Question about casters

[FreyaCrescent]

are blackmages in demand? looking to maybe play one or go healer if they are pretty popular id rather just stick to leveling my tank or a healer what have you guys seen?

[SugarPeanut]

From what I understand is the top two highest dps is Bard and Blackmage - in that order? But I never hear complaints when im doing things on my Blackmage :P love the uitlities it has too for a DPS <3 However, I don't see as many of them as other classes ( *cough* bard haha )

[FreyaCrescent]

haha cool leveling war and blm at same time

[DawnNoMoreRises]

it really depends on the world you're playing on.
as for Phoenix, I don't see that many (LV50) BLM's running about....

[Anova]

Blackmages are actually rare. I've only come across 3 or 4 thaums so far in dungeons, and only 1 was past lvl 30. Their sleep and hard cc is a godsend for parties though, especially for a tank who can't handle mobs or is undergeared. I really think they're an underappreciated class.

BTW, I know there is some demand for BLMs in FCs on the Leviathan server. It's not as high as the demand for healers or tanks, but it ranks pretty close.

[Naberrie]

I was actually noticing this recently. Just finished leveling THM to 26 for Swiftcast and it occurred to me that I rarely see BLMs running around. I've never seen anyone in full BLM AF on any of the three servers I play on. So I might stick with it.

[Darkstride]

Black Mage was altered quite a but for ARR. As it is now, there is no real damage skill difference between THM and BLM. The job-specific abilities are somewhat useless utility and BLM has access to a much smaller cross-class skill pool. Freeze in 1.0 used to be a high damage attack with a hate wipe which made it valuable, for instance. Now it is a bind with an unusual cast time and limited usefulness. Convert used to swap HP and MP and Burst (which no longer exists) used to do higher damage at lower HP....which made them work hand-in-hand.

Black Mage in ARR doesn't have much that makes it superior in any way to THM and the class has more versatility. For a job that should be heavily damage focused, the job-specific skills are more defensive. I would say that may be why you don't see as many Black Mages running around as you would think.

I still have my BLM 50 in full AF from version 1.0 and although I like the THM spells, the BLM job doesn't really shine for me anymore.

[jcw005]

BLM isn't as popular as you'd expect. The class is rather different from what you'd expect of a typical MMO mage-class, and doesn't really strike many as fun. Additionally, for the moment, the Bard is superior in nearly every aspect. When it comes to what's in demand as far as groups are concerned, then tanks are first - particularly the Paladin, followed by healers. When it comes to DPS, Bards are the most sought after, and then everything else after that is more or less on equal ground.

[FreyaCrescent]

yeah one down fall though is if i decide to heal it wont be as a white mage it will be as a scholar who dosnt need either of the 2 blm prerequisites lol

[Naberrie]

If you're playing as SCH I highly recommend leveling THM to 26 for Swiftcast. You'll become increasingly dependent on Eos for healing and if she goes down at the wrong time you won't have time to summon her again. You want Swiftcast. I have a 37 SCH on Ixion. Just trust me and level THM to 26.