How do you feel about the BLM 4.2 adjustments?

[Shiroe]

blm will never be part of the current meta, neither will sam be; so a 320 potency buff F4 will never happen, if it means putting blm in meta

because SE (!) probably wants the classes with the "personal" lowest dps (personal dps = not counting dps contribution with group buffs) to be part of the speedkill meta, so they as dps can be part of the "best" too, in this case best comp

so blm and sam can be best at something: best personal dps (with no utility), but last spots to get into a (speed) meta

mnk and smn should be 2nd best melee / 2nd best caster for personal dps + both 2nd inline for speedkill meta spots, being the bedst / most flexible dps
(BUT (!) maybe mnk & smb great / 1st inline for "prog" meta instead.. so best at something too; and / or last in line or speed kill meta afterall? in that case blm and sam 2nd in line for "speed kill" meta, but last for "prog" meta??)

drg, nin, brd & mch should have the lowest personal dps, but 1st inline for (speed) meta

blm wont get a 320 F4 buff (for a meta), BUT F4 buff needs to be high enough to make blm have the highest personal dps in all fights when played accordingly (with sam very close with its slashing debuff)

even if I'd love to see Blm in or close to some meta (with 320-ish buff or atleast higher than 280), or AT LEAST see blm valid in all PFs (atm not the case)...and imo the discrepancy of drg + all its buffs should not be so high (overall balancing still needs tweaking)

..... and rdm remains the "joker" (or "prog king" as dps, godsend rez + high mobility.. + somehow can even fit in speedkill meta?.. kind of, with embolden and its piercing damage)

[Shurrikhan]

It does! It's one of the first things I want to play around with, on my black mage alt, when the patch goes live. As far as its actual impact, probably little in terms of damage, but there is nothing wrong with having an ability which is just fun to use.

I've heard SkS is getting a buff in 4.2. That or at least the new gear options should throw a bit more into the available pool. If that's the case, the first thing I'll do is see if I can hit perfect reapplication with a 1:2 ratio of DK/Twin to Boot/True with my (prospective) SkS set.

Second will be using every instant or half-cast on BLM to gradually move me through the dungeon while turreting shit down.

Will decide which class to spend my Genji Weapon coffer on based on the results.

...Patch can't come fast enough...

[Ursa_Vonfiebryd]

Anything that shaves time off, no matter the skill/ability I'll take it. And quite frankly I'm tired of all the whining. And all of the bashing.

(I get it. I get that a lot of this is people wanting to see a better Black Mage and I respect it. I'm just tired of people calling it trash. If it's trash, then by all means PLAY SOME OTHER JOB and stick to a Reddit-approved party comp).

That said, I don't care if BLM is M E T A. I stay out of Savage content because A) the gear isn't that much better than what I can buy/upgrade with currency with the bonus of not having to deal with stress and micromanaging and well... that's it really. The only reason I'd run that is for gear. (And currently, it's not even glam worthy so--no).

Would I like to see a better BLM? Certainly. But the worst kept secret in FF14 is that Thaumaturge mechanics are basically taken straight out of WoW, and while this is pretty standard for MMORPG's, its not how Black Mage works in standard FF AT ALL. For people, like me, who's first MMORPG is this one, the learning curve is quite jarring and the actual mechanics are not really explained well--which is why there are so many Ice Mages out there. I'd really just like to see it PLAYED better. I think that's what most of these tweaks are for.

And honestly? Anyone who learns Black Mage well enough to do Savage content with general competence shouldn't have to deal with this 'worst dps' stigma. Really. Success in ANY content will always be 10% skill and 90% KNOWING THE FIGHT. Your excellent party comp amounts for nothing if you don't know where to stand. That's THM's bread and butter (even if we ah, occasionally sacrifice ourselves for The Cast).

Seriously though. I'm glad we're getting anything. And my class is not trash, no matter the situation. Good BLMS are already a rarity and dismissing them out of hand when they are perfectly serviceable (even if not optimal) for Endgame content is not going to do the class any favors in the long run. We're already one of the least popular. That's not putting us at the top of any re-work lists.

(We need more. MOAR BLM TO RUN AMOK SO THEY 'FIXES' IT. YAASSS.)

There's a few threads talking about how to improve BLM. Add some viable solutions there beyond MAKE IT HURT MORE. Because obviously, that's not going to happen so let's get creative instead of PESSIMISTIC.

[OgruMogru]

There's a few threads talking about how to improve BLM. Add some viable solutions there beyond MAKE IT HURT MORE. Because obviously, that's not going to happen so let's get creative instead of PESSIMISTIC.

Comments like this really irk me when for the past 2 months or so the main BLM thread on the forum accrued over 1000 replies of countless suggestions, and brainstorming. The people complaining aren't just being fat complacent babies demanding more cake, these people have invested a lot of time and emotional energy into brainstorming and theorycrafting and hoping for the best for a class they love playing. Sure not everyone's agreed on the best approach to take and there's been bickering, but to suggest that we're all a bunch of complacent moaners just begging for more damage is, frankly, way off the mark. Hundreds and hundreds of ideas and fractals of those ideas have been snubbed so you surely understand how disheartening the changes we are getting seem. They initially do not fill everyone with a sense of optimism. There were lots of good practical solutions to the problems BLM are having, but they are not particularly the issues SE has decided to address. That's fine, that's to be expected to a degree. But within the parameters of change that SE have now set, the only path to seeing BLM buffed in a truly satisfying way with the changes we're getting, is if the F4 buff is a beefy one. If it seems like everyone's only moaning about DPS now, I'm afraid it's because we've sort of been herded into it by SE putting an end to limitless speculation, not because of the lack of critical thought of everyone here.

[HaroldSaxon]

+20 Potency buff. We'll be at SAM levels, and we won't be close to the meta.

Coupled with SMN's undeserved nerfs, what on earth are SE thinking.

[NovaLevossida]

+20 Potency buff.

I think that's what most of us were realistically thinking it would be, just undoing the Fire IV potency nerf, which of course was always going to be below what they really needed to do.

[Neela]

+20 Potency buff. We'll be at SAM levels, and we won't be close to the meta.
Coupled with SMN's undeserved nerfs, what on earth are SE thinking.

I think this is the first time Blms and Smns agree on one point... they fucked up on both sides this time... yeah what on earth are they thinking... if they think at all... I mean what are Ruin III and WV doing on an "AoE Nerf List"?...

[EllieShadeflare]

I think this is the first time Blms and Smns agree on one point... they fucked up on both sides this time... yeah what on earth are they thinking... if they think at all... I mean what are Ruin III and WV doing on an "AoE Nerf List"?...

Because SMN was overtuned in all directions, apparently. It beats everything out and turned meta.

[Neela]

Because SMN was overtuned in all directions, apparently. It beats everything out and turned meta.

funny how they break their "no major nerf but major buff" philosophy tho... smn lost dot identity, aoe identity and now even ruin-mage identity holding a MAIN-rotation skill with 120 pot lol... that alone is as shameful as the fire lV "buff" lol... Blm surely absolutely on all means will knock out some kings now! not. ^^'

[Altera]

I am just curious now with only Fire4 getting a potency buff. Is it now worth using BLizzard4 just to get the Umbral Hearts at all or just go: B3 - T3 - Foul - F3, leaving out the time to cast B4 for more Astral Fire uptime etc.
Or does the Umbral Hearts' lower MP on first 3 F4 allow more Astral uptime?