So...BLM. So Many Staves, So Many Questions.

In general I'm just confused about when to use what, or what is better than what, blah blah blah. The Staves in question are Magian (DMG), Lehbrailg, Lehbrailg +1 (21 less base MaB but at lot more Magic Damage/M.Acc), Soothsayer (Identical to +1 before lixirs), and Atinian. My questions are:

1. How does Magic Damage even work? I read in the forums recently some talk about the Magic Damage stat getting reworked or fixed.
2. Assuming Skirmish base stats, does the Lehbrailg +1 nuke for less damage with Tier IVs/Vs or more because the added Magic Damage balanced out the loss of MaB?
3. Is it worth getting a Soothsayer when you have a Lehbrailg +1? In terms of MaB you can probably get higher MaB, and higher M.acc augments with with NQ stones.
4. The Atinian Staff. Where does this stand with Tier I, II, III, IV, and V nukes? Would you still use your Magian staves if you had one?

I think someone said Athinian was the best but hold out till a real BLM that has tested it replies. Free bump so i can find out for sure too!

I've done heavy testing with Tier 5 nukes.

In terms of sheer damage if you're BLM is top notch (MAB augmented Hagondes gear or Lv15 MAB Bokwus gear) then Magian will be best since it's percentage based and so the better your BLM is the better the staff will become damage wise. Voay+1 and Voay are second best damage wise unless your BLM is subpar then they might beat out Magian.

Now while Atinian is not as good and those other staves in terms of sheer damage for tier 5 nukes, if you plan on doing any high end Adoulin content it's BY FAR the staff to use for those nukes because of its magic accuracy +180 stat. Using those other staves will earn you heavy resists frequently. If you can't afford it then go for Soothsayer or Lehbrailg +1 as they have magic accuracy +135 and make a decent free alternative. Really when it comes to nuking in high end Adoulin content it's all about avoiding resists.

BLM with Atinian is amazing for the new Yorcia Weald Skirmish. A good BLM can one shot most of the mobs there with a tier 2 nuke. The magic damage + stat on Atinian really shines on the low tier nukes.

So, for 280 MP over ~30-40 secs, not counting Con MP, you can cast Bliz 1, for 13k dmg (assuming low resists), or cast Bliz 5 once for ~6k?

I know it varies with target level to a certain extent, but is there any reason to use hit tier spells?

Ok so we'll say Magian for V/-aja. If you only have Ice/Thunder Magian would you say Atinian is best for all other spells hands down?

I haven't run the numbers for blm, but for sch Voay+1(and NQ) beats magian on higher teir nukes.

Edit: At least before accounting for the availability for the Mab augments on hagondes. may or may not still be the case, but might want to look at it.

If you mean by using chatoyant staff for all the other spells I would say that yes, atinian is worth getting. I personally would, but I am not a math expert, neither someone that did any test of any sort.

There's still nothing wrong with using -ja or tier 5 when they're up on recast, and using T1/2 spells otherwise. If aspir/ballads are available to you, I can't think of why mp should be an issue. Maximum damage per time is still obtained through higher tiered spells with a proper fastcast set.

Wouldn't it be awesome if they made Claustrum a lvl 119 staff with the update this fall and gave it:
Magic dmg +205
MAB +90
Macc. +180

... who am I joking, they will never make blm relic useful :x

question: i reactivated my account today and my Vourukasha I does not have any augmented stats anymore. Did they change something with the trial weapons?

There should be a down arrow in the bottom right hand corner of the item, if you hit "-" on your numpad it should display the augments.

thanks, i was worried quite a bit.

You dont need to worry. Your staff became almost obsolete nowaday, so dont really matter the augment.

not so.... the spellcasting time down is still insanely useful for BRD songs

Mythic > Kera > Lehb +2 > Vena

Vena can beat Lehb +2 if your augments aren't that great.

With the right equipment, brds can get their song casting down to 15% without magian staves. No point in persuing them for that purpose. BLMs dont need them either I imagine due to elemental celerity and tons of fc gear around.

Where does Kaladanda fit in on all of this? My Lehb has never seen a shred of anything useful to nuking. I have yet to see a single Vena drop. The one time I saw Kera drop, it went to the run sponsor. On Skirmish runs I've sponsored, that NM hasn't even popped.

I also have zero luck lotting against other people. Playing this game for years and I have literally NEVER won a lot (or even a random) against another player. Ask my LS. They've seen the hideous magic at work.

Claustrum gets no love? Dayum

It is missing some magic attack bonus but not a bad staff at all. If you don't wanna stress out about getting a skirmish staff with top augments or AA drop, it will do just fine.