Any advice on how to level BLM as sub?

[Tobold]

My current job levels are main WHM at 22, sub RDM at 14 (capped to 11). But then I started to wonder if BLM wouldn't be the better subjob. More MP and more spells in comparison to RDM. And Warp at 17 would make an important addition to the WHM teleports.

Only problem is, I need to level BLM, and I'm not really an expert in that. I've played either fighters or healers in all previous games, and only know the very basics of what a BLM does.

At the very low levels, I guess the choice is limited. Start combat with Stone, and then whack the mob with your wand, while trying to get more spells through. And then isn't there some important tactic when you get Bind to Bind the mob and cast on it from afar?

Should I take WHM as subjob while leveling BLM, or something else? How long can I solo? What are the most important rules for playing a BLM in a group?

I daren't ask these very basic questions on the BLM board, so can any WHM/BLM here help me?

[Deedlit]

Sub WHM if you try BLM. BLM is actually very easy to level to 15, where you can start grouping. Get through the first couple of levels the same you did with WHM, nuking here and there - keep your elem skill capped! When you get bind, you can go to tahrongi and kill the non agroing mobs in the maze-like southern part. You can eventually move on to the Maze, where Maze Makers will feel your wrath - they're automatically rooted, so just nuke away =)

[NewMorning]

well 1-13 of black mage is hell imo... the spells all suck so bad that its disgraceful to even cast them.. finally you get fire at 13 and will be in parties of which black mage is way more fun in parties then solo.

basically the black mage's strength is damage so you gotta focus on your strength and live by the creed "kill him before he kills me".

the key is to learn to time your casts.. it is extremely important you dont get "interrupt cast" because every cast is important... the best time to cast is right when they are hitting you.

so the basic strategy is to nuke damage spells using timing of your casts to kill them before they kill you.

good luck.. out of every job black mage is the one i hate most level 1-13.

[locus]

RDM sub for WHM is only recommended for fast cast, at least until they make the level cap 80. BLM gives you Tractor, Warp, Escape and Elemental Seal + Sleep. Conserve MP is very nice.

Black mage is the easiest class to level fast. Worms will get you very far (it is possible to solo worms until level 23) and your spells work very well in taking down a monster if you have full mp. Abuse weaknesses so they don't get resisted and you'll do fine. Contrary to what NewMorning says - I find black mage spells very overpowered at low levels. The only time you'll have trouble is if you're silly enough to try taking on a VT or an IT without preparation (high resist chances.)

General rule for soloing anything that isn't a worm: Tough and below only.

[Soonyi]

For me, I found it difficult to adjust my strategy since I've been playing my Whm for so long. Blm is really to deal damage. Lol, I like the previous post about "kill it before it kills you". It is so very true when soloing Blm. I subbed my Whm for the little bit of extra MP; tho I think it is better to save your MP for nuking instead of Cure (unless in extreme cases like life or death).

The one major downside I found with soloing my Blm was that I really depended on the MP a lot. Atleast with my Whm, I can half-depend on my club. When you get Bind tho, it is great, because you can 'Attack' from a distance (to take out your melee weapon), cast Bind, cast nukes/enfeebles, and by the time the mob gets unbound and finally comes to you to attack, it is already half dead and debuffed. Goodluck!

Soonyi.

[Calianeri]

Leveling BLM is easy, and I think really fun, especially with a WHM subjob. You'll have to rest a lot more though, since your offensive power is so dependent on MPs. But man, BLMs do great damage with those MPs. Get a staff for soloing and follow Soonyi's good advice about engaging from afar first. Select Attack, then cast your first spell. You can't afford to let the mob get any free hits! :sweat:

I found it pretty efficient to mow through a few Easy Preys/high defense or one Decent Challenge then a bunch of Easy Preys/lows between full rests. Bees and Yagudos in the northern parts of East Sarutabaruta rocked for that between level 7-10. Using Cure occaisionally makes the battles much easier than BLM with no sub.

Once you get in parties, you'll need to start learning skillchain elements and doing magic bursts. You'll probably see a lot of Fusion and Liquefaction skillchains, bursting with Fire. However, since more people are leveling up advanced jobs, hopefully there will be more weapon variety and you'll be able to burst on other chains with different spells. The timing can be a bit tricky, but you'll get the hang of it.

Also you'll quickly learn to cast against the mob's elemental weakness. Of course you already know how important that is for skillchains in general; BLMs just have to be very aware of this at all times. It's usually not worth it to cast spells the mob isn't weak to.

Last thing, you can skip buying the -ga spells if you want. They are way too dangerous to use in most leveling situations. You could also delay buying the elemental enfeebles (Shock etc), or maybe skip them entirely if you aren't taking your BLM too high.

[NewMorning]

I find black mage spells very overpowered at low levels

I should of made myself more clear in what i meant.. that was my bad. I meant "suck" to mean the spells themselves not the damage they do (the animation,the sound,the way they are cast,etc,etc) there is no question they do a good amount of damage.

for example at level 1 a warrior will probably hit for about 5 damage a swing while a black mage will hit for 20 a cast with stone.

i still found it exremely boring and frustrating... you have the most downtime of any class.. you better learn patience and learn it fast (if your a taru you will have slightly less downtime) also you take so little hits... i mean your just so fragile and weak.

it is a cool job in parties where your not getting hit and you can just nuke till your hearts satisfied... but i hated solooing with black mage.. i was always about to die.. living on the edge every battle and tons of downtime.

[Tobold]

Okay, my BLM is level 6 now, and I was having a lot of fun. But I still haven't understood everything.

For example I started the game with Stone, which cost 9 mana and does 20 points of damage. Now I got Water, which cost 13 mana, and does 25 points of damage. Water is obviously less mana efficient. But I wonder if that is like the Cure series, where at one point Cure II becomes as efficient as Cure I. Or whether that is just a question of what mobs I'm fighting, and what weaknesses they have.

Should I hit orcs with Stone or with Water?

[Miriamel]

Stone (or rather, earth elemental) spells usually aren't extraordinarily good against mobs. Earth is the "neutral element", if such a thing exists.

Now.. Orcs drop fire crystals, hence are fire elemental mobs, and fire is easily put out by... - I'll let you do the math. ^^ Black Magic depends a good deal on the elements, but I find it to be somewhat random at times. Anyway.. generally it's the rule "The higher the level requirement for a spell, the more damage". But if you're fighting a fire elemental mob and have the choice between casting Fire and Water, you should choose water.

My elemental magic skill was at 4 when I reached level 10 blm. It didn't matter too much though, I nuked some stuff in WRonfaure for fun and got it up to 17. Then I just went to LaTheine and partied, we later on went to the dunes. Somewhere along the way, I maxed the skill. ^^