New To BLM

Alright so BLM is my first ever Mage job so need advice..

Atm soloing pets and its going well;
http://img27.imageshack.us/i/photo9pj.jpg

Not sure if it's decent damage or not..

However, had a couple of times when my damage has done 480~ and I get totaly raped by a link of gobs and an NM.. which i asume is resists, What can I do to prevent this?
(gear on is my profile)
Im eating Cream puffs.
Also, what gearsets should I be looking at putting together when I hit 75+?
This is one I have all of apart from the cape and earring, improvements?



Sorry for nub questions.

ftfy.. your 1 shotting mobs.. thats usually a good sign. resists happen. its part and parcel of being a blm.. you just need to be careful whats around when your nuking and prepare for ES sleep or warp

It one-shots the mob, that immediately makes it decent damage in comparison!

But, that's good damage (much more than I was doing at 52, though BLM was my first job, so eh..). Resists you won't be able to help much, at 54 when you get AF hands, those will go down a lot (Ele Skill +15 is sexy for soloing pets)


If you have the time/patience, I'd work on Thunder/Ice potency staves from TOTM.


All-in-all though, you've definitely got the right idea (at least for nuking), just make sure you have all your other sets planned out and you'll do fine. (This is a welcome change from seeing so many fulltime MP gear blm's.. Thank you <3)

Thanks, i was trying for ages and it wasn't bloody doing that lol.

I tried this camp at 49 like the guide said, even went /nin but I got raped hard, soon as i got freeze that all changed, so fun as well!
I have RR, id rather die than warp to jeuno and run all the way back to Gustav, if it's normal thats cool, thought it was just me failing

Aahh awesome thanks! I dont fulltime Sorc ring either, got a serket and some other gear I use to activate it when I can, the +10MAB from it is so noticeable!

sounds like your doing it right, i used to go through 1-2 rr earrings when i did pets. i was so unlucky or the bst turns. But its a ton of fun to level that way i had good times. i think someone already said it . but make sure you have a good hmp and enfeeble set at the least along with the nuke set. it will make things go alot smoother and faster. good luck

oh also if you put some time in abyssea vunk or tahrongi you can get some nice rings for blm. free is always better imo

Just as I read your post I got a resist :( lol
Which ring's are they?

I believe INT+3 Diamond Ring (making a total of INT+7) comes from Vunkerl. I keep meaning to farm some myself XD

Diamond Rings from vunkerl inlet.

diamond from vunk..

I got INT+3, spell int-1%, on mine not bad for elvaan

Should sell your Aquilo's then if free is better :x

Holy ***Im gonna have to go farm myself some of them then!

The +3 int rings are rare, I've only managed to farm up one myself so far and I've spent a fair bit of time in Vunk. As a fellow bst pet alumni, I have to agree with what's been said so far inre: resists. They happen. I burned through RR earrings like candy at times and other times wouldn't die over the course of a couple camps. As another poster said, it gets a bit easier at 54 with af gloves and resists will become fewer and further between.
Your gear set looks pretty damned good for a first time through. You'll level into the upper echelon of blm nuking damage, especially when considering the sheer number of idiots that still nuke in NQ weskit for some reason. I wouldn't worry too much about the Elementa Grip since resists are really a non-issue at 90 with capped ele skill. You'll still get the random resist, but adding the 3 extra skill won't change that. Work on TotM staves (ice and thunder especially) as the +1/2 versions are essentially like dual-wielding HQ elemental staves in terms of damage output. Other than those minor things (and the obvious +2 the af3 as you can), you're well on your way to doing it right. Refreshing to see in a "new to blm" thread.

Also, forgot to mention, Elemental Seal > Sleepga is a valuable tool while soloing. Write a macro that swaps your gear before and after use of the job ability and it'll allow you to blink out the ja animation which means you can use it while running and it won't lock you in place allowing you to keep your distance from incoming links. Then, when ready, cast sleepga, finish the pet and temporarily log out then back in. If you're still within the spawn area of the mob, it won't depop and once it wakes will go back to spawning pets per normal. If it does depop, it'll respawn in a minute and start kicking out pets again a couple minutes after that. All in all, still better than dying.

Im planning on getting Shamans cloak next level, and I have a genie waiting, untill I get Af3+1 body, whats best to use Teal because of the INT over Genie?

As an Elf, without MM Teal will give better numbers than Genie, however with MM, Genie gave me better numbers (incidentally, because of this I got a Morganas Cotehardie until I can get the AF Body ><). Hume's may have it slightly different because of the INT difference between the two races~

Ahh alright, guess i'll just test to see what works best for me then :P

Genie did more dmg than Teal for higher tier spells for me.

Woot, ding 54, Tornado works on these as well! :D

So teal for lower tier and genie for V etc?

I even used Genie for Blizz4/Thunder 4 etc but teal seemed to be equal for thunder 3 already. It really depends on the spell and your nuke set. Best would be to use a calculator I guess or go test it yourself.

Might be better off just getting some made... or waiting till 8 int rings come out and the same

As Dasva points out, the best gear for right now, will very likely not be the best gear for later. If you already have a Genie, that'll prolly be your best nuking body for the vast majority of spells you'll cast, until you upgrade your Af3 body (or pop for a Yhel Jacket). I doubt anyone will give you too much ***for using either Teal or Genie body as an interim piece though as they're pretty close to each other. I chose to stick with Teal body till I got my +1 and beyond simply for the minimal investment and ease in unloading later when I no longer needed it.
I have to imagine selling off a Genie Weskit will pose much more difficulty than a Teal Saio. But again, if you already have it, you're ahead of the curve.
I used a Shaman's Cloak while I was leveling up as well since it was the best available for a fairly large number of levels - Definitely worth the effort of getting, and though it's inconsequential to performance, Shaman's is also a somewhat nice looking piece.

Heck could just get twilight if you get shinryu acess. Kinda said it is comparable to some of the better head+body options lol

Also you might try augmenting a Weskit in VoS I managed a +3 INT on mine and used it right upto getting AF3+1 body. My friend got +5 INT on his. Took a few trys but weskits NPC for 10k and are only a little more on AH last I checked. Good luck with BLM you look like you have the right idea and its a awesome fun job. ^^

They've gone up in price alot. Pretty much anything that uses dragon/wyrm bones has since new gear is made from it.

You can also try augmenting demon helm +1s... suck it af3

For your current situation, keep one-shotting those pet mobs with AM. Resists will happen; just be sure to know the elemental strengths and weaknesses of your targets, and choose your nuke accordingly. For example, bat mobs are weak to wind, so Tornado is a good choice. Once you're able to equip Shaman's Cloak (lvl 56) and Wizard's Gloves (lvl 54), your resist rate will drop a lot.

For the "future" nuking set you posted, it looks solid. BLM AF3 +1/+2 makes choosing gear easy! But your choices of accessory pieces look fine, too. It's nice to have Goetia Mantle, Nashira Crackows, and Aesir Torque on-hand (in my opinion) for when you're facing a particularly resistant target. But for your everyday nuking, your "future" set is good to go.

I always think it's really important to point out to new BLMs that you're a mage, not just a nuking machine. Having appropriate gear-swaps for Enfeebling Magic, Dark Magic, Stoneskin, Idle, and Cure Potency is crucial to being an above-average BLM.
Don't ALWAYS sub RDM. At level 90 BLM/WHM, you have Haste, Erase, and a full palate of "-na" status removal spells. Use them when the situation calls for it.
Also, when you get there, quickly learn the value of using "new" BLM abilities like Mana Wall and Enmity Douse. These abilities have greatly enhanced the effectiveness and survivability of BLM, in all types of situations.

Edit: Dasva, tell me you don't nuke in that awful Demon Helm +1 >.<

That demon helm is pretty sexy

Yeah I have access, totally forgot about that body, plus impact fun!


Never augumented anything before, where/how do I go about doing it?

And good to know im not totally screwing this up lol.