BLM and SMN BUFFs info is coming out!! PATCH 2.3 Preliminary

[NintenPyjak64]

For Miasma 2, if you want my opinion, I never use it in my opinion if the fight not involved with 3 targets plus, even 2 target, its still not worth using because too high MP

Combined with Contagion and RS and/or Xpot, Miasma 2 on ST is very worth it. Hell even with Contagion alone it's still worth it. But I wouldn't go out of my way to cast it. T6 and 8 I'll use them all the time but T7 and 9 I never use it (T7 cause I'm kiting and T9 I'd rather not risk anything with comet placements and Lunar Dynamo, but it's doable)

Personally I'm excited for the Bio 2 MP nerf and the Aerial Slash casttime nerf. T6 and 8 are gonna be fun

[Sleigh]

To be honest, I feel people are greatly over-exaggerating how much movement is required in turns 6-9. Between "cast-clipping" (A term Kenji used in the Black Mage thread and one I'm quite fond of), smart positioning, and Aetherial Manipulation, I don't think I've gone more than 1 GCD without casting a spell unless I was learning the fight for the first time and didn't know how to react.

1 GCD loss may be a slight exaggeration in some situations, but overall this is true. If you plan ahead, use a little creativity, and sometimes just give mechanic duties to others, BLM can sit still and do its thing, or make movement's effect negligible in large chunks of second coil.

T6: the only forced movement in the fight is breaking binds, stopping Devours from eating you/your team, and movement for Acid Raid. Of those three, binds can often be left to your partners to break unless it's just too risky for you not to break it, you may get no Devours on you, and Acid Raid is completely telegraphed and you can save SC/Firestarter for it easily. I dare say the only movement quite deadly to a BLM is if given Devour or Honey, but truth be told it can be a decent DPS loss to MNK, BLM, and DRG alike.
T7: more forced movement and probably BLM's weakest turn as far as I've done it. Between losing the occasional GCD to Voice turning, moving in and moving out for Shriek as the target or just as a team member (this may be easily able to avoided by planting the BLM between the boss and Renauld in a proper place though this makes voices harder), potential movement depending on the floor lighting up, potentially having to voice Renaulds occasionally if your strategy calls for that ... it can be pretty bad. Again though, after saying all that, the only truly devastating thing is if you're targeted for Shriek, and again it's not good for MNK, BLM, and DRG alike.
T8: lots of movement options potentially, but the key here is you can limit movement to zero by reassigning duties. Give the BRDs, SMNs, healers, and tanks tower duties and mine duties and stay put. Even though BLM has Manaward I recommend other jobs take the duty (besides MNK). The biggest movement required is moving out of binds, potentially away from mines that spawn on the group, and if you're needed in an odd tower or two.
T9: phase 1 has virtually no movement required. You can Aetherial Manipulation away after any meteors drop on you, AM away from Lunar Dynamo's range if you tank at an edge of the map, and that's that. Golem phase, stand in center pew pew pew except for the odd AoE. Post-Heaven's Fall, Heaven's/cleansing can indeed be painful but it's only a couple of GCDs, otherwise pew pew pew until elements start. In elements, the movement is really not as bad as a joke post I made on here a month or two ago; a large chunk of it is you just standing still, moving only for the Lunar jump and any Fireballs that target you first - AM to the group for Thermal, continue pew pewing. I'd argue the most offensive part of the fight for BLM is the second Divebomb as there can be a large amount of movement while the boss is still around, but on the plus side BLM gets a free pass to avoid Lunar Dynamo with AM.

All what I posted above is a tl;dr that outside of RNG targeting the BLM with mechanics, which are pretty nasty if you're not a SMN or BRD regardless of if you're BLM or not, second coil is really not crippling for BLM from a movement perspective. Now, that's not to say I think or thought BLM was fine and balanced and worth the DPS slot; hell no, its damage was far too low as a base to begin with, before you even considered how much better SMN's DPS levels converted to real fights due to its DoT/pet nature making it almost RNG proof. In most current content, you can deal with the limited movement as BLM because the options are there, maybe not 100% mitigate it but you can severely hamper its effect, and now we're going to put out competitive numbers while we do it.

/in before Ramuh is a mad run around party

[Kuroyasha]

You make Kitru proud with that wall of text sleigh

On topic; I like the BLM buff. Only thing i would've liked more is firestarte procing when i start the cast so I don't waste any. Outside of that, it's all gravy train. Movement is supposed to be harder to master for the class. If it weren't and we could stack firestarters and/or cast on the move more than just occasionally we'd be OP in my opinion.

[Xlree]

At the end of the day a buff to damage is always nice, but in the grand scheme of things SE kind of just looked over all the major problems. Sure a potency buff is nice, but for anyone who actually plays blackmage will know there are so many inherent problems with the class beyond buffing potency can do.

Problems that need to be fixed

After 2.1 manaticks are all kinds of messed up. I mean really there are times were you have an instant proc of UI to get your mana back, and then other times you are left standing there wondering what you are doing with your life.

I just cast Fire I but my FS proc didn't show up until I'm already casting my next Fire I. I mean sure I could stop my fire cast but why would I do that? This means I give up on the random chance of getting two procs because the first proc always happens late.

AND HERE IS THE ICING ON TOP OF THE CAKE. As a blackmage, that brings basically no utility to a raid just damage, I still get out DPSed by a summoner. Sure blackmage has utlity, but let's be honest here half of it is useless. Lethargy can't really ever be used. Apocastasis never really used. Freeze never used. Sleep never used outside of Brayflox SR. Then you're going to say, but hey we have virus and eye for an eye! Well hey guess what so does summoner but they have a much better version on top of a combat raise. So summoner brings more utility on top of doing more damage than a blackmage.

tl;dr blackmage has so many inherent problems with the class that needs to be fixed and on top of the problems they bring no utility and still get out dpsed by basically everyone.

[Exstal]

It seems all those who argued against me have a fundamental misunderstanding.

Ask yourselves what is the only non-gear factor that separates decent Black Mages from great ones?

[Xisin]

It seems all those who argued against me have a fundamental misunderstanding.

Ask yourselves what is the only non-gear factor that separates decent Black Mages from great ones?

I'll answer this with another question and an answer with it, What non-gear factor separates decent bards, dragoons, monks, and summoners from great ones? Its skill. That being said movement and casting is skill not something that should be balanced. So it isnt the problem. I'm not sure why people feel that everyone should be doing the same damage regardless of mechanical mastery of the job.

[Adamantium]

...All what I posted above is a tl;dr that outside of RNG targeting the BLM with mechanics, which are pretty nasty if you're not a SMN or BRD regardless of if you're BLM or not, second coil is really not crippling for BLM from a movement perspective. Now, that's not to say I think or thought BLM was fine and balanced and worth the DPS slot; hell no, its damage was far too low as a base to begin with, before you even considered how much better SMN's DPS levels converted to real fights due to its DoT/pet nature making it almost RNG proof. In most current content, you can deal with the limited movement as BLM because the options are there, maybe not 100% mitigate it but you can severely hamper its effect, and now we're going to put out competitive numbers while we do it.

/in before Ramuh is a mad run around party

Pretty much my feelings on the matter as well. Turn 7 (shriek and voice) and 9 (I'm on marker placing duty for divebombs...) are the only times I'm not casting for longer than a second or two. I'm on Ballistic Missile duty for Turn 8, and Turn 6 has me seeing minimal movement unless I'm the one with yellow.

Problems that need to be fixed

After 2.1 manaticks are all kinds of messed up. I mean really there are times were you have an instant proc of UI to get your mana back, and then other times you are left standing there wondering what you are doing with your life.

I agree with everything else. This specific portion, though, has been a problem since the game's release. It's not something only Black Mages experience. The game has a global clock that ticks once every 3 seconds. All HoTs, DoTs, TP, MP, and HP ticks happen every 3 seconds. That's why, depending on where you are in your rotation when the server ticks, you'll either have an instant mana tick or have to wait another 3 seconds. Slightly annoying, but I just fill it in with Blizzard.

@ Exstal: Did you play Aion?

[Kuroyasha]

tl;dr blackmage has so many inherent problems with the class that needs to be fixed and on top of the problems they bring no utility and still get out dpsed by basically everyone.

While I agree that our utility is poop, our dmg is where it should be imo. We arent supposed to out dps melee( assuming equal skill/gear), smn is single target sustained( their aoe is good, but not burst), blm is king of aoe burst while solid st, and bard is at the bottom but still superb st burst with all the CDS. The only spot we have is 2nd from the bottom in my opinion. Maybe Ninja'll have something akin to Disembowel that'll benefit magic, but in the end, BLM's spot on the totem pole is pretty set.

[Exstal]

@ Exstal: Did you play Aion?

I was an Assassin for 3 years then abandoned it for Gladiator which I sparingly play now.

Exstal - New Zikel (Assassin) 2011-2012
Exstall - New Vaizel (Assassin) 2012-
Exstal - New Vaizel (Assassin) -
Exstal - Tiamat (Assassin) -
Shichi - Tiamat (Assassin) 2014
Shigoto - Tiamat (Gladiator) 2014 - Present

[Adamantium]

I was an Assassin for 3 years then abandoned it for Gladiator which I sparingly play now.

Exstal - New Zikel (Assassin) 2011-2012
Exstall - New Vaizel (Assassin) 2012-
Exstal - New Vaizel (Assassin) -
Exstal - Tiamat (Assassin) -
Shichi - Tiamat (Assassin) 2014
Shigoto - Tiamat (Gladiator) 2014 - Present

Adamant - Vaizel/Tiamat (Sorcerer) 2009-2012

Missed you bb.

Edit: PM me on Aion forums. Don't wanna sidetrack this thread.