BlackMage expectencies

[Kon]

I'm a level 16 Blackmage. I've never been a mage before, always melee except for my level 7 whm but that doest count. But anyways, i need to know how PT's expect a BLM to perform.
I was in a PT last night and i was using my magic and i guess i was using it too fast because they told me to slow down. So i did.
Question #1:
Whats a good speed? (i was casting my magic maybe every 5-7 seconds after they told me to slow down)

I'm also a Taru. So that oviously means i have low HP. So that leads me to...
Question #2:
Should i ever go up to the enemy and attack with my staff? (I've seen blm's and even some whm's run up and start attacking it with their staffs. But i have only seen hume mages do this. So considering i'm a taru should i go up and attack with my staff from time to time?)

I was also asked to MB. I already knew what MB was(luckly) but i don't know exactly how to perform it. I connected a comple times but i was also missing it other times.
Question #3:
How many seconds after a Renkei do i have to cast a spell to connect with a MB?

Thanks to anyone who answer these questions

[Extreme]

1- Magic generates alot of hate, its important not to cast too fast so that the monster is constantly drawn to you. Know the enemy, and its elemental weakness. Its not necessary to cast every spell you have, every fight. Cast the necessary status spells and a handful of choice attack spells.

2- The only time mages really attack with their staffs is on very weak enemys, perhaps something that aggro'ed the party out of stupidity. They dont really melee at all... ever (unless ur in a weapon-lvl PT of course)

3- Think of MB as an addition to the renkei. You can cast the spell a second or two after the renkei is performed to acheive the desired result. Timing isnt as important in MB though, the game is a little more leinient. Its also important to know what magic spells MB with what renkei's. For instance on dissolution/nucleate renkei's (the old fast blade>red lotus>combo) you can MB with the fire spells etc etc. Pretty self explanatory

[Siusum]

mages melee on the enemy is either:
skilling up, helping renkei (some exceptions), or just stupid. especially if there:s a bard.
*unless in a PT with all friends? ^^

being a blackmage, you can forget about the status spells. but you must learn how to MB after the renkei. i would rather the blackmage in my PT know how to MB instead of casting whole bunch of bio/-stats/blind etc spells on the enemies.

depends the PT members that you have in your PT. if there:s a RDM, leave the weakening spells for him unless he or the leader assigns you to cast certain ones. concentrate on support healing, cast the elemental spells which the monster:s weaken at, succesfuly MBs. that:s the most important things you need to know. other details you:ll learn from time to time while in the PTs.

[Kon]

forget about status spells? I thought BLM's where always expected to cast status spells as their top priority.
Thanks guys, for the help

[Tekerin]

haven't really played a blm myself, but this is what i've seen so far

casting too much will generate too much hate, too much resting time, and lots of wasted mp on healing the blm, usually saving hte mp till the monster is about to die is better, or nuke when u trying to get a chain or something, also, don't cast strong spells when u know no one can taunt, if u see 3 taunts going off at the same time, wait atleast 15 secs before u start casting or u'll be getting killed in the next 30 secs since no one can do nothing

not too sure about the usefulness of status spells, but i find that it's much safer to cast status spells after the first few hits (especially if there's a thief, wait for his dama to hit first) coz even bio or blind can generate alot of hate at the start, causing the monster to move around

mb is really important, but it's kinda hard to explain the timing, just kinda have to get use to it urself, but i think casting when u see the last renkei starts is a good estimate

mages shouldn't really hit, i was in pt today doing yokodama n the mage ran in to do protea and yoko went off on him coz he stood in wrong spot, good thing it was only tote

[Siusum]

Originally posted by Tekerin
i was in pt today doing yokodama n the mage ran in to do protea and yoko went off on him coz he stood in wrong spot, good thing it was only tote

/point at hamasaki

[TheMidg]

Originally posted by Tekerin


mb is really important, but it's kinda hard to explain the timing, just kinda have to get use to it urself, but i think casting when u see the last renkei starts is a good estimate

MBing is easy to explain ...All you have to do is usually wait for the last WS to go or if it is a long one all you have to wait for is a real big burst bonus animation, it won't work on the small one. As soon as you see this burst, BEGIN CASTING! Make sure that you already had the proper spell selected and the enemy targeted as to not miss the MB.

[Siusum]

Originally posted by TheMidg


MBing is easy to explain ...All you have to do is usually wait for the last WS to go or if it is a long one all you have to wait for is a real big burst bonus animation, it won't work on the small one. As soon as you see this burst, BEGIN CASTING! Make sure that you already had the proper spell selected and the enemy targeted as to not miss the MB.

that may apply to the low level blackmagic spells, but once you get stronger spells the casting time will get longer as well. it:s hard to explain it with words, best is to try and figure it out. just like yokodama with picture showing how you do it. i doubt people can just go and do yokodama without practicing for a bit.

same thing go for ancient spell MB, you need to get the timing right and cast it before the renkei start.

it may sounds easy for the people who already know it, but for who doesn:t it:s still tricky and need to practice from time to time.

[Kon]

so the PT should tell me what magic to use with the renkei they're using? Or am i expected to know. Is there a trick or a chart i could use to know what element to use? Or does it depend on what we're fighting? Like if it's a snipper, for instance, should i use Thunder for the MB?

[Russta]

so the PT should tell me what magic to use with the renkei they're using? Or am i expected to know. Is there a trick or a chart i could use to know what element to use? Or does it depend on what we're fighting? Like if it's a snipper, for instance, should i use Thunder for the MB?

Generally you're expected to know but if they see you not doing MB they will ask you to do it and what to use. The magic burst is based off of the element of the renkei effect caused. The two main ones used are nuculate heat (fire) and incurve (water/ice) but you will occasionally get the more complex renkeis.

[Orko]

Just to clear up the status spell thing, they are definately good to cast. Since bio/poison/elemental status spells are generally prolonged damage spells, cast those first at the start of the battle. Try to pick a set that works well against whatever your fighting (Ie - don't cast drown when you're fighting crabs, etc). Generally a bio/poison combo plus paralyze and maybe slow will do the job fine (though Paralyze / Slow are generally cast by WHM, so see if they're casting them and adjust accordingly). I find it works best based on monster weaknesses and personal taste.

Now to the casting speed, try to gain a feel for how much magic causes the enemy to look your way. You don't need to be blasting the whole time... try to conserve MP, avoid hate and you'll do fine.

As for MB, it is kinda hard but once you pick it up you'll know when to shoot... later levels timing isn't so difficult. As long as I cast during the renkei graphical effect it always works.

And as it's been mentioned, unless you're with friends or fighting a weak unintended enemy, don't go up and start attacking it. :sweat: Low HP means stay in the back away from area attacks.

I guess that's all I can think of. :p

[LoneWolfy]

ZOey
Do bio and blind beginning of battle also doing dex down agi down etc. but that varies on type of monsters. Such as need int down on liches. MB timing varies you will have to just mess around til you get it right. At higher levels you can start to do 2MB in one combo. Or if you do ancient MB youll start casting way before rennkei is even called. Only do ancient MB when monster will die from it or almost dead. Also knowing what spells monsters are weak against is important.
Hitting enemies. Most pts would rather you not hit at all but mages need ws too. Only time its good to hit is monsters dont have group range attacks or high critical. Staffs are weak so they dont get hate really its when you do spells that pisses them off. No flys or weapons. Or when the thing is alsmost dead.

[peacemaker]

Corresponding vertical columns can be stacked in any order.
Corresponding horizontal rows cannot be stacked.

Drown---Choke
Raspu---Burn
Frost---Shock

Some effective uses for these:
Frost (AGI down) makes the monster slower to help melees build TP.
Shock (MND down) to lower resistance to status spells like Balance, Blind, etc.
Burn (INT down) lower elemental spell resistance, best to cast right before MB.

The other 3 are pretty self-explanatary.

(Above Source: Dengenki Guide)

If you need to conserve MP for chain, and your 3-hit renkei happens to be fire elemental as 2nd, you can use Burn as a 1st MB and then a big one as the final hit.

Edit:
The above chart is what's printed in the book. I've personally been able to stack them in various orders. Just use it as a guideline and experiment to form your own formula.

[Kon]

thanks for the help guys. I think i'm getting the hang of it now. I was getting "nice MB" comments in my PT last night
But just one more question. How am i suppose to know when to start to cast an ancient spell if i have to start them before the renkei even starts? When i get in the higher levels will the renkei starter have a "MB Start" macro or something so i know?

[peacemaker]

You get the first ancient spell at level 50, but most parties will get pissed off if you keep casting it cause it costs 300MP+ and everyone has to wait for you to recover MP and messes up chain. I only use ancient spells for mission/quest bosses, [EDITED], emergencies (links, etc.), or if there is a lot more MP than the WHM left over on the last chain.

For most 2nd level elemental MBs, you start casting it right before or when the designated melee starts his renkei, if you see his renkei animation, it's already too late.