Is Everyone Playing BLM wrong?

[Xander_Diabolos]

Hey all,

Thanks for any helpful info. I think maybe the title was too insulting and caused people to get defensive. Hit 90 yesterday and this is what I tested out based on the results of the discussion. Opener doesn't look too different from most. Didn't include INT drink since I play too casually to get into high end raids. I did regret putting Blizzard III in opener, but it was the only way to get Paradox(Firestarter) vs Fire after the opener and reduce Fire III's casting. (I could also have included sharpcast Fire in the opener to get it, but would prefer not to do that either since you don't have enough mana to use it effectively without Umbral hearts)

Opener:
Fire III, Thunder III, Triplecast, Fire IV, Ley Lines, Fire IV, Amplifier, Fire IV, Swiftcast, Fire IV, Triplecast, Despair, Manafont, Fire IV, Despair, Blizzard III, Xenoglossy, Blizzard IV, Thunder III

After the opener I sharpcast Paradox to make the next Fire III instant cast which allows you to weave in triple cast/amplifier/leylines/manafont similar to how it was done in opener 120 seconds after. I might have to add a little more spell speed as I was sometimes having issues with Firestarter wearing off (30 seconds after Paradox) before I got back to my Fire III (especially if I had to Xenoglossy twice to wait for mana before insta-casting Fire III again).

After Opener:
Fire III, Fire IV x3, Sharpcast, Paradox, Fire IV x3, Despair, Transpose, Xenoglossy (once or twice depending on mp ticks), Blizzard IV, Thunder III
Still debating on Transposing after Thunder III to get more damage on Fire III which is instant cast and 0 mp regardless.

Benefits: Drop the low PPS Blizzard III after opener, have a spot to cast Xenoglossy every 30 seconds, Fire III becomes instant speed meaning you can move while casting it and don't have to clip to triplecast after the opener.

Negatives: Clipping Transpose, Clipping Sharpcast (when not doing triplecast), Using Sharpcast on Paradox means you can't Sharpcast Thunder III and guarantee to not hardcast it (I figure with 10 ticks and 10% chance each tick... most of the time you will not need to anyway), You lose out on a second Paradox by not casting Blizzard III (requires 3 Umbral hearts and Umbral ice), Blizzard IV is still low PPS but it has to happen in order to get Umbral hearts for longer Astral Fire phase.

[Hasrat]

Fire III, Thunder III, Triplecast, Fire IV, Ley Lines, F...

Why are you waiting so long to get Ley Lines down?

Fire III, Fire IV x3, Sharpcast, Paradox, Fire IV x3, Despair, Transpose, X....

Oh, you're still using Transpose.

[catofsnake]

After Opener:
Fire III, Fire IV x3, Sharpcast, Paradox, Fire IV x3, Despair, Transpose, Xenoglossy (once or twice depending on mp ticks), Blizzard IV, Thunder III
Still debating on Transposing after Thunder III to get more damage on Fire III which is instant cast and 0 mp regardless.

Benefits: Drop the low PPS Blizzard III after opener, have a spot to cast Xenoglossy every 30 seconds, Fire III becomes instant speed meaning you can move while casting it and don't have to clip to triplecast after the opener.

Negatives: Clipping Transpose, Clipping Sharpcast (when not doing triplecast), Using Sharpcast on Paradox means you can't Sharpcast Thunder III and guarantee to not hardcast it (I figure with 10 ticks and 10% chance each tick... most of the time you will not need to anyway), You lose out on a second Paradox by not casting Blizzard III (requires 3 Umbral hearts and Umbral ice), Blizzard IV is still low PPS but it has to happen in order to get Umbral hearts for longer Astral Fire phase.

This is getting there, but the clips are what will hold you back. Assuming 0.7s clip per non instant/element swap, it's about a 1.4s time loss and more if you transpose after T3. Some adjustments that could help would be shifting the Xeno to be just after Despair in order to not clip Transpose, and using your fire gained paradox as an instant before your transpose out of ice.
But honestly, the main thing you need to know is that the transpose lines are situational - you may or may not be able to go into them based off however many instants and procs you have. and, that some lines are only few percent potency gains over standard, immediately losing them if you clip casts at all. You should only really start considering it once you're 100% confident on standard - near 100% or 99 uptime. And, standard makes it that much easier to do so, with the extra xenoglossies/guaranteed t3p's available for movement. An easy trick you *can* start using even during standard play though, is transposing out of an instant in ice into F3 proc - that's about 182 more potency than normal. Have you rechecked the non-standard BLM guide? I know it was linked or mentioned earlier in the thread, that doc explains a lot of the ideas more concisely and thoroughly than I could in a forum post.

Why are you waiting so long to get Ley Lines down?

This is actually standard, using leylines after a triplecast instant allows you to make full use of it without clipping, and because you can precast F3 only really waits you 2 GCDS before using it. Pre-pull leylines has uses in some fights though, like when a mechanic within the first 30 seconds or at future use times would force you out.

[Hasrat]

This is actually standard, using leylines after a triplecast instant allows you to make full use of it without clipping, and because you can precast F3 only really waits you 2 GCDS before using it. Pre-pull leylines has uses in some fights though, like when a mechanic within the first 30 seconds or at future use times would force you out.

This is sensible... but nothing about this thread suggests we're looking for savage-level efficiency here.

Admittedly what probably throws me off more than that, tho, is that I hadn't realized folks had started just opening straight with a short fire phase.