Black Mage (Final Fantasy 5)

Black Mages Uncovered

Become a powerful Black Mage

Monday, October 27, 2003

Black Mages - General Overview

The Black Mage is a character class that delves in the art of Black Magic.

Black Magic is primarily used for causing bodily harm to your enimies, by

means of spells that cause eruptions of elemental energy controled in the way

you see fit. Elemental magic, however, is not the only type of magic in the

arsenal of the Black Mage, he also gets spells to lower his enemy's abilities,

heal himself, and only himself, and restore his own MP, not to mention spells

to teleport to convenient locations, hid current Home Point or to the

enterance of a dungeon. Black Mages are indeed versatile characters.

Black Mage Combat

The fight sequence of a Black Mage is, generally, as follows:

1-Sit in the back and cast your 2nd or 3rd highest elemental spell.

2-Use then your Highest or second highest Elemental spell.

3-Wait for the fighters to attack and possibly taunt.

4-Continue to cast your good elemental spells.

5-Occasionaly wait for the fighters to draw some hate.

6-Cast more Elementals.

7-If you are ever attacked just sit there, casting will only draw more hate.

Note: Which elemental you should cast is also based on MP efficency and

Weaknesses of certain eements by the enemy. For example if a Stone I

costs 8 mp and does 20 damage to an enemy, yet a Water costing a bit more MP

does as much to some eniemies, thusly Stone is better for those enemies.

Also Note: In the beginning slightly weaker spells are used because the

Fighters need a chance to accumulate some hate, if you start out with your

best spell you are likely to be attacked.

The Black Mage and you- Black Mages interaction with other classes.

Inter-class relations is relatively simple with a Black Mage.

Class-Relation a Black mage has with them.

White Mage, Red Mage- The Black Mage has top-priority for curing.

Others- Take hits for the Black Mage, the Black Mage providing great damage in

exchange.

Black Mage Weapons

Now, time to look into equipment for a Black Mage, more specifically a

weapon. Most Black mages will choose a Club or Staff, yet there are other

weapon choices for a Black Mage. Here I wil present these choices.

Dagger:Pros- Fast attack speed, many daggers with status effects.

Cons- Weak damage, which means 0 damage as a Black Mage usually.

Staff:Pros- Moderate damage.

Cons- Slow Attack speed.

Club:Pros- Bonuses that help casting, moderately fast speed.

Cons- Weak damage.

My preference is a Club, since Black Mages wont attack once they start

partying, since the bonuses are quite good.

Black Mage spells- In Depth

Now a chance to look at some of the Black Mages basic sets of spells, the

primary use and objective having already being discussed here I will detail

some of thee basic spells.

Enfeebling:Bind- Holds the enemy, allows you to cast without geting hit.

Blind-Decreases attack accuracy, quite useful considering its MP cost.

Poison-Does damage over time, good but I prefer dia.

Sleep-Puts the enemy to sleep, good for running.

Shock, Burn- Lowers an enemy's stat and does damage over time.

Choke, Rasp, Drown- Same as Shock and Burn.

Enhancing:Elemental Spikes- Does Elemental damage when you're hit, not good.

Dark: Bio-Lowers attack and does damage over time, high MP cost.

Drain- Absorbs HP from the enemy, very good, long recharge time.

Aspir- Absorbs MP from the enemy, very good, long recharge time.

Elemental:All elemental- Incredibly Good, the spells you cast most.

Spirit: Warp- Instantly transports you to your home point, nifty!

Escape- Intsantly teleports your party to the enterance of a dungeon.

Black Mages on a Budget - What you should buy

As a Black MAge one should always consider their role in a party when

making any transaction. As a Black Mage you should spend very little on

armor, and even less on a weapon.

What not to buy:

Armor in excess, no need to get new armor whenever you can afford better, only buy

new armor every once in a while.

New weapons in excess, same as armor, also you should buy your weapon based

on what bonuses to stats they give rather than damage.

What to buy:

Elemental spells, buy these with top priority.

High Reward Quests for Black Mages.

Windurst:

Aspir Quest, Fuepepe; Aurastery, Windurst Waters.

Gives the spell Aspir.

Star Onion Brigade quests, Behind the Warehouse in Windurst Woods.

Do these for the Blaze spikes;Note:Do the first quest ASAP.

Compound Eye Circlet Quest, Koru-Moru's Manor in Windurst Walls.

Shantotto quests,Shantotto's Manor, Windurst Walls.

Do these for a Hypno Staff, Warp II, and some other stuff.

Hypno Staff Quest, Paku-Nakku, Aurastery Roof, Windurst Waters.

Only if you wish to use a staff.

Bastok:

Warp quest, Unlucky Rat; Cement Factory, Bastok Metalworks.

Gives the spell Warp.

Sandoria:

Drain quest, Novalmauge; Dungeon under the Chateau.

Gives the spell Drain