Black Mage

[Vele]

I mained SCH back in Heavensward but near the end of it, when I reformed my static, I decided I needed a break and went caster. I loved BLM. It was great. It wasn't meta, which was a little disappointing, but the tier was so stupid and people's numbers could be so ridiculously high due to op AST balance that it didn't really matter.

Now, well, the tier is so easy that it still doesn't matter in a way, but it's getting increasingly disappointing that casters are still not relevant to the meta. I did msq as BLM but then picked up RDM in time for Omega savage and didn't have a chance to look back. RDM is so great for prog. You just dish out raises and manashift your healers like it's nothing.

RDM's personal dps is not as good as the other two casters though so since my group wants start getting serious about speedkills, it was suggested I go back to BLM because their high potential dps outweighs RDM's dps and embolden. Initially I was excited for this because I've wanted to go back to BLM for a while, but held myself back for so many weeks because "I don't have enough sps with RDM gear", "my static wouldn't want to wait around for me to plan out CDs and cater to turret playstyle for certain mechanics" and "I don't want people to complain about no embolden or raises"...

Now I feel guilty. I have more sps, got the genji staff, I'm pretty much ready to go and did a few fights on BLM to get back into the practice of it. But I feel guilty because even though in a speedkill context it's better than RDM, it's still not good enough. On average BLM does not do as much as SAM in practice, even though in theory people love to say it does. They're both in the same boat, anyways: their dps doesn't justify their lack of utility. Each time I think about how I'm going to be playing BLM for my group, it ends with "I should play SMN even though I hate it, because their dps can be just as good as BLM, and in fact it's only getting better in 4.1 because they are getting some QoL adjustments and buffs/more utility", or "I should level and play MCH even though I may not like it either because it's meta".

I remember there was some comment from the devs (back when BRD and MCH were kinda bad/clunky at the beginning of HW) that "ranged shouldn't do as much damage because they have utility"... it's why their tp/mp regens nerfed their damage, it's why their weapons had lower damage, why they had cast times added to their skills, etc.
I don't believe that's even a sound argument as by the end of HW, their personal dps AND their utility/raid buffs were obscene. And they are going down that path again in SB, it seems.

Sure, it's the deep end game, it would be better if I was more casual and played BLM just to enjoy myself, because it's a game, and you're supposed to have fun, and other things like that. But I am also part of a group that is serious about optimizing, and even though my team mates are understanding and confident in my abilities, I still feel like I am letting them down and holding them back by not playing SMN or BRD/MCH.

[Karshan]

Snip

Yes utility is highly buffed (yet again, we don't know if it will stay 5%, they never said it), but none of the changes affect personnal damage, as it should be since SMN is now very good in that field (didn't use to be that way 3 months ago).

So please don't talk about buff when it affects the raid, talk about utility. Otherwise it conveys the wrong idea that SMN deals too much damage, leading to a nerf.

Devotion should have been raid wise from the start, but with 2% not 5%, and all the other changes should have been there the 20th of June as well. They're just correcting mistakes they made with 4.0. I would gladly lose the DoTs buff (THAT was a buff) if the playstyle is being set right again.

As for BLM, though I think they should stay at that level of damage, they should be given a little utility so that a SMN only 100 DPS under on't be automatically chosen over him cause of utility.

[Sfia]

So please don't talk about buff when it affects the raid, talk about utility. Otherwise it conveys the wrong idea that SMN deals too much damage, leading to a nerf.

This utility = damage. In the same way that hypercharge = damage. You have to look at the total contribution of a class with personal dps and raid dps buffs to determine how much damage it is truly providing.

[Kabooa]

Yes utility is highly buffed (yet again, we don't know if it will stay 5%, they never said it), but none of the changes affect personnal damage, as it should be since SMN is now very good in that field (didn't use to be that way 3 months ago).

It was that way 3 months ago. Eirene Snow showcased it then and was putting out videos where he was more than capable of keeping up with the perceived higher DPS classes at the time.

[Gorb]

I've yet to reach endgame as BLM, but so far my experience hasn't been great. That isn't to say I haven't been enjoying it. Big crits are very satisfying. Having to properly learn mechanics is nice - playing BLM is forcing me to get better at the game.
However, the overall experience is mired by small yet annoying issues. Getting screwed by mana ticks, having to let TC drop off because you can't fit it into your fire phase, the boss targeting you with stuff 6 times in a row, etc.
So far, when it comes to "real" content, I've run some EX trials. In those EXes I felt like I could've been doing far more for the group as a different DPS. Sure, I did good damage, but I likely could've prevented those low % wipes by making everyone else do more damage.
All that in mind, BLM is still very fun to me. It's a bit clunky sometimes, and I'd like to have some utility, but I'll still play it anyway.
Until I get to raid content and have to switch jobs to get in...

[Lelila38]

Snip

Get a bit more Spell Speed, that should solve your issues and the feeling of clunkyness, it did for me.
As for raid, find a group that let's you go as Blm. Our static runs the, from most people as suboptimal regarded, composition of Blm, Brd, Mnk and Sam. And we're clearing savage too. At this point pretty much all compositions are viable, the so-called meta is mainly for hardcores, optimisers and speedrunners. Pugs don't get it a lot of times, they just jump on it saying it's meta, but can't do much with "optimal" composition many times.

[zuzu-bq]

I would be happy if my job that is based on bringing damage to the party actually did that.

[Bourne_Endeavor]

If only they had gone the nerf BRD route instead of buff MCH route in 4.06 and again in 4.1.

Do not be afraid to nerf.

That doesn't fix BLMs issues compared to other casters, of course, which the OP addresses better than I would be able to.

I still find it mind boggling Bard parsed higher than Dragoon or Ninja at release and the devs thought, "Eh. We'll buff the other range too!" Now Dragoon is getting even stronger, which will only lock the "meta" further. Frankly, it's embarrassing they have done precisely nothing to address how dominate Ninja's been. I get that nerfs are never popular, but they need to start embracing that possibility otherwise jobs like Black Mage, Monk and Samurai are going to suffer even more as the expansion goes on.

[Lelila38]

And not a single adjustment to Blm. Seems the devs have no love for us. Or they simply don't acknowledge our predicament.

[Sfia]

We can only wait and see BLM is in a really bad spot right now. But I know people have been really vocal about MCH/SMN and that got the ball moving on appeasing those people - hopefully we're not overlooked!