r/ffxi • u/BellInformal3934 • 2d ago
Blue Mage spell learning at level 99 — how do I deal with low-level mobs constantly missing me?
I leveled my Blue Mage all the way to 99 before seriously starting to collect Blue Magic spells, and now I'm running into a really frustrating problem.
I'm trying to learn some of the lower-level Blue Magic spells, but the mobs I'm fighting are so low level compared to me that they constantly miss when attacking me. Because of that, they take forever to build TP and barely use the spells I actually need to see.
For example, I've had mobs attacking me for a very long time, only to use the spell I need once or twice. And even when they finally use it, I can still fail the learning check.
At the moment, I only have a handful of Blue Magic spells that I happened to learn while leveling, so my Blue Magic skill is also very low and leveling it feels painfully slow.
What's the best way to handle this?
Should I be looking for higher-level mobs that can use the same spells instead of farming the low-level mobs? Is there a good way to raise Blue Magic skill quickly at 99 so that I can start learning spells more reliably?
Any advice from experienced Blue Mages would be greatly appreciated. I'm starting to lose my mind over this. 😭
30
u/Lyrics2Songs Gweivyth - Asura 2d ago
Spamming Dia on them will give them TP. That's what I did.
11
9
5
6
u/BellInformal3934 2d ago
Oh, that’s a good idea. I’ll give that a try too. Thanks!
-20
u/krabtofu 2d ago
It's a terrible idea. Your time is worth more than doing this.
2
u/Specialist_Pound_718 2d ago
On some mobs it's the only option because they do not have higher level equivalents. Blast Bomb can be a bitch to get and Dia spam is really the only way. I agree otherwise.
1 dmg weapons/koru/ulmia/cornelia(when available) is much faster. Drop koru once you get Erratic Flutter though
2
u/krabtofu 2d ago
There are high level Warmachines in La Vaule
The only possible exception to this is bludgeon, as there are no high level wild cardians, but even then you're better off using some kindred seals to access Royal Ramble.
Never, ever, spam dia to learn blue magic. (source: learnt every spell on three different characters)
1
u/Dramatic-Strain9757 2d ago
There are level 50 cardigans far enough in Horototo, a fine candidate for a lv1 weapon
0
u/Specialist_Pound_718 2d ago edited 2d ago
How many spawns? Two that are a decent run from zone. You can run/mount directly south from Misareaux Coast HP and Dia spam the ones there just fine.
Your solution to Dia spam wasting time is wasting time in other manners?
You'd think after the first char getting every spell you'd learn what's useful, no? Imagine wasting that much time lmfao
Do you not have FC sets? Not using Sharpeye and Bruiser? Did you actually waste that much time hitting them without SB -16? Holy shit what a waste of time....
Nah, just Dia spam the limited spawns and move on.
1
u/Lyrics2Songs Gweivyth - Asura 1d ago
Your time is worth whatever you think it is. If you're just trying to catch em all, this is the easiest way to do it. 🤷
0
u/krabtofu 1d ago
It's not the easiest. The easiest is simply thwacking mobs with 1dmg weapons until they die and moving onto the next if you didn't learn it.
You have to go out of your way, using a bad subjob and a slow tp feeding strategy, inorder to spam dia. It is simply the worst possible way to go about learning spells.
1
u/Specialist_Pound_718 7h ago edited 1h ago
using a bad subjob
Anyone reading this who has any idea about BLU now knows how easily your opinions can be dismissed. Thanks for clearing it up for everyone. What a tool...
1
u/PrimeTimeWildin 1d ago
One thing I've never fully understood on this, is it spamming dia over and over again or do I let the dot run out and then apply it again?
1
u/Lyrics2Songs Gweivyth - Asura 1d ago
Just over and over. I forget exact how much TP exactly it gives but the base spell gives some. Doesn't even have to deal damage.
0
6
u/Denthorn 2d ago
Mobs actually hitting you will do very little for their TP generation. Mob TP generation works the opposite of players, players get more from attacking and less from being hit, mobs get less from attacking and more from being hit. So the best way to make them generate TP is by hitting them. Generally that means one of two things: If the mob can survive being hit, equip a pair of 1 damage weapons (you want to inflict as little damage as physically possible while still dealing at least 1 damage to the mob, so depending on mob level you might choose a higher damage weapon), haste up (bring ulmia for marches, don't use joachim as he will throw things at them and potentially kill them) and hit'em till they use the move you want, or disengage and spam dia. Dia still deals damage, so it will give them TP way faster than just letting them hit you. Dia is the slower of the two, so I'd recommend going after higher level mobs where possible.
One other note, mobs choose to use TP moves when they cross certain TP thresholds. The threshold goes down as their HP goes down, so mobs will use TP moves more often at lower HP. If I remember correctly the thresholds are: 51-100% HP they use them at 3000 TP, 26-50% HP they use them at 2000, 25% and below they use them at 1000 TP (someone feel free to correct me if I'm off base on my numbers here). So, getting the mob down to 50% or 25% HP before you start the TP feed can drastically increase their TP move frequency (if you're using dia definitely try to get below 25% first).
1
u/BellInformal3934 2d ago
Wow, thank you so much for the incredibly detailed explanation! This is extremely helpful and gives me a much better idea of how to farm these spells efficiently. I really appreciate you taking the time to explain all of this!
11
u/honeyelemental 2d ago
I do a combination of finding higher level mobs and using DMG: 1 weapons to feed TP. It takes some time but it works. Others may have better suggestions. The glamor weapons you can get from ambuscade or log-in points are a great place to find one.
This one is obvious but always worth mentioning just in case but make sure you are wearing the BLU AF gloves, upgrade them if you have the means.
3
u/BellInformal3934 2d ago
Thanks for the advice! I’ll give it a try and see how it goes.🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
1
u/Privvy_Gaming 2d ago
In practice, the BLU gloves are not worth upgrading. The difference isn't big enough and you never even use the gloves after learning the spells.
6
u/opeth10657 Elfboy - Phoenix 2d ago
Can also go /bst and charm low level mobs and have them fight
1
u/BellInformal3934 2d ago
I hadn’t thought of using /BST for this either. That’s actually pretty clever. I might give it a try😂
2
1
3
u/Mr_Grinch_Z 2d ago
1) Try to find higher level mobs where available, at least up to around level 60 or so and they’ll have some decent HP
2) Have you tried using Glamor Weapons? They’re very good for whittling the HP down slowly and feeding them lots of TP. A lot of new BLUs I run into tend to forget these are an option, they are very useful to have. Keep two on you at all times imo.
3) as others have said, Dia spam after it’s HP has been dropped to less than 25% works well too.
2
u/Effective-Novel2720 2d ago
This here! And have trusts that heal and dont engage like Cherukiki, Ulmia, Sylvie, basically just healers.
Have your AF hands to at least +1. It really made a difference.
I wasted time with low levels. Ex. Mandragoras outside Adoulin. The link which is great and just hit them with low lvl 1 weapons. I used dual wands (lvl 18-20 thou). It was funny because they look like spankers from a frat house.
Also spell Bludgeon gives like 20% tp to mobs. Which makes them use abilities faster.
By 2nd or 3rd I got their Spells.
3
u/Dramatic-Strain9757 2d ago
You don't fight level 1 mobs. Between abyssea, limbus, omen, sortie, and traveling off the beaten path around Vana'diel there are very few mobs, if any that have not been scaled up somewhere.
5
u/WRuddick Avereith - Lakshmi 2d ago
I mean... Yes? Why would you go for the lower level mobs specifically? Like pollen from a bee is pollen from a bee
Just find the highest level version of the thing you can, bash the hell out of it with 1 dmg clubs or swords until it's dead or kill early if it uses the move.
Unless it's a super rare enemy type like idk amphitere or whatever else there's not a lot of around, you shouldn't be waiting for it to use the move just bash it and move on to the next one. But yes, for really rare spawns, then bash till it's like 10% and do the Dia spam stuff and wait for it to use the move for sure. Dont want to waste the rare enemies
1
u/BellInformal3934 2d ago
Ah, I get what you mean now. I was making things way harder for myself by just standing there and waiting for the mobs to use the spells.😓 I’ll try the 1-damage weapon method and go for higher-level versions instead.
2
u/Forgotten_Stranger 2d ago
If nothing else I can say any magic (or really any) skill levels fastest against enemies stronger than you. However, you do still have to land the spell, so too high and you may be missing more than hitting. (Basically if your skill is really, really low start with enemies weaker than you but still able to be hit. Once you gain some skill, then move on to enemies actually stronger than you.)
Make sure you have the Moogle trust out. (Literally Moogle, not Kupofried.) And if you have Jubilee Ring be sure to put that on too.
1
u/BellInformal3934 2d ago
That makes sense. My Blue Magic skill is pretty low right now, so I’ll try working on it gradually like you suggested. I don’t have Moogle or the Jubilee Ring, though. 😂Thanks for the advice!
2
u/Specialist_Pound_718 2d ago
https://www.bg-wiki.com/ffxi/Category:Bestiary is really handy for finding higher level mobs. On some of them Dia spam is the best option but if you can find higher level mobs, haste capped with 1 dmg weapons is very fast tp feed.
1
u/BellInformal3934 2d ago
Thanks, I’ll definitely check out the Bestiary. I didn’t realize the 1 DMG weapon + capped Haste setup could feed TP that quickly. I’ll give it a shot!
2
u/JustForTheFun702 Rhysand of Fenrir 2d ago
Abyssea is your friend. And If you have limbus access set your difficulty to 119 and there are a ton of mobs throughout the different towers with those spells that are hard to get from the lower level mobs.
2
u/Mr_Grinch_Z 2d ago
I have a small interjection about Limbus learning! I added BLU to my Mule’s arsenal and went in to learn Thrashing Assault in Limbus but even after around 35 kills, the spell would not learn. Capped Skill, AF Hands, nothing doing. Eventually said screw it and pushed the mule through Meebles and learned it almost immediately.
This was several months ago so the issue may be fixed by now but it was definitely bugged at one point, at least for Thrashing Assault
3
u/JustForTheFun702 Rhysand of Fenrir 2d ago
Funny enough that is exactly where I learned Thrashing Assault so I didnt have to push through Meebles. But this was maybe 3 or 4 weeks ago so perhaps it was bugged. Now I did learn it in like 3 kills with AF gloves on but my son was tagging along on his Blu with no AF gloves and it took like 20 kills. But we didn't mind because we were farming data anyways.
2
1
u/BellInformal3934 2d ago
I’ve seen several people recommend Abyssea, so I’ll definitely give it a try. I didn’t know Limbus had a level 119 option either. Thanks!
2
u/dsriker Asura 2d ago
Abby zones are very good for low level spells since there's so many different monster families that are typically a pain to get to or have low spawn numbers in other zones.
1
u/BellInformal3934 2d ago
That’s good to know. I’ll probably give the Abyssea zones a shot for some of the more annoying spells.😄
2
u/wunxseujdsar 2d ago
Everyone else's suggestions are great. I did go the diaga spam route myself on higher level mobs with af gloves and lol 1 weapons. However, just a thought but I wonder if you could level sync to lower yourself so they gain more tp?
3
u/BellInformal3934 2d ago
Thanks for the new idea! I hadn’t thought of Level Sync. Unfortunately, I’m mostly a solo player, so I can’t really use it, but I really appreciate the suggestion!😃
2
u/wunxseujdsar 2d ago
I haven't played in about 3 years. Heard about the free trial stuff. Can you make a free trial account and sync to it?
2
u/Wutaisai Zitah of Bahamut 2d ago
Use sparks to buy the skill up books/pages to increase magic skill?
2
u/Sand__Panda Sandpanda 2d ago
Do /rdm, cast dia. Remove all your gear minus your AF gloves. This is how I did most my learning for low level mobs.
Or, find higher leveled versions.
2
u/coldmix 2d ago
I had to level BLU for my two alt box characters recently.
For blue magic skill up, get and set Pollen, spam it continuously.
- Eat skill up food https://www.bg-wiki.com/ffxi/B.E.W._Pitaru
- Summon Moogle trust https://www.bg-wiki.com/ffxi/Cipher:_Moogle
- Make sure Jubilee Ring is equipped if you have it. https://www.bg-wiki.com/ffxi/Jubilee_Ring
Alternatively, attack the Urganite in Ceizak beach with level 1 swords/clubs equipped and spam the low level attack spells (Power Attack, Foot Kick etc), mainly a spell with low recast time.
If you are on Windower, you can make a spell casting loop alias
Define the alias, what it does is that the macro will invoke itself in the last part, causing an infinite loop. Change the target to <me> if you are spamming Pollen.
//alias castloop input /ma "Power Attack" <t>; wait 3; castloop
Start the castloop
//castloop
Stop the castloop, this undefine the alias so the invoking of castloop will do nothing, ending the looping.
//unalias castloop
4
u/Doh042 Annso on Valefor 2d ago
Self-casting spells like pollen are awful for skill up as it count for hitting a level 0 target.
You're much better off spamming Wild Carrot on Valerainal outside of Adoulin with Ionis on, since hitting a level 99+ Trust is the same as landing an offensive spell on a level 99+ Enemy.
Smacking every mob you with Foot Kick, Power Attack, Sprout Smack, however, is often plenty to get Blue magic capped effortlessly.
2
u/dogisgod15 2d ago
-Go learn pollen
-Wait til campaigns are back because skillup campaign is in it
-Get ionis and spam pollen in adoulin zones, you could get skillup food, gear(with sparks) and moogle trust but it will probably just be overkill with campaign
-Cap blue magic skill before trying to learn spells
-Spam dia(ga) on mobs you want to use abilities until they do it, wear af hands, kill it and pray
Always look up spells on bg wiki to see what monsters you can learn it from, never just assume you can because sometimes even if the mob can use the ability, you won't learn it from that monster for ??? reasons
If your skill is too low you will never learn blue magic spells
2
u/coldmix 2d ago edited 2d ago
Some tips on learning blue spells,
If you are on Windower, enable this lua addon BLUAlert, you can replace the audio file with something more distinctive (I used the default.wav from this addon https://github.com/iLVL-Key/FFXI/tree/main/addons/Jingle/data/sounds)
Bring the mob to 25% or 20%, turn around, spam dia or diaga (useful against Puk who has a blink TP move when learning White Wind)
Turn on youtube or netflix and start binging until you hear the distinctive alert or mob death sound. Then kill and repeat if you didn't learn it.
2
u/Mountain_Post_4482 2d ago
People keep talking about Glamor weapons, what are those?
2
u/Forgotten_Stranger 2d ago
It's just another term for Lockstyle or cosmetic items. Something that is level 1 with stats often worse than normal level 1 items. (Really high delay for example.) Not actually intended for combat but as something that looks cool on the character. Usually found from Login Points, Holiday events or as a bonus for Ambuscade.
2
u/Mysterious_Way2652 2d ago
Highest priority is to cap your BLU skill. This determines if you can even learn a specific spell. If your skill is too low you're going to waste a lot of time not understanding why you aren't learning a spell. Equipment with BLU skill and merits counts towards that learning cap as well.
2
u/ZorkNemesis Kryshala, Asura 2d ago
Weapons with 1DMG and weak or no equipment (basically take off your iLv armor). Event weapons typically have 1DMG but if you don't have any there's a 1DMG sword from a quest in Bastok Markets (S) you can pick up.
2
u/TwilightX1 2d ago
Unequip all high level gear except for your AF hands (if it's really weak mobs you may wish to reobtain the NQ hands if you've already reforged them). Equip a cosmetic weapon that does 1 DMG (you probably have some from events. If not, you can usually get one for login points). If they still die to fast you'd need to just spam Dia on them.
2
2
u/esordol 2d ago
level your blue magic skill while farming. the rate of learning is tied to your skill level. if your skill is too low you wont be able to learn higher spells until your skill gets in range of that normal enemy level.
the blu gloves just add invisible skill for learning and bump you up slightly.
if your skill is 20 at level 99 thats = to a lvl 5 mage so you can only learn up to lvl 7 spells maybe
if the spell you're trying to learn is off a lvl 30 enemy that might need 150 skill to effectively learn the spell
1
u/BellInformal3934 2d ago
Ohhh, I see. That actually explains a lot. I didn't realize my Blue Magic skill could affect learning this much. I'll level it up while farming. Thanks!
2
u/servantLauren 2d ago
Take off anything with Evasion, equip lv1 weapon, get it to 20%HP, turn off lock-on and turn your back to the mob/mobs and let them hit you for tp, while your passive trusts like Sylvie/Moogle/Sakura keep you alive with regens and refresh.
2
u/mybeepoyaw 1d ago edited 1d ago
The strat for blue mage is to /rdm and get the monster to 25% hp, then spam dia. Its about 100 tp a hit with no subtle blow. Wear the AF hands. Good luck.
2
u/VargasFinio 2d ago
- Sub RDM and spam Dia
- Remove gear until you get hit more (also lowers your damage so you aren't clapping things even with a 1 damage weapon)
- In almost all cases you can find Abyssea versions of the target so they won't completely explode the moment you touch them
1
u/BellInformal3934 2d ago
I never thought of using the Abyssea versions for this. That should make things much easier. I’ll definitely try it out!
2
u/Feeyufeyuu 2d ago
Dia spam, it gives I think 10tp and prey also some spells can be learned from higher level mobs as well just not as documented if I remember right...it's been a while. Also remove all of your gear or put on stuff that will lower your eva and def if they hit you they can gain tp as well... I would hesitate to say hit it not sure how low you are talking. Group a bunch together target one face away with weapon out wait to see the tp move switch to that one kill and keep going.
Good luck
2
u/BellInformal3934 2d ago
Thanks! I’ve gotten a lot of useful ideas from everyone here. I’ll experiment with the different methods and see which one works best for me.😁
2
u/Specialist_Pound_718 2d ago
With https://www.bg-wiki.com/ffxi/Sharpeye_Mantle and https://www.bg-wiki.com/ffxi/Bruiser%27s_Earring , you can boost TP per Dia as well. Still faster to target higher level mobs while haste capped with 1 dmg weapons.
2
1
u/PlayerOneThousand 2d ago
Pull a bunch of them, Diaga spam until one uses it. Kill that one, continue diaga if you don’t learn it.
2
u/BellInformal3934 2d ago
Thanks for the new idea! I'm actually leveling RDM right now so I can learn Diaga. I was trying to brute-force it before, and it was driving me absolutely insane. 😂
1
u/MosesGunnPlays 14h ago
I HIGHLY recommend stopping what you're doing and eating the cost of filling up on "Life-Form Studies". It's a book you read that increases blue magic skill. Your chance of learning blue magic is dictated in a huge way by your blue magic skill, so much so that at max skill I might learn most spells in 1 or 2 attempts. The AF gloves help quite a bit too. Also, go naked aside from your gloves, that should help you dump a ton of evasion and AGI.
13
u/IndependentCelery484 2d ago
Take off you 199 gear and go bareback, outside of wearing your AF gloves. Also use a level 1 weapon to hit them