Black Mage

Learn about bravely second Black Mage abilities like Black Magic, Aspir, and Group-Cast All. Black Resonance increases damage up to 1.2x.

Black Resonance

The damage of Black Magic rises with each ally other than the user who has equipped Black Resonance (as a Specialty or support ability). Damage increases up to 1.2 times with a full party of Black Mages. 20% extra damage is fine, but not worth changing your whole party into Black Mages. During late-game, it’s worth considering if you’re fielding an army of ghost mages.

Level 1: Black Magic Level 1

Type: Command
Cost: 10 MP

Enables the use of Black Magic: Fire and Blizzard. You must own the corresponding magic scroll to use that magic. Fire and Blizzard deal weak fire and water damage, respectively. These spells can be cast on a group, but their power will be reduced. In general, Black Magic is stronger than equivalent Spirit Magic, but the larger the group, the weaker the spell becomes, unlike Spirit Magic.

Level 2: Rod Lore

Type: Support
Cost: 1 slot

Increases the user’s rod proficiency to S. Weapon proficiency boosts more than Physical Attack for weapons and now boosts Magic Attack too. The best spell-casting jobs have a rod rating of A or S, so Magic Attack 20% Up is better for upping your damage.

Level 3: Black Magic Level 2

Type: Command
Cost: Thunder: 10 MP, Aspir: 1 MP

Enables the use of Black Magic: Thunder and Aspir. . Thunder deals weak lightning damage. Like Fire and Blizzard, it can be cast on a group, but its power drops accordingly. Aspir drains MP from an enemy and cannot be reflected. Aspir makes your Black Mage somewhat self-sufficient. The higher the Black Mage’s Magic Attack, the more MP recovered.

Level 4: Black Magic Level 3

Type: Command
Cost: 25 MP

Enables the use of Black Magic: Fira and Blizzara. . These spells are stronger versions of Fire and Blizzard. Except when facing very large groups (more than 3), their damage is higher or roughly equal to Spirit Magic. Against one foe, they’re twice as powerful and roughly on par with Summon Magic.

Level 5: Black Resonance

Type: Support
Cost: 1 slot

The damage of Black Magic rises with each ally other than the user who has equipped Black Resonance (as a Specialty or support ability). Damage increases up to 1.2 times when everyone has Black Resonance. 20% additional damage is OK, but there are far better support abilities like Full Charge, which doubles damage for all spells, not just Black Magic.

Level 6: Black Magic Level 4

Type: Command
Cost: Thundara: 25 MP, Drain: 8 MP

Enables the use of Black Magic: Thundara and Drain. . Thundara is the lightning-based variant of Fira and Blizzara. Many foes are weak to lightning, making it a choice spell. Drain damages one enemy and restores the user’s HP by the same amount; like Aspir it cannot be reflected. Your Black Mage can be even more self-sufficient!

Level 7: Black Magic Level 5

Type: Command
Cost: 45 MP

Enables the use of Black Magic: Firaga and Blizzaga. . These spells are even stronger versions of Fire and Blizzard. When facing 2 or fewer foes, they even beat out Summon Magic. You can only acquire the scrolls for these spells towards the end of the game.

Level 8: Pierce Magic Defence

Type: Support
Cost: 3 slots

Ignore the enemy’s Magical Defence when dealing magic damage. The cost for this ability is steep, but it’s essential for brute-forcing your way through enemies with high or even maximum Magical Defence. The best late-game party revolves around ghost mages, so you should learn this for when you go up against such foes.

Level 9: Black Magic Level 6

Type: Command
Cost: Thundaga: 45 MP, Dark: 80 MP

Enables the use of Black Magic: Thundaga and Dark. . Thundaga is an even stronger version of Thunder, while Dark deals massive dark magic damage to a single foe. Both are great to have, although it’s a shame Dark only damages one enemy. The scrolls for these are obtained very late.

Level 10: Group-Cast All

Type: Support
Cost: 2 slots

Spells that only target one foe or ally now target all foes or all allies. The more targets, the weaker the spell’s power. This is the second reason to level up a Black Mage. Now you can cast spells like Dark on multiple enemies, although its power will be reduced. Can be combined with the White Mage’s Group-Cast Master, but doing so is generally too costly.