let it slide?

[skot23]

So here's a question for all you lvl 75 blue mages with all your spells. Now that you've done this, what're the spells that you'd say were unnecessary? I mean, not to say that I'm not gonna get them, but I wont's turn down xp parties to farm them immediately at the available lvl.

[Malacite]

Re: let it slide?

Get them all anyway, because they can be equipped in various combinations for different abilities. Plus they're free...

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: let it slide?

Never skip spells. No matter how useless on BLU spell may seem, there's plenty of uses for these spells aside from being spells you cast.

I never really use Sound Blast or Cursed Sphere, for example, but when I sub BLU for COR, I can use those spells to gain a Magic Attack Bonus trait, which I can use in turn for boosting my Quick Draw damage, which is counted as magic.

On top of this, I can use spells such as Foot Kick or Smite of Rage to get more AGI, which helps my Quick Draw accuracy. So while I might not use these spells for casting, they have other applications.

Same goes for BLU main job and the options get a whole lot better when you get past subjob level on BLU.

That said, the big kick to the groin for BLU is that to have all the best spells before you hit 75, you need to already have a signifigant amount of progress into CoP missions, but this is remedied by the fact that BLUs are extremely attractive invites for most CoP missions, particularly the fights just before obtaining Sea access. The spells you learn in Sea are some of the best in your arsenal.

[Kitalrez]

Re: let it slide?

Bare Minimum to 37ish are:

1. Pollen
2. Sandspin
3. Foot Kick
4. Power Attack
5. Sprout Smack (debatable for awhile)
6. Metallic Body
7. Cocoon
8. Head Butt
9. Healing Breeze
10. Sheep Song
11. Bludgeon
12. Blood Drain
13. Soporific
14. Screwdriver
15. Wild Carrot
16. Digest

Up until 37 if you just get these spells, you have the bare minimum of what you'd need to be a semi-successful BLU. You won't have very many traits available, and you will probably be missing some very useful emergency spells, but this will get the job done. Since most of us plan to go past 37, or at least want the job subabble with decent traits, you'll probably want to go back and get the spells you missed sooner rather than later.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: let it slide?

Bare Minimum to 37ish are:

1. Pollen
2. Sandspin
3. Foot Kick
4. Power Attack
5. Sprout Smack (debatable for awhile)
6. Metallic Body
7. Cocoon
8. Head Butt
9. Healing Breeze
10. Sheep Song
11. Bludgeon
12. Blood Drain
13. Soporific
14. Screwdriver
15. Wild Carrot
16. Digest

Up until 37 if you just get these spells, you have the bare minimum of what you'd need to be a semi-successful BLU. You won't have very many traits available, and you will probably be missing some very useful emergency spells, but this will get the job done. Since most of us plan to go past 37, or at least want the job subabble with decent traits, you'll probably want to go back and get the spells you missed sooner rather than later.

This list is missing Wild Oats, which can be set with Sprout Smack for Beast Killer trait, which is extremely useful against Rabbit, Sheep and and Tiger mobs at low levels, which you'll likely also solo for spells. Addtionally, Wild Oats lowers enemy VIT and you can stack Dia from /WHM with it to really hurt a mobs defense.

Sprout Smack comes with a Slow effect, which helps PTs out a fair bit. Nothing debatable about that at the level you get it.

Again, my advice is to just get them all as you level. I soloed most, if not all my BLU subjob to sub level, got all my spells along the way and had a TON of beastmen seals to show for it in the end.

[sykoticjestr]

Re: let it slide?

This list is missing Wild Oats, which can be set with Sprout Smack for Beast Killer trait, which is extremely useful against Rabbit, Sheep and and Tiger mobs at low levels, which you'll likely also solo for spells. Addtionally, Wild Oats lowers enemy VIT and you can stack Dia from /WHM with it to really hurt a mobs defense.

personally i recommend /RDM for better melee stats. you still get dia and cure. thats just my personal choice and wat ive found to be a good combo for soloing the earlier levels.

[Armando]

Re: let it slide?

That list is also missing Feather Storm (good damage/MP ratio), Blastbomb (Bind), Wild Carrot (party single-target Cure), Chaotic Eye (Silence), and Pinecone Bomb (ranged physical hit + Sleep), yet lists Screwdriver, which isn't good for anything except Evasion Bonus after you have Hysteric Barrage later on. Blood Drain and Digest were also huge disappointments.

By the way, many of you seem to be misunderstanding the OP. The OP isn't asking for a list of spells he can skip. He's asking for a list of spells that are non-essential, and thus he wouldn't have to turn down invites over not having them just yet. Spell collecting is a time-consuming affair, after all. For example, Sound Blast is a huge pain in the ass to get if you're not lucky, simply because there's so few Cockatrice in Meriphataud Mountains, they're spread across long distances and separated by natural walls, sometimes they're being farmed, and they can still choose to use 4 other TP moves. All that for a spell that's barely used. I wouldn't turn down a party invite just because I haven't had any luck with it.

personally i recommend /RDM for better melee stats. you still get dia and cure. thats just my personal choice and wat ive found to be a good combo for soloing the earlier levels.

The "better melee stats" are a placebo. It barely makes a difference.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: let it slide?

By the way, many of you seem to be misunderstanding the OP. The OP isn't asking for a list of spells he can skip. He's asking for a list of spells that are non-essential, and thus he wouldn't have to turn down invites over not having them just yet.

Skipping a spell is skipping a spell is skipping a spell. Essential or not, its a bad practice to start adopting on any mage class. All I'm sayin'.

[Mog]

Re: let it slide?

Skipping a spell is skipping a spell is skipping a spell. Essential or not, its a bad practice to start adopting on any mage class. All I'm sayin'.

I don't know... I can't think of many instances where I use Stonega II, quake I, etc.

[Armando]

Re: let it slide?

Yes, BBQ, but no one is advocating skipping spells. Not even the OP. A non-essential spell is a non-essential spell is a non-essential spell, and there's no reason to turn down a party invite over not having been able to get that spell yet, is all I'm saying.

[Sevv]

Re: let it slide?

I don't know... I can't think of many instances where I use Stonega II, quake I, etc.

The point is, there are instances.

[Kitalrez]

Re: let it slide?

Yes, but look at where you're coming from. I'm listing spells you need to have to get to 37. Not spells that give you nice traits, or spells that give you nice abilities, spells I consider necessary. If he wants to go back and get those spells later, I've left that open. This list was, what I consider the bare minimum.

Why? Think about what you needed to do to get to 37. Which spells did you need first? Well, look at my list again:

1. Foot Kick and Power Attack are your very first damage spells. If you're solo, and especially if you're playing Taru, these tend to outdamage any melee you can throw down.
2. Sand Spin and Sprout smack give you blind and slow, which are the first real debuffs you need at low levels. Remember, EVA actually matters below lvl 10. In the endgame, sure you might never need blind on a target, but here it really helps, even if it is AE. Why do I consider Sprout Smack debatable? Damage isn't that great, and if I have a single WHM, RDM or BLM/WHM in the party, their slow is better than mine. I can count on one hand the number of times I've been asked to cast this in a party. Useful solo, yes, but you could live without it.
3. Pollen, Healing Breeze, and Wild Carrot are your low level heals, you'll want these for sure. (I think Armando misread, I had WC in the list).
4. Headbutt is your first stun, very useful for when you get it.
5. Blood Drain and Digest are both useful to steal hp back, either solo or in a party.
6. Sheep Song and Soporific are your two types of sleep.
7. Cocoon and Metallic Body are your must have solo DEF buffs.
8. Bludgeon... we've all used it, we all know it's overpowering at the levels we use it in.

Now, with this list I've covered every single spell a party will probably ask you to use in our main role up to 37, DD. At these levels, if there's a PLD, a NIN/WAR or even a WAR/~ they're probably your tank. Heck, people have had MNK tank over my BLU. There were better things I could've been doing with my MP rather than tanking the mob, and they knew this. When you're playing DD in these levels, you're probably not using /NIN. Why? Because DW1 is statistically worse damage wise than almost any other sub. Until you get DW2 or higher, it's kind of silly subbing NIN unless you absolutely can't live without the shadows. At these levels, it's almost better to sub THF, WAR, or RDM in a party. That brings me to Screwdriver, you asked why I put this in. Sneak Attack + Screwdriver is a fight ender. When the BLM's burst isn't enough to take down that pugil or Goblin, this is. It's situational, sure, but it's situational for almost every fight if you're subbing THF. Same principle as when SMN use Mountain Buster on Fenrir fights, every hit of a multihit spell or WS is less accurate than the first. Predator Claws, Chaotic Strike and even Rush can do more damage, but on an 85th lvl mob with lots of evasion, you don't want that, you want surety. Screwdriver will hit when under SA and do all of its damage, only one hit of Bludgeon is guaranteed with SA.

This also points out why I left out Feather Storm, Poison Breath and Queasyshroom. They take a lot of mp at lower levels solo. In a party I might use them, but it's more likely I'm chaining Bludgeon and Head Butt, these are a bit more helpful to my role as DD. You guys use them a lot more later on, sure, but at the levels we're talking about, my BLU almost never cast these in a party. If I'm blowing 20 mp or more on a spell, I want it to do big numbers soon, since I'm still a mage when it comes to hp. Even more so if I'm a taru mage. When I was soloing Funguars for exp in Latheine, I didn't bother with any of these. The range on poison breath also meant I had to position myself really carefully in Valkurm Dunes and Quifum to watch what I was hitting.

Why leave out Wild Oats? DEF down is nice, but are you really going to solo or party on just sheep, dhalmels and crabs? Pugs don't have that great of DEF, neither do flies, mandragoras, or most of the goblins we level on. Yeah, it's useful. Is it something a party expects you to have, rarely. As useful as this was, I was asked by several parties not to waste my mp on this one, mobs were dying too fast. Same deal with Beast Killer trait it allows you to set up, great for solo, but how often do you tank in a party? As a taru, almost never. Remember, the mob has to be facing you and have aggro on you for the killer effect to work. Unless you're tanking or soloing, this isn't something that should be happening often.

Yeah, these are really situational to just the pre-37 game, but my BLU is only 35 right now. My most common sub is BST. Even soloing. I only use /NIN if I'm hunting spells. Post 37, yeah, everything you guys have mentioned is important and useful. If all he's doing is rushing to complete the subjob levels before he starts spell farming though, this is the bare minimum. Almost all the functionality he needs, but ignoring everything not absolutely necessary. All good spells you've mentioned, just not what I consider something he absolutely needs to run off and get.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: let it slide?

Yes, BBQ, but no one is advocating skipping spells. Not even the OP. A non-essential spell is a non-essential spell is a non-essential spell, and there's no reason to turn down a party invite over not having been able to get that spell yet, is all I'm saying.

I've yet to find a reason to seek a PT as a BLU, the times I actually did I regretted every moment of it. To get to 37, a BLU does not need a PT, hence, there is no logical reason to skip spells.

Skipping spells as an excuse to level more quickly has always been poor form, regardless of job or level. Those that say they intend to catch up on spells later usually never do. There will be instances various spells are useful, spells aren't made to be useful all the time, everything is situational.

[Armando]

Re: let it slide?

I've yet to find a reason to seek a PT as a BLU, the times I actually did I regretted every moment of it. To get to 37, a BLU does not need a PT, hence, there is no logical reason to skip spells.

Your argument would hold in an ideal world, but not everyone likes soloing.

Skipping spells as an excuse to level more quickly has always been poor form, regardless of job or level. Those that say they intend to catch up on spells later usually never do. There will be instances various spells are useful, spells aren't made to be useful all the time, everything is situational.

Yeah, but that's not the case here.

So here's a question for all you lvl 75 blue mages with all your spells. Now that you've done this, what're the spells that you'd say were unnecessary? I mean, not to say that I'm not gonna get them, but I wont's turn down xp parties to farm them immediately at the available lvl.

The OP was very clear.

This also points out why I left out Feather Storm, Poison Breath and Queasyshroom. They take a lot of mp at lower levels solo. In a party I might use them, but it's more likely I'm chaining Bludgeon and Head Butt, these are a bit more helpful to my role as DD.

Feather Storm is every bit as efficient as Bludgeon at low levels, sometimes even more so (piercing bonus on mandies.) If Bludgeon is on the list, Feather Storm should be too.

Why leave out Wild Oats? DEF down is nice, but are you really going to solo or party on just sheep, dhalmels and crabs? Pugs don't have that great of DEF, neither do flies, mandragoras, or most of the goblins we level on. Yeah, it's useful. Is it something a party expects you to have, rarely.

It's cheap to cast, and more VIT/Def-down is ALWAYS better. Parties don't expect WARs to use Shield Break, that doesn't mean it's not the best Accuracy buff in the game from 1-50 and every single WAR should use it, with practically no exceptions. Parties let a lot of things slide, and other times just plain do stupid things.

And I still disagree with leaving out Wild Carrot. An efficient Cure that can target other party members is incredibly useful and important.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: let it slide?

Chopping up a two paragraph post doesn't make your argument any better or prove that the OP is going to do what he claims. What's more is you're finding just as many holes in the "spells to skip for now" list as I am.

That really just proves my point - just don't skip any spells.

Really, why skip Wild Oats or Sprout Smack? Mandies and saplings are some of the first mobs you could learn spells from, you're not getting any PTs 1-10 anyway. Go go Sarutabaruta, learn Pollen, Foot Kick, Wild Oats, Cocoon and Metallic Body. Then you hop on over to Bastok learn Sandspin, learn Sprout Smack. After that, take a trip to Sandy, go outside and learn Power Attack and Queasyshroom.

Really, its not that hard. True, ya might be better off learning Metallic Body of crabs in the dunes, but while you're waiting, you can be learning Queasyshroom or Sheep Song. There's no rule saying you have to sit on your ass when you put up your invite flag.