Black Mage Sanctuary - A Guide to DPS

[GarnetTribal]

Well, I think we all went through this at first, cause BLM really "changed" alot when you hit 60. But then, you realise you just have to adjust your muscle memory and youre fine.

It is still like in 2.x where movement killed dps, and you really excelled when you knew the fight ahead. I always called it the "dance of the blackmage", as sliding out of AoEs and still pulling off that cast i´m in always felt like a little choreography, thanks to the scripted fights.

They just threw in some more variation, where variation means "blow out as much F4 as possible" xD

It is not anymore the simple blow out your mana with fire and don´t forget your procs.

It got more interesting, but it´s still the old meta "easy to play, hard to master"

The video - he seems to manage to get low on mana and time everything efficiently. Granted, he is parsing on a dummy. I feel like half of this very very major battle is just being able to dodge crap and still feel comfortable getting back on track with the rotation. I'd really like to see a video of him dodging hard mechanics to see what he does in the situation so that I can better understand it all.

Perhaps I should just practice on a dummy for a very long time until I get comfortable enough with it all...I also need to get spell speed. A lot more. I feel that's another thing holding me back. Only being able to throw out 2 fire 4's just doesn't sound right to me.

I also have an issue with when enochian falls off. I feel like it tends to fall of near the end of a fire4 chain, yet I can still throw out another fire 4. So, do I renew enochian, or throw out a fire 4 and wait for the cooldown and go back to 2.x rotation? Should my priority always be keeping Umbral up? Stop casting a fire 4 to throw out a fire?

What about when the ability is up and ready - when would the ideal time to use that be? If I can throw out another fire 4 and enochian is about to fall off, should I use enochian? Should I renew? Should I throw out the fire 4, blizz 3, thunder, fire 3, and enochian? It could interrupt my last fire 4 and I wouldn't be able to get it off in time. To put it into perspective:

If eno is on cooldown and is about to fall off:
Fire 4 > (Instead of fire 4) Blizz 3 > Blizz 4 > Fire 3 > Fire 4 -- or should I use fire 4 and let eno fall off? This is in the midst of dodging - so chances are, I will fail at keeping it up. If I consistently fail at keeping it up, should I just opt to use the fire 4 and go back to 2.x rotation?

If eno is off cooldown:
Fire 4 > (Low mana) > Fire 4 (Eno falls off) > Blizz 3 > Thunder > Fire 3 > Eno > Fire 4

I apologize for anyone reading this that is able to help me - it's a mess and probably confusing to you...hopefully not... I just want to nail this sonavab*tch rotation.

[Sleigh]

The video - he seems to manage to get low on mana and time everything efficiently. Granted, he is parsing on a dummy. I feel like half of this very very major battle is just being able to dodge crap and still feel comfortable getting back on track with the rotation. I'd really like to see a video of him dodging hard mechanics to see what he does in the situation so that I can better understand it all.

Perhaps I should just practice on a dummy for a very long time until I get comfortable enough with it all...I also need to get spell speed. A lot more. I feel that's another thing holding me back. Only being able to throw out 2 fire 4's just doesn't sound right to me.

I also have an issue with when enochian falls off. I feel like it tends to fall of near the end of a fire4 chain, yet I can still throw out another fire 4. So, do I renew enochian, or throw out a fire 4 and wait for the cooldown and go back to 2.x rotation? Should my priority always be keeping Umbral up? Stop casting a fire 4 to throw out a fire?

What about when the ability is up and ready - when would the ideal time to use that be? If I can throw out another fire 4 and enochian is about to fall off, should I use enochian? Should I renew? Should I throw out the fire 4, blizz 3, thunder, fire 3, and enochian? It could interrupt my last fire 4 and I wouldn't be able to get it off in time. To put it into perspective:

If eno is on cooldown and is about to fall off:
Fire 4 > (Instead of fire 4) Blizz 3 > Blizz 4 > Fire 3 > Fire 4 -- or should I use fire 4 and let eno fall off? This is in the midst of dodging - so chances are, I will fail at keeping it up. If I consistently fail at keeping it up, should I just opt to use the fire 4 and go back to 2.x rotation?

If eno is off cooldown:
Fire 4 > (Low mana) > Fire 4 (Eno falls off) > Blizz 3 > Thunder > Fire 3 > Eno > Fire 4

I apologize for anyone reading this that is able to help me - it's a mess and probably confusing to you...hopefully not... I just want to nail this sonavab*tch rotation.

Most of us went through a trouble spot relearning BLM at 60 but it gets significantly easier with time. You start seeing patterns and workarounds, and just accept the failures as something that's bullshit or something you have to work around. You don't even really have to keep an eye on the Enochian timer remaining unless something "changes" like procs or movement or low MP due to something.

For your questions:

Typically keeping up Enochian has priority over your current rotation. If you have to sacrifice one F4 (which happens semi-commonly with procs) to keep up Enochian, yes you sacrifice the F4. It has to be a case-by-case reason to not uphold it, such as a strict DPS check or having a very soon Sharpcast/Enochian anyway.

Renew Enochian before the start of a new rotation, or around the start of a new one ... usually. The timers line up so that you get three rotations per Enochian usage. You always use Sharpcast with Enochian.

Yes your examples of rotations are correct, assuming the MP ticks work out properly. Very rarely can you do B3 > T1 > F3, just saying.

[MagiusNecros]

Well, you got that one with Fire4, and you can use it way more frequently than a Fell Cleave...

Yeah it's the hardest hitting spell and probably attack in the game alongside Fell Cleave but for me the OOMPH just isn't there.

[Maero]

Already said more or less but priority is making sure enochian has 100% up time, being able to cast another FireIV only for enochian to fall off and having to wait for cd's would be a significant dps loss.
It takes practice on timing, but really is second nature once you got it down.
Black Mage is fine as is i think, yes it was a change @ 60 but was honestly for the best as some found 2.X blm too boring. Those that truly love blm will stick with it, it may not be for everyone.

Also do not use leylines, all the mechanics are based on blm using leylines
(P.s i am joking about not using it)

[Waliel]

You don't even really have to keep an eye on the Enochian timer remaining unless something "changes" like procs or movement or low MP due to something.

This is actually a really good advice for people who feel overwhelmed by the idea of having to keep track of Eno and AF3. Unless something changes due to reasons Sleigh mentioned, you don't have to worry about your timers at all. Just remember to refresh Eno manually after your third rotation. There are also phase changes that force a change in the rotation possibly, but that's something every job has to learn fight by fight basis.

[Xisin]

I've always loved the new blm rotation with enochian in it, it really allows those that master the job to shine. The enochian mechanic makes the job have more depth and a larger reward than 2.x blm could ever have. Enochian forces you into a decision making process, based on several factors (refer to sleigh's post.) I love the layers it added.

[MagiusNecros]

You can always refresh Enoch with 8 seconds on the timer if you go B3 and B4 without moving. I usually use 10 seconds as the benchmark of when I need to stop what I'm doing and refresh it unless there are big mechanics coming my way and I have to revert to the 2.0 rotation.

[OneWingedSora]

I can start casting Blizzard 3 @ 5 seconds left on Enochian and still refresh it just fine :^ ) That's why having extra spell speed is so good for Blackmages.

[Kuroyasha]

Can do the same w/ 548 SS at 6 sec.

[OneWingedSora]

Oops, was a typo, meant 5 seconds. Just tried it @ 548 sspd and it doesn't work.

Also, here's a decent A3S run I had where I ended at 1370 w/o Bard & AST. Had 4 ppl on alts so the kill time wasnt great but it otherwise it was a smooth run.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mu4bjOagLW8