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The Way of the Black Mage
Who am I?
I am Osyris, apprentice of Master Vivi, and currently an
assistant of Dr.
Shantotto. I am a Tarutaru who resides in the city of Windurst.
I was
recently elected as minister of Black Arts in the Windurst
Aurestary as well as
an ordained War Warlock. This Black Mage Handbook, is a
culmination of my
research and experience of the last few years, designed to teach
the beginning
and intermediate Black Mage how to do the job most efficiently.
I have come
back home from fighting to write this guide, so the enclosed
strategies are
fresh and current with today’s trends. As the Alpha and Omega of
the party, it
is important for the young students of Black Magic to understand
their role and
purpose in a party situation in order to fully utilize their
abilities.
The black mage is the supreme damage dealing class. Our power is
unrivaled by
any class. Some may argue that at higher levels they can rival
our power, but
when the dust settles, and you stay true to your training, you
will see that
not only you will deal the most damage, but you will deal high
damage
consistently, and quickly. Thus you may find yourself being the
one to kill
the enemy after a long fight. Spells don’t miss, so while a
melee is swinging
wildly at a mob, we sit back and fire at our enemy with full
confidence our
attack will strike. It is best to consider yourself artillery
support, whilst
the melee are ground troops. The strength of an army lies in its
ability to
strike quick and accurate blows to the enemy, thus weakening its
core (that’s
the melee). Our heavy attacks is what deals the finishing blow
(that’s you?).
There will be many times when the melee are fighting an enemy
with high defense
and even at lv.50 still ringing up numbers like 0-20 damage on
the enemy. Our
single strike can literally hit for 10 times that amount or
greater! If you
are an aspiring Black Mage, want to brush on some skills and
tactics, or not
sure if you want to give this job a try, read on!
Races
Vana’diel consists of 5 races, Elvaan, Galka, Hume, Mithra, and
Tarutaru. Due
to the natural talents a race possesses, some races can perform
the role of a
black mage better than others. However, I would never discourage
any race from
becoming a black mage for anyone can tell you, it’s not about
the statistics,
it’s about the skill. Each race has a starting statistic which
as been
researched and developed by the War Warlocks of the Windurst
Aurestary. They
are as follows:
Elvaan: HP-27 MP-22 STR-6 DEX-7 VIT-6 AGI-6 INT-7 MND-7 CHR-6
Galka: HP-30 MP-18 STR-6 DEX-7 VIT-7 AGI-7 INT-8 MND-6 CHR-5
Hume: HP-25 MP-24 STR-5 DEX-7 VIT-5 AGI-7 INT-8 MND-6 CHR-6
Mithra: HP-25 MP-24 STR-5 DEX-8 VIT-5 AGI-8 INT-8 MND-6 CHR-5
Tarutaru:HP-21 MP-30 STR-4 DEX-7 VIT-5 AGI-8 INT-10 MND-6 CHR-6
The noteworthy statistics are: INT, MP, MND, and HP
INT – this is the MOST important statistic for the black mage.
INT determines
several factors. First and foremost it determines the potency of
your
elemental spells, and the potency of you buff/debuff spells.
(*Note: buff
means to boost you and/or your party’s attributes. Debuff means
to lower and
enemies attributes. This is because most debuffs are still based
on an
element, usually dark magic*) From my experiences, 1 point of
INT can add from
1 to 7 points of damage on an elemental spell. INT also
determines the level
to which you can break an enemy’s resistance to an elemental
spell. Though
spells won’t miss the target, stronger enemies can resist the
damage thus
rendering an attack weaker. Debuffs will be resisted and will
not work all
together. The increased INT will allow your spells and debuffs
to operate at
their maximum potential.
MP determines the amount of mana, or available magical energy
you will have to
cast spells. Stronger spells require more energy to cast, so
they use more MP.
Having more MP potentially means more casting stamina.
MND comes into play later on in your career when you choose a
sub-job (to be
discussed later). MND affects your ability to heal others. When
you
eventually take on the sub-job of white mage, you will gain
healing abilities.
MND directly affects the potency of healing spells. It also
affects your
resistance to debuffs cast on you.
Finally the last stat to consider is HP. Black mages go through
intense
training to cast spells and as a result, this devotion takes a
toll on personal
well being. Thus, Black mages have fewer HP than every job, save
the summoner.
Keep this in mind, for our enemies can deal great damage to us,
and it doesn’t
take much for an enemy to kill you. It is guaranteed that during
the course
of your study you will be knocked out unconscious. Hope you can
get healed by
a white mage or get to an infirmary before Orcs eat you!
With this in mind, lets discuss the different race’s natural
talents and how
they relate to the study of black magic.!
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