What are the needed spells by lvl 25?

[russman108]

Hi~ Im getting ready for my kazham keys and just spent a load on new equips. Iam a little shady on spells though, since im not exactly sure which ones are more needed then others. If someone could just list, or tell me what are the most desired/needed spells by level 25? Thanks

[Icemage]

Level 1-25 required spells:

Stone
Blind
Water
Bind
Aero
Bio
Drain
Fire
Shock
Blizzard
Warp
Rasp
Choke
Sleep
Thunder
Frost
Burn
Aspir
Tractor

26-31 required:
Drown
Firaga
Escape
Water II
Sleepga

Everything else else optional in that range (Stone II, for instance, hardly ever sees any use, since no one ever does Scission until the low 60s when you fight Torama, and by that time you have access to Stone III).


Icemage

[neighbortaru]

to save even more money, skip rasp and choke. for me, it's usually just shock and frost or shock and burn.

[Irinicus]

I never got Drown yet, I see no use for it yet so therefore will not buy it. Also Stoneaga 2 never bought it as well, it goes for way too much in the AH. I compensate with Stone 3 and will wait for stoneaga 3 as well.

[russman108]

alright, thanks guys^^

[Anakron]

Try the Selbina, Windhurst, and San d'Oria mage shops for cheaper spells. It's not cheaper by too much, but when you're just starting, every little bit helps.

Also, Warp isn't something that is required, though it's extremely nice and the only reason some people level BLM up to 17. If you can bear running around a bit more, and need the money (if you have fame for the quest), then selling it for some gear or other spells is certainly an option. But you definitely want it before you head out to Yhoator Jungle (around level 27 or 28), so I guess you might as well get it now.

[Icemage]

Of the elemental enfeebles, the only one I'd consider skipping is Burn. More damage is nice, but not at the cost of not being able to use Frost - as a black mage, you don't want to deal more damage yourself - helping the other members of your XP party take less damage or deal more damage is always preferable. It does have its uses though, for instance if you're using a non-standard nuking artillery party like PLD BLM BLM BLM BRD RDM.

Shock is great when you don't have a red mage to enfeeble (or if you're fighting things at the IT++ level). It really helps Slow, Paralyze, and Silence land much easier.

Rasp is good when your tank is a Ninja. Since much of their defense revolves around Evasion, making the enemy attacks less accurate is a good thing. I often pair Rasp with Frost against Beetles, when main tank is a Ninja.

Drown is good against MNK-type enemies, as noted above.

Frost is generally the best all-around elemental debuff. Helping melees and tanks hit more often gives your party extra damage power without giving you, the fragile BLM, more hate.

Choke is useful against high-defense enemies like Crabs. Since they can awfully hard to kill even when they aren't using Defense Up and Shell effects, giving the melees more damage per hit without giving the crab more TP to use defensive skills is always a nice option.

Icemage