Blue Mage (Final Fantasy XI)



Blue Mage is an advanced job that has recently been added by the expansion Treasures of Aht Urhgan. In Final Fantasy XI, the job of Blue Mage seems to be melee in nature, though it can be played in a variety of different ways. They can learn enemy abilities that, for the most part, either help themselves, personally, or hamper their enemy or enemies.

Blue Magic in Final Fantasy XI has a couple of attributes. Blue Mages themselves might be somewhat weaker than other jobs in terms of their statistics; however, most of the abilities they can learn do come with modifiers to the Blue Mage's statistics. This is unlike most incarnations of the Blue Mage. For a complete list on Final Fantasy XI Blue Magic, please read this article.

As far as racial selection goes, there is no one race that would stand significantly better than any other. Blue mage spells cast off of every statistic in the game, depending on the spell in question. If anything, certain blue mages will excel at casting certain spells while lagging behind slightly with others. In all, each race can approach the job as equals, simply from a different perspective.

The Blue Mages are linked to Aht Urhgan and a group or concept know as the Immortals. Aside from elite military rankings, however, Blue Mages of Final Fantasy XI have a dark history behind their creation.

Job Abilities
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Job Abilities

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Job Traits

 * Monster Radar, like Thief, Summoner, Beastmaster, and Ninja, monsters appear as red dots on the radar.
 * See Blue Magic Synergy for a list of the currently known available traits.
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Blue Magic

 * Main article: Blue Magic (Final Fantasy XI)

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Acquiring Blue Magic

 * Blue Mages have a chance to learn Blue Magic used by the monsters they defeat.
 * Blue Mage must be set as main job.
 * The monster must use the ability during combat, but the spell does not have to hit the Blue Mage. This includes both offensive and defensive spells.
 * The Blue Magic being used must not be too advanced (normally +/- 10 levels).
 * The Blue Mage must not be KO'd when monster defeated.
 * It is possible to learn spells from monsters that are Too Weak for your level.
 * It is possible to learn Blue Magic from BCNMs, Besieged, Assault and Salvage as long as someone within your alliance lands the final blow on the enemy and you are within range.
 * It is not necessary to be the target of a monster's special ability in order to learn Blue Magic.
 * It is not possible to learn Blue Magic if calls for help, allowing others to fight the monster for him.
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Using Blue Magic

 * Unlike other magic spells, it is not possible to use Blue Magic as soon as it is acquired. First, the spells you wish to use must be "set". Depending on which spells are set, the Blue Mage will acquire certain Job Traits.
 * 1) Point Total/Maximum. Each Blue Magic spell is assigned a point value (Blue Magic points). The level of the Blue Mage determines the maximum number of points available for setting spells.
 * 2) Maximum Number of Set Spells. The maximum number of Blue Magic spells that can be set to be active at one time is determined by the Blue Mage's level. This maximum number may decrease when the Blue Mage is under a level restriction and so the set numbers are assigned a color for easy reference.

For more information on Blue Magic, including point tables and spell list, please consult the following: Blue Magic (Final Fantasy XI)
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Combat Skill Ratings

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Magic Skill Ratings

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Blue Mages in Final Fantasy XI
Blue Mage is a job with no clearly defined roll in Final Fantasy XI. While that may seem to be a disadvantage, they are acceptable choices when it comes to being in a party and particularly in low and medium levels are excellent at providing both magical physical damage. When not partying, Blue Mages can also solo efficiently. Overall, they are seen as one of the most potent jobs in the game.

Strengths

 * Blue Mages are generally capable of killing creatures of a higher level than most other jobs can kill solo.
 * Blue Mage has a high combat rating in sword, making them able to do a good deal of damage within melee combat.
 * Blue Mage has access to more job traits than any other job in the game which can be customized for individual situations.
 * Blue Mage is the only main job capable of doing a skillchain with magic burst entirely by himself.

Weaknesses

 * Blue magic must be learned from enemy creatures, some of which are in very difficult or out-of-the-way/unlockable locations, and others that are rarely found.
 * Learning blue magic can be a very time consuming and frustrating process since learning an ability is not guaranteed.
 * Not all blue magic can be cast at any given point, since the blue mage must set up only a certain number of memorized spells.
 * After memorizing/setting spells, there is a minute where Blue Mages are completely unable to cast any spells.

Subjobs
Blue Mage is a job that currently offers players a wide array of subjob choices, possibly partly due to its relative new status. Blue Mages are still not commonplace so different blue mages build themselves into different roles in parties. Thus, they have a lot of different options for subjobs, not even limited to these listed below. This is simply a list of common subjobs and their usage as of now. Convention may eventually result in limiting some choices.

Ninja
Ordinarily, a Blue Mage's off hand is never used because they do not have a significant access to shields, and furthermore they have no shield skill even for shields that may have an All Job description so it would hardly, if ever, function. One of the most obvious solutions to this wasted hand is to put a second weapon in it, especially considering Ninja's high ranking in sword skill. Since ninja is the only job with the dual wield ability, it makes an obvious choice for higher level Blue Mages wishing to function in a melee or direct damage role.

Thief
Thief has emerged as an extraordinarily popular subjob, particularly in levels between 30 and 55 where the Blue Mage would have access to Sneak Attack but before the time when a large amount of attack bonus through gear can be attained. Sneak Attack can be used in conjunction with Chain Affinity and a physical blue magic spell to do a great amount of damage.

Black Mage
Black Mage is a useful subjob for Blue Mages hoping to focus on their magic skills. Though the statistics do not lend well towards great melee damage, magic attack bonus will increase the damage of blue spells and conserve MP will reduce the MP cost of Blue Magic spells. Both free up some space for the Blue Mage to choose different types of spells rather than focusing on creating blue magic synergies that create that effect.

Dark Knight
Dark Knight, while not a common subjob for any other jobs, offers a unique twist on Blue Mage abilities. Their combination of magic and offensive melee attacks make them reasonable to have for a subjob. Though most black magic spells will not land versus experience mobs, stun will at least interrupt casting most of the time. Dark Knight also has boosts in terms of attack bonus and statistical advantages for dealing melee damage.

Red Mage
Red Mage is the middleground subjob between Dark Knight, Black Mage, and White Mage. With more balanced statistics, it offers no clear advantage or disadvantage there. Red Mages do get magic attack bonus and magic defense bonus, access to cure and regen spells, but not stun. Bio and Dia are both available through this subjob so it may be useful in that regard, but all other spells are unlikely to land or do significant damage versus hostile targets.

White Mage
White Mage is a very common job for use when a Blue Mage is soloing, especially at lower levels. This allows a Blue Mage slightly better healing abilities, but more imporantly it gives both negative status removal spells as well as magic defense bonus to mitigate some incoming magical damage. Protect and shell also serve to that end.

Beastmaster
Beastmaster is not a common subjob for any job, but for Blue Mages, it does offer a few unique advantages. Blue Mages, for one, are able to increase charisma higher than most other jobs, thus allowing them to more successfully charm enemy creatures. The use of a charmed pet does hurt experience, but the situations in which a Blue Mage might use this subjob, he would be likely trying to learn abilities. Thus, the charmed pet would both hopefully help take some damage and do damage as well, making the process significantly easier in some instances.

Warrior
Though Warrior offers no specific disadvantage other than the fact that it does not allow the Blue Mage increase to typical casting statistics, warrior is a very useful job if a blue mage intends to tank at lower levels, and abilities like berserk and double attack will help keep it as a competitive alternative for melee Blue Mages at higher levels.