BLM single target DPS questions

[rollchan]

So, I'm relatively new to the job (I main a tank) But I think I'm confident enough in my pew-pewing ability as a BLM.

My BLM is i83 ATM, and I've tried every end-game content as BLM except coil, from what I've seen the BLM doesn't seem to output as much single target damage as other ranged DPS can do, my absolute best results are 270~ DPS on ultima HM.
On titan EX (which is pain in the ass due to movement) I got around 220-230 average DPS.

Are those numbers "normal" for my gear level? if not, can anyone give me some pointers? I would love to bring the full potential of BLM because I found the job to be pretty fun, albeit simple.

[-d-ky]

how do you know you're doing 270~dps on ultima hm and 220-230 dps on titan ex?
parser?
ouch, better keep it a secret :3

[rollchan]

Are you implying it's not allowed to discuss numbers on the forums? I could've sword I saw people posting up numbers on their respective class forums before.

[EpicCid]

What is your rotation?

[Hitome]

Eh he's implying that he has nothing to contribute to the topic. I would report it as off topic. You never mentioned parsing yourself: your friends could have easily given you the data.

Your numbers are about right. I wouldn't use DPS as a measurement, though. Try to use total damage and total % to gauge your performance relative to other classes. For instance, play with melees you know and do Titan Ex. If those melees are good, you should have a good indication about where you stand since BLM has a minor handicap on this fight.

For instance, on Twin I range from 270-290 where as Titan I range from 220-260. A lot of factors influence both of these and that is why I prefer looking at damage done relative to the other jobs in your group.

Bringing out BLM's full potential is actually more about knowing the fight than anything. We seek to maximize our DPS when we know we have to move.

Say we are talking about Titan Ex. You know plumes are coming up right? So you're casting your fire 1's and a firestarter proc occurs but the plume hasn't gone off yet. Do you use the firestarter proc? No, you cast another fire 1. When the plume hits, you use the firestarter proc as you move. Same with TC procs and such.

You also have to know how to push the limits. Let's talk about Ifrit Ex. When your team goes to run the eruptions backwards (or in a circle), you should stay in the back and cast while the rest of the group regroups on Ifrit's butt. When you see a party member on Ifrit's butt, aetherial manipulation over to him to save time.

You need to abuse sprint: especially on Titan. The faster you get to safety, the faster you can start casting again.

Knowing what abilities you have that negate damage is also very effective. Did you know manaward blocks a portion of tumult's damage? And geocrush's damage? So, on Titan Ex you can pop manaward and stay in the middle so that you can immediately begin casting when he comes down without suffering much damage from geocrush. The same goes for landslide. Why are you bothering to move when you have an ability (manawall) that negates the damage and knockback from landslide?

I also prefer multidoting when possible. When there are 2 or more targets present (say, Caduceus from T1), I will use the umbral ice phase to cast thunder 1 on both adds instead of thunder 2 on just one add. This increases my TC proc chance.

When you get a TC proc, do you use it on the mob that is about to die? No, you cast thunder 3 on the mob that has the highest HP. This way, you have the DoT running that may offer more TC procs. If you use TC just for its base damage and you end up killing a mob before the DoT has a chance to run its course, you are wasting not only its damage but the added proc chance.

If it hasn't been made clear, to maximize BLM DPS you need to minimize movement. I've seen some BLM playstyles where they will actually borrow the healer's MP to perform maximum DPS. This includes things like eating eruptions, eating plumes, and eating things that will not one shot you while still casting. I honestly do not like this playstyle at all as a healer.

[rollchan]

What is your rotation?

Opener : T2 > F3 > F1(till below 1k mp) > T1/T2 (depends on the amount of MP I have left) If I got late MP ticks >>>>> B1 (if stationary)/Scathe(If I need to move) > repeat

If there are no adds that needs to burned down fast with AOE I'll keep casting fire till low MP and swifcast>flare>convert>F1>B3 then go on standard rotation.

Eh he's implying that he has nothing to contribute to the topic. I would report it as off topic. You never mentioned parsing yourself: your friends could have easily given you the data.

Your numbers are about right. I wouldn't use DPS as a measurement, though. Try to use total damage and total % to gauge your performance relative to other classes. For instance, play with melees you know and do Titan Ex. If those melees are good, you should have a good indication about where you stand since BLM has a minor handicap on this fight.

For instance, on Twin I range from 270-290 where as Titan I range from 220-260. A lot of factors influence both of these and that is why I prefer looking at damage done relative to the other jobs in your group.

Bringing out BLM's full potential is actually more about knowing the fight than anything. We seek to maximize our DPS when we know we have to move.

Say we are talking about Titan Ex. You know plumes are coming up right? So you're casting your fire 1's and a firestarter proc occurs but the plume hasn't gone off yet. Do you use the firestarter proc? No, you cast another fire 1. When the plume hits, you use the firestarter proc as you move. Same with TC procs and such.

You also have to know how to push the limits. Let's talk about Ifrit Ex. When your team goes to run the eruptions backwards (or in a circle), you should stay in the back and cast while the rest of the group regroups on Ifrit's butt. When you see a party member on Ifrit's butt, aetherial manipulation over to him to save time.

You need to abuse sprint: especially on Titan. The faster you get to safety, the faster you can start casting again.

Knowing what abilities you have that negate damage is also very effective. Did you know manaward blocks a portion of tumult's damage? And geocrush's damage? So, on Titan Ex you can pop manaward and stay in the middle so that you can immediately begin casting when he comes down without suffering much damage from geocrush. The same goes for landslide. Why are you bothering to move when you have an ability (manawall) that negates the damage and knockback from landslide?

I also prefer multidoting when possible. When there are 2 or more targets present (say, Caduceus from T1), I will use the umbral ice phase to cast thunder 1 on both adds instead of thunder 2 on just one add. This increases my TC proc chance.

When you get a TC proc, do you use it on the mob that is about to die? No, you cast thunder 3 on the mob that has the highest HP. This way, you have the DoT running that may offer more TC procs. If you use TC just for its base damage and you end up killing a mob before the DoT has a chance to run its course, you are wasting not only its damage but the added proc chance.

If it hasn't been made clear, to maximize BLM DPS you need to minimize movement. I've seen some BLM playstyles where they will actually borrow the healer's MP to perform maximum DPS. This includes things like eating eruptions, eating plumes, and eating things that will not one shot you while still casting. I honestly do not like this playstyle at all as a healer.

Yep, I already did almost all of that except multi-dotting and TC procs, the way I see it is that if we're focusing on a particular target, the faster I burn the target down = less burden on tank and healer, so I usually use TC procs as a mean to burst down an important target (I think it may be inefficient in the long run though)

[Hitome]

Yes that's a valid approach when you need to burn things ASAP (Titan egis). Ideally, though, you would be using flares during that phase to hit both Titan and his two egis. I'd only multidot in various parts of T4 and at the beginning of T5 (which you can AoE down anyways).

Your single target rotation is fine. What does your AoE rotation look like?

I know a lot of BLMs tell me they are doing what I am advising but rarely see this. Do you have any streams available so we can watch you play BLM?

[rollchan]

I don't have at the moment, I've been trying to record for some time but finding a good PUG group for stuff like titan extreme is extremely difficult (my BLM is usually not accepted on farm groups due to not geared enough)

I'm still experimenting with my aoe rotations, these 2 are what I usually use :

1 : F3 > F2 till low MP > Flare > Convert > Flare > Transpose > F3 > F2 > F2 > Flare

2 : F3 > Flare > Convert > Flare > Transpose > F3 > F2 > F2 > Flare

Except for low hp adds like razor plumes where most of the time I'll just flare once and let the party finish them off (I hate when my spells got interrupted due target dying)