Blue Mage: The Immortal's Handbook by Shikubokubo

Category:Guides
CAUTION! 	CAUTION!	CAUTION!
This article is only a guide. Information expressed in a guide is usually more opinion than fact and should be taken as such. Guides are written by players, based upon their experiences, successes and mistakes, and meant to aid other players. However, there may be differing opinions than those expressed in a guide. Strategies and information in guides may not work for everyone.	 	
==Introduction==
Whilst leveling Blue Mage, I had many, many questions about the job. This guide is a compilation of everything I have learnt whilst leveling Blue Mage. Enjoy!
==What is a Blue Mage?==
The Blue Mage is a fighter-mage class. Often known as "The Immortals", they possess the ability to mimic enemy techniques. A Blue Mage’s sole purpose is to protect the empress of Aht Urhgan.
==Obtaining the Blue Mage job==
To obtain the Blue Mage job, you must complete the quest An Empty Vessel.
*First speak to Waoud at (J-10) in Aht Urhgan Whitegate.
*Ask for a divination and you will be asked a series of questions.
**There are several different combinations of answers that you can use in order to proceed with the quest. The easiest one is to pick the last option for every question.
*If done correctly, Waoud will ask for one of three items.
** The Dangruf Stone is obtained from a ??? in Dangruf Wadi at (I-5).
** The Siren's Tear can be found at a ??? in North Gustaberg around (J-8). To obtain the Siren's Tear you must remove all weapons, shields and hand armour. Failing to do so will make the ??? move to another spot along the river.
** Valkurm Sunsand can be found at (H-9) on the boat in the Valkurm Dunes during Sandstorms.
*Talk to Waoud after one game day and tell him that you wish to help him.
*Trade Waoud the requested item and you will be asked to travel to Aydeewa Subterrane.
*Zone out into Bhaflau Thickets and take the tunnel at (I-7) into Aydeewa Subterrane.
*Follow the tunnel into a large room and drop off the ledge into a room with several Diremites. Turn left down a steep ledge into another large room filled with leeches and a large pool in the centre,
*Step into the middle of the pool for a cutscene.
*Answer yes to both questions.
*After the cutscene you will be transported back to Aht Urhgan Whitegate.
*You will have received the key item Mark of Zahak and can now become a Blue Mage.
==Subjobs==
Blue Mage is a very versatile job, and as such there are many useful subjob choices. In this section I will discuss the main strengths and weaknesses of the more common choices and a few of the rarer subjob combinations.
===White Mage===
*The White Mage subjob is very common at low levels. The ability to cast Cure at level 1 is extremely useful because a Blue Mage starts off with no spells of their own. 
*At higher levels the boost to a players MND increases the potency of their healing spells such as Wild Carrot and Magic Fruit, as well as providing various buffs such as Protect, Shell, Aquaveil and Blink. 
*This subjob, however, provides no offensive traits.
*Job Traits
**Level 20: Magic Defense Up I
**Level 30: Clear Mind I
**Level 50: Auto Regen
**Level 60: Magic Defense Up II
**Level 70: Clear Mind II
*Job Abilities
**Level 30: Divine Seal
===Thief===
*This subjob is often used from level 30 onwards because of the ability to stack Sneak Attack with many physical blue magics.
*After level 60 the ability to use Trick Attack with a powerful blue magic like Frenetic Rip can help a lot with hate control, allowing the damage dealers more freedom to do more damage without fear of taking hate.
*This subjob is also great for farming. The Gilfinder and Treasure Hunter job traits will increase the amount of drops / gil obtained from defeating monsters, as well as the ability to Steal items and Mug gil from enemies.
**However, this subjob provides very little protection from enemy attacks.
*Job Traits
**Level 10: Gilfinder
**Level 20: Evasion Bonus I
**Level 30: Treasure Hunter I
**Level 40: Resist Gravity I
**Level 60: Evasion Bonus II
*Job Abilities
**Level 10: Steal
**Level 30: Sneak Attack
**Level 50: Flee
**Level 60: Trick Attack
**Level 70: Mug
===Warrior===
*The Warrior subjob is perfect for Blue Mages who like to melee. Job abilities such as Berserk and Warcry increase damage from melee weapons, whilst traits such as Double Attack help deal damage faster.
*However, none of these abilities or traits will increase damage done by blue magic, other than adding a few more points of strength over the other sub jobs.
** Defender can be a useful job trait; reducing the amount of damage taken if a Blue Mage were to take hate for a long period of time. Combined with Cocoon, this can increase a Blue Mage’s defense greatly.
*Job Traits
**Level 20:Defense Bonus I
**Level 30:Resist Virus I
**Level 50:Double Attack
**Level 60:Attack Bonus I
**Level 70:Resist Virus II
*Job Abilities
**Level 10:Provoke
**Level 30:Berserk
**Level 50:Defender
**Level 70:Warcry
===Ninja===
*Ninja is considered an all-round subjob. Dual Wield increases the speed of melee attacks, whilst Utsusemi provides protection from a monster’s attacks.
*Along with Metallic Body and various blue magic buffs, Utsusemi can make a Blue Mage untouchable for quite some time. Correct use of the spell Head Butt can also increase a Blue Mage’s survivability. This makes Blue Mage very good at soloing.
*Again, this subjob provides no increase in damage to blue magics.
*Job Traits
**Level 10: Stealth
**Level 20: Dual Wield I
**Level 20: Resist Bind I
**Level 30: Subtle Blow I
**Level 50: Dual Wield II
**Level 60: Resist Bind II
*Job Abilities
**None
===Dark Knight===
*This subjob is not commonly used but does, however, provide some interesting strengths.
*Souleater can be used to increase the damage of some physical blue magics.
*Attack Bonus traits can be used to increase melee damage.
*Provides a high STR boost which will increase damage done by blue magic.
*Job Traits
**Level 20:Attack Bonus I
**Level 40:Resist Paralyze I
**Level 50:Arcana Killer
**Level 60:Attack Bonus II
*Job Abilities
**Level 10:Arcane Circle
**Level 30:Last Resort
**Level 40:Weapon Bash
**Level 60:Souleater
==Blue Magic==
Now that you've picked your subjob, let’s take a look at the magic available to a Blue Mage and what they do. This section will focus on four main parts; obtaining, setting, combining and using.
===Obtaining Blue Magic===
*To obtain a blue magic, you must first get the monster you are fighting to use the move you wish to learn.
**The monster must be claimed by yourself, your party or your alliance. (The exception to this is Dynamis where claiming rules are slightly different)
*The monster does not have to use the move on you. It can be used on anyone, including people outside of your alliance/party.
*The monster does not have to yield experience points, but must be such that you would gain experience under normal circumstances. Examples:
**You can learn blue magic off enemies that check as Too Weak.
**You can learn blue magic if you have high level help, such as a 75 White Mage or Ninja in your party.
**You cannot learn blue magic if the monster is under the Call For Help status.
*You cannot learn blue magic if you are KO'd when the monster is defeated.
*You cannot learn blue magic that is too far above your level. The cap for this is 31 skill levels above your current skill level. Example:
**You are level 8, you have just leveled so your blue magic skill is level 24 (cap for level 7). You are trying to learn Bludgeon, which is a level 18 spell. The blue magic cap at 18 is 57. 57 minus 31 is 26. Therefore you would not be able to learn Bludgeon.
**You try again later after capping your blue magic at 27. You are now able to learn Bludgeon.
*After level 50, the cap in blue magic changes from 3 skill per level to 5. This means that, instead of been able to learn magic 10 levels above you with capped skill, you can only manage to learn magic up to 6-7 levels above your skill level.
*The Magus Jubbah, wearable at level 58, increases the learning gap as it has blue magic skill +15. This puts the learning gap back to 9-10 levels with capped skill.
===Tips for Obtaining Blue Magic===
*Monsters can only use TP moves once they have sufficient TP. Using your bare hands can give monsters a lot of TP whilst doing very little damage.
*Azure Lore does not increase your learning chances.
*Having your blue magic capped seems to increase your learning chance.
**This could explain why the first blue magic is so difficult to learn. I would recommend trying to learn Pollen immediately. Pollen is great for skilling up your blue magic as well as providing healing magic.
*Once an enemy is at low health, turn your back to it. Let it hit you for TP whilst you cure yourself. This allows the enemy to build its TP so that it can use the right move on you. 
*Killing a monster quickly after it uses a TP move may increase your chances of learning a move.
*Monsters use TP moves more often the closer they are to dying.
===The Blue Magics===
Levels 1-10
Level 1 - Pollen - Magic(Vermin)
 MP Cost - 8, Set Cost - 1
 Restores a small amount of HP to the caster.
 Stat bonus: CHR+1 HP+5, Modifier: MND
Level 1 - Sandspin - Magic(Amorph)
 MP Cost - 10, Set Cost - 2
 Deals damage to enemies within range. Addition effect: accuracy down.
 Stat bonus: VIT+1, Modifier: INT_20%
Level 1 - Foot Kick - Physical(Beast)
 MP Cost - 5, Set Cost - 2
 Deals damage to target.
 Stat bonus: AGI+1, Modifier: STR_20%, DEX_20%
Level 4 - Power Attack - Physical(Vermin)
 MP Cost - 5, Set Cost - 1
 Deals damage to target.
 Stat bonus: MND+1, Modifier: STR_10%, VIT_10%
Level 4 - Sprout Smack - Physical(Plantoid)
 MP Cost - 6, Set Cost - 2
 Deals damage to target. Additional effect: Slow
 Stat bonus: MND+1, Modifier: VIT_30%
Level 4 - Wild Oats - Physical(Plantoid)
 MP Cost - 9, Set Cost - 3
 Deals damage to target. Additional effect: Lowers VIT.
 Stat bonus: CHR+1 HP+10, Modifier: AGI_30%
Level 8 - Metallic Body - Magic(Aquan)
 MP Cost - 19, Set Cost - 1
 Absorbs a small amount of damage.
 Stat bonus: None, Modifier: None
Level 8 - Cocoon - Magic(Vermin)
 MP Cost - 10, Set Cost - 1
 Increases defense by 50%.
 Stat bonus: VIT+3, Modifier: None
Level 8 - Queasyshroom - Physical(Plantoid)
 MP Cost - 20, Set Cost - 2
 Deals damage to target. Additional effect: Poison.
 Stat bonus: HP-5 MP+5, Modifier: INT_20%
Levels 11-20
Level 12 - Battle Dance - Physical(Beastmen)
 MP Cost - 12, Set Cost - 3
 Deals damage to targets within area of effect. Additional effect: DEX down.
 Stat bonus: DEX+2, Modifier: STR_30%
Level 12 - Feather Storm - Physical(Beastmen)
 MP Cost - 12, Set Cost - 3
 Deals damage to target. Additional effect: Poison.
 Stat bonus: CHR+2 HP+5, Modifier: AGI_30%
Level 12 - Head Butt - Physical(Beastmen)
 MP Cost - 12, Set Cost - 3
 Deals damage to target. Additional effect: Stun.
 Stat bonus: DEX+2, Modifier: STR_20% INT_20%
Level 16 - Helldive - Physical(Bird)
 MP Cost - 16, Set Cost - 2
 Damage varies with TP.
 Stat bonus: CHR+1 HP+5, Modifier: AGI_30%
Level 16 - Healing Breeze - Magical(Beasts)
 MP Cost - 55, Set Cost - 4
 Restores HP for party members within area of effect.
 Stat bonus: CHR+2 HP+10, Modifier: None
Level 16 - Sheep Song - Magical(Beasts)
 MP cost - 22, Set Cost - 2
 Stat bonus: CHR+1 HP+5, Modifier: None
==Update History==
13th Jan. 2007 - Finally got round to starting this guide. Hopefully, I can get the magic list mostly done by the end of tomorrow.
10/21/2007 - Doesn't look like you ever got around to finishing it so I will do it for you. :-)