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Aurum Vale isn't terrible, but it's ugly and has way too many debuffs, and the trash hits undergeared tanks like they're made of tissue paper. It's not hard to heal, it just sucks to heal.
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Aug 26, 2021 06:19
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If you've lucked into a group that's really on the ball, Aurum Vale can go lightning fast. I think my roulette record is 11 minutes.
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Aug 26, 2021 06:23
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Ziddar posted:If you've lucked into a group that's really on the ball, Aurum Vale can go lightning fast. I think my roulette record is 11 minutes. It's cheating but for one of the moogle tomestone events I was getting sub 5 minute clears with 4 BLU.
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Aug 26, 2021 06:50
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So is BLU just hands down the best class for soloing old content? Will it be reasonable at l80 to do the same content with normal jobs?
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Aug 26, 2021 07:19
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I did an Aurum Vale where either the tank didn't know the mechanics or simply refused to do them. I had to heal through a stack of 8 of the first boss's debuff and like another 10 of the final boss's. It wasn't that bad though, and I sort of like the place just because I'm the weirdo who always liked Morbols as a monster. I finally finished the post-50 quests and reached Heavensward, and holy moly that ending.
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Aug 26, 2021 07:43
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Aurum Vale is a chance to dust off old speedrun strats and do a sac pull for the first boss If you weren't playing or don't know what that is, the idea is that you have the DPS and healer just not do anything while the tank runs to the boss room. Once the tank dies, the mobs will go back to their spawn locations, because nobody else has enmity on them. Then you can just rez the tank and keep going. All modern dungeons have walls in front of the bosses to prevent this, and to prevent the related speedrun strat of dragging mobs into the boss chamber to aoe.
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Aug 26, 2021 07:47
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Begemot posted:I don't mind Aurum Vale these days as long as I'm the one tanking. I can't stand when I end up in there as DPS and the tank does a lovely job of pulling or placing the bosses. This is probably why I like it. I mostly tank and AV has like, some strategy to it, while basically every other <50 dungeon effectively plays itself and makes me wonder why I showed up.
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Aug 26, 2021 12:02
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Dzemael has everything bad about Toto-Rak and then some. It's got long hallways, a branching map, and an annoying slowdown mechanic like Toto-Rak, and then also makes it frustating to do big AOE pulls because of the environmental hazards/map layout and the specific types of enemies in there (namely frogs and lots of ranged attacks) and has bosses that take longer than they should to kill because you have to keep running around the area during the fights. At this point the only bad part of Aurum Vale is if people accidentally aggro too much in the first room. Otherwise it's one of the fastest dungeons in ARR.
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Aug 26, 2021 15:26
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Yeah, I think Piss Vale is largely fine other than the first room being a bit of a bitch if pulls get messy.
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Aug 26, 2021 15:31
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DD owns because you can do the entire first third of the dungeon in one big pull thanks to the purple glow zones. 
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Aug 26, 2021 16:12
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Bragon posted:So is BLU just hands down the best class for soloing old content? Will it be reasonable at l80 to do the same content with normal jobs? It does depend on the content and sometimes requires some fiddly skill use but yeah, BLU gets away with some absurd nonsense once kitted out. Basic Instinct provides massive solo buffs if you are alone (or the sole survivor) in instanced content. In world zones you can basically team up with your chocobo and just churn fates relatively safely. The versatility of the job is extremely good and you can do some extreme bursting antics, either through regular skill stacking or attempting to one-shot bosses with proper use of Final Sting. BLU kind of got a bad rap at first since the base release set was underwhelming and people were disappointed at the limited job paradigm but they just went for broke with dumb skill combos and abilities in the HW and SB expansions and it really came into its own.
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Aug 26, 2021 16:22
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regarding ARR, i just reached Coerthas and have done a handful of quests in that zone.. anyone have any idea how close i am to the end of ARR? do i still have a lot?
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Aug 26, 2021 16:28
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g-c posted:regarding ARR, i just reached Coerthas and have done a handful of quests in that zone.. anyone have any idea how close i am to the end of ARR? do i still have a lot? You're in the back half of 2.0 but it's still a ways. And much more on top of that if you don't consider the 2.x patch stuff part of ARR, which I do.
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Aug 26, 2021 16:37
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g-c posted:regarding ARR, i just reached Coerthas and have done a handful of quests in that zone.. anyone have any idea how close i am to the end of ARR? do i still have a lot? You're over the halfway mark, but there's still a way to go. Coerthas is where you go into the first expansion, but it's not a straight shot, you go back and do a bunch of other stuff in the other areas before going into Ishgard proper.
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Aug 26, 2021 16:44
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Tortolia posted:It does depend on the content and sometimes requires some fiddly skill use but yeah, BLU gets away with some absurd nonsense once kitted out. The easiest way to confirm this is to just take a Blue Mage into a regular party with normal jobs and watch as you're spoiled for choice on how to cheese mechanics, even with only half the spellbook. It's not just always having a full allotment of twenty-four actions, though that helps. It's how much you can invalidate the other party members. Blue Mage is 0.75 of a tank, a healer, and a DPS all at once, and Aetherial Mimicry lets you become 0.9 of one of those without sacrificing the others (with the caveat that Mighty Guard does eat into your damage dealing powers, though clever toggling can mitigate this). White Wind, Exuviation, Diamondback, Avail, Final Sting, and Moon Flute are all exceptionally powerful effects that other jobs just don't get access to. The closest you get is how Diamondback is "only" 90% of a Hallowed Ground with a cooldown of zero seconds instead of several minutes. Blue Mage is great fun, and a full party of Blue Mages is a hilarious clown show. But if you want to see why it's a limited job, take it to play with the regular crew and see the shenanigans you can get up to.
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Aug 26, 2021 17:20
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Rosalie_A posted:The easiest way to confirm this is to just take a Blue Mage into a regular party with normal jobs and watch as you're spoiled for choice on how to cheese mechanics, even with only half the spellbook. It's not just always having a full allotment of twenty-four actions, though that helps. It's how much you can invalidate the other party members. Blue Mage is 0.75 of a tank, a healer, and a DPS all at once, and Aetherial Mimicry lets you become 0.9 of one of those without sacrificing the others (with the caveat that Mighty Guard does eat into your damage dealing powers, though clever toggling can mitigate this). White Wind, Exuviation, Diamondback, Avail, Final Sting, and Moon Flute are all exceptionally powerful effects that other jobs just don't get access to. The closest you get is how Diamondback is "only" 90% of a Hallowed Ground with a cooldown of zero seconds instead of several minutes. I've been a little burned out on DRs so this has largely convinced me to start BLU.
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Aug 26, 2021 17:47
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Back before they buffed drop rates, running the first Stormblood alliance raid with as many BLU as you could get was a great way to get past one of the Resistance weapon steps. Half the group falling over dead whenever a boss entered Final Sting range. Or multiple people casting Hydro Pull in different locations on the chocobo trash, leading to birds flying in every direction. I think I saw some tankbusters get Avail'd, too. Good times, would have been good to see the other alliance raids done by that kind of shitshow.
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Aug 26, 2021 17:49
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Grayshift posted:Back before they buffed drop rates, running the first Stormblood alliance raid with as many BLU as you could get was a great way to get past one of the Resistance weapon steps. Half the group falling over dead whenever a boss entered Final Sting range. Or multiple people casting Hydro Pull in different locations on the chocobo trash, leading to birds flying in every direction. I think I saw some tankbusters get Avail'd, too. Good times, would have been good to see the other alliance raids done by that kind of shitshow. this sounds like a ton of fun and I'm heartbroken I wasn't around for it, since I've wanted to try alliance raids with blu for a while. Saxophone posted:I've been a little burned out on DRs so this has largely convinced me to start BLU. one of us, one of us, one of us
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Aug 26, 2021 17:56
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I've run a few SB dungeons with DGKK folks lately on their first runs since they needed a fourth and they had some BLU spells I didn't learn yet. It's hilarious just being enable to outright erase a full trash pack every two minutes and then pivot into party healing when the healer goes down. Caveat here for folks new to the job is you can't just randomly roulette on BLU, you have to set up a full preformed group of 4/8/24 people, though the comp can vary however you want (there is a specific in game completion log for doing a variety of content at level with 100% blue mages though).
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Aug 26, 2021 17:58
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If I wrote a Blue Mage 101 effortpost, would people be interested in it?
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Aug 26, 2021 18:09
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Leraika posted:If I wrote a Blue Mage 101 effortpost, would people be interested in it? 1000%
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Aug 26, 2021 18:13
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Leraika posted:If I wrote a Blue Mage 101 effortpost, would people be interested in it? yes
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Aug 26, 2021 18:14
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Leraika posted:If I wrote a Blue Mage 101 effortpost, would people be interested in it? step 1: learn self-destruct step 2: blow yourself up in aetheryte plazas all day long.
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Aug 26, 2021 18:18
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Leraika posted:If I wrote a Blue Mage 101 effortpost, would people be interested in it? Yes! I stalled out around level 34 or so bored to death of grinding mobs like it was 1999. Seems real handy to have around for FATE farming though.
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Aug 26, 2021 18:25
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acumen posted:Yes! I'm sure that guide will cover it, but you can pair up with a buddy and knock out BLU 70 in like an hour by heading over to somewhere like Stilltide beach.
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Aug 26, 2021 18:35
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acumen posted:Yes! I had the opposite problem. I really enjoy abnegation stuff like that where I can just check out and grind for a while (as long as it's not the only thing I can do in a game), and these strangers kept trying to force me to get powerleveled by them, assuming I just wanted to be max level. Not even asking, just "come here, do this" with an expectation I knew what the Hell they were going on about. Ran into the same thing in Eureka, some guy just blind-inviting lowbies and barking orders at them while he soloed packs. If you DO want to be max, there's a trick where if you tag a mob and someone else (outside your party) kills it, you get full XP. So if you get a friend and head up to level 70 mobs (71+ don't get the BLU XP boost) you can get up there in an hour or so.
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Aug 26, 2021 18:36
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Eureka man is a hero. Leveling in there is miserable.
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Aug 26, 2021 18:40
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Leraika posted:If I wrote a Blue Mage 101 effortpost, would people be interested in it? Yes please! I just finished up SB and I'm ready to explore other fun content for a while edit: I have a l71 healer and I'd be down to trade BLU leveling on Crystal if anybody actually plays here
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Aug 26, 2021 18:41
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Bruceski posted:I had the opposite problem. I really enjoy abnegation stuff like that where I can just check out and grind for a while (as long as it's not the only thing I can do in a game), and these strangers kept trying to force me to get powerleveled by them, assuming I just wanted to be max level. Not even asking, just "come here, do this" with an expectation I knew what the Hell they were going on about. Yeah, that's pretty lovely. Sometimes it's really nice to just zone out and have number go up. I took Blue Mage from like 38 to 51 by just running all up and down Mor Dhona with Mighty Guard and 1000 Needles while hanging out with some friends on a five hour voice call (since we couldn't go to the convention we were planning because 2020).
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Aug 26, 2021 18:51
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I'd read about that but my buddies all since left and I didn't really want to beg goons. But trading is a good idea and I will see if I can arrange that when I have time!
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Aug 26, 2021 18:51
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Okay, I'll do a writeup sometime today. PLEASE LOOK FORWARD TO IT
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Aug 26, 2021 19:33
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Blue Mage is very easily powerlevelled, but can certainly punch above its weight class if you want, especially since you can get some solid skills to assist in overland zones (ex. choco meteor).
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Aug 26, 2021 20:46
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cheetah7071 posted:Aurum Vale is a chance to dust off old speedrun strats and do a sac pull for the first boss Cutters Cry sac pull to the last boss is my favorite one
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Aug 26, 2021 20:55
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I was a dummy and bought the story + level skip a long while back but want to view the story now. Should I reroll or just watch some YouTube videos?
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Aug 26, 2021 22:53
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sailormoon posted:I was a dummy and bought the story + level skip a long while back but want to view the story now. Should I reroll or just watch some YouTube videos? I've never done new game plus mode but it's meant to allow people to enjoy the story over again. have you tried that yet?
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Aug 26, 2021 22:57
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NG+ for sure, it's explicitly for people who want to replay the story
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Aug 26, 2021 22:58
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You could get the gist by watching a YouTube series, or you could get everything by going through New Game+. It's unlocked by Wistful Whitebeard in Western Thanalan after you beat 2.0 (look for the blue sidequest in the zone). Edit: If you've already unlocked it, it's under the Duty menu.
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Aug 26, 2021 23:01
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Note that NG+ is intended to let you toggle it on and off to do instances and other content, so you're not locked in once you start it. It's also a great way to not only replay things like job quests or Hildibrand, it lets you quickly scroll through and find out if there's particular storylines you may not have completed yet. While we're generally on the subject of BLU, it enables some degenerate, dumb solo gimmick boss kills too!  (Yes, if Final Sting kills the boss, your party gets credit even if everyone is dead as a result.)
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Aug 27, 2021 00:06
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Tortolia posted:Note that NG+ is intended to let you toggle it on and off to do instances and other content, so you're not locked in once you start it. It's also a great way to not only replay things like job quests or Hildibrand, it lets you quickly scroll through and find out if there's particular storylines you may not have completed yet. Pretty much anything in ARR can be Final Stung by a level 70 BLU, though some of the raid bosses need fishing for direct hit crits or careful timing. I just ran the final boss of Coils 16 times because it's relaxing and he has cool weapons, that one takes some careful approach to knock him into a phase transition but still have time to get Sting off before he leaves the battlefield.
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Aug 27, 2021 00:18
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Blue Mage 101: BLU and You This a very basic introduction to what blue mage is, what its strengths and limitations are, and some basic spells that should be in every low-level blue mage's spellbook. Okay. I'm interested. What's the deal with Blue Mage, anyway?  Blue Mage (BLU for short) is basically the best minigame FFXIV has. Triple Triad, eat your heart out. what More specifically, BLU is a Job that you pick up (your starting quest is "Out of the Blue" in the Limsa Lominsa Lower Decks, accessible once you hit level 50 in any other combat class and clear ARR's main story) and level like any other Job - with certain caveats. The first caveat is that it is a limited job, which means that players using BLU: 1) Cannot use the Duty Finder, except to enter dungeons unsynced. They CAN use Party Finder, and with a full party can join synced dungeons. You basically can't enter a dungeon in any way that would allow someone to randomly join you. 2) Cannot enter certain special instances, like Palace of the Dead, Heaven-on-High, and Eureka. Squadron Missions and PVP are also forbidden. 3) have a level cap of ten levels below the current expansion's (so currently 70). The second caveat: BLU doesn't learn its abilities by leveling like every other Job; you have to go out and learn them. The process is very simple! You have to be on the enemy's aggro table, see the move performed, and be alive when the monster dies. That's it! This isn't your grandfather's final fantasy game where you have to get hit by the move to learn something. However, because this is an mmo and RNG is king, most moves are not guaranteed to be learned the first time you see them. It might take a couple tries. The only moves that have 100% learn rate are moves from dungeons completed synced (which means you WILL have to get a group together to run them) and certain moves you need for your class quests. After you learn a move, you can open your BLU spellbook and assign it to one of your ability sets; you get five of them, only one of which can be active at a time, and swapping between them will also swap your hotbar layout (thanks, recently-added QoL!) After you assign it to your ability set, you can assign it to your hotbars as normal. Wait a second, if I can't enter dungeons, how do I get exp? Good news! BLU has an increased EXP gain and lower EXP-to-Level than real classes, so farming monsters to level is actually feasible (and the intended way to level the class)! I'll discuss an alternative later on, however. Okay, I get it. I'm ready to become a REAL BLUE MAGE. What are some spells I should pick up right away? You should probably have a friend help you to learn your first couple spells; being a level 1 caster probably means you'll need a little help to Not Die. You'll also be limited to spells available on the overworld until you're high enough level to start entering dungeons, but any spell you can (a) see and (b) survive long enough for the enemy to die is fair game. Here a handful that will be useful at least until you get some levels under your belt: Blood Drain: Deals low damage (potency 50) and restores MP. Easiest way to learn is from Chigoes in the Central Shroud. It'll hit for about a quarter of the damage your default spell will, but the MP heal may come in handy. Ice Spikes: Best learned from Trickster Imps also in the Central Shroud. Puts up a barrier that does damage to anything striking it, which is a nice little offensive boost and a great way to deal with certain annoying puzzle fights. Acorn Bomb: Learned from Treant Saplings also also in the Central Shroud. Puts enemies to sleep. Combos well with... 1000 Needles: Learned from Sabotender Bailaors in Southern Thanalan. You should know what this does (1000 damage is what it does). The downsides are its high MP cost and cast time - but putting enemies to sleep before you start casting it solves at least one of those problems. Acorn Bomb + 1000 Needles will be your bread and butter for leveling for a long time. Choco Meteor: Learned from Courser Chocobos in the Dravanian Forelands. This one's a little spicier to learn due to its high level (and people who haven't gotten to Heavensward yet can't access it) but it's an easy learn if you've got someone helping you not die. It does aoe damage that's boosted if you've got your own chocobo out. If you're going to be doing things in the open world and have access to this spell, there's no reason not to learn it. Bristle: Learned from Wild Boars in the East Shroud. Boosts the potency of your next spell by 50%. A good powerful bread and butter skill that you're pretty much always going to want to set on your hotbar. Basic Instinct: Learned from Master Coeurls in Upper La Noscea. Gives you Dragonball Z-tier stat boosts (+100% damage dealt and healing magic potency, +30% movement speed, negates the damage penalty of the tank stance spell) with the caveat that you have to be in a duty and either solo or as the sole remaining member of the party. Tear through dungeons with relative ease! Do stupid speedruns of old content! Become as a god! Final Sting: Learned from Killer Wespes in Middle La Noscea (they only cast it when damaged, so you'll have to tag it a few times). KO yourself to do massive single-target damage. How massive? (thanks, Tortolia! I realized as I was editing this that my own Big Number screenshot was spoilers.) Self-Destruct: Learned from Glide Bombs in Western Thanalan and most other bomb-type enemies afterwards. It's AOE Final Sting, but does less damage, and is thus generally less useful (though the fact that you can use it without an enemy target opens up some fun ways to cheese jumping puzzles and similar). Keep in mind that the use of either of these spells will give you the Brush with Death debuff, which will prevent you from using a self-KO move again for ten minutes. This is the price one pays for ultimate dps, I guess. Also remember that you cannot learn spells when you are dead! After you learn five spells (these, or others) and have completed the level 1 BLU job quest, you can return to your Job NPC and pick up an item that, when used, allows you to learn the spell Off-Guard, which increases the target's damage taken by 5% for 15 seconds. This is another spell you'll want to have on your castbar pretty much permanently. So I've got a couple spells now and I want to know that fast way to level that you mentioned. What you will need for this method is: 1) one friend with a high-leveled regen healer job (so AST or WHM). What you do: Meet your friend in the highest-level area you have access to. Have them cast Regen or any ability with a regenerative effect on you. Pull everything you can reach before the regen wears off, and the regen's health ticks will generate aggro on your healer buddy, swapping the monsters' focus over to them. Have them kill everything aggroed onto them and reap the exp benefits! Note that this will NOT work if the two of you are in a party together, because you stop gaining exp if you're partied with someone whose level is much higher than yours. Okay, so I've leveled up a bit, gotten some spells, and done my quests, what now? You'll unlock THE MASKED CARNIVALE, the BLU-only fighting arena! It's a bunch of puzzle fights, most of which will require you to have learned specific abilities to counter their bullshit. Winning will net you Allied Seals (the hunt currency; can also be traded for blu-specific items when you're far enough along in the storyline) and you need to have a certain number of stages cleared to get the totems to learn certain spells (10/20/30 for Moon Flute/Doom/Angel Whisper respectively). FURTHER RESOURCES: Keep in mind that these will contain spoilers through Stormblood, because there are a lot of spells that are only learned from boss fights. If you do not want to be spoiled, do not click these!!! Blue Mage Spells Learning Guide - all the spells and where to find them. Blue Mage Setups for the Uninitiated - o god what spells do I use Leraika fucked around with this message at 01:19 on Aug 27, 2021 |
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Aug 27, 2021 00:27
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