BLM advice/suggestions

[CassiaMarquain]

I am currently a level 56 BLM who plays for the fun and enjoyment of the game. I normally play alone...I'm quiet and shy, and not 100% good at it, but I'm learning - so I'm always afraid of being the person to hold groups/parties back.

I just qued up for the 50/60 level roulette, and was put into the tam-tara dungeon. Which synced my level down to 50. The only rotation that I use on a regular basis (and that I know), is T3, F3, F3, F3, B3, B3...and repeat...unless T3 is still counting down...in which case I use F3 until T3 is needed again. Tank left a 'sh*tty Dps' comment after the dungeon was complete, so I'm wanting to make sure I'm doing all I can.

I rarely use anything else, and that includes the limit break.

Am I performing this right? If I am, yay for me...but if I'm not, could I get suggestions/tips on how to do things better/smarter?

Thanks for any and all help.

[LeeraSorlan]

for starters, never hardcast a fire 3 unless you are in umbral ice. never use thunder 3 outside of umbral ice unless you are using your opener or you get a proc. never use more than one blizzard 3. use fire 1 more.

Your rotation changes signifigantly at 60 and 70..but at lvl 50..you essentially want Thunder 3 - Fire 3 - fire 1 fire 1 fire 1 fire 1 (use any fire 3 procs or thunder 3 procs you get inbetween this) repeat however m any times until you are out of mana..use blizzard 3. thunder 3 fire 3 - repeat rotation.

Lvl 50 BLM is kind of stripped down..im not sure if lvl 50 BLMs use flare in the single target rotation either as i only know blm from 60 and beyond...but i really wouldnt worry much as it is..the rotation isnt even the slightest bit similiar once u hit 60..and it goes even further away when u get 70. so

[Rongway]

When people complain about BLMs, there are three common problems.

1. BLM doesn't understand Astral Fire and Umbral Ice, switches elements unpredictably or uses only one element ever.
2. BLM uses Fire III as a main phase nuke.
3. BLM uses single target on groups of mobs.

Based on your post, you understand Fire III > main phase nukes > Blizzard III, so we can skip #1.


On to #2. It's an understandable mistake. Fire III is 33% more potent than Fire I. But it also takes 40% longer to cast and costs twice as much. This means you will be able to cast half as many spells before needing to switch to ice.

So if we're considering Thunder III > Fire III > [main phase nukes] > Blizzard III, you can afford two Fire III or four Fire I in your main phase. Two Fire III only do the damage of 2.66x Fire I though! Further, it'll take the same amount of time as casting 2.8x Fire I, so even though Fire III's tooltip makes it sound like the bigger badder spell, it is at best worth only 95% of a Fire I if you hard cast it.

It's only when you get a Firestarter proc that Fire III becomes a good main phase nuke. It still does 33% more damage, however it takes 0% longer to cast and costs 0MP, so it really is worth 133% of a Fire instead of just 95% of one.


In re: single target Flare, only do it if Swiftcast and Convert are both up. The end phase will look like this instead of going straight into Blizzard III:

(Firestarter or Thundercloud if available) > Swiftcast > Flare > Convert > Fire > Blizzard III

If you don't have Swiftcast available, the additional casting time makes it not worth it. If you don't have Convert available, you have to Transpose afterwards and it's not worth it.



#3. AoE as much as possible on groups of four or more mobs. Like, rain down ALL THE SPLODIES. It'll look something like this when syncked to 49 or lower:
Thunder II > Fire III > Fire II > Fire II > Fire II > Blizzard III > repeat

From 50 to 57:
Thunder II > Fire III > Fire II > Fire II > Flare > Transpose > repeat

I haven't done maths on those to verify that they're still optimal as of Stormblood, so someone else feel free to correct me if you have numbers on syncked rotations.



Sorry, this has gotten a lot longer in edits than I had planned, but I have one final point regarding LB usage.
In dungeons, LB should be the responsibility of a caster, because if you have seven or more targets, the caster LB1 outdamages even a melee LB3. On four or more targets, it outdamages melee LB2. So use it on a big group earlier in the dungeon.

[Frizze]

Yeah, Rong has it right here. And dont worry, thinking that F3 replaces F1 in your rotation is actually a fairly common mistake. The hidden secret of the BLM spellbook is that most of your spells dont have a direct upgrade(thunder and thunder 2 are the exceptions) - just different versions with different effects. For now, it wouldnt hurt to take a 5-10 min block and visit a training dummy(does your FC have a level 50 or 60 one?). Practice doing the T3 F3 F1x4 B3 rotation - it should only take a couple mins for it to feel normal. Use this when there are less then 3 enemies grouped together. Once you have the feel of that, switch and practice the 50-57 AoE rotation that Rong wrote. The key to this one is to be hardcasting the T2/F3 as soon as you have a mana tick. You dont wait for full mana, and you dont use any ice spells to prolong the regen phase. In a dungeon you can use this whenever you have 3 or more enemies grouped together. Again, just a couple mins should be enough to have a feel for this. Your rotation will change again later on(level 60 and 70 are most notable), but if you have a solid grasp on these basic versions it will help you a great deal. All your trash packs will go faster from the AoE damage, and your bosses will die quicker from the more focused single target rotation. Best of luck!

[Hasrat]

What's super satisfying on large groups is when Thunder II procs over and over, ticking away on so many mobs that the chances for another proc stay pretty high.

Anyway, yeah, everything already said. But, be proud of yourself for catching the B3/F3 switch. That's another common mistake is, early on, players can get a grip on Transposing between ice and fire, but they don't notice that change in the 40s that negates the need for Transpose at all. I've had to drop that tip for a handful of players in Stone Vigil.

I also think it's pretty fun that, once you've got a grip on these basic mechanics, it's pretty easy to spot when another BLM hasn't quite figured it out, and you get to play the role of teacher yourself.

[Avenger]

Welcome to the black mage world!!

The actually helpful advice here is refreshing.

Don’t be afraid to use surecast and swiftcast in both single and multiple target rotations.

Also always be in AF or UI as you seem to be.

BLM is mostly about straight up DPS - and that is good to master - but there are some other things to think about also.

Remember you have some nice support skills like Addle, Apocatastasis and Mana Shift. I have found that white mages tend to appreciate Mana Shift when they are low on MP.

BLM is a glass cannon so the less damage you take and the less you die, the better! Popping manaward and/or possibly addle before a big party-wide AoE or when you are low on HP can help. Doing mechanics is always good.

Keep casting while moving if you can - either a thundercloud proc or fire proc or a swiftcast, or a Scathe if those aren’t up.

Don’t hesitate to transpose if you don’t have time or MP to cast a Blizzard3 or Fire3, to keep AF/UI going.

If you take aggro, either kill the mob quickly if it has very very low hp and won’t kill you before dropping, or drag it back to the tank.

If the tank dies, you can often stay alive by kiting enemies, often staying in UI and casting thunder and scathe. Sadly blm no longer has Physick and I don’t usually slot Drain but it could also help. I have actually done many dungeons in DF with no tank, often after a tank leaves or disconnects, but in that case I would often let someone else with more hp, maybe drg or something, act as a tank substitute, or tank a single enemy at a time. It is also okay to die if needed as long as you can stay alive long enough for the tank to be raised and can avoid killing the rest of the party from aoe or cleave attacks.

Sometimes aetherial manipulation or between the lines can move you out of harm’s way, and sprint should always be on your hotbar!

Lastly my favorite use of limit break is on huge pulls and large packs of enemies in dungeons.

[Frizze]

Anyway, yeah, everything already said. But, be proud of yourself for catching the B3/F3 switch. That's another common mistake is, early on, players can get a grip on Transposing between ice and fire, but they don't notice that change in the 40s that negates the need for Transpose at all. I've had to drop that tip for a handful of players in Stone Vigil.

Yup, i forgot to give OP credit for catching this important change. Sure they werent doing the optimal rotation, but they had 4 important factors down that a lot of people dont grasp without someone showing them. First, they were doing an actual rotation - you see a good number of BLMs just casting random spells and hoping for good results. Second, they were correctly using the astral and umbral stances - blizzard and thunder mages actually exist and that fact hurts my soul of destruction. Third, they were keeping their dot ticking - easy to forget and the low damage per tick can make some beginners think it doesnt matter. And fourth, switching stances with the 3-tier spells. A higher level BLM had to point that out to me one day(probly in either stone vigil or dzemael), so i have taken to paying that forward(i also didnt grasp Flare just by reading the spell, but the guy who tried to "explain" it in the middle of a sohm al run was both a jerk and an idiot - they did at least prompt me to do some research though).

So yes, kudos for catching several very important facets of the class. And more kudos for coming and asking about your rotation. You clearly have the right mindset to play this class, and i would welcome you on the frontlines at some point next patch. And once you have a good feel for the "basics", Avenger listed a good intro to some of the "intermediate" ideas.

[Lelila38]

Nice advice, guys. Also thumbs up for OP to actually want to improve and ask for advice, it's gotten rare these days.
Everything has basically been covered already.
Also, don't feel bad, we've all had our F3 spamming time until we noticed stuff actually dies slower than with F1 and F3 just on procs and for switching stances

[Lelila38]

Sorry for the double post, but mobile version won't let me edit.

I found this little page, if you're interested in further information. It covers mostly max lvl rotation though, so it might get useful a bit later.

http://elysium.gg/ffxiv-black-mage-guide/

While I personally don't agree with everything that's being said there, I believe it's a good start and you'll figure out the rest.

[CassiaMarquain]

Thank you so much for the feedback! I've read every reply and intend on making changes to how I play. I enjoy playing BLM, and hopefully these changes will make me a better player in the long run! Thanks again!