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Re: New Power for Blms with update
Pet Attack roll doesn't add much damage against Vrtra. We're much more concerned about accuracy since it's normally hard to land all hits from Garuda's Predator Claws even with a bunch of Avatar Accuracy merits and SMN AF1 legs + SMN AF hands (probably due to level difference).
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Zenith has a very useful place in manaburn groups and other quick-damage-burst situations. More so than any other piece of gear you have at those slots, it adds more max MP - you can swap it out after you spend some, which doesn't take long. The -HPs are troublesome, but generally not a worry at the start of a chain, since the BRD or RDM or both have plenty of MP to spare at that point, and are probably going to throw a Curaga or two at some point early just to cover it in any case even if you manage to take some damage through Stoneskin and Blink. And you can usually Drain it back in any case, except against HNMs, who generally don't take much damage from it.
I already said why using Phalanx in manaburn parties was a waste of time, and losing Cures isn't going to break your party when there's 4-5 other mages in the party who can cast them. BLMs shouldn't generally be casting cures anyway in a manaburn party - when they're curing, they're not nuking or resting, which are the two activities that make the XP come in for the party.
Which really brings the comparison back to Stoneskin for you vs. an extra shadow from Blink for everyone in your party. If you can't see why this is a net gain for a manaburn party, then perhaps it's because you don't trust the other members of your party enough.
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As I've mentioned previously, BLM/PLD is pretty constricted, but there are still situations where it could be better than other subs. As for BLM/PLD, normal sky XP/merit parties on Weapons with a BLM present fall something along the lines of:
Ninja, Melee/NIN, Melee/NIN, RDM or BRD, Healer, BLM
In such a setup, you don't need the Curaga or status removal from /WHM. You don't need Dispel or Fast Cast from /RDM. You don't need extra blinkshadows from /SMN. You'd still get the Cures, you get Auto-Refresh, but you lose out on some defensive spells. Whether it's worth it... I have no idea, but it's certainly at least a viable tactic since such parties are always roaming, which puts a premium on Auto-Refresh.
I'd also assert that a manaburn party with a set of unusual subs could probably earn more XP than a typical all-/RDM setup:
BLM/SMN
BLM/PLD
BLM/COR
BLM/WHM
BLU/WHM
BRD/WHM
Between Diamondhide and Aerial Armor, you're not losing anything defensively, you still have 4 people who can cure, plus you get a slight XP boost from Corsair's Roll you can probably net more XP without sacrificing any efficiency.
Icemage
Pet Attack roll doesn't add much damage against Vrtra. We're much more concerned about accuracy since it's normally hard to land all hits from Garuda's Predator Claws even with a bunch of Avatar Accuracy merits and SMN AF1 legs + SMN AF hands (probably due to level difference).
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Zenith has a very useful place in manaburn groups and other quick-damage-burst situations. More so than any other piece of gear you have at those slots, it adds more max MP - you can swap it out after you spend some, which doesn't take long. The -HPs are troublesome, but generally not a worry at the start of a chain, since the BRD or RDM or both have plenty of MP to spare at that point, and are probably going to throw a Curaga or two at some point early just to cover it in any case even if you manage to take some damage through Stoneskin and Blink. And you can usually Drain it back in any case, except against HNMs, who generally don't take much damage from it.
I already said why using Phalanx in manaburn parties was a waste of time, and losing Cures isn't going to break your party when there's 4-5 other mages in the party who can cast them. BLMs shouldn't generally be casting cures anyway in a manaburn party - when they're curing, they're not nuking or resting, which are the two activities that make the XP come in for the party.
Which really brings the comparison back to Stoneskin for you vs. an extra shadow from Blink for everyone in your party. If you can't see why this is a net gain for a manaburn party, then perhaps it's because you don't trust the other members of your party enough.
---
As I've mentioned previously, BLM/PLD is pretty constricted, but there are still situations where it could be better than other subs. As for BLM/PLD, normal sky XP/merit parties on Weapons with a BLM present fall something along the lines of:
Ninja, Melee/NIN, Melee/NIN, RDM or BRD, Healer, BLM
In such a setup, you don't need the Curaga or status removal from /WHM. You don't need Dispel or Fast Cast from /RDM. You don't need extra blinkshadows from /SMN. You'd still get the Cures, you get Auto-Refresh, but you lose out on some defensive spells. Whether it's worth it... I have no idea, but it's certainly at least a viable tactic since such parties are always roaming, which puts a premium on Auto-Refresh.
I'd also assert that a manaburn party with a set of unusual subs could probably earn more XP than a typical all-/RDM setup:
BLM/SMN
BLM/PLD
BLM/COR
BLM/WHM
BLU/WHM
BRD/WHM
Between Diamondhide and Aerial Armor, you're not losing anything defensively, you still have 4 people who can cure, plus you get a slight XP boost from Corsair's Roll you can probably net more XP without sacrificing any efficiency.
Icemage
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