How do you enjoy playing casters?

I started playing not long ago and played NIN through the entire ARR as soon as I got the job, and intend to keeping it my main. But I think NIN has spoiled me so much in terms of the quick actions and instant button response, with that I find casters horribly annoying to play.

So far I've tried Astrologian (aka the s tier healer), the damage output seems unforgivingly low in low levels that even doing quests is difficult if not also being slow. I've also tried Arcanist (at lv 29 right now) but I'm hesitant to play it any further because of the slow casting. I could only imagine Blackmage's gameplay would be even slower.

In short, idk how to adjust myself to play casters. It's really frustrating especially in group settings when mobs die to someone before you even finish casting. It feels very unrewarding and slow. How should I approach caster job?

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Originally Posted by LitheSuxman

I started playing not long ago and played NIN through the entire ARR as soon as I got the job, and intend to keeping it my main. But I think NIN has spoiled me so much in terms of the quick actions and instant button response, with that I find casters horribly annoying to play.

So far I've tried Astrologian (aka the s tier healer), the damage output seems unforgivingly low in low levels that even doing quests is difficult if not also being slow. I've also tried Arcanist (at lv 29 right now) but I'm hesitant to play it any further because of the slow casting. I could only imagine Blackmage's gameplay would be even slower.

In short, idk how to adjust myself to play casters. It's really frustrating especially in group settings when mobs die to someone before you even finish casting. It feels very unrewarding and slow. How should I approach caster job?

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Maybe you would like red mage more, they are more free moving with the alternating insta cast and you have things you can weave too. I think the fun part of a caster in harder content is planning how you can get those casts off without dying. Whereas melee and ranged phys can move more freely as well as some having specific disengage skills. When I can get those greedy casts off during mechanics it feels nice. Things dying before your cast finishes is always annoying, if it's a pack of mobs I will target the one nobody is aiming for and use aoe on that one. For things like hunts where stuff dies in a half second I am always a tank.

If casters are not your cup of tea, it's not really a big deal anyway. Plenty ppl stick to a certain job type only.

Play BLM install ACT get passed the initial grind and smile from ear to ear with those juicy crits. High key BLM mobility is underrated.

I've not played Ninja so I'm not sure how that plays, and I also hate Arcanist/Summoner playstyle so I don't recommend them.

I love playing casters but it really is a different play style and can feel painfully slow when you have to plant your feet and cast spells. If you want a class that is fairly mobile then go Red mage. With it's dualcast trait you'll have lots of opportunities to move around, and with it's gap closer and backflip you can move around a battlefield pretty smoothly.

That said, I do love Black mage as well but I know how painful it is when you can't get a single spell out before enemies die, please try not to let that upset you. Black mage has incredibly powerful spells and can put out some amazing DPS. At higher levels you'll learn the different abilities (triplecast, swiftcast, sharpcast to name a few) that help insta cast spells and give some movement to the class.

I mean it sounds like you're struggling with low level gameplay. Every single job is absolutely horrible sub 70. You need need to get them to endgame to judge them properly. (AST has very low dps in the grand scheme of things. It's a healer that's been balanced around it's ability to buff the party. WHM may be up your alley if you want higher damage as a healer.)

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Originally Posted by Aelin_Ashryver

Maybe you would like red mage more

If casters are not your cup of tea, it's not really a big deal anyway. Plenty ppl stick to a certain job type only.

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Thanks for the advice, just tried out RDM and it's very unique, the combo's a bit weird to get used to but I think the aesthetic puts me off, I think I'll stick with melee classes for now.

When I first started I hated the idea of playing casters. I leveled every melee job and avoided all the ranged ones (MCH & BRD still had the cast thing back then) before trying any of them out. It's a completely different play style for sure but now after leveling them all I can definitely see the appeal. Early on jobs can be pretty rough. I would recommend taking a job into Palace of the Dead just to preview what it's level 60 abilities are. You won't get an actual real perspective of how it plays there because the content is structured differently, but you can play around with more abilities and try stuff out.

I enjoy BLM more then any of the other casters mostly because memorizing exactly where the safe spots for different mechanics are so you can stay within ley lines while still dodging everything is really satisfying.

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Originally Posted by LitheSuxman

I started playing not long ago and played NIN through the entire ARR as soon as I got the job, and intend to keeping it my main. But I think NIN has spoiled me so much in terms of the quick actions and instant button response, with that I find casters horribly annoying to play.

So far I've tried Astrologian (aka the s tier healer), the damage output seems unforgivingly low in low levels that even doing quests is difficult if not also being slow. I've also tried Arcanist (at lv 29 right now) but I'm hesitant to play it any further because of the slow casting. I could only imagine Blackmage's gameplay would be even slower.

In short, idk how to adjust myself to play casters. It's really frustrating especially in group settings when mobs die to someone before you even finish casting. It feels very unrewarding and slow. How should I approach caster job?

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To increase damage you can use level 80 food and summon your chocobo. Your gear may be affecting the damage while leveling too.

Black Mage has scathe which is instant cast and it also has swiftcast but you are right that it's a bit annoying for solo play.

Arcanist turns into a summoner which gets a lot of instant casts, especially when it changes in 6.0. It also turns into a scholar which has Ruin II and Energy Drain for instant casts.

Red Mage involves casting once and then instant casting the second attack, so moving is really easy.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by LitheSuxman

I started playing not long ago and played NIN through the entire ARR as soon as I got the job, and intend to keeping it my main. But I think NIN has spoiled me so much in terms of the quick actions and instant button response, with that I find casters horribly annoying to play.

So far I've tried Astrologian (aka the s tier healer), the damage output seems unforgivingly low in low levels that even doing quests is difficult if not also being slow. I've also tried Arcanist (at lv 29 right now) but I'm hesitant to play it any further because of the slow casting. I could only imagine Blackmage's gameplay would be even slower.

In short, idk how to adjust myself to play casters. It's really frustrating especially in group settings when mobs die to someone before you even finish casting. It feels very unrewarding and slow. How should I approach caster job?

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So two things about arcanist and later summoner:
The first being is the job changes dramatically as you level and the second is the job is getting a major rework in 6.0

Playing BLM well enough makes you feel powerful, playing it extremely well makes you feel like a galaxy brain.

Just takes some getting used to.

Black Mage and Summoner change a lot during expansions and latter gets a rework for Endwalker.

Still playing caster is a different experience and view vs a Ninja but stick with Red Mage just to have the grasp of it. Simple job, lv50 with most of the basic tools already and only gets more stuff the further you progress.

For Astrologian you really have to bear with it. Try get it to lv50 at least, the job feels very awkward under it but later it gets more skills and traits that should smooth the runs

Quote:

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Originally Posted by LitheSuxman

In short, idk how to adjust myself to play casters. It's really frustrating especially in group settings when mobs die to someone before you even finish casting. It feels very unrewarding and slow. How should I approach caster job?

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A rule of thumb to avoid this situation is not to hard-cast stuff (that is, not to cast spells that take time to go off) when either A) mobs are dying very fast, or B) the tank is pulling groups of mobs out of range. In these cases, use instant spells. There is some decision making and logic that comes into play as well, and lots of variations based on the individual pull.

For example, you might start a normal rotation and then the tank pulls the pack away. Then you gotta convert from stationary to mobile casting.

SMN has lots of instant-cast spells. I have no doubt other ranged jobs have similar instant stuff. Use those when the mob doesn't live long. Practice and practice some more.

In the end, if you don't like the way playing a caster feels, then it's entirely normal for you to not play a caster. Don't force the issue.

Good luck!

The major problem you may be feeling at the moment is that, while Astrologian is, indeed, a caster, they are not a magic DPS job. They're DPS is going to be low and slow while leveling because, well, healers are not on par with the top caster DPS, and were never intended to be.

Black Mage is always casting, not having to worry so much about casting resources. It sacrifices mobility for this. That said, you can slip away from AoEs after initial casting with a little practice. Take the chocobo out for heals during leveling and fear hardly anything.

Summoner has a play style through level 30 that is basic (as are all of the original ARR classes). It has a straightforward DOTS+rotation that only really begins to be effective around level 52. It is also the magic DPS that will apparently change the most in the next expansion, so you might want to try it out again after that.

Red Mage builds up resources via ranged magic, and burns those resource via melee attacks. If you've tried the playstyle, just realize that it was designed for Stormbringers, and the playstyle starts to change up a bit between 60 and 70.

Blue Mage isn't really a job. It can be quite fun, but it is not viable for MSQ, so treat it as a mini-game, to be played when you're bored of other things.

I love summoner, I’m only 59 now on that tho so I don’t doubt I’m missing a lot that makes up the rotation at 80. I find it extremely relaxing and satisfactory outdoors, preferably with a lot of mobs. Spreading dots with bane and then instant casts are just sweet to me. I’m enjoying it before the revamp, I’m not entirely sure how I’ll like it after. That said, the idea of slogging through my dots in a dungeon where everything is gogogo and adds die fast.. I wouldn’t enjoy that either. So it may partly come down to the setting how fun it is to some. I find the flow of it wonderful when I get to dictate the pace, there’s something mesmerising about it.

i Swapped my Main BLM to SMN, even after those 100k crit fire IV you get burn out (literally) after seeing the same skill over and over.

In truth casters are definitely a key reason why SE needs to adjust the leveling experience and skill acquisition.

Well, I'd saying that the BLM levelling experience is really not optimal since the rotation keeps changing, then of course being down-synced, there goes an improvement, since you need to return to older rotations - can be quite frustrating.
Summoner- well, if you don't main summoner, that is one long rotation, and I do hope you never die. I would say that RM really is a caster with a lot of options and a well thought out rotation.
Looking forwards to the summoner changes, I can see how somes summoner mains will be less than impressed, I don't blame them, but personally I think I'll like the changes.

in wow i always found casters a bit girly except for shaman
this game has a more gentlemanly look to the caster instead of man in a dress.
everyone loves red mage, try that

The gameplay is generally less tedious, I like to look at my character, animations, or observe the instance/raid (crucial for a healer). When I am playing a melee it is sort of tunnel vision, to both try and do a proper rotation, but to not get killed by mechanics. Not to say I necessarily have a preference for one or the other in general. I'll play either if I like the gameplay for it. You can have whatever class's rotation in muscle memory, or any particular fight's mechanics down, with enough practice regardless. Casters are usually easier to get into, or more relaxing in general though (of course there are outliers).

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Originally Posted by LitheSuxman

In short, idk how to adjust myself to play casters. It's really frustrating especially in group settings when mobs die to someone before you even finish casting. It feels very unrewarding and slow. How should I approach caster job?

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If you haven't already, you can implement swiftcast as part of a caster's rotation, or just use it when necessary: like killing mobs. A lot of people get mad when I use it for a glare or something on my WHM though. :o You can also time your dualcasts as RDM for the next mob, or boss, for example.