Black Mage Sanctuary - A Guide to DPS

[kenventa]

I would say don't use Manaward on that part. Your healers should be shielding you. This allows you to save Manaward for the very beginning of the last phase. As soon as you come down from the ATB, you can use Manaward during GA-100. This way you can stand dead center, surive GA-100 and then you don't have to move to position for the first Optical Sight.

or you can use it on photon and use it again before double whirlwind on the last phase. depends on how good and quick are the healers.

[NoctusT]

how about manawall? havent figured out a use for it in creator savage other than negating donut damage in a10s

I use it during moonslicer in a10s as well.

[NoctusT]

I have been using Sharpcast only to get back into UF3.
Am using it in the opener, and then allways when i have to use Enochian again.
I usually go SC > F1 > Enochian > F3p > F4... that is allways at the time when i have to use Enochian again.
But I saw some ppl using it on T1 as well latly

thought id chime in quickly about the sharpast thing - during my transition i usually go T1>bliz4>SC>F3>Eno>F1>f4 x 3 > fire starter. or if i have to move, fire iv x 2 firestarter while moving. this way ur firestarter gets that extra boost and you can prep for any movement.

So what this does is allow fire iv to get active while casting fire 1, at the same time the fire 1 you cast is boosted thanks to the astral fire 3 you're already in since you cast fire 3. firestarter benefits from it as well. so its more dps as compared to your current transition where you go fire 1 eno firestarter.

[Maero]

Reason being potency of a thundercloud proc is more damage then a base FireIV, and if you can get multiple (say for multi target) it is rather nice.
But thunder is best under umbral ice phase. Just watch someone respond with mathematical numbers .... lol

[Lilyth]

Hey there, quick question:

Sometimes you get a fast mana tick during your UI phase. At these times casting Blizz IV is already enough to get you to full MP.

My question is: is it a DPS gain to skip Thunder under these circumstamces to get back to AF faster? Or should I always use Thunder there (assuming it would fall off otherwise)?

[Lavitz_]

Hey there, quick question:

Sometimes you get a fast mana tick during your UI phase. At these times casting Blizz IV is already enough to get you to full MP.

My question is: is it a DPS gain to skip Thunder under these circumstamces to get back to AF faster? Or should I always use Thunder there (assuming it would fall off otherwise)?

Yeah, just use B4 if that happens.

[Lunafreya]

So as a blm I normally precast leylines >sharpcast > fire > Fire III > raging strikes> Fire IV X4? Fire 3 > Convert> Fire IV X2 > Blizzard III > Blizzard IV > Thunder > Fire III > Fire IV a few times and then I lose leylines I think and back to blizzard III. At about 1039 spell speed currently. It might be too much but what should I be doing when I lose Leylines? I assume i'd cast fire III and multiple fires.

[Aloise]

Hey there, quick question:

Sometimes you get a fast mana tick during your UI phase. At these times casting Blizz IV is already enough to get you to full MP.

My question is: is it a DPS gain to skip Thunder under these circumstamces to get back to AF faster? Or should I always use Thunder there (assuming it would fall off otherwise)?

The answer to this is bit more nuanced than a simple yes or no. Generally speaking, if the boss will NOT go invulnerable for the time it takes to chain 2 T3 procs, then it is on average a PPS gain to cast the initial thunder instead of an extra F4. I don't have hard math for this part, but you'll probably be looking for at least 40-50 seconds before the target goes invulnerable to budget enough time. Note that this is probabilistic - there will be plenty of occasions where you don't get the procs you're fishing for, but over an infinite number of samples it is indeed an increase.

This also depends slightly on your rotation/how the fight will play out - if you're not getting an extra F4 from cutting that T1 (say the boss goes invulnerable right after you cast B3 if you cut the T1 but right after your last F4 if you don't), then even just the 270 potency from letting T1 tick and fall off isn't a bad deal at all. Alternately, casting that T1 might cause you to miss a B4 you need to keep Enochian up during a short downtime. Fight knowledge is key to making this sort of decision.

[Lavitz_]

I'll admit I probably should have looked into it more instead of giving a "Yes" answer.

Here's what I got over a 45-50sec rotation assuming full Thunder durations:

B3>B4>F3 skipping Thunder - 139.5 PPS

B3>T1>B4>F3 (no TC proc) - 136.9 PPS

B3>T1>B4>F3 (with 1 TC proc before B3) - 142.8 PPS

B3>T1>B4>F3 (with 1 TC proc after B3) - 146.2 PPS

I think the chance to proc with Thunder is around 50%? You only need one tick on your Thundercloud proc for it to be a gain too if it comes after B3. Lots of factors, but like Aloise said, it comes down to fight knowledge and doing what you think is best for the situation.

TL;DR: No TC proc = DPS loss, 1+ TC proc = DPS gain

[Aloise]

stuff

I've redone the probabilistic maths to try and prove the point, and now I've confused myself a bit. I'm working under the assumption that only the initial T1 cast causes you to not get an extra F4, the T3 procs don't cause you to lose any.

Let's assume that the maximum number of procs you can get is 2, and that the initial T1 ticks 4 times before you use the proc (roughly the time to B4 > F3 > F4x2 > F1 > T3P) or ticks fully if no proc, the second T3 procs ticks fully, and the final, if obtained, ticks 4 times. That adds up to 48 seconds, so it's about the proper time window. Here comes the probabilistic maths.

Probability that you don't get a proc off T1 in 4 ticks = 0.9^4 = 65.61%
Probability that you do: 1-0.6561 = 34.39%.
Probability that you don't get a proc off of the first proc = 43%, proportionally 0.43*0.3439 = 14.8%
Probability that you do get a proc off the first proc = 1-0.6561-0.148 = 19.58%

Now we can weight our potencies based on their likelihood of occurring, and get an average potency per T1 cast.

Potency of 4-tick T1 = 190 (Not accounting for SpS, sorry)
Potency of a full T1 = 270
Potency of a full T3 proc = 710
Potency of a T3 proc + half dot = 40*12 + 70 = 550
YMMV for GCD value but not by enough to change the proof
PPS of 4-tick T1 = 190/2.20 = 86.36
PPS of full T1 = 270/2.2 = 122.7
PPS of T1 + T3P = (190+710)/4.4 = 204.54
PPS of T1 + T3P + half T3P = (190 + 710 + 550)/6.6 = 219.69

And NOW we can weight the likelihood of each PPS:
122.7 * 0.6561 + 204.54 * 0.148 + 219.69 * 0.1958 = 153.83

In other words, assuming the conditions of around 50 seconds until boss goes invuln, casting T1 has a probabilistic PPS value of about 153.83. Over an infinite number of samples, your average PPS from that T1 GCD given the conditions would approach this value.

This doesn't line up at all with my previous statement that it's worth it, because F4 has a PPS of around 190 (504/2.64). Even if both T3 procs tick their full duration, the probabilistic PPS only jumps up by about 5, still far below F4's. If there's something I'm missing in my calculations or assumptions, please point me on the correct path. I know there are a lot of things I glaze over thanks to my assumptions about the number of ticks, but it's only to preserve my sanity while doing maths. The true number of possible PPS values to consider is ridiculous, as is how many (if any) F4s using procs would replace, how the rotation would change as a result...this makes big assumptions but it's to keep my work manageable.