Knowing when to switch your main class?

[Akiza]

Black Mages mechanics revolve around knowing when you have to avoid a mechanic and managing procs its the easier of the two caster to master. More people can master Black Mage than Summoner IMO.

[Skeith-Adeline]

I'd firstly suggest to seek out what is preventing you from maxing your Black Mage. If you're having issues with movement, run Titan Ex and measure your dps and aim to improve it through cast clipping. Check Puro's spreadsheet here for the basics and not-so basics of the Black Mage.

Black Mages mechanics revolve around knowing when you have to avoid a mechanic and managing procs its the easier of the two caster to master. More people can master Black Mage than Summoner IMO.

She didn't ask which caster was harder :P

[ROFL-kopter89]

If you'd prefer to move while attacking then BRD could be for you. I started maining as a BLM, switched to BRD cause I preferred the movements without losing DPS, then started levelling all classes and now kind of main SCH. Its all personal choice. You'd probably be best off picking a few classes, trying them out for a short while and seeing which one 'feels right'

[seekified]

Since it's a game and you're meant to have fun, that should be top priority. That said, if feeling like you're not doing well enough makes you have less fun, then that's a problem in itself.

Black Mages have one of the simplest overall rotations as it only uses a handful of skills in a fairly short, repeating order. The tradeoff is, like you say, that moving at all hurts your damage output quite a bit. I'd give Archer/Bard a go to see if you prefer that - it's a much more free job, not only in terms of movement but in that they don't really have a set rotation after their opener. They also have ridiculous burst damage when paired with a dragoon. The BLM in my static had to really rethink his play when he started doing Coil, but in the end it was very satisfying to see his numbers rise. But yeah, having fun - good thing.

[Tanthalus]

BLM is easy to learn and tough to master. You have to really abandon the notion that it's a rotation strict class in order to excel. The best BLMs out there realize this and can stay on top of their mana consumption while moving and keeping their IIIs up.
It's more like a weave when done right and don't go falling into those silly guides that tell you there's only one/two ways to play your class. Those are there to guide yours first steps on 50 but are ultimately limiting if you put too much faith in them.
If you want something fun and exciting I'd go WAR. They group aggro very easily and if you don't blow all your tp away right away holding mobs is simple as an overpower to the face.
And for the record no class is "easier" than any other. It's all about personal playstyles. Experiment til you find something that interests you and you'll excel no matter what.

[Cynfael]

BLM is easy to learn and tough to master. You have to really abandon the notion that it's a rotation strict class in order to excel. The best BLMs out there realize this and can stay on top of their mana consumption while moving and keeping their IIIs up.
It's more like a weave when done right and don't go falling into those silly guides that tell you there's only one/two ways to play your class. Those are there to guide yours first steps on 50 but are ultimately limiting if you put too much faith in them.

This is a very good point.

BLM appears from the outside to be a faceroll class that inflicts respectable damage with a simple rotation, has infinite resources, and has only one glaring weakness (movement).

In practice, the complexity of BLM play is not nearly so much in the buttons you press as in your own judgment, planning, sense of timing, and even "twitch" ability. Movement alone is rarely that big of a deal when you cast-clip, use defensive cooldowns, and AM properly.

The difference in DPS between a good BLM and an average BLM is HUGE even though they could both be doing basically the same rotation.

[ToasterMan]

Thanks everyone for the great suggestions. I'm gonna gear my bard up and try playing with it. It looks like it would be a lot of fun with a controller

[Akiza]

This is a very good point.

BLM appears from the outside to be a faceroll class that inflicts respectable damage with a simple rotation, has infinite resources, and has only one glaring weakness (movement).

In practice, the complexity of BLM play is not nearly so much in the buttons you press as in your own judgment, planning, sense of timing, and even "twitch" ability. Movement alone is rarely that big of a deal when you cast-clip, use defensive cooldowns, and AM properly.

The difference in DPS between a good BLM and an average BLM is HUGE even though they could both be doing basically the same rotation.

The difference in DPS between an average SMN and a good SMN is a insurmountable gulf

[Skeith-Adeline]

The difference in DPS between an average SMN and a good SMN is a insurmountable gulf

A real question, Akiza. What the heck do you seek to accomplish by spouting the same thing on every caster-related post?

[Arkenne]

Tanthalus already mentioned it but, yea keeping your IIIs up should help you keep the DPS high even while moving around, as in, if your AF3 has 3 seconds left, better use B3 to get UI3 for 10 seconds while you reposition yourself (and recover MP). Switch to AF3 if running low on UI3 and still havent found a good spot tho :v (pretty useful for speed runs actually).