Black Mage Suggestion (Not a "complainy" thread)

[Darske]

I would like to suggest an easier solution that seems to work well for me.

Stop mashing your fire 1 button and wait for it to connect before hitting it again, so you can see if you have a proc of firestarter. Seriously, there's a GCD anyway, you really don't need to be hitting the button like a madman.

Just take your finger. Off the button, for one second. And wait for the GCD to come off.

Problem solved!

[Umero]

I don't know if anyone has thought about this before. Is this exactly why we need more casting speed? So we can tell if a firestarter proc before the next GCD's up?

[Umero]

I agree that I don't think SE is correct in thinking that "Black Mages are fine" and of course I wish we had slightly more single target (but as it is right now, at least we are not so far behind as to not be viable and a good black mage will still out DPS the average summoner). But even if SE doesn't want to increase our single target DPS we should really still at least see this fixed as all it would really take is lowering Fire IIIs potency by a tiny bit (wasting a firestarter proc isn't very common, but common enough to be a problem). That said, this change would also be a good opportunity to help us in all the above stated ways. Having it stack to 3 was something I considered last night also when writing this and it would drastically alter our play style and that'd b cool (saving Fire IIIs for the best moments without overstacking). Could consider these changes with Thundercloud also, but thats even rarer (2.5% chance for 2 ticks to proc back to back)

I think we just need more spell speed gear so the fire would land and firestarter proc can be seen before next GCD. As the game goes, more better spell speed gear will be out in the future when they raise level cap and such, spell speed might become an important part when playing with proc. skills imo. And how much spell speed we need really depend on how fast you can grasp the firestarter and how fast you react. Just my 2cents.

[Zhi]

I would like to suggest an easier solution that seems to work well for me.

Stop mashing your fire 1 button and wait for it to connect before hitting it again, so you can see if you have a proc of firestarter. Seriously, there's a GCD anyway, you really don't need to be hitting the button like a madman.

Just take your finger. Off the button, for one second. And wait for the GCD to come off.

Problem solved!

Every fraction of a second counts

[Waliel]

Stacking any amount of SS won't help, as GCD lowers by same amount as Fire I cast time.

[Darske]

Every fraction of a second counts

I don't agree. From a practical standpoint, if you're dropping procs of firestarter, you're losing hundreds of points of damage with every missed proc. Being sure that you're maximizing your output and hitting as many procs as possible should outdamage whatever minimal DPS gain you'd get from casting Fire 1 a half a second faster and missing the proc. I'm not a theorycrafter or anything and I'm not in the mood to break out a calculator, but I've never had a single complaint about my DPS, and I've played like this for quite a while now.

[Waliel]

I don't agree. From a practical standpoint, if you're dropping procs of firestarter, you're losing hundreds of points of damage with every missed proc. Being sure that you're maximizing your output and hitting as many procs as possible should outdamage whatever minimal DPS gain you'd get from casting Fire 1 a half a second faster and missing the proc. I'm not a theorycrafter or anything and I'm not in the mood to break out a calculator, but I've never had a single complaint about my DPS, and I've played like this for quite a while now.

If I'm correct -- it's been quite a few months since I read anything about this -- waiting 0.5 seconds to see for a proc was basically identical compared to chaining F1, and I personally think that chain F1 is just much smoother to play.

[Darske]

If I'm correct -- it's been quite a few months since I read anything about this -- waiting 0.5 seconds to see for a proc was basically identical compared to chaining F1, and I personally think that chain F1 is just much smoother to play.

Identical perhaps in the time it takes, but hardly identical in the damage output you do. Fire III routinely deals at least 300-400 more damage than Fire I, and much more than that on a critical. I'm of the belief that missing procs is detrimental to the overall damage you do, and the little bit of extra caution pays its dividends in the overall fiery death you output.

[Waliel]

I meant identical in damage output.

[Akiza]

I don't agree with any Black Mage changes unless Summoner's get a complete overhaul anyways Black Mages are fine just the way the are.