Black magic...kinda sucks

[Dualgunner]

I think the main issue that this is coming down to and why people are thinking you hate the job is because a lot of the things you see and are pointing out as issues are things other Black Mages see and consider features of the job that they enjoy working around.

[Malkria]

I think the main issue that this is coming down to and why people are thinking you hate the job is because a lot of the things you see and are pointing out as issues are things other Black Mages see and consider features of the job that they enjoy working around.

Which as I said is in itself fine. The fact that we have CC in the spell Sleep doesn't break or hurt the BLM in any way despite the fact that nobody uses it....pretty much ever. But that doesn't change the fact then that it could be re-purposed to not be something taking up space on our hotbar. You can enjoy a job despite or even because of it's flaws, look at PLD and MCH back in heavenward for example. Now they are in pretty decent spots between them, but before you had what was arguably the worst tank and a job that didn't differentiate itself from ARC as much as it should. At least the latter feels more distinct in my opinion.

Like I said, I have a love hate relationship currently with the BLM. That doesn't mean I can't see the good parts of the job, and like I said there are things I in fact find better in the BLM then any other DPS i've played thus far...ever. But while I am willing to 'work around' the parts I don't, doesn't mean I can't think of better and more interesting aspects to replace them. Ley lines for example I feel strongly should be built into how the BLM works to be as integral as the ice/fire rotation is currently; as well as making a new thunder spell 'neutral' AoE and a way to have both fire and ice feel distinct yet separate ways to do damage on mass or to a single target. Again, what we have works, but I feel the job could be so much deeper without much effort and THAT is the core of my issue as it has developed to today.

[Friske]

I think the main issue that this is coming down to and why people are thinking you hate the job is because a lot of the things you see and are pointing out as issues are things other Black Mages see and consider features of the job that they enjoy working around.

Yeah, I have some inkling that this is partly true too. I do understand how the OP feels though especially if one hasn't fully adjusted to the intricacies and the playstyle of blackmage, but once you begin to manage the careful tightrope walk of managing movement with casting spells, then the satisfaction should soon follow.

Back in mid 2015 right as Heavensward was released, you could've made a very good case for Blackmage adjustments though. Back then the enochian timer was 10 seconds, triplecast didn't exist, and the OGCD usage was counter intuitive to a casting class (especially without triplecast to weave in our OGCDs). Nowadays however, it's improved dramatically with a permanent enochian buff, 13 seconds on the timer, triplecast, between the lines, and with the next patch, faster AM recovery times. The issues have been dampened quite dramatically, thus leading to less stress from worrying about enochian, and more time spent enjoying explosions.

Does the blackmage gameplay need to be made more interesting? It could be, I can agree with that. Personally though? I enjoy the simplicity of its rotation. Instead of dealing with most of the difficulty via managing mechanics that are intrinsic to the job's spells/abilities, the difficulty is instead offshored to managing movement, and the job gives us tools to handle it as we see fit during an encounter. This is where I think part of the complexity and its appeal comes from (other than critical+direct hit fouls).

[EllieShadeflare]

Back in mid 2015 right as Heavensward was released, you could've made a very good case for Blackmage adjustments though. Back then the enochian timer was 10 seconds, triplecast didn't exist, and the OGCD usage was counter intuitive to a casting class (especially without triplecast to weave in our OGCDs). Nowadays however, it's improved dramatically with a permanent enochian buff, 13 seconds on the timer, triplecast, between the lines, and with the next patch, faster AM recovery times. The issues have been dampened quite dramatically, thus leading to less stress from worrying about enochian, and more time spent enjoying explosions.

Some nitpicks: Enochian was 30s (with Blizzard IV refreshing it by 5s of the previously refreshed duration), it was entirely separate from the Astral Fire/Umbral Ice timer (which was expanded to 12s mid expansion) but yeah. Otherwise, right as rain.