The Best JRPGs For Black Mage Builds

Dating back to Final Fantasy 1, the Black Mage has been the cornerstone of many JRPG parties that rely on raw, potent elemental magic. While the title of ‘Black Mage’ might put people in the mind of fearsome necromancers or witches, the titular Black Mage role has always been focused on mastering the elemental magics, especially the forces of fire, ice, and lightning. Any time they appear in a game, players know they can expect powerful magic forces, though usually for the sake of endurance.

Many games with high-stakes difficulty and challenges are made easier by the potent elemental force that Black Mages or classes that embody them bring to the table, and casting wide-scale spells can be quite cathartic. These games feature the Black Mage class either in name or spirit, giving players to opportunity to control the battlefield with a powerful tempest of elemental magic,

8 Bravely Default 2

An Excellent And Novel Combat System

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Released

February 26, 2021

Developer

Claytechworks

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Publisher(s)

Nintendo

OpenCritic Rating

Strong

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Returning from its previous iterations in the older Bravely Default titles, the Black Mage job makes an appearance in this game as one among many diverse jobs available to switch through, but despite appearing fairly early on, the Black Mage can be a vital job even into late game.

Its S-tier scaling with staves is a godsend in early game and if carried on through higher levels, this class continues to learn some exceptional elemental skills that help signify it as a great – if fragile – magic backbone for any party.

7 Dragon’s Dogma 2

The Sorcerer Is A Great Offensive Class

While the Mage as a ‘basic’ version of the Sorcerer class actually tends to do better with healing magics, the Sorcerer itself as an advanced magic vocation is perfect for those who want to channel the fury of elemental power while hanging back from afar.

Many vocations in this game fuse magic with another discipline, such as ranged or melee attacks, but the Sorcerer doubles down on a magical focus like any good Black Mage and is thus rewarded with some of the strongest elemental spells in the game.

6 Final Fantasy 14

An In-Depth Black Mage Experience

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As the series that pioneered the Black Mage as both a class and general archetype, it’s no surprise that the Black Mage appears in Final Fantasy 14 as one of the most in-depth and storied classes of the game, with plenty of room for customization.

The balance between fire and ice in this game is of paramount importance and can greatly impact how much damage – or how much mana recovery – the player has as they wreak elemental havoc.

5 Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance

A Great Variety Of Elemental, Demonic Spells

Part of what makes Shin Megami Tensei Vengeance so satisfying, despite the overwhelming odds players will often face in the title, is just how modular and free-form the building of the Nahobino can be.

There’s a host of elemental magic skills, which are the crux of this game’s elemental affinity system, that players can learn to mirror the Black Mage archetype, with some of the strongest skills in the game being potent versions of the basic elemental spells.

4 Dragon Quest 3

A Wide Variety Of Elemental Spells To Master

The glossy remake of Dragon Quest 3, already a huge success, has many opportunities for players to learn powerful elemental spells as a black mage would and utilize them to great effect.

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Spells are especially vital for mages and Hero characters that have opted for magic abilities in the game’s beginning, and as such players will need to level up these classes a fair bit to get a good pool of elemental talents to evoke.

3 Triangle Strategy

A Great Spell User Is Available In The Black Mage Style

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A great, highly polished title from Square Enix, there are various characters that evoke a similar style to the Black Mage class in this game – and all are vital for progression. Fire magics are the most iconic in the Black Mage’s skillset, and Frederica has them in droves.

The recruitable Shamaness character, later on, uses wind and lightning magic, paralleling the multi-elemental disciplines that most Black Mages should have in their games.

2 Tactics Ogre

A Highly Tactical JRPG

Square Enix’s opus in the strategy JRPG genre, Tactics Ogre is an exceptional title with an expansive branching storyline and a very nuanced elemental system that plays into the archetype of the Black Mage perfectly.

Magic-using characters are able to call upon elemental magics – the most powerful of which link to their own individual elemental affinity – and they can utilize incredibly impactful AoE attacks to turn the tide of battle.

1 Unicorn Overlord

Mages Are The Crux Of The Army

A fantastic title up the alley of any Fire Emblem fan, Unicorn Overlord pays great respect to its magic characters. While mages come in a variety of forms based on their race and the specifics of their skill set, human magic users tend to have a broad variety of spells.

Mages and witches both fit the Black Mage archetype in this game, applying debuffs and dealing heavy all-enemy targeting damage with elemental spells, mainly fire, and ice.

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