Black Mage Sanctuary - A Guide to DPS

[Grimauld]

Hello, first message on the forums for me.

My group has recently cleared a10s and we're going into a11s sunday. We did a couple of runs the other day and the fight seems like a nightmare as a BLM. I looked at some povs but would also like to know if there is some advice you are able to give me.

This patch is the first I'm raiding in, so there is also something else I'd like to ask: when researching BiS gear, is it better to exclude gear obtained from the most difficult turns? Right now the focus is on clearing, so I'd like to know it if worth it to invest time and books in gear specifically BiS before a11 and 12.

[Garotte14]

Hello, I will try to answer your questions as best as I can.

My group has recently cleared a10s and we're going into a11s sunday. We did a couple of runs the other day and the fight seems like a nightmare as a BLM. I looked at some povs but would also like to know if there is some advice you are able to give me.

A11S is definitely not the easiest fight for BLM. Especially compared to 9 and 10. There is a lot of movement, especially with the Optical Sights. But like with any fight, once you see it enough and get the experience in there, you will learn how to minimize it as much as possible. Make good use of Swiftcast and Sharpcast for these movements. In the first phase, you'll deal with 3 opticals, and the first will happen at the tail end of your opener. Save swiftcast for that, or a proc if you get one. Swiftcast will come back up during the 3rd optical so use it again.

Stand as far behind the boss as you can while still in range of AoE heals. This will avoid you having to move for the Left/Right Swords. During Lapis Luzuli phase, you can pretty much plant yourself and won't have to move except for quick sidesteps to avoid lasers. Unless of course you get a tether. I would prep a proc and save swift in case. Last phase is pretty much Phase 1 just with towers. Just learn the movement windows and use your skills to your advantage.

This patch is the first I'm raiding in, so there is also something else I'd like to ask: when researching BiS gear, is it better to exclude gear obtained from the most difficult turns? Right now the focus is on clearing, so I'd like to know it if worth it to invest time and books in gear specifically BiS before a11 and 12.

If you are raiding, you always want to keep BiS in mind. Meaning, have an end goal. On your way to BiS, you will go through a ton of changes with gear, removing materia and remelding, swapping out gear you've obtained with stuff you've had before, etc. This is the same for every class. Because the RNG of the Alexander drops, you can't really build an accurate roadmap. It's more "Roll With the Changes."

With that being said, you want to keep this in mind: The most important stat is Accuracy. Make sure you meet the accuracy cap. Then Weapon Damage > Int > SS > Crit > Det. You want to avoid having excess accuracy, and you can never have too much Spell Speed.

It has nothing to do with excluding gear from later turns. It has to do with building the best available gear set with what you have available. You might get an Alexander drop that isn't optimal or overall BiS, but is 270 compared to your 240 or 250 for example. You then have to purchase scripture gear that you know isn't overall BiS, but will offset the stats on the Alex piece you just got. You could have Crit melds, but the piece you just got dropped you below accuracy cap. Now you've got to remove those melds so you can remeld accuracy. Just keep in mind, that the more DPS you can do, the easier it will be to clear the turns.

I hope this makes sense.

[zuzu-bq]

The fight is pretty hard to learn as a Black Mage for sure, but its rewarding since you can output as much damage as any other DPS at the end, even though some people think Black Mage is bad on that fight. Use Sharp Fire as your ally for progression until you feel comfortable on mechanics to Sharp Thunder. If you wanna help your healers you can also use your untraited Virus on EDD.

Adding to what Alayna said, you can also Manaward on last phase's start so you can position yourself closer to the center taking the same damage from GA-100 as your party and position yourself to the upcoming Optical without even moving or giving your healers a headache.