First off, sorry for the stupid Ron Popeil pun but... that thing makes great chicken and we all know a good Blue Mage eats plenty of chicken. Bring on the lawsuits, Ron! Getting on to the topic at hand, this is a guide for all Blue Mages, 1 to 75, on how to set their spells. Your sets may vary, of course, being as variety is one of our extreme strengths. This is simply a guide as to what I did on my road to 75. I'll be focusing mostly on DD sets for /NIN and /THF, as that is what we'll be doing most of the time in PTs but I could always update to add other sets in the future. Here we go!
Before You Head Out:
A few notes on Blue Magic before you get out there (Taken from Wiki):
Acquiring Blue Magic
- Blue Mages may learn special abilities (known as Blue Magic) used by the monsters they defeat.
- Blue Mage must be set as main job.
- The monster must use the ability during combat.
- The Blue Magic spell can be learned 29 or less Blue Magic Skill levels below the skill cap of the Spell's Job Level. A capped Blue Magic Skill is necessary to learn Spells as early as possible. See Blue Magic Skill for an in-depth explanation of this game mechanic.
- The Blue Mage must not be KO'd when the monster is defeated.
- It is possible to learn spells from monsters that are Too Weak for your level.
- It is possible to learn spells from monsters that are attacking someone outside of your party if you claimed the monster.
- It is possible to learn Blue Magic from BCNM's, Besieged (although to do so someone in your party must land the finishing blow on the mob that used your spell.) , Assault and Salvage.
- It is not necessary to be the target of a monster's special ability in order to learn Blue Magic.
Using Blue Magic
- Point Total/Maximum. Each Blue Magic spell is assigned a point value (Blue Magic points). The level of the Blue Mage determines the maximum number of points available for setting spells.
- Maximum Number of Set Spells. The maximum number of Blue Magic spells that can be set to be active at one time is also determined by the Blue Mage's level. This maximum number may decrease when the Blue Mage is under a level restriction and so the set numbers are assigned a color for easy reference.
Blue Magic Limits
LEVEL BLUE MAGIC POINTS SPELL SET MAX. 1 - 10 10 6 11 - 20 15 8 21 - 30 20 10 31 - 40 25 12 41 - 50 30 14 51 - 60 35 16 61 - 70 40 18 71 - 75 45 20
~~~ The Guide ~~~
Legend:
M: Magical Spell
S: Slashing physical damage
B: Blunt physical damage
P: Piercing physical damage
BMP: Blue Magic Points (the amount of set points required to set the spell)
~Lv1 - Lv10: (10 Blue Magic Points - 6 Spell Max)
LEVEL SPELL TYPE 1 Sandspin M 1 Pollen M 1 Foot Kick S 4 Power Attack B 4 Sprout Smack B 4 Wild Oats P 8 Metallic Body M 8 Cocoon M 8 Queasyshroom P
Job Abilities:
Azure Lore - Lv1
Job Traits:
Beast Killer - Lv4 (Sprout Smack + Wild Oats)
Spells:
- Sandspin (BMP 2)
- Pollen (BMP 1)
- Foot Kick (BMP 2)
- Power Attack (BMP 1)
- Sprout Smack (BMP 2)
- Wild Oats (BMP 3)
- Metallic Body (BMP 1)
- Cocoon (BMP 1)
- Queasyshroom (BMP 2)
Notes:
Not much to work with at these levels. Focus on getting a spell or two (Pollen recommended, since you can cast it on yourself outside of battle) for the purpose of skilling up your Blue Magic. Remember, the higher your Blue Magic Skill, the higher your learning chances become. You'll most likely be soloing these levels, so it's important to get your Blue Magic Skill up for learning, as well as success in landing your physical and magical spells.
Spell Set
Cocoon - 50% def buff for those tough fights
Pollen - Your first (self-target) healing spell
Wild Oats - Ranged VIT down - great for pulling (Beast Killer)
Sprout Smack - Slow (Beast Killer)
Metallic Body - Weak Stoneskin and MP costly but BMP 1 and worth mentioning stacked with Cocoon
Sandspin/Queasyshroom - Your choice here for a filler slot. Acc down or poison respectively, depends on your preference.
Total BMP - 10
Total Spells - 6/6
Spell Bonuses:
HP+15 (-5 if you chose Queasyshroom)
MP+5 (If you chose Queasyshroom)
CHR+2
MND+1
VIT+3 (+1 more if you chose Sandspin)
Beast Killer
~Lv11 - Lv20: (15 Blue Magic Points - 8 Spell Max)
LEVEL SPELL TYPE 12 Battle Dance S 12 Head Butt B 12 Feather Storm P 16 Helldive B 16 Healing Breeze M 16 Sheep Song M 18 Bludgeon B 18 Cursed Sphere M 18 Blastbomb M 20 Blood Drain M 20 Claw Cyclone S
Job Traits:
Auto Regen - Lv16 (Sheep Song + Healing Breeze)
Lizard Killer - Lv20 (Foot Kick + Claw Cyclone)
Spells:
- Battle Dance (BMP 3)
- Head Butt (BMP 3)
- Feather Storm (BMP 3)
- Helldive (BMP 2)
- Healing Breeze (BMP 4)
- Sheep Song (BMP 2)
- Bludgeon (BMP 2)
- Cursed Sphere (BMP 2)
- Blastbomb (BMP 2)
- Blood Drain (BMP 2)
- Claw Cyclone (BMP 2)
Notes:
Ahh and we come into our own with our mainstays Head Butt and Bludgeon! 11-20 will mark your first party experiences, or if you're like me and stay the hell away from the Doons at all costs, more soloing. Either way, your spell set should stay fairly similar. I'll break this one down into two separate level ranges since the transition to Bludgeon at 18 is huge.
Spell Set: 11-17
Cocoon - Soloing or partying (with those damn untrustworthy Valkurm tanks) this one's a keeper.
Pollen - If no one wants to heal you, do it yourself! Also faster to cure, then heal MP resting than it is to heal HP resting.
Wild Oats - VIT down for improved party damage. And it puts a mandy bud on the mob's head. Comic genius!
Sprout Smack - Slow is good
Head Butt - This will never come out of your spell list. A BLU's best friend.
Sheep Song - AoE light-based sleep. Handy for sleeping those gobs that come to your party on dates or to sleep that crab that the BLM nailed with Stonega.
Feather Storm - Imo, a very underrated early damage-dealing spell.
Total BMP - 15
Total Spells - 7/8
Spell Bonuses:
HP+25
DEX+2
CHR+5
MND+1
VIT+3
Spell Set: 18-20
Cocoon
Pollen
Wild Oats
Sprout Smack
Head Butt
*Sheep Song
Bludgeon - The king of our early damage spells. Replaces Feather Storm.
*Claw Cyclone - Another underrated early DD spell.
* If your party is competent enough and/or you need a bit more damage, you can replace Sheep Song with Claw Cyclone. It's up to you to decide which is better suited to your PT's needs (what, I can't do all the thinking for ya).
Total BMP - 15
Total Spells - 8
Spell Bonuses:
HP+20 (-5 if you chose Claw Cyclone)
STR+1
DEX+2
CHR+3 (-1 if you chose Claw Cyclone)
MND+1
VIT+3 (+1 if you chose Claw Cyclone)
~Lv21 - Lv30: (20 Blue Magic Points - 10 Spell Max)
LEVEL SPELL TYPE 22 Poison Breath M 24 Soporific M 26 Screwdriver P 28 Bomb Toss M 30 Wild Carrot M 30 Grand Slam B
Job Abilities:
Burst Affinity - Lv25 (Makes it possible for your next "magical" blue magic spell to be used in a Magic Burst.)
Job Traits:
Clear Mind - Lv24 (Poison Breath + Soporific)
Resist Sleep - Lv30 (Pollen + Wild Carrot)
Spells:
- Poison Breath (BMP 1)
- Soporific (BMP 4)
- Screwdriver (BMP 3)
- Bomb Toss (BMP 3)
- Wild Carrot (BMP 3)
- Grand Slam (BMP 2)
Notes:
A very small set to work with through these levels, however we get a few nice goodies; Wild Carrot comes into play as our first target able cure spell, Poison Breath has a great dmg/MP ratio for a long time to come, Soporific is a dark-based (and very potent) AoE sleep spell although it's a costly BMP 4 and Bomb Toss is a great boost to our STR. You can also play around with Bomb Toss and our new-acquired Burst Affinity, although I'd advise against it for now as it's pretty MP-intensive and generally not worth the damage.
"Wow, Screwdriver! Those Pugils killed me so many times with this, I can't wait to give it back to em!" Not so much. Even with SA it's not very impressive and not worth the BMP.
Most BLU start subbing /NIN at these levels and focusing on their melee damage as well as their spells to cut down on MP costs. Juices help tremendously with Refresh and can be made cheaply and with a low cooking skill using ingredients readily available in Kazham. Setting Soporific + Poison Breath for Clear Mind is a debatable topic - I never set it personally as Soporific was just too plain costly to justify wasting BMP 4 setting it when I could use juices for Refresh and put the BMP towards something else.
Mages start getting sleep spells at this stage, so our sleeps become less needed for crowd control. Never hurts to set them though if you wanna be safe.
Spell Set
*Cocoon/Claw Cyclone - Cocoon isn't needed as much anymore if /NIN but if you're setting it, I'd set Claw Cyclone too and skip Battle Dance as you won't have enough BMP for all three.
Wild Oats
Sprout Smack
Head Butt
Bludgeon
Bomb Toss - Nice STR boost.
Wild Carrot - Our very own Cure III equivalent, complete with a cute little carrot animation. Darling.
*Battle Dance - DEX stat, AoE damage and DEX down on the enemy.
Poison Breath - As stated before, great cone-shaped dmg/MP ratio with added poison damage.
* Your choice between these.
Total BMP - 20
Total Spells - 8(9)/10
Spell Bonuses:
HP+15
STR+3
DEX+2 (+2 if you chose Battle Dance)
VIT+4 (If you chose Cocoon/Claw Cyclone)
CHR+1
MND+2
~Lv31 - Lv40: (25 Blue Magic Points - 12 Spell Max)
LEVEL SPELL TYPE 32 Sound Blast M 32 Chaotic Eye M 34 Death Ray M 34 Smite of Rage S 36 Digest M 36 Pinecone Bomb P 38 Blank Gaze M 38 Jet Stream B 38 Uppercut B 40 Mysterious Light M 40 Terror Touch B
Job Abilities:
Chain Affinity - Lv40 (Makes it possible for your next "physical" blue magic spell to be used in a skillchain. Effect varies with TP.)
Job Traits:
Magic Attack Bonus - Lv32 (Cursed Sphere + Sound Blast)
Undead Killer - Lv34 (Bludgeon + Smite of Rage)
Attack Bonus - Lv38 (Battle Dance + Uppercut)
Rapid Shot - Lv38 (Feather Storm + Jet Stream)
Max MP Boost - Lv40 (Metallic Body + Mysterious Light)
Defense Bonus - Lv40 (Grand Slam + Terror Touch)
Spells:
- Sound Blast (BMP 1)
- Chaotic Eye (BMP 2)
- Death Ray (BMP 2)
- Smite of Rage (BMP 3)
- Digest (BMP 2)
- Pinecone Bomb (BMP 2)
- Blank Gaze (BMP 2)
- Jet Stream (BMP 4)
- Uppercut (BMP 3)
- Mysterious Light (BMP 4)
- Terror Touch (BMP 3)
Notes:
Some good stuff during these levels, as /THF really starts coming into it's own. Jet Stream and Uppercut are both great with SA and can close Fusion (Red Lotus Blade > Jet Stream/Uppercut once you get Chain Affinity at 40), or even without SA if you chose the /NIN route. Battle Dance + Uppercut also give you Attack Bonus (+10 attack) - good for your meleeing.
Speaking of Chain Affinity... you know how some of yours spells say "Damage varies with TP" or "Chance of Critical Hit varies with TP"? These side notes only apply when Chain Affinity is active. Yea, I know, SE made it kinda confusing. Don't hoard your TP and start spamming spells thinking the additional effects are gonna kick in all by it's lonesome.
Some other interesting spells are Chaotic Eye (gaze-attack Silence) and Blank Gaze (gaze-attack Dispel) - "gaze-attack" here meaning that you must cast it standing in front of the mob for the spell to take affect. If you're casting it on a mob and someone pulls hate, taking the front of the mob away from you, you'll get a "no effect" message. Annoying, I know, but it comes with the territory I suppose.
Pinecone Bomb is another spell worth mentioning. It's a long-distance, damaging physical sleep spell with a bonus to STR for setting it. It's a little MP costly but worth having set in certain situations.
Spell Set
*Wild Oats
Head Butt
Bludgeon
Bomb Toss
Wild Carrot
Battle Dance - Attack bonus when paired with Uppercut.
Poison Breath
*Cocoon/Pinecone Bomb - Cocoon is back in action after a few levels on the bench, as you will pull hate with /THF after a self-Fusion or plain ol' Jet Stream. Cocoon will help cut down on the beatings a bit.
Uppercut - Attack bonus with Battle Dance. Good Fusion closer and stacks well with SA.
Jet Stream - Our strongest spell up until now. Closes Fusion and is excellent with SA.
* Pick either. Cocoon/Pinecone Bomb is better for /THF, arguably /NIN too. Imo, the VIT down from Wild Oats will still trump the usefulness of Cocoon and the small STR bonus from Pinecone Bomb /NIN, as you'll be relying more on melee damage than SA+spell damage.
Total BMP - 25
Total Spells - 10(11)/12
Spell Bonuses:
HP+5 (+10 if you chose Wild Oats)
STR+5 (+1 if you chose Cocoon/Pinecone Bomb)
DEX+7
VIT+3 (If you chose Cocoon/Pinecone Bomb)
MND+1
CHR+1 (If you chose Wild Oats)
Attack+10
~Lv41 - Lv50: (30 Blue Magic Points - 14 Spell Max)
LEVEL SPELL TYPE 40 Mysterious Light M 40 Terror Touch B 42 Venom Shell M 42 MP Drainkiss M 44 Blitzstrahl M 44 Stinking Gas M 44 Mandibular Bite S 46 Magnetite Cloud M 46 Geist Wall M 46 Awful Eye M 48 Refueling M 48 Blood Saber M 48 Sickle Slash S 48 Jettatura M 50 Ice Break M 50 Self-Destruct M 50 Frightful Roar M
Job Traits:
Plantoid Killer - Lv44 (Power Attack + Mandibular Bite)
Clear Mind II - Lv46 (Poison Breath + Soporific + Venom Shell + Awful Eye)
Magic Defense Bonus - Lv50 (Magnetite Cloud + Ice Break)
Spells:
- Mysterious Light (BMP 4)
- Terror Touch (BMP 3)
- Venom Shell (BMP 3)
- MP Drainkiss (BMP 4)
- Blitzstrahl (BMP 4)
- Stinking Gas (BMP 2)
- Mandibular Bite (BMP 2)
- Magnetite Cloud (BMP 3)
- Geist Wall (BMP 3)
- Refueling (BMP 4)
- Blood Saber (BMP 2)
- Sickle Slash (BMP 4)
- Jettatura (BMP 4)
- Ice Break (BMP 3)
- Self-Destruct (BMP 3)
- Frightful Roar (BMP 3)
Notes:
That's a lotta spells! Fortunately, or unfortunately (if you have my luck), you should have plenty of time to farm your spells while lfp, as 40-50 were always a dry times for invites for me. Let's take a look at some of the highlights.
MP Drainkiss! Our very own Aspir. In the 40s, we usually fight beetles, and beetles, then we fight more beetles and BLM/PLD Antica and then maybe start on crabs. What do all these mobs have in common? That's right, MP! It's not a very reliable spell right now, as it becomes later, but it's still great to have set during this stretch.
Mandibular Bite is a great damaging spell with modest BMP and a decent MP cost. Well worth it in my opinion.
Geist Wall is an AoE Dispel. A bit more costly than Blank Gaze but much more reliable. I'd still take Blank Gaze over it in most party situations but the choice is yours.
Refueling = Haste! It's only 10% when compared to the 15% from a normal Haste spell but it lasts five minutes instead of three. Also, since BLU is mostly a sushi job, you can throw on your Swift Belt for a total of 14% without worrying too much about the accuracy loss from Life Belt. It's a substantial boost to your DoT and TP building as well as shaving some time off of your Head Butt (and other spell's) recasts.
Sickle Slash is your standard spell upgrade from Jet Stream with the additional benefit of being to close Gravitation (Red Lotus Blade > Sickle Slash). Gravitation is a Lv2 Dark/Earth SC. Yep, that's right! You can finally put Burst Affinity to good use and MB MP Drainkiss on all those beetles/drabs you're fighting for a much better Aspir return than you would if you used MP Drainkiss by itself. For this reason, Sickle Slash is a mainstay for both /THF and /NIN spellsets.
Self Destruct is a nice set boost to STR as well as being used for Auto Refresh later on. Also fun to use with Azure Lore as you can put out insane damage if it's unresisted. Be careful, however, as it'll leave you at 1HP and in a Weakened state.
Frightful Roar. Wind-based AoE defense down and part of Auto Refresh later on. It's potency is ~10%, same as a Dia II - a very nice spell.
Spell Set
Head Butt
Bludgeon
*Wild Carrot
Battle Dance
Uppercut
Mandibular Bite
Refueling
Sickle Slash
MP Drainkiss
*Blank Gaze/Cocoon
Pinecone Bomb
*Frightful Roar
*Your choice again here. Depending on if you have a crappy/slow/no Dispeller in your PT, you may want to set Blank Gaze as beetles, crabs and Antica can cripple your PT with their buffs. At this point you should be able to start moving away from Cocoon as you should know how much dmg your SA spells can do and where you are on the hate list. Wild Carrot is nice to have on at all times for insurance purposes but it all depends on your PT and how you play BLU. Frightful Roar is great to set if you need none of the above options.
Total BMP - 30
Total Spells - 11(12)/15
Spell Bonuses:
HP-5 (If no Wild Carrot)
MP+20
STR+5
DEX+5
VIT+3 (If you picked Cocoon/Blank Gaze)
INT+1
AGI+2 (+3 if you picked Frightful Roar)
~Lv51 - Lv60: (35 Blue Magic Points - 16 Spell Max)
LEVEL SPELL TYPE 52 Cold Wave M 52 Filamented Hold M 54 Hecatomb Wave M 54 Radiant Breath M 56 Feather Barrier M 58 Magic Fruit M 58 Flying Hip Press M 58 Light of Penance M 60 Death Scissors S 60 Dimensional Death B 60 Spiral Spin S
Job Traits:
Auto Refresh - Lv58 (Stinking Gas + Frightful Roar + Self-Destruct + Cold Wave + Light of Penance)
Spells:
- Cold Wave (BMP 1)
- Filamented Hold (BMP 3)
- Hecatomb Wave (BMP 3)
- Radiant Breath (BMP 4)
- Feather Barrier (BMP 2)
- Magic Fruit (BMP 3)
- Flying Hip Press (BMP 3)
- Light of Penance (BMP 5)
- Death Scissors (BMP 5)
- Dimensional Death (BMP 5)
- Spiral Spin (BMP 3)
Notes:
Finally, Auto Refresh! And it comes at the same level as your Magus Jubbah. It's BLU heaven... maybe. Auto Refresh is definitely nice to have but some BLU's don't set it due to the heavy BMP cost. I did, but that was a personal preference.
The Good: 1MP/tick Auto Refresh and a few situationally useful spells.
The Bad: BMP 14 out of your 35 available to set the trait, yuck.
The Ugly: You won't be casting 4/5 spells in an XP party. Frightful Roar has it's uses but if you're fighting Colibri or Puks, that goes out the window as well.
Amongst all the strife of figuring out if you want to use your BMP on Auto Refresh or not, there is a silver-lining - Death Scissors. This spell is a BLU/THF's dream and you'll be pumping out some ridiculous numbers when you pair it with Chain Affinity + Sneak Attack. If that wasn't enough, it will replace Sickle Slash as your Gravitation closer. If you're 60+ and fighting Colibri (or anything else with MP), MP Drainkiss is still MBurstable on this SC. Throw your Magus Keffiyeh on your head for the Monster Correlation bonus vs. Colibri and you're in MP heaven!
At 60, you'll also get Trick Attack from /THF. We don't have many spells at this level that pair well with it yet (I used TA+Mandibular Bite, which was easy on the MP but not terribly damaging) to TA onto the tank at the start of the fight. This will save you from a bit of the enmity you will get from your CASA+DS (Chain Affinity/Sneak Attack+Death Scissors).
Note: I didn't sub /NIN at all during these levels, as I felt that /THF was by far the better choice for traditional XP (Yes, I have plenty of parses to back this up). Unless you're chaining VT's, I highly recommend /THF. Then again, it's my personal recommendation - I'm sure other's have done great with /NIN through this stretch.
Magic Fruit! You can finally replace your Wild Carrot with our Cure IV equivalent.
Dimensional Death isn't bad. It's useful later on for the Accuracy Bonus Job Trait and I seemed to get better numbers with it paired with SA when Chain Affinity was down than I did with Death Scissors (Death Scissors is far superior with CA+SA, however).
Magus Attire
A small, friendly note on your Artifact Armor.
Now this isn't an equipment guide by any means but I'm assuming that if you're reading this guide, you're wanting to be the best BLU that you can be. Good! One of the most important aspects of being a good BLU is gearing yourself right. With that said:
PLEASE! DO NOT, AT ALL, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, EVER, EVER, EVER TP OR WS IN ANY OF YOUR ARTIFACT ARMOR!
I can not stress this point enough and any poster on these forums will agree. Yes, it looks cool but just don't. I'm an extremely nice person but seeing BLUs PTing in their AF drives me off the deep end. Don't do it! There are plenty of alternatives, most very affordable, that will enhance your performance much more than your AF will.
"But Solrain, what do I wear on my head?"
Walkure Mask
Valkyrie's Mask
Voyager's Sallet
"What about my body? The AF has STR and DEX on it!"
Cerise Doublet
Jaridah Peti
Scorpion Harness
"The gloves look cool!"
Battle Gloves
Jaridah Bazubands
"I can't find any good pants, so I'll wear my AF."
Republic Subligar
Crow Hose
"There's no good feet options and I like the -enmity!"
Tabin Boots
Savage Gaiters
Wonder Clomps
Marine M Boots
Not to say the set is all bad. The body is far and away our best spell casting piece. The head is good for Monster Correlation and spells where MND or INT is a mod (e.g. Magic Fruit). The gloves are great for learning spells and the legs are a good Cannonball option later on. The feet are great because you need all 5 pieces to be able to store your AF at the NPC *ahem*.
Sorry for the brief vent/equipment guide. On to the spellset!
Spell Set
Head Butt
~Magic Fruit - Standard upgrade from Wild Carrot.
Mandibular Bite - Keep it in for TA for now and for a good MP/dmg ratio spell.
Refueling
*Sickle Slash - Could leave this for a good TA spell.
Death Scissors - Your best SA spell and/or Gravitation closer.
*MP Drainkiss
*Uppercut/Cocoon
Frightful Roar - Auto Refresh. A potent def down for non-colibri, non-puk mobs.
Stinking Gas - Auto Refresh.
Cold Wave - Auto Refresh. BMP 1 Frost spell. However the duration is a turn-off.
Self-Destruct - Auto Refresh. STR. Crazy suicide fun.
Light of Penance - Auto Refresh.
*Either. MP Drainkiss if fighting Colibri, Uppercut/Cocoon or leave Sickle Slash for anything else. I like the stat bonuses from Uppercut and Cocoon is always good to put in for a cheap BMP 1 to fill out a set.
~I'm one of those BLU's who pretty much always keeps a cure spell set no matter what. Some choose to forsake this and go with stat boosting or other damage spells. Totally up to you and how your party is functioning. I still prefer it for when the crap hits the fan. Battle Dance/Poison Breath would be my choice here for Attack Bonus with Uppercut if you decide against equipping Magic Fruit.
Total BMP - 35
Total Spells - 11(12)/16
Spell Bonuses:
HP+25
MP+5 (If you set MP Drankiss)
STR+2 (+2 if you set Uppercut)
DEX+2 (+1 if you set Uppercut)
AGI+5
VIT+3 (If you set Cocoon)
MND+2
CHR+4
~Lv61 - Lv70: (40 Blue Magic Points - 18 Spell Max)
LEVEL SPELL TYPE 61 Maelstrom M 61 Eyes On Me M 61 Seedspray S 61 Bad Breath M 62 Memento Mori M 62 Body Slam B 62 1000 Needles M 63 Spinal Cleave S 63 Frenetic Rip B 63 Frypan B 63 Hydro Shot B 64 Feather Tickle M 64 Yawn M 64 Voracious Trunk M 65 Infrasonics M 65 Zephyr Mantle M 66 Frost Breath M 66 Sandspray M 66 Corrosive Ooze M 67 Diamondhide M 67 Enervation M 68 Warm-Up M 68 Firespit M 69 Tail Slap B 69 Hysteric Barrage B 69 Regurgitation M 70 Amplification M 70 Cannonball B 70 Asuran Claws B
Job Traits:
Clear Mind III - Lv61 Any combination of 6 of these spells (Poison Breath, Soporific, Venom Shell, Awful Eye, Filamented Hold, Maelstrom and Feather Tickle)
Max HP Boost - Lv63 Any combination of 2 of these spells (Flying Hip Press, Body Slam, Frypan)
Accuracy Bonus - Lv63 (Dimensional Death + Frenetic Rip)
Conserve MP - Lv65 Any combination of 2 of these spells (Chaotic Eye, Zephyr Mantle, Frost Breath, Firespit)
Clear Mind IV - Lv66 Any combination of 8 of these spells (Poison Breath, Soporific, Venom Shell, Awful Eye, Filamented Hold, Maelstrom, Feather Tickle, Sandspray, Corrosive Ooze and Warm-Up)
Evasion Bonus - Lv69 (Screwdriver + Hysteric Barrage)
Resist Gravity - Lv69 (Feather Barrier + Regurgitation)
Store TP - Lv69 (Sickle Slash + Tail Slap)
Counter - Lv70 (Enervation + Asuran CLaws)
Spells:
- Maelstrom (BMP 5)
- Eyes On Me (BMP 4)
- Seedspray (BMP 2)
- Bad Breath (BMP 5)
- Memento Mori (BMP 4)
- Body Slam (BMP 4)
- 1,000 Needles (BMP 5)
- Spinal Cleave (BMP 4)
- Frenetic Rip (BMP 3)
- Frypan (BMP 3)
- Hydro Shot (BMP 3)
- Feather Tickle (BMP 3)
- Yawn (BMP 3)
- Voracious Trunk (BMP 4)
- Infrasonics (BMP 4)
- Zephyr Mantle (BMP 2)
- Frost Breath (BMP 3)
- Sandspray (BMP 2)
- Corrosive Ooze(BMP 4)
- Diamondhide (BMP 3)
- Enervation (BMP 5)
- Warm-Up (BMP 4)
- Firespit (BMP 5)
- Tail Slap (BMP 4)
- Hysteric Barrage (BMP 5)
- Regurgitation (BMP 1)
- Amplification (BMP 3)
- Cannonball (BMP 3)
- Asuran Claws (BMP 2)
Notes:
Wow, another long list of spells to think about during this level range - 29 to be exact. Fortunately for the purposes of standard XP and your sanity, it's not a huge spellset overhaul.
Frenetic Rip at 63 is a major spell for us. Our first of the "Big 3", Frenetic Rip is a threefold, blunt damage attack that scales extremely well with level - meaning you'll be using this for the rest of your days. Furthermore, it creates the Accuracy Bonus (+10 accuracy) Job Trait with Dimensional Death and later, Disseverment. It's kind of a pain in the ass to get but well, well worth it.
Voracious Trunk is an interesting spell. It absorbs a single buff from an enemy (similar to THF's Aura Steal) and adds it to you. Also part of your reduced BMP cost Auto Refresh Job Trait. You won't be casting it much in XP but it's a wonderful (and fun spell) to play around with in Campaign.
Zephyr Mantle is our version of Blink, complete with 4 shadows. Note that it works like the Blink spell and not Utsusemi, as it has a random chance to absorb an attack. Also used in the Conserve MP Job Trait.
Diamondhide is a fun spell to play around with in Besieged, Campaign and numerous events that you'll take part in as BLU. Not so useful in XP as it costs a hefty 99MP to cast.
Warm-Up, like Diamondhide, is very situational. It could be useful when you're in the lower level range of some camps but with a fairly short duration of 3 minutes, it becomes MP intensive to keep up.
Hysteric Barrage! Finally, our second spell of the "Big 3", a fivefold, blunt damage attack that, like Frenetic Rip, scales very well as you level. This is the spell that let me make the jump from /THF to /NIN comfortably. Your mileage may vary. Also very useful for closing solo-Detonation (A highly underrated combination) following Vorpal Blade (not on Puks, please!).
Cannonball is our HNM spell. With weird mods like VIT and defense, it's tough to get to perform up to standards in XP without specialized gear, food and spells but still useful nonetheless. It's also our self-Light SC closer when Savage Blade becomes available later.
Ahh! Asuran Claws, the great gnole hype. We all drooled and drooled, then drooled some more over the thought of getting this spell. Then we got it... Needless to say, we were unimpressed. I don't recommend setting this spell at all, unless you wanna mess around with the Counter Job Trait in Campaign.
Auto Refresh is a bit cheaper BMP wise to set now and with the added BMP and max spell increase at Lv61, there's no excuse to not set Auto Refresh now.
Spell Set
Head Butt
~Magic Fruit/Cocoon/Regurgitation(Pinecone Bomb)
Refueling
*Death Scissors
~MP Drainkiss/Cocoon(Regurgitation)
Frightful Roar - Auto Refresh.
Cold Wave - Auto Refresh.
Self-Destruct - Auto Refresh.
Voracious Trunk - Cheaper BMP Auto Refresh spell.
Frenetic Rip - Our first awesome multi-hit spell since Jet Stream. Great for TA if /THF, great overall for /NIN. Accuracy Bonus with Dimensional Death.
Dimensional Death - Accuracy Bonus Job Trait when combined with Frenetic Rip. Costly BMP wise but well worth it imo for the +10 accuracy it provides.
*Hysteric Barrage - 5-hit attack.
Chaotic Eye/Zephyr Mantle - Conserve MP when paired. Zephyr Mantle gives you some good damage mitigation as /THF.
*Death Scissors if /THF, Hysteric Barrage if /NIN.
~Same as before. If you're in the situation where you need healing or Aspir, swap the respective spells.
Total BMP - 40
Total Spells - 13(14)/18
Spell Bonuses:
HP+5 (+5 If Death Scissors set, +5 if Magic Fruit set)
STR+2 (+1 if Pinecone Bomb set)
DEX+3 (+2 if Hysteric Barrage set)
AGI+9 (+1 if Hysteric Barrage set)
MND+2 (If Death Scissors set)
CHR+1 (+2 If Death Scissors set, +1 if Magic Fruit set)
Accuracy+10 (Frenetic Rip + Dimensional Death Accuracy Bonus Job Trait)
~Lv71 - Lv75: (45 Blue Magic Points - 20 Spell Max)
LEVEL SPELL TYPE 71 Lowing M 71 Heat Breath M 71 Triumphant Roar M 72 Disseverment P 72 Saline Coat M 72 Sub-Zero Smash P 73 Ram Charge B 73 Mind Blast M 73 Temporal Shift M 74 Actinic Burst M 74 Magic Hammer M 74 Reactor Cool M 75 Exuviation M 75 Plasma Charge M 75 Vertical Cleave S
Job Traits:
Accuracy Bonus - Lv72 Frenetic Rip + Disseverment
Auto Refresh - Lv75 Actinic Burst + Plasma Charge
Fast Cast - Lv72 Sub-Zero Smash + Bad Breath
Spells:
- Lowing(BMP 2)
- Heat Breath (BMP 4)
- Triumphant Roar (BMP 3)
- Disseverment (BMP 5)
- Saline Coat (BMP 3)
- Sub-Zero Smash (BMP 4)
- Ram Charge (BMP 4)
- Mind Blast (BMP 4)
- Temporal Shift (BMP 5)
- Actinic Burst (BMP 4)
- Magic Hammer (BMP 4)
- Reactor Cool (BMP 5)
- Exuviation (BMP 4)
- Plasma Charge (BMP 5)
- Vertical Cleave (BMP 3)
The Wonderful World of Al'Taieu
Before going into the spellset, I feel that Al'Taieu (a.k.a. Sea) access should be addressed.
It's sort of a taboo topic on the BLU forums - some BLU feel that you should not level BLU without it, while others say it's ok to skip it. I won't push either side but I will say that it should be in your best interests to get Sea access asap, especially before 70 - especially since you should have a few missions under your belt that were required to get a few earlier spells.
If you don't have Sea yet, here's some incentives:
- 7/13 of your 71-75 spells come from Al'Taieu.
- Disseverment.
- Actinic Burst + Plasma Charge is your cheapest combo for Auto Refresh at 9 BMP.
- Disseverment
- Disseverment
- Vertical Cleave is one of our, if not the, hardest hitting SA spells we get.
- Access to Limbus.
- Homam gear.
- Disseverment.
- Rajas Ring
- Brutal Earring
- Disseverment.
- The satisfaction of completing the most time-consuming, but coolest, line of missions in the game.
- Disseverment.
That said, I personally did stop leveling BLU in spurts to get CoP missions done and I don't regret it at all. For anyone who takes BLU seriously, I highly recommend getting Sea.
Notes:
Since I mentioned it 19 times, let's start with Disseverment. This is our hardest-hitting mulit-hit spell that also inflicts a nasty Poison, the last of the "Big 3" and your bread and butter spell using any subjob. If that wasn't enough, it's also part of the Accuracy Bonus Job Trait with Frenetic Rip. I can't say enough good things about this spell.
Temporal Shift is an AoE stun. Useful for many missions/BCs/NM fights when fighting multiple enemies.
Actinic Burst is similar in usage to Temporal Shift when dealing with multiple enemies but in the form of Flashga as opposed to Stunga. Very useful in Campaign for those times when you're getting glomped by 5 mobs. Actinic Burst > Sheep Song > (Run away!) has saved me countless times.
Magic Hammer is our light-based Aspir that drains MP equal to damage dealt with a very high MND modifier. MP Drainkiss is superior 99% of the time, the exception being Magic Hammer on Imps.
Exuviation is our self-target Erase with a slight HP restore. When used with Diffusion and hitting multiple targets, this spell is an enmity monster.
Saline Coat is a straight +50 to Magic Defense Bonus which decays over time to +10. Although the duration is short, it's an invaluable spell to have set for certain occasions such Avatar fights and Proto-Ultima's Citadel Buster to name a few.
Sub-Zero Smash was one of two new spells added in the 7/21/2009 Version Update. It has the unique property of being a physical attack spell that inflicts Paralysis on all foes within 5' conal range in front of you (careful!). Also, it shares the Fragmentation property with Ram Charge, meaning it can be used to close/open a Light SC with any other Fusion-element spells or WSs. While I don't see much of a practical use for it in traditional XP, it's recently made it in to my Campaign spellset, as I tend to focus more on enfeebling and light damage rather than zergy-type spells enabling me to tank mobs for maximum XP/AN. It's also worth mentioning that Sub-Zero Smash makes the Fast Cast JT when paired with Bad Breath!
Triumphant Roar is the second of the two new spells added in the 7/21/2009 update. It is a self-target 15% (38/256) attack boost that can be paired with Diffusion and lasts for 60 seconds. Yea... the duration is kind of disappointing for practical every day use, although it has some promise as a pre-WS buff or as a great asset to a zerg when Diffused. I would have loved it if they made it similar to Berserk, with a five minute recast and 3 minute duration but alas, we can't have everything.
Spell Set: General
Head Butt
Magic Fruit
Refueling
*MP Drainkiss
Frightful Roar - Auto Refresh. Defense down for non-colibri, non-Puk mobs.
Self-Destruct - Auto Refresh.
Frenetic Rip - Damage spell and Accuracy Bonus with Disseverment.
Chaotic Eye/Firespit - Conserve MP and +3 STR.
Disseverment - Our best multi-hit spell. Accuracy Bonus with Frenetic Rip and can also close self-Distortion (Savage Blade > Disseverment). The piercing bonus also tears those Colibri a new one.
Plasma Charge - Auto Refresh as well as +3 STR and +3 DEX. Awesome!
Battle Dance/Uppercut - Return of the Attack Bonus! +2 STR and +3 DEX combined isn't too shabby either.
Bomb Toss - +2 STR.
*Swap if you need Aspir. You know the drill by now!
Total BMP - 45
Total Spells - 14/20
Spell Bonuses:
HP+5
STR+12
DEX+3
AGI+5
CHR+1
INT+2
MND-1
Attack +10 (Battle Dance + Uppercut Attack Bonus Job Trait)
Accuracy+10 (Frenetic Rip + Disseverment Accuracy Bonus Job Trait)
Spell Set: Greater Colibri
I feel that this camp requires a separate spellset. Our main target for merits and the camp that I feel we shine the most at. BLU parties are not uncommon here, so set some support spells to take care of yourself.
Head Butt
Magic Fruit - I always keep this spell set at this camp, as the main theme is self-sufficiency. Nice to have in case you or another PT member eats a nasty Pecking Flurry. Feel free to drop it for a stat+ spell if the PT is doing well.
Refueling - Again, self-sufficiency. If you get a mage that's on the ball with Haste (which they should be), drop this for another +stat spell(s).
MP Drainkiss - Don't leave home without this spell set at this camp. It's your lifeline. Also, needless to say, self-sufficiency.
Plasma Charge - Auto Refresh. +3 STR and +3 DEX.
Actinic Burst - Auto Refresh.
Frenetic Rip - Damage spell and Accuracy Bonus with Disseverment.
Chaotic Eye/Firespit - Conserve MP. +3 STR from Firespit.
Disseverment - Our best multi-hit spell. Accuracy Bonus with Frenetic Rip and can also close self-Distortion (Savage Blade > Disseverment). The piercing bonus also tears those Colibri a new one.
Heat Breath - +3 STR. Feel free to drop this if you'd prefer the Attack Bonus JT from Battle Dance/Uppercut (requires two Assimilation merits)
Triumphant Roar - Our newest addition! The +3 STR is reason enough to set this guy, coupled with the attack boost and Diffusion prospect.
Total BMP - 45
Total Spells - 12/20
Spell Bonuses:
HP+25
MP+5
STR+12
DEX+5
AGI+3
CHR+3
INT+2
MND-1
Accuracy+10 (Frenetic Rip + Disseverment Accuracy Bonus Job Trait)
Spell Set: Campaign
Here's a recommended spellset for Campaign. The beauty of Campaign is that we get to be a little more flexible with the spells that we set, thus showing the extreme versatility of the job. We excel more at Campaign (read: can get XP easier) than most jobs, due to our abilites to do physical and magical damage, heal, debuff and buff, among other things. I like a more supporty set in Campaign, preferring to drop some smaller stat boosts for more useful spells.
Head Butt
Magic Fruit
Refueling
MP Drainkiss - Very important spell. It's interesting to note that every mob in Campaign has MP!
Frightful Roar
Voracious Trunk - A fun spell to mess around with to steal buffs from mobs. Yagudo Warcry *yoink*.
Frenetic Rip
Chaotic Eye/Zephyr Mantle - Silencing certain mobs is imperative, although a slight pain getting them to keep their faces to you sometimes. Zephyr Mantle interruption rate is based on Blue Magic Skill. A good "oh sh*t" spell to keep set, as you won't find it uncommon to get a cast off after being hit 3-4 times.
Disseverment - Great for damage but beware the poison - poisoned mobs don't sleep too well...
Plasma Charge - The stat bonuses are just too good to pass up. Also fun to mess around with if you want Shock Spikes for a short time.
Sheep Song - I pick Sheep Song above our other sleep spells for a few reasons: 1) It's Light-based 2) Doesn't require mobs to be facing you like Yawn 3) 2 BMP and 22 MP to cast.
Cocoon - Like it or not, your shadows will go down, for one reason or another at some point. This also makes blood-tanking viable (and extremely enjoyable) with /WAR, /WHM, /RDM, /DNC or any other sub you prefer.
Pinecone Bomb - Some STR and single-target sleep with some good range on it to hit mobs you don't want to go near. I'm looking at you, Jagidbod's Warmachine!
Poison Breath - Another cheap spell, MP and BMP-wise, with good range for nailing those guys you don't wanna get close to.
Regurgitation - Bind and decent damage, all for 1 BMP.
Note: My spellsets usually change from Campaign to Campaign. Sub-Zero Smash and Actinic Burst have their place in here, as well as other enfeebling spells such as Filamented Hold and some fun spells like Cannonball and Vertical Cleave for Light/Darkness fun - the latter being great for MBing MP Drainkiss on if you can get it off with the mess of people spamming WSs. I personally stick to the more low-volume areas and prefer to tank mobs, so I stick with a more defensive set and SJ (/DNC mostly recently).
Total BMP - 45
Total Spells - 16/20
Spell Bonuses:
HP+10
MP+8
STR+4
DEX+5
AGI+9
VIT+3
CHR+2
INT+3
Accuracy+10 (Frenetic Rip + Disseverment Accuracy Bonus Job Trait)
*****Pretty much finished for now. I may go back and add some Campaign sets 60+ and maybe some different subjob sets (I neglected /THF 70+ as well as a non-Sea build.) If anyone has any input on these, it'd be greatly appreciated, as I don't have personal experience with those sets.
8/26/09 Edit: Added Triumphant Roar and Sub-Zero Smash and updated Great Colibri build and a few updated Campaign notes.
Edited, Jun 19th 2008 4:57am by Solrain
Edited, Jun 19th 2008 5:01am by Solrain
Edited, Aug 27th 2009 12:07am by Solrain
