The Beast Within -- A Guide To Blue Mage

you want both the DEX for Chant du Cygne, as well as the DEX/Accuracy for TP. Path B is for when you are managing to cap Accuracy without needing Path A.

Your main WS is CDC. Even with Tizona, you will generally be using CDC. It chains with itself and provides very consistent damage while also possessing the highest spike damage potential. Having a DEX modifier also allows you to hit higher levels of accuracy in comparison. Arguably the best part of CDC, though, is that it supports WS spamming exceptionally well. BLU already has a very high crit rate through gear and the raw amount of DEX we can obtain, particularly with an offhand Almace, so the higher crit rate at higher TP isn't a huge deal for us. This allows us to hit CDC at as close to 1k TP as possible, leading to more WSs over time.

Expiacion (with Tizona) is by no means a bad WS. Compared to some other mythic WSs (why is Insurgency such ***?) it has very favorable properties. 30STR/30INT/20DEX mod actually works quite well for BLU, and the damage scaling with TP, as well as a very nice fTP scaling, is exceptionally strong. However, it lacks the ability to chain with itself and will generally not spike for the numbers that CDC will. It also requires higher TP values to get the most out of it (around 1400 for optimal results with Moonshade), in comparison to the 1k champ that is CDC. Expiacion will generally hit more consistently high numbers since it relies heavily on TP scaling, but the higher frequency of CDC, coupled with its ability to spike much higher, makes it your go-to.

There are situations in which Expiacion is a superior option. Fights where you don't want to chain (Maju, Kin), fights where you hold TP, or if the enemy has defenses against critical damage make it your WS of choice with Tizona. If you do not have Tizona, Savage Blade is just a better Expiacion.

Addendum: Nightfyre finishing up the sheet reminds me of other times where Savage/Expiacion can demolish CDC. ANY time you are receiving high amounts of TP bonus (Warcry with Savagery, Crystal Blessing), CDC lags behind very hard. We crit enough as it is, so the TP Bonus does exceedingly little for us. However, that TP boost on the other two effectively negates their TP building shortcomings and makes them your primary choice.

As fillerbunny and Oraen have previously mentioned, Path A allows for the increased accuracy requirements of higher level content (especially in the face of low-support setups) while also supporting our best WS spam option. In accuracy capped conditions, other gear slots may be more easily substituted out.

If you get/got lucky with DM augments in regards to WSDMG on your Herc Expiacion does more as a standalone WS(with Tizona). But, I also do a lot of things with a SAM as the other DD. So, we do Shoha > Expiacion > Kasha > Savage > Fudo.

Didn't release the new spreadsheet version when I said I would because I jumped into adding more things. Oops. srynotsry

link for convenience, also in the guide as usual

Changes:
-Gear lists updated. Removal of more outdated gear is in process. Current plan is to remove most gear prior to Skirmish 119 (Iuitl/Hagondes +1 etc), making allowances for older gear that still retains niche utility. If you see any pieces that were improperly removed, please inform me.

-Augments have been completely overhauled. Augment stats are now input in separate cells. The spreadsheet will set min and max values according to the item currently equipped in that slot. For Reisenjima gear, caps are further filtered based on augment path and stone (ex Herculean Melee Fern, Herculean Magic Pellucid, Herculean Dark Matter). If the current value for a given cell is invalid (outside of augment range/currently wearing a non-augment item), it will disregard that augment. For convenience, Sinister Reign gear has an additional <name> Max item entry for perfect augments (ex Samnuha Tights & Samnuha Max). Note that augment fields do not limit the number of augments you can enter for a given item, so it's up to the user to understand the relevant augment systems and caps. Currently supported augment systems: Alluvion Skirmish (Claid/Taeon only; Helios and Telchine to be added pending full magic support), Sinister Reign, Reisenjima. Fixed progression augments (Escha gear) still work as before.

*Note that Reisenjima augments, specifically those involving Dark Matter and/or Colada, are potentially incomplete and require further information. I asked for input on this previously, but received minimal responses.

-Setup page expanded and overhauled in various areas. New buffs (Honor March, more SMN buffs, Blood Rage/Savagery, etc), more intelligent handling of existing buffs and enhancements, expanded merits, overhauled defense down calculations, etc.

-Probably other things I've forgotten.

Current plans for future development:
-COR/GEO/maybe BRD enhancements to their respective buffs need some work. Still considering the best/cleanest way to handle this. Planning to roll out adjustments alongside BRD song adjustments sometime shortly after this week's update and subsequent song findings.

-Requiescat TP mods need retesting post-2014 update. Implement skillchain calculations and related functionality.

-Nuke, cure, and initial physical spell (0 TP) functionality

-Comprehensive physical spell (CA/Efflux/AL) functionality

-?????

Is the current sets on the front page for Requiescant up to date? Trying to update the WS set just cant think if im missing anything atm. Thanks for any help.

Pretty much, yeah. Might be better with a Floestone in the ammo slot due to the attack penalty. Sadly, you'll never be able to make Requiescat perform well.

Minor spreadsheet update: some backend changes to address a compatibility issue with LibreOffice, streamlined formulae in a few cells, and corrected an issue where Frailty was permanently enabled.

Dumb question maybe, everytime i download a new sheet i have to enter my augs manually and its a pita, is there a way to copy my gear and add to new sheet?

Thanks, ill see what I can put together then. Not looking for it to hit CDC levels, just figured I would put the set together while I update other things.

Ty for the Spreadsheets :D

now that I learned how to work it, it saves me alot of time and asking around (Bet u guys are glad about that part) :P


:D

There isn't right now, but I'll set something up for the next update.

In the meantime, remember that you don't have to click the dropdown menus when entering augments, or when selecting gear for that matter. It's faster to type out the values/items you want and then hit tab to jump right or enter to jump down a line (and if you continue using tab to shift right, hitting enter will take you back to the column you started at when it jumps down a row). Filling in augments for any given item should only take a few seconds if you're reasonably quick on the keyboard.

After thinking about the Floestone for the attack+10, is there a larger reason for that ammo aside from the Attack bonus?

If its only purpose for the +10 attack then wouldn't it be worth considering using Focal Orb (-10 acc +10 atk +2% DA), Ginsen (+5Acc +10Atk +3STP) or Hasty Pinion +1 (+10 Acc +10 Atk -3STP)?
Trying to get the spreadsheet up and working to check things out buts its being uncooperative.

Thanks for the help.

STR+3 adds a little more attack and likely increases fSTR, but at the end of the day it's a choice between multiple mediocre options.

What's giving you trouble in the spreadsheet, and what program are you using to open it?

Thanks for the answer, I was wondering if that would be the case.

Also its not working .... since im at work not working trying to look at it >.>
Sometimes I can get them to open sometimes I cant, guess today and this one is just not wanting to work.

You'll have to be more specific, and I still need to know what program you're using.

I apologize for the delay, work got me workin near the end of the day there. After making a copy of the sheet as excel from the link you had above, when I open it states it needs to be repaired and gives this as the error after it loads

Removed Records: Formula from /xl/worksheets/sheet1.xml part
Removed Records: Formula from /xl/worksheets/sheet7.xml part
Removed Records: Formula from /xl/worksheets/sheet14.xml part

For the most part it seems to still work but I don't know if something is not being added in properly.


When I started to mess with the sheet I changed the main hand weapon to Aeonic sword (As it is primarily what applies to my situation) and made the WS set a copy of what is on the OP guide. (Fotia gorget/belt full Jhakri +1 amb. cape +30 MND 20 acc/atk and 10% DA. moonshade/brutal, eponas/rufescent ring)
Checking with the original ammo on the guide, floestone as suggested, and the 3 options I posted above, for WS Dmg it gave me:

Ginsen - 9643
Hasty P +1 - 9652
Quartz tathlum +1 - 9641
Floestone - 9672
Focal Orb - 9690

Edit: realized that the sheet had the bottom section for individual augments on the slots, had to adjust those.

Can you send me a copy of the "repaired" sheet? I might be able to use it to track down whatever's causing this.

What Excel probably did in your sheet is replace some formulas, parts of formulas, or named references with fixed values. This wouldn't necessarily show up as an issue at first, but your results may diverge from the main sheet after adjusting anything that feeds into the affected cells.

https://github.com/Drkstrish/FFXI-Gearswaps/blob/master/BLU_DPS_Calculator_repaired.xlsx

Not sure if this will work, but I put it in my github for the moment. Ive never used github as a way to share an excel file. If it doesnt work ill find another way to send it to you.

That worked. I'll give it a look and see if anything turns up.

Thanks for the update. The interface looks very different so it takes time to get use to. I don't know if it's just me but from what I've seen it seems that Sequence/colada savage build > Almace/sequence CDC build if player only has access to adhemar NQ, but has 7 STR 4% wsd augment herc?

Does that mean Sequence is BLU's best weapon for most people in situations that you can't self chain, buffed with attack and unable to start with AM3?

updateing my sets i have some question about the guide itself.

ItemSet 337096


ItemSet 337095


Wouldnt Full Jhakri +1 be better in both these sets. at least replacing nq amalric.


as i plugged this into the spreadsheets i saw "incomplete page" so i didnt continue.

There was a lot of discussion about Jhakri's place in nuking sets when the set was first released. I decided to exclude a lot of the pieces from the sets due to the heavy detriment to both your recast and your defenses while casting. Since the majority of situations in which we use magic are during cleaving, I felt the cons outweighed the pros. I can make a sidenote about including them under the general magic set headline.

Should probably move Shamash into a footnote due to its rarity.

Took about 4 hours to get my character verified, but I can finally post my question...

I just got back from a 9 month break so I was wondering if I was missing something. I know the defensive issues with the Jhakri +1 set, but if spell recast is the bigger issue couldn't we just make a set like this...

Head - Herc Helm - 8% haste and can match Jhakri +1 hat easier than the other slots

Body/Hands/Legs/Feet - Jhakri +1 - 3% combined haste but far better int/macc/mab than other alternatives

Waist - Tempus Fugit - 14% haste or 15% for hq

This would be a total of 25% gear haste (26 with hq belt) which would eliminate Jhakri's biggest weakness (unless I'm missing something). The loss of stats in the waist slot is overwhelmingly made up for by using Jhakri +1 in the other slots.

2 quick hits though...

1) Tenebral Crush would still be iffy as Pixie Hairpin +1 would be swapped in over Herc Helm, so more haste would need to be swapped in or just eat the slower recast.
2) I was comparing these sets with my own gear (mostly herc and nq amalric). I don't have the funds or playtime to go after HQ Amalric so if that's still better then by all means, but I think the set I listed above would work.

If I'm missing something obvious (and that's certainly possible) then someone please correct me and show me what I missed. As I said I just got back from a break and wanted to go after this set, but if it's truly inferior I won't bother. Thanks everyone in advance.

Jakhri +1
159 INT
152 MAB
152 M.acc

Top-Tier
141 INT (139 w/ Almaric Body)
170 MAB (163 w/Almaric Body)
92 M.acc (85 w/Almaric Body)

I might have fat-fingered some numbers but both the listed top-tier with Shamash and the Almaric NQ body alternative seem to have higher combined MAB values when including the waist and excluding the Herc Helm (and excluding all other identical slots obv.). I don't see why your set wouldn't be a viable option so long as you used Fugit as you stated. I might plug both sets into the spreadsheet once I'm done with errands.

I was working with the new spreadsheet and it doesn't appear that the haste values are calculated correctly. If tried both google docs and exporting to excel and the Gear Haste calc on Data B218 and C218 seem to be fixed at 25% no matter what gear or manual numbers I plug in. I changed the the formula in Gear S31 to be simple SUM/1024 (like the old sheet) and it updates correctly.

I hope this helps... or maybe I missed something.

Thanks!

Might be another compatibility issue, I'll check it out tonight. Knocked out a bunch of those yesterday (got it working in Excel again) so it might already be fixed in beta. Going to work on buffs and custom aug profiles, then push out the next update. Probably have it out by the weekend.