galka mage at endgame

[GuntarHolyFlame]

You missed my point so completely that I'm fairly certain it's impossible for you to ever understand.

Actually, I understood just fine because you stated your point quite well, and then I agreed with it because you were right. I simply added a huge factor you seemed to overlook, whether by conscious omission or by accident. In most cases, you won't have lots of really skilled players, so in almost every situation, a skilled Galka (insert mage job here) will outperform another random taru mage (excepting the case of the skilled one, in which case they might perform equally, or one marginally better than the other).

If everyone always performed optimally all of the time, then the race question wouldn't need to be asked. It would be obvious. Unfortunately, no one is perfect. Not me. Not the OP. And not you, TyBudX.

Is there a reason you're not considering BLU?

I'm glad you brought up BLU. I think this is a fantastic option for the OP, race not even considered. BLU is capable of a LOT if you push it to the limit and gear yourself correctly. Don't let the naysayers get you down, they tend to look at quantifiable stats, which only make up a very small part of the big picture of playing your job well.

[Tagus]

Three pages and nobody suggested to ask the LS leaders which of the three jobs they prefer he level?

You can be an asset to your LS as a Galkan BLM, SCH, or RDM. See which they'd prefer to have another person available as and go with that one.

Or pick the one you like.

This is pretty much good advice, considering that you mention that you need to pick one to level "for your ls". Playing Galka is fun as hell, but you're going to suffer leveling a mage job for versatility's sake only and quite possibly grow to hate the game and life in general. This is why you see so few Galka mages. YOU'VE GOT TO WANT IT!!!

Also, playing the song "Eye of the Tiger" in the background while you level is highly suggested.

[GuntarHolyFlame]

Also, playing the song "Eye of the Tiger" in the background while you level is mandatory.

ftfy

[Arew]

BLU would be a really good choice. You could build a crazy HP build with BLU/MNK as a galka.

[cdgreg]

Has no bearing on anything; they could have just as easily rolled a different race, and your point is moot.

My point was too often people scream OMG GALKA MAGE WHY BOTHER. When in reality it's the player not the race.

[Tobatobu]

Our linkshell has a Galka BLM.

He does a very good job, and has a lot of HQ gear which helps level the playing field.

If a seriously needs more HP at the start, he uses MP convert gear to get a higher Max MP, nukes a little then changes to more damage output.

While he may be lacking in the INT category at end game.

The differences are quite remarkable, but again, HP convert gear can be easily used, and give 50 mp for any zenith. 80 MP from merits is always very helpful.


http://images.ttk-ls.com/blmrdm.jpg
I made this chart from one of the stat calculators online. (Anyone know how accurate this is?)

However, the biggest thing to note, if you pull hate, you can take a hit or two before dying.
All of our Mages are usually partied with a BRD or a RDM.

[Fridell]

You can also just level RDM first, cap all stats and get gear, then Astral Flow burn your BLM & SCH, since pet soloing won't teach you much about how to play BLM other then gearing. After that you cap your (still needed to cap) skills and play around, ask advice, ideas, tips and in general get experience with your AF burned jobs.

[TybudX]

My point was too often people scream OMG GALKA MAGE WHY BOTHER. When in reality it's the player not the race.

'Skill' =/= gear =/= race.

They are three different things. Two of them can change over time, one cannot. While any race can play any job well ('skill'), not every race is going to excel at every job, and no amount of 'skill' is going to overcome those limitations.

Our linkshell has a Galka BLM.

He does a very good job, and has a lot of HQ gear which helps level the playing field.

Having HQ gear does not "level the playing field", it just means that the BLMs you have of other races don't have HQ gear. Taru BLM with HQ nuking gear > Galka BLM with HQ nuking gear and an MP build for first nuke. BLM nuking is one thing where no amount of MP gear will "level the playing field". Other races may be close to a Taru, but level 75 Galka and Elvaan BLMs are the equivalent of a level 50 Taru BLM as far as relevant stats go. Go look at what an Elvaan or Galka needs to make a decent elemental skill build, and compare it to what a Taru needs... it's a ridiculous difference in quality.

[Yugl]

As someone who plays SCH and BLU, I can tell you that people are overlooking a few points. BLU does *very* good in its respected capabilities. That is, its nukes/breaths can be very potent and its MP/Healing capabilities strong. However, that's where the good points about BLU finish. Some of the general factors/problems you'll find about BLU in both situations are:

-High MP cost for buffs/debuffs that would be cheaper on other mage classes (Diamonhide AOE SS, Paralyze, Slow, Gravity, Bind)
-Though VERY useful in some situations, often enfeebling spells inflict damage or have other effects (Like AoE) that make them undesirable.
-Range. This is always a problem when it comes to BLU. Kite battles are no problem for typical mages because they don't have to come close to the enemy, but for BLU, a majority of your magic spells will have you running close to the enemy.
-Lack of Strong Pro/Shell for Non-Alliance/Full PT settings
-General lack of "Safety nets" due to high MP cost on enfeebles and the fact that they often damage mobs.

[Tagus]

'Skill' =/= gear =/= race.

They are three different things. Two of them can change over time, one cannot. While any race can play any job well ('skill'), not every race is going to excel at every job, and no amount of 'skill' is going to overcome those limitations.



Having HQ gear does not "level the playing field", it just means that the BLMs you have of other races don't have HQ gear. Taru BLM with HQ nuking gear > Galka BLM with HQ nuking gear and an MP build for first nuke. BLM nuking is one thing where no amount of MP gear will "level the playing field". Other races may be close to a Taru, but level 75 Galka and Elvaan BLMs are the equivalent of a level 50 Taru BLM as far as relevant stats go. Go look at what an Elvaan or Galka needs to make a decent elemental skill build, and compare it to what a Taru needs... it's a ridiculous difference in quality.

I think everybody knows this stuff already. If Galka wasn't facing a serious disadvantage this thread wouldn't even exist. Most linkshells that are looking to require a mage job out of all players don't have a big "NO GALKA" banner running across the top of their websites for a reason, though.

[azagarth]

Is there a reason you're not considering BLU?

The reason I picked BLU to level as my ‘backline job’:

-In the majority of situations you can get a native 2-3mp refresh at 75, which really helps offset low mp (I know the other jobs get refresh gear, and sch gets sublimation, but the auto-refresh trait is a pretty nice perk)
-Geared correctly you can do decent magic damage (just remember it's no blm, but it's good enough for what it brings to events if you don't already have 1-2 going)
-Very good AOE sleeps, can help tank/kite to keep BLMs safe
-Great for spike damage
-Capable of healing with the right sub
-Very good low-man job
-Takes advantage of your combat merits depending on other jobs
-More HP = better breaths!

It's very gear dependent, but I considered it my best choice as a galka. I don’t expect a taru to be ‘the best’ paladin (although let’s not start that argument here…), I wouldn’t expect a galka to be ‘the best’ mage. I feel that BLU is a better middle-of-the road job that is extremely flexible depending on the work you’re willing to put in.

Just my 2 cents. As a tank/melee with full enmity merits, etc, etc, I wouldn’t want to level any other mage job.

I actually have blu at 75 and had good breath/nuke gear. I actually applied to your shell and was told I would need a mage job to be accepted but once I had one I had very good chance of getting in.... so while I know BLU can do a lot of I have shown my older shells its capabilities the shells likes your which I want to get into don't see it as worthwhile. Heck I have pup too and anyone who has seen me on pup knows I can keep up with blms or outdo them unless they are HQ or the mob aoe spams like crazy. I also lved blu as my mage thinking it would be good enough and for same reasons you outlined (no race matters on blu and galka imo excel most at endgame due to hp breaths).

[azagarth]

You can also just level RDM first, cap all stats and get gear, then Astral Flow burn your BLM & SCH, since pet soloing won't teach you much about how to play BLM other then gearing. After that you cap your (still needed to cap) skills and play around, ask advice, ideas, tips and in general get experience with your AF burned jobs.

Not actually worried about the skill part. I leveled my taru blm back when 4k/hr was good and without distortion + MB you failed at the game! I take that as a blessing now because idk many blms that know how to MB now (I would bet 95% of blms couldn't figure out a freeze MB macro, though its useless now lol) and I know for endgame this causes issues since people often will sc+mb a lot of hnms still.

astral burns wont happen for me sadly... idk anyone who does them and would let me leech. Obviously I could make my own but that requires me being on smn which defeats the purpose since i would not be burning up the intended job anyhow.

[Gunslinger]

I think my shell would prefer me on something besides blu too Luckily I'm grandfathered in and didn't have that mage requirement as a tank main years ago ^^

In any case, that's why I'm leveling a mage job now. It was either BLU for all the reasons I listed (plus already having full homam, etc, from drg), or starting my level 1 whm / blm with absolutely no mage gear... no thanks

Edit: it's awesome irony that they told you to come back with a mage job after I posted that. Go me!

[azagarth]

haha np, i understand the grandfather thing. I use to be a taru mnk main in a awesome hnmls years ago. They actually let me rock it at 80% of events too Oo; miss that shell but its long gone.

It makes sense to have a mage requirement now, I am not angry about it but I am in same boat as you. I am currently lving all my mages from 1 lol... got sch and rdm to 37, now its blm soloing which is at 24 atm.. cant get a damn tele to go kill bees, then its my dreaded whm to 37.... after that I have all the basics covered to lv mages.. except the gear, but thats why you get a hnmls right?

[krazylakshmi]

taru char... yea galka blm/nin the new tank

[azagarth]

bring up good point I could lv rdm... and rdm/nin tank it up!

[jimbobsonofgod]

bring up good point I could lv rdm... and rdm/nin tank it up!

Problem with that is if you are apply to a shell and they say "get a mage job" they do not want a mage job so they can tank.

And your endgame career is gonna be "cure haste refresh convert repeat".

[Nevex]

Actually good thing BLU has been brought up, didn't think about that.
Disregarding the whole melee side, BLU is extremely underrated and surprisingly good when it comes about dealing magic damage, and not just with breaths.

The "elemental big 3" (Mind Blast, Regurgitation and Firespit) can easily keep up with BLM and SCH as damage over time on anything that doesn't resist any of them.

With a dedicated setup (Full Morri, Tamas/Omega rings, Novio, HQ staves etc) there are quite few situations where you can be just as good as a BLM, if not better, because those BLU spells have a significant lower MP cost, similar damage/MP ratio and in Regurgitation's case, low enmity generation.

Even without a a perfect setup they're still not that hard to boost since BLU has access to a ton of INT+MND gear, both magical big 3's mods (though INT doesn't affect Mind Blast). There's not a single slot other than earrings (which hardly matters - Moldy) where you can't throw a lot of INT and MND together.

Magic Hammer is a situational, but huge advantage as well since it can situationally hit 400 with Convergence and BA.

Seriously I've started to prefer BLU as pure nuker (i.e. when sleep/gravity/stun aren't essential) over BLM because it just deals more damage over time when you have COR+BRD/RDM support and Regurgitation spam eliminates enmity issues. I can still cap SS and I get a 4-shadows Blink instead of 2. The only things that prevent it from completely surpassing BLM in those situations are the lack of a reliable gravity spell and the limited elemental selection.

[Yugl]

Seriously I've started to prefer BLU as pure nuker (i.e. when sleep/gravity/stun aren't essential) over BLM because it just deals more damage over time when you have COR+BRD/RDM support and Regurgitation spam eliminates enmity issues. I can still cap SS and I get a 4-shadows Blink instead of 2. The only things that prevent it from completely surpassing BLM in those situations are the lack of a reliable gravity spell and the limited elemental selection.

BLU SS caps out based on BLU skill, which is very difficult to modify. In addition, it's less SS than the max for normal SS.

[azagarth]

ya i know how nice regurgitation can be, we low manned faust awhile back and I was the only form of DD spamming it, no hate and did 300~ which was not bad bc i forgot to bring a good build for it that day... didnt know we be killing him.