Blue Mage (Tactics Advance)

The Blue Mage is a job in Final Fantasy Tactics Advance granted to humes. Blue Mages wield sabers, and—in addition to the standard ability to learn monster abilities—can gain immunity to certain status ailments. As with the Blue Mages from most games in the series, they learn their abilities by being struck by the ability they are trying to learn.
Many abilities, such as White Wind, can only be learned when a Beastmaster in the party is controlling the monster or it is under the effects of charm, as a creature would never normally cast a healing or enhancing spell on an opponent. Blue Mages cannot learn abilities from Morphers or allied Blue Mages; they must be learned from either the original monster or an opponent Blue Mage.
Blue Mages are best used as a support job, especially due to the wide range of healing and support magic they can learn.
Goblins and Thundrakes will eventually become extinct, so Goblin Punch and Dragon Force must be obtained before then. The last opportunity for Dragon Force is Ogma the Worldwyrm ("Mission #088 The Worldwyrm"), one of the post-completion missions. Goblin Punch can be acquired from the Dark Knight in "Mission #097 The Dark Blade", also post-completion. Likewise, LV3 Def-Less is also technically missable if their level is above 48 (the last level divisible by 3 that can be hit by the ability).
==Growth==
The Blue Mage is the first magic-oriented advanced job available for humes. They are equally balanced in both physical and magical stats, but have the lowest MP growth of the magical hume jobs.
HP 	MP 	Atk 	Def 	Mag Pwr	Mag Res	Spd
6.8 B-	3.6 C+	8.1 B-	8.4 B	8.4 B 	9.2 A- 	1.2 D+
==Abilities==
===Blue Magic===
Skill	Enemy 	MP 	Power 	Range
 	Goblin 	8 	30 	1
 	All-out punch. Damage varies. 	All-out punch. Damage varies. 	All-out punch. Damage varies. 	All-out punch. Damage varies.
 	Red Cap 	8 	38 	3
 	Mystical hammer. Deals damage to MP. 	Mystical hammer. Deals damage to MP. 	Mystical hammer. Deals damage to MP. 	Mystical hammer. Deals damage to MP.
 	Flankind 	12 	— 	3
 	Corrosive liquid. Inflicts random status ailment. 	Corrosive liquid. Inflicts random status ailment. 	Corrosive liquid. Inflicts random status ailment. 	Corrosive liquid. Inflicts random status ailment.
 	Bomb 	2 	15 	Self
 	Self-KO. Deals massive damage to nearby enemies. 	Self-KO. Deals massive damage to nearby enemies. 	Self-KO. Deals massive damage to nearby enemies. 	Self-KO. Deals massive damage to nearby enemies.
 	Icedrake 	8 	— 	1
 	Raises weapon def. and magic res. for one battle. 	Raises weapon def. and magic res. for one battle. 	Raises weapon def. and magic res. for one battle. 	Raises weapon def. and magic res. for one battle.
 	Firewyrm 	10 	— 	1
 	Fire breath. Lowers weapon def. and magic res. 	Fire breath. Lowers weapon def. and magic res. 	Fire breath. Lowers weapon def. and magic res. 	Fire breath. Lowers weapon def. and magic res.
 	Thundrake 	12 	— 	1
 	Releases the dragon soul within. All stats improve. 	Releases the dragon soul within. All stats improve. 	Releases the dragon soul within. All stats improve. 	Releases the dragon soul within. All stats improve.
 	Lamia 	24 	— 	All
 	Call to the darkness. Puts all enemies to sleep. 	Call to the darkness. Puts all enemies to sleep. 	Call to the darkness. Puts all enemies to sleep. 	Call to the darkness. Puts all enemies to sleep.
 	Lilith 	20 	— 	3
 	Whipping whirlwind. Reduces HP by half in an area. 	Whipping whirlwind. Reduces HP by half in an area. 	Whipping whirlwind. Reduces HP by half in an area. 	Whipping whirlwind. Reduces HP by half in an area.
 	Bugkind 	12 	— 	3
 	Lowers magic res. and weapon def. in units with levels divisible by 3. 	Lowers magic res. and weapon def. in units with levels divisible by 3. 	Lowers magic res. and weapon def. in units with levels divisible by 3. 	Lowers magic res. and weapon def. in units with levels divisible by 3.
 	Toughskin 	24 	— 	3
 	Switches target's HP and MP. 	Switches target's HP and MP. 	Switches target's HP and MP. 	Switches target's HP and MP.
 	Red Panther 	8 	30 	1
 	Poison claw attack damages and poisons target. 	Poison claw attack damages and poisons target. 	Poison claw attack damages and poisons target. 	Poison claw attack damages and poisons target.
 	Coeurl 	12 	— 	1
 	Slows target. Stops hasted targets. 	Slows target. Stops hasted targets. 	Slows target. Stops hasted targets. 	Slows target. Stops hasted targets.
 	Malborokind 	20 	— 	1
 	Incredibly foul breath causes status ailments.Inflicts five of the following status ailments, chosen at random: Blind, Confuse, Frog, Poison, Silence, Sleep, Slow.	Incredibly foul breath causes status ailments.Inflicts five of the following status ailments, chosen at random: Blind, Confuse, Frog, Poison, Silence, Sleep, Slow.	Incredibly foul breath causes status ailments.Inflicts five of the following status ailments, chosen at random: Blind, Confuse, Frog, Poison, Silence, Sleep, Slow.	Incredibly foul breath causes status ailments.Inflicts five of the following status ailments, chosen at random: Blind, Confuse, Frog, Poison, Silence, Sleep, Slow.
 	Floateye 	12 	— 	Cone
 	Fearsome gaze. Confuses target.Inflicts Confuse on all units facing the caster with 100% accuracy. 	Fearsome gaze. Confuses target.Inflicts Confuse on all units facing the caster with 100% accuracy. 	Fearsome gaze. Confuses target.Inflicts Confuse on all units facing the caster with 100% accuracy. 	Fearsome gaze. Confuses target.Inflicts Confuse on all units facing the caster with 100% accuracy.
 	Ahriman 	20 	— 	All
 	The roulette decides who is KO'd...friend or foe?Element: Dark 	The roulette decides who is KO'd...friend or foe?Element: Dark 	The roulette decides who is KO'd...friend or foe?Element: Dark 	The roulette decides who is KO'd...friend or foe?Element: Dark
 	Zombie 	10 	20 	1
 	Evil touch. Drains and absorbs HP from target. 	Evil touch. Drains and absorbs HP from target. 	Evil touch. Drains and absorbs HP from target. 	Evil touch. Drains and absorbs HP from target.
 	Vampire 	30 	55 	All
 	Shadowflares units with same one's digit in level.Heavy Dark damage to all units on the battlefield whose digit in their level is the same as the caster. 	Shadowflares units with same one's digit in level.Heavy Dark damage to all units on the battlefield whose digit in their level is the same as the caster. 	Shadowflares units with same one's digit in level.Heavy Dark damage to all units on the battlefield whose digit in their level is the same as the caster. 	Shadowflares units with same one's digit in level.Heavy Dark damage to all units on the battlefield whose digit in their level is the same as the caster.
 	Sprite 	12 	— 	3
 	Fluttering fairy wings. Heals HP equal to own HP. 	Fluttering fairy wings. Heals HP equal to own HP. 	Fluttering fairy wings. Heals HP equal to own HP. 	Fluttering fairy wings. Heals HP equal to own HP.
 	Titania 	24 	30 	3
 	Angelic sigh. Heals HP and bestows auto-raise.Element: Holy. 	Angelic sigh. Heals HP and bestows auto-raise.Element: Holy. 	Angelic sigh. Heals HP and bestows auto-raise.Element: Holy. 	Angelic sigh. Heals HP and bestows auto-raise.Element: Holy.
*Note on Goblin Punch:
Goblin Punch does a normal 100% damage attack, but the final damage is subject to extra variance:
:Final Damage = (Random[128-384] * Damage) / 256
===Reaction===
Skill	Equipment 	Effect 	AP
 	Judo Uniform	Converts HP damage to MP. (Doesn't work if MP is 0)	300
===Support===
Skill	Equipment 	Effect 	AP
 	Blue Saber 	Study attacks against you. Learn some as blue magic.Cannot be taught by Morphers and Blue Mages who are allies.	400
 	Survival Vest	Confers resistance to some status ailments. 	300
===Combo===
Skill	Equipment 	Effect 	AP
 	Mythril Saber	Ranged combo ability for blue mages.	100
== Gameplay ==
These devoted disciples are eager to show off their magic. Training a Blue Mage is tough and hard work, most likely requiring a Beastmaster. However, doing so can be rewarding. Fully mastered, Blue Mages will have a huge arsenal of damage, healing, and support magic to choose from. They are one of the best support classes in the game, having abilities fit for almost any situation. However, the effort required to have a successful Blue Mage turn many players away. Learning Blue Magic has its own irritating intricacies. In addition, their stats are nothing to write home about. Damage is not their thing; Blue Mages are not made for combat.
The Blue Mage's stats can be seen as a compromise between the Ninja and Illusionist. The Illusionist has superior MP and Magic, but is slower and weaker physically. The Blue Mage surpasses the Ninja in all but two stats, having three-tenths of a point less in attack and missing out on the Ninja's excellent speed. Since most of the Blue Mage's abilities do not rely on the Magic stat, and some actually use Attack, one idea is to master Learning, then switch to another class like Hunter for leveling and equip Learning only when facing an enemy monster with an ability the Blue Mage wants. Overall, Blue Mages provide unmatched support but the time required will usually not interest speedrunners.
Matra Magic is one of a Blue Mage's most devious abilities; it can make enemy mages unable to cast their high-MP cost spells or give one of the party's own mages an MP boost at the cost of health. It is even more deadly against physical units with low MP, as it can reduce their HP dramatically. There are a variety of abilities that can damage an enemy unit's MP directly, so the player can drop the enemy unit's MP to zero first, turning Matra Magic into an instant KO. Because this is not a KO effect, it can be used to get around some immunities, such as from an equipped Ribbon. The downside is that the Blue Mage cannot achieve this instant KO alone. Though the Blue mage can use Magic Hammer, they must then wait a turn for Matra Magic, and the enemy unit will regain some MP at the start of its turn. A Time Mage or Juggler can give the Blue Mage a second turn early, but that still requires the Blue Mage to work in tandem.
The player party should push enemy Blue Mages into combat, their weakest aspect, by silence or law cards. One should be prepared for some annoying status effects and enemy support. Despite being mages, they lack magical abilities in their ability set, so rushing them with attackers is ideal. Dispatching a Blue Mage's allies is detrimental, as their supporting magic becomes less useful.
Blue Mages cannot equip staves despite wielding one in their official artwork. Despite being mages, none of their offensive spells are based on Magic Attack except Blowup.
==Gallery==
FFTA Goblin Punch.png|Goblin Punch.
FFTA Magic Hammer.png|Magic Hammer.
FFTA Acid.png|Acid.
FFTA Blowup.png|Blowup.
FFTA Mighty Guard.png|Mighty Guard.
FFTA Guard-Off.png|Guard-Off.
FFTA Dragon Force.png|Dragon Force.
FFTA Night.png|Night.
FFTA Twister.png|Twister.
FFTA Lv3 Def-Less.png|LV3 Def-Less.
FFTA Poison Claw.png|Poison Claw.
FFTA Hastebreak.png|Hastebreak.
FFTA Bad Breath.png|Bad Breath.
FFTA Stare.png|Stare.
FFTA Roulette.png|Roulette.
FFTA Drain Touch.png|Drain Touch.
FFTA LV S-Flare.png|LV? S-Flare.
FFTA White Wind.png|White Wind.
FFTA Angel Whisper.png|Angel Whisper.
FFTA Learning.png|Learning.
es:Mago azul (Final Fantasy Tactics Advance)
it:Mago blu (Tactics Advance)
Category:Jobs in Final Fantasy Tactics Advance