FFXIV: Endwalker Black Mage Guide [Patch 6.5]

Watch me stream: / juliacare
See when I go live: / discord
Contents:
0:00 Intro
0:14 About the job
0:45 Job Gauge
1:33 Abilities
4:20 The Rotation
6:57 Opener
9:05 AoE
10:12 Utility
12:25 Last few notes
Useful link's and sources:
The Balance Job Guide: www.thebalanceffxiv.com/jobs/...
Icy Veins guide: www.icy-veins.com/ffxiv/black...
Opener infographic: media.discordapp.net/attachme...
Advanced level 90 guide: www.thebalanceffxiv.com/jobs/...
fflogs: www.fflogs.com/
XIVanalysis: xivanalysis.com/
Thumbnail by:
SAKI # 4539
Discord: / discord
Carrd: sakixiv.carrd.co/
Carrd for commissions: sakisphotostudio.carrd.co/
Music used:
Mykola Lysenko: Album from the Summer of 1902, Op.41: • Mykola Lysenko: Album ...
Georges N. Oki-Albi: Waltz "Palais Du Crystal": • Georges N. Oki-Albi: W...

[@londenbaum409]

who ever is playing the piano in the background is SHREDDING

[@spookyboi2248]

Playing this class because I love vivi lol

[@Grimnoire]

tf is that

[@Juliacare]

FFIX character

[@mrbushi1062]

This is why I started as black mage first

[@ChandaniAranka]

Mine was Lulu ;)

[@rynfiaryn]

Mine was the Black Mage from FF1 🤓

[@venti9925]

Easiest guide I've ever watched from any patch or any youtuber and I've been playing since 1.0! So clear and direct.

[@Draeckon]

It's nice to know I was able to intuit most of the rotation myself, but I never would have thought of some of these optimizations. Very nice and straight to the point guide.

[@yaboi3955]

THANK YOU for being the only video ive ever seen to make this make any sort of sense. everyone else just mumbles their way through a half baked explanation and doesnt explain anything but this was really helpful

[@JotunnJoestar]

This video taught me more about how to play black mage effectively more than any other source. Thank you, truly

[@kressigaming2822]

ty for guide. Decided to start my journey of suffering in this tier and this guide helped me a lot, ty :3

[@shaneh6707]

Yo thanks for the guide! It felt like I was doing something slightly off so this was a big help

[@Ex_Machina.]

Still a great video! I wish everyone would explain rotations like you do

[@doc7421]

Thanks for the guide! I love playing blm, but it’s to hard for my smoll brain. You helped me a lot!

[@daviddavidson2834]

bro the music you chose for this caught me, thanks for the guide, good stuff

[@DynamicSoul-mf5qc]

Excellent video dude, very informative.

[@Mystra]

Great work, thanks!

[@pii9729]

thank you! easy to understand

[@sarynthmidgard7397]

here's a sub, love this video on blm, super helpful for getting reaquainted with blm

[@nomadoma9422]

Thank you, I've always wanted to play black mage but the lack, or rather seemingly lack of mobility always pushed me more towards summoner, but the aesthetic of the job as well as the neuron activating explosions kept drawing me back

[@Juliacare]

Perhaps some comfort, black mage is now very mobile due to it’s many on demand instant casts and movement is no longer a big issue as it was in previous expansions.

[@CreatorHouseVlogs]

@@Juliacare Cap

[@cryw1092]

This is really helpful, although I feel like I struggle to remember to use Sharpcast at all. Granted, I'm not at level cap yet, but I've more or less ignored it this entire time unwittingly.

[@sbeve6559]

Sameeee. I just feel like I don’t really need it. I can get full astral fire or umbrella ice stacks just from casting fire 3 or blizzard 3. I don’t need to waste an extra step by casting sharp cast lol

[@caffiend81]

I may have just missed it, but when using Mana Font after the first despair, is an excellent time to burn a polyglot to avoid clipping your upcoming fire IV gcd. I always pop a Xenoglossy after despair for Sharpcast anyway even though you can totally weave it in after Blizz 3 as well. Maybe my spell speed isn't high enough yet for this strat to be an issue, could see it becoming an issue later and running out of Polyglot charges. Though the relatively short cooldown on Amplifier might negate the issue. EDIT: Almost forgot, Fire 3 can be used on occasion instead when available, though I prefer to save it for re-entering AF3 via Paradox (ice) > Transpose > Firestarter EDIT2: I totally forgot that Transpose now screws up your fire-phase Paradox. Even more reason to use it after that first Despair, I guess! I am still kind of salty they took away the transpose trick; it was such a fun little optimization that had been around since ARR. :(

[@Juliacare]

Sounds good. Theres a lot of optimizations you can do for BLM, this guide only covers one of many ways to play it which the theorycrafters believed to be the most all round and beginner friendly.

[@Intuos-]

I play blm cus I hate myself and like having stress on top of the normal stress

[@emocatte]

As someone whos been playing black mage for years, I really wish they'd do something about how much harder thunder management has gotten with the new gcds. Its started feeling really clunky vs old refresh thunder in blizzard phase, now having to use it after paradox or weave it in somewhere makes stuff feel constantly on edge. If they made it like 40s duration instead I feel like it'd be back to flowing so I dont have to keep tranpose weaving to min max thundertime lol

[@atheist101]

When do you normal find yourself refreshing thunder? I'm having trouble recognizing a good place to throw it in.

[@emocatte]

@@atheist101 I usually do standard fire 3 opener, and instead after despair, I lucid dreaming transpose, paradox, hardcast f3 and burn through my mp into despair again. It makes it so thunder is dropping right then cause its a 25-30s rotation opener and I can re-up with like 1-2 seconds left on it. then standard rotation. sometimes have to re-up thunder in the middle of fire rotation, its all kinda weird

[@Splizacular]

​@atheist101 remember the tip from the vid, you can refresh it anywhere during your ice phase without it mattering or affecting anything, and on both sides of paradox during your fire phase there is room for an extra cast between the f4's without dropping astral fire. If it helps, The Balance has a graphic that illustrates example placements. Good luck and keep blowing stuff up!!

[@Splizacular]

Bring the BOOM!

[@rentedshortbus]

Fantastic guide! but the background music is a tad too loud.

[@magerofl]

Nice title dude!

[@kasiakatarzyna3417]

Great guides, thank you for that, keep up the good work. Could you please do a Paladin guide? I would really appreciate it.

[@Juliacare]

I have been thinking about doing melee's and tanks, yes.

[@sacredlunatic]

I find it fascinating how different people learn the jobs in different ways. For me the explanation of an abilities function within the rotation is essential or I'll forget when to use it. For some I imagine the rote lists of specific rotations are highly useful, though I'm not so good at memorizing them. I can't imagine who finds a video of someone doing the rotation useful, but I suppose there are even those.

[@kiiturii]

" I can't imagine who finds a video of someone doing the rotation useful" that's how I learned ninja lol, I just looked up someone doing the rotation on a dummy for 6 minutes and it worked perfectly, the key is just to replicate it yourself step by step and it'll become muscle memory

[@dolphinboi-playmonsterranc9668]

Just got to 90 and my entire fucking idea of this job got turned upside down

[@DaHecks]

I went with thm and blm later on... I saw the amount of spells but I'm determined to learning this job!

[@Juliacare]

You can do it! Its not that complex as people make it out to be

[@UrbanGarlic]

been learning BLM recently and loving the class. Finally got enough SPS for every slot without it being BiS yet. One thing i'm having difficulty with atm is the 2-minute raidbuff window. Is there a recommended rotation to do when this comes into play assuming its when your LeyLines/Manafont is ready? (apologies if it was mentioned in the video or comments already)

[@verty6006]

you need more views ty

[@Juliacare]

The share button exists! ;)

[@HTSBarren]

in savage or extreme fights do you ever cycle back to the opener rotation once the long timer abilities start to come back up ?

[@Juliacare]

You generally keep things on cooldown and prevent overcapping your xenoglossy. You should also use your triplecast for movement first and foremost, so a sequence just like the opener is unlikely.

[@crisisdaddy]

yeah i dont think my brain can handle this lol

[@Juliacare]

Give it some practice, rewind a few times, and I’m sure it’ll click eventually. I believe in you!

[@expaladin1406]

nice, new video

[@Juliacare]

You're quick to the party

[@rommielee5888]

I don't know if I'm just being dumb, but I am trying to learn this opener after finally getting my Black Mage to 90, and I almost have it down to memory. However when I pass the opener and get to the rotation part, it feels like in the video you just get some proc for Paradox, where I have to use transpose to trigger it. Icy veins (and displayed in the video) doesn't have transpose listed anywhere in the rotation chart, the only proc I do get is from the opener! Trying to figure out what the heck I'm doing wrong.

[@furstblumier4921]

You get Paradox 2 ways: You swap from Umbral Ice 3 + 3 Umbral Hearts to Astral Fire You swap from Astral Fire 3 to Umbral Ice It doesn't matter how you swap. You can use Transpose or Blizzard III/Fire III. B3/F3 are the common way outside of optimization. If you didn't get paradox from swapping from ice to fire you either didn't use Blizzard IV or you weren't in Umbral Ice 3

[@rossgraham7179]

just checked this out but im not understanding, how are you casting paradox after starting using bliz 3 then 4? its only usable in fire phase? the icy veins says the same thing but its impossible

[@Setuaro]

I'm sorry guy but the piano is so peaceful I literally can't retain any info or listen to this 'ere I fall asleep

[@JH-vb1wo]

It takes some time to get the hang of it but once u get the pattern down u can put in some serious damage. I just hate some of the solo content because u sometimes have multiple enemies chasing u when ur trying to spam spells. That’s why a chocobo aiding u in combat is really beneficial

[@jacobtridef48]

I’m leveling it right now, and I feel so unsure of if Blizzard/Fire I are even useful anymore at my level. They do less damage than the III variants, but cast shorter, so idk if they’re useful or not

[@Juliacare]

For leveling, give this a look: cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/496315645982670851/1015006520863359046/unknown.png?1664127230

[@jacobtridef48]

@@Juliacare ok thank you! 🙂

[@randomuseroftheday362]

They are! You will still be using Blizzard/Fire I spells until you get paradox as they refresh your umbral ice/astral fire phases for you to continue with spells such as Blizzard IV and Fire IV. But once you get Paradox, their function runs out imo.

[@Kenjinetic]

My head is smoking, I've blue screen caused by opener QwQ

[@meaninglez100]

Spam Fire 1, got it

[@mainryhtm9863]

Idk why but using triple cast when standing in your leylines just doesn't make sense to me. Isn't it better to hold onto it when leyline ends?

[@Juliacare]

Leylines also affects your recast speed so the gain is still there.

[@mainryhtm9863]

@Juliacare Ahhh.💡 Now it makes sense! Thank you. 🙂

[@fekbutchers]

How would you cast 2 flares without manawell?

[@Que5oFre5co]

I almost do this exact rotation on my own lol

[@TheTarek1993]

the only thing i dont understand during the opener is why are we clipping our gcd on purpose with thunder 3 into triple cast.

[@Juliacare]

There are openers that don’t clip however this one works for most encounters. In this opener we clip our gcd to be able to weave in comfortably all other ogcds. It feels a bit weird coming from other jobs but it’s worth it in most scenarios. For more in depth information you could ask the blm channels in the balance.

[@FubukiShiromiya]

The music is absolutely gorgeous but makes it difficult to follow what you are saying. I’d suggest something more regular than romantic era piano as well as a mic upgrade if you can manage it. Best wishes and thank you.

[@aerozchris7635]

Playing it after years bcs all other classes are dead for me :,)

[@atheist101]

That opener is killing me. I can't seem to get the timing down, even ignoring the utility in between (except triple and swift cast of course). Every time i get to despair my astral fire has like 1 sec and falls off. I wish there were some training grounds where you could reset your CDs. It's annoying waiting 2 min every time I fuck up on the training dummy

[@Splizacular]

Stone sky sea dummies reset cd's if I'm not mistaken

[@juancamole9154]

What are the pants your wearing in the thumbnail called?

[@Juliacare]

I got permission from an artist named SAKI to use their work. They’ll be able to answer that question for you. Their links are in the description.

[@chetmcgovern9985]

Not bad, although I was hoping there was some more low level insight into this as a new player.

[@Juliacare]

Thats fair, these guides are aimed at level 90, especially since black mages is so different on other levels. Do feel free to consult this levelling cheat sheet though. cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/496315645982670851/1015006520863359046/unknown.png?1677762100

[@NonStopHD765]

@@Juliacare Hey for AOE 82-90 what does the H stands for? Like HF2 and HB2?

[@Juliacare]

@@NonStopHD765 High Blizzard and High Fire

[@rottenleader28]

No love for fire 1

[@Orchestration1983]

BLM is the only job I am interested in but I am dyspraxia and have some trouble with physical coordination and can get easily overwhelmed when there is a lot happening on screen. I have tried my best to do the basic rotation but really struggle with it. My damage is often some one the lowest amongst my friends and my inability to deal good damage means we struggle with some content and I often get snarky remarks telling me how bad I am and that I should switch to another job. But I have zero interest in other jobs. It is getting to the point where I feel I should either solo content and not bother others with my presence or just flat out quit playing. Why did they have to make BLM such an unfriendly job?

[@Juliacare]

Its to give people a job that goes very deep into optimization. Some people like that and want that, others dont. SE nicely gives various kinds of jobs where some have deep optimization and others dont. Black Mage simply is on the outer end of this spectrum. This, in my opinion, is a good design choice. I wouldn't say quitting or going solo is your only option. Perhaps you need to look for new friends or a static that has expecations you can meet with your disability.

[@castoputa]

I don’t know if this is any help but I only became ok at blm at first by just doing the rotation over and over until it wasn’t something I thought about. Also you can do it while watching a pov of any fight to get used to what the boss does and when without worry about annoying anyone. If you try to get gear with a high spell speed that can also make the job so much less stressful. Good luck with everything, I hope you’re having a better time with it ❤

[@belphegor_dev]

Just use a different job that's easier to use for you, or play single player content.

[@88Spint]

I really wish this job held the top spot in dps. It's made for it but ninja keeps stealing that spot.

[@Juliacare]

Can’t really compare casters to melee’s. It’s the top caster, dps-wise, by miles.

[@caffiend81]

Just wait for the spell speed bomb that usually arrives around the third raid tier lol

[@Raion-chan]

> Black mage guide > Not a lalafell I wont even watch it. You're doing it wrong.

[@Juliacare]

I'm a lala on occasion! proof: cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/904528595681153104/968582428732047400/unknown.png

[@Raion-chan]

@@Juliacare Ok. I will consider watching your video now.