Spells i should get,and spells that are worthless

[AtraposBLM]

Burn lowers the enemy int, which will decrease the difference between the blm's INT and the Mob's int (or increase the difference if the BLM already has more int). This can do several things:

1. If the blm previously did not have enough int to get the real damage equation, this boost in int can make you go from the "too low" damage equation to the "real" damage equation. That can sometimes mean *drastic* damage differences.

2. It can kick you from the "real" damage equation up to the "too high" damage equation. Again, potentially drastic damage differences.

Check the damage formula thread to find out what I'm talking about. I forgot all the abbreviations, but I'm talking about the limits and such on the IDF factor of spell damage.

Also, I've found that Burn greatly reduces the number of resists I suffer. It's usually good for at least a 10-15% reduction in resists, which says something, as I'm usually rocking +30/40 - +55 elemental magic skill, and using the appropriate staff per element.


It also helps RDM's land Gravity, which is much more effective at helping melee's land hits than frost is. It also helps land a few other enfeebles, but I forget which :sweat:

[Yuanlung]

Still depands on the situation. I don't know about you, but not every mob we pull is IT++. Some are IT+, IT, or even VT sometimes. We pull the weaker ones to either clear the pulling route or make an easy chain #5.

Shock + Frost usually work better on IT++ mobs. However, if you have a weaker mob and the melees have no problem hitting it, why not shock, burn and choke, which you can't use with frost either, and maximize your damage?

Also, even with harder mobs, I would sometimes overwrite Frost with burn just before my magic burst, then revert to frost if needed (a bit trickier but can be done).

[AtraposBLM]

Originally posted by wicked-jawsh
INT also increases BLM Nuke's dmg, but I would still HIGHLY suggest Frost over burn. Helping 3 melees hand their hits is much better than helping 1 BLM do 10-20dmg extra per nuke.

Oh, and yeah, if you're in a party with 3 melee's, a pld, a healer, and a blm, run. If you stay, use frost...but w/e


Don't consider PLD's as damage dealing melee's. Yes, you want to help them connect hits, but frost won't make much of a difference for them. But as I said, use your own judgement and adjust your usage of burn/frost accordingly. Also go by the gear all the players are using, and the difference in levels. Always try to even everything out.

[imstimpy]

At lv62, the PLD makes up for a whopping 5% of the total damage dealt. The NIN makes up a whopping 8% of the total. These are well constructed parties, so bad parties may have higher numbers since everybody has to pick up the slack. Typically, a PLD or NIN should not be considered when deciding between Burn or Frost.

The point I was trying to make in my post is that using either should be determined by party make-up, party equipment, and party levels compared to the monsters being fought.

In one of my exp sessions in Gustav Tunnel, I had an 89% hit rate contributing around 35% of the total damage for the party. Frost would have been a complete waste in that situation due to an already high accuracy, but the party WAS heavily melee oriented.

In the Labrynth of Onzozo, the pre-63 melee have an average hit rate of about 60%. This could necessitate Frost; however, there is a lot to consider. The damage of the THF and the WAR totals out to be around 2,200 compared to the BLM at 1,300-1,500. The THF gets most of the damage from using Sneak/Trick (near guaranteed hit) and Sneak/Trick + Dancing Edge which needs all the ACC possible to be consistant. The WAR damage is inclusive of accuracy, so Frost would be very beneficial here. Problem is, in this party I (the WAR) was accountable for only 20% of the total damage. The THF was good for 30% of the damage, while a lot of it was brought about through guaranteed hits. The BLM spamming Stone, Stonega, Stone II, and Stonega III was good for 35-40% of the total damage. As you can see, there is no clear-cut answer as to which is best since either side could receive benefit from the right spell.

Whether it is a placebo effect or not, I have noticed when Frost is not being used while a melee. While I'm a BLM, the melee almost immediately notice when Frost is not being used while fighting really hard mobs. I've also seen an extra 20-30 damage on one spell at lv25, so the benefit is there for the BLM and Burn, too.

[Tetsura]

As many have already mentioned it is indeed situational IMO. If you find that you are facing a IT++ or a monster that the melee seem to be unable to hit affectively (torama ), thus slowing down TP gain and therefore SC's and MB's, it is in your best interest to Frost the mob.

On the other hand if you are facing a VT/IT that seems to be easier for the melee to hit, and TP is accumulating at a acceptable rate, or you have 2 or more Blm's in the party, then feel free to use Burn to get that extra 'umph out of your spells.

Of course there are situations that demand some special thought, but as a general rule i usually reserve Burn only for partys that are 2 or more Blm's present (which btw IMHO is the coolest )

Guess it all comes down to experience and common sense :spin: