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	Games - Black Mage

The Black Mage is a character class (or job) in Square Enix's Final Fantasy
series of computer role-playing games. It is occasionally referred to as the Wizard or Black Wizard, although this is sometimes a separate upgrade of the class. They are usually depicted wearing distinctive costumes consisting of a blue or black robe and a large conical, wide-brimmed hat which obscures their face, with two yellow eyes shining from within the shadow. Some Black Mages also wear pants with vertical stripes.

In contrast to a White Mage, a Black Mage has the ability to cast offensive magic spells. Often elemental-based, these spells may also cause status changing ailments to the enemy. Spells range from Fire, Ice, and Thunder, to more destructive spells such as Meteor or Flare, to darker spells such as Death and Doom.

History

The Black Mage has appeared in the following games in the Final Fantasy series:

Final Fantasy
Final Fantasy II
Final Fantasy III
Final Fantasy IV
Final Fantasy V
Final Fantasy IX
Final Fantasy X
Final Fantasy X-2
Final Fantasy XI
Final Fantasy Tactics
Final Fantasy Tactics Advance

Final Fantasy

The Black Mage appears in the first title of the Final Fantasy series as one of six selectable classes at the start of the game. During the adventure, the player purchases increasingly powerful spells for the Black Mage, which can then be used in combat. The Black Mage's list of learned abilities is organized into eight numerical spell levels. Four spells are contained in each level, but only three of these can be learned by the Black Mage at any one time. Thus, an important part of strategy in Final Fantasy involves customizing the Black Mage by choosing certain spells over others in order to achieve maximum potential from the character. The player has the option of upgrading the Black Mage to a Black Wizard at a certain point in the adventure by completing a short quest from Bahamut, the King of Dragons.

In the original NES game, the Black Wizard lacked both the hat and obscured face that would become the defining features of the Black Mage. This was changed in the Wonderswan remakes and Final Fantasy Origins so that he still looks like a 'proper' Black Mage after becoming a Black Wizard.

Final Fantasy II, IV, and IX

In these three games, Black Mages exist as inhabitants of a city of magic-users. In Final Fantasy II, the village of Mysidia is home to Black Mages exclusively, and is pivotal in the player's quest to receive the Ultima Tome. In Final Fantasy IV, Mysidia is the name of the city from which Palom and Porom originate, although this incarnation is occupied by both Black Mages and White Mages.

In Final Fantasy IX, the Black Mage Village is a forested hamlet where many mass-produced Black Mages have somehow become self-aware, and work to carve out an existence for themselves beyond the reach of their makers. Final Fantasy IX is also notable for its high focus on the "classic" Black Mage, as depicted in previous installments of Final Fantasy. Both a playable character (Vivi Ornitier) and a series of bosses (the Black Waltzes) are clothed in the traditional garb of Black Mages and are able to utilize black magic in battle.

Final Fantasy X / X-2

The character Lulu is clearly based on the traditional Black Mage, at least in ability. However, she dresses in an exaggerated gothic style, and has no ties to traditional Black Mage garb.

In X-2, any character can use the dressphere system to transform into a Black Mage, typified by the character donning an oversized Black Mage hat.

Final Fantasy XI

In the MMORPG incarnation of the series, the Black Mage follows Final Fantasy tradition, being a mage class that specializes in damage-dealing through "nukes," or powerful offensive magic. Because of the new battle system used in Final Fantasy XI and other similar massively multiplayer online games, in which the monster will direct its attack towards the player that it perceives as the largest threat, it is not practical for the Black Mage to nuke without caution as they have in previous installations in the series. Despite these restrictions, they remain one of the biggest damage dealers in the game. Black Mages equip staves and clubs almost exclusively,they are also able to equip a certain class of swords called bilbos; unlike their White Mage brethren, they are unable to equip most shields.

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