Black Mage Sanctuary - A Guide to DPS

[Garotte14]

Where should I look for tips below max level? I'm only at 40, but still trying to do well.

Kinda the first thing I'm wondering is, having Blizzard III and Fire III, do these make Transpose slightly obsolete? Starting out, I had gotten used to Blizzard - Transpose - Fire... for low MP use to start with (plus the Heavy while solo seemed useful). But if B3/F3 are more efficient, I can see that shaking things up for me.

For Thunders, is it typically best to use T1 for cast time/MP conservation, and only use T3 (or T2 in my case) with Thundercloud? No Sharpcast yet, so, while I want to use T2 as the "better" skill, I can also see how it eats up a bit of extra time.

Finally, is there ever a place/use for Freeze? Blizzard II? Scathe? First 2 only if you're desperate for Bind maybe?

My guide should be able to help answer any questions. If not, let me know.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1...eR5uHMC8EiyGLI

[Hasrat]

Pretty useful, yeah, thanks. Mostly just confirms what I'd been feeling with current setup. Good call with Scathe being slightly useful with heavy movement.
Three or more targets, burn 'em all with Fire 2. Need to work on switching targets for extra Thunders, I think. Get those DoTs ticking as much as possible. Does Thunder ticking on multiple enemies increase the chances of Thundercloud proc?
Last thing: Sleep. When I play WHM I kinda like tossing those out for fun, make things a little easy maybe (if everyone lets them sleep). But I get the feeling that here it might be preferable to just burn everything and ignore sleep. More of a solo usage than anything, perhaps?

[Maero]

No since you got bliz 3 transpose is not obsolete you use it with flare, so as example flare> convert>swiftcast flare.
Freeze there is absolutely no real reason to use it, same as bliz 2, that would be of use much earlier on (Bliz 2)like low levels i mean. Scathe is very useful when movement is needed.
Sleep was another of those spells i used very very early on to help out with struggling tanks but mostly just for kicks as well.
PVP it has it's use i believe. I usually PVP as Ninja though

[FunkyBunch]

Pretty useful, yeah, thanks. Mostly just confirms what I'd been feeling with current setup. Good call with Scathe being slightly useful with heavy movement.
Three or more targets, burn 'em all with Fire 2. Need to work on switching targets for extra Thunders, I think. Get those DoTs ticking as much as possible. Does Thunder ticking on multiple enemies increase the chances of Thundercloud proc?
Last thing: Sleep. When I play WHM I kinda like tossing those out for fun, make things a little easy maybe (if everyone lets them sleep). But I get the feeling that here it might be preferable to just burn everything and ignore sleep. More of a solo usage than anything, perhaps?

The BLM AoE rotation is just:
F3-F2-F2-F2-Flare-(convert-swiftcast-flare when off cooldown)-Transpose
F3-F2-F2-Flare-Transpose<-Repeat until dead (It's best if you switch targets to highest health mob occasionally so you're not burning one down too fast-ideally all the mobs die at the same time so you're not wasting DPS)
Don't bother with Thunder at all for 3+ mobs.

Sleep doesn't work at all at higher levels. Everything is immune, so remove it from your hotbar, same with freeze and B2.

[Hasrat]

No since you got bliz 3 transpose is not obsolete you use it with flare, so as example flare> convert>swiftcast flare.

The BLM AoE rotation is just:
F3-F2-F2-F2-Flare-(convert-swiftcast-flare when off cooldown)-Transpose

You seem to have missed the "I'm only level 40" which would imply I don't have Flare yet.

[MagiusNecros]

When you run out of MP and need to Transpose that is when you use Freeze for AoE at those low levels. Plus Freeze has the boon of being Ground Target AoE meaning if a bum you were targeting dies then the spell will not be interrupted and will still cast.

If this change could be made to Fire 2 and Flare I'd be all for it. Embrace the glory of the Ground target macro magic.

[Hasrat]

I haven't tried a macro for those. Does the macro just auto-target whatever you set without the hassle of actually doing it yourself? But also that sounds like it may have been more useful before I got Blizzard 3. Will have to keep it in mind for syncing down, though. I can see how that would be useful...

Also, following up on the previous tips, my new rotation is certainly different. Before, my Astral and Umbral stages would be about equal, as Transpose seemed necessary, or at least efficient, to switch between them. But with Blizzard 3 and Fire 3, I've only got a very short period in Umbral now before I'm back to full and can switch back. This is fascinating to me. I can't think of any other classes that have so significantly changed their rotation while leveling. All the others usually feel like just getting a new skill to add to it (or ignore), but this is a massive shift. I love it. I'm a little disappointed in myself that I didn't see the change as it happened, but at least I recognized that things were changing.

[MagiusNecros]

When you get BLM up levels things will change and then if you ever have to sync down you'll be "well this sucks". And it kinda does. Once you have Bliz3/Fire 3 you'll only mostly keep Transpose for Flare come lvl 50 or if you made the worst mistake of your MP management life.

Oh and once you hit 50 I highly recommend mouseover macro's for Aetherial Manipulation. Really good ability.

[Garotte14]

When you get BLM up levels things will change and then if you ever have to sync down you'll be "well this sucks". And it kinda does. Once you have Bliz3/Fire 3 you'll only mostly keep Transpose for Flare come lvl 50 or if you made the worst mistake of your MP management life.

Oh and once you hit 50 I highly recommend mouseover macro's for Aetherial Manipulation. Really good ability.

Transpose is used for more than Flare. Transpose should be used when you have a Firestarter while in Umbral Ice.

[MagiusNecros]

Transpose is used for more than Flare. Transpose should be used when you have a Firestarter while in Umbral Ice.

Oh ho so I still have some things to learn. I wager it's for the stronger Fire 3 under AF1 correct?