BLU at later levels

[Khidir]

Re: BLU at later levels

I'm sort of scared to sub my rdm since i don't want to go all the way back to my nation to change subs...

The dd for blu i am told is uber but not having dw 2 pre 50 to lower delay seems more of a loss than a gain

[Icemage]

Re: BLU at later levels

Am I the only one who finds it strange to sub RDM to BLU? Blue mages have no direct Enfeebling Magic or Enhancing Magic skill, so the RDM spells you get, aside from Cures, Dia/Bio, and Shell/Protect, are all at half-strength (read: useless)

Nukes won't land due to 1/2 of C rank Elemental Magic. Non-Shell/Protect buffs won't be very strong due to 1/2 of A rank Enhancing Magic. Enfeebles other than Dia and Bio won't stick well at all.

I suppose the case could be made that all you really need out of your sub is Cures and Dia, but you could just as easily get those with /WHM sub, get more MP, better traits and abilities, and AoE versions of Shell/Protect.


Icemage

[Yoko]

Re: BLU at later levels

I think people like to sub rdm more for the stat boosts Ice, along with the little mp boost and the all around stats of the rdm, which keeps us able to do anything. Later on i see that parties rarely want /rdm though, since your role is most of the time more focused, so you change to /nin/war/whm/blm accordingly, or keep rdm if they want you to do everything but being medium at all of it.

Its pretty much a matter of what the party needs you for really.

[Hyrist]

Re: BLU at later levels

I mainly sub Red Mage for the raw stats out in soloing, which I think will be my primary pass time on blue mage (its fun and fast)

However I will most likley end up leveling mutipule subjobs (Blm is the only real one I have ready for 75, the rest I will probley sub Cor to self-plvl through.) /war /drg /drk /nin /pld /whm /blm /brd and /cor all seem to have situational uses we could sub to Blue mage for any given situation.

[Spazz]

Re: BLU at later levels

Yokho has a good point. The stat increases may be minor compared to other subs, but alot of small ones makes up for fewer bigger ones.

. . . and BLUs dont have direct enfeebles, but our spells do have them. We dont have as many as any other job, but if you look at all the spells... alot of them have an added effect to them, such as Slow, Poison, Weight etc.

In the end game (which I havent seen alot of people talk about) i think subs will play a huge part. If the party really wants to SC will you, you will probably sub /SAM. If you are gonna be magic bursting alot, you may sub BLM so that you can hit Burst Affinity + Elemental Seal + whatever spell you burst with. So I forsee many BLUs with many different subjobs.

[massaranger]

Re: BLU at later levels

I mainly sub Red Mage for the raw stats out in soloing, which I think will be my primary pass time on blue mage (its fun and fast)

However I will most likley end up leveling mutipule subjobs (Blm is the only real one I have ready for 75, the rest I will probley sub Cor to self-plvl through.) /war /drg /drk /nin /pld /whm /blm /brd and /cor all seem to have situational uses we could sub to Blue mage for any given situation.

u forgot /thf everone farms once in a while and what about sata

[Icemage]

Re: BLU at later levels

That's the thing though, the stat differentials between /WHM and /RDM aren't that severe.

Stat calculator
http://www.datasync.com/~dsmith/FFXIStats/

Base formulas
http://cgi.at.infoseek.co.jp/h/u/g/h...?mode=document

At level 60/30 the difference is +15HP, -16MP, +2 DEX, -1 VIT, +2 INT, -2 MND, -1 CHR to go from /WHM to /RDM.

At level 75/37 it's +19HP, -19MP, +2 DEX, -1 VIT, +3 INT, -2 MND, -2 CHR.

Spell-wise you have an unreliable Dispel, a -9 to -10 damage version of Phalanx (97 Enhancing at /RDM33 to 109 Enhancing Magic cap at /RDM37) , a virtually unstickable Gravity, and completely useless Nukes.

I just don't see the logic behind using /RDM over /WHM. If it's Magic Attack you want, /BLM is better. If it's better defensive magic, /WHM is better, for status removal if nothing else.


Icemage

[Karinya]

Re: BLU at later levels

Aren't you forgetting Fast Cast? I'm not necessarily saying it would be better than the benefits of another sub, but it *does* exist and is the main reason for anything else to sub RDM. (Edit: And several BLU spells apparently have annoyingly long casting and/or recast times.)

At 51+ (or possibly even sooner) I predict a sharp split between physical oriented BLUs (/WAR, /NIN, /THF, /SAM, with mostly physical attack spells, maybe some buffs and heals) and magical oriented BLUs (probably /WHM or /BLM although /SMN, /BRD or /RDM might be possible too, with mostly magical spells, possibly with a focus on enfeebling as opposed to raw damage). Partly because of staffs, partly because of the resting vs. keeping TP issue and partly because some of the abilities of any given subjob will only really benefit one or the other type of blue magic, leaving the "wrong" type weak.

Of course, some BLU may maintain both sets of subs - I have 7 of the above mentioned jobs at 37+ already, so I'd just have to keep both types of gear and I could become either style of BLU at any nomad moogle. A job is only as versatile as the player playing it.

[Icemage]

Re: BLU at later levels

Maybe if you're solo, but again... 5-10% fast cast versus Utsusemi or status cures? Not even a contest, IMO. I'm not faulting the idea of using different subs based on the situation, I just have trouble envisioning any case where BLU/RDM is a preferred configuration.


Icemage

[Atma]

Re: BLU at later levels

/THF is awful. I tried it out two days ago, and it is just plain BAD.

As for stats, STR, +ATK, and +ACC.

So far, the most effectual thing I've subbed has been ninja, and most BLU seem to be migrating towards either /war or /nin in the past few days. We just don't seem to need the MP that bad, and anyone who expects blue mage to heal is pretty much delusional. A- in swords means if you're not meleeing, you're wasting a party resource.

[Caspian]

Re: BLU at later levels

Damn SE for giving us 3 highly versatile jobs. Was there ever this much contemplation on usable subs and overall party role for the previous jobs? I mean, all three have so many different things to offer. Almost like SE was sick of people coming up with cookie-cutter configurations.
Does atk affect physical magic? Or is it your blue magic skill? What I mean is, does berserk add to the damage of your physical magic? If not, seems like /nin could be the way to go.
The main thing I'd worry about is you might run into the same problem meleeing that rdm's do. You get higher up and 1h swords just don't do enough damage to warrant hacking away on the mob. Aside from the fact that pre-30 justabout any sub is useable for most jobs. Guess the only way to really know is to have enough people post 60 or 70 to experiment and see what works best for the party.

[Khidir]

Re: BLU at later levels

There is always equipment to make blu as well as rdm fighting machines, in exp play and solo(though not recommended for rdms for obvious reasons).

I bet blu will be able to wear kirins osode, it doesn't seem like a heavy armor class if it does then hauby and B. and the lighter SH always bring people up to par, rajas ring(the one with str and dex hope that is right) isn't bad either, as well as the ultimate two pieces supponomi and that cape that enhances DW(i think its a dynamis drop or something that you go about paying some special coins for).

SE is human we complain about their mistakes but they have made some good moves, not as many as the bad but still good moves.

[Taskmage]

Re: BLU at later levels

They don't get Osode, but they do get access to BOTH the Homam and Nashira sets, which gives them some amazing options.

[Atma]

Re: BLU at later levels

waiting and seeing, but so far all of our "good" attacks are physical, so I still favor boosting physical over mental.

[Taskmage]

Re: BLU at later levels

Yeah, actually the Nashira set doesn't look as impressive for blu as Homam at all. The odd balance of both melee and casting stats that Homam has make it awesome for blu, though. Lots of hp, mp, haste, accuracy, magic accuracy, fast cast ...