with one thing.

Other things to note:
Sleep is strong, Nightwing is broken, and Lethargy is great against Healers/Casters. I also suggest macroing your Aetherial Manipulation to cast to your mouseover target (If you're on pc). Scathe is your best friend, you will find yourself using it very often trying to kite people. Blizzard II is useful against melees that stick to you. If people try to LoS you, you can use Freeze to bind them if they are close to the wall/pillar/what have you.

This job used to be so scary back before they nerfed the ability to artificially increase the spell casting threshhold. Now I dread having a BLM as my dps teammate and there arent any truly terrifying BLMs among the top 100 anymore. What a turn around.

Thing is, last time I checked ranged queues were the worst, and not many people on Primal played BLM to begin with... I wanted to try it more but I really don't want to subject other players to my "training", and waiting 20 mins or more between pops isn't really appealing... The top 3 or 2 first palyers of Mana are BLMs though afaik.

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Originally Posted by NoelNoel

Thing is, last time I checked ranged queues were the worst, and not many people on Primal played BLM to begin with.

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Same as Noeru, not many good BLMs on Primal, would say Noeru is one of the best definitely. Just honestly adapt to your own playstyle and figure out what works for you. It will never work the first time and you'll probably be frustrated when you first start it but if you end up knowing the ins and outs of the job it's extremely strong.

PS: NOERU I MISS YOU. CHINA INTERNET SUCKS.