WHM50/BLM25+: Elemental Seal + Aspir

[Icemage]

I've been experimenting with some new tactics lately, and one of the more interesting things I've been testing is the effectiveness of using Aspir as a WHM to get yourself an extra boost in MP against some enemy types.

Ordinarily, WHM have no Dark Magic skill, so even against enemies that it can be used against, it never pays for itself because your /BLM subjob's Dark Magic skill is just too low.

However, I have discovered that using Elemental Seal + Aspir can provide an extra shot of MP for you in the middle of an XP chain. This is especially interesting because the enemies that you fight from level 50-60 are generally either Beetles or Crabs, both of which you can draw MP from with Aspir.

With maxed Dark Magic skill from my /BLM job, I get around 30-45MP on my 10MP investment when I use Elemental Seal + Aspir verses Crabs or Beetles.

Most WHM/BLM I see almost never use their Elemental Seal skill (it's easy to forget that its there), but there have been a few occasions when that extra 20-30MP has made a difference in a fight.

The drawback to using this tactic is, of course, that you can't use the Elemental Seal with other spells to force a spell to "stick" on an enemy (i.e. Elemental Seal + Sleep a linked enemy, or force a Slow on an enemy who is just too tough). However, if you trust your puller, and you're not having too much trouble landing enfeebles on an enemy, I think its a worthwhile use of your Elemental Seal ability (and can net you up to 200 free MP per hour).


Icemage

[Highmage]

try MBing aspir on crabs and beetles and such, i've MB'd 100+ mp back

never-ending mp ^^

[Falconi]

I didn't even know I would get Elemental Seal, well maybe my Sub just hit 16 yesterday^^

So you mean Aspir without Elemental Seal is worthless?

What about Drain, do you think I should learn it as WHM, or shall I rather sell the scroll (need Money *g*)?

[Miriamel]

Drain is nice, but not essential, as you should barely ever get hit as mage. :3 It's nice for soloing, though.

[Icemage]

Drain as a WHM/BLM is totally useless. Costs almost as much MP as Cure II and drains for around 50HP even with Elemental Seal.

However, this doesn't mean you shouldn't keep it. Drain makes playing BLM main much, much easier, since as a BLM (assuming you keep up on levelling your Dark Magic), it can outshine even Cure II for HP/MP ratio, on top of dealing damage.


Icemage

[riceburner4540]

yep...for blm, drain is probably one of the most MP efficient spells. my highest drain was around 150 hp (dark skill 132). thats about as much damage as my water II, which is 51 mp by itself ^_^. on my whm though, most i've ever drained...~30...halved dark skill sucks.

[Falconi]

since I don't intend to play BLM for much longer then lvl 25 now (and only in groups) I guess I will sell the scroll for the time being. I can always purchase it later if I have the money to spare.

[Coinspinner]

My Drain does about 150 damage now (+healing!) for a measly 20-something MP, so I cast it all the time. :spin:

One thing I have noticed about Elemental Seal is that it doesn't make your spell hit for the maximum, it just prevents the spell damage from being reduced to 1/2 or 1/10 (resisted.) Regular resistance that affects the damage of the spell still applies... Elemental Seal + Drain on a bat is still weak because of the Bat's high Dark resist.

It seems like almost every time I do a huge Magic Burst someone in the PT asks how much it would do with Elemental Seal... one time someone replied "double damage". Seems like there's so many people clueless about this ability I thought I'd share

[Icemage]

Good point - Elemental Seal does not increase the power of your spells, only their accuracy.

However, as a WHM, my skill level is so low that if I cast Aspir (10MP) on a Robber Crab in The Boyahda Tree, I will get 3-5 MP drained from the spell, so I lose 5-7MP by casting it. This is extremely consistent - they always resist. Elemental Seal is the only way I can punch the spell through their defense to get back enough MP to justify its use.


Icemage

[locus]

Elemental Seal + Aspir is nice, yes, but don't forget you have to save Elemental seal for Sleep and Silence - there are times when you'd be much better off with sleep or silence than blowing it on 40 extra MP.

Personally, when our party ends up fighting hard to hit stuff like torama (anything with ridiculously high evasion) and the enem us nearly dead, I like to blow out Elemental Seal + Holy (250 damage on MB).

Yeah, I know it's nothing compared to what a black mage could do, but it's so pretty. Pretty!