Please note that this is based on personal experience. Making these statements purely "In My Opinion".

Ideal vs Medium to Long Fight (Target takes 1 to 5 minutes and on to kill..):
Blizzard 1, Thunder 2, Fire 3, Fire 1 until at or below 1k mana. Blizzard 3, Thunder 2, Blizzard 1*, Fire 3, repeat.

*Is optional. It is best to use one's judgement if a Blizzard 1 is necessary. It can easily be replaced with Scathe if you wish to move. The goal is to always cast SOMETHING.. but to also allow your mana to fill up completely. Sometimes you'll need to, sometimes you can simply go straight from Thunder 2 into Fire 3. It's all about timing.

Firestarter: At first, I believed it best to STOP CASTING to throw out the free, instant Fire 3. However, since the proc doesn't activate until Fire 1 reaches the target.. there will always be a slight delay. Those seconds lost when casting Fire 1 and stop-casting to Fire 3 are never recovered and ACCUMULATE.. which translates to a severe drop in DPS over a long period of time.

Thus, Firestarter should only be used on the Next Cast. Example:

Blizzard 1, Thunder 2, Fire 3, Fire 1, (Firestarter proc!), Fire 1, Fire 3, Fire 1..

Your procs may overlap and be lost, but your DPS will not suffer for it. Stop-casting should be avoided at all times unless: You need to move! Glory to the Black Mage who has a Firestarter proc and must then move! HUZZAH!

The "Stop-casting Rule" also applies to Blizzard 3. Example:

Blizzard 1, Thunder 2, Fire 3, Fire 1 until at or below 1k mana.. (Firestarter) [Mana: 850] Blizzard 3, Thunder 2, Blizzard 1, Fire 3 (Proc Used.)

Notice how I didn't stop to cast Fire 3 before going into Umbral Ice. The same rule applies here because of the seconds lost due to Stop-Casting and the way the game functions. If you've noticed, there's a slight delay to all actions despite server stability.

The Firestarter Proc was instead used to switch from Umbral Ice to Astral Fire. It may seem like a loss, but your DPS will thank you for it.

Again, this rule does not apply if you: Need To Move! GLORY TO THE BLACK MAGES THAT WILL SUNDER ALL WHO OPPOSE THEM- *Clears throat* Excuse me.. carrying on.

This (I Believe..) concluded a Black Mage's ideal rotation against a target lasting between 1 through 5 minutes and on.


(PS: If you've found this helpful in any way or have any questions regarding Black Magery, please let me know! *Poof*)
(PS2: [Pun intended..] Possible future "In My Opinion" posts: List of Manawallable attacks (Completely Ignored: ex. Landslide.) A comprehensive guide to Teleportation. To Flare or not to Flare, why not both?)

Hmm then what rotation do you have for mobs?

Hmm then what rotation do you have for mobs?Lithia Claville

Thanks for asking! Very pleased to be of assistance.
If I haven't made myself clear yet: these statements are PURELY "In My Opinion" based on my experiences as a Black Mage.

IN SHORT: 1-10s: Fire 3, Fire 1, Repeat. (Thunder 1 Optional.)
- 10-20s: Thunder 1(Only Full Health Targets), Fire 3, Fire 1. Repeat.
- 20-60s: Thunder 2(Only Full Health Targets), Fire 3, Fire 1. Repeat.

NOTE on Thunder: Whether you prefer to Thunder the main target or to apply on every mob available is up to you.. personally, I find it a waste of time that could be better spent on Fire 1 to burn down your quarry.

IN LONG:

It depends on how long they'll survive. Since Black Mages throw out spells slowly, you need to be able to gauge how long the target will live before you engage it. This is usually based on experience and your DPS partner(s). As an experienced Damage Dealer, it's up to you to know how much you need to do to kill someone or something before having to take it down.

Between One(1) and Ten(10) seconds on a Single Enemy? Just use Fire 1. There isn't much to do here if you're late. Precasting Fire 3 to have it land as the tank acquires the target is ideal but can pull hate depending on your tank. If you have more than one target that lasts (1-10), start off with Fire 3 and follow with Fire 1 until at or below 1k mana. Use the basic rotation above without Thunder. If you're feeling daring, you can leave the Thunder 1 in your rotation. However, unless the target is at full health as the spell is hitting it, it will have been a waste of time. With this in mind, I'll suggest what I do myself: cast the Thunder spell on the NEXT target in the kill order.

(Note: If you're late and the Dragoon has already beat the living daylights out of everything and they're almost dead.. don't just stand there. SCATHE! If you're ever short on time or need to move a bit, Scathe is your best friend.. second only to Thundercloud and Firestarter procs.)

On enemies that last between Twenty(20) seconds to a Minute(60), begin with either Thunder 1 or 2.. either is fine in this situation since all Thunder spells share the same Potency Over Time. Thunder 1 is cheaper and goes out quicker, but lasts three seconds less than Thunder 2.. which takes slightly longer to throw out and costs a bit more as well. Again, depending on how good the collective outgoing damage of the party is: It may be wiser to Thunder the Next Target on the Kill Order or to simply rely on the Fire 3, Fire 1 rotation.

SHORT VERSION (..of the paragraph below, regarding Thunder.)

All Thunder spells have the same Potency-Over-Time.
Avoid Thunder 3 except on Boss Pull and Thundercloud.
Always use your strongest Thunder spell with Thundercloud.
Thunder 2 is safest in all situations.
Thunder 1 when you're short on time or mana.

Going slightly off topic regarding Thunder: Thunder 3 is generally to be avoided in a rotation unless it's your opening Thunder after Blizzard 1 (AND) for use in Thundercloud. Why? Because it's out-of-sync with Mana Regen. What I mean by this is: What you want is for Thunder to go off nanoseconds before your mana ticks to full. This can be achieved easily by using Thunder 2 in this rotation. However, those .40 seconds needed to casts the costly Thunder 3 will use up the mana you just regenerated for your next Fire rotation.

One final thing to point out: the reason you use your strongest Thunder spell with Thundercloud procs is because–

(Well, hopefully you know because you've actually read the trait.. but if you haven't or you're not a Black Mage.. here's the short'ish version!)

–Thundercloud causes your next Thunder Spell to deal it's Entire Duration's Damage Instantly, as well as reduce the cost by 100% and the cast time by an equal percentage. Instant. Free. Doom. What's not to love. It also packs quite a wallop if you haven't noticed, on par if not stronger than Fire 3 on the direct hit. Note that it still applies the chosen Thunder's Damage-Over-Time as well.

I hope this has been informative to those who've read! If there's something I haven't explained properly or that you find is inadequate: please let me know! I share my experiences to help those who wish to learn.. to improve.

Thanks for readin'~

Interesting read, thx for the heads up on a future BLM job.

I would appreciate if a senior BLM could give me a few pointers here and there.

Typically I will come into a fight I'm comfortable with and simply open with Lethargy on the mob, then I will flip to my tank and give him Aposto. This normally gives the tank enough time to build hate so I can go into my normal rotation. I tend to repeat this opener after any big moves by a boss. Both to re gather myself and to give the tank time to re establish hate.

Single target rotation

Thunder 2
Fire 3
Fire (use procs as they come up)
Fire (till mp low)
Blizzard 3
Thunder 2 again as mp refills

*depending on where we are in a fight I will use my convert and raging strikes after fire 3 when I am in Astral fire 3.

AOE rotation

Thunder 2
Fire 3 (for Firestarter 3)
Fire 2
Fire 2 (till mp low)
Blizzard 3
Thunder 2 as mp refills

*depending on where we are I will remove the blizzard 3 and swiftcast + flare, then transpose and flare again once mp is at the right level. Convert, Blizzard 3 and resume rotation.

Seems to work ok, I'm always 2/3 in DPS when in an 8 man party. Unless I'm running with a group of ilvl100+ then I'm 6/7/8

Currently ilvl95 blm