1.
Blue Mage Rotation
This guide is intended for level 80 Blue Mages that have learned all spells.If you're not at that point yet, then check out theLevelingand Spells pages.
2.
DPS Spell Loadout
The last three spots can be used for utility spells. If you need even moreutility spells, the order to drop spells is Bristle (but onlyif not using Breath of Magic or Mortal Flame), followed by Sea Shanty andthen The Rose of Destruction.
3.
Moon Flute Opener
The most important part dealing DPS effectively as a Blue Mage isbeing able to pull off a Moon Flute opener. Moon Flute grants50% increased damage for 15 seconds followed by 15 seconds of being unable touse spells or abilities. We can abuse this to cram all of our highest potencyspells into that 15 second window.
The timeline for the opener can be found below, where larger spells on thebottom are GCD and smaller spells on top are OGCD. Blue Mage spells are weird,and Surpanakha actually requires a quadruple weave to get thefull effect. When we use it, we actually have multiple OGCDs in a row and aton of GCD clipping, but it's the only way to make everything fit!
3.1.
After Moon Flute Opener
You might be wondering what to do after the Moon Flute opener. It's actuallypretty simple, we basically follow this priority:
- Is the boss nearly dead and in Final Sting range?Everyone (except the tank usually) should coordinate a Moon Flute, use any cooldowns they have available, andthen finish with Whistle into Final Sting.
- Is there raidwide damage about to happen? If yes, use Cold Fog to be able to spam a 400 potency instant castspell for 15 seconds!
- Is Nightbloom or Song of Torment(they don't stack) on the target? If no, use Bristlefollowed by Song of Torment.
- Are any cooldowns up that will be up in time again for the next MoonFlute? If yes, use them. This applies to Feather Rain, Shock Strike, and The Rose of Destruction toname a few.
- Is Triple Trident off cooldown, and you arerunning a Spell Speed setup? Use the combo with Whistleand Tingle! You can also hold until the next opener, andif you are running a Critical Hit setup you only want to use it in theopener.
- Use Sonic Boom or equivalent filler spell.
3.2.
What If I Can't Fit Everything?
The DoT opener requires a faster GCD than the Winged Reprobation opener, and execution of both is highlyping dependent. Players can complete the DOT opener with a GCD as high as 2.2sand the Winged Reprobation opener with a GCD as high as 2.5s, but depending onyour situation you may need a faster GCD.
If you cannot fit everything due to lack of SpS, high ping, or somethingelse, there are some adjustments you can make. First, switch your gear to a setthat increases SpS. If that is not sufficient (or you insist on using gear thatmakes it harder for you), the easiest adjustment is to move J Kick before Moon Flute. If you don't expect to need J Kickfor mobility, you can replace J Kick with Quasar since it hasa shorter animation lock. If that still fails, you can drop the second Bristle in the opener entirely.
3.3.
Which Opener Do I Use?
Each group should have one person applying Mortal Flame andone person applying Breath of Magic, everyone else can fillthose spots with Winged Reprobation. If you are playing solo this mostly doesn'tmatter, but prioritize Breath of Magic first.
After the first opener, the Mortal Flame applier will switch to the WingedOpener. If you don't have spell slots for Winged Reprobation you can just fillthe slots with Sonic Boom or whatever else you want.
3.4.
Do I Use the Second Hit of Phantom Flurry?
You might be wondering why Phantom Flurry is the last spellused, and whether you should use the second activation. When we use PhantomFlurry at the end of Moon Flute, the damage buff snapshots andwe are able to continue channeling even after we go into Waning. This means itis actually more damage to let it run out rather than try to use the secondactivation. On top of this, the opener is already so tight that it is unlikelyyou could even use the second activation if you wanted to!
3.5.
What about Final Sting and Off-guard?
Final Sting loses value in higher level content just due to how much HP enemies have. It is stillvaluable for Extremes and Morbol fights, though. If you've got slots after putting in utility spells for a fight, definitely bring it.
Off-guard is a great spell to bring if you've got room as well. Tank and healer should be the roleto apply the buff during a Moon Flute opener, and DPS can just apply it at other times if they have it. It's not a hugegain outside of Moon Flute, but it's still something.
3.6.
What Do I Do After Moon Flute?
Use Winged Reprobation ASAP so it goes on cooldown to be upfor the next opener. Use any other cooldowns as they become available, such as The Rose of Destruction. If you have enough SpS to reduce thecooldown of Winged Reprobation down below 80s, you can actually do this rightafter you come out of Waning without causing any drift:
- The Rose of Destruction
- Whistle
- Tingle
- Winged Reprobation
- Whistle
- Tingle
- Winged Reprobation
Whistle and Tingle on Winged Reprobation is actually a gain over using SonicBoom and Winged Reprobation. This requires SpS to pull off, so people runningslow builds will want to just use Rose and Winged Reprobation ASAP.
3.7.
How Frequently Do I Use a Moon Flute Opener
If we're looking at just target dummy damage, ideally we use an opener everytwo minutes when all of our cooldowns are up. However, in practice we usually needto handle mechanics, or might need to use Diamondback, or anynumber of things. What this means is that we still try to use it everytwo minutes, but only when it is actually safe to do so. Most of the time thiswill be right after a big mechanic or phase transition.
The exception to this is the person who is maintaining Breath of Magic. If it is possible to do so, they should MoonFlute every minute when reapplying it. This opener will basically consist ofusing any spells that have come off cooldown such as Feather Rain or Shock Strike, and fillingthe empty GCDs with Sonic Boom or Winged Reprobation
Apokalypsis is a strong spell that, similar to Phantom Flurry, benefits from being channeled for a long time.The actual ideal rotation would be to have two different openers, one that endswith Phantom Flurry and one that ends with Apokalypsis and alternate them each minute. This is notpractical for just about any fight due to Waning and not being able to movewhile channeling, so the single rotation is suggested above.
4.
Main Healer Loadout
The main healer will primarily be using Pom Cure to keepthe tank alive and White Wind/ Stotram tokeep the party alive. If you need utility spells, the order to drop spells is Sea Shanty then The Rose of Destruction. While Cold Fog is incredibly strong, it is unlikely you will get afull usage of it as the main healer so we do not bring it.
5.
Off Healer Loadout
The off healer will play primarily as a DPS, but helps heal where necessary(such as after raidwide damage). If you need utility spells, the order to dropspells is Sea Shanty then The Rose of Destruction.
5.1.
Do Healers Use Moon Flute Openers?
Healers do benefit from using this opener. It is common to have one healeract as "main healer" who focuses primarily on healing, and one healer act as"off healer" who focuses primarily on DPS but helps with healing where needed.Off healers will definitely be using a Moon Flute opener.
6.
Tank Loadout
Tanks actually have the most flexibility in terms of spell slots since ourtypical utility spells are already baked into our loadouts! We mostly just keepour MP healthy with Blood Drain and Magic Hammer so that we can mitigate tankbusters with Diamondback and help heal with White Wind. Mighty Guard reduces the damage we deal by 40%, so we're notgoing to be doing that much damage to begin with! However, Goblin Punch is an amazing filler spell that has very littledamage drop-off compared to even DPS mimic fillers! If you need even moreutility spells, the order to drop spells is Chelonian Gate (ifyou can't get good use out of it) followed by Sea Shanty. Justlike with main healer it is unlikely that we will be able to make full use of Cold Fog so we don't bother.
6.1.
What about Frog Legs
Frog Legs has a very small range and isn't a proper Provoke. It only sets your threat to be exactly 1 higher than thecurrent highest threat. Its use is mostly limited to tank swaps, so bring it ifthe fight requires it. It can be used to help a tank get threat if they've died,but if a tank dies you're already in trouble and White Windunder Mighty Guard will usually do a better job of gettingthreat back, anyway.
6.2.
Do Tanks Use Moon Flute Openers?
There are almost no circ*mstances where a tank will use this opener. Tanksprimarily have to focus on keeping MP up with Blood Drain sothat they can use Diamondback for tankbusters. Additionally,tanks will be focusing a lot on using things like Bad Breathto mitigate raid damage and help heal with White Wind.
7.
Soloing Content
Soloing synced content on Blue Mage is possible with Basic Instinct and Mighty Guard. If we usethese two spells along with tank mimicry, we deal a ton of damage while stillbeing bulky. Rehydration provides an MP-efficient way to keepourselves healed, and Devour gives us even more effective HP
The basic approach to soloing content is this:
- Keep Basic Instinct and Mighty Guardactive at all times, keep Devour up as much aspossible.
- Vibe Check ( The Ram's Voice and Ultravibration) trash packs when it's up, otherwise use Breath of Magic and other big AOE spells. Dragon Force and Peat Pelt + Deep Clean provide a ton of extra sustain.
- Use Doom on bosses if possible, otherwise kill itnormally with Goblin Punch and all other spells.
7.1.
What do I bring for the last two slots?
This mostly depends on the situation, but some basic recommendations would be White Wind for faster healing (if you can manage MPeffectively), Mortal Flame for extra boss damage, or Moon Flute for even more damage on your main spells.
Some spells like Sea Shanty or Dimensional Shift are very strong for trash packs. Sea Shantyhas no damage falloff on multiple targets so is quite potent. Dimensional Shiftis a decent option for weakening enemies when they can't be Vibe Checked, butit* slow cast time and the fact that it is based on current HP means it's notgreat for spamming.
8.
Dungeon Rotations
The above information mostly applies to bosses, such as in Trials or Raids.Dungeons are slightly different for Blue Mage.
When running dungeons, we are able to use abilities like The Ram's Voice to freeze enemies and Ultravibration to kill them instantly. Some dungeon bossesare even vulnerable to effects like Missile and Doom! This means that we really don't actually spend a lot oftime DPSing, and instead we just run straight through cheesing enemies along theway. When you are running dungeons with other Blue Mages, it's important tofigure out a Ultravibration rotation so that you don'toverlap cooldowns and waste them!
9.
Changelog
- 24 Jul. 2023: Updated for Patch 6.45.
- 23 May 2023: Checked for Patch 6.4.
- 24 Feb. 2023: Guide added.
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