Blm with no whm sub get PTs?

[Kobalt]

Do black mages with no white mage support job get PT invites? I kinda wanted to be a BLM to start off but i dont know if ill get invites or not:confused:

[Guui]

Not just "almost". A good mage is as good of a corner stone in a party as a healer and a tank. In the beginning the BLM can solo a lot on his own and I don't think it'll be a hard task to get to lvl 12 without even partying once... Might be boring tho. At lvl 12 is when everyone starts to form partys but you can probably keep going, since you get the drain spell, on your own and solo. This just shows how good the BLM actually is I think.
So a BLM is a benefit to any party. No need to worry about that I think.

However, I am just speaking from the stats and the spells point of view. I don't have any in game experience, so I could be wrong but I don't think I am when it comes to this.

[Kirara]

e?
blm?
solo?
i think you just mixed two things that should be separated apart the most together...drain is obtained either by sando quest or buy from ah... it's quite an expansive spell for level 12, and the quest requres a certain degree of fame (i forgot what) which is not very likely a level 12 with out sub will have, even after obtaining the quest you need an item not a level 12 can obtain to compelete....

and out of all class, i can say blm is the worst at soloing

[Calianeri]

I had no problem getting invited to parties before I got my subjob (WHM, of course!), and that was late, at level 21. More experienced players can correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems to me that BLMs can do more damage, more quickly, than other classes at the lower levels -- until their MP runs out! :sweat: In later levels, BLMs are greatly desired for their damage output, and their Escape and Warp2 spells.

It's kinda hard to solo at the early levels (up to 10 or 11) as a BLM. And it gets much harder from there. The best you'll do for solo xp'ing is fighting worms. Remember, BLMs have low HP, low defense, low attack, and low-dmg or long-delay weapons. Our offensive power is huge, but limited by MPs. BLMs are great, I love playing one, but they're not good at soloing.

I wouldn't put too much emphasis on Drain, either... Drain's great, but I found that a Cure or CureII is usually a more efficient and reliable way to get HPs back.

[Mikenham]

GAAAAAA!!! :mad:

How can you say that about Drain Calianeri!!!

Drain works better on certain monsters; depending on their type and their difficulty (the same holds true for all spells that you cast on monsters). I am a lv 30 BLM and I can drain monsters for up to 140HP (but that's only on monsters rated my level and down, if you cast drain on a tsuyo Funguar you'll be lucky if you get 1 HP drained from it!) You'll just have to try & experiment what spells do how much damage on what type of monsters. THAT is what will make any person a good BLM.

(There is a chart on what spells are effective on what monsters,
here's the address: http://ffxi.game-host.org/eriwilde/f...ei/index.html#)

[Calianeri]

I said Drain's great! Really! Oh man, you even made it sound like I'm not a good BLM... LOL.

I've used Drain on all sorts of things during the beta, just like I have with Aspire. Sometimes it worked great, sometimes not that well. It depends on the monster, toughness, dark magic skill, etc. I'm just saying that in a pinch, CureII is always there for you, without any of the variables.

[FFXITsukasa]

I think at low levels Black Mages would be rather well at soloing. Even on EQ low level wizards had an easier time soloing than low level warriors and rogues mainly because at the lower levels Mages can dish out enough damage to take down the lowly enemies. Atleast thats how I see it.

[dodger1v]

A BLM with no whm sub will definitely still get invites. I waited until lvl. 30 to finally finish sub-job quest. I hated the dunes with a passion. So in Qufim I was getting invites without a sub at all for ten levels. Then I went and levelled my SMN to lvl 10 and went BLM/SMN and got invites still. Just don't use something crazy as your sub. Like Ranger or something and you should be fine. I like SMN for the MP boost, which is quite substantial.

Drain I had problems with. It either worked or did not at all. To rely on soloing as a BLM is a no-no. Level 10 is the max. Then you should always try to have at least two other party members around at all times. Even if they are BLMs too. One time in the Shakrami maze I pt'ed with 3 other BLMs at my level. We kicked some butt. We just had to be careful to time our binds right. Also just to let you know. I soloed from 1-20 as a BLM boy was it frustrating and took forever. I will never do that again. Hopefully I can rely on my LS this time to help me with that. Go WindurstWarriors!!

[Calianeri]

FFXITsukasa, you're right that BLMs can do big damage, and so offense is a BLM's best defense when soloing. But black and white mages generally have a harder time soloing in FFXI than melee classes. Their HPs, attack and defense are lower. A BLM has only so many MPs to do damage with, and a WHM only so many MPs to cure with - and neither one can fall back on big melee damage. BUT they're still not too hard to level up. I leveled both WHM and BLM to 10 or 11 pretty much solo. You just have to take on more lower-level enemies and be careful. And beyond the early teens, no class can solo effectively anyway. Radagast, I feel your pain if you went to 20 solo. (Gotta love those worms in Shakrami Maze though! BLMs can solo those for good XP in the mid-late teens.)

And, back on topic, I'm sure you'll get invites with any subjob. But I think a WHM subjob will make a BLM's life much easier and much more helpful to your party. It's a really good combination. At least have it available if necessary. Also, it's good to remember that you can freely try out all sorts of combinations.