Black Mage

[EllieShadeflare]

That wouldn't solve the issues with Thundercloud. The firestarter changes would mean we lose out of 2 Fire IV's/Fire I's, would override Sharpcasts usage and would also mean you would do a F1/F1/F4/F4/F4/F4 rotation which would lead to other problems. I just think the Umbral hearts need a complete rework along with mana changes to maintain the current standard 3 x F4/F1/3 x F4 rotation/

Thundercloud would be solved as it won't be unpredictable and won't be forced to compromise the rotation or Astral Fire and Umbral Ice.

As for the Firestarter change, you've utterly misunderstood what I've suggested.

My proposed change would maintain the Fire IV x3 rotation, but also guarantee that Fire procs Firestarter, while also boosting Fire. Meanwhile, the "all Astral Hearts will be consumed by Fire" effect to guarantee Firestarter would also allow for the rotation to continue if you're forced to move for some reason.

Besides the point, Fire IV would only generate Astral Hearts while affected by Umbral Hearts, essentially replacing the Umbral Heart they consume with an Astral Heart. This would make the 8x Fire IV starter easier, and also make Fire I seem less of a penalty for casting in the rotation.

Sharpcast has always been a weird ability that... was a bandage to our gambling addiction rather than a solution and part of the problem WITH Black Mage is the gamble regarding Firestarter and Thundercloud, which are objectively gambles. Thundercloud especially is a gamble, considering it's one of our heavy hitters in our rotation, below only Fire IV in terms of raw damage without even counting the damage over time that comes with it.