Blm in crisis

[Satori]

Hi there I'm normally a Whm as my main but i took it to lvl 20, and decided to level blm to 20 too to use as my sub so i can take whm to 40. Anyway as blm i know im meant to nuke and stuff but how do i know what to use and when? I know it may seem dumb but in the dunes Aero seemed to be most effective on the mobs compared to the other spells i have.
I feel like im letting the side down as I'm not sure i'm playing to the best of my ability. I am thankfull in advance for any advice you may give me. I refuse to be like many others I've seen who say I'm only levelling my sub bacause to me that says that they care what they do or if they die. But my opinion is it ISN'T your sub, for that short time you use it its your main and you should do that job as best as you can as if you had the intention to take it to 75!

I hope you guys can do something for me! thanks love Satori

[Ellipses]

With nuking, you have to know the target mob's strengths and weaknesses. For example, Goblins are only weak to Light, and have no particular strengths, while Crabs are weak to Ice and Lightning and strong to Water.

When you're facing an enemy that has no strengths to worry about (Goblins), and you don't have a spell that targets its weakness (Goblins), you can generally use your top two or three nukes regardless of element. When you're facing an enemy that does have strengths (Crabs), and you have spells that target its weaknesses (Crabs), you should avoid the spells they're strong against and concentrate on their weaknesses. You'll pretty much just have to learn these strengths and weaknesses, or keep some kind of reference handy and look at it for the two or three types of mobs any given party is fighting.

That doesn't mean just spam Blizzard and Thunder on Crabs, though. Fire and Aero can be effective as well, and if your party has a skillchain, you obviously should Magic Burst the appropriate spell. Really it comes down to MP efficiency and getting the most bang for your buck. Blizzard and Thunder may be more powerful than Fire and Aero overall, but they also take more MP. If you can do more damage with two Aeros than one Thunder, it makes more sense to go with two Aeros.

This is largely something you have to find through experimentation and paying attention. Personally, on the way up to 38, I found myself casting my 3rd and 4th most powerful nukes fairly often, MBing as strongly as I could, and Draining whenever it was up (most MP-efficient damage spell there is). I'd go with the most powerful two spells maybe once or twice per fight.

[Zamphire]

Simple Answer: Use whatever does the most damage.

As a black mage that's your job, putting out damage. Now, if your group is making a skill chain you need to magic burst off it. Go over to http://adennak.com/ and either print out his Renkai (Japanese for Skill Chain) chart or memorize the elements used to burst. So say your group is making Fusion skill chain, cast Fire as soon as you see the animation from Fusion and it will magic burst giving your spell even more damage.

Other than that, sit back and have fun dishing out damage. Just try not to pull too much hate.