The Black Sacrament -- A Guide To Black Mage

For real, even the RUN can MB capped Lunges lol.

You can land it when he uses flaming kick as well. Both icy grasp and flaming kick are susceptible to burn. The other 3 elements he uses though aren't.

Without Elemental Seal? I'll have to try next time. I know I have to use Elemental Seal to stick Burn on the T-Rex Naakual which is also fire based.

When he uses flaming kick he absorbs fire damage. That means its even easier to land burn than when he uses icy grasp. It's the same as C and G bosses absorbing darkness (which is why impact always sticks for full duration on them). I'd be worried if burn DIDN'T land after flaming kick. It shouldn't even be possible to resist.

Kalunga only absorbs fire when it's in fetter/proc mode.

Generally every Odyssey boss absorbs it's element when it's in fetter/proc mode (so between the moment they use TP move activating this mode, until you proc blue) and then it's easy to stick debuffs based of that element. Outside of fetter/proc mode however, they have highest resistance against their element.

For bosses make sure to impact (if it can land) before burn. Burn lowers their int and impact lowers their int by 20% based on the int the mob had when it lands. For example if the mob has 463 int and you burn first impact then burn itll have ~307 int, but if you burn first he will have ~320 int.

I meant the mini-Naakual in Sortie. I don't think they obey all the same rules as the Ody Bosses do. But I guess since they don't fetter or proc, they would always be resistant. What you're saying does make sense.

https://www.bluegartr.com/threads/108196-Random-Facts-Thread-Magic?p=7234183&viewfull=1#post7234183

"As expected Impact from Twilight Cloak (probably from Fenrir BP too) and Burn stack and they are independent effects. INT down of Impact is based on original INT, not the modified INT after Burn."

Unless something changed in the last +4 years or this works differently on ITG targets or those bosses specifically, in the example provided, if Impact INT down were actually based on the modified INT after Burn, you would expect -53 INT (216 INT after Burn first, then Impact), not -58 (211 INT after Impact first, then Burn)

292-CEILING((292-23)*0.8,1)-23 = 53
292-CEILING(292*.8,1) = 58

I want to dispel this misconception. The old wiki is wrong. Empyrean +3 pieces that enhance an ability require only two conditions to be met.

1: The ability must be active
2: The equipment must be worn

It doesn't matter if you activate the ability without having the item equipped. And it doesn't matter if you swap the piece out and then re equip it later. You will lose the bonus when you swap out the piece, but you gain it back when you put it back on. I can name 3 examples where I have witnessed this firsthand multiple times over the past few months

• Wicce Sabots +3 - Mana wall tanking 7-8 Acuexes in Sortie D for the magic kill objectives
  

• Bhikku Cyclas +3 - Playing monk on a variety of content
  

• Boii Calligae +3 - Tanking small groups of mobs in seg farms

I do not have gearswap and I do not lock my equipment in place. On each of my jobs I swap out of the aforementioned empyrean +3 for one reason or another. I swap out of my wicce sabots to fastcast in agwu's pigaches, I weaponskill on warrior in nyame sollerets, and on monk I use raging and howling fists during my impetus window alongside smite, and raging and howling swap into nyame mail.

The effects of these empyrean pieces are so pronounced that you can visibly see if their effect is active or not. You can tell just by looking at the numbers when capped impetus stacks are getting the empyrean bonus because the damage and crit rate is that massive, just as that extra 31% retaliation damage is something that you can actually eyeball, as is the amount of mana drained from mana wall with that many mobs hitting you.

Now, I will acknowledge that it's possible the old wiki was correct for its time period. Old wiki was referencing the equipment usage in the abyssea era. Maybe back then the lvl 99 +1 and +2 versions did work as suggested, where if you unequipped the piece you lose the effect permanently. Or maybe that information was always wrong. But I can say with certainty that at least for the +3 versions we have now, you can unequip them to gearswap into whatever you want. As soon as you re equip them you'll get the bonus back, so long as the corresponding ability is active.

Ok deep question here on Aminon

How are my fellow BLM's managing gearsets between comet/death/absorb tp? I am using the guides (slightly modified) version of death macc set. My issues come into play when casting absorb tp. Im getting some no efftects etc on my absorbs but Im stacked on macc. If i switch back to normal sets to cast absorb it obviously floors my mp. I switch back to death set (which is about 2400mp vs 1600mp normal) and im low on mp for death after bursting comet and the way our sc is setup I don't have enough time to burst comet then myrkr then burst death before sc is closed.

So my question would be what are you doing for death/comet/absorbtp set management? DO you have one set or are you casting in a locked modified death set?

Plenty of other very good questions and discussion points in the rest of your post, but I'm gonna snag on to the easier one to answer, lol- a lot of the time on Aminon when someone /DRK sees a "no effect" message on Absorb-TP, its because either Frazzle3 or Dark Threnody II wore off. Of course check your sets, but if they're solid the prior bit is likely what happened. As someone who RDM's our Aminons I know myself and the BRD are constantly checking to ensure both of those debuffs are present 100% of the time.

Out of curiosity, are you noticing that you are not 99 999ing Death consistently if you do not make these concessions? If so, what are the numbers?

The reason I ask is because when I first started doing Aminon, I made the same concessions to ensure I maximized my MP retention going into my Death cast. However, I found by doing this I was lowering my Comet damage and Absorb TP recast/accuracy. I also found that when I turned off this "Death Mode" toggle, I was still able to cap Death regardless. I find as long as you are over 1550MP or so you should be good to go for Death. This assumes a GEO is full timing BoG + Ea if Bolster is not up, which should be maintainable.

Ultimately, I just cast Comet in a standard modified MB set, which is capped at 2150MP, and I enter Death cast with about 1800MP and there are no issues. I will also say I often go into a Comet cast not sitting at 2150MP or above, but between Aspir and the post Death Myrkr, it should be pretty close to 2000MP and that is plenty. Here are my sets for reference:

sets.magic_burst.Comet = {
main={ name="Bunzi's Rod", augments={'Path: A',}},
sub="Ammurapi Shield",
ammo={ name="Ghastly Tathlum +1", augments={'Path: A',}},
head="Pixie Hairpin +1",
body="Wicce Coat +3", --0/5
hands={ name="Agwu's Gages", augments={'Path: A',}}, --8/5
legs={ name="Agwu's Slops", augments={'Path: A',}}, --9/0
feet={ name="Agwu's Pigaches", augments={'Path: A',}}, --6/0
neck={ name="Src. Stole +2", augments={'Path: A',}}, --10/0
waist={ name="Acuity Belt +1", augments={'Path: A',}},
left_ear="Malignance Earring",
right_ear={ name="Wicce Earring +2", augments={'System: 1 ID: 1676 Val: 0','Mag. Acc.+17','Enmity-7','INT+9 MND+9',}},
left_ring={ name="Metamor. Ring +1", augments={'Path: A',}},
ring2="Archon Ring",
back={ name="Taranus's Cape", augments={'INT+20','Mag. Acc+20 /Mag. Dmg.+20','INT+10','"Mag.Atk.Bns."+10','Damage taken-5%',}}, --5/0
} --2150 MP

sets.magic_burst.DeathAccuracy = {
main={ name="Hvergelmir", augments={'Path: A',}},
sub="Khonsu",
ammo={ name="Ghastly Tathlum +1", augments={'Path: A',}},
head="Pixie Hairpin +1",
body="Wicce Coat +3", --0/5
hands={ name="Agwu's Gages", augments={'Path: A',}}, --8/5
legs="Wicce Chausses +3", --15/0
feet={ name="Agwu's Pigaches", augments={'Path: A',}}, --6/0 --+mAcc
neck={ name="Src. Stole +2", augments={'Path: A',}}, --10/0
waist={ name="Acuity Belt +1", augments={'Path: A',}},
left_ear="Malignance Earring", --+mAcc/FC
right_ear="Barkaro. Earring",
left_ring={ name="Metamor. Ring +1", augments={'Path: A',}}, --+mAcc
right_ring="Archon Ring",
back={ name="Taranus's Cape", augments={'MP+60','Mag. Acc+20 /Mag. Dmg.+20','MP+20','Haste+10','Phys. dmg. taken-10%',}}, --5/0
} --44/12, cap of 40 MBBI, 2242 Idle / 2254 FC / 2239 No MB / 2234 or [2072] MB, 28/25 Gear Haste + 64FC

Belt will swap to Obi with later logic. A couple caveats is I go /SCH now for Aminon so that will increase MP, and give you an emergency Sublimation or two, and ML will make a difference on MP pool. This was the Absorb TP set I used to use back in the day though:

sets.midcast['Absorb-TP']={
ammo="Pemphredo Tathlum",
head={ name="Amalric Coif +1", augments={'MP+80','Mag. Acc.+20','"Mag.Atk.Bns."+20',}},
body={ name="Agwu's Robe", augments={'Path: A',}},
hands={ name="Agwu's Gages", augments={'Path: A',}},
legs={ name="Agwu's Slops", augments={'Path: A',}},
feet={ name="Agwu's Pigaches", augments={'Path: A',}},
neck={ name="Src. Stole +2", augments={'Path: A',}},
waist={ name="Acuity Belt +1", augments={'Path: A',}},
left_ear="Malignance Earring",
right_ear={ name="Wicce Earring +2", augments={'System: 1 ID: 1676 Val: 0','Mag. Acc.+17','Enmity-7','INT+9 MND+9',}},
left_ring={ name="Metamor. Ring +1", augments={'Path: A',}},
right_ring="Lehko's Ring", --only 20/25 Gear Haste otherwise
back={ name="Aurist's Cape +1", augments={'Path: A',}},
} --12 second cooldown, 80% reduction

[Edit: Sometimes I use night mode and sunglasses to code so I didn't even catch that Aux was actually replying to someone else.]

I never swap out of prime staff. Prime staff with AM is extremely good, and you get the benefit of Myrkr almost every set of SCs.

On the other hand I go full Agwu on death to make up for that FC. Death hits for 100k consistently. Comets go from 60-100k but that's really thanks to RUN keeping gambit up the entire fight.

Absorb MP set takes care of my MP needs post death and I barely need to use Myrkr tbh.

I've settled on this one for death:

ammo={ name="Ghastly Tathlum +1", augments={'Path: A',}},
head="agwu's Cap",
body="agwu's Robe",
hands={ name="Agwu's Gages", augments={'Path: A',}},
legs="agwu's Slops",
feet={ name="Agwu's Pigaches", augments={'Path: A',}},
neck={ name="Src. Stole +2", augments={'Path: A',}},
waist="shinjutsu-no-obi +1",
left_ear="Loquac. Earring",
right_ear="Etiolation Earring",
left_ring="mephitas's Ring +1",
right_ring={ name="Metamor. Ring +1", augments={'Path: A',}},
back={ name="Taranus's Cape", augments={'MP+60','Mag. Acc+20 /Mag. Dmg.+20','MP+20','"Fast Cast"+10','Damage taken-5%',}},

In my opinion, 2400 is too much for your death idle set. Mine has about 2100 in it. You also have to make sure that your fast cast and casting sets have about that same amount in them. If you're dipping too low when casting, you probably need to look at those sets.

My experience with death is that I can cap as long as I have ~1600 MP at time of cast. 2100 base gives enough to cast comet first and then death and still have enough.

Don't ignore a properly augmented Mpaca's Staff as a nice compromise option between needs for Death and Comet. Its pretty much a nice mix of "a little bit of everything" rather than having to commit to an option that maximizes the needs of just one of the spells, or swapping weapons around and losing TP. I say this as someone with both an R30 Bunzi Rod as well as an afterglowed (only R7) Empy Staff....truth is I've noticed I really don't need all the MP the Empy Provides to still cap Death, and don't need all the insane MAB on Bunzi to do respectable Comets that do cap now and then. While the super high +Fast Cast on Empy Staff does improve recast times for Death, the lack of it is still very workable.

Also, Impact can be more than just a stat-down spell but one used for real damage in that fight (NQ Aminon). Not saying its worth moving away from the default options of Comet/Death, but if stuck waiting on a recast, its a nice thing to mix in now and then.

I actually alternate Death and Impact bursts because we skillchain fast enough that Death often isn't off recast every skillchain.

What is everyone using for int enfeeb set for elemental enfeebs like burn? Mine land pretty good but looking to make it better. Thank you!

The INT needs of the elemental enfeebles is very low- they max that stat at a paltry 150 INT. So gear wise, I just ensure that Relic legs/feet are in the set, and then max macc in other slots. These days that means empy+3, possibly a piece of AF+3 if paired with Regal Earring.

sidenote: don't get deceived by the Agwu's slops for BLM elemental enfeebles- they're great for /BLM on SCH or GEO as they get zero potency gear, but its an extra -10stat vs the relic+3 legs' -30stat.

I wouldn't say there's a maybe here. There are two pieces of artifact that are still better than empyrean. Body is a wash against empyrean for burn, but for regular enfeebles it wins by a lot because of the enfeebling magic skill. Hands and feet slightly favor artifact for general enfeebles and hands favors burn heavily because of the elemental skill.

--------------------------------------
Body

Spaekona's Coat +3 - 39 Int, 55 Magic accuracy (70 magic accuracy with set bonus), 21 enfeebling magic skill

Wicce coat +3 - 50 Int, 64 magic accuracy
--------------------------------------
Hands

Spaekona's gloves +3 - 37 Int, 52 magic accuracy (67 with set bonus), Elemental Magic skill + 21

Wicce gloves +3 - 38 Int, 62 Magic Accuracy
--------------------------------------

The ideal pairing is Regal earring, Empyrean head, Artifact Body, Artifact Hands, Empyrean legs, and either empyrean feet for regular enfeebles or relic feet for burn.

Speaking about elemental debuffs specifically, you wouldn't use Spaekona's feet because you want the extra -30 stats from the relic feet though. Relic legs are -10, feet are -30.

Yes, this was already mentioned. I'm just throwing out the comparisons for general enfeebles. Celeb mentioned the relic feet for the extra -30 stat in his post above mine, and I mentioned it at the end of mine as well.

Edit: Removed the feet comparison entirely because of the point Maletaru made about the empyrean set procs a couple posts below.

That's fair I guess I glossed over the sentence in your first paragraph where you stopped talking about burn and moved on to sets for other enfeebles.

Worth noting that for burn specifically, the AF hands have more macc than you listed because they also have elemental magic skill on them.

It gets kind of confusing when you're listing the stats for two different types of magic, I guess.

You're right. The artifact hands are just flat out better for everything. They lead over empyrean by about 5 magic accuracy for regular enfeebles and about 25 for burn. I added the elemental magic skill into my maths to emphasize that. That's a good catch. Body is a wash for burn but leads for regular enfeebles over empyrean by about 20 because of the enfeeble skill.

One other callout RE: AF set, while we're at it.

It's very common to say that AF pieces gain 15 macc per piece because of the set bonus, but that's just patently false, because the first piece gets 0 macc. If you really want to compare multiple pieces in a set, you need to count the total macc in both sets to see the variance. This is especially true of the regal earring which has no macc OTHER than the set bonus, so attributing 15 macc to it and ALSO applying that 15 macc to the piece it's pairing with will result in incorrect assumptions.

It's actually:
2 pieces: 7.5 macc each
3 pieces: 10 macc each
4 pieces: 11 macc each
5 pieces: 12 macc each

I suppose that's an alternate way to look at it... but it's a "set bonus" and shouldn't be that confusing that someone incorrectly adds 15 per piece. Just add the set bonus tier at the end, that's it. Set bonuses have been around forever in many games... its not rocket surgery >_> lol

His point was that if you only have two pieces equipped you get a total of +15 magic accuracy, and if you have 3 pieces it's a total of +30. You don't get +15 per piece for the first two, it's +15 for the first two combined and then +15 more per additional piece after. That matters.

That said, I'd still recommend using the artifact body and hands to get the set bonus. Those two both have equivalent or higher magic accuracy than empyrean, and those are also the two that have the additional magic skill on them. It's worth using them to trigger the set bonus and get even more magic accuracy.