Eyes on Final Fantasy Forums > Final Fantasy: Nerds in Paradise > Final Fantasy I > Black Belts suck

[Rase]

Wait, so your name is Black Mage FF1, yet you don't like BMs?

[DocFrance]

Originally Posted by Black Mage FF1

A BB? Yeah you should try one. They are very good characters. Try a Fighter/Thief/Black Belt/Red Mage party. You will see how well you do without a Wm/Bm and how well you do WITH a BB.

I dunno... that's a lot of magic you're sacrificing just for one more guy who can only hit one target. Remember, that with a Red Mage, you're not getting a Black Mage, White Mage, and Fighter all rolled into one - you're getting a third of a Black Mage, a third of a White Mage, and a third of a Fighter - all rolled into only one character.

[Black Mage FF1]

Yeah but its worth it. Why would you want to take two very weak characters like the Wm and Bm? To heal with the Wm? To kill large amount of enemies with the Bm? Both of that can be done with the Red Mage plus he has attack. Majority of the time the Wm will be using her heal magic on either herself or the Bm. The Bm will be using his magic to help against enemies but like I said earlier. Once the boss fight comes around his magic will be basically useless. Even if he had all of his magic when he reached the Bosses. It takes crap dmg on them. Yes he can cast FAST on the Fighter or any other fighting character, but what does he do after? Cast spells for 30-60 dmg? The Red Mage can cast Fast on the Fighter and himself, then he can attack and help out a lot. Trust me. Do a FT/?/Wm/Bm party, then do my favorite party FT/Th/BB/Rm. You will see how much the Rm can actually do.

[DocFrance]

Yes, a Red Mage can fight, use White Magic, and use Black Magic modestly well. However, his weakness is that he can only do one of those three things in one turn. Furthermore, if you thought a Black Mage was useless after his MP runs dry, try the Red Mage. He'll be your only decent healer, and you'll have to balance using his White and Black magicks. CUR2, FIR2, and LIT2 all share the same level, correct? Your healer won't be as efficient if you had opted for a BM and a WM, and you'll be sucking up Heal Potions (and thus money) faster than a wino with a bottle of cough syrup. Yes, the BM usually doesn't do a whole lot of damage with his magic. However, he can attack multiple targets very easily, and can inflict a decent amount of damage to each; something the BB can never do. A F/?/WM/BM party will have a much easier time fighting 9 Red Sahagins than a F/?/BB/RM party.

[Rase]

Originally Posted by DocFrance

A F/?/WM/BM party will have a much easier time fighting 9 Red Sahagins than a F/?/BB/RM party.

Unless the ? in the last party is a Black mage.

Really though, I've found the F/BM/TH/RM party to work nicely. The fighter will soak up the damage, the Black Mage will cast offensive spells, the Thief will fight/run, and the Red Mage will attack while being a healer on the side.

[Linus J]

Dont bash the BM, I could never lvl as fast as I do now without my BM with fir2 and ice2 in the pravoka fingertip. And yes, it is useful in the rest of the game too.
I dont see any real reason to take a BB over a fighter, the fighter is useful in the beginning and stays useful. The BB is just about worthless in the beginning (but.. uhm.. cheap to equip) and doesn't really exceed the fighter in anything else than damage (however, to see a real difference you have to be overlvled).
The WM can be good, but with a bit of tough luck it will use most of it turns to heal itself. In most cases I'd prefer a RM.
Never used a thief (oh, it can run? how convenient, well my fighter gets away in most cases anyway)

Right now I'm playing with F, RM, BB, BM. And at lvl14 is doing the same damage as the fighter, however this will probably change as soon as I get my hands on a coral sword or something.
But, sure, I could use a BB sometimes, you've only got 6 characters to choose from, and it's funnier to greatly vary the party than to replay with essentially the same party.

[Black Mage FF1]

Originally Posted by DocFrance

Yes, a Red Mage can fight, use White Magic, and use Black Magic modestly well. However, his weakness is that he can only do one of those three things in one turn. Furthermore, if you thought a Black Mage was useless after his MP runs dry, try the Red Mage. He'll be your only decent healer, and you'll have to balance using his White and Black magicks. CUR2, FIR2, and LIT2 all share the same level, correct? Your healer won't be as efficient if you had opted for a BM and a WM, and you'll be sucking up Heal Potions (and thus money) faster than a wino with a bottle of cough syrup. Yes, the BM usually doesn't do a whole lot of damage with his magic. However, he can attack multiple targets very easily, and can inflict a decent amount of damage to each; something the BB can never do. A F/?/WM/BM party will have a much easier time fighting 9 Red Sahagins than a F/?/BB/RM party.

Yes a Red Mage can only do one of those in a single turn but that is all he needs. Useally when I use a FT/TH/BB/RM party the only time I ever need to heal is when I am walking through dungeons. I hardly need to heal in battle. But even if he needed to, it doesnt matter. You can use up one turn to heal with Cur2. Then he can go back to attacking. Yes CUR2, FIR2 AND LIT2 are all in the same lvl but out of those 3 spells LIT2 is basically crap. You will hardly need it (unless you lvl up in the ocean, which you shouldnt do). The only time you will need LIT2 is when you enter Krakens area and by that time you will/should have the zeus gauntlet and LIT3. But hell if you are so worried about being able to heal and cast spells at the same time then why not take 2 red mages? 2 Red Mages will do better then a Bm/Wm. Yes a BB cant kill a group of enemies in one turn (unless he useses items that cast spells). But that doesnt really matter because after the FT/TH/BB/Rm are done attacking there arent many enemies left standing. Hell during boss fights is the BM FIR2 gonna help out? Or is the BB attack? And heal potions do not cost that much. 60G isnt a lot of money. You can buy just 5-10 and be fine in just about any dungeon in the begining, and at the end you can buy however many you need since money isnt an issue any more. I will admit though that the Wm is MORE usefull then the Bm. AT least the Wm can attack alittle and cast Life/Life2. To Linus J. I never said to take a BB over a fighter. I am saying that the BB is usefull. What I did say though is to take a Rm instead of a Bm.

[Rase]

Originally Posted by Black Mage FF1

Hell during boss fights is the BM FIR2 gonna help out? Or is the BB attack?

Well, it deoends on the boss. But I always use the strongest spells against the bosses. As for you example, FIR2 helps out quite a bit in fighting Lich.