Some would even argue the Blue Magic is the most complete magic user out of all the mage jobs, and the repertoire of skills that they can harness would certainly back up that claim. Of course, the main caveat of Blue Mages is that to use the skills you have to learn them first. And in FFV that happens by a character with the Learning ability getting hit by the skill itself. This means some spells are easier than others to learn – and you’ll need to resort to more sneaky tactics to get enemies to cast the support skills on to you. But to know which ones you might wanna chase, we’ll be ranking the best Blue magic spells in FFV and how to learn them.
10. Goblin Punch
Goblin Punch is your run of the mill non-elemental attack that hits one target, but also ignores party position and weapon effect – for example, Excalipoor will hit at full power. It also multiplies the damage by 8 if you’re the same level as the enemy, which is something you can definitely manipulate and take advantage of. How to learn: Simply get hit by it from the following enemies – Goblin, Black Goblin, Gilgamesh, Gobbledygook, Azulmagia, Sahagin, Nix.
9. Magic Hammer
Some enemies are utterly useless without MP. And you can definitely help them get there with Magic Hammer. Using this on an enemy will halve their current MP. And if you use it enough times you’ll leave them no choice but to constantly use physical attacks – something you can easily deal with. How to learn: Get hit by it from the following enemies – Byblos, Drippy, Apanda, Azulmagia, Oiseaurare.
8. Aqua Breath
Despite its name, this one isn’t a water attack, but rather non-elemental. And it hits all enemies like a truck. It’s a little bit pricey in terms of MP cost, but if you wanna clear out a group of enemies fast then there isn’t really a better way. It also deals 8 times damage against desert enemies which can prove very useful against that nasty Sandworm. How to learn: Get hit by it from the following enemies – Dhorme Chimera, Manticore, Leviathan, Bahamut, Azulmagia, Crystal, Enuo, Gogo, Aquagel.
7. 1000 Needles
This one is fairly simple and might seem like a strange choice. But having an ability that deals 1000 damage no matter what shouldn’t be understated. Some enemies in this game have super high defenses. And having a way to reliably deal a fixed amount of damage is always useful. It’s also one of the most useful spells for low level runs, too! How to learn: Get hit by it from the following enemies – Azulmagia, Lamia Queen, Cactus, Hedgehog, Lamia, Lemure, Mykale.
6. Death Claw
Using Death Claw on an enemy will reduce their HP to single digits and inflict paralysis, effectively making them dead meat. It doesn’t work on every enemy. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t deadly in the right battles. How to learn: Get hit by it from the following enemies – Death Claw, Treant, Gilgamesh, Soul Eater, Azulmagia, Iron Claw, Objet d’Art, Strapparer.
5. Dark Spark
FFV had a lot of ways to manipulate enemy levels. And Dark Spark is perhaps the most reliable way of doing so. When you hit an enemy with this, you reduce its level by half. What this does (other than weaken the hell out of it) is if you know what it’s starting level was, you can then set it up to be hit by one of the level-specific Blue Magic spells. How to learn: Get hit by it from the following enemies – Black Flame, Strapparer, Ushabti, Azulmagia, Hades, Shadow.
4. Missile
This one is used to go hand in hand with Death Claw, as it reduces an enemy’s HP by 3/4 and is a little bit more reliable. It also inflicts the Old status, so it becomes a nice way to debilitate your foes. How to learn: Get hit by it from the following enemies – Prototype, Rocket Launcher, Enkidu, Gilgamesh, Mecha Head, Soul Cannon, Azulmagia, Motor Trap.
3. Level 5 Death
This is one of the most destructive attacks in the whole game, although sadly only against the right enemies or ones you’ve already hit with Dark Shock. When this move hits an enemy with a level divisible by 5, it instantly KOs them and it hits all enemies. This is used primarily to grind ABP in the Castle Bal basement by battling the Objet d’Art enemies, but also to end battles pretty quickly if you know what you’re up against. How to learn: Get hit by it (your level must be divisible by 5) from the following enemies – Page 64, Level Checker, Azulmagia, Executor, Enuo, Level Tricker.
2. White Wind
This one feels like it’s been around since forever. And interestingly, White Wind made its debut in FFV. When used, it heals the party equal to the amount of HP the caster currently has. Obviously it’s more effective at higher HP, yet is still one of the most reliable ways to fully heal your party in the right circumstances. If you’re not running with a White Mage then your Blue Mage should be more than happy to step in. How to learn: Use Beastmaster’s “Control” on the following enemies and make them cast it on you – Enchanted Fan, Dark Elemental, White Flame, Hellraiser.
1. Mighty Guard
Here’s the ultimate Blue Magic spell in FFV, and it has been throughout the whole series. Using this will give Protect, Shell, and Float to the whole party. And since there isn’t any other AOE method of casting any of these, I’d say that makes Mighty Guard the most useful Blue Magic spell hands-down. How to learn: Use Beastmaster’s “Control” on the following enemies and make them cast it on you – Ironclad, Stingray.
Special Mention: Vampire
On its own Vampire is just a simple attack that hits and drains HP. But in the GBA game, the formula was slightly broken in your favor. The original formula for how much HP was healed by this is as follows: (Caster’s max HP – current HP)/2 But in the GBA there was no division at the end. So more often than not you’d end up healing to full HP, and all for a measly 2 MP. How to learn: Get hit by it from the following enemies – Steel Bat, Slime, Abductor, Zombie Dragon, Enkidu, Dark Aspic, Python, Mercury Bat, Azulmagia, Achelon, Dechirer, Shadow.
