Black Mages suck

[Sefie1999AD]

I don't think Black Mages suck. They're certainly a cool class. However, they aren't meant for my gaming style, so that's why I don't use them that much. I don't want to waste spells except in really hard fights and bosses, and Black Mage still has relatively little MP so I often hesitate to use his spells. FF1 Origins Easy mode is an exception. There Black Mage is probably the best class ever because he has like 20+ MP for Fire2/Ice2/Lightning2 by the time you reach Marsh Cave. But otherwise, I like saving magic a lot. When I get spell-casting items, such as Zeus Gauntlet, Mage Staff and White/Black Shirt, I always use them with my Black Mage instead of having him spend MP on a spell.

[TasteyPies]

black mages do as much damage as a fighter and a fighter doesnt have to worry about mp or getting his arse kicked

[Rase]

Do you know how rare it is to get bane to work on the 2nd fight? It is pretty high. IIRC it is near 1/125 chance.

Oh, you meant the second fight in the ToF? OKay, my mistake.

As for the party suggestion, I would rather use a FT/TH/RM/WM or my favorite party, FT/TH/BB/RM then a FT/TH/RM/BM.

That's cool. Just a little suggestion. I like the first party you mentioned too. Haven't tried the second one yet.

[Lord Chainsaw]

I don't like black mages.

Give me Fighter/Blackbelt/Whitemage/Redmage over Fighter/Blackbelt/Whitemage/Blackmage any day.

Red mages are great, especially with that one sword you get in the Temple of Fiends (masamune I think)

Now come FFXI, give me a black mage over a crappy red mage any day.

[DJZen]

I thought that was Sasuke's Katana....

Whichever sword it is, you can give it to anyone and make them hit that much harder. I tend to give it to my ninja but that's just 'cause he gets shafted for weapons for the rest of the game.

[cactuar_12]

I love BM's so much I'm trying a BM/BM/BM/BM party right now. I read that by the time I get to Elfland, I'll be a walking death squad. :shoot:

[Dragonfire]

Well yeah if you include EVERY spell. But tell me something. Is FIRE1 and ICE1 powerful enough to kill enemies in the Earth cave? I think not. It will take more then just that. Plus a lot of the enemies in the Earth Cave come in groups of 4 or higher. So you would have to use a lot of the lvl 3 spells on them. But what about when you reach Kary in the Fire cave? Thats when the Bm really sucks. All of his spells do terrible dmg on her. Same goes for Tiamat. Yeah he can cast FAST on the Fighters but what then? Cast spells for 20-60 dmg?

It Helps. Besides you got to understand that Red Mage is the "jack-of-all-trades but the master of none" He can fight, and cast both magics but he's not as powerful as the others that are masters of these. Thats the point of the stats. As you progress in levels the power of your strikes (physical or magic) get more powerful based on your stats. The Fighter hits harder and for more hits later than the RM does. The Black Mage and White Mage are more effective at casting spells, and hit more often. Also low lvl spells can be good in different places. Try using any of the LIT spells in the Sea Shrine, or ICE spells in the Gurgu(sp?) Volcano.

@Black Mage FF1: I see that you don't really like magic in general. You really only seem to care about raw physical damage. Now if you put 2 Fighters in your party, there is no need for a weak fighting character. Now I do find the mages to be of no use at some parts of the game, but that doesn't mean that they are bad. Most of their spells, especially the later ones, are very useful. Just remember, when it comes to fighting Red Mages are still just that. Mages. Thgey are weak compared to the other fighting classes. It feels like a waste when your Fighter(s) are hiting for like 8 hits equaliing 700-800 dmg, while your RM is hitting for like 200-300. Black Mages plain and simple hit for around the same dmg in magic as the fighters do in physical

[Rei]

I don't like specialized characters in general, especially in this game. I prefer to have a guy who can handle most anything decently, than one who can absolutely destroy only a few types of monsters, or anything up to a point, but is then virtually dead weight. Thus, Black Mages aren't my thing. Red Mages can do fair damage, which is good enough if you pair him with heavy hitters like Fighters or Black Belts. When his magic is ABSOLUTELY needed, he can provide it. A White Mage isn't really needed, because a Red Mage can wield the most important spells, like Cure and Life and whatnot.

The team I use is Fighter, Thief, Black Belt, and Red Mage, though my Thief did pathetic damage most of the game.

[Dragonfire]

late in the game though, red mages don't do much damage at all. After the Earth Cave they do crap damage up until you get the Masamune.

Though I'm not totally against Red Mages. I use them in different parties that I like to try out. Him combined with black mage in the Volcano, Ice Cave, and the Sea Shrine are brutal.

[Rei]

Hm. I remember him doing just as much as my Thief, if not a little more. At any rate, it was a bunch more than any number of Black Mages. And I remember using Black Magic less than, say, ten times in the entire game. Maybe 2 or 3 Bolt somethings on Kraken. So, I figure the total damage my Red Mage dealt is a whole bunch more than I would've had a Black Mage do.

Depends on style, I suppose.

[omnitarian]

Black Mages stink, Red Mages rock. There. I said it.

When you get down to it, all you get in taking a BM is a few more MP, and NUKE.

Pick a Red Mage and you have higher HP, higher defense, decent attack, and a slew of white magic.

The Black Mages higher MP makes very little difference. Before you get the SOANDSO2 casting items, the MP will only be a help in the peninsula and the Earth Cave. Afterwards, I would rather have an extra healer than 1 more charge of LIT3.

As far as level 8 Black Magic is concerned, you get them too late in the game to be of any real use. The sky tower and the temple of fiends don't pose any real problem that could be solved with a NUKE.

As far as accusations of Red Mage becoming obsolete, they are thoroughly baseless. Red Mage easily keeps up to par in magic no matter where you are. He may end up with less Attack Power than fighter, but at least he's on the radar. Black Mage will never do any sufficient physical damage. If you want to count in the Masamune, you must give Red Mage the same liberties.

[Dragonfire]

Like i've said, I'm not really against Red Mage, I just don't think that he is any better than any other class (well except BB of course, but that goes without saying). Go with Fi/Fi/RM/BM, and you won't have any problems. You'll have extrordinary physical damage, awesome black magic, and decent white magic, combined with your potions, you'll be all set.

[desh]

Why does it seem like so many ppl hate the Black Belt? Granted he is pretty worthless up until level 10, but after that he pretty much stays on par with the Fighter/Knight in terms of damage. It's like this: fighter gets new sword, and jumps up in damage, you level up some, and the black belt catches up to fighter in dealing damage, then fighter gets new sword, and the process repeats. But after level 42 or so Black Belt does more damage; I know 42 is a pretty high level, but I know most of you probably level up that high, and seeing your Black Belt/Master dealing out 2k+ damage is really cool.

[Azure Chrysanthemum]

I like Black Mages, though they can be pretty weak during many normal fights, whenever I need a little magical aid they always come through for me. I have a party consisting of a Fighter, A Red Mage, a White Mage, and a Black Mage, so I have uber magic on my side. The Black Mage and White Mage are great for the specialized magics, whereas the Red Mage is mainly an attacker but also has his own selection of magic to use when needed.

[Rase]

but I know most of you probably level up that high...

Why would you? You can beat it at level 25, level 30 is high enough, unless you suck, in which case you wouldn't have made it that far.