Black Mage is a job known for two things: explosions and standing very, very still. Unfortunately, in 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Final Fantasy 14’s PvP modes, the latter is harder 🉐to achieve. Thankfully 6.1’s overhaul gave the PvP version of Black Mage options for quick burst combos and instant-cast barrages. Despite this overhaul, Black Mag🌌e is still a fragile job that requires strong positioning and an understanding of your abilities to make an impact on the battlefield.

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In PvP, Black Mage rel⛎ies on its high Area of Effect damage, Damage Over Time abilities, and the power to slow,🅘 root and even freeze enemies solid. If given breathing room, a Black Mage can single-handedly turn the tide of battle. If focus-fired, they can feel like dead weight.

Overview

Black Mage relies on good positioning in PVP. While the job can deal a huge amount of damage, it’s difficult to stay alive when ganged up on. This makes for satisfying highs and frustrating lows. In one game you'll destroy your opponents with barrages of fire and ice, while in the next you'll have a Monk glued to your face until the match ends. If you’ve only played tanks or melee DPS in PvP before, this can take some a⛦djustment.

As a Magical Ranged DPS, you’ll be expected to fling spells from a distance, and your approach should reflect that. You’ll need to find ways to keep your enemies at arm’s length, either by cleverly utilizing cover, attacking from unexpected angles, or not engaging until the team fight is already on its way. If you’re in the center of a brawl for more than a couple of seconds, something has gone wrong. You don’t want to play too cautiously, either - an inacꦍti♛ve DPS is just as good as a dead DPS, though this is less of a worry in Frontline.

Because of this emphasis on positioning, we’ll give you a full rundown of the Black Mage’s abilities and how to bestꦚ use them to rain fire and ice down on your foes.

Job Action Breakdown

Black Mage’s abilities center around two combos, starting with either Fire or Blizzard. Unlike their 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:PvE counterpart, the PvP version of Black Mage doesn’t have to manage their MP outside of using Recuperate. Instead, you need to build up stacks of either Astral Warmth or Umbral Freeze, then activate those stacks with Superflare. You’ll also play around your Limit Break, Soul Resonance, which turns you into a mobile magical artillery platform for an entire minut𒊎e.

Astral Fire And Umbral Ice Combos

While not strictly weaponskill combos, the Astral Fire and Umbral Ice abilities function very similarly t🍸o them. These combos are your bread and butter.

• Fire > Fire IV > Flare (Superflare)
• Blizzard > Blizzard IV > Freeze (Superflare)

Either one of these combos will afflict your target with three stacks of Astral Warmth or Umbral Freeze, then trigger those stacks with Superflare. At any point, you can make use of Aetherial Manipulation to instantly cast your spells, which helps to make you less of an obvious target when combined with good cover usage. Aetherial Manipulation also helps you burst enemies down: while it won't actually make you deal more damage overall, the damage will still come out faster, which might secure a kill before your🥃 target can use Recuperate.

As for which combo is better, that depends entirely on what you want to achieve. In most cases, the Deep Freeze status from your Umbral Ice combo is more useful, as stuns are very powerful in Crystalline Conflict. However, the Astral Fire combo deals a lot of sustained damage, so it can be worth applying i🦋t to a priority target𒀰.

Superflare has a massive range and goes through cover, and can be used to interrupt Standard-issue Elixir. Youꦡ can also sprea🔯d stacks of Astral Warmth or Umbral Freeze to multiple targets before activating Superflare.

These combos have a lot of interactions ⭕with the rest of the Black Mage's toolkit. Read on for o༺ur full list of Black Mage combos!

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Toolkit Breakdown And Additional Combos

The B🍸lack Mage relies on a few other abilities to complement its arcane toolkit. Mastering these abilities can turn you from a 🐽fragile mage into a force to be reckoned with.

• Aetherial Manipulation: Can be used to burst down targets, get you out of danger by targeting an ally, or help you chase down an enemy.
• Burst: Rarely ever worth casting without first using Aetherial Manipulation. The only raw survival tool in the Black Mage's toolkit. It hits hard.
• Night Wing: A crowd-control tool that is a great way to secure kills and deal extra damage. Use it on a clump of enemies, or time it for when you're about to use Flare, Freeze, Burst, or Foul to boost your damage.
• Paradox: This ability lets you skip the process of building up stacks entirely. It can be used with Umbral Freeze to stun a fleeing opponent, or with Astral Warmth to immediately get the full Damage Over Time effect.

Each of these abilities has multiple use cases😼, giving Black Mage a high skill ceiling in PvP. Whil🎐e there's not a catch-all combo, here are a couple of strings to help you up your game in Crystalline Conflict.

• Single-Target Burst: Fire > Paradox (Superflare) > Blizzard > Blizzard IV (Night Wing) > Freeze (Superflare) > Aetherial Manipulation > Burst

This combo does a few important things: firstly, it applies a three-stack Burns from Astral Warmth to your opponent. Secondly, it times your Burst spell with the Sleep status effect and the Deep Freeze effect from Um🌠bral Freeze, giving it additional bonus damage and making sure your target can't dodge it.

While this is great for bursting down priority targets, you can also use this combo in 1v1 situations. It's never ideal to be dueling an opponent in close quarters as a Black Mage, but it can be helpful to have this combo in your back pocket, and it may 💯even scare your enemy off.

• Chase Down: Blizzard (Night Wing) > Paradox (Superflare) > Aetherial Manipulation > Burst

This combo is useful for chasing down fleeing targets, allowing you to Deep Freeze them, then hit them with Burst just as the Sleep status🐟 effect from Night Wing applies.

Keep an eye on your opponent's MP, viewable in the enemy party list. If they have low MP, their uses of Recuperate will𝔉 💧be limited, making your Single-Target Burst combo far more effective.

Limit Break Breakdown

Soul Resonance is a risky Limit Break to use, but it is extremely powerful if activated at the right moment. In addition to granting you one use of Foul, an extremely powerful Area Of Effect damage ability, it also grants you six stacks of Soul Resonance, upgrading Fire to Flare and Blizzard to Freeze. This allows you to cast either of these spells six times in a row, meaning you can spread stacks of Astral Warmth or Umbral Freeze to an entire group of enemies, then activate them all with Superflare. This damage ramps up even further if timed with the bonus damage of Night Wing.

The only downside is that your character glows, meaning that a good team will notice their impending destruction and focus on you. We recommend using this Limit Break behind cover, waiting until a brawl has already started, ꦦthen blasting your foes to oblivion𝔍.

*While the Cast Time of Soul Resonance is technically instant, there is still a short animation that you are locked in place for. However, you can move while casting Soul Resonance if you jump while moving and activate it in midair. We recommend doing this while jumping into cover, making your use of Soul Resonance less obvious to the enemy team a𝐆nd also saving yo✅u precious time.

Soul Resonance Usage

Don't be too conservative with your use of Soul Resonance. This Limit Break has a fast recharge time, meaning you'll be able to use it several times in a match of Crystal Conflict. However, don't panic-press it when you're about to die. Soul Resonance is best used when you're behind cover and out of sight. It la♏sts 🅺long enough to give you plenty of time to reposition and join the fray.

Take advantage of your instant cast times under Soul Resonance. Duck in and out of cover between casts, as this will make it harder for the enemy to realize where your assault is coming from. We recommend casting Flare twice, applying Burns using Superflare, then spending the rest of your stacks on Freeze and Deep Freeze to disrupt the enemy team and secure kills. W𒁃e also recommend using Night Wing into Foul for the additional bonus damage and crowd control.

Soul Resonance's use in Frontlines is more straightforward, as you'll be part of a big crowd and less able to be focus-fired: simply activate it, target anyone 🦩in the thick of the fray, and spam to your heart's content. Just make sure not 🌸to get separated from your team, or you'll go down quick.

Common Actions Breakdown

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General Strategy

Black Mages are glass cannons, meaning they put out a lot of damage but they can be focused very easily. For this reason, it's crucial to mind your positioning. You want to thread the needle between being close to a big fight to contribute, but far enough away that you aren't putting yourself at risk. Rushing in a꧒nd dying is just as bad as playing too conservatively and not dealing damage at all.

This means that a good Black Mage will be a master of distance, lingering just close enough to deal damage with their abilities, but far enough away that their enemies are never comfortable engaging them. Cover is your best friend. Enemies can't target you while you're behind it, making it the safest place to be if you're not casting a𓆉nything.

Your only defensive options are Burst, Recuperate, and Guard, meaning that it's crucial to make sure y♕ou're using your Standard-issue Elixir whenever you're low on MP. You♛ should almost never re-engage the enemy team without MP available, as not being able to Recuperate will get you killed.

Crystalline Conflict Strategy

Crystalline Conflict can be a difficult game mode for the Black Mage because of how small the team sizes are. As such, it's important to remember that you are nothing without your team. Unlike other jobs, which might be able to run off and pursue individual enemies, Black Mages shine in Crystalline Conflict when contributing to team fights. You will almost never initiate, and it's o൲ften better to be out of sight entirely until the fight has already begun.

While Night Wing is best used in combination with other abilities, it's ಞoften worth th♏rowing out regardless of timing if you can hit three or more enemies with it, seeing as the Bonus Damage will apply to the damage of your teammates, too.

If you are getting focused, there really isn't a trick to getting away. Aetherial Manipulation requires an ally within range, and you otherwise have zero mobility options. In these cases, your best bet is to use Guard and hope that your assailants give up, or to return to teammates who can help you survive. If there are two or more enemies focus-firing you, it can even be worth it to pull them away from the fight: you won't survive, of course, but your team is more likely to win in a four versus three battle. Take advantage of their tunnel vision.

In terms of target priority, you will usually want to target enemy healers, but don't overextend to do so. Competent players will smell the blood of a Black Mage who's overstepped, and the higher in the Crystalline Conflict rankings you go, the more likely they are to take advantage. Instead, consider casting Fire, then Paradox and Superflare on the enemy's tanks or melee DPS to get a long-lasting Damage Over Time effect going. Otherwise, you should be using your Umbral Ice Combo on targets your team is focusing, Night Wing on grouped enemies, and finishing off stragglers with a combination of Aetherial Manipulation and Burst.

When pushing a crystal, it's a good idea to hang back. You'll always want to play the objective (and should be pushing the crystal if no-one else is doing it), but if you're caught in the enemy team's combo, you'll go down very quickly. Otherwise, don't get tunnel-visioned on your targets. Your job is to provide consistent, powerful damage in team fights and to Deep Freeze your enemies. It's not worth it to chase down kills if they put you in a bad spot.

Lastly, when your Limit Break is available, commit yourself to team fights. Being able to apply multiple stacks of Astral Warmth and Umbral Freeze to entire groups is incredibly powerful, allowing you to turn the tide of any battle. You will, however, have a massive target painted on your back. Activate your Limit Break 💟out of sight, make heavy use of cover, and attack from unexpect🌠ed angles to blast your way to victory.

Watch out for Monks, Dragoons, Warriors, Ninjas, Red Mages, and any job that can stick close to you. These jobs can shut you down hard, and as such are often worth bursting down while they're distracted with other battles.

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Frontline Strategy

Black Mages shine in 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Frontlines, and are often at the top of the damage charts. You'll be a part of a crowd, rather than a dangerous artillery unit in an intimate five-versus-five match. Your lack of defensive options is less of a clear weakness in Frontline: if someone is g🐽etting focused by ten enemy players, they're usually dying rega🐼rdless of the job they're playing.

The quick recharge rate of your Limit Break is also a great help. You should be using Soul Resonance liberally and often. There's nothing fancy to its execution, simply target the thickest point of the enemy crowd and enjoy the fire💛works.

Otherwise, the strategies from Crystal Conflict also apply here. You want to make sure you're at your maximum range at all times, sticking with your team, but staying a good distance behind them. If you rush into a crowd of enemy players, you'll die very quickly, but if you secure a good spot while everyone else is distracted you can quickly rack up kills. Black Mages aren't great at pick-offs, so don't be tempted by s🐼tragglers running away from your explosions unless y🍸ou've got your burst combo lined up.

The only major difference is that the strategy of running away if you're focused to take advantage of tunnel vision doesn't really work here. Two or three missing players from a fight in Frontlines don't tend to make a difference. It's always better to return to your team if you're being focus-fired.

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