BLM to SMN

[Minxcat]

Im a black mage lvl 17 at the moment and was wondering if i can become summoner as second job? and if so at what lvl can i do so?

and im looking for new spells but can only find two places so far....Sandy and Selbina both at ports...and they both have different blm spells....is there more places?

[Armando]

Somepage and FFXIclopedia are your friends.

You need to be Lv.30 to unlock extra jobs, and SMN isn't a very good sub job for BLM in general (but feel free to level it up as a main job if you want.)

For BLM sub jobs you'll primarily want WHM, though levelling up RDM as well is a good idea.

[Minxcat]

is it possible to then just become smn as main job...even though im blm at the moment?

[Ziero]

Once you get any job to 30 you can unlock the other 'advanced' jobs. At any time in the game you can switch between any and every job you want without penalty.

[Minxcat]

hey thanks!

[Ellipses]

It doesn't matter what job you are now. Once you unlock a job (or, for the starting 6, right from the start), you can switch to it any time you like.

You're probably not going to get very far as either BLM/SMN or SMN/BLM, though; you'll eventually end up leveling WHM (which you'd end up doing for BLM, too).

Somepage is not your friend, by the way. Somepage is, but he's that friend that's been telling you the same stories and talking about the same things for like a year now; they're great stories, but you've heard them so many times.

[Pteryx]

At 18, you can unlock subjob ability. I suggest levelling WHM as your sub in the short term. RDM will also be handy as you advance; BLM/RDM stops being disadvantagous over BLM/WHM at BLM28/RDM14 and its true advantages start to materialize at BLM30/RDM15, though /WHM will remain handy if a party reeeaaally needs you to backup heal.

As mentioned, the extra jobs can be quested starting at level 30. /WHM will become handy again when you unlock SMN, as unfortunately most people don't invite summoners to actually summon, but to main heal through the application of cures from /WHM. (Yes, the job has needed retooling for a long time.) SMN/BLM unfortunately doesn't work, as BLM's Magic Attack Bonus doesn't apply to your avatars' nukes, and half-levelled Elemental Magic equals entirely too many resists and thus too little damage to be remotely worth the MP spent on your own nukes.

However, don't give up hope yet. There is now, at last, a possible subjob for SMN other than /WHM: /SCH. You'll need the new Wings of the Goddess expansion pack to unlock it, but it'll let you do three things /WHM won't. One, as a healer you'll be even more efficient as SMN/SCH in the long run, as Light Arts reduces the MP cost of white magic spells. (Unfortunately, due to SE being stupid and making SCH get Cure II really late, the "long run" doesn't start until SMN34/SCH17.) Two, Dark Arts will give you Elemental Magic skill at a B ranking in your main job, so you can actually throw out your own nukes to small but potentially worthwhile effect between summons. Third, SCH does eventually gain Aspir, and thanks to Dark Arts (which also grants a B in Dark Magic) you can actually use it effectively.

As for BLM/SMN, there are worse combinations. Its main advantage is in MP thanks to SMN having the most and eventually getting Auto Refresh. However, it has the significant disadantage of providing very little ability to go into a support role if the party needs it and no significant ability to improve your damaging capability due to half-levelled summons being even more underpowered than main-level ones. SCH has become the better choice of sub for BLM for the MP-conscious, though it's only useful in party situations thanks to a lack of strong defensive spells. -- Pteryx

[Omniblast]

Level blm to 18.
Get sub job.
Level white mage to 37.
Get summoner.
Level Summoner till you get sick of it.

Well that's how I would have done it, had I known it should have been done that way.

[Susurrus]

Level blm to 18.
Get sub job.
Level white mage to 37.
Get summoner.
Level Summoner till you get sick of it.
Well that's how I would have done it, had I known it should have been done that way.

Seconded. The best way to do it in my opinion.

[Krut]

Sub whatever you want, it's your game. /whm is going yo get you party invites, but whm is boring as hell. Hey what do I know I'm just sayin, I know a girl who got to 75 as whm/thf thf/whm, one of the happiest FFXI players I ever met.

[IfritnoItazura]

I know a girl who got to 75 as whm/thf thf/whm, one of the happiest FFXI players I ever met.

...

Is Anna ... your heroine, by any chance?

[Satori]

I'm always hearing people talk of Anna but I've never stumbled upon her posts.
Are her posts here in these threads ?
I'd love to read her posts

[Nuriko]

I'm sure they're around somewhere, but I've never seen them. WHM/THF can only be called situational ... I've used it, but there was always a specific reason. TH for farming, Flee for getting somewhere in a bit more of a hurry or losing aggro, SA is handy in the "Saving Private Ryaaf" assault (as well as Flee)...

[Ellipses]

This got bumped to talk about Anna? Awesome.

I've only seen Anna posts on Alla. Though I don't really go looking for them, either.

[Magoo]

One of my favorite screenshots was from when I logged into Bhaf Thickets a few months ago next to a party meriting on Greater Colibri with a meleeing white mage.

It was my first sighting of our servers's biggest celebrity in action - I was lucky enough that Anna used sneak attack as I took the screenshot.

Edit:
P.S. She has since leveled summoner as a sub for her white mage because no one would take her into a sky/hnm linkshell.