Standard EXP Party Guide - Black Mage

CAUTION!

This article is only a guide. Information expressed in a guide is usually more opinion than fact and should be taken as such. Guides are written by players, based upon their experiences, successes and mistakes, and are meant to aid other players. However, there may be differing opinions than those expressed in a guide. Strategies and information in guides may not work for everyone.

Black Mages, are you bored of burning or soloing your exp? Party leaders, are you tired of the "unga bunga"? Want a fresh take on how to destroy mobs? This in-depth guide is for you.

The black mage is a heavy damage dealing job with a touch of utility that can fit well into a standard leveling party. However, the job is a bit technical and requires players to be knowledgeable of a few game mechanics to perform well: specifically melee preferred weapon skills, skillchains, and their elemental properties. Partying in a standard group as a black mage will also test your communication skills with your party mates, awareness, and timing. You'll need to be watching the front line and their TP gain.

This in-depth guide will help fellow black mages perform well/rival the melee DPS in a standard party from the middle to later levels.

This guide will also help party leaders understand the mechanics and perks of including a black mage in their next exp party.

TLDR: Black mages can certainly rival, even beat, melee DPS jobs on the damage charts in the mid to late levels if black mages have a skillchain to burst off of in their regular party (combined with free nuking). This requires black mages/party leaders to communicate/strategize with the frontline to set up skillchains and for black mages to not shy away from -aga spells for bursting. Additionally, black mages need to make full use of their dark magic, drain, in their standard party (except when facing bats or undead, just use low tier nukes instead).

Please be advised: This guide in no way states that standard groups are better/worse than other types of groups. Only that a standard group of play is viable in leveling up your black mage. Play how you like! Have fun!

Party Preparation

Spells spells spells. Unlike melee who rely on their armor and weapons for dealing damage, black mages should be up to date on all of their spells to perform well in an exp party. This includes all single target tier 1-4 spells, -agas, drain and aspir. The higher level a spell is, the higher base damage it has. Many scrolls can be bought from NPCs in towns. Some scrolls require you to do a quest to obtain them. And some scrolls are a drop from monsters. You can find all the scrolls on the auction house for sale as well.

As you level up you will notice that scrolls become more and more expensive. You will need to find a way to make gil to keep up with the costs. That's a whole other thing that this guide will not cover but common ways of making gil are farming low level enemies for valuable drops/crystals/clusters to sell on the auction house, crafting, HELM, and fishing.

The only spells that you may consider passing on for leveling in a standard party are the level 50-60 ancient magics, i.e. Flare. More on that later.

In addition to scrolls consider buying food. Like melee, black mages will perform better in combat if they are eating food. You want to aim for foods that give +INT, usually fruit pies.

Consider leveling cooking to at least level 30. Pineapple juice is cheap to make and useful for less downtime during the lower levels, and if your party doesn't have a refresher at the higher levels. Melon and yagudo drinks are great too if you have cooking 40 or 60. Grape juice ain't bad either at cooking 50.

Equipment-wise, you want to stack as much INT as you can find/afford. INT impacts the damage and accuracy of your spells. The basic formula is the higher your INT is compared your enemy's, the more damage you do. At later levels (51+) you want to obtain a set of elemental staves. They can be expensive but they add even more damage and accuracy to all of your spells. The Dark staff is incredibly useful in boosting your MP regeneration while resting. Consider first buying a dark and then ice staff. The light staff is not as necessary for the black mage compared to the summoner, red mage, and white mage. Save that one for last.

Don't worry too much about HQ elemental staves. Black mages can easily rival melee dps with NQ staves. You can consider the HQs as luxury, not necessary. If you're going for HQs, consider upgrading in the same order as getting NQs

For a sub job for standard parties, red mage is highly recommended. Fast cast will help you be able to double magic burst. More on that later. You'll also get a bit more INT for your spells damage with RDM sub.

Having your elemental, dark, and enfeebling magic skills capped is very important! If your skills are under leveled your spells will be resisted quite a bit and your DPS will suffer. If your skills are uncapped, most of the time due to syncing at lower levels, take some time to level those up by skilling up on worm-type monsters. You can silence them and then spam spells on them until you cap. Check out this page for locations of worms and their levels around the world: https://horizonffxi.wiki/Category:Worms

Finally, and arguably the most important thing to do before partying, is load up the TParty or HXUI addons for partying! You want to be able to see your melee's TP.

Macros

Standard party or not, you want to be able to quickly access your spells. Here are some examples of how to set up your macros for easy/quick access so you don't have to waste time searching through your menus.

Tier 1 Nukes and -GAs

Tier 2 Nukes and -GAs

Tier 3 Nukes and -GAs

Debuffs

Each macro set will have your single target and -GA nukes in the same position for each tier (1-4). With this macro set up, you can quickly scroll through your tiers of single target spells and -GAs. You will also have access to resting, drain, aspir, and stun on each page, also in the same position. Each macro will have the spell as well as appropriate gear swap for each spell (staves, skill+, etc) Ex: /equipset 10.

The "CloakMP" macro is for equipping Black Cloak for some refresh while idle.

The macros labeled "DEBUFF" and "CURES" at the end of each set will jump your macros to the appropriate macro set via "/macro set x"

Party Composition

A quick rundown of a standard exp party: consists of a dedicated tank, 3 damage dealers, a healer, and a support. You, the black mage will be working with the other 2 damage dealers (usually melee front line jobs but rangers can work as well) to dish out the damage and kill mobs quick. Tanks can consider opening skillchains for the melee DD and summoner avatars as well!

• There is an alternative party lineup that black mage will also perform well in. That is later in the guide. Let's cover the basics of a standard party first!

With a BLM in your party, 1 of the front line melee will need to be a puller (brings mobs to the camp for the party to fight) if there isn't a bard in the party.

• BLM synergizes quite well with THF or BRD in their party (dedicated pullers, THF has threat control and needs a skillchain anyway to be effective, BRD is...well, a BRD). Unless there is a THF or BRD in the party, make sure 1 of the frontline is ok with pulling. Some melee do not want to pull. Some melee are fine with pulling because getting exp is better than no exp. It doesn't hurt to ask!

The "tricky" part of having a BLM in a regular party at the higher levels is the need for a puller, and for the coordination of at least 1 skillchain for the BLM to burst off of.

Unfortunately black mages are a bit misunderstood (by even themselves!) and don't get as many party invites as the other DPS. Especially in the mid to upper levels. Many black mages either solo or mana burn to gain levels. That's not to say black mages will decline a traditional party invite. Traditional parties are arguably much more interesting than soloing or manaburning.

It will most likely fall on the black mage to be the party leader and invite folks if they want to standard party though. It will also be on the black mage/party leader to communicate the change of pace/battle strategy for coordinating a skillchain between the melee DPS for the black mage to burst off of. Or else the BLM/party DPS/exp rate will suffer...

Horizon is an active server and usually there are many players seeking parties at all level ranges, especially during (NA) prime time. There are many more party seekers than folks that are willing be a party leader. If you invite, they will most likely join. Everyone seeking wants to exp, just not that interested in putting a party together. If you want to learn more about how to put an exp party together check out: EXP Party Leader Guide.

Perks

If your exp party is lacking a bard, or another support job (which all parties ideally want to have), having a black mage is a good 2nd choice. The magic bursts/damage a black mage provides their party, to kill mobs quick, makes up for the loss of buffs a bard/support gives the party, to kill mobs quick.

Starting at around level 32 (Blizzaga/Water2), having a black mage in your standard exp party will allow you to target higher level enemies (~10 levels). Even without a bard. At around level 54 when black mages can use elemental staves and AF gloves (elemental skill+15), your party can take on enemies ~12 levels higher. This is because a skillchain and (double) magic burst combo will deal a significant amount of damage (more on that later).

Your exp chains will give more exp compared to targeting mobs 6-9 levels higher than the party. Your party will also be able to exp longer when starting on higher level mobs, as your party will take longer to out level the camp. Your party should definitely be eating food (Sushi for melee! Seafood for the tanks! Pies for the blm!) to make up for the greater level difference.

Having a BLM in the standard party frees up the non-THF melee to use a subjob other than the commonly used /NIN (2-hander melee will appreciate /SAM, MNKs will love being able to use /WAR) and allows the tank to focus more on their role. THFs could actually try subbing /war though if they trust the tank to grab aggro from their pulls.

Why is melee/nin not necessary in a standard party with a Black Mage? Subbing war, sam, or thf is more DPS than /nin. And with a tank and a skillchain +magic burst combo, an exp mob is usually defeated before a melee takes too much aggro from the tank. Black mages also have stun at level 45+ that will support the melee that may take aggro.

A black mage in an exp party allows the group to more easily target enemies with dangerous AOEs (flies, rocs, evil weapons, etc) compared to a party that has all melee/front line DPS. There will be less party members in the front line taking damage.

Having an extra back line job will be less stress on the healer. Black mages can usually take care of themselves with drain/blink/stoneskin/regen/stun/etc.

Enemies will generate less TP (less use of abilities) as black mages aren't constantly feeding TP with melee swings.

Having a black mage in the exp party will establish the skill chain opener and closer. Meaning less stress and competition/stepping on each other's toes. Melee usually want to participate in a chain.

BLM can stun starting at level 45 which is very helpful if someone outside of the tank takes aggro or if the tank needs a breather.

BLM has crowd control. If there are any links or aggro during your exp party, BLM can deal with them via sleep and/or bind.

Utility

On top of DPS black mages offer their party utility:

• If the puller gets a link or aggro, or if a party member gets aggro on the way to camp, the black mage has sleep, bind, sleepga, sleep 2, and sleepga 2 for crowd control. You can guarantee the spells will land by first using elemental seal. Some camps favor a BLM and/or BRD in party due to lots of links.

• At 25 BLM gets tractor which is handy if someone dies near aggro. Pull them to a spot they can safely raise at.

• At 29 if things get really tricky and the party is in a dungeon, escape comes in handy to safely warp everyone outside.

• At level 40+ your party members will love you for Warp 2 after an exp party is over.

• Subbing RDM gives you access to cures and regen. BLM can toss out a cure/regen here and there to support the party (and themselves) as needed.

• Subbing RDM gives you access to sneak(40) and invisible(50) as well. Your party members will love you for helping them save some gil and/or their life by tossing them sneak and invis on the way to camp.

• At 45 BLM gets stun. Stun is helpful if you are partying with a NIN and shadows are down or if another party member takes hate and starts getting beat on. It's also fun for when you are going all out with blink/stoneskin on and finishing off the mob. Give the tank a little break!

• At 64 RDM sub gives you Dispel which is VERY handy against certain mobs if you are partying without a RDM or BRD (SMN WHM on heals/support).

Coordinating with the Melee

As a black mage your main job (although not the only job) in the party will be to magic burst after the 2 melee make a skillchain. Black mage DPS will be mediocre if they don't have a skill chain to burst off of. You will need to communicate with your party mates to make at least 1 skillchain. Also make use of the TParty or HXUI addons! You want to be able to see your melee's TP. That way you will know when they are going to chain.

Sometimes melee will know what chains with what or be using an addon that will tell them what chains. But sometimes they won't and you'll need to coordinate with the melee to make a skillchain. It does requires a bit of research to know what weaponskills chain with each other and what the elemental property of the chain is. But the RnD is worth the DPS!

Before around level 30, melee don't have such great accuracy for consistent skillchains. You might want to consider just focusing on free nuking/draining at the lower levels. It's definitely possible though, especially if you're in a 2 mage, 4 melee type of party. The other mage being a healer.

Pretty much any two melee can skill chain with each other. You just need to figure out what weapons your melee are using and what chains with what.

• Ex strategizing: "WAR are you using Great Axe or Axe?", "DRK are you using Scythe or Great Sword?", "OK Great. Can DRK open for WAR please?" , "Vorpal Scythe > Sturmwind => Reverberation." , "I'll burst Waterga II off that."

No need to use TP ready and SC ready macros. That can actually DELAY the combo and reduce the party's killing rate/exp gain. Everyone should be able to see each others' TP with addons. You want your melee to SC ASAP. Advise your skillchain opener to use a weaponskill as soon as they and their buddy have full TP.

Melee do have their preferred heavy hitting weapon skills. But usually they are happy to open or close a chain as long as they get to use their heavy hitting weapon skills. It's more fun to have a buddy to skillchain with rather than spamming weapon skills as well! If partying with a THF or melee that uses /THF, they probably want to close a chain.

Some tips on your melee party mates's weapon skills:

• Starting at 23 WARs like to use Sturmwind with Great Axe. This goes all the way till level 60 when they get Raging Rush. Sturmwind can either open Detonation, Impaction or Induration. Sturmwind closes Reverberation and Fragmentation. Once WARs Hit 60 they want to start using Raging Rush which can open or close Fragmentation, and closes Induration and Reverberation. Raging Rush also opens Impaction. Some DRKs roll with Great Axe at lower levels too.

• Axe wielding WARs and BSTS have a few options before they get Rampage at 55. Raging Axe closes Detonation, Impaction, and Fustion. Raging Axe opens Detonation Liquefaction and Gravitation. At 33 Avalanche Axe opens Fragmentation and Impaction. Avalanche Axe also closes Induration. At 49 Spinning Axe opens Fusion and Liquefaction, and can close Distortion or Liquefaction. Once WARs and BSTs get Rampage they can close Distortion, or open Detonation Reverberation and Liquefaction.

• DRKs who use Scythe tend to like Shadow of Death starting at level 23. Shadow of Death closes Fragmentation, Induration, and Reverberation. Shadow of Death opens Impaction and Induration. Starting at 49 Scythe DRKS really want to use Vorpal Scythe. Vorpal Scythe opens Distortion, Detonation, Scission, Reverberation, and Liquefaction. Vopral Scythe can close Scission. Starting at 60 DRKs REALLY want to use Guillotine on scythe. Guillotine opens Fragmentation and Impaction, and closes Induration.

• Great Sword wielding DRKs are versatile. They can open or close nearly any chain. They tend to like using Frost Bite at 23 and Freezebite at 33 though. Both open Fragmentation and close Induration. Freezebite will open/close Detonation and Scission. However at level 55 they really want to use Crescent Moon which closes Distortion and opens Reverberation, Liquefaction, and Detonation. At 60 Great Sword wielding DRKs prefer to use Sickle Moon which shares the same properties as Crescent moon and also closes Fusion and Impaction.

• Similar to Great Sword DRKs SAMs with Great Katanas are versatile. However they tend to like Tachi: Enpi. Which opens and closes Distortion and Scission. Enpi opens Reverberation, Scission, Detonation, and Liquefaction. At 49 SAMs like to use Tachi:Jinpu, which opens Reverberation, Liquefaction, Detonation, and Gravitation. Jinpu will close Distortion, Scission, and Detonation. When SAMs hit 60 they prefer to use Yukikaze, which opens Fragmentation/Impaction, and closes Detonation.

• THFs using Daggers want to close Distortion or Scission with Wasp Sting or Viper Bite. At lower levels you may need to nudge them to close Detonation with Gust Slash though if the other melee can't open Distortion. Luckily Gust Slash has been era+ to hybrid damage so it actually does some decent damage with sneak/trick attack. At lower levels you may also need to nudge THFs to open Reverberation or Detonation if partying with a GA WAR or DRK to close. Starting at 60 THFs are really happy to close Detonation Scission and Distortion with Dancing Edge.

• MNKs using Hand-to-Hand like to use Combo and starting at 41 Raging Fists. Both are good to close Fusion and Impaction, or open Detonation. At 33 Monks get Backhand Blow, which is also pretty strong and closes Detonation. Backhand Blow opens Scission and Gravitation as well. Starting at 60 Monks like to use Howling Fist. Howling Fists opens Distortion, Reverberation, Liquefaction, and Detonation. Howling Fists closes Fusion and Impaction.

• DRGs with Polearms are usually happy to open Distortion or Reverberation with Double Thrust until they hit 49. Then they REALLY want to use Penta Thrust. Penta Thrust opens Detonation and closes Gravitation. At 55 DRGs get Vorpal Thrust which opens Distortion and Induration. Coax them into opening! The overall party DPS is worth it! At 60 DRGs get Skewer which opens Distortion, Detonation, Reverberation, Liquefaction and closes Impaction. But at 60 they could go back to opening Detonation again with penta if you're also partying with a THF that can close with Dancing Edge.

• RNGs using Guns or Bows shouldn't have any issues opening Distortion, Reverberation, Induration, or Fusion until 55 when they get Sidewinder/Slug Shot. Then they want to only use those WS. Sidewinder/Slug Shot will open Impaction and Gravitation...but you probably want RNGs to be a closer for Fragmentation Reverberation or Detonation with Sidewinder/Slug Shot. Reason being it does A LOT of damage and will pretty much pull hate from any tank and can mess up the next melee's weapon skill, "Too far away".

• If you are partying with a Summoner you can consider including avatars in skillchains. They can open/close pretty much any chain with their avatars. They could chain with the tank when they get TP or can do a 3 step after the melee do their chain. Or pick 1 melee and just chain with them. If you have a PLD tank, Red Lotus Blad > Burning Strike makes Fusion. Avatars also make decent Magic Bursts so that's fun too if your SMN prefers the bursting to the chaining.

• If you're not finding a great chain for your two melee DD you might want to consider PLDs and NINs to chain with one of the melee while the other melee just solos their DPS, being mindful of when the tank and other melee are chaining. Higher level sword-wielding PLDs are versatile and can open nearly any chain; notably Fusion, Gravitation, and Distortion. NINs can open quite a few chains with katanas as well; notably Induration, Distortion, Gravitation, and Fragmentation. Both jobs aren't bad at closing chains either. But ideally your party wants to aim for chains where a melee DD or summoner can close with a strong WS/BP for extra skillchain damage. Make sure your tanks are eating accuracy tank food (sushi, ikra gunkan) so they don't delay a chain too much.

Ideally you want to find a chain that you can burst your highest level spell off of, but your damage output shouldn't suffer too much if you are able to double burst something lower tier. Some mobs have certain elemental resistances as well so your highest nukes may not be the best choice as well. Some versatile weapon-wielding melee will say, "I can use either weapon" when you ask about what they can use for SCing. Use that to your advantage to figure out a chain that you can burst the best nuke off of for the camp.

The most popular skillchain is Distortion. (Water and Ice spells are the most important spells to be updated on as BLM.) Many jobs can open and many jobs (THF) can close Distortion.

Check out these charts to see how certain weapons skills chain with each other.

Higher level party lineup/skillchaining tips:

• Starting around levels 65-66 skillchaining gets much easier. Melee learn powerful weapon skills that chain together easier to make level 2 and 3 skillchains. Level 3 chains are awesome! They do tons of damage and BLM can burst up to 4 elements off of those. It will become even more easier to create chains when melee unlock their final weaponskill.
• At higher levels (67+) THF+BLM+(any other melee DPS) continues to synergize pretty well. Some meta exp parties/players start to leave out THFs (unfortunately) at around that level so you will often find a few THFs seeking to invite. But a THF closing light/fragmentation or opening Distortion with a trick attack Shark bite on a tank followed by a BLM MBing can be on par with other party set ups for consistent exp chain 5+ against monsters 10-11 levels higher than the party. Trick attack will also solidify threat on the tank. Bonus points if the THF has Evisceration; they can then open/close Darkness or open Fragmentation for more options in creating chains.
  • If partying with THF and MNK melee DDs at higher levels, and MNK does not have Asuran Fists, the THF will most likely need to close Distortion with Dancing Edge; MNK opening with Howling Fist.
    • THF could also close Fragmentation (Shark Bite) with the PLD (Swift Blade) or NIN (Blade: Ten/Ku) tank opening for them.
    • PLD or NIN could also close darkness after THF and MNk make Distortion if they have TP for multiple bursting opportunities every other mob or so.
    • PLD and MNK could make Fusion (Red Lotus Blade > Howling Fist), and THF close Light (Shark Bite) when all have TP as well.

The Magic Burst

When 2 compatible weapon skills occur in succession, a skillchain is formed. Skillchains have elemental properties. And if you cast a spell that matches an elemental property property of the skillchain, that spell will "BURST", meaning it will have a lot more accuracy and cause a lot more damage. Magic bursting is boosted on Horizon for extra accuracy and damage as well.

A review of each skillchain and their magic burst properties:

De­to­na­tion = Burst Aero
Im­pac­tion = Burst Thunder
Scis­sion = Burst Earth
Rever­be­ra­tion = Burst Water
Li­que­fac­tion = Burst Fire
In­du­ra­tion = Burst Blizzard
Trans­fixion = Burst Light
Com­pres­sion = Burst Dark
Fu­sion = Burst Fire and Light
Frag­men­ta­tion = Burst Thunder and Aero
Dis­tor­tion = Burst Water and Blizzard
Gra­vi­ta­tion = Burst Earth and Dark
Light = Burst Light, Fire, Thunder, Aero
Dark­ness = Burst Dark, Water, Earth, and Blizzard

Review the skillchain chart in the above section to see how your melee can skillchain. Luckily powerful weapon skills do chain with eachother so melee are usually happy to chain as they can still use their favored weapon skills.

...So you've got your standard party together, figured out a skillchain to burst off of, and you're at camp now and the front line are hitting the mob. While the healer is looking at HP bars and numbers making sure the party is healthy, you,the black mage, are looking at the TP bars and numbers making sure they are ready for a magic burst....

You now see that the two melee who said they are chaining are getting close to 1000+ TP. Get ready. Stand up if you are resting.

Do not ask the melee to wait for your spells. Be aware of what's happening on the front line. Follow the melee in their chain. Every second that delays the melee in their chain, delays mob being defeated/exp.

When you see the first melee weapon skill, start casting your hardest hitting nuke that will burst off of the incoming skill chain. -AGA nukes are highly recommended! Your party should not be camping by close mobs that will aggro/link/get caught in the -AGA so you should be safe to -AGA. -AGA nukes generally do a lot more damage than the single targets.

You should be finishing your nuke soon after the 2nd melee uses a weaponskill and the skillchain goes off for a magic burst. It may take some practice with your party mates to get the timing right. Observe and acclimate to the "rhythm" of the melee after a few fights.

More tips on Magic Burst Timing:

• The First EXP Mob
  • It's not uncommon for the first mob pulled to be the "TP builder." Depending on how geared your melee are, they may not have TP until the first exp mob is below 50%. You can think of it as the dps machine needing a minute to get started. Consider free nuking a lot more on the first exp mob to help melee kill it before they have TP for a chain. After that first mob, opportunities for chains and bursts open up for the following mobs to have higher than 50-60% HP.

• If you are partying with a THF or a melee that is /THF closing the chain, consider giving an extra second or two before casting for SATA setup.

• Some melee will "buff" themselves before using a weaponskill (berserk, soul eater, aggressor, etc.). This will delay the skillchain a bit as well. Keep a close eye on the melee to make sure you are timing your casting appropriately.

• At lower levels you may need to delay your Magic Burst a bit as well due to the shorter spell casting time of lower tier spells.

Note: The window for magic bursting begins right after the 2nd melee uses their weaponskill. You do not need to wait for the skillchain animation to finish before you can burst. You can burst while the animation is occurring. Ideally you actually WANT to be bursting during the skillchain animation. More on that in the next section.

Congratulations! Enjoy watching the mob's HP drop during the skillchain magic burst combo.

If you have a RDM or SMN as a support role your party they may be joining you in bursting. WHM can burst too if the chain is light based.

Note: Skillchaining/Magic Bursting opportunities are a bit limited until around level 30, when melee have access to more accuracy gear. This guide is more geared towards partying during the middle-later levels as a black mage. During the lower levels, it may be more efficient to focus on free nuking, casting drain, and debuffing in your party (all while watching your aggro of course).

See: https://horizonffxi.wiki/Magic_Burst for additional information on Magic Bursts.

The Double Magic Burst

So you've got magic bursting down... but if you really want to rival the melee DPS from the mid to upper levels, and shock your group in how much damage you can do, you want to look at double magic bursting.

There is about a 10 second window for magic bursting. It begins right after the 2nd melee uses their weapon skill. Before the skillchain animation finishes. This means you can pull off a 2nd burst. As soon as you are finishing your first bursting nuke, immediately start casting another bursting nuke for the skillchain.

Usually the combo is a single target nuke followed by a -AGA or vice versa (ex: Water 2 <-> Blizzaga after a Distortion chain), whatever is stronger at your level.

Subbing Red Mage gives you fast cast which will nearly guarantee you being able to burst a 2nd nuke. If you are using HXUI you can start casting your 2nd burst at around 80% cast bar of your first bursting nuke.

Note: The example double magic burst pictures are against an incredibly tough enemy at level 55 using a water staff and moldavite earring (Ifrit's Cauldron Camp). DRG (Vorpal Thrust) and DRK (Crecent Moon) melee making Distortion chain. BLM/RDM is watching the TP of the melee, starting Waterga II right after DRG opens for DRK, and casting Water III right after Waterga II to double burst.

Enjoy watching even more of the mob's HP drop. This will take some more practice but it's very satisfying to pull off. At higher levels, if melee have full TP at the beginning of a battle your party can take out an IT mob within seconds with a Skillchain + double magic burst combo. Very fun/satisfying to pull off.

It's possible to start magic bursting as early as level 17 with blizzard + water on a Distortion chain. At level 19 double magic bursting grows in power with Waterga + blizzard.

At around level 51 with (NQ) elemental staves and a moldavite earring, black mages can double burst for over 1K damage after a skill chain. Invest!

• Note: Starting at around level 57, the higher tier spells (blizzaga II) start taking more time to cast. It may be harder to pull off a double magic burst with consecutive high tier nukes. To deal with this try using a lower tier spell to be able keep the double bursting up. EX: Blizzaga II > Blizzard or Blizzaga. Blizzaga II > Blizzard II may be trickier with the timing but it's possible.

The melee should be starting the SC MB around 60-70% of the mob's HP. The SC 2x MB combo should finish the mob off or at least make it close to being dead.

If your group starts a chain and double burst combo at the start of a fight, and you don't have a thf, the tank may lose hate. Your party might want to wait a bit for the tank to get some hate.

Or, have blink (and later stoneskin) up before the combo and you can act like a mini tank for a few seconds while the real tank works to get hate back or until the mob dies. You can even start casting blink while you are taking hate to put on more shadows after the first blink ends.

At 45 you get stun which you can cast while you are taking threat and the mob is almost dead. Stun will give you a bit more time to free nuke and/or cast drain to finish off the mob. If you are partying with a thief you should not have to worry about getting too much threat as they have a lot of tools for for controlling threat.

Alternative Party Line Up

So now you've got the basics down in how to party... However there are sometimes slim pickings for jobs seeking to make a standard party, specifically a healer or support.

There is another party lineup that BLM will perform well in without a support: 1 tank, 1 THF/puller, 2 melee DPS, the BLM, and a healer.

This lineup will save you from yelling for a bard/support/healer for hours when you already have a WHM or RDM and there are usually THFs and BLMs seeking.

This lineup may actually be more common than the standard/traditional lineup. It has the same basic concept of chaining and bursting, it just puts a little more pressure on the healer and the BLM to support the party and your group probably doesn't want to target mobs that have damaging AoEs.

At higher levels the healer most likely will need to drop haste on the melee DPS in favor of keeping the tank hasted, to keep up with mp in this setup. That's ok! The extra melee DPS + chains + magic bursts will make up for it.

You could consider a DRG/WHM as one of the melee DPS that has backup healing support for your healer if you are facing mobs with lots of aoes.

Basically the THF/puller is considered the support role in this setup, and will be pulling and managing threat (if THF). With 4 front line, there will most likely be 2 skillchains. At higher levels there could be even 3 chains. The 3 melee and the tank have a partner and will be skillchaining with each other while you burst.

Consider coordinating the "priority chain" in this setup...if all 4 frontline have TP, organize which team will chain first.

Typically the pattern is mob 1 chain A, the next mob chain B, rise and repeat. Expect to be focused solely on magic bursting (limited free nuking) and supporting the main healer via cures/regen a bit in this party setup.

At higher levels try to coordinate at least 1 light or dark chain. The other chain can be level 1 as long as the weapon skills are strong. Ex: Cross reaper > Evisceration for Darkness, and Blade: Jin > Slugshot for Detonation.

Consider using stun a lot more in this line up. The melee who is chaining without the THF may take hate, especially if they are closing. Magic bursting + stun helps a lot. The mob should be defeated shortly after that.

In this set up you might want to consider using only single target nukes for the MBs instead of -agas to conserve MP as you may not have a refresh (WHM healer, no BRD) and skillchains are going to occur a bit faster. If there is no refresh, consider bringing a few drinks or, if you have cooking leveled, a "drink making kit" to save some inventory space. At least 1 melee DD can get away without subbing /nin in this setup but if there is no main tank (PLD or NIN), all melee are highly recommended to sub /NIN in this setup.

Some melee line ups may not have a great chain to work with...especially if melee aren't versatile in their weapon use (Ex: Rampage WAR and Guillotine DRK can't chain...). In that case 2 melee may be soloing their DPS without chaining and there is only 1 chain between the 2 other melee (Typically it will be a chain with the THF that is closing). In this case the BLM can use an -aga for that 1 chain (ideally with a double burst).

If you can find a summoner a similar setup can also work with a SMN + Healer: Tank, THF/puller, 2nd Melee, BLM, SMN, Healer setup.

THF/puller is pulling. SMN is assisting with support/off healing. Tank is opening for SMN avatar to close. THF and other melee are chaining. BLM bursting on both chains. At higher levels (70+) the summoner can use their high-damage rage pacts without making a skillchain and you can free nuke more.

This setup could also work without a THF but one of the two melee is going to need to be the puller and BLM will need to be more mindful of threat.

Additional Battle Tactics

Yes, your main job is (double) magic bursting in a standard group. But it isn't the only thing you should be doing as a damage dealer. If the black mage is only magic bursting... then they are holding their party back in DPS/exp rate.

Consider being as active/aware as the melee/frontline. Here are some other important things you should consider doing in your standard exp parties:

• Drain is your bread and butter. You should be casting it at least once a fight. You could cast it at the beginning, as soon as the tank provokes. Or you could consider casting drain after (double) magic bursting. Use a Recast/Timers addon so you know when your next drain is up. Quest for the drain scroll or buy it off the auction house soon as you hit 12. Drain scales super well and at higher levels you will be doing a lot of damage with it for only 21 MP. It is the most mp/damage efficient spell in the game. You could consider drain as your "weapon swinging damage" that keeps you on par with the melee as they are building TP.
• Note: Drain is awful against Bats and undead. You'll have to adjust to using low tier free nuking in place of it when fighting these types of mobs.

Even if your dark magic skill is low and you aren't doing as much damage with drain, use it as often as you can as an opportunity to level your dark magic skill.

• Free nuke! Peppering in free nukes (low tiers, high tiers, and -GAs) along with your magic bursts will keep you on par with (or keep you ahead of) the melee DPS as well as affects exp rate/how fast the mobs are dying. However, don't over-nuke to where you are getting so much threat you are tanking each mob, annoying the frontline, and dying. Free nuking is a bit of an art that takes time to develop a good sense of when to use the heavy or light nukes. You generally want to use lower tier nukes/drain at the start of a fight (where you won't get aggro), and save your heavy nuking for magic bursting and later in a fight when the mob is getting close to dead. At that point there should be little concern if the tank loses hate to you because the enemy is almost dead (have blink/stoneskin on). However, you may be able to get away with being more aggressive and free nuking earlier depending on your party's set-up/skill. Watch for when the tank uses provoke/yonin/flash/sentinel/etc or when a melee or THF are using Sneak/Trick attack for best opportunities for the bigger free nukes.

• MP/resting is important but don't waste too much time resting. You do not need to rest to full MP. Don't spend too much time idling. Especially if you're on exp chain 3-5+. In fact, if you ever are at full MP during your party, you most likely are not DPSing enough. Missing out on a tick of MP is worth the damage of a magic burst and/or free nuking/draining to keep the exp chain going. If you are running out of MP consider nixing the DoTs and/or low tier nukes until you catch up on MP. Consider Manafont if you are running out of MP and time for the EXP chain is running out.

• Aspir is great for mobs that have MP. Luckily mobs that BLM excels at (Crabs, Beetles, Evil Weapons) have MP for you to Aspir. Pick this spell up ASAP when you hit 25 as well.

• Take care of yourself. You have drain, blink, stoneskin, cures, regen... BLM is the only DD that doesn't need the support of a healer. Give your healer a break to rest mp and/or keep buffs up on the melee. Let them know they don't have to cure you unless its an emergency.

• Consider casting elemental debuffs and poison(II) on the first exp mob your party pulls. Then free nuking a bit more than you usually would. That mob you want to take down quickly so its pretty low on HP or even dead before the melee have TP to chain. Again the first exp mob, you can consider the TP builder. Melee start out with 0 TP so they will take a little longer to get full TP for the first chain. The following mobs are easier for your party to chain + burst on as melee often have more TP to start with.

• At higher levels, elemental debuffs/poison may actually not be worth casting (after the first mob) if your melee are geared, eating good (sushi), and mobs are dying quick. Mobs may be dead before the dot's full effect ends. Adjust to lower tier nuking instead of DOTs as needed to save mp/max your dps output.

• Refrain from using Bio. Dia is much better to use as it lowers defense. Usually the healer or support have Dia covered. If partying with a RDM you might want to coordinate who's casting poison(II).

• Melee should be skillchaining before the mob's HP is below 60%. If they chain too late, your group will overkill if you use your highest nuke and you'll waste MP. If melee are consistently getting the enemy's HP below 50% before they get 1000 TP your party may be fighting mobs too low of a level. Adjust to low-tier free nuking at the beginning of battle and/or using a lower tier MB nuke to save on mp if that is the case. There are some additional advanced measures you can take if melee are skillchaining consistently when the mob's HP is low:
  • As you party you can build a sense of awareness in recognizing when a mob's HP is going to be low before melee have TP. In these situations you can push a mob closer to death via heavy free nuking before melee have TP to chain, and they will have TP ready for a skillchain at the start of the next mob (might want to have blink/stoneskin on in case you take threat in these situations). This situation often arises on the first mob of an exp party. Melee start with 0 TP and need a little more time to get to 1000 compared to later mobs. Try to help the frontline kill the first pulled mob before they get TP to chain, or at least get it low enough so they are dissuaded from chaining. That way they will have full TP ready to chain at the beginning of next. Make sure you have MP to burst on the incoming chain though.
  • In the higher levels, lower mob HP (less than 50%) when melee get TP occurs more frequently. Recognizing this situation is more important and it will be on you to free nuke more to re-balance the "Melee TP to Mob HP ratio". Or else melee will keep skillchaining towards the end of each mobs' life and you will keep missing out on magic bursting to your full potential and overkilling/wasting MP!

• Make use of Blink and Stoneskin to ensure your survival if you find yourself taking a lot of threat. Even more so if you are a Tarutaru. Also, if you are taking a lot of threat, check yourself on your free nuking. Are you using high tier nukes at the start of the fight before the tank/melee have aggro? Save it for later in the fight when tanks/melee have more threat on them.

• Elemental Seal is great to ensure your next nuke will do full damage. It's nice for free nuking to deal a large chunk of damage when mobs are at around 25% HP left to finish them. Not bad to use with a -GA for the first EXP mob pulled.

• When ES is not up consider what your highest spells are, what game day it is, what weather there is (if any), and the mob's elemental weakness for what spells to cast when you are free nuking. The Mobdb addon is helpful for this. It will show you the mob's elemental weakness. Free nuking -GAs is a thing you can do too as well towards end of fights!

• AGAIN, make use of the TParty or HXUI addons! You want to be able to see your melee's TP. That way you will know when they are going to chain.

• Make use of the points addon or any addon that will track how long you have until the next exp chain ends. If time is running out to make the next chain, that is your queue to chain-free-nuke to help the party get to the next chain! Cast your hardest hitting spells to finish the mob off. Usually this is happening when mobs are almost dead so the tank should have most of the threat by then. You may take threat but the mob should go down before it's an issue.

• Other helpful addons to consider are Deeps and/or Parse. They will help track your DPS compared to the other melee. You should at least be on par with the other DPS if you are up to date on your spells, casting drain, and (double) magic bursting on the skillchains with your highest nukes. If you are falling behind, that is your queue to free nuke the big spells towards the end of fights/low nukes at the beginning of fights, or check yourself on how often you are bursting and/or casting drain to catch up. Deeps doesn't track DoTs though so consider that extra damage as well.

• This is a more advanced tactic but tanks can participate in a 3 step chain if they are up for it. PLDs may be using club for starlight/MP gain however so it depends. Tanks won't always have the TP. But when they do, your party can set up a 3 step so you can burst one spell on the first skillchain, and burst another spell on the second. The window for bursting closes as soon as another weapon skill is used on a mob so you won't be able to double burst on the first chain. But you can potentially double burst on the 2nd chain. This will take some practice but it is fun/satisfying for the whole group to pull off. Note that you cannot create a level 1 chain after you've made a level 2. You can however create a level 1 chain after another level 1 chain.
  • Ex: DRK uses Vorpal Scyth, WAR closes with Sturmwind to make Reverberation. You burst Waterga 2 off that. PLD then uses Flat Blade to make Impaction. You then burst Thunder 2 and potentially double burst Thundaga off Impaction.
  • Ex2: PLD uses Circle Blade (Or NIN uses Blade: Teki), MNK closes with Raging Fists to make Impaction. You Burst Thunder 2 off that. THF then SATA Dancing Edge to make Detonation. You then Burst Aeroga II.

• Outside of the MBing you have a bit of freedom to be resting or free nuking or debuffing. Yes, you will be resting at times while the melee are DPSing. But unlike melee who are consistently dealing damage with their weapon swings and weapon skills, black mages deal damage in big chunks with bursting/draining/free nuking that will catch up to, and has potential to, overcome the melee DPS.

• Be on the lookout for any links or aggro. Have a sleep macro easily accessible (on all of your macro lines, ideally in the same place for muscle memory) for emergencies.

• You'll start building a sense of what your threat threshold is as you party. Depending on your party set up and skill you may be able to get away with more free nuking of high tier spells (Don't forget blink and stoneskin.) Be on the lookout for enmity producing abilities used by your party members (provoke/yonin/flash/sentinel/rampart/shield bash/hojo and kurayami/trick attack/big cures) for big nuking opportunities . As you experiment to test your limits (within reason), you'll see yourself topping the Deeps chart.
  • Keep in mind however that black mage cannot reach the top without the help of the melee skillchains. It's a team effort to produce the total DPS for destroying mobs.

• Partying with bards brings an interesting opportunity for additional DPS with a little risk involved. Usually the bard will bring a mob to camp while the party is still fighting another mob, and sleep it. Some other skilled pullers may be able to do the same as BRDs. You can use this as an opportunity to burst a -GA on both mobs! You will certainly take threat from the slept mob. It will be on you to deal with that. You probably want blink/stoneskin on for this situation. Have sleep ready to re-sleep the mob that was woken up by the -GA burst. Stun/bind is not a bad idea either. Surprise the melee that the next mob is down some HP already when they engage it.

The Later Levels

• At later levels (65+), when enemies start getting really beefy and have nastier abilities, consider using stun more often to help the party mate who took aggro, give the tank a breather, stop enemies from using their abilities, support the ninja/melee that has shadows down/casting utsu ichi, and to give the melee more time to build TP. Stunning after a Paladin's flash or shield bash wears off is very effective in delaying the enemy. Partying with a DRK is pretty fun too as you can both coordinate to stun-lock enemies at times with their own stun and weapon bash. Stun does have a lot of threat attached to it so don't use it too early in a fight. Keep your eyes on the front line for opportunities to stun! A well-timed stun will save the healer/paladin lots of mp.

• Make friends with THFs, BSTs, RNGs, and DRGs. THF + BST, RNG, or DRG can make light chains for you to burst off of.
  • PLDS and NIN are friends too. They sync nicely with THFs for opening Fragmentation.
  • With unlocked WSNM skills you can make more friends with WARs SAMs and DRKs that can open Darkness chains for your THF to close with Evisceration.
  • Unlocked WSNM axe (Decimation) for WARs (and BSTs) can open Light for THFs. SAMs with Tachi: Kasha unlocked can open light for THF to close.
  • THFs partnering with MNKs is a bit tough at higher levels (66+). They can only make Distortion with lower level weapon skills...unless the MNK has Asuran Fists WSNM. Then they can partner to make Fragmentation. Might be better for the THF to chain with the tank or the other DPS melee (if you're in a party with 3x melee DD, 1 tank, 1 healer, 1 back mage setup that is.

• At the much later levels (~73+/merit parties) enemies/camps start capping out at 9 levels higher than the party and melee gear starts to scale higher. Melee will start to take a mob's HP to 50% and below before they get the TP to do a skillchain more often. Mobs will be going down faster. Melee will also start to chain more frequently. Especially if you have a Ninja tank.
  • At this point Black Mages starts to lose some of their luster in big magic bursting damage numbers and especially double magic bursting. Higher level spells will also start to take more time to cast. It will become trickier to pull off double magic bursting, but a single magic burst will start doing about as much damage as a double burst in the earlier levels (a single -GA III/Tier IV MB will deal 1600-2000+ damage with a decently geared blm). Skillchains will start bringing mobs HP to lower % more often (or kill it before the magic burst even) where a higher tier nuke (or double magic burst) won't be worth it, as it will be overkill. Overkilling wastes MP. The MP saved from lower tier magic bursts can be saved for keeping up with the melee's more frequent chaining and mobs being defeated faster. EXP chains will start to go way further beyond 5+ (30+). BLM personal DPS may drop a bit bit overall party DPS should should maintain fast kills/longer exp chains.

• At these higher levels it's almost always better for the melee to chain as soon as they get TP instead of holding TP to keep the exp gain/chain going. As stated before, you will have to adjust to MBing with lower tier nukes to save MP and not overkill as much. There still will be times where the skillchain magic burst combo does line up when enemies have enough HP for a high tier nuke magic burst so pay attention. It just doesn't happen as often. To make up for the loss in MB damage, you can also adjust to free nuking a bit more. Don't forget drain! Again, consider lower tier nukes at the beginning of a fight when threat is still being established, and higher tier nukes/GAs towards the end of a fight to finish off the mob if the skillchain timing is off compared to the mob's HP. With this strategy your threat gain will be minimal and you could effectively push a mob to low HP/death before melee have the TP to skillchain and chain early for the next mob.

• Also at the higher levels/merit parties paladins and ninja tanks can gain TP almost as fast as the melee DPS. Consider coordinating with the tanks to chain for 3 steps. Have them go at the beginning or end of 3 steps, outside of the other 2 melee DPS's main chain. Depending on the tank's gear/food setup, your group may only be able to do 3 steps every other mob or so though. Don't delay the other dedicated DDs chains on account of the tank's TP.
  • Paladins and ninjas can open fragmentation for thieves, dark knights, and monks to close. Then dark knights, samurai, dragoon, or warriors can make distortion afterwards. Or instead of distortion, rangers, warriors, beastmasters, samurai, and dragoon can make light after fragmentation.
  • Or, instead of opening fragmentation, Paladins and Ninja's can close darkness after distortion is made from the other melee DPS.
  • Paladins with Savage Blade unlocked can open distortion or close light like Sharkbite and Dragon Kick can. All in all, lots of options for making chains for the black mage to burst! More options open up as more melee unlock their quested WS.

• Some high level/merit parties won't have an established tank with melee/nins so you will have to watch your hate and the skillchaining even more so in that setup.

A Word on Ancient Magic

It is the opinion of this guide's author that magic bursting ancient magic is not worth the MP cost and asking your melee to wait on you. Ancient Magic MB damage numbers are pretty but DPS/exp will be more consistent if the black mage follows the melee in their skillchains and double bursts with single target and -GAs nukes.

The same idea applies for magic bursting with non-ancient magic. Never tell the melee to wait on you. Always watch the TP and follow the melee. Every second that delays the melee to chain costs the party's total DPS output.

Challenging the Meta

On retail/in era Black Mages had a tougher time in regular parties. However, on Horizon, Black Mages have been era+ to fit well in a standard party. More specifically Magic Bursting has been substantially boosted in damage and accuracy against non-NM mobs. At higher levels a chain + MB combo will literally do thousands of damage. This is why your party can target higher level mobs without needing a bard if you have a Black Mage that is coordinating with the melee for consistent chain 5+.

Additionally, gone are the days of having to use use macros for reporting TP and Skillchain ready. Everyone can now see each others' TP with addons (hxui, tparty, etc.) and can SC+MB as soon as possible. That means a faster exp rate.

At the end of the day, everyone seeking wants to EXP. The ratio of party seekers to party leaders is unbalanced, leaning toward the seekers. Some players however may be skeptical of having a black mage into exp parties due to their experience on retail or for whatever reason. And some may outright refuse unfortunately.

Luckily there are tons of folks usually seeking, and you can just as easily find somebody else to fill the spot in your standard party with a black mage. Party leaders that have a black mage in their group/black mages that are party leaders just stick to the basics of coordinating a skillchain (or two) (which usually happens anyway, with or without a black mage in the group) and you'll do fine!

Here are some ideas about BLM in standard parties debunked:

It's faster DPS if melee just spam Weapon Skills Untrue. Skillchaining is still something melee do despite there being a BLM in the party or not. The DPS from the damage caused by the skillchain and the (double) magic burst coming from the Black mage will more than make up the DPS loss of a melee who waits a few seconds for their skillchain buddy to get TP. Skillchain damage has also been era+ to not be resisted. However! If a melee is SAM or /SAM, they can free weapon skill, while their skillchain buddy is still building TP, no problem. There may be a gear/food issue if 1 melee is not gaining TP as fast as the other melee and delaying the chain.

Black mages spells/Magic Bursting get resisted too much for it to be worthwhile Horizon has made era+ adjustments to magic bursting with increased accuracy and magic attack bonus as well as reducing enmity from magic bursting. A decently geared standard party that has a SC MB combo with a BLM bursting can get consistent high value exp chain 5s on mobs up to around 12 levels higher than the party with little issue. Resists do happen but not often. Especially once you get AF gloves (+15 elemental skill).

Black mages can't keep up with melee DPS Not true. If black mages have a skill chain to burst on/casting drain/free nuking, and your party is fighting higher level monsters, they can rival melee DPS no problem. Make sure to talk to your melee to coordinate a SC. The author of this guide can attest they have been able to (double) burst whenever melee do a chain with little issue in MP management. Just don't be bursting with ancient magic. The MP cost and the time it takes to cast AM/delaying the melee on their chain is not worth the damage.

• Note: Horizon has made era+ changes to the resting MP formula, ticks after initial tick have increased (from +1 to +4). The Clear Mind job trait has also been adjusted/increased to help mages keep up with the melee.

Black mages can't sky party Not true. Black mage can hold their own in sky parties. A decently geared standard party that eats food with a SC and MB combo can actually start exping in sky at around 62 (lower than the meta standard) with no issues for consistent exp chain 5s. Flamingos are pretty weak mobs overall (not just for piercing weapons). Black mages can burst about 1-1.1K Thundaga II/Blizzaga II off of Impaction/Distortion/Fragmentation chains on Flamingos (more damage if they are double bursting another spell).

The ideal level sync for a sky party with a black mage is 62-65 however. Any higher and the melee start getting birds low on HP% before 1000TP.

MB ThundagaII Flamingo

MB Aero III Flamingo

Deeps Results for a 2.5 hour sky party. SAM/THF + WAR/SAM Chaining Fragmentation. BLM bursting Thundaga II/AeroIII + double burst Thunder/AeroII. Note: Deeps not including Skillchain damage

Same Sky party as above image, but with Skillchain damage included. 1)SAM 2)BLM 3)WAR

Conclusion

If you've made it to the end of this guide, congrats! You can now advertise "Black Mage that knows what they are doing, looking for party!" when LFG =)

Black mages require a bit more knowledge of game mechanics and planning compared to the other melee dps jobs to be effective in an exp party. But once they get the hang of it black mages do fit well into the standard exp party on horizon and it is quite fun/chill!

All you need to do is coordinate a skillchain for them to burst on, target some higher level mobs (Aim for mobs that cap least 10 levels higher than the party), and ABCD (Always be casting drain). Don't forget to pepper in some free nukes. The DPS they provide along with their utility brings black mages to the table with the other DPS job choices for your exp party.

If your traditional party is lacking a bard, consider inviting a black mage as one of the DPS. Their magic bursts will make up for the buffs that bards give the melee. Their crowd control is comparable to bards as well.

• Note: There was a mob evasion fix on horizon where mobs level 60+ are now more evasive. Unless they are super-geared, melee pretty much have to eat sushi(accuracy+ food) and forgo eating meat (attack+ food) now a days when fighting against IT mobs. This change makes black mages even more competitive with the melee DPS in leveling parties.

Chain 5 level 55 standard party with a blm double bursting off 2 melee skillchaining, no exp ring

Chain 35+ merit party in Ro'Maeve: BLM WAR WAR MNK WHM BRD line up. WARs and MNK making Darkness and Fragmentation for the BLM to burst off of.

This guide was created by Grayson on Horizon while leveling/meriting black mage via standard parties and gets updated every so often. If you're bored of manaburning and soloing (like I was), try out a standard group. It's quite fun, way more active, and will test your awareness and timing.

Please be advised: This guide in no way states that standard groups are better/worse than other types of groups. Only that a standard group of play is viable in leveling up your black mage. Play how you like! Have fun!