| The art of skillchaining and
magic bursting is one of Final Fantasy XI unique features. Let's go over what
skillchains are. When two or more weapon skills are used in an appropriate order,
a skillchain will occur that will give off an additional damage to a mob. Each skillchain is base on an element. However you can't just randomly use any weaponskills, you have to use weaponskills that are compatible with one another that when they are use in an appropriate order, a skillchain will occur. There are three levels of skillchains, level 1 to level 3. Each level of skillchain correspond with the level of the weaponskills used in a skillchain. Depending on the number of players involve in a skillchain, you can perform a three level skillchains to give off a nice added damage effect. Example, the first two players use their weaponskills to perform a level 1 skillchain , the third player uses his/her weaponskill to follow the level 1 skillchain to make a level 2 skillchain, and then the last person uses his/her weaponskill to skillchain of off the level 2 skillchain to make a level 3 skillchain. Hence you perform a level 1 to level 3 skillchain order. Now base on that example, you can continue to perform a chain of skillchains off of each skillchain that players do. This is assuming you start a skillchain base on a lower level skillchain and finishing the skillchain with a higher level skillchain. You cannot go backward though, as in start the skillchain with the higher level skillchain and end it in a lower level skillchain. The way skillchain work is that you have about a 3-5 seconds window opportunity to use a weaponskill right after the initial weaponskill was used. If you take any longer than 3-5 seconds than a skillchain will not occur. By level 30, all damage dealers need to know how to skillchain properly. It is very important that as the higher level you go, the more necessary it is for parties to be using skillchains.
If skillchains are for melees than where do the mages come in play here? Well mages have magic burst. Each skillchain ends in an elemental effect. If a mage is able to cast the right elemental magic that matches the element of the skillchain, you have a magic burst effect where the elemental magic of the mage gives off an added extra damage than it would normally do without a magic burst. Timing is the key to getting off a magic burst as a mage need to be able to have his/her spell cast right after the skillchain. Too soon or too long and there won't be any magic burst. The beauty of magic bursting is that depending on how many mages are in your party, you can do a double to triple magic burst.
Any serious party need to be skillchaining and magic bursting to get off a maximize damage output to a mob. But don't just randomly do any type of skillchain and magic burst. Remember that each skillchain correspond to an element. The best use of skillchaining and magic bursting is to be using the best and strongest weaponskills but yet at the same time use a skillchain element that a mob is weak too. There's no point in using a fire base skillchain when a mob is strong against fire.
| Skillchain Types |
| Element | Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 | Spells |
| Fire | Liquefaction | Fusion | Light | Fire I-IV, Burn, Katon: Ichi |
| Light | Transfixion | Fusion | Light | Holy, Banish I-III, Cure I-V |
| Wind | Detonation | Fragmentation | Light | Aero I-IV, Tornado, Utsusemi: Ichi |
| Lightning | Impaction | Fragmentation | Light | Thunder I-IV, Burst, Raiton: Ichi |
| Earth | Scission | Gravitation | Darkness | Stone I-IV, Quake, Hojo: Ni |
| Dark | Compression | Gravitation | Darkness | Bio, Drain, Kurayami: Ichi |
| Water | Reverberation | Distortion | Darkness | Water I-IV, Flood, Suiton: Ichi |
| Ice | Induration | Distortion | Darkness | Blizzard I-IV, Freeze, Hyoton: Ni |
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