BLM Gear

[Chidori]

Hi everyone new to FFXI and getting the hang of the game was wondering wut gear should i be wearing for a 55 BLM/27 WHM or wait until my af gear because i have the following things equiped:

HQ Staves
Seers Crown +1
Seers Tunic
Seers Mitts +1
Seers Slacks
Seers Pumps +1
Electrum Ring
Mana Ring
Enhancing Earrings
Black Earrings
Bloodbead Amulet
Adepts Rope
Red Cape

THX

[Murphie]

You're new to the game but you have full HQ staves?

[Mog]

HQ Staves
Seers Crown +1
Seers Tunic
Seers Mitts +1
Seers Slacks
Seers Pumps +1
Electrum Ring
Mana Ring
Enhancing Earrings
Black Earrings
Bloodbead Amulet
Adepts Rope
Red Cape


How many HQ's do you have? You're definately going to want all elemental staves to enhance whatever element you're casting on the mob. Also, what race are you? What gear you need kinda depends on the race you are. Anyways, here's what I'd use at 55:

Head: Seers Crown +1
Body: Royal Squire Robe
Hands: Wizard's gloves
Legs: Seers Slacks
Feet: Wizard's Sabots

Practically.....all of your seers gear will last you until you start getting AF. At 55, you want to get your first two pieces of artifact armor. Personally, I used Royal Squire Robe instead of Seers tunic +1. I like defense. :)

Ring: Genius Ring
Ring: Genius Ring

You're going to want to purchase intelligence rings.....however, if you're elvaan or a race where mp is deficient, definately stick with the MP rings and perhaps try to pick up an astral ring and(or) ether ring in the future.

Ear: Moldavite
Ear: Morion

You want a moldavite earring, hands down. Camp it, do whatever is necessary to obtain this earring. It will last you until endgame. Also consider getting a morion earring, for the added intelligence.

Neck: Black Silk Neckerchief

I don't see why you'd need a bloodbead amulet....you shouldn't be getting hit a lot as blm, unless you overnuke. o.O Anyways, try to pick up a Blacksilk Neckerchief, or quest it. It's fairly easy to get.

Waist: Adepts rope or Mercenery captains belt

Depends on your preference: mp or int.

Back: red cape

Yeah, I used Red Cape +1 until level 72. Definitely a keeper.

You're new to the game but you have full HQ staves?

I can't figure that out either.

[Chidori]

Sry probably i meant Elemental staves not sure if there the same as hq staves but my friends told me to get elemental staves to help boost my elemental magic casting to do m ore damage

[Mog]

Sry probably i meant Elemental staves not sure if there the same as hq staves but my friends told me to get elemental staves to help boost my elemental magic casting to do m ore damage

HQ = High Quality. They have the funny God names: Auster, Terra, Jupiter, etc.

[Chidori]

Okay yea I have the cheaper ones not the funny named ones

[Kirsteena]

Ok you are a 55 blm and you don't know what elemental staves do and are relying on a friend to tell you? Again, I express concern...

[Murphie]

Yeah, beyond the HQ staves question (which was answered) I was confused how a 55 BLM is considered "new to FFXI".

But Mog's gear advice is pretty sound.

[Chidori]

Well at the time I was using a Dusty Staff that gave me more MP i was only concernd with more mp for nuking until my firends said that i needed those staff I never knew that there was elemental staffs but no one ever complained.

[Chidori]

Well again I dont know that much about ffxi im playing because my friend started playing and he said I should try and Im hooked on ffxi but dont know that much about the game

[Kirsteena]

Most people kind of start at level 1 and learn the job as they level up...

Being given or buying an account at 50+ and not knowing some of the basics can be dangerous to themselves and the rest of the party they are in as they don't necessarily know basic dynamics...

[Chidori]

well I have lvled from the start its just that im not that good at telling wut kinda gear I should be having on because most of the time my character is gimped i dont know wut stats should I have because im a taru not sure wut gear to buy to raise my stats so that I dont look so gimped thanks for evry1s help

[Kirsteena]

I'm sorry but you can't get 55 levels on a hard to level job such as blm without knowing vaguely what sort of gear to use... Well you can, but those players often look as if they threw their keyboard on the ground when choosing their names... ;)

[Haggai]

I'm sorry but you can't get 55 levels on a hard to level job such as blm without knowing vaguely what sort of gear to use... Well you can, but those players often look as if they threw their keyboard on the ground when choosing their names... ;)
I've never seen it described like that, but it fits perfectly! :thumbsup:

As for getting BLM55 with a properly leveled sub and not knowing about staves... Sounds suspicious to me too. It generally means a bought/gifted account, or that the person has read absolutely nothing online about his/her job. Any guide (general or gear specific) will mention Elemental Staves. They won't just mention them, they will tell you that Dark and Ice Staves are the two most important for a Black Mage. It is my opinion that if you do not have the money to buy at least those two staves when you hit 51, that you should stop and farm until you can buy them.

[Chidori]

you can get to higher lvls without know the job that well because all I thought that a blm does is nuke so I did that most of the time and back up healing and I just recently got a dark staff because of the mp healing so i can heal my mp faster

[Icemage]

Hi everyone new to FFXI
Sorry, but I agree with the above posters. It very much looks like you bought your account and have no idea what you're doing with it. As such, you're going to get very little respect from the general FFXI populace.


HQ Staves
Seers Crown +1
Seers Tunic
Seers Mitts +1
Seers Slacks
Seers Pumps +1
Electrum Ring
Mana Ring
Enhancing Earrings
Black Earrings
Bloodbead Amulet
Adepts Rope
Red Cape


- Why would a BLM wear Seer's Pumps at all (much less the HQ version). Inferno Sabotons or AF please.
- Why would a BLM55 wear Seer's Mitts+1 over Wizard's Gloves (AF1, Lv54)?
- Why would anyone wear a Bloodbead Amulet (and in the case of BLMs, what self-respecting Black Mage isn't wearing something like Black Silk Neckerchief since level 20?)

I don't buy your story about thinking BLM is about nuking - if that were the case, your gear decisions would be very different - and if your "friend" has been playing, they'd have known all of this as well.


Icemage

[Ameroth]

I don't buy your story about thinking BLM is about nuking

Ya I was going to ask about your lack of knowledge concerning MB, elements, debuffs, enfeebles, etc.

[Chidori]

Well at the time when I was lvling and I can use the baron gear that my friend let me use i lvled to 35 and then he need the gear back because he needed gils and he said that the seer's gears r better for me so I used that gear til 55 im using the bloodamulet because im was concernd with have hp when I was lvl cause I didnt want to die when I pted. the reason y I dont have some of my af gear is because the ppl thats helping me r busy wit dynamis cop zm promy and sky so I wanted to wait until lvl 60 so that I can wear the whold af gear set also im not that great on enfeebling and debuffs I hardly debuff the mob beacause i hardly dont understand that thats y the skill lvl is only around 100 and as for my elemental and dark magic I always cap those because I use those magic the most and as for mb im great as long as evry1 teles me wut they r doin.

[Mog]

Well at the time when I was lvling and I can use the baron gear that my friend let me use i lvled to 35 and then he need the gear back because he needed gils and he said that the seer's gears r better for me so I used that gear til 55 im using the bloodamulet because im was concernd with have hp when I was lvl cause I didnt want to die when I pted. the reason y I dont have some of my af gear is because the ppl thats helping me r busy wit dynamis cop zm promy and sky so I wanted to wait until lvl 60 so that I can wear the whold af gear set also im not that great on enfeebling and debuffs I hardly debuff the mob beacause i hardly dont understand that thats y the skill lvl is only around 100 and as for my elemental and dark magic I always cap those because I use those magic the most and as for mb im great as long as evry1 teles me wut they r doin.

{I don't understand} Can you type properly please?

[Necropolis]

Well I too find it odd about you lack of knowledge, but have to admit I had no idea what I was doing as whm till later on in the 50s.

I bought seers gear and wore it till AF for whm, and having friends in the game doesn't mean they always tell you *why* you need something, thier either just say you *need* this, and maybe help you get it.

Why at you level you lack some of the basic knowledge about the game confuses me a little, but I suppose some people do not dedicate themselves as much as others to learn as much. I tried reading forums and what not when I started but didn't understand many of the topics, so absorbed little to no knowledge from them. But before I made the stretch from 50s to 75 I took time out to level some other jobs and learn more about the machinations set by this game.

Well I believe the other posters in this thread are more vertern players I have only been playing 4 months, and I believe it is a lot harder to get started in this game than it was two years ago. Harder to obtain information in game, hard to start a source of income, and harder to navigate in general for people who are not familier with MMORPGS in general.

I remember when I started with no keyboard for my Xbox I ran around Windy for two days thinking it was the whole world, wondering where I was suppose to kill things >.>

And yes I was the newb taru in the dunes with no pants, the newb in the jungles with the race ring and empress band, and the newb that was kicked from a party in Garliage Citidal for have the same equipment from the dunes. So before you all burn Chidori at the stake for a lack of knowledge, try to understand how hard it is to get situated in the game if you are new to a 3 year old game, and never played a MMORPG before.

I think 55 is a bit high to be a newb to that degree, so serious please spend some time learning the concepts in the game before leveling further.

Necropolis

(P.S. I blame my newbness on being an Allakhazam & Killing Ifrit captive before finding this site)

[Icemage]

Actually information on FFXI is ridiculously easy to acquire now, compared to what it was like 3 and a half years ago when I started playing. :P Allakhazam didn't exist. Killing Ifrit didn't exist. FFXIclopedia didn't exist. Somepage didn't exist. Mysterytour was mostly Japanese. FFXIOnline's knowledgeable membership consisted mostly of JP players who understood English and a small number of importers who could understand Japanese, and most "information" was mostly hearsay or untested theories, much of which was inaccurate, or sometimes just wrong.

There's really no excuse these days for being generally uninformed since there are so many readily available venues for basic information.

P.S. All I can say to someone who says they wear Bloodbead Amulet (+15HP) because they're afraid of getting KO'd while simultaneously using an Electrum Ring (MP+20 HP-20) is just... /sigh.


Icemage

[massaranger]

any gear with int and or mp boost and those staffs help to just use macros to change gear when casting spells of the element to enhance the spell. hey common guys give the kid a break and anwser his question so we can end this noobness. also check about ur af gear (artifact gear in which u have to complete some quest to get) if u need any help just message me im on most weekdays.

[Chveya]

<snip>...I suppose some people do not dedicate themselves as much as others to learn as much.I want to believe this person did not buy their account, so I think the above quote applies very well to this situation. Personally, I enjoy researching my job, discovering the best gear for my level and/or duties, and honing my strategy and skills for partying. I know people in game that just don't seem to care as much as I do. I've been told by a lvl 50 BLM that "gear choice makes no difference for BLM." That statement answered a lot of questions I had about his gear setup >.>

I've been told by complete strangers (after being /checked) that I need such-and-such piece of gear, and it stings a bit to hear that when I've worked so hard at my set. But, I take it in stride and do research to find out if the piece really suits me.

<snip>...having friends in the game doesn't mean they always tell you *why* you need something, thier either just say you *need* this, and maybe help you get it. Or you could have someone like me as a friend, who is too chicken to give unsolicited advice. It's one thing to give advice to the subjobless newb WAR who is using a G Sword, but its another more difficult thing to tell a friend that their gear could stand for improvement. There is a particular 'gimped' person I know to whom I have been dropping hints, suggestions, and even offered to loan my gear. No dice. This person continues on their gimped merry way, and unless I come out and say "Your gear sucks," I don't think they will get the picture. Is it worth it to keep pressing the issue? Or should I just drop it and let them worry about their own game (not that it keeps me up at night - it just bugs me to see)?

[Necropolis]

Actually information on FFXI is ridiculously easy to acquire now, compared to what it was like 3 and a half years ago when I started playing. :P Allakhazam didn't exist. Killing Ifrit didn't exist. FFXIclopedia didn't exist. Somepage didn't exist. Mysterytour was mostly Japanese. FFXIOnline's knowledgeable membership consisted mostly of JP players who understood English and a small number of importers who could understand Japanese, and most "information" was mostly hearsay or untested theories, much of which was inaccurate, or sometimes just wrong.

There's really no excuse these days for being generally uninformed since there are so many readily available venues for basic information.

P.S. All I can say to someone who says they wear Bloodbead Amulet (+15HP) because they're afraid of getting KO'd while simultaneously using an Electrum Ring (MP+20 HP-20) is just... /sigh.


Icemage

Well I can certainly understand that the information is more readily available for those who seek it, but for people inexperienced, it can still quiet confusing. Which it probaly the reason he posted a thread to ask. Many gamers do not like using guides and what not and consider it cheating, or takes away from the experience. I would really be interested in how people originally figured out many of the quest/missions in this game...

<Player1> Ok guys, we gotta find a Mithra somewhere in Vandiel that has a M name...
<Player2> Oh...thats all?
<Player1> Umm...I don't know, but lets start in Windy, thats where they hang out right?
*6 months later*
<Player1> WOOT!!! Found the mithra in Rabao!!!
<Player2> Ok, whats next?

But when I started I didn't like to ask for help, or information. I always listened when it was offered, but for those that don't do much research out side of the game are going to be at a disadvantage.

There are many reasons how this person could be a legitimate player, yet know so little.

1. S/he is young, like 8-14 age range...(although I suppose most of us are in our 20s) and therefore not as well versed in researching information.

2. This person has a limited time online and would rather play the game as opposed to read through mountains of info trying to find the topic that they have a question about.
Ask yourself, if you have 8 hours to play, do you want to play for 8 hours, or read about playing for 8 hours?

3. Like myself has become enthralled with this game that all they want to do is level and level and level to 75!!! I consider myself a newb even though I have a 75 character. I've played four months, which is but a drop in the bucket to many of my friends that have played for 2 or 3 years.

Weather or not this character was gifted or legitimate (albeit uninformed) I think it would be best to try and catch him up to par as opposed to flame him.

*On a side note I find it funny the amount people research into this game, I swear some players put more research into this game than I put into my Master's thesis.

*On another side note* In a social LS of mine there is a 55RDM/27SAM, while he has okayish gear he gets flamed a lot for playing a job different from the norm. I wouldn't want to party with him, but he refuses to level a mage subjob, so I leave it be. From now on, I offer advice when given, but shut my trap when I think it wont be welcome. He has achieved a decent level like this, I don't know how, but it goes to show you that even people who level from 1 can still get to high levels without knowing a thing.

[shigo]

...or read about playing for 8 hours?...
lol hell yeah! :D



no, seriously tho

[Gwynn]

Well, I too find your lack of knowledge and experience to be a little suspicious, but I'm always willing to give people the benefit of a doubt, so I'll just say this: The best thing for you to do at this point, in my opinion, is to read around the Black Mage forum here for a while. Read the stickies. Look in the backlogs for a thread that you feel you migh be able to learn from and read through it. Truth be told, the answers to pretty much any normal question you want to ask about gear and party tactics at your level you'll probably be able to find somewhere on the forums.

I know that I was scouring all of the forums here before I even got the game (or before I even signed up for an account on the forums, for that matter) for information and tips that I could use to help keep my noobdom in FFXI to a minimum. Most importantly, just be openminded and listen to advice from more experienced players when they give it to you. Unless they're being asshats about it... then theres my wonderful little friend called the /blacklist.

[Version2.32]

well just concern on mainly : Elemental magic skill > Magic Attack Bonus > INT > MP(depending on ur gear) and then go through spell interruption etc.

[Altariel]

If you have some help with camping the NM's here are some options you can/should consider:

Body: Shaman's Cloak from Centurio XI (godly until you get Black Cloak). You'll still keep Seer's to macro in while healing though.
Earring: Moldavite from Mysticmaker Profblix (godly for the rest of the game)
Hands: Mycophile Cuffs from Mycophile (no +INT over Seer's but the +MND is okay for backup cures and its the only -enm gear that is attainable early on)
Legs: Magic Slacks from Intulo. These aren't rare/ex but the AH price isn't worth the negligable increase. The drop rate on this rate is stupidly low.

And a couple of quest items:
Earring: Cunning Earring (easy Sandy quest)
Neck: Black Silk Neckerchief (easy Bastok quest)

Other notes:
Feet: If you're Hume, your RSE is stellar and will last you to the 70's.
Waist: I prefer the Merc. Captain's Belt for the +INT build over +MP
Rings: I'd use Zircon rings or Eremite's at least for the same reason.
Back: It's nice to have a Gramary Cape on hand if you're nuking stuff and find you're getting a fair number of partial resists.

[Buzer]

- Why would a BLM55 wear Seer's Mitts+1 over Wizard's Gloves (AF1, Lv54)?
- Why would anyone wear a Bloodbead Amulet (and in the case of BLMs, what self-respecting Black Mage isn't wearing something like Black Silk Neckerchief since level 20?)
1st question: That's not even bad yet... I used Linen Cuffs unitl 60 :( (had problems getting help with DS fight).
2nd: Used Justice Badge unitl like 48. That's when a friend lend his black silk neckerchief.

Yes, I do hate farming :(. Trying to pick up on Cooking now since I have like 50 stacks/clusters of crystals on mule...
But yeah, I do know about the game mechanics & gears pretty much, but the problem is that I'm either too lazy to get them or can't get them (for example, NM fights. Living in EU, so playing times differ from most on the ls).

The great thing about taru black mage: You can survive with gimped gear fairly well. Even if others have better gears, they most likely will have about same int/mp as I do. The only time I remember someone even somehow suggesting me I suck (not that I take him too seriously tho) was when we were fighting Puks. Puk half hp -> another Puk aggroes -> I manage to sleep it -> finish first -> start killing 2nd -> 3rd aggroes -> sleep -> wears off while still killing 2nd -> 4th aggroes -> all sleeps fail. So we have 3 Puks on us, all sleeps still on recast. People shouting me to sleep. The result is guessable. Leader then is like "{Good job} >:(" and disbands party. Everyone else was seemed neutral tho (rest of the party was JPs (except leader)). Got Raise II from the whm & warped everyone back then.

Besides that, on the manaburns (not in reg parties) I have been usually told to get AF. So I don't think I suck way too much even when my gear is gimped.

[Kirsteena]

Frankly, if you got that many links, you were in the wrong camp, and failing to sleep all of them isn't totally your fault, however, I never had any troubles sleeping any links I got - AF coat helps you with that when you are at the level to fight puks.

EU times never stopped me from getting anything done, even when I was in a US based ls, just took creative timing and forward planning. And being told during manaburns to get AF does suggest that people DO think your gear is gimp.

I guess, it just confuses me when people are too lazy to get half respectable gear. Especially when some of the gear, like Black Silk Neckerchief is a quested item.

[Buzer]

If I remember right, I was level 56 or 57, so I couldn't have used coat yet anyway (I used ES already on the first link. Otherwise I could have done ES+Sleepga and pray when there was 3). I got resisted on manaburns about as much as everyone else (only time I remember getting constantly resited sleep was on those blm gobs (like everyone else) @ Bibiki bay since we weren't using ES sleep. I did suggest it tho, but others wanted to trust on bard's sleep & us on back up. I used ES sleep on those when it was up tho, so about half of the time). Of course, people will tell me get AF gears. It's nothing suprising. However, since I perform about as well people that have AF gears/better, I just work on them slowly when people have time to help. I usually try to do things unitl the point where I need help (like I soloed Mission 4-1 unitl Beadeaux since I can't solo the NMs there. Also solo'ed 60cap unitl Castle Oztroja. I know it's possible to solo that even, but it's pretty hard. Managed to get my testimony while we were there tho. lol).

I sometimes tell people jokingly to get novio earring (friends mainly). It's pretty much any blm's dream gear as you know. Is person gimped gear-wise if they don't have it? Yes, but there is very few people (on any job) that aren't gimped gear wise. It's just that how much person is gimped. I know my gears are a lot more gimped than people's that are just missing novio (or many other gears like hq staves. Not that I have either).

[Kirsteena]

Puks at 56/57 are way out of league - I wouldn't touch them till 60+ frankly.

And there is a difference between upgrading to dream gear, such as HQ staves etc, and not having simple, cheap, easily getable gear such as Black Neckerchief... I personally refuse to level if I don't have stuff like that.

Call me elistist if you like.

[Buzer]

Well, I have been on Puks 5 times. First time, it really didn't go well and we moved quite fast. Second party did well on them. Third party was that bad one. Fourth party was weird manaburn (5x blm, 1x pld). We did great (hitting chain #5 occasionaly without refresher). Fifth was regular party and we did great. The range on what level I was for those parties were like 55 (maybe 56)-59. Parties 1, 2 & 4 were on the same camp. 3rd was a bit east from previous camp if I remember right. Pretty sure 5th was near one of Mamook's entertances.