Black Mage (BLM) Actions, Traits and PvP Actions

In days long past there existed an occult and arcane art known as black magic? A potent magic of pure destructive force which legend told was born forth by a sorceress of unparalleled power. Those who learned to wield this instrument of ruin came to be called black mages, out of both fear and respect for their gift. Yet then, as now, great power served to corrupt the judgment of mortal man and send him down the path of ruin.

And so it is that now, after many years, there are few left versed in the ways of black magic. Yet an old criminal soul, condemned to life in the dark depths of an Ul’dahn prison, has come forth claiming to be one of the last remaining black mages. He has emerged from his shadowy confinement…but to what end?

Patch 1.21 saw the introduction of jobs to FFXIV, which allows you to become one of the traditional jobs from the FF series after completing a quest.

A Thaumaturge can become a Black Mage by equipping the Soul of the Black Mage item after completing the first quest. The details for this quest are below.

Quest	NPC	Location	Conditions
Taking the Black	Yayake	Ul’dah Merchant Strip, Thaumaturges’ Guild	THM 30

For each quest you complete, you will be rewarded with a new ability, while the latter quests will also reward you with artifact (AF) armour that is shown in the screenshot above.

Introduction to Black Mage

The Black Mage is a classic magic damage dealing job making use of the elements of Fire, Ice and Lightning as well as crowd control mechanics such as Sleep and Bind.

Black Mage Attributes

As a Black Mage your main attribute is Intelligence (INT) as this increases magical damage. You should be focusing on equipment with this stat. For secondary stats you should be focusing on the likes of Spell Speed, Direct Hit Rate, Determination and Critical Hit Rate in addition to simply boosting INT.

Spell Speed and Critical Hit Rate are self explanatory in what they do. For the other two, Determination is used to boost the damage dealt by all attacks and the amount of HP recovered when healed while Direct Hit Rate is Stormblood’s replacement for Accuracy. Instead of a simple hit or miss effect that Accuracy could give, having low Direct Hit Rate for a fight will reduce damage dealt so it is important to improve this stat.

Black Mage Stances

It is important to understand the two main stances of the Black Mage. These being Astral Fire and Umbral Ice. You will switch between these during almost every fight. Astral Fire is designed for maximum damage output while Umbral Ice is designed for recovering MP. There are also three different levels of potency in each stance, each being more beneficial than the last. In short:

Astral Fire: Increases fire damage and MP cost of fire spells. Reduces ice damage and ice MP cost.
Umbral Ice: Increases MP regen, decreases MP cost of fire spells, increases MP cost of ice spells.

You can use the Transpose ability to instantly which between stances. I recommend using it to switch from Astral Fire to Umbral Ice, then switching from Umbral Ice when ready to an Astral Fire III by using the Fire III spell. This is because Transpose may not yet be ready for a second use.

Black Mage Actions

Actions are skills that the Black Mage can equip to their bar and select to use at any time as long as their timer is available. Actions used in a combo will generate additional damage and effects. All Black Mage actions are exclusive to that job.

AST BRD BLM DNC DRK DRG GNB MCH
MNK NIN PLD PCT RPR RDM SGE SAM SCH SMN VPR WAR WHM

Name	Level	Cast	Recast	MP	TP	Range	Radius
Manafont	30	0	120	0	0	0y	0y
Fully restores MP. Additional Effect: Grants Astral Fire III Duration: 15s Additional Effect: Grants Thunderhead Duration: 30s Additional Effect: Grants 3 Umbral Hearts Umbral Heart Bonus: Nullifies Astral Fire’s MP cost increase for Fire spells and reduces MP cost for Flare by one-third Additional Effect: Grants Paradox Can only be executed while under the effect of Astral Fire.
Blizzard III	35	3.5	2.5	0	0	25y	0y
Deals ice damage with a potency of 280. Additional Effect: Grants Umbral Ice III and removes Astral Fire Duration: 15s
Umbral Soul	35	0	2.5	0	0	0y	0y
Grants Umbral Ice and 1 Umbral Heart. Additional Effect: Halts the expiration of Umbral Ice Umbral Heart Bonus: Nullifies Astral Fire’s MP cost increase for Fire spells and reduces MP cost for Flare by one-third Additional Effect: Restores an amount of MP commensurate with your stacks of Umbral Ice Umbral Ice I: 2,500 MP Umbral Ice II: 5,000 MP Umbral Ice III: 10,000 MP Grants Umbral Ice III and 3 Umbral Hearts, and also restores 10,000 MP when used while outside of combat. Can only be executed while under the effect of Umbral Ice.
Freeze	40	2.8	2.5	0	0	25y	5y
Deals ice damage with a potency of 120 to target and all enemies nearby it. Additional Effect: Grants 3 Umbral Hearts Umbral Heart Bonus: Nullifies Astral Fire’s MP cost increase for Fire spells and reduces MP cost for Flare by one-third Can only be executed while under the effect of Umbral Ice.
Thunder III	45	0	2.5	0	0	25y	0y
Deals lightning damage with a potency of 120. Additional Effect: Lightning damage over time Potency: 50 Duration: 27s Can only be cast while under the effect of Thunderhead, granted when gaining Astral Fire or Umbral Ice from an unaspected state, or changing between their influences. Thunderhead Duration: 30s Only one Thunder spell-induced damage over time effect per caster can be inflicted upon a single target.
Flare	50	4	2.5	0	0	25y	5y
Deals fire damage to target and all enemies nearby it with a potency of 240 for the first enemy, and 30% less for all remaining enemies. Additional Effect: Grants Astral Fire III Duration: 15s Additional Effect: Grants 3 stacks of Astral Soul Effect ends when Astral Fire expires. Can only be executed while under the effect of Astral Fire.
Ley Lines	52	0	120	0	0	0y	3y
Connects naturally occurring ley lines to create a circle of power which, while standing within it, reduces spell cast time and recast time, and auto-attack delay by 15%. Duration: 30s
Sharpcast	54	0	60	0	0	0y	0y
Ensures the next Scathe, Fire, Paradox, or Thunder spell cast will, for the first hit, trigger Scathe’s additional effect, Firestarter, or Thundercloud. Duration: 30s Maximum Charges: 2
Blizzard IV	58	2.5	2.5	0	0	25y	0y
Deals ice damage with a potency of 320. Additional Effect: Grants 3 Umbral Hearts Umbral Heart Bonus: Nullifies Astral Fire’s MP cost increase for Fire spells and reduces MP cost for Flare by one-third Can only be executed while under the effect of Umbral Ice.
Fire IV	60	2.8	2.5	0	0	25y	0y
Deals fire damage with a potency of 320. Additional Effect: Grants Astral Soul Effect ends when Astral Fire expires. Can only be executed while under the effect of Astral Fire.
Between the Lines	62	0	3	0	0	25y	0y
Move instantly to Ley Lines drawn by you. Cannot be executed while bound.
Thunder IV	64	0	2.5	0	0	25y	5y
Deals lightning damage with a potency of 80 to target and all enemies nearby it. Additional Effect: Lightning damage over time Potency: 35 Duration: 21s Can only be cast while under the effect of Thunderhead, granted when gaining Astral Fire or Umbral Ice from an unaspected state, or changing between their influences. Thunderhead Duration: 30s Only one Thunder spell-induced damage over time effect per caster can be inflicted upon a single target.
Triplecast	66	0	60	0	0	0y	0y
The next three spells will require no cast time. Duration: 15s Maximum Charges: 2
Foul	70	2.5	2.5	0	0	25y	5y
Deals unaspected damage to target and all enemies nearby it with a potency of 600 for the first enemy, and 60% less for all remaining enemies. Polyglot Cost: 1
Despair	72	3	2.5	0	0	25y	0y
Deals fire damage with a potency of 350. Additional Effect: Grants Astral Fire III Duration: 15s Can only be executed while under the effect of Astral Fire.
Xenoglossy	80	0	2.5	0	0	25y	0y
Deals unaspected damage with a potency of 880. Polyglot Cost: 1
High Fire II	82	3	2.5	0	0	25y	5y
Deals fire damage with a potency of 100 to target and all enemies nearby it. Additional Effect: Grants Astral Fire III and removes Umbral Ice Duration: 15s
High Blizzard II	82	3	2.5	0	0	25y	5y
Deals ice damage with a potency of 100 to target and all enemies nearby it. Additional Effect: Grants Umbral Ice III and removes Astral Fire Duration: 15s
Amplifier	86	0	120	0	0	0y	0y
Grants Polyglot. Can only be executed while under the effect of Astral Fire or Umbral Ice.
High Thunder	92	0	2.5	0	0	25y	0y
Deals lightning damage with a potency of 150. Additional Effect: Lightning damage over time Potency: 60 Duration: 30s Can only be cast while under the effect of Thunderhead, granted when gaining Astral Fire or Umbral Ice from an unaspected state, or changing between their influences. Thunderhead Duration: 30s Only one Thunder spell-induced damage over time effect per caster can be inflicted upon a single target.
High Thunder II	92	0	2.5	0	0	25y	5y
Deals lightning damage with a potency of 100 to target and all enemies nearby it. Additional Effect: Lightning damage over time Potency: 40 Duration: 24s Can only be cast while under the effect of Thunderhead, granted when gaining Astral Fire or Umbral Ice from an unaspected state, or changing between their influences. Thunderhead Duration: 30s Only one Thunder spell-induced damage over time effect per caster can be inflicted upon a single target.
Retrace	96	0	40	0	0	0y	3y
Weave ley lines anew, setting your circle of power at a new location. Can only be executed while under the effect of Ley Lines, and the effect duration will not be reset.
Flare Star	100	3	2.5	0	0	25y	5y
Deals fire damage to target and all enemies nearby it with a potency of 400 for the first enemy, and 65% less for all remaining enemies. Can only be executed when the Astral Gauge is full.

As well as these the Black Mage can also equip Thaumaturge actions.

Black Mage Traits

Traits are not actions and can not be equipped to your bar. They are earned as you level up and are always active. As a result they require 0 cast time and have a 0 MP and TP cost. They are also all exclusive to the Black Mage job.

	Name	Level
	Thunder Mastery	45
	Upgrades Thunder to Thunder III.
	Thunder Mastery	45
	Upgrades Thunder to Thunder III.
	Enochian	56
	Increases damage dealt by 5% while under the effect of Astral Fire or Umbral Ice.
	Thunder Mastery II	64
	Upgrades Thunder II to Thunder IV.
	Enhanced Umbral Heart	68
	Reduces MP required to cast Flare by one-third while under the effect of Umbral Heart. Casting Flare completely removes the Umbral Heart status.
	Enhanced Enochian	70
	Grants the effect of Polyglot upon maintaining Enochian for 30 seconds. Also improves Enochian’s magic damage increase to 10%.
	Enhanced Enochian	70
	Grants the effect of Polyglot upon maintaining Enochian for 30 seconds. Also improves Enochian’s magic damage increase to 10%.
	Enhanced Sharpcast	74
	Reduces Sharpcast recast timer to 30 seconds.
	Enhanced Enochian II	78
	Improves Enochian’s magic damage increase to 15%.
	Enhanced Foul	80
	Allows for the immediate casting of Foul.
	Aspect Mastery IV	82
	Upgrades Fire II and Blizzard II to High Fire II and High Blizzard II.
	Enhanced Manafont	84
	Reduces Manafont recast time to 100 seconds.
	Enhanced Enochian III	86
	Improves Enochian’s magic damage increase to 25%.
	Enhanced Sharpcast II	88
	Allows the accumulation of charges for consecutive uses of Sharpcast. Maximum Charges: 2
	Aspect Mastery V	90
	Adds a Paradox marker to your Elemental Gauge. The marker is made active after reaching Astral Fire III then swapping to the opposite element. Conversely, the marker can also be made active after reaching Umbral Ice III and gaining 3 Umbral Hearts then swapping to the opposite element. The marker is made inactive when the effect of Astral Fire or Umbral Ice expires. Fire and Blizzard become Paradox when the Paradox marker is made active.
	Thunder Mastery III	92
	Upgrades Thunder III to High Thunder and Thunder IV to High Thunder II.
	Enhanced Ley Lines	96
	The location of Ley Lines can be reset while its effect is active.
	Enhanced Enochian IV	96
	Improves Enochian’s magic damage increase to 33%.
	Enhanced Polyglot II	98
	Allows the stacking of a third Polyglot.
	Enhanced Astral Fire	100
	Grants a stack of Astral Soul upon landing Fire IV or Flare. Maximum Stacks: 6

Black Mage PvP Actions

From the Stormblood expansion PvP was revamped significantly and you can no longer use PvE actions during PvP battles. That means all of the actions above you can no longer use in PvP. Action Points (AP) were also removed.

While some of the dedicated PvP actions do have the same name, they will have different potencies or effects. Below are the PvP actions that are unique to the Black Mage. There exists even more PvP actions and even traits but these are not unique to the Black Mage. You can find these further down the page.

Name	Cast	Recast	MP	TP	Range	Radius
Aetherial Manipulation	0	10	0	0	25y	0y
Rush to a targeted enemy’s or party member’s location. Additional Effect: Grants Swiftcast Swiftcast Effect: Next spell can be cast immediately Duration: 10s Maximum Charges: 2 Cannot be executed while bound.
Blizzard	1.5	2.5	0	0	25y	0y
Deals ice damage with a potency of 4,000. Requires no cast time when cast under the effect of Astral Fire. Additional Effect: Afflicts target with a stack of Umbral Freeze, up to a maximum of 3 Duration: 15s Effect cannot be stacked with Astral Warmth. Additional Effect: Grants Umbral Ice II Duration: 30s Effect cannot be stacked with Astral Fire. ※Action changes to Blizzard IV while under the effect of Umbral Ice II.
Blizzard IV	1.5	2.5	0	0	25y	0y
Deals ice damage with a potency of 6,000. Additional Effect: Afflicts target with a stack of Umbral Freeze, up to a maximum of 3 Duration: 15s Effect cannot be stacked with Astral Warmth. Additional Effect: Grants Umbral Ice III Duration: 30s Effect cannot be stacked with Astral Fire. Can only be executed while under the effect of Umbral Ice II. ※Action changes to Freeze while under the effect of Umbral Ice III. ※This action cannot be assigned to a hotbar.
Burst	2	20	0	0	0y	5y
Deals lightning damage to all nearby enemies with a potency of 16,000. Additional Effect: Creates a barrier around self that absorbs damage equivalent to a heal of 16,000 potency Duration: 10s This action does not share a recast timer with any other actions.
Convert	0	30	0	0	0y	0y
Restores 25% of maximum HP and MP. Can only be executed while under the effect of Astral Fire or Umbral Ice. Removes Astral Fire or Umbral Ice upon execution.
Enochian	0	2.4	0	0	0y	0y
Allows the casting of Fire IV and Blizzard IV. Additional Effect: Grants Polyglot if Enochian is maintained for 15s Can only be executed while under the effect of Astral Fire or Umbral Ice. Effect is canceled if Astral Fire or Umbral Ice end. ※Action changes to Fire IV while under the effect of Astral Fire. ※Action changes to Blizzard IV while under the effect of Umbral Ice.
Fire	1.5	2.5	0	0	25y	0y
Deals fire damage with a potency of 4,000. Requires no cast time when cast under the effect of Umbral Ice. Additional Effect: Afflicts target with a stack of Astral Warmth, up to a maximum of 3 Duration: 15s Effect cannot be stacked with Umbral Freeze. Additional Effect: Grants Astral Fire II Duration: 30s Effect cannot be stacked with Umbral Ice. ※Action changes to Fire IV while under the effect of Astral Fire II.
Fire IV	1.5	2.5	0	0	25y	0y
Deals fire damage with a potency of 6,000. Additional Effect: Afflicts target with a stack of Astral Warmth, up to a maximum of 3 Duration: 15s Effect cannot be stacked with Umbral Freeze. Additional Effect: Grants Astral Fire III Duration: 30s Effect cannot be stacked with Umbral Ice. Can only be executed while under the effect of Astral Fire II. ※Action changes to Flare while under the effect of Astral Fire III. ※This action cannot be assigned to a hotbar.
Flare	0	2.5	0	0	25y	5y
Deals fire damage with a potency of 12,000 to target and 8,000 to all enemies nearby it. Additional Effect: Afflicts target with a stack of Astral Warmth, up to a maximum of 3 Duration: 15s Effect cannot be stacked with Umbral Freeze. Can only be executed while under the effect of Soul Resonance. ※This action cannot be assigned to a hotbar.
Foul	0	2.5	0	0	25y	5y
Deals unaspected damage with a potency of 16,000 to target and all enemies nearby it. Can only be executed while under the effect of Polyglot. ※This action cannot be assigned to a hotbar.
Freeze	0	2.5	0	0	25y	5y
Deals ice damage with a potency of 12,000 to target and 8,000 to all enemies nearby it. Additional Effect: Afflicts target with a stack of Umbral Freeze, up to a maximum of 3 Duration: 15s Effect cannot be stacked with Astral Warmth. Can only be executed while under the effect of Soul Resonance. ※This action cannot be assigned to a hotbar.
Paradox	0	15	0	0	25y	0y
Deals unaspected damage with a potency of 8,000. Additional Effect: Increases target’s stacks of Astral Warmth or Umbral Freeze to maximum Duration: 15s This action does not share a recast timer with any other actions.
Sleep	2.3	2.3	0	0	25y	0y
Puts target to sleep. Duration: 3s Cancels auto-attack upon execution.
Soul Resonance	0	10	0	0	0y	0y
Grants 6 stacks of Soul Resonance, upgrading Fire to Flare and Blizzard to Freeze. Duration: 30s Additional Effect: Grants Polyglot and Apocatastasis Polyglot Effect: Action changes to Foul Duration: 60s Apocatastasis Effect: Reduces damage taken by 10% Duration: 15s Additional Effect: Reduces the recast time of Superflare by 15 seconds Can only be executed when the limit gauge is full. Gauge Charge Time: 60s
Superflare	0	15	0	0	0y	30y
Deals damage to nearby enemies with a potency of 3,000 up to a maximum of 9,000 for every stack of Astral Warmth or Umbral Freeze they have accumulated. Additional Effect: Enemies under the effect of Astral Warmth are afflicted with Burns, dealing fire damage over time Potency: 3,000 Duration: 6s Duration increases by 3s for each additional stack of Astral Warmth, up to a maximum of 12s. Additional Effect: Enemies under the effect of Umbral Freeze are afflicted with a status ailment commensurate with the number of stacks accumulated 1 Stack: Heavy 2 Stacks: Bind 3 Stacks: Deep Freeze Duration: 2s Maximum Charges: 2
Swiftcast	0	30	0	0	0y	0y
Next spell is cast immediately. F201F8F201F9Duration:0101 10s
Thunder	0	2.4	0	0	25y	0y
Deals lightning damage with a potency of 400. Additional Effect: Lightning damage over time Potency: 400 Duration: 15s Additional Effect: Grants Thundercloud if target is dealt over 8,000 points of damage while under the effect of Thunder Duration: 10s Thunder effect is removed from target upon receiving Thundercloud status. Only one Thunder spell-induced damage over time effect per caster can be inflicted upon a single target. ※Action changes to Thunder III while under the effect of Thundercloud.
Thunder II	0	2.4	0	0	25y	5y
Deals lightning damage with a potency of 200 to target and all enemies nearby it. Additional Effect: Lightning damage over time Potency: 200 Duration: 15s Additional Effect: Grants Thundercloud if target is dealt over 4,000 points of damage while under the effect of Thunder II Duration: 10s Thunder II effect is removed from target upon receiving Thundercloud status. Only one Thunder spell-induced damage over time effect per caster can be inflicted upon a single target. ※Action changes to Thunder IV while under the effect of Thundercloud.
Thunder III	0	2.4	0	0	25y	0y
Deals lightning damage with a potency of 2,400. Additional Effect: Lightning damage over time Potency: 400 Duration: 15s Additional Effect: Grants Thundercloud if target is dealt over 8,000 points of damage while under the effect of Thunder Duration: 10s Can only be cast while under the effect of Thundercloud. Thunder effect is removed from target upon receiving Thundercloud status. Only one Thunder spell-induced damage over time effect per caster can be inflicted upon a single target. ※This action cannot be assigned to a hotbar.
Thunder IV	0	2.4	0	0	25y	5y
Deals lightning damage with a potency of 1,200 to target and all enemies nearby it. Additional Effect: Lightning damage over time Potency: 200 Duration: 15s Additional Effect: Grants Thundercloud if target is dealt over 4,000 points of damage while under the effect of Thunder II Duration: 10s Can only be cast while under the effect of Thundercloud. Thunder II effect is removed from target upon receiving Thundercloud status. Only one Thunder spell-induced damage over time effect per caster can be inflicted upon a single target. ※This action cannot be assigned to a hotbar.
Xenoglossy	0	2.4	0	0	25y	0y
Deals unaspected damage with a potency of 2,400. Polyglot Cost: 1

Black Mage Shared PvP Actions

The following is a list of PvP actions which are shared across all classes and jobs. These can only be used in PvP areas and you are limited to selecting two of them.

Name	Cast	Recast	MP	TP	Range	Radius
Aetheric Siphon	0	6	0	0	25y	0y
Activates the instrument.
Anti-gravity Gimbal	0	5	0	0	0y	0y
Simulates the spell Levitate using Nero tol Scaeva’s odd contraption.
Bolt	0	45	0	0	0y	0y
Movement speed is increased. Duration: 10s
Chimatsuri	4.5	45	0	0	8y	0y

Concentrate	0	45	0	0	0y	0y
Creates a barrier preventing Stun, Sleep, Bind, Heavy, Slow, Silence, and knockback effects. Duration: 10s
Deflect	0	2	0	0	0y	4y
Scatters potentially harmful aether.
Doom Of The Living	4.5	45	0	0	8y	0y

Dragonsong Dive	4.5	45	0	0	8y	0y

Enliven	0	90	0	0	0y	0y
Restores 50% of maximum TP.
Final Heaven	4.5	45	0	0	8y	0y
Delivers an attack with a potency of 9,000.
Muse	0	90	0	0	0y	0y
Restores 25% of maximum MP.
Purify	0	45	0	0	0y	0y
Removes Stun, Sleep, Bind, Heavy, Slow, and Silence from target. Can be used regardless of own status affliction.
Recuperate	0	45	0	0	0y	0y
Restores 25% of maximum HP.
Safeguard	0	90	0	0	0y	0y
Reduces damage taken by 25%. Duration: 10s
Smoke Screen	0	2.5	0	0	0y	20y
Throw an incendiary device that creates a blanket of smoke temporarily granting you the Stealth status.
Ungarmax	3	30	0	0	14y	20y

Vril	0	3	0	0	0y	0y
Use the aetheric residue lingering on your body to temporarily disguise yourself as one of Lakshmi’s loyal dreamers.

Black Mage Shared PvP Traits

The following is a list of PvP traits which are shared across all classes and jobs. These can only be used in PvP areas and you are limited to selecting three of them.

	Name	Description
	Decreased Damage Taken	Decreases damage taken by 3%.
	Decreased Recast Time	Decreases recast time of additional actions by 20%.
	Increased Action Speed	Decreases weaponskill and spell cast and recast times by 3%.
	Increased Damage Dealt	Increases damage dealt by 3%.
	Increased Healing Potency	Increases spell-based HP restoration by 5%.
	Increased HP	Increases maximum HP by 5%.
	Increased MP Regeneration	Increases MP regeneration rate by 25%.
	Increased Resistance Duration	Increases duration of resistances by 50%.
	Increased TP Regeneration	Increases TP regeneration rate by 40%.