New Spell Idea

[Elohim]

I had an idea for a new spell that might "fix" BLM.

Suken: Dark Magic: Drains a small amount of HP over time, converting it to MP for the player.

Suken
18 MP
BLM level 30
Recast Time: 2 minutes
2hp>mp/tick
lasts 30 ticks (90 seconds, 60 MP (42 after cost))

Suken II
45 MP
BLM level 45
Recast Time: 3 minutes
7hp>mp/tick
lasts 20 ticks (60 seconds, 140 MP (95 after cost) )

Suken III
65 MP
BLM level 75
Recast Time: 5 minutes (Meritable to 2.5 minutes)
15hp>mp/tick
lasts 20 ticks (60 seconds, 300 MP (235 after cost))

The spell would interrupt Sleep, awakening the monster. Like other spells, it could be resisted to reduce the amount of ticks it remained active depending on the BLM's Dark Magic skill etc. It seems to me that this would make BLM viable again in xp parties outside of ToAU areas.

What do you think?

 

[Lecreuset]

Sounds an awful lot like oh... the Sublimation ja. ._.

Don't think BLM needs fixing, it's a point and shoot kinda job for the most part, and I think a popular BLM nailed it with this...

"Black Mage is strong enough as it is when poorly played.
Just follow the RMT on your server for a reminder how easy this job is to use and get the job done.
However, Black Mage is extremely broken and overpowered when well played." - Kaeko

I'm curious what you think this spell would fix.

 

[Elohim]

If BLM is so overpowered why is it required to solo from 25-74?

Edit: this spell drains HP from the mob, not from the player. Combination DoT/Refresh. Sublimation drains HP from the player.

 

[Lucki]

Party play changed. BLM requires too much support and downtime to optimize todays fast pace XP grind.

 

[Elohim]

Precisely. That's what I think this spell would help with. Reliable (non-spike) damage and a BLM only refresh effect to reduce downtime.

 

[Tomasello]

Heh, I remember the days when a BLM was REQUIRED to have a good exp party.

How the mighty have fallen....

 

[Bluewind]

Heh, I remember the days when a BLM was REQUIRED to have a good exp party.

How the mighty have fallen....

I miss the days when a magic burst wasn't an accident as well.
Ah, to go back in time.

 

[.Curjos.]

Precisely. That's what I think this spell would help with. Reliable (non-spike) damage and a BLM only refresh effect to reduce downtime.

The only adjustment BLM should receive would be something that gives them appeal to exp parties only, and nothing that would benefit them in any other situation. At endgame, BLM is one of the most useful jobs, and giving them a 15/tick refresh would make them over powered.

I think the only way to buff BLM in a way to make them more appealing to exp parties would be by giving them spells that supported the party. Maybe something like DRK abosrb spells, the only difference being that the stats absorbed go to a party member rather than the caster, or maybe spike spells that can be cast on other targets.

Not that I think BLM needs to be buffed. There are some jobs with real problems, like PUP and BST who are forced to solo to 75 and even then get very few endgame prospects. In retrospect, BLM has it quite lucky.

 

[Lyall]

I usually see blms in parties before ToAU. The problem in ToAU isn't how much support Blm needs, its how much colibri resist everything with an element; i.e. everything blm can cast. Giving it a spell to restore MP that doesn't do damage won't help blm after 55.

Also, the reason blms solo is because they can. A shitty exp party will get shitty exp, whereas a capable blm can chain high enough to make decent exp/hour. Blms don't have to solo, ever, if you can find people willing to fight puks or eruca or anything alternative. The problem is finding exp parties that /aren't/ colibri, lesser colibri or greater colibri. Level sync made exp optimized at every level after 55.

Edit: Suggesting the final spell be lv75 and have a merit-capable cooldown means that SE would have to redesign blm merits, and that's not going to happen.

 

[Lecreuset]

I said it sounds like Sublimation, I didn't say entirely identical.

If BLM is so overpowered why is it required to solo from 25-74?

End product, not the QQ leveling grind.

Keep in mind I too am a BLM75, so I'm not picking on a job I don't have leveled...

It's not required to solo, most people just don't want your ass in a party past 37 or you lack the resolve to make your own parties.

Friend of mine from back in the day Isollde and some other BLMs I knew XP partied alot of their way through ToAU.

Just cause you can't get it done doesn't mean it's not possible or can't be done.

Just takes something called uh...EFFORT.

Nowaday it's very -easy- to get decent BLM XP if you don't suck and put some of that effort stuff into it.

The hard grind is around the 40's, soloing through the 50's and early 60's then 64+ is all gravy if you do it right.

 

[Excim]

I can't stress this enough. Build a party with friends/whoever to suit your needs. Quit expecting to just be invited to one.

It works every time.

 

[Kajimaru]

I'm probably not the only BLM that feels this way, but I woulden't mind being over-powered.
Bwahahahaha!

 

[Elohim]

Just cause you can't get it done doesn't mean it's not possible or can't be done.

Just takes something called uh...EFFORT.

Nowaday it's very -easy- to get decent BLM XP if you don't suck and put some of that effort stuff into it.

The hard grind is around the 40's, soloing through the 50's and early 60's then 64+ is all gravy if you do it right.

Jesus, could you be more of a condescending prick?

Melee jobs can sail through these levels in parties. Even if you make your own party with friends etc, BLM slows everything down.

I'm not QQing, I'm suggesting that it shouldn't be so comparatively difficult to level, and proposing a fix.

Maybe you're a special person, better than everyone else around you who you ever met, and the rest of us should bow down before your amazing l33t skills. But not everybody has the time to spend 3 hours a day grinding on 2-3 chains of 120xp, and there's a reason there is a dearth of BLM's in the endgame.

They've spent a lot of time making leveling easier for other classes; why doesn't BLM deserve some love? Oh right, because then you couldn't sneer at anyone who's having a tough time and call them lazy and stupid.

 

[Tristam Green]

Let's everyone cool down a smidgen.

I find (found?) the solo grind of Black Mage irritating. It was, in fact, one of the lesser drivers for my leaving ffxi. Does it make me weak? Not really. To me, it makes me less insane for wanting to spend that amount of time *by myself* doing nothing but blasting the same mobs over and over.

 

[Dowzer]

As much as I like the idea, it should have restrictions, BLM is already incredibly powerful. You may not have Refresh cast on you with "Suken" in effect. Also cutting down the auto refresh from 3/7/15 to 1/3/5. Be realistic.

The fact of the matter is, it has NEVER been "downtime" that was a problem for BLM. They literally cast a few Elemental DOT, Aspir if applicable, then wait for the skillchain and burst with a hard hitting spell. A good BLM kept his MP in check. At the most, he would rest while the WHM rests their MP, because of all the goddamn blood tanking TURTLE PLDs people worshiped.

The game has evolved so much. Three melee, a healer and two support jobs produce much more damage over time. Let's be realistic, removing a melee from this setup and adding a BLM would be terrible. Why? Even with 15/tic + Refresh + Balladx2 + Evoker's Roll, chain nuking tier IV spells is too slow.

You have to understand, BLM are suited towards the highest spike damage in the game. This comes at the cost of their casting time.

Even in a manaburn, the new spell would not work. Why? Shit dies in 4 spells.

This was by far the fastest and easiest job I've ever leveled. People were shitting bricks at how FAST I got to 75. The reason? You never have to seek. Never. If you are, you're wasting time. I can't comment on doing all of it solo. I solo'd from Level 1 - 60. After that, my friend and I duo'd until 75.

BLM has all the tools and resources to solo. It is the most efficient job by itself. How many of your melee class jobs can solo a VT~IT mob in under two minutes?

BLM has never been broken, it is by far the most simple of classes in FFXI. Let's not ruin a good thing.

 

[Lecreuset]

Jesus, could you be more of a condescending prick?

Melee jobs can sail through these levels in parties. Even if you make your own party with friends etc, BLM slows everything down.

I'm not QQing, I'm suggesting that it shouldn't be so comparatively difficult to level, and proposing a fix.

Maybe you're a special person, better than everyone else around you who you ever met, and the rest of us should bow down before your amazing l33t skills. But not everybody has the time to spend 3 hours a day grinding on 2-3 chains of 120xp, and there's a reason there is a dearth of BLM's in the endgame.

They've spent a lot of time making leveling easier for other classes; why doesn't BLM deserve some love? Oh right, because then you couldn't sneer at anyone who's having a tough time and call them lazy and stupid.

I grinded my BLM up same as alot of you, except I had the blessing of level sync.

For such a powerful end result, so what if it's a bit harder to get it there?

And I seriously don't think anyone needs to bow down to any "l33t" skills until they're put on display.

I'll even tell you how I'd do it to make it relatively painless nowaday and there's no way you can tell me (after syncing and trying it this way) that BLM hasn't already been given a new edge in XPing without this spell idea.

I'm going to say Astral Burning would be the easiest, but we all know that, so I won't make mention of it again in this post.

1-37: Grind it. Solo, party whatever you can do. BLM doesn't start really gaying up TP burn parties until you're -in- ToAU areas which come around 55+, 54+ if you have a Bard. Any earlier and you're a moron.

37-45 or 64: East Ronfaure and snagging 37's to sync to until they're 41 is a great way of XPing here. BLMs can damage the Colibri, Elemental DoT them and backup Cure to boot. With no Refresh/Haste advantage of a RDM and none from a WHM until the end, it makes BLM a very viable partner to have on the back line. Repeat finding syncs and spamming the fuck out of this zone until you want to solo again after you get past the hard 40-44ish grind, and continue until you're 50 so you can begin using Freeze OR be bored enough to use this camp straight to 64.

If you stop around 44 to solo, check out this BLM solo guide by Lionheart. It's really helpful and suggests tried and tested camps that aren't exactly as bad as pulling teeth.

Once you're 64, the fun begins.

64-73 or 75: Vunkerl Inlet Get a friend or a BLM who wants some awesome XP and BLM/NIN the fuck out of the Tigers there. 2xBLM/NIN is ideal. Soloing admittedly is dangerous. If you have more friends, you can scoop a BRD a COR and more BLM friends and round off a party to head to Xarcabard and have fun running around chasing after Gigas Tigers and fuckin' their day up. Once you hit about 68-69 and XP takes a hit, find another 64-66 to start Syncing to again and let it rip. If you get a Gigas, have someone on ES-Sleep/ga duty, and have the offending party members retrace themselves. (Helps to have allied notes.) I spammed this came 72-75 in a night with some bored friends and pickup syncs.

What 64 job seeking would want to pass up potentially 20k+/hr XP from sitting around, subbing Corsair to give you Corsair's Roll and do jack shit for his time while the BLMs do all the work with NO DEATH for the sync's part. If the gimp doesn't have a level 5 COR sub, ask them to get it and you'll hit 'em up later, or just let them /BRD for a shitty Ballad. If they have neither, and no mage sub to help cure when the BLMs have some down time, suck it up and deal with them being a complete leech sync.

You can stop at 73 or so, and begin Mount Zhayolm, or you can stay here till 75 and rotate syncs.

Just do yourself a favor and hit up Besieged to keep your skills Blue when it's available and don't be a dumbfuck when you're 70+ and come back to solo the tigers over a legit group of people who want to sync their BLMs.

This method takes much of the pain in the ass out of leveling BLM, and I don't see why if people would use it, there's much to cry about anymore.

God I hope maybe even if I come off as a condescending prick you'll see there's some merit to it if you're not lazy about keeping skills capped and this is why I think you're QQing about BLM needing a leg up in XP pts.

East Ronfaure , Vunkerl Inlet and Xarcabard just totally broke BLM's leveling slump and gave you a viable option to not avoid a painful grind if you're smart about it...

Hell I even have a couple 66 jobs I'd bring out to sync if you don't believe me and one 37 to try any of the camps.

Now, Q-fucking-Q and if the aforementioned isn't something an up-and-coming BLM hasn't tried, try it before you say you have it hard like the oldschool BLMs who did it after the BLM-god time through the ToAU-slump, pre-WoTG. <3

 

[Lyall]

Just sayin': Water 3 costs 98 mp. Suken 2 would only give 95 mp over a full minute. How is this supposed to help speed blm up at all if you need to wait 60 seconds to get one more spell? With proper gear, I think you could literally rest for better mp at 55.

 

[Elohim]

Well but the idea is for it to be useful in a party; so you would cast it, then rest for a minute, and get up with double what you normally would. Anyway the numbers I picked were just to illustrate the idea; they aren't set in stone or anything. The main thing for me was to make it so you could cast it about once per fight or so when fighting IT+ mobs, to supplement your mp while doing damage.

 

[Lyall]

Well but the idea is for it to be useful in a party; so you would cast it, then rest for a minute, and get up with double what you normally would. Anyway the numbers I picked were just to illustrate the idea; they aren't set in stone or anything. The main thing for me was to make it so you could cast it about once per fight or so when fighting IT+ mobs, to supplement your mp while doing damage.

I get that, but blm's issue was never about managing MP while doing damage, it was about ToAU mobs resisting the hell out of what they can cast. When your spells deal less damage than the MP it takes to cast them, it doesn't matter how much MP you've got, its useless if you can't do anything with it. Like a Samurai using their 2hour and then spamming Tachi: Goten. Nice effort, but it doesn't really solve any problems.

I think we're all a little confused what the "fix" is from your opening sentence.

 

[TheRealTaritzu]

Hello people of QCDN,

I think this spell would be nice to have. Just gives us more MP to mess around with. Do I think it will solve the blm exp pt invite problem? No.

For the people that say solo, boo to you. I know you can solo, I know I can solo too. Thank you for saying solo like we dont solo enough . For the people that say level sync, much more realistic option. Thank you for the good feed back on blm.

Is blm overpowered? No. Is blm on par with some melee's? Yes. If you would like me to elaborate, well just PM me.

For the blm's that say blm is overpowered. No, you are mistaken. Can we do somethings 6 melee cannot do? Yes. Can we do somethings easier than some melee? Yes. Does this mean that RMT BLM burns will ever top, Melee burns? No.

So I conclude with this, I would love this spell, but this is not a solution to getting blm's back into ToAU pt's. Make your pt's like some wise player once told me, and you can actually get them to SC and such, Much more fun. Chain 250+? No. But you'll have a shit load of fun

-Tari