Blue mage spells and their earliest collection points

This is a guide for people who want to ensure their Blue Mage has all possible spells collected at their earliest points, in the order they can be retrieved.

Introduction

This is a quick, basic guide for getting all Blue Mage spells as early as possible. The goal for this guide is that you can refer to it occasionally as you play the game, reading along every time you make some progress.

There are other guides with more exhaustive information about Blue Mage abilities, but I don't think most players are interested in every single enemy that can possibly cast a spell- you want to be earning them as you play along! So this guide is written in a way that will let you do that :)

How does Blue Mage stuff work?

Blue Mage spells are learned by an enemy using these abilities on a Blue Mage in your party or someone with the "learn" ability. The spell must specifically target and land on the party member successfully or you will not learn it. This can be tricky depending on the enemy and the spell.

For example, Level 5 Death can only be learned when your level is a multiple of 5, such as level 5, 10, 15, 20, etc. and since players often have their entire party at the same level, this spell will typically kill the entire party. I have included some notes on how to work around this.

Sometimes the enemy won't cast the ability I need. What gives?

There are some abilities that the enemy won't use on its own or won't target your party even when they do use it. For these abilities you need a Beastmaster with their second ability called "!control". This allows you to control the enemy and force them to use the ability on your Blue Mage.

Some of these enemies are encountered before you get the Beastmaster class, so you'll need to come back shortly after getting it (I have left notes letting you know when this is the case).

Goblin Punch

Attacks one enemy with a goblin's strength.

MP Cost: 0

Earliest enemy: Black Goblin
Location: Wind Shrine

One of the first enemies you encounter. It's not a great ability. But it's free? I guess?

Remember that you will need a Blue Mage to be hit by this ability and survive in order to learn it! The entire party will learn the ability as well, so no need for more than a single Blue Mage at any given time (unless you want one for casting abilities and another for learning abilities).

Aero

Deals wind damage.

MP Cost: 4

Earliest enemy: Moldwynd
Location: Wind Shrine

Valuable early spell and easy to get. One of the few sources of wind damage in the game. This should be the first ability you search for.

Vampire

Absorbs HP from one enemy.

MP Cost: 2

Earliest enemy: Steel Bat
Location: Pirates Hideout

Another early valuable spell. Doesn't do much damage but can heal you up in a pinch if damage is heavy and the healer is otherwise busy.

Flash

Inflicts all enemies with darkness.

MP Cost: 7

Earliest enemy: Headstone
Location: North Mountain

Extremely valuable spell. Makes the Shiva encounter a walk in the park since the blind lands pretty reliably and hits all enemies at once.

Since Headstone does not have enough MP to cast the spell you must use an ether on it first.

Pond’s Chorus

Turns one enemy into a toad.

MP Cost: 5

Earliest enemy: Elf Toad
Location: Walse Tower

Elf Toad will only use this ability when they are the last enemy remaining.

Moon Flute

Causes berserk for all allies.

MP Cost: 3

Earliest enemy: Jackanapes
Location: Walse Tower

Even though Jackanapes is the first enemy who uses this ability, I would not recommended getting it from this encounter as its way too difficult at this stage of the game. Instead you can grab it from an easier enemy just a little further into the game.

Enemy: Page 256
Location: Library of the Ancients

For a physical-damage based party this ability is amazing, as you'll be dealing double damage roughly and attacking immediately thanks to auto-battle. There is no way to undo this once you've cast it.

????

???

MP Cost: 3

Earliest enemy: Wild Nakk
Location: Forest area next to Karnak Castle on the overworld map

Does more damage depending on the difference between your current HP and your maximum HP. Great way to deal damage early in the game if the enemy has high defense.

Self-Destruct

Sacrifices the caster to deal massive damage to one enemy.

MP Cost: 1

Earliest enemy: Motor Trap
Location: Fire-Powered Ship

This enemy appears sometimes when only one enemy remains during an encounter on the Fire-Powered Ship. You can cast thunder or a thunder-based ability on it to trigger Self-Destruct immediately.

Aera

Deals wind damage.

MP Cost: 10

Earliest enemy: Gigas
Location: Karnak Castle

Solid ability and another rare source of wind damage. If you don't get Aera from Gigas there are plenty of other enemies who use it throughout the game. Given the timer sequence you may not find it worthwhile to spend time grinding it here.

Death Claw

Brings one enemy to the point of death, and inflict paralysis.

MP Cost: 21

Earliest enemy: Iron Claw (boss)
Location: Karnak Castle

Extremely valuable ability this early in the game and worth some of the frustration it takes to obtain it during the escape sequence. Since many early bosses are susceptible this can trivialize their encounters (especially the bombs in the second half of the game).

Would recommend quick saving at the end of the escape sequence with at least one minute remaining to get the ability, kill Iron Claw, and flee the castle in time.

Aqua Breath

Uses bubbles to surround and damage all enemies.

MP Cost: 38

Earliest enemy: Dhorme Chimera
Location: Desert area north of the Library of the Ancients

Valuable source of non-elemental damage that is over-shadowed by its steep MP cost. Decent enough damage if you don't have a Summoner available.

Transfusion

Sacrifices the caster to completely restore one ally's HP and MP.

MP Cost: 13

Earliest enemy: Mythril Dragon
Location: Plains area outside the Library of the Ancients

Great on paper but probably won't see much use in practice. Might be a good way to heal up your healer if they ran out of HP and you don't have any items to get the job done.

You will need a Beastmaster to use !control on a member of your party to get this.

Missile

Quarters one enemy's HP.

MP Cost: 7

Earliest enemy: Motor Trap
Location: Fire-Powered Ship

I never found a great use for this ability. In any instance where you're trying to do a large amount of damage, Death Claw or 1000 Needles seems the better options.

You will need to skip this initially and come back with a Beastmaster to force the ability using !control. Be sure to get this BEFORE boarding the ship again with Cid and Mid- otherwise it'll be a few hours before you get another chance.

Level 5 Death

Hits enemies with levels that are multiples of 5.

MP Cost: 22

Earliest enemy: Page 64
Location: Library of the Ancients

Can only be learned by a character who is a multiple of level 5 getting killed by it. Would recommend coming back with Dark Spark (see further below) to adjust your level in combat, as often times your whole party has the same level and would be instantly wiped.

Off-Guard

Reduces the defense of one enemy.

MP Cost: 19

Earliest enemy: Page 256
Location: Library of the Ancients

Great ability if you can succeed at landing it on bosses, though mine all missed when I tried. You'll want a Beastmaster at the top of your party ready to !control as the first move is usually casting Moon Flute, which will berserk your entire party.

Magic Hammer

Halves one enemy's MP.

MP Cost: 3

Earliest enemy: Byblos (boss)
Location: Library of the Ancients

Another ability with limited viability. It's fun to watch the hammer bonk enemies.

Dark Spark

Halves one enemy's level.

MP Cost: 27

Earliest enemy: Black Flame
Location: Forest area on the first island south-west of Crescent Island.

Really helpful ability for learning other level-based abilities when you don't have anyone in your party of the required level.

Flame Thrower

Engulfs one enemy in flames.

MP Cost: 5

Earliest enemy: Prototype
Location: The second island south-west of Crescent Island (next to the one with Black Flames).

Great low-cost ability with medium-ish damage for general combat. This one can be a little tough given how difficult the encounter is, but hang tight until you've got the spell. You can still use !control to easily defeat Prototype afterward.

White Wind

Restores each party member's HP by an amount equal to the caster's current HP.

MP Cost: 28

Earliest enemy: Enchanted Fan
Location: Ronka Ruins

Awesome healing ability that remains useful through the end of the game. You'll need a Beastmaster with !control for this one.

1000 Needles

Deals 1000 damage to one enemy.

MP Cost: 25

Earliest enemy: Lamia
Location: Ronka Ruins

Extremely useful ability that trivializes boss encounters for the next few hours of the game. You'll want a Beastmaster with !control to get this if you don't want to get hit for 1,000 damage more than once.

Level 4 Graviga

Hits enemies with levels that are multiples of 4.

MP Cost: 25

Earliest enemy: Ghidra
Location: Ronka Ruins

Not a very useful ability and not very easy to get either. Ghidra is a rare encounter in the room adjacent to (the left of) the room with the boss of Ronka Ruins. If you don't have a Blue Mage at a level with a multiple of 4 then use Dark Spark until you do.

Time Slip

Inflicts one enemy with sleep, and causes it to age.

MP Cost: 9

Earliest enemy: Traveler
Location: Barrier Tower

Easy enough to obtain without !control. Gives a useful combination of "old" and "sleep" at the same time.

Level 3 Flare

Hits enemies with levels that are multiples of 3.

MP Cost: 18

Earliest enemy: Red Dragon (treasure chest monster)
Location: Barrier Tower

This one will take some preparation! The ability will only hit someone with a level with a multiple of 3, but to make matters worse Red Dragon does not cast this naturally, nor can you target your own party even with !control.

Here is what you will need to get this ability:

• Party member who is a level that is a multiple of 3
  
• Chemist ability "Mix" (job level 2)
  
• Dragon Fang
  
• Phoenix Down
  
• Beastmaster ability "!control" (job level 2)

Once you have all of the above, you're ready to learn some blue magic!

1. Quick save, then engage the Red Dragon by opening chest in the second room of Barrier Tower (note: sometimes you will get a Yellow Dragon; just run away and try again)
   
2. Use !control to begin controlling the Red Dragon
   
3. Use Mix to combine Phoenix Down with Dragon Fang; target the Red Dragon
   
4. With Reflect now cast on Red Dragon, you can bounce Level 3 Flare back onto your own party

It can take a few tries to hit the right party member and you may need to restart from your Quick Save file if reflect wears off. Once you've been hit by the ability you can wait a few rounds for reflect to disappear and have Red Dragon kill itself with Level 3 Flare.

Level 2 Old

Hits enemies with levels that are multiples of 2.

MP Cost: 11

Earliest enemy: Level Tricker
Location: Barrier Tower

Similar to Level 3 Flare, Level Tricker does not use this ability naturally and can not target your party when using !control, so you will need to follow the same steps of mixing a reflect potion with a Dragon Fang + Pheonix Down, then bouncing Level 2 Old onto your own party.

Aeroga

Deals wind damage.

MP Cost: 24

Earliest enemy: Metamorph
Location: Ghido’s Cave

Best version of the wind spell Aero! Does a lot of damage and worth getting as early as possible.

Metamorph in the Pixel Remaster version of the game seems to have a few transformation "scripts" it cycles through, and you need the one that begins with Enchanted Fan. So if Enchanted Fan is not the FIRST enemy it transforms into, either kill it or run away.

Update: One commenter reported seeing Enchanted Fan as the second transformation more frequently, so it may be worthwhile to stick around at least through two forms.

If you get tired of grinding Metamorph, keep in mind the next boss has a wind-based enemy (no spoilers!) that will use this on your entire party when they get close to dying.

Lilliputian Lyric

Shrinks one enemy.

MP Cost: 5

Earliest enemy: Mini Magician
Location: Great Forest of Moore

Not likely to see much use in combat. Luckily this is an easy one to get and doesn't require !control for once.

Doom

Curses one enemy to die in 30 seconds.

MP Cost: 10

Earliest enemy: ExDeath (boss)
Location: Exdeath's Castle

Not a great spell. But lets collect it anyway!

Will only cast this while health is above 50%. Because Doom is often the first ability he uses and his spells hit so hard, I would recommend bringing a Time Mage and casting Return every time he hits the wrong party member. I was able to get this after about 20 retries.

Mighty Guard

Casts Protect, Shell, and Levitate on all allies.

MP Cost: 72

Earliest enemy: Stingray
Location: Ocean area south-east of the Phoenix Tower

By far the most valuable Blue Mage ability and worth getting as soon as you have access to your airship again. Stingray is a rare spawn so you might be searching for a while (see screenshot location).

Requires Beastmaster to force the ability using !control.

Mind Blast

Attacks and deals sapping damage to one enemy. Causes paralysis.

MP Cost: 6

Earliest enemy: Wendigo
Location: Island Shrine

Nice and easy ability to get. Just make sure you extend the battle long enough to get hit.

Roulette

KO's a randomly chosen target.

MP Cost: 1

Earliest enemy: Parthenope
Location: Phoenix Tower

Another nice and easy ability to round out your collection and hopefully snag you the achievement for collecting everything. Nothing special to do here- just wait until it finally lands on the right party member. Congratulations!

[Judeo-communism]

NOTE: Aera is the ONLY Blue Magic that's permanently missable after killing Azulmagia. The rest can be safely obtained without any pressure from enemies that spawn in the final world or final dungeon. If you do not get before killing Azulmagia, you must start the game over to get the achievement.

[simpson20782]

About goblin punch, it does non-elemental damage equal to your melee damage to the target and i think 7 times as much to enemies that are the same level as the caster. It's a good way to attack without worrying about distance and the extra boost against same level enemies is just an added bonus.

[Green~]

Roulette is also cast by 206 Death Dealer, which I encountered prior to Phoenix Tower : )

[Squall]

About Aeroga:
There are 4 possible encounters with Metamorph, but the one we need is: Ifrit, Wyvern, Enchanted Fan. If you see any of these - you are at the right fight.

When the Metamorph transforms it will become one of the 3 monsters depending on the HP (7000). In other words if the damage you dealt so far is:
- less then 1/3 (2333), you will always see the first monster - Ifrit
- between 1/3 and 2/3 - you will always see the second monster - Wyvern
- more then 2/3 (4666) - you will always see the second monster - Enchanted Fan
* Keep in mind that all 4 monsters share the same HP pool.

So the best strategy is to hit hard at the start of the battle and you will always skip first 2 monster and get the target one. Just don't kill it, because it is fragile :)

[Alvaluu]

good job, i will use it <3

[ColonelFatass]

@Ash It's still not working, I think my level might be just too high (I power-leveled at one point)

[Ash]

@Colonel do you have elf cloaks equipped? Or anything else? I might try going in completely naked as a Warrior or something with low evasion to make the process a little easier.

@happyturtle I had done around 100 encounters and assumed everyone would see the same things- I'll update to reflect it can be the second as well :)

[happyturtle]

Re: Aeroga - for me, I got two instances of Metamorph turning first into Wyvern and then Enchanted Fan. I never saw Enchanted Fan as the first transformation. By far Elf Toad and Shiva were the most common...

[ColonelFatass]

I can not for the life of me obtain Dark Spark from the Black Flames. Every single time they use it, they miss and keep missing until their MP runs out. Seriously annoying that I've been doing this for over an hour and not one single time have they used it and connected with one of my party members

[Ash]

Thanks Scottland! Must have mis-remembered, I'll update the guide. Cheers! :)