Black Mage
Lore
"In days long past, there existed an evil clan and arcane art known as black magic—a potent magic of pure destructive force born forth by a sorceress of unparalleled power. Those who learned to wield this instrument of ruin came to be called black mages, out of both fear and respect for their gift. Yet great power served to corrupt the judgment of mortal man, and so he unknowingly set out upon the path of ruin.
Adventurers who take the black will become agents of devastation, capable of annihilating those who oppose them through little more than the force of their will." — Game Description
General Information
Black Mage is a job that specializes in devastating their enemies through the use of black magic. Black Mage evolves from the class thaumaturge. Using staves and scepters, Black Mages are ranged damage dealers with powerful AoE spells and crowd controls. They have all the abilities and traits of Thaumaturges. The most important stat for the black mage is intelligence, which increases attack magic potency. The level of your Black Mage is equivalent to that of your Thaumaturge.
Requirements
- Level 30 Thaumaturge
- Completion of Main Scenario quest: Sylph-management
Trainer Locations
| NPC | Location | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Yayake | Ul'dah - Steps of Nald (x7,y12) | Job Start for ARR |
| Lalai | Ul'dah - Steps of Thal (x13,y14) | Job Trainer for 30-40 |
| Kazagg Chah | Eastern Thanalan (x28,y21) | Job Trainer for 41-50 |
| Lalai | Ul'dah - Steps of Thal (x13,y14) | Job Start for Heavensward |
| Lalai | Ul'dah - Steps of Thal (x13,y14) | Job Trainer for 52-60 |
| Lalai | Ul'dah - Steps of Thal (x12.9,y13.5) | Job Start for Stormblood |
Actions
Black Mages use all the Thaumaturge Actions in addition to having their own unique actions for their Job:
Black Mage received no skill removals with 4.0/Stormblood.
| Action | Icon | Level | MP Cost | Cast Time | Cooldown | Range | Radius | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Convert |  |
30 | 0 | Instant | 180s | 0y | 0y | Sacrifices 20% of maximum HP to restore 30% of MP. Cannot be executed when current HP is lower than 20%. |
| Freeze |  |
35 | 532 | 3s | 2.5s | 25y | 5y | Covers a designated area in ice, dealing ice damage with a potency of 100 and binding enemies that enter for 15s. Additional Effect: Grants Umbral Ice for 12s or removes Astral Fire. |
| Apocatastasis |  |
40 | 0 | Instant | 180s | 30y | 0y | Reduces a party member's magic vulnerability by 20% for 12s. Cannot be reused on an individual for 60s from when the effect wears off. Cannot be cast on self. |
| Manawall |  |
45 | 0 | Instant | 120s | 0y | 0y | Creates a barrier that nullifies physical damage up to 20% of maximum HP. |
| Flare |  |
50 | 100% MP* | 4s | 2.5s | 25y | 5y | Deals fire damage with a potency of 260. Nearby enemies take an additive 10% less damage after each target hit up to 50% reduced. |
| Ley Lines |  |
52 | 0 | Instant | 90s | 0y | 3y | Connects naturally occurring ley lines to create a circle of power which, while standing within it, increases attack speed by 15%. Duration: 30s |
| Sharpcast |  |
54 | 0 | Instant | 60s | 0y | 0y | Ensures that the next Scathe, Fire, or Thunder spell cast will trigger all additional effects of the respective spell. Duration: 10s |
| Enochian |  |
56 | 0 | Instant | 60s | 0y | 0y | Increases magic damage dealt by 5%. Also allows the casting of Blizzard IV and Fire IV. Duration: 30s |
| Blizzard IV |  |
58 | 884 | 3s | 2.5s | 25y | 0y | Deals ice damage with a potency of 280. Can only be executed while under the effects of both Enochian and Umbral Ice. Additional Effect: Enochian |
| Fire IV |  |
60 | 884 | 3s | 2.5s | 25y | 0y | Deals fire damage with a potency of 280. Can only be executed while under the effects of both Enochian and Astral Fire. |
Role Actions
| Caster | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Action | Icon | Level | Description |
| Addle | -NA- | 8 | Lowers target's intelligence and mind by 15%. |
| Break | -NA- | 12 | Deals unsapected damage with a potency of 50. Applies Heavy +40% for 20s. |
| Drain | -NA- | 16 | Deals unaspected damage with a potency of 80. Absorbs 100% of damage dealt as HP. |
| Diversion | -NA- | 20 | Reduces enmity generation. |
| Lucid Dreaming | -NA- | 24 | Reduces enmity by half. Refresh potency 80 for 21s. |
| Swiftcast |  |
32 | Next spell is cast instantly. |
| Mana Shift | -NA- | 36 | Transfers up to 20% of own MP to target party member. |
| Apocatastasis | |
40 | Reduces a party member's magic vulnerability by 20% for 12s. |
| Surecast |  |
44 | Next spell is cast without interruption. |
| Erase | -NA- | 48 | Removes a single damage over time effect from target party member other than self. |
PvP Actions
| Action | Icon | Description | Upgrade 1 | Upgrade 2 | Upgrade 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Night Wing |  |
Puts target and enemies near it to sleep for 10s. | Enhanced Night Wing: Shortens recast time to 180 seconds. | Enhanced Night Wing II: Extends duration to 15 seconds. | |
| Phantom Dart |  |
Deals unaspected damage with a potency of 150. Additional Effect: Reduces target's elemental resistances by 10% for 15s. |
Enhanced Phantom Dart: Shortens recast time to 60 seconds. | Enhanced Phantom Dart II: Increases potency to 180. | Enhanced Phantom Dart III: Extends duration to 20 seconds. |
| Aetheric Burst |  |
Deals unaspected damage with a potency of 170 to all nearby enemies. Additional Effect: Decreases skill speed of target by 30% for 10s. |
Enhanced Aetheric Burst: Shortens recast time to 150 seconds. | Enhanced Aetheric Burst II: Extends duration to 15 seconds. | Enhanced Aetheric Burst III: Increases skill speed reduction to 50%. |
| Equanimity |  |
Allows casting without interruption by attacks for 10s. | Enhanced Equanimity: Shortens recast time to 180 seconds. | Enhanced Equanimity II: Extends duration to 15 seconds. | |
| Mana Draw |  |
Restores 30% of maximum MP. | Enhanced Mana Draw: Shortens recast time to 180 seconds. | Enhanced Mana Draw II: Increases MP recovery to 50%. | |
| Purify |  |
Removes all detrimental effects from self or ally. Can be used regardless of status affliction. | Enhanced Purify: Shortens recast time to 150 seconds. |
Quests
Job Gauge
Official Lodestone Job Guide (Always up-to-date)
Elemental Gauge
The Elemental Gauge indicates whether you are under the influence of Astral Fire (after casting a Fire spell) or Umbral Ice (after casting a Blizzard spell). While under the influence of Astral Fire, all Fire spells will have increased potency, but require more MP to cast. While under the influence of Umbral Ice, all Blizzard spells will have no cost, and will recover MP upon striking a target. Furthermore, when maintaining stacks of Astral Fire or Umbral Ice, a spell of the opposite element can be cast at no cost but will deal reduced damage.
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The action  Umbral Soul (acquired at level 35) halts the expiration of Umbral Ice. Reapplying this effect, or casting a spell of the opposite element, will cause its expiration to resume.
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Coming under the influence of Astral Fire or Umbral Ice will grant  Enochian, and set the lower-right corner of the gauge aglow, indicating its effect is active. Enochian increases the potency of magic attacks, as well as unlocks powerful spells such as  Blizzard IV. Enochian fades when Astral Fire or Umbral Ice expires.
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Casting Freeze or Blizzard IV grants 3 Umbral Hearts which are represented by the arrows in the gauge's lower-left corner. An Umbral Heart is consumed each time a Fire spell is cast, nullifying the MP cost increase applied by the Astral Fire status.
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The Enochian bar will fill every 30 seconds the status is maintained. When the crystal at the bottom of the Elemental Gauge glows pink, you will be under effect of Polyglot, which allows the spells  Foul and  Xenoglossy (acquired at level 80) to be cast, consuming a crystal.
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Upon learning the trait  Enhanced Polyglot, you will be able to stack a second Polyglot.
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Upon learning the trait  Aspect Mastery V, the Paradox Gauge will be displayed. If your element switches to the opposite element when under the effects of either Astral Fire or Umbral Ice and in possession of the maximum number of Umbral Hearts, the left side of the Paradox Gauge will light up. You will then be able to use  Paradox.
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Upon learning the trait  Enhanced Polyglot II, you will be able to stack a third Polyglot.
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Simple Mode
Umbral Ice Timer Halted
Polyglot
Astral Fire Gauge
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Upon learning the trait  Enhanced Astral Fire, while under the effect of Astral Fire, casting  Fire IV or Flare will grant stacks (1 and 3 respectively) of Astral Soul. At maximum stacks, you can cast  Flare Star.
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Simple Mode
Astral Soul
Black Mage Guide
Endgame Rotations
Opener:
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Rotation (while under Enochian):
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if proc’d) --> --> --> --> --> --> --> (or 
if 
procd) -->
Note:
I am able to get the six Fire IV in with around 840 Spell Speed/Full Prototype Midan gear. If you are having trouble, start off with two Fire IVs, not three, and work your way up to three in a row. Even with high spell speed, I can just barely get off Blizzard IV before Enochian drops. Remember in boss fights to do what you can to keep Enochian up!
Black Mage Macros
Images
