SHB BLM is the peak of this game's job design

[Acidblood]

Alright kids, hot take time:

When I first read the description of Aspect Mastery I was really hoping it would affect Flare; sadly it does not, at all (Flare still costs MP from UI).

My preference would be option 1.

[Archwizard]

While this might work above level 68, between that level and 50 it would mean the BLM AoE fire rotation is a single flare followed by waiting for MP. At least F2 casts give you a chance to proc thunder to get around the MP tick issue.

Considering we already avoid F2 like the plague, I would like to see the math on a rotation of F3>Flare>TP>Freeze to cap (with generous sprinklings of T2/4) vs F3>F2 till near empty>Flare>TP>T2/4.

Though I feel like if your math shows a higher PPS value on using F2 as it currently is, there might be a flaw given the concensus is to simply avoid it.

[Kabooa]

Alright kids, hot take time:

Thoughts?

No.

But if yes, you easily fix this by having Flare consume on umbral heart, cost 2400 MP to transition, and bam, it's not worth using in single target.

[PyurBlue]

Considering we already avoid F2 like the plague, I would like to see the math on a rotation of F3>Flare>TP>Freeze to cap (with generous sprinklings of T2/4) vs F3>F2 till near empty>Flare>TP>T2/4.

Though I feel like if your math shows a higher PPS value on using F2 as it currently is, there might be a flaw given the concensus is to simply avoid it.

This is probably going to be my last post because of the forum post limit. F2 has always had some use, it just became increasingly niche with time. In SB F2 overtook Flare at something like 15 enemies because Flare's 78(?) potency minimum was below the 80 of F2 and F2 also had a faster cast time. F2 requires a large number of enemies to be worthwhile in Shadowbringers as well, which is why I only looked at the case with 10 enemies.

Intermediate level AoE prefers F2 because when you can only cast Flare once and have to wait for MP ticks, you overall PPS goes down, so you don't need as much PPS in a given cast to find a net increase in total PPS.

4 enemies, assuming instant MP ticks on transpose, I also don't know how many F2's you can actually cast, I just went with 3:

F3 = 240*.7/2.5 = 67.2
F2 = 80*4*1.8/3 = 192
F2 = 80*4*1.8/3 = 192
F2 = 80*4*1.8/3 = 192
Flare = (260 + 156*3)*1.8/4 = 327.6
Freeze = 100*4/2.5 = 160
Average = 188.5 PPS

F3 = 240*.7/2.5 = 67.2
Flare = (260 + 156*3)*1.8/4 = 327.6
Freeze = 100*4/2.5 = 160
Average = 185.0 PPS

Adding T2, I'm estimating that it procs for 50% of casts at 4 enemies. That's an effective PPS of 328 which increase the averages to 208.4 and 220.7 respectively.

[Hzex076]

BLM feels extremely good right now, I leveled SMN first and now I'm leveling BLM. Even at 72 the aspect mastery makes a big difference along with despair.

Also why are so many people posting AOE rotation with F3 before starting Flares... Freeze straight into flare feels smoother with a super fast flare cast. Am I missing something?

[Kabooa]

BLM feels extremely good right now, I leveled SMN first and now I'm leveling BLM. Even at 72 the aspect mastery makes a big difference along with despair.

Also why are so many people posting AOE rotation with F3 before starting Flares... Freeze straight into flare feels smoother with a super fast flare cast. Am I missing something?

You mean the massive potency dump?

Casting spells from opposing stances is 50% less cast time and 50% less potency on the base number.

This means Flare is coming out at 130 potency done from Ice.
Flare coming out in AF3 is 260 x 1.8, or 468.

[Hzex076]

Thanks for that, I really didn't know. Don't remember it from the starter guide. I appreciate that.

[Numenor1379]

You mean the massive potency dump?

Casting spells from opposing stances is 50% less cast time and 50% less potency on the base number.

This means Flare is coming out at 130 potency done from Ice.
Flare coming out in AF3 is 260 x 1.8, or 468.

Wrong. Umbral Ice does not decrease the potency of the spell, only MP and cast time.

The reason you drop F3 in some AoE rotations is that after about 5 adds you get a higher PPS by using only AoE skills. The raw damage you get not using a GCD on a single target is higher even though you lose about 40% of the total strength on the first Flare.

[Hzex076]

Okay that makes a lot of sense. I've always found that BLM had an awkward AOE rotation. Thanks for giving me more clarity.

[Hzex076]

I just took another look at the BLM guide which led me to the wiki on Umbral ice stacks and it mentioned that it will reduce the potency of a fire spell by 30% for 3 three stack of umbral ice... is that correct as of 5.0?