When you start optimizing content with BLM,
goddamn, it feels good. Until then, it can feel kinda bad, depending on what it is, lol.
Probably don't take BLM into Copied Factory blind like I did, if you want to have a good time.
Black Mage (although this one I only played a tiny bit but that meter scared me lol)
It really just looks more complex than it actually is, lol.
- The three crystals at the top just indicate what level of Astral Fire or Umbral Ice you're at. You don't pay much attention to it.
- The 12 indicates the remaining time on Enochian. This is like 80% of what you're concerned with, tbh.
- The clock hand gauge fills the gems at the bottom. Those gems are Polyglot, used for casts of Foul or Xenoglossy. You usually just glance over at them.
- It's not filled there, but the three notches to the left of the bottom gems are for Umbral Hearts, generated by Blizzard IV. Umbral Hearts are important because you use them to nullify the cost of Fire IV casts, or halve the cost of Flare. There are points in the rotation where you'll pay more attention to them, but again, it's mostly glancing over to it.
The Simple version might help:
- 15 seconds on the Enochian Timer (Symbol's a quicker way to ensure Eno-chan is up)
- Three Stacks of Umbral Ice (Blue)
- Three Stacks of Umbral Hearts (White)
- Two Casts of Polyglot, gonna get another pretty quick. (Pink)
BLM is actually a pretty simple class at heart. The main problem it has is that it feels totally awful to play sub 60, and it has a steep optimization curve, what with every fight in the game being designed to say, "Fuck you, Black Mage, in particular."