Btw - In case you're wondering, no it wasn't you Wakmidget I was talking about. I realized after posting that I had leveld wtih 2 SMNs from ESP through bibiki bay and I don't really even really recall fighting any goblins with Wakmidget.
Anyway... I just got back from class and thought I'd put a bit more explanation into my reasoning as to why bomb stuns are really an afterthought...
I don't want to sound like an elitist prick, though there's a chance with what I'm saying will sound as such... but I've been a blackmage for a very, very, very long time. Most people who have played with me think I'm pretty good at it. This guide I wrote here in August of 04 -
http://www.qcdn.org/showthread.php?t=798 , explains what I still consider a fairly good list of different BLM priorities.
Admittedly, there was no CoP back then, and therefore no Bibiki bay, and I've not leveled my BLM specifically that range before, but I've leveled 2 other jobs through there. One of them, ironically enough, the same as the subject in question, jolly old Mable. For a WHM by 60+, especially a tarutaru, you should be able to toss out a Curaga 3, and not have to think twice about it. AE cures are very bad hate but very cheap MP wise to toss out after the goblin is dead and hate is no issue.
But anyway... when I talk about thie BLM job, you really shouldn't sweep aside the points I'm trying to get across. From your first party all the way to fighting Nidhogg, BLM has always been a job of prioritizations. The task is to understand the different aspects you have control over and prioritize them as such that you can swing the situation in your favor.
BLM is a very easy job to play on a basic level... so is EVERY job. The thing a good blackmage does, the odds are you won't ever notice. The BLM who never seems to run out of MP, or always manages to nuke the mob down in time for the exp chain, that's not luck.
Stun is a reaction spell. Unless you are able to count the mob's TP you can't plan it out. All you can do is possibly be ready at the right time and notice it. If you want to throw away everything else about the BLM's strategy to stand there and wait for bombs then try and do your job in 45 second increments, you might as well stop right now and let a drk take your spot. If you can stop being a baby, admit that goblin bombs,and the result are easily cured damage(speaking as a WHM as well, this is no big deal) you can move on and try and live to your maximum as a BLM, speeding up kills, planning out the chain and smiling as the goblin kills itself and saves YOUR mp that you don't have to spend on nuking it.
But I supposed that's all up to the party at hand, if you want to reduce BLM to a twiddle reaction job go ahead, but until you're fighting Suzaka or Tiamet that's not really needed.
