Black Mage, 2 methods I learned for rotation, which is superior for dps?

[Sylvina]

One of my friends tells me I can get more dps by skipping blizz3 after the first cast by transposing into ice, another tells me its more dps to use blizz3 to switch to umbral ice whenever possible, which is more dps?

also I am pretty happy with the current state of black mage as is, after the fire 4 buff it feels like its in a good place.

[Kurando]

Well using Blizz III gives you an instant 3 stack of Umbral Ice, as opposed to Transpose which is only 1 stack. The more stacks you have then the more MP you recover (in Umbral) or the more Fire damage you deal (in Astral). Generally it's recommended to avoid Transpose unless you can't avoid it i.e. you need to dodge an aoe and casting isn't an option etc, so most rotations out there will have you maximising Blizz III and Fire III to keep up those stacks in between switches.

[Zerathor]

Use b3. SOMETIMES blizzard 4 skipping to do 5 f4s is a dps gain, but only if you can assure your MP will be full before using f3 (having a t3p and a foul with a nearly instant mp tic after b3 is finished), and you watch mp tics/have a foul/t3p to use after the next b3 since you'll have not enough mp after that b3 to b4 and possibly not a foul depending on your timer, and you don't want to wait for a tic, as that will negate any gain and leave you negative. Even done correctly it's just a small gain, so unless you're really comfortable with a fight I wouldn't really recommend it. Remember, unless you're watching your mp tics and timing it properly, you don't want to end umbral ice with a non proc t3, as it will result in not getting 6 f4's with b4, and not getting 5 f4's without b4.

Depending on your sps, this skip may potentially mess up your foul timing as well, so do with caution. It is a gain, but the amount of risk involved for a very mild gain is still really iffy.

Also a gain in a scenario where the boss will be untargetable and you won't get off all 6 f4s.

[Shurrikhan]

Keep in mind also that B3 from AF3 and F3 from UI3 are each only a GCD in cast time, whereas if you Transpose, the return to AF3 via F3 is going to cost you another .4 GCDs due to facing F3's full cast time, making the transpose only a .6 GCD gain. I'd only ever recommend it if you have at least 2 out of 3 among (a) Thundercloud, (b) Foul, and (c) lucky/early MP tick, and it's situational even then.

[Frizze]

Wait, are we talking about a single target boss fight rotation, or a giant mob pack aoe rotation? On a single target you always want to end your astral fire state with enough MP to use B3 to swap stacks(and it typically lines up very nicely to do so). You get a faster cast, go to straight to full ice stacks, and get all your mana(technically more then all your mana) back in 2 ticks rather then 3-4. On an aoe rotation you often end your astral fire round with a cast of Flare, leaving you at 0 mana and forcing you to transpose. In this case yes, you do more damage by skipping B3 during your umbral phase.

[Sylvina]

Wait, are we talking about a single target boss fight rotation, or a giant mob pack aoe rotation? On a single target you always want to end your astral fire state with enough MP to use B3 to swap stacks(and it typically lines up very nicely to do so). You get a faster cast, go to straight to full ice stacks, and get all your mana(technically more then all your mana) back in 2 ticks rather then 3-4. On an aoe rotation you often end your astral fire round with a cast of Flare, leaving you at 0 mana and forcing you to transpose. In this case yes, you do more damage by skipping B3 during your umbral phase.

I've been doing blizz4 (umbral hearts) Fire 3, Flare Flare convert Flare pot Flare, Foul (sometimes x2) on big mob packs. is this good?

[Numenor1379]

I've been doing blizz4 (umbral hearts) Fire 3, Flare Flare convert Flare pot Flare, Foul (sometimes x2) on big mob packs. is this good?

That is the correct BLM AoE rotation, mostly. Add in Thunder 4 and use it's procs whenever you get them.

[Sylvina]

That is the correct BLM AoE rotation, mostly. Add in Thunder 4 and use it's procs whenever you get them.

Totally forgot to mention that, but I usually remember to use it lol.

[VileIves]

Blizzard 3.

With Transpose, your Fire III to leave UI will be twice as slow and cost twice as much MP as it would if you were at UI3 for only a 0.2x bonus to potency to one of our least-powerful, MP-heavy spells. Plus at UI1 you would need three MP ticks, or even four if you are unlucky to be at full MP going back into fire.

Using Blizzard 3 gets you into UI just as fast (albeit at the end of the GCD instead of the start) and back into AF faster. Transpose is best delegated to "I might drop Enochian if I don't" or "I just Flare'd all my MP to 0."

[PyurBlue]

Keeping up AF/UI 3 lets you weave Triplecast, Sharpcast, Swiftcast, Addle, Diversion, Lucid, etc after the accelerated Fire III/Blizzard III cast. If you're using Manashift, you'll also want B3's faster MP regen. FIII being so long to cast also makes it harder to get off during mechanic heavy fights where as the accelerated III spells are pretty safe and reliable. I don't use transpose unless absolutely necessary.