ESTNN covers all the Magical DPS bases in FFXIV: BLM, SMN, RDM and bonus BLU!
Whether you want to wield the power of the elements at your fingertips, summon spectres of gods to aid you, or sling your spells while swashbuckling, FFXIV’s Magic DPS classes have plenty to offer fans of casting classes.
With some of the biggest damage dealing spells, and wide versatility in their toolkits, Magic DPS Jobs provide players with lots of flashy moves and useful aids to keep game play interesting.
Black Mage (BLM)
The Job which follows on from the Thamaturge base class, Black Mages are the elemental masters of the game. Blasting enemies with fire-spells or ice-spells that pack a potent punch. The biggest drawback of BLM is really one suffered by most casting classes – a lack of mobility. However by paying attention to markers and surroundings, a BLM can place effective Leylines they can reduce their cast and recast time, giving them a big impact as a damage dealer during boss fights. BLM has remained mostly unchanged, with ShB only bringing the addition of Aspect Mastery, allowing them to switch between their Astral Fire/Umbral Ice abilities for free so long as they keep the Mastery resource stacked. If you’re looking for a casting class which has a lot of the traditional feel of stave and spell wizardry, BLM is an excellent choice.
Black Mage Tips
- Slidecasting is your friend – try to time your movements while your spell’s casting is resolving to give you a bit of an edge
- When you’re starting out as BLM you’ll want to spam your Fire spells until your MP is low and then use your Transpose ability to switch to Umbral Ice to build your MP back up. Get used to the time it takes you to deplete and build your MP so you’ve got a good handle on how to keep your GCD rolling
- BLM has one of the best AoE toolkits in the game, it has a free-flowing playstyle allowing for easy adaption to encounters. Using Swiftcast on your Flare abilities will help manage your GCD uptime
- Surecast is very useful to you in content where enemies have knock back or draw in abilities, so don’t forget to slap it when you’re running Extremes and Savages
- Materia Melding priority; Spell Speed > Critical Hit/Direct Hit > Determination
Spell Speed affects the time it takes you to cast, so it’s always good to have this at a comfortable level, move on to your other melding priorities once you’re satisfied with cast times
Find a full guide for the BLM Job on Akhmorning.
Summoner (SMN)
The Summoner Job, like SCH, builds from the base Arcanist class. The “pet” job of FFXIV, SMN have three different style pets who they can cycle through, giving them the ability to deal extra damage to single or multiple targets, or even tank a bit of aggro in a pinch. Alongside their pets, SMN have a wide range of utility spells and DoTs which provide synergy with their pets, increasing their overall impact in a fight. If you’re a fan of micro-management, SMN is the class for you. There is plenty to keep up with between your summons, DoTs, resource building and fight mechanics. Shadowbringers did a lot to beef SMN and their effectiveness in the end game content, including a new super-summon, Demi-Phoenix, which can offer a party wide 20-second Heal over Time (HoT). Although it is one of the more complicated Jobs to master, SMN is a highly rewarding choice.
Summoner Tips
- SMN has an emphasis on DoTs in the early levels, so include them as part of your opener and be sure to keep your Miasma and Bio active on mobs. As the class reaches cap the importance of DoT uptime falls away somewhat and you might want to use one of your summons as an opener
- SMN brings a lot of utility to the party with spells like Addle, Devotion and of course Resurrection. Be sure to whip these out when the situation calls for it
- Trances will reduce the base cast time of your spells by 2.5s. Dreadwyrm Trance (DWT) has a 15s duration, while Firebird Trance (FBT) has a 20s duration. DWT leads the SMN into their Bahamut Phase, while FBT leads into their Phoenix Phase. The ideal rotation between Trances and Phases is a 2-minute cycle
- Use your oGCDs often to give yourself Aetherflow stacks, Energy Drain for single targets and Energy Siphon for 3 or more
- Materia Melding priority; Critical Hit > Direct Hit > Determination > Spell Speed
Find a full guide for the SMN Job on Akhmorning.
Red Mage (RDM)
The combat casting class, Red Mage are flashy duelists who sling spells as well as swinging a sword. Available at level 50 with the Heavensward expansion, RDM focuses on a balanced playstyle of resource building. Using both Black and White mana, RDM have a wide arsenal of spells they can fling at opponents from range. Once their resource gauge is full, however, a RDM dives into battle with flourishing swordplay. Devastating enemies with supercharged damage attacks. They also provide much needed utility for a party with a skill they can use to offheal and a raise. ShB saw some welcome AoE changes for RDM’s casting toolkit, and some tinkering with ability costs. Despite the lack of updates, RDM is still in a fantastic spot and one of the most versatile jobs in FFXIV.
Red Mage Tips
- Spam your Embolden to allow more of your party’s burst to fit into the buff windows of other party members moves like Trick Attack or Technical Finish
- Try to keep your Black and White Mana within around 30 points of each other to keep your Mana gauge balanced
- Cast Vercure in your downtime to let you start boss fights with a Dualcast spell
- You can use Swiftcast to fish for additional procs of Verstone and Verfire
- Materia Melding priority; Critical Hit > Direct Hit > Determination > Spell Speed
Find a full guide for the RDM Job on Akhmorning.
Bonus: Blue Mage
Blue Mage is a limited job, mostly focused on solo gameplay. But it’s still a load of fun. Plus, when it comes to cleaning up older game content, a BLU is often a welcome addition to the party.
BLU mimic the abilities of enemies they defeat. There are multiple mobs within the game whose abilities BLU can steal. But, BLU is not a max level Job; capping out at 70 means it isn’t possible to use them in end game or PvP content. That said, they are a fun flavor class and by no means are they not worth exploring.
You can find more information about playing a BLU in our guide here!
