Manaburn Guide by Alporhan

==Black Mage Mamaburn Guide==
=== Introduction ===
Welcome to Alporhan's Final Fantasy XI Manaburn guide! I have noticed that many of you have been looking for a solid manaburn guide. Having BLM75, I thought I would write a guide covering the later end of the manaburn experience(and in my opinion, the most enjoyable).
==== What is manaburn? ====
To those of you who have never Manaburned before, it's a bit different than your regular party experience. When used effectively, it can lead to insane amounts of EXP per hour and a generally fun playing experience, especially for a party. However, if used incorrectly, it can lead to multi-player death and massive experience loss. For those of you who don't have any clue what a manaburn is, it's basically a group of Black Mages and a refresher (usually Bard) using their magic all at once to eliminate an enemy or multiple enemies quickly.
=====How it works=====
Basically, the standard Manaburn party is BLM BLM BLM BLM BLM BRD. To start you have your BRD pull a monster with Elegy, and bring it back to camp (if they're new, make sure they have blink and stoneskin up). If you have a RDM, they can use Gravity until they're comfortable pulling, but then change to Slow so that pulls are faster. Once it's back at camp, have your bard use Foe Lullaby to sleep the mob. Now, have one BLM pick a time on the clock, and say that time in party chat. When that times rolls around, have all 5 BLMs nuke their strongest nuke (Flare, Firaga III, and Tier 4s are normally the weapons of choice in manaburns). In most cases, the mob will be dead, but sometimes if there were too many resists, or it's just a harder mob, you may need a drain or a Tier 3 to finish it off.
==== What do I need to manaburn? ====
Most importantly, you need the setup that I mentioned above. It doesn't have to be exact, but something in the neighborhood of BLM BLM BLM BLM BLM BRD. RDM works in place of BRD, and sometimes Summoners can take the place of BLMs, but normally not. Other things you may need include a Reraise item, food (Melon Pies and Ginger Cookies work well, but there are an enormous amount of worthwhile choices, and your spells. Basically take it like a regular EXP party as far as preparation goes.
==== Before you head out ====
Make sure everyone has Sanction/Signet and is subbing the same thing, though it is not necessary. When all of your BLMs are subbing the same thing, the nukes tend to land closer to each other than when some are /RDM and some are /WHM (Because of Fast Cast). Make sure everyone has appropriate gear, including the 8 elemental staffs. 
==== What are pros and cons of manaburn? ====
As with most things in life and FFXI, the things with the higher risk turn out to be more rewarding. Throwing 5 BLMs with no tank at some very scary mobs doesn't sound like the best idea in theory, and it can be very ugly, but as long as you follow the above instructions you shouldn't have very many problems, and can wind out pulling in the neighborhood of 16,000+ Exp an hour with sanction bonus, and even more with an Empress Band.
=== Campsites ===
While there are many campsites a party can choose for their manaburn, I am going to stay with what I did; Basically all in the Treasures of Aht Urhgan Expansion Pack. The reason behind this is because many of the other camps (which still are very good EXP), require sea. I've also found that Sanction helps a lot. Even though the Refresh is pitiful, the Experience Points bonus in Besieged Areas is incredible.
==== Level 60-65 ====
Mount Zhayolm -- Here we will kill the Magmatic Erucas (the Crawlers) around H-8 and I-8. These are not very hard, and sleep well, which is always nice. Make sure you keep Barfira up, because in the odd event that they get a TP move off, the flame breath can wipe your entire party pretty easily. Also, just as a side note to any RDMs who have picked up BLM, you're capped dark magic (caps at 200 on RDM) will come uncapped in this section, so make sure you drain after your nuke!
Aydeewa Subterrane- You can go after the Defoliators, puks and treant saplings. K-8 in the cave is a suitable camp.
==== Level 65-68 ====
Mount Zhayolm -- Kill the Wamoura Prince, or the Wamouracampa (which are in the halls of Halvung and require only 2-3 people). You can either camp at J-7 and compete with all the solo/duo BLMs, or make the trip over to G-7 or C-9 where there is usually less competition. Just remember, the regular Wamoura (the moths) are True Sight and have a huge Magic Aggro range.
==== Level 68-71 ====
Bhaflau Thickets -- Kill the Marids, around G-8, they spawn chigoes when they do a WS, so have your BRD or RDM be on sleep duty. These are really good EXP if you can keep a high chain (w/ the chigoes for chain 9-10, then kill marid for a lot of bonus EXP)
==== Level 69-74 ====
Mount Zhayolm -- Once Firaga III, and all of the other -ga3 and Tier 4 nukes comes into play, Ebony Puddings become fun to play with. They take massive damage from nukes, but can be hard to sleep for a BRD, and even harder for a BLM or RDM. You can find these at H-7, but be prepared for a lot of competition. But from my experience, most of the solo/duo BLMs who come here are basically half-AFK so your manaburn should be able to kill faster than them and move them out. 
==== Level 71-75 (Alternate) ====
Caedarva Mire -- I don't think many know about this camp , it's near the Azouph Isle Staging Point, but there's a ledge that prevents you from accessing it from that staging point. So you have to take Dvucca isle and walk through Arrapago Reef. Anyways, at K-5 you will find rams called Mosshorns, these rams are really good EXP, you have to Bliz/Thundaga, (you need 5 unresisted nukes to get them >5% where a T3 or multiple drains can finish them off). EXP starts to slip here if you have 75s in your party, but it's good before that. This camp is great for when puddings are taken.
=== Summary and Conclusion ===
I hope that you've enjoyed my guide, and hopefully found it helpful. Manaburn is a great way to EXP without having to wait hours on regular EXP parties, which because of the wait, there are normally at least a few other BLMs looking. Try and set up a static or do something interesting. Have fun. :D
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