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Being a good Black Mage
This post was originally intended to be a reply to the "65+ Party Invite" topic. I've made it my own topic because I believe every blm who aspires to be useful to a party read this. A lot of this information applies to blm's partying in a level 30 and over environment.
As a level 68 blm, I can say that I am getting less invites these days than before, say below lv60. I think at this level, the only way you will win your way into a party is if 1) your subjob IS at least half the level of your main job and its whm or rdm or possibly smn, or 2) you've earned the reputation of being a blm by either being in a static party, or you've been in many different parties in which you are praised for bringing what a blm is suppose to show to a party. I can give a few tips to being a good blm that can carry you into the 65+ levels.
- Always Magic Burst. Any chance you get, at the end of any skillchain, mb when possible. Its key to get that extra damage that will build that reputation from other people by saying that this is why blm are a very nice edition for the end of a Skillchain.
- Use the Stat-reducing Elemental spells (i.e. Frost, Drown, Rasp, and even Bio). Yes, black mages have the highest Elemental Magic skill of any other job, so it is necessary to use these spells to reduce the mob's stats. These spells are the equivalent of what a rdm or whm uses to enfeeble the mob, except these spells can only be used by blm, and require good Elemental Magic skill, for them to stick. All of them give -5 to whatever stat they pertain to. Using Frost will reduce the mob's AGI, which will lead to more successful melee hits, which result in faster tp build up, and it also helps Weapon Skills miss less often. Using a combonation of Bio II and Drown, which reduce ATK and STR, the mob hits our melee for noticably less damage, allowing for less curing to be made. Using these at the beginning of the battle is key, and they usually wear off after 1-3 minutes, so its good to keep them on the mob even if its nearing 1/4 hp left and the skillchain isn't ready. It impresses the melee people in a party when you can actually say that you are reducing one of the mobs key stats, like Frost reducing AGI if the melee miss a lot. I've had a few melee tell me I'm one of the best blm's they've ever worked with just because I use these spells. I also have macro'ed Frost, Drown, and Bio II, and say what stat they are reducing for optimal insurance so your party won't question you. For example:
/party Using Frost ---> <t> AGI -5
/ma Frost <t>
/party Using Bio II ---> <t> ATK -14
/ma "Bio II" <t>
And its also good to keep those macros seperate, and not together, because the different effects wear off at different times depending on how the mob resists it.
-Cure. Your subjob is half the level of your main job right? So that is what you should be doing half of the time right? It is true where a lot of the time a blm using Cure isnt necessary, depending on party set up. But always, a blm should be considered a 2nd healer next to a whm or rdm. If you see your whm is using up too much mp being dedicated to Cure, and you have much more mp than your whm at the end of the battle, then that means the 2nd healer should also be curing, to even out the MP usage, which leads to less downtime. That should be a known fact.
- Never over cast spells. In a lv50+ environment, I find it rare to use the same damaging spell more than three times in the same battle. I try keeping it down to once or twice per battle, for each different spell. And do not speed cast, like right at the second its possible for you to cast another spell. That kind of casting ends in two different ways. 1) you cast too much and do too much dmg to where your tank cannot hold aggro and the mob comes after the mages. 2) your fast casts are more easily resisted and do less damage because on harder mobs, it is difficult to do heavy amounts of damage quickly. Every blm should leave 5-10 seconds of homage before casting the next damaging spell, and you won't get criticized for not doing enough damage. What to cast in those 5-10 seconds? Maybe Cure a pt member or re-up a stat reducing spell. Or not cast at all, but don't do that a lot.
These are just a few pointers that will help anybody become a more successful blm and build that much needed reputation you need to find those parties beyond lv65 that say they don't need or even want a blm in their party. Show them what you're made of, fellow blms.
As a level 68 blm, I can say that I am getting less invites these days than before, say below lv60. I think at this level, the only way you will win your way into a party is if 1) your subjob IS at least half the level of your main job and its whm or rdm or possibly smn, or 2) you've earned the reputation of being a blm by either being in a static party, or you've been in many different parties in which you are praised for bringing what a blm is suppose to show to a party. I can give a few tips to being a good blm that can carry you into the 65+ levels.
- Always Magic Burst. Any chance you get, at the end of any skillchain, mb when possible. Its key to get that extra damage that will build that reputation from other people by saying that this is why blm are a very nice edition for the end of a Skillchain.
- Use the Stat-reducing Elemental spells (i.e. Frost, Drown, Rasp, and even Bio). Yes, black mages have the highest Elemental Magic skill of any other job, so it is necessary to use these spells to reduce the mob's stats. These spells are the equivalent of what a rdm or whm uses to enfeeble the mob, except these spells can only be used by blm, and require good Elemental Magic skill, for them to stick. All of them give -5 to whatever stat they pertain to. Using Frost will reduce the mob's AGI, which will lead to more successful melee hits, which result in faster tp build up, and it also helps Weapon Skills miss less often. Using a combonation of Bio II and Drown, which reduce ATK and STR, the mob hits our melee for noticably less damage, allowing for less curing to be made. Using these at the beginning of the battle is key, and they usually wear off after 1-3 minutes, so its good to keep them on the mob even if its nearing 1/4 hp left and the skillchain isn't ready. It impresses the melee people in a party when you can actually say that you are reducing one of the mobs key stats, like Frost reducing AGI if the melee miss a lot. I've had a few melee tell me I'm one of the best blm's they've ever worked with just because I use these spells. I also have macro'ed Frost, Drown, and Bio II, and say what stat they are reducing for optimal insurance so your party won't question you. For example:
/party Using Frost ---> <t> AGI -5
/ma Frost <t>
/party Using Bio II ---> <t> ATK -14
/ma "Bio II" <t>
And its also good to keep those macros seperate, and not together, because the different effects wear off at different times depending on how the mob resists it.
-Cure. Your subjob is half the level of your main job right? So that is what you should be doing half of the time right? It is true where a lot of the time a blm using Cure isnt necessary, depending on party set up. But always, a blm should be considered a 2nd healer next to a whm or rdm. If you see your whm is using up too much mp being dedicated to Cure, and you have much more mp than your whm at the end of the battle, then that means the 2nd healer should also be curing, to even out the MP usage, which leads to less downtime. That should be a known fact.
- Never over cast spells. In a lv50+ environment, I find it rare to use the same damaging spell more than three times in the same battle. I try keeping it down to once or twice per battle, for each different spell. And do not speed cast, like right at the second its possible for you to cast another spell. That kind of casting ends in two different ways. 1) you cast too much and do too much dmg to where your tank cannot hold aggro and the mob comes after the mages. 2) your fast casts are more easily resisted and do less damage because on harder mobs, it is difficult to do heavy amounts of damage quickly. Every blm should leave 5-10 seconds of homage before casting the next damaging spell, and you won't get criticized for not doing enough damage. What to cast in those 5-10 seconds? Maybe Cure a pt member or re-up a stat reducing spell. Or not cast at all, but don't do that a lot.
These are just a few pointers that will help anybody become a more successful blm and build that much needed reputation you need to find those parties beyond lv65 that say they don't need or even want a blm in their party. Show them what you're made of, fellow blms.
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