How good of a BLM can an Elvaan make?

[Kainryu]

Please tell if this is viable or should I make a new character and go with hume or taru? Please tell me honestly how good of a mage can it make?

[aszid]

if you read down the list about 10 topics you would have found what you were looking for, rather than spamming.

http://ffxionline.com/forums/showthr...threadid=33580

[maytrix]

They iight.

[locust]

i am a blm lvl 24 and i seem to be fine. no one has ever said anything about me being an elvaan blm. anyways i think you should just go for it

[Beener]

Elvaan have the lowest INT in the game, the most important stat for BLM

Elvaan have the 2nd lowest MP in the game, the 2nd most important stat in the game.

Simply put, as an Elvaan BLM, you could have all of the absolute best BLM gear and be far worse off than an AVERAGE Taru, or even Hume/Mithra BLM.

Certainly you'd get invites, but your contribution to your team would be well below what it could be.

[UnnamedGalka]

There's absolutely nothing wrong with being a "cookie cutter" character, but I don't understand why so many people (NA players in particular) obsess over them and continually talk down players who have "unconventional" race/job combos. I've seen so much trash talk about Elvaan/Galkan mages and Taru melee it makes me sick; with the way these naysayers talk, it's like they expect everyone to have a cookie cutter character.

To hell with that. This is Final Fantasy XI, not the Borg collective. Be whatever you want to be.

An Elvaan BLM is a challenge to raise, sure...but you can be excellent if you're willing to put the required effort into your character. Hell, I've partied with Elvaan BLMs that were inifinitely better than many Taru BLMs I've come across.

Remember, in the end, it's your own skill that will dictate whether or not you're a good player, not your character's race.

[locust]

that made me feel good mr. unamed galka

[Rynhart]

Unconventinal Race/Jobs are okay IF and only if you keep your gear top-notch. I would turn down a Elvaan Blm that had no +Int and +MP gear, but I've seen good ones too.

It's all about commitment!

[MidgardPlas]

Play whatever race/job combo you want to...just be aware that you will be working at a disadvantage (one that becomes more and more significant as you level higher) and that you will almost always be a "last pick" BLM. In other words, parties will only invite you if all the Taru/Hume/Mithra BLMs have been taken or if somebody in the party already knows you and can vouch for your skill and equipment.

At level 75, a Taru BLM has 669 HP, 844 MP, and 84 INT base. Elvaan BLMs at the same level have 1016 HP, 540 MP, and 62 INT base. That is a GIGANTIC difference in stats, and one you could never hope to make up in equipment, no matter how much money you had.

To be on par with a Taru, an Elvaan would have to wear *SIX* Serket Rings (worth 1.5 million each on Midgard) and get an additional +22 INT from his equipment (+INT doesn't come cheap either, a +3 INT ring will set you back 70k and a +1 INT earring costs over 100k).

I am so tired of people saying "well, Elvaan/Galka BLMs can be better than Tarus if they are really skilled and have great equipment". What makes you think a Taru BLM can't possess the same level of skill and wear the same great equipment for an even bigger advantage? If you're really serious about being the best BLM you can possibly be, then you'll reroll your character as a Taru. If you are just playing this game casually and never plan on reaching the end-game, then an Elvaan BLM should not hurt you too much.

I'm not saying any of this stuff because I hate Elvaan/Galka BLMs or anything like that...I know a couple and they are great players and do their jobs well. I'm saying it because almost every single non-Taru high level BLM I've ever talked to has regretted their decision to choose a race other than Taru and I'm trying to keep new players from making the same mistake. Hell, I even know Hume/Mithra BLMs who have quit playing BLM out of frustration because they would spend weeks doing nothing but farming to buy better equipment only to meet a Taru BLM their level with crappy equipment and better stats.

[Aurege]

Originally posted by MidgardPlas
If you are just playing this game casually and never plan on reaching the end-game, then an Elvaan BLM should not hurt you too much.

I'm not saying any of this stuff because I hate Elvaan/Galka BLMs or anything like that...I know a couple and they are great players and do their jobs well. I'm saying it because almost every single non-Taru high level BLM I've ever talked to has regretted their decision to choose a race other than Taru and I'm trying to keep new players from making the same mistake. Hell, I even know Hume/Mithra BLMs who have quit playing BLM out of frustration because they would spend weeks doing nothing but farming to buy better equipment only to meet a Taru BLM their level with crappy equipment and better stats.

uh. yeah.

Elvaan mages can contribute to hnm/dynamis/exp pt just as much as any other mage. ive hnm'd with plenty...

I dont know where the hell you got elvaan blm's cant do anything end-game. i also dont know if youve even looked around the boards, but from what ive seen 3 of the top blms on ragnarok are elvaan.

Are your freinds obsessive about being the most uber, elite, etc. char in the whole game? hell, im am (or, for right now, was) elvaan summoner. i didnt constantly think about quitting cause tarus have more mp. I thought about it this way: i look damn sexy, and get lots of pts. so as long as i had fun and enjoyed my char, it didnt matter.

[Rones]

Everytime I party with a taru blm or whm who has such awful equipment compared to me yet still more mp is extremely despressing. It would be even worse as an elvaan, you could sink 500k into the best equipment possible, yet the taru with equipment worth 20k would still have better stats than you. Its just sad to put so much work into your character only to have it beat by someone who doesn't even put a tenth of your effort into their character.

[Aurege]

Originally posted by Rones
Everytime I party with a taru blm or whm who has such awful equipment compared to me yet still more mp is extremely despressing. It would be even worse as an elvaan, you could sink 500k into the best equipment possible, yet the taru with equipment worth 20k would still have better stats than you. Its just sad to put so much work into your character only to have it beat by someone who doesn't even put a tenth of your effort into their character.

think of it this way: humes can excel in any job. tarus can only excel in mages.

<---Magic/Speed-----------Middle-------------Melee------->
Taru Taru > Mithra > Hume > Elvaan > Galka

[MidgardPlas]

Originally posted by Aurege
Elvaan mages can contribute to hnm/dynamis/exp pt just as much as any other mage. ive hnm'd with plenty...

I dont know where the hell you got elvaan blm's cant do anything end-game. i also dont know if youve even looked around the boards, but from what ive seen 3 of the top blms on ragnarok are elvaan.

I never said Elvaan mages were useless. My point was more along the lines of what Rones posted: In the end-game there is a HUGE statistical difference between Tarus and Elvaans, one that cannot be made up for with equipment. It is very frustrating to spend dozens of hours tediously farming/fishing/mining to buy top notch equipment only to realize that a Taru BLM wearing horrible equipment STILL has better stats than you. Makes it feel like you wasted all that time.

hell, im am (or, for right now, was) elvaan summoner. i didnt constantly think about quitting cause tarus have more mp. I thought about it this way: i look damn sexy, and get lots of pts.

You are very lucky if you had no problems finding parties as an Elvaan mage.

so as long as i had fun and enjoyed my char, it didnt matter.

Yes, you had fun and enjoyed your char, but that's because you were able to find parties. Sitting around in Jeuno for days at a time with your seek flag up and no invites is not fun, and as a LV 60+ Elvaan BLM on Midgard, I can promise you that the majority of your time would be spent that way. I'm a Taru BLM with full AF, mostly HQ/+1 equipment, and a good reputation (Once I party with people, they usually repeat invite me). I also have a Dark Staff, Sleepga 2, and I use Apple Pie +1 as food (all three are in my comment). Despite all of this, I had soooo much trouble finding parties after LV 60, often spending 6+ hours seeking in Jeuno without a single /tell. One time I fell asleep while seeking and came back to the computer 10 hours later only to find that I hadn't missed out on anything at all: during that time, I received three tells, all from lowbies begging for avatar help, none from potential XP parties. I had to start playing during JP hours because I simply could not find a party during NA hours...and yes, I also tried to form my own parties, but almost all the BRDs and RDMs on my server are either Japanese (and unwilling to start a party with an NA) or in a static so it was pretty much impossible. I eventually did find a static of my own, so finding a party is no longer a problem, but that doesn't change the fact that there are still always 4-8 BLMs in my level range with seek flag up in Jeuno during NA hours, most of them Taru or Hume. Do you honestly think that an Elvaan would ever find a party with all that competition? Unless they're JP and the only other BLMs seeking are NA, it would be highly unlikely.

[Aurege]

Originally posted by MidgardPlas


In the end-game there is a HUGE statistical difference between Tarus and Elvaans

You are very lucky if you had no problems finding parties as an Elvaan mage.

Do you honestly think that an Elvaan would ever find a party with all that competition? Unless they're JP and the only other BLMs seeking are NA, it would be highly unlikely.

1. It doesnt really show in fights. 100-200 point differance when talking 1000-1400 dmg spells; big deal

2. I just put flag up and got then maybe 10-30 min (longest wait was an hour; this is post 40+) later, an invite

3. Guess I did

[AtraposBLM]

Originally posted by Aurege


1. It doesnt really show in fights. 100-200 point differance when talking 1000-1400 dmg spells; big deal

2. I just put flag up and got then maybe 10-30 min (longest wait was an hour; this is post 40+) later, an invite

3. Guess I did

1. What are you refering to? My highest damage burst (non-AM) is currently Waterga III, which hits for 950 consistently, sometimes as high as 1028. I partied with a hume blm for a while, and basically, the way it worked was that I could use a spell one lower than he could and do the same damage. Meaning, the damage he did with Thunder III, I did with Blizzard III. The burst damage he obtained with Stonega III, I did with thundaga II. So, not only did I have 200 or so mp more than him, I could get away with using less powerful spells to the same effect, thereby reducing the total amount of MP I used.

As to an elvaan's usefullness in something like an HNM/Avatar/Dynamis fight...well... in an HNM/Avatar fight, it really is about endurance. And the bottom line is, more mp = more endurance. Doing avatar runs with elvaan's is like pulling teeth. They start resting by the time the avatar is at 1/4 life, and I have to kill it from there. Same with HNM. You REALLY don't want to rest on most HNM, as they tend to have nasty AoE that will wake you up anyways, so again, more mp = more endurance = better. Hell, doing serket, I couldn't rest for more than a tick at a time simply because the thing spams a freaking AoE (granted, if I were higher level, I could've moved away without risk of getting aggro) that makes you stand up every few seconds. As for dynamis, however, mp pool really doesn't make a difference. In order to be effective in dynamis, a blm needs a brd and a rdm in the PT, so with +6 (+7 if you're lv68) mp per second...and only being phyiscally able to get off one spell per battle (mobs die SO FAST), mp really isn't much of an issue. Even with darkstaff, and about 200-350 more mp than the other blm's in my pt (I was the lowest level, keep in mind), I noticed no significant advantage. Also, even with icestaff, resists were so random that damage wasn't really a factor (my max damage was higher, however).

2. That won't last. In the early levels, there are so few mages that most people just find whatever mage they can. In later levels, as plastique mentioned, getting a party is VERY hard. The number of people drops drastically, and even with Apple Pie +1, Ice Staff, Dark Staff, and sleepga II (all in comment), and a good rep (at least I hope so...I tend to get reinvites...so...), I can still go days without invites. At the same time, sometimes I get bombarded by pt requests, even while anon (another thing suggesting I have a decent rep). So yes, sometimes an elvaan mage will have no trouble getting a pt...but at all times it would've been easier as a taru.

3. I'm happy for you. I, on the other hand, am happy that I didn't have to farm 300k+ for 2 astrals (I could settle for 2 electrums) and 180k for two zircon rings (I settled for 2 eremites). Instead, I chanelled this money into getting both an ice and a dark staff, and should also shortly have an elemental torque. And note, that compared to a lv68 mithra blm (I'm 66), who was wearing a mythic wand, astral aspis, 2 zircons, 2 morion earrings, arachne obi, (I have none of those but the wand, but I only use the wand for sleeping adds or other enfeebles (and curing)), I still had 2 more int than her.




Bottom line: If for some reason you can't stand a taru, by all means, make a different character. Noone has the right to tell you what you can or cannot be, but know that if you decide to roll a galka or an elvaan monk, you are picking the road less traveled, which is usually less traveled for a reason. Be prepared to deal with lots of prejudice, a harder road than other blm's, to be picked last, etc. Can it be done? Of course. Just be aware of what you're getting yourself into before you do it and realize that you're like a taru melee - even if you keep every bit of your gear updated, you won't be as effective as a different race. It's simple statistics. However, FFXI is a forgiving enough game that it usually is overcomeable, it's just difficult.