Lack of decent Red Mage Gear

[Varlan]

So I've been leveling up my red mage and I've found that gear (at least on the AH) is strange at best. Up until 75, it's possible to get a good set of STR, ATK, DEX gear without any real trouble. After 75, all of the RDM gear is basically caster stuff. Did something change? Why is blue mage on both caster and damage dealer gear, but red mage isn't? I'm confused, because it seems to send mixed messages and now I'm not sure if I want to continue playing red mage if it's not possible to get the type of gear I want to get (and was able to get at one point).

I'm just curious what the situation is with this.

[Shiyo]

It's the game telling you "Hey, this is a caster not a melee".

[Kristal]

It's the game telling you "Hey, this is a caster not a melee".

Gain-STR and Temper tell a whole different story...

[Tamoa]

LolTemper - not ever going to get that spell for my rdm. Gain-STR, well it would look weird if we got all the other gain-spells and not Gain-STR. Only one I ever use, is Gain-MND.

Rdm does get semi-decent melee gear though. You can easily cap haste, so I don't see the problem. It will never be a good melee job, ever. But if you, the OP, search this forum, there are 7866786789 other threads about rdm melee already. I'm sure you can get some tips about gear and stuff there, if you really really want to go the melee-route. :(

[Shiyo]

Gain-STR and Temper tell a whole different story...

Obviously we get gain-chr so we can sub brd or bst right?

[Kristal]

Gain-CHR helps resist songs and charm, and it could be usefull on RDM/BST charming mobs in GoV changed dungeons.

Not that you'd see many RDMs going that route, but it's available.

Composure, Gain-STR, Temper, Aquaveil changes .. SE gives us spells and abilities to enhance our melee, but that's kind of pointless if we don't get the gear for it...

[noodles355]

Is this going to be another stupid melee rdm thread?

I'll get the key points in before this thread turns to shit (inevitable):

Rdm melee is fine on casual unimportant content. Campaign, Dom Ops, some Walk of Echoes (excluding boss), Dynamis, Campaign.
Rdm melee is not good for important or difficult NM fights. Don't do it there.

Rdm melee is weak and has issues. However, Rdm's mage side is also equally weak and has even moe issues.

If people like you keep complaining about the melee aspect, which only affects the weak mobs/casual events/solo aspect of the job, then SE will think melee is all rdms care about and wont boost the mage side, which affects every aspect of the job. That's a problem. That's reason enough for you to keep your trap shut about rdm melee until we recieve the important mage updates we need.

[Stylin]

Why is blue mage on both caster and damage dealer gear, but red mage isn't?

This is a very good question.

The rest of you need to get off your damn soapboxes.

[Aver]

Because BLU and RDM are completely different entities. Just because both jobs use a sword and end in -mage does not mean they follow the same rules.

[Sparthos]

So I've been leveling up my red mage and I've found that gear (at least on the AH) is strange at best. Up until 75, it's possible to get a good set of STR, ATK, DEX gear without any real trouble. After 75, all of the RDM gear is basically caster stuff. Did something change? Why is blue mage on both caster and damage dealer gear, but red mage isn't? I'm confused, because it seems to send mixed messages and now I'm not sure if I want to continue playing red mage if it's not possible to get the type of gear I want to get (and was able to get at one point).

I'm just curious what the situation is with this.

Red Mage has changed purposes over the years and thus your observation of the AH serves as an observation of this evolution.

At inception, SE intended RDM to be this caster/melee hybrid but it never worked out because of how the game is set up. RDM doesn't do very well beyond EXP/trash tier mobs, inventory limitations pen you into focusing more on mage relevant gear and over the years most people have abandoned the melee aspect for the much more lucrative magical aspects.

The older gear you see is from the era where SE intended to dictate what every class does whereas the newer gear is representative of the trend in which most RDM avoid melee and stick to the mage aspects of the class.

The enspell II line and Temper are attempts to appease the population of RDMs who desire frontline capability but as of the last patch, very little has changed with regards to the power of a RDM on the frontlines.

Blue Mage on the other hand was released with TOAU and straight out of the gate was designed to be what RDM couldn't from the start - a battle mage. The class gets access to melee and mage gear but if you observe many of the newer mage pieces omit BLU completely.

In short, BLU is the battle mage if you're looking to play one.

[Bublex]

Moving this to the Red Mage forum.

[Seriha]

The older gear you see is from the era where SE intended to dictate what every class does whereas the newer gear is representative of the trend in which most RDM avoid melee and stick to the mage aspects of the class.

Chicken or egg? Perhaps trends gravitated a certain way because the needed fixes to adhere to a job's concept didn't come soon enough. While some may express preference, for others it may have just been a matter of making due. After all, the old days weren't particularly flexible about EXP acquisition and endgame activities. Don't follow a leader's rules and expectations? Well, let's just say some would be more polite about the ensuing situation than others.


If people like you keep complaining about the melee aspect, which only affects the weak mobs/casual events/solo aspect of the job, then SE will think melee is all rdms care about and wont boost the mage side, which affects every aspect of the job. That's a problem. That's reason enough for you to keep your trap shut about rdm melee until we recieve the important mage updates we need.

Fear mongering at its finest, folks. For those not keen on these "debates", the anti-melee side loves to function off the rhetoric that attention from SE comes at an either/or basis. While at present, we can acknowledge that dev attention is spread thin between the 20 jobs with the cap increases and implementation of things like the VW system, WoE additions, or Dynamis adjustments, these are not forever. And while we all would enjoy attention to our favorite jobs sooner rather than later, no one should be doomed to playing a job thematically by having to solo or participate in content that "doesn't matter" anymore. It's just another one of their sly insults along with the fixation of the word "retard" or lol-affixed terminology.


Rdm melee is weak and has issues. However, Rdm's mage side is also equally weak and has even moe issues.

Forgive me while I guffaw.

RDM's "mage" side has grown far more than its physical within the past 20 levels, and on top of that it had a significant head start over the melee portion to begin with. Now, you may be willing to ignore the acquisition of the T4 nuke line and at least Gain-MND, Break, and Addle as mage supplements, but you're not kidding anyone if you're implying no gear has come along to improve what existed beforehand. We nuke harder. We cure better. We cast faster. Our buffs can last longer.

Both sides could be happy, but rather bluntly, I hope SE doesn't listen to those willing to ridicule and harass their fellow players just because they'd actually like a versatile job to be versatile in ALL ways.

[Absolutezero]

There are some good pieces out there, but as I'm sure has been mentioned in other threads, putting together a RDM melee set takes some effort.

You will also notice RDM gets left off of mage gear also. There are magic attack bonus pieces that WHM can use but RDM can't, and there was that cure potency body that SMN could equip but we couldn't. It would seem this is a way for SE to limit the job's potential, as if they are worried that a few gear choices might make the job overpowered. It wouldn't.

[Daniel_Hatcher]

Because BLU and RDM are completely different entities. Just because both jobs use a sword and end in -mage does not mean they follow the same rules.

In that BLU cast enemy magic, and RDM casts normal magic... Melee wise, they're not that different they're both Hybrids that able to wield a weapon but not better than actual DD's.

[Doombringer]

there's stuff out there to wear.

i run this: http://www.ffxiah.com/item-sets/219339

and that's not ideal. as in rdm could wear better than that.

if you can't or don't care to get an almace, obviously badelaire is the second choice. if not that, mainhand a dagger. evisceration and vorpal blade are your best ws's atm, and vorpal blade isn't worth giving up duel wield. twilight knife and gnadgott were prolly your 2 best bets at 90.

for offhander, if you can't do the grauberg zone boss, a str or dex shamshir +3 is solid. actually, considering the jump to 95 now, they're probably better.. completely soloable as well, just time consuming. if you have the time, make both and just swap them out depending on wether you need the acc or not.

if you can't do sea, rancor collar is good, it's actually better than what i'm wearing now assuming you cap out your tonberry hate to feed "tonberry's grudge". not cheap though.

sadly however the cop ring and earring here really are high end.. i dunno of anything that can really compete with rajas and brutal.. or suppa for that matter.. on the upside, all those missions are easy now. and those pieces are also quite solid for any other jobs you might have. so it's completely worth the effort.

atheling mantle is honestly not that hard. find someone doing the cerb for there ukon and offer to help out for the night. odds are they'll be giving them away.

belt can be a pain, but swift belt is pretty easy now. or there's even a 3% you can buy off the ah.

tiara is also sort of a pain, but easy alternatives include w turban, or brisk mask. (mask is the same boat as atheling mantle. they hit the floor all the time cuz of people farming emps)

legs are ah-able or from kindred crest battlefield. alternately you could do the shantotto add-on augmented up right those are respectable. no triple attack, but no acc penalty either.

hands and feet are obviously both ah-able. not cheap but... i guess you could always go NQ. those ARE cheap now. there's also 2 new sets of rdm wearable boots that can also be ah-ed. one is 4% haste, but -3 store tp. might still be better than dusk+1 though. the other is only 2% haste but adds a good bit of acc and subtle blow. i'd personally wear those over NQ dusk but then you're right back into the HQ dusk price range.

body is from ose. easy solo. hell i soloed it back at like lvl 65 6 years ago. alternately, the acp body, properly augmented, is nice. and the nyzul body has 4% haste on it. then there's antares harness or pahluwhan body if you need acc.

bow is ah-able. not to expensive anymore. ideally you would use ammo's though, more freely swappable. demonry core is 1 more dex, but on my server is still clocks in well over a million gil. then that also gives you the option to just ws in the core, and tp in either an astrolabe or a smart bomb. there's also another newer ammo that offers even more acc but i forget what it's called.

but yah. even if you go with the lower end pieces i outline here, you could prolly put out respectable numbers in like... a sand sweeper party. just don't expect to be a hero. especially if you go cheap.

[saevel]

Chimeric Flueret lost most of it's charm when they nerfed / fixed it's +enspell effect.

STR Shamshir +3 is
DMG 57 Delay 230 STR+10 Attack +20 (25 actually)

That is a pretty ridiculous amount of fSTR / attack for a job who's biggest issue is attack. The DA+10 sword is the only other weapon that's close but it suffers from a high delay that I don't like.

Mainhand obviously is Almace or the WoE sword for CDC. That not being an option you can twilight dagger and the newer DMG 42 Delay 186 dagger, although it's kinda pricey. If SE was to give us Vorpal naively then we could go Sword all the time.

Body is really restricted. Your choices boil down to AJ, ACP Body, Goliard or Pahluwhan.

Legs are either ASA or the newer ones. I went with the AH ones due to acc really not being an issue anymore, but I might create a set of haste +3% attack +7 legs just in case.

Hands are Dusk mostly, I hear there are some new r/ex hands available but I haven't seen them yet.

Feet are Dusk, but the newer haste 4% ones are 700K now and the price is going down.

Rings I go with Brutal + Keen (Acc+3 Attack+7), seems a good balance.

Ranged / Ammo is really up in the air. Our best pure "melee" is the T.sting and it's weak. Some DEX ones available now that provide accuracy and a little WSC for CDC / Evis. Personally I use the Mag Acc+8 chakram off AV but that's not something you see often. It makes my enspells harder to resist so it believe it to be enhancing my melee damage, but in an alternative way.

Rest is pretty easy. We get tons of gear, just none of the super shiny *BLING* gear that everyone else gets.

[Doombringer]

the new hands are solid. 4% haste and 8 dex. if nothing else i'd cdc in them. then probably tp in them over dusk just to save myself an inventory slot.

alucinor mitts i think they're called. they also have mp+50 and darkness resist +50, so that's just gravy. i only didn't mention them because they're so new and uncommon.

there's also a new haste belt, phasmida. +6% haste with 6 acc and eva. i'd take that over goading, but again, brand new and uncommon. i also didn't mention AV belt cuz that's still fairly uncommon, but i guess it's also better than goading. then i suppose speed belt is a worthy mention as well.

i just tried to keep it "attainable"

edit: and yah, i'm working on a str shamshir now myself. the lvl increase was the final nail in the coffin for chimeric fleuret for me. but considering how easy and fast it can be to get if you have an aby group, i think it's still worth mentioning as a placeholder or stepping stone.

[Mageoholic]

It's the game telling you "Hey, this is a caster not a melee".

To be fair its a pretty terrible casting class to.

[Quetzacoatl]

To be fair its a pretty terrible casting class to.

Gotta agree on this one. I mean, What else does RDM have left in Abyssea? All I've ever done with it so far is make it a Phalanx II job for CW Burns, that's about it. And when it's down to that when your enfeebles outright resist on Higher-Tier NMs, You have to ask yourself.

[Swords]

Body is really restricted. Your choices boil down to AJ, ACP Body, Goliard or Pahluwhan.



Actually Crimson/Blood Scale mail makes a respectable body piece if your willing to invest time/money into getting the potential +3 Haste +6 STR augments.

[Economizer]

It's the game telling you "Hey, this is a caster not a melee".

Hybrid. And even White Mages had decent melee gear at 75. Neither overshadowed "proper" melee jobs, but both (and the other casters who get melee roles) aren't getting as many pieces of decent melee gear outside of equips for all jobs. It isn't asking for much to ask that gear continue to scale for one of the playstyle options.


Obviously we get gain-chr so we can sub brd or bst right?

Aside from the obvious ones mentioned, Dagger WS mod.


If people like you keep complaining about the melee aspect, which only affects the weak mobs/casual events/solo aspect of the job, then SE will think melee is all rdms care about and wont boost the mage side, which affects every aspect of the job. That's a problem. That's reason enough for you to keep your trap shut about rdm melee until we recieve the important mage updates we need.

You can ask for both and get both. False dichotomy.

Actually, since there is a large community that is actively trying to make melee mages shut up (and they will never stop, not even if they get all that they want, so that's an invalid argument) the people who want melee things have to shout louder. Basically, if there weren't so many people telling mages who want to melee to shut up, there wouldn't be so many mages wanting to melee talking so much on the forums. The fault is squarely on those who troll the melee request threads.


TYou will also notice RDM gets left off of mage gear also. There are magic attack bonus pieces that WHM can use but RDM can't, and there was that cure potency body that SMN could equip but we couldn't. It would seem this is a way for SE to limit the job's potential, as if they are worried that a few gear choices might make the job overpowered. It wouldn't.

White Mage gets tacked on to just about every piece of mage gear and a bunch of light armor that usually also has the letters MNK / WHM / RDM / THF starting off the gear roster.

While I'm not one to complain about White Mage getting more gear choices, it always baffles me about all the Magic Attack Bonus gear that White Mage is tacked on. If you are trying to do damage as a White Mage, Divine Magic is the last thing you want to be doing (okay, maybe second to last, curing the mobs, even if they are undead is worse), and until recently Magic Attack Bonus gear did little to nothing for melee (although this seems to be more noticeable for weapon skills Red Mage gets, not White Mage).

I suppose as a White Mage I can pop Dark Arts from my sub and cast Impact now? It isn't like Flash Nova is particularly impressive compared to other magical WS even with some Magic Attack Bonus, and if you are using a WS as a White Mage, usually it is a better option to either Hexa Strike or Black Halo.

-

More back to the melee side, Doombringer and Saevel mention a lot of good gear and choices as always. Red Mage isn't so pathetically behind, but like any mage looking to melee, getting a solid continuation of gear as the levels go up would be nice.

The absolute terror that the anti-melee crowd displays at the prospect that any mage might want to have their current melee power to scale with levels, or even worse, *gasp* increase is confusing. It won't kill the game to have people play roles outside the ones you might want to pigeonhole them into.

[Scuro]

lol I think its funny because every RDM topic can't help but be turned into a DD RDM topic, because the DD RDMs are more outspoken then the mages. Even though the poll thread shows that DD RDMs are the minority.

[Daniel_Hatcher]

lol I think its funny because every RDM topic can't help but be turned into a DD RDM topic, because the DD RDMs are more outspoken then the mages. Even though the poll thread shows that DD RDMs are the minority.

The poll proved nothing since people like you, (lvl.49 RDM) also voted.

[Swords]

lol I think its funny because every RDM topic can't help but be turned into a DD RDM topic, because the DD RDMs are more outspoken then the mages. Even though the poll thread shows that DD RDMs are the minority.

Welp, most people would rather argue with the pro-melee crowd rather than let the subject die off, besides that we don't exactly see many of the pro-mage side really making threads of realistic fixes/ideas to the mage side or even putting much of a front that isn't trying to be some counter-argument to a melee debate. Hell I've seen the pro-melee/indifferent side come up with more ideas for RDM's mage aspect than many of the folks who are trying to perpetuate mage only. Really the pro-melee crowd isn't all that outspoken, it's more along the lines of the pro-mage crowd isn't saying anything that isn't some argument against the melee side.

[Neisan_Quetz]

Actually Crimson/Blood Scale mail makes a respectable body piece if your willing to invest time/money into getting the potential +3 Haste +6 STR augments.

You could also sit down and make one replace both Goliard and Morrigan's body for Rdm as well, and still be useful in a convert set (pluviale is still highest hp/mp piece iirc). Of course, you're probably going to be there awhile.

For body I made DW ACP body and camped Ose for AJ (people were killing coeurls for trials but just leave him alone), kept Antares from when I didn't have loki's on Blu.

[Kitkat]

Welp, most people would rather argue with the pro-melee crowd rather than let the subject die off, besides that we don't exactly see many of the pro-mage side really making threads of realistic fixes/ideas to the mage side or even putting much of a front that isn't trying to be some counter-argument to a melee debate. Hell I've seen the pro-melee/indifferent side come up with more ideas for RDM's mage aspect than many of the folks who are trying to perpetuate mage only. Really the pro-melee crowd isn't all that outspoken, it's more along the lines of the pro-mage crowd isn't saying anything that isn't some argument against the melee side.

This is rather true. Most the pro-mage rdm make just as outlandish request for fixes as the pro-melee crowd. "But our fixes are realistic and apply to what rdm should be" BS, rdm is a hybrid. It always has been a hybrid, it always will be a hybrid. Whether it is nuking, curing, or meleeing it will always be worse off than the actual nukers, healers, and melee specific jobs. Makes me wonder why people get so offended when someone actually asks to have the job re-balanced to fit the role it was made to be in the first place: Back-up/Hybrid roles.

Yes, rdm can heal....but it is still backup....no, it can't heal better than a whm...no it shouldn't..no it won't ever. Yes, rdm can nuke...but it is still backup...no, it can't do it better than blm...no it shouldn't,...no it won't ever. Yes, a rdm can melee...but it is still back up...no it won't do it better/on par with a real melee...no it shouldn't...no it won't ever.

Gear to accommodate healing is actually better now than it ever has been. Gear for nuking....is better now than it ever has been. Gear for melee.....is still lacking, and it is completely acceptable that people would actually want more selection for melee. If you don't agree with that, fine, but the fact remains rdm was intended to be able to fit various roles based on the initial idea of rdm, and still advertised "fighter-mage" prospect SE gave to it, and the Subjob system which changes the utility of any job based on the sub it uses. If you disagree with this, then you obviously haven't taken a step back and noticed how roles of various jobs change based on the subs they use. Not a hard concept to see or grasp, yet it seems a ton of people do when taking either side of the rdm debate.

Not taking advantage of the various Gain-spells has its pitfalls, but the only useful ones to a pro-mage would be mnd, vit, int (remember cure spells have a Vit modifier too), alternatively a pro-melee would use str, vit, dex, or agi depending on what they are doing or want to increase for mods. Currently, two of these spells are not in our roster yet and affect either of the roles you choose to play. Also, to correct Economizer, Chr only affects Dancing Edge, which rdm can't use as far as dagger WS go meaning the only gain-spell that would be pertinent is str to increase fStr (this caps rather low for dagger so may not even need unless sporting a Mandau) or dex which isn't out yet.

What is my position on the debate? I'm neither pro-melee or pro-mage because either side wants something that will upset the balance of what rdm was meant to be. I can agree that Curing as a rdm has a massive pitfall right now and that is primarily due to the soft caps of an obsolete equation taking into consideration the average HP range of melee in or out of abyssea and should be addressed. I however do not think rdm needs to be given cure V nor Regen IV (even III would be pushing it, but you'd have to think outside of the box to see why).

Alternatively I can agree that for the melee aspects Rdm has been grossly neglected when it comes to specialized gear for WS and updated TP body choices. Yes, rdm has gotten better haste options in the form of head, hands, feet, legs, and waist, but over all body choices have been outright ignored, forgotten, or "too strong" for a rdm to use apparently. Specific weapons that increase enspell dmg, or give additional stats under the effect of enspell have been neglected or made weaker (the change to chimeric Fleurette seems uncalled for given the nature of the blade, but then it is rather accessible with the right group making it "easy" to get). However, I can not agree to some of the suggestions that rdm should get Fencer as a passive trait or to have Saboteur or Composure changed just to accommodate a greater ease to melee or mage play. Composure does a great job of fixing the biggest pitfall of rdm-melee: Negates the need to recast buffs so often while giving an additional 15 accuracy loosening the gap of skill difference a rdm has to primary melee. Saboteur works great and has a relatively low reuse time, neither of these JA should need to be changed and most certainly not to make it easier for a rdm to melee.

What should be changed however is the make up of the Merits rdm was given, they are absolute trash considering the function rdm used to have above all else and is the only A+ skill they have: Enfeebling that stands apart from everyone else. This seems to be the only actual function SE wanted rdm to excel at, but in the last 5 years...has fallen flat on its face. Tier II enfeebles need to be learn-able/scroll form spells with Tier II merits that actually enhance these spell effects or give rdm a totally unique option to use. I'm sorry, but these spells were obsolete from the get go since you couldn't have them all without being called a gimp due to potency/duration being absolute crap compared to someone you merited 2~3 specifically. As far as utility, this is probably the biggest change rdm absolutely needs.

As far as I'm concerned both the pro-mage onry and pro-melee onry people need to get off their soap boxes and need to seek a balanced common ground. The job wasn't meant to fit either role exclusively and shouldn't be made to. It was the first hybrid job SE put in FFXI then blu came along. The difference between blu and rdm is non-consequential as the two jobs still fit very different aspects of play but still have very big pitfalls compared to actual Primary jobs. I'm not going to discuss blu's pitfalls because anyone who plays the job already knows them (aside from scuro, he is absolutely disillusioned and can't accept actual data/facts) and I've already pointed out not only here but in several other topics in this sub-forum that rdm has.

Best part is that almost all of these jobs are based of jobs from older FF games, and anyone pointing that out and applying how the job was in these games to ffxi will be ridiculed "Well that was that game, this isn't that game." Old discriptions of the jobs are ridiculed also, despite the fact that in almost 9 years, the advertising of the job has not changed - interesting, but that is biased view for you. Just because a job was forced into a role, does not mean that is the role it needs to be tailored for only. If that were true, rdm would have gotten far more mage tailored spells by now, but instead have been given changes to both melee and mage aspects with the only moans/groans coming from the people who think it needs to be one way or the other....for crying out loud, the job is a hybrid..stop asking for it to fit one aspect....

[Stylin]

As far as I'm concerned both the pro-mage onry and pro-melee onry people need to get off their soap boxes and need to seek a balanced common ground.

Hey, you stole my line!

[Shiyo]

Gotta agree on this one. I mean, What else does RDM have left in Abyssea? All I've ever done with it so far is make it a Phalanx II job for CW Burns, that's about it. And when it's down to that when your enfeebles outright resist on Higher-Tier NMs, You have to ask yourself.

Abyssea is not the game, abyssea is 2010, this is 2011. The only thing abyssea is for is duoing/dual boxing seal NM's and farming emps.

[Quetzacoatl]

Abyssea is not the game, abyssea is 2010, this is 2011. The only thing abyssea is for is duoing/dual boxing seal NM's and farming emps.

2011 up until now: We were still doing Abyssea because Voidwatch was trash to begin with, and had less-than-groundbreaking gear (except Rancor Collar and Deluxe Animator) with horrid droprates.

uhh...okay? As far as I know, Abyssea is still 80% of the game at the moment.

[Economizer]

Also, to correct Economizer, Chr only affects Dancing Edge, which rdm can't use as far as dagger WS go

Shadowstitch.

But yeah, I was also thinking of Dancing Edge (I knew it was on more then one WS though!), which Red Mage can't use.

It probably isn't the most useful thing in the world (I was trying to be more cheeky then right when I mentioned WS mods, as I usually am when referring to CHR in FFXI), but that's probably why the spell came out before some of the more useful stats. At least Gain-STR is cheaper then Boost-STR at the moment, I still haven't gotten the White Mage variant. :(

[Varlan]

Is this going to be another stupid melee rdm thread?

I'll get the key points in before this thread turns to shit (inevitable):

Rdm melee is fine on casual unimportant content. Campaign, Dom Ops, some Walk of Echoes (excluding boss), Dynamis, Campaign.
Rdm melee is not good for important or difficult NM fights. Don't do it there.

Rdm melee is weak and has issues. However, Rdm's mage side is also equally weak and has even moe issues.

If people like you keep complaining about the melee aspect, which only affects the weak mobs/casual events/solo aspect of the job, then SE will think melee is all rdms care about and wont boost the mage side, which affects every aspect of the job. That's a problem. That's reason enough for you to keep your trap shut about rdm melee until we recieve the important mage updates we need.

This is nothing of the sort. This thread is my first post on this forum, and I didn't even know this game had a forum until a couple of days ago. I'm getting around to leveling up my red mage and I'm looking at gear on the AH and realizing that I can't get the kind of gear I normally buy after 75. What made me think about this is when I was comparing the Aurore Doublet (damage dealing chest) with the Teal Saio (caster chest). A blue mage can use both as can a puppet master. However, a red mage can only use the Teal Saio. Up until 75, with some exceptions, my red mage can use a lot of STR, DEX, ATK gear, but after looking at the situation with the two chest pieces above, I started looking at other gear on the AH and realized that most of the ATK, STR, DEX gear I can't use. It's all caster stuff and it's only on gear after 75.

I have played my red mage as a melee caster guy since I created him with no issues. I don't run any of the crazy dungeons, never killed an HNM, or don't really even know what Abyssea is, even though I bought the first one the other day. I'm just not that kind of player. But I'm enjoying my class and I'm only concerned with the lack of gear once I get past 75 (which may be a while since I have to beat Maat). It's an innocent question and one that I'd like to have an answer to without getting into any crazy flame wars. I don't know anything about the history of the class. I just followed the description of it in the game when I created it and went from there.

My hope is that the developers put red mage on some of this gear, because it's a little unfair to be allowed to play a certain way up to some point, then do a total 180 and say it wasn't supposed to be that way. I'll admit I'm a little frustrated and disappointed.

[Mageoholic]

My hope is that the developers put red mage on some of this gear, because it's a little unfair to be allowed to play a certain way up to some point, then do a total 180 and say it wasn't supposed to be that way. I'll admit I'm a little frustrated and disappointed.

I wouldn't say a complete 180, its on some pretty decent gear that other jobs use. It can Cap gear haste and has 40% haste by itself, it can break 600ATK, it has pretty solid ACC on 2 weapons, it has a 17% ATK bonus (Dia III), it now has a 10+% native DA, It has Enspells I and II (depending on subjob and weapon selections.).

While some of that is pre Abyssea, and I agree that our gear options haven't grown much....but here is why.

In addition to all those bonuses to melee... we have T4 nukes, T4 Cures, Enfeebles, Buffs, all things that are accessible a gear swap away, RDM is becoming more of a hybrid with almost every update, we have seen updates to both sides in almost equal increments.

The issue with gear isn't so much that it is there. It is that the better gear is not available from easy AFv3 +1/+2 farming, it is under pretty heavy competition with other DD's. It is also the fact that our WS's are kind of meh unless we /WAR (or the like for Sanguine Vorpal) use a Dagger (which is alright if you have Twilight Knife I guess) for Evis, or have CDC.

But RDM has T4 Nukes, T4 Cure, Enfeebles and buffs.

RDM is in a pretty good spot design wise. The issue is not in the gear, it is the systematic things. Such as the Healing Gap The nuking gap. The buffing gap. The debuffing gap. The melee gap.

Oh wait, I forgot we can do all of that stuff with simple gear swaps, where other jobs can't.

RDM is mediocre because it can do everything. Suck it up and learn to solo/lowman.

[Varlan]

RDM is mediocre because it can do everything. Suck it up and learn to solo/lowman.

I won't lie, I don't know anything about what you're talking about. It's all jibberish to me. My point was simply about gear I could use before vs. gear I can't use now. I don't know anything about being mediocre or sucking at casting spells or healing or anything like that. I'm fine with all that. The only thing I want is better gear availability for the way I play. I don't know anything about Abyssea or anything like that. I don't know what a T4 or T5 is and I don't really care, either. When I want some new gear and I go the AH to buy something, I want options. After 75 there are none. Which is why I made this thread in the first place. Maybe some people aren't happy with where they are in the game, but I'm fine with my position. I accept my limitations as being a "hybrid". The gear situation is just unacceptable to me at this point and it's making me want to quit because I was enjoying myself up until this point. Knowing that sometime in the near future I won't be able to get gear is disheartening.

[Swords]

Well your frustrations are understandable, when Zeni NM's were released 3 or 4 years ago, SE for whatever reason just stopped including us on certain types of armor like scale, doublet, and harness gear. Then again SE started to give into the player based trends (which is obvious in most Emp. AF) so that could be part of the reason, but where some job's got left in the dust SE is scampering trying to find a void for these jobs to fill. Seeing as SE has finally started to give RDM some much overdue attention, they are probably playing with their options now that RDM isn't seen as the mainstream all powerful job anymore.

[Soranika]

Oooooh.
...T4 = Tier IV magic. (Fire IV, Blizzard IV, Cure IV.... anything with IV). Same with T5. Any one plays a job that use magic should know this.... Every one should also know any gear worth getting won't usually be on the AH.

And Abyssea should matter. It's part of the core reason RDM's limitations started to rapidly appear.

[Varlan]

I guess I'm learning something about what seems to be the seedy underbelly most of us "casual" players don't know anything about. I never considered any of what you guys are talking about. I hit things with a sword and things die...easily or not. Didn't really matter to me since I was enjoying the game, which to me is the most important part. I'm one of "those guys" in WoW, and I started this game to not be one of "those guys". Which is why I just dealt with what the game gave me and went from there. Ignorance is bliss in this case. Either way, I thought this would be an avenue to voice my concern as someone who is not at all "hardcore" and I don't know what the community wants at large. My discussions with players in the game generally don't revolve around the technical side of the game so I've never really thought about it.

Buying things on the AH is how I've survived in the game and I'm okay with that. I'm not going to get into a discussion about what someone should or shouldn't know about a game, because it's not really my place to tell someone how or what to play. Saying someone should know what T4 and T5 is doesn't make any sense because it's simply game jargon. I know what Water III or Aero IV is, but that doesn't mean I should know that some players call them T3 or T4 spells. Don't get me wrong, I do appreciate the heads up. At least now I know what that means.

As for Abyssea, it means getting into the "hardcore" section of the game that I don't want to jump into. Even more so after reading this thread. I like the way I play my character and to all of a sudden to go from a relatively relaxed game experience to one where people are telling me that I'm gimped, suck, can't play my class, shouldn't play this way, etc., that's not something I want to get into. For me, all they need to do is allow me to get some decent gear from the AH (or even questing to be honest) on my way to 95 and I'll be happy.

I recently figured out what AF was and the red mage stuff just isn't for me, so it's something I've avoided questing for. Even though I think the hat looks awesome.

**EDIT** Red mage was considered a powerful job? I've liked the versatility the job gives, but I wouldn't have considered it "powerful". I simply picked it because the description of the job at character selection sounded cool.

[Mageoholic]

**EDIT** Red mage was considered a powerful job? I've liked the versatility the job gives, but I wouldn't have considered it "powerful". I simply picked it because the description of the job at character selection sounded cool.

Its a false powerful, a long time ago some douchebag named Avesta started soloing the some of the strongest monsters in the game. Ever since then SE has been pussies about RDM, and other jobs cry foul if RDM ever gets to strong again (see RDM EXP healing in ToAU and the current Healing Gap vs SCH and WHM.)

[Economizer]

Okay, I really wish you were on my server, I'd just explain all of this in tells, and give you a linkshell if you had any further questions.


**EDIT** Red mage was considered a powerful job? I've liked the versatility the job gives, but I wouldn't have considered it "powerful". I simply picked it because the description of the job at character selection sounded cool.

Look on YouTube for "Avesta Red Mage" and watch him solo things at 75 that were simply not meant to be fought solo. Be inspired. :p

Some players exploited (in a very good way) being able to do a little bit of everything along side some creative gameplay, and it created a reputation.

There is more to it then that as well, but I'm not quite sure how to put it into words at the moment.


When I want some new gear and I go the AH to buy something, I want options. After 75 there are none.

While there is somewhat of a shortage for mage melee related gear in general, there are a lot of things you can use that will make you incredibly effective. They also tend to be harder to get then gear for jobs that more commonly melee. One of the plights that come with meleeing as a more "magey" class is that you will probably pay ten times the gil for your gear, if you can even buy it.

A lot of the best gear for melee for Red Mage is currently under level 75, although there are pieces above. Rarer pieces generally aren't buyable at the AH, but instead are quested and such.

Basically, as a melee interested Red Mage, you will be putting a lot of work into the job, and it is easy to switch to another class where you put much less effort into it to get the same results, especially as the levels go on. It can be well worth it if you enjoy it, but you should be warned.

-

Getting more to the point, while I do think it is a good idea to ask for this sort of gear, and to ask that the melee related spells and abilities continue to come, the dev team simply does not update fast enough that they will add this gear by the time you get to 95, assuming that you are leveling fairly fast.

Thus, a good idea in the mean time would be to get advice on how to gear up for this play style.

I'm not an expert on gear for Red Mage, but I can suggest a few budget pieces, like a Rajas Ring (quested), Spiral Ring (cheap, helps INT, STR, and VIT, which helps casting and melee, and even a tiny bit for tanking and curing), Suppanomimi (quested), Swift Belt (quested).

That said, I don't have to be an expert on gear, and you don't have to be either. There are plenty of suggestions and guides, like the few in this thread for example:


there's stuff out there to wear.

i run this: http://www.ffxiah.com/item-sets/219339

and that's not ideal. as in rdm could wear better than that.


Mainhand obviously is Almace or the WoE sword for CDC. That not being an option you can twilight dagger and the newer DMG 42 Delay 186 dagger, although it's kinda pricey. If SE was to give us Vorpal naively then we could go Sword all the time.

Both of these guys seem to really know there stuff, and I think I remember Saevel even being knowledgeable on the subject of sub job selection, which is a surprisingly big part of augmenting your Red Mage to fit your play style.

Seriously, if you have any more questions, ask. Even if people who are real experts of Red Mage don't answer, I'll do my best to help, even if the best I can do is point you to FFXI related websites with better knowledge of the game then I have.

As a side thought, don't think that Abyssea is hard because for "end game" content, it is a top contender for casual play, even if some players have to make it more serious then it really is. You can dive right into it with some minor preparation and have lots of fun.

[Swords]

Yeah, a select few amount of highly skilled and extremely well geared RDM's pretty much started soloing some of the toughest baddies of the time. While only a select few were able to pull off such feats, and even though other jobs started doing the same things after a point, many viewed RDM as overpowered even though there was extremely few who could pull off such feats at the time. In the end RDM became represented by the minority of very few elite players which caused a negative and biased backlash that got RDM overlooked for 95% of the updates over the years, and were just now starting to recover and get attention after 7+ years.

[Daniel_Hatcher]

Even though I think the hat looks awesome.

If nothing else, you need that hat, 10% Fast Cast can't be beaten.

[Seriha]

Ah, a newbie's purity. This is one of those times where a MMO's main strength, playing with others, is also its greatest weakness. For the brief times I've dabbled in other games since FFXI's launch, it's almost been a priority for me to avoid the hardcore element of any gaming community. No matter how different the games have been, those types always share a similar element of condescension and hubris that still manages to bleed into a more casual player's game somehow. Could be a random PUG, public channel chatter, or even some element of market manipulation. Heaven help you if it's a PvP game.

Far as FFXI goes, I'm jaded. Some of it's SE's fault. Some of it's the fault of those I've directly play with over the years (MPKers, claim jackers, camp stealers, line skippers, whatever) and the rest involves forum interactions. While I've personally striven to try and emphasize RDM's flexibility, I won't deny there are times where I've hoped the martial aspect got so good that the naysayers would be the fools to continue with their backline only rhetoric. It'd be one of those moments where we see true colors, who's a hypocrite, who's a bandwagon jumper, and who's possibly brave enough to speak out about something that is legitimately broken in the overpowered way. As is, the current RDM is nowhere near that possibility and MP will always be the ultimate limiting factor in deciding whether or not a RDM can be doing it all, all at once, and for prolonged periods. Either way, as long as I'm actively playing FFXI, I'll soap box for RDM until it's where it needs to be. That "need" might be a catalyst for controversy and newbies reading the job description might be a rarity these days, but I want people to get what's advertised, for the game to be loyal to its themes, as such are the very elements that make the Final Fantasy games a connected franchise.

[Varlan]

Thanks a lot for all the replies in this thread. I didn't intend for it to turn into a melee vs. caster fight and honestly, I didn't really know that was an issue. I'll have to consider things a bit going forward, because I kind of enjoyed playing red mage, but I unlocked blue mage, so I might end up going that route. Still, I hope Square Enix really looks at this situation. Telling people they can do something and then not having gear readily available after a certain point is just not good. Especially for new people who don't know any better. It's really just unnecessary frustration.

Anyone have any good ideas where to get some information on decent red mage gear? I looked a couple of posts in this thread, but I'm doing some looking around now and some direction would be good.

[Seriha]

Shoot for 25-26% Haste in gear during TPing. Not exactly easy or cheap initially, but the chance of hitting more often typically outweighs hitting a little bit harder through what ATK options offer. If you're still 70 or below, though, you won't have very many Haste options. I'd roughly suggest ACC in spots in you can't wear Haste or get a high ATK value (Like Amemet Mantle +1 or Atheling Mantle), but since mobs vary in stats, a build that's good for one might not be so good for another. Abyssea buffs take the edge off this a bit, but since you're not there, it's not quite applicable.

What you WS in will depend on the WS. If it's a magical WS like Sanguine Blade, you'll want to focus on Magic Attack and INT. If it's a physical WS, things get trickier for us since you need to try and balance STR, ATK, and ACC to make sure all hits land consistently. I'd suggest using FFXIAH.com's Power Search option (upper left under item search) and select RDM for whatever equipment slot you want to look into. From there, put things like Haste, Attack, INT, and so in the description and search. That should pull up everything with the noted stat, which you can then adjust to sort by level by clicking at the top of the column.

[Kristal]

A crazy thought.. what if SE gave RDMs a stance like Composure that would increase melee potential in exchange for magic potential?

Mana Sword
* Magic Accuracy from gear and buffs is added to Accuracy, and will not affect offensive magic.
* Magic Attack Bonus from gear and buffs is added to Attack, and will not affect offensive magic.
* Enspell damage receives bonus based on Magic Attack Bonus from gear and buffs.
* MP is drained at 10 MP/tick.
* Regular melee hits deal magic damage instead. (Formless Strikes)

If any job can pull something like this off, it's RDM...

[Neisan_Quetz]

A crazy thought indeed, /vote no.

[saevel]

the new hands are solid. 4% haste and 8 dex. if nothing else i'd cdc in them. then probably tp in them over dusk just to save myself an inventory slot.

alucinor mitts i think they're called. they also have mp+50 and darkness resist +50, so that's just gravy. i only didn't mention them because they're so new and uncommon.

there's also a new haste belt, phasmida. +6% haste with 6 acc and eva. i'd take that over goading, but again, brand new and uncommon. i also didn't mention AV belt cuz that's still fairly uncommon, but i guess it's also better than goading. then i suppose speed belt is a worthy mention as well.

i just tried to keep it "attainable"

edit: and yah, i'm working on a str shamshir now myself. the lvl increase was the final nail in the coffin for chimeric fleuret for me. but considering how easy and fast it can be to get if you have an aby group, i think it's still worth mentioning as a placeholder or stepping stone.

Thanks Doom, I knew I remembered seeing some new haste hands when I was looking through the gear dumps. I'm currently using Dusk+1 as it works with every one of my jobs but those other ones would also work with most of my jobs. They are a R/EX drop off the new Tav Diablos? Anyone know how crazy a fight that is? I'm going to have to battle against others to get lotting rights for that it seems.

Which reminds me, we figured out set where the Shiny super sword drops from? Or the Cure Pot +10% sword?

[Daniel_Hatcher]

A crazy thought.. what if SE gave RDMs a stance like Composure that would increase melee potential in exchange for magic potential?

Mana Sword
* Magic Accuracy from gear and buffs is added to Accuracy, and will not affect offensive magic.
* Magic Attack Bonus from gear and buffs is added to Attack, and will not affect offensive magic.
* Enspell damage receives bonus based on Magic Attack Bonus from gear and buffs.
* MP is drained at 10 MP/tick.
* Regular melee hits deal magic damage instead. (Formless Strikes)

If any job can pull something like this off, it's RDM...

Only issue with that is Composure is meant to be the melee JA, hence the recast issue. I don't think gimping the magic side is the right way to go about it. We don't need to be as restricted as SCH is in our battle-stances.

I also think Enspells is the right way to go about increasing RDM's melee damage so the best way to go about it IMO is to change composure to augment our Enspells..

[Sama]

May be this is why --->

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhQg7PC3CDY

XD

[Soranika]

May be this is why --->

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhQg7PC3CDY

XDI'm..... not sure what I just saw. >.<
Anyway random unimportant post. I've taken interest in RDM and I'm pretty glad these discussions are here. I've decided to go level mine beyond subjob level.

[Daniel_Hatcher]

I'm..... not sure what I just saw. >.<
Anyway random unimportant post. I've taken interest in RDM and I'm pretty glad these discussions are here. I've decided to go level mine beyond subjob level.

It's a pointless JAP forum, where they basically mock RDM melee, what with all their crazy love of Accuracy on EVERYTHING.

[Seriha]

General gist of that video was the RDM was basically ignoring the party's needs and swinging away. One of those blanket stereotypes you see flung around, really, along with how all melee RDMs swing in mage gear. It's more appropriate to say that bad players will be bad regardless of job. RDM just so happens to stand out as a result of the perceived "need" the old days yielded and it being painfully obvious when a subpar player is overburdened in situations that could give even veterans trouble. Granted, you'll find some who will create situations just to spite a melee RDM and turn around and try to blame it on them.

Either way, try not to step into the job expecting miracles and without some understanding friends, playing outside the norm could be a bit dicey. DNC is probably the closest job in your roster you have to relate to if going physical, but they'll still play differently. And perhaps from an outsider's perspective looking in, you might see some of the issues we've brought up over time.

[saevel]

Yeah the old "if a RDM pulls out their sword the following happens"
#1, Monster gains HNM status
#2, Everyone in the party suffers a debilitating status effect that kills them shortly
#3, Monster instantly decides to wipe the entire party
#4, Monster gains the ability to instantly use a weaponskill
#5, The RDM hitting the monster actually heals it instead of hurting it

And I'm sure a few others can put some in.

[Swords]

#6 Get blamed for a person dieing, even though he was one shotted at full hp.

[Kitkat]

#7. Feeding too much tp to the mob with melee

This is rather counter-intuitive to other stereo types stating rdm can't hit anything anyway, while completely ignoring a blu spamming low dmg multi-hits to skill up or someone using a kclub doing 8dmg per hit just so they can do WS more often. Unless of course it is the rdm using the kclub ~shrugs~

[Economizer]

Anyone have any good ideas where to get some information on decent red mage gear? I looked a couple of posts in this thread, but I'm doing some looking around now and some direction would be good.

Okay, I might be able to help more now, since I'm not super tired. It is definitely not a complete list, but it might be able to help a little. For the most part I left out enhancing magic gear, which helps enspell damage and Magic Attack Bonus which can help certain weapon skills. Additionally, this is mostly melee focused, so if you need to tank something while hitting, this list won't be the most helpful, and if you want to cast powerful spells, this won't be the most helpful either. Keep that in mind.

-

Weapon: Assuming that you don't want to put the effort into a Relic/Mythic/Empyrean or even the fake empyrean weapons, at least at this time, you'll have a few choices.

Before 75, if you plan on hitting things (instead of Staff swapping and nuking), your best choice is probably a Blau Dolch (http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Blau_Dolch) dagger (which you can buy) in your main hand and a Joyeuse (http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Joyeuse) sword in your offhand, while subbing either Ninja or Dancer.

At higher levels you will be able to do the Magian Trials for Sword (http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Sword_Trials). You can use these to get a few nice things, like a STR/Attack Sword, or something with stats you might like more.

At this point, you can either continue mainhanding a Dagger (while possibly upgrading to a Clement Skean (http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Clement_Skean) or a Twilight Knife (http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Twilight_Knife) for Evisceration and Aeolian Edge at high levels, or a Sword (upgrades will probably be the Runic Anelace (http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Runic_Anelace) which you can buy, or a ton of even better Swords (http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Sword)you can't) for Savage Blade and (if your sub is PLD, BLU, DRK, WAR) Sanguine Blade.

If you want to use a Sword, subbing Dark Knight for Sanguine Blade is probably your best bet (alternatively, Warrior), but then you'll need a Shield. If you want to just buy one from the AH, your best bet is probably a Psychist Shield (http://www.ffxiah.com/item/10801/psychist-shield) (kinda new, so limited availability), a Blume Buckler (http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Bloom_Buckler), or a Tariqah +1 (http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Tariqah_%2B1). That said, farming for a Genbu's Shield (http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Genbu%27s_Shield) isn't that hard and you will only need another mage or two to help you take down Genbu, or if you don't mind hard work, a Muse Tariqah (http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Muse_Tariqah) from doing Zeni NMs.

Don't underestimate your Dagger, since Red Mage gets better native access to Dagger weapon skills, freeing your sub up for Dual Wield access.

-

Head: Something with Haste during TP, such as the Walahra Turban (http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Walahra_Turban) (easy to get, miniquest), Brisk Mask (http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Brisk_Mask) (leach a Glavoid kill, they'll usually give it to you), or Zelus Tiara (http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Zelus_Tiara) (much harder, but the most haste). If you are worried about Accuracy, an Optical Hat (http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Optical_Hat), Issen Hachimaki (http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Issen_Hachimaki), or Kensho Hachimaki (http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Kensho_Hachimaki) can help.

-

Body: Goliard Saio (http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Goliard_Saio), ACP Body (http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Royal_Redingote), are the common choices.

-

Back: Atheling Mantle (http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Atheling_Mantle) is probably the best piece you can get (it isn't too hard), but if you are dead set on being able to buy one, either a Vimukti Mantle (http://www.ffxiah.com/item/10982/vimukti-mantle) or Vellaunus' Mantle (http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Vellaunus%27_Mantle) will suffice, but won't be quite as amazing.

Your AF3 cape (http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Estoqueur%27s_Cape) increases duration or spells, which may also help.

-

Belt: Headlong Belt (http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Headlong_Belt) 3% Haste, Swift Belt (http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Swift_Belt) 4% Haste, Goading Belt (http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Goading_Belt) 5% Haste, 5 Store TP.

For accuracy, a Life Belt (http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Life_Belt) or a Virtuoso Belt (http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Virtuoso_Belt) (easy camp) can help.

-

Hands: Dusk Gloves +1 (http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Dusk_Gloves_%2B1) are the one I commonly hear mentioned for Red Mage. If you don't mind farming a bit, there are a new pair of gloves in Dynamis called Alucinor Mitts (http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Alucinor_Mitts).

And although they are more casting oriented, Eradico Mitts (http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Eradico_Mitts) can help your Aeolian Edges out, or Sanguine Blade.

-

Neck: For accuracy, Peacock Charm (http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Peacock_Charm), Chivalrous Chain (http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Chivalrous_Chain), Ziel Charm (http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Ziel_Charm), Fortitude Torque (http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Fortitude_Torque) (Sword), Love Torque (http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Love_Torque) (Dagger).

-

Ear: Brutal Earring (http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Brutal_Earring) and Suppanomimi (http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Suppanomimi).

-

Ring: Rajas Ring (http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Rajas_Ring), still the best melee ring, from level 30 on. Keen Ring (http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Keen_Ring) and Spiral Ring (http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Spiral_Ring) buyable.

-

Legs: Calmecac Trousers (http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Calmecac_Trousers) are something I've seen suggested. You can also get augments for the ASA legs (http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Tatsumaki_Sitagoromo) (probably Haste and double attack). Prince's Slops (http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Prince%27s_Slops) for accuracy.

-

Feet: I've heard Dusk Ledelsens +1 (http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Dusk_Ledelsens_%2B1) mentioned, but the new Eurus' Ledelsens (http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Eurus%27_Ledelsens) have slightly more Haste, albeit a different downside.

Your AF3 boots (http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Estoqueur%27s_Houseaux_%2B2) augment duration like your cape, which makes them an important Macro piece.

-

Again, this isn't a complete list, nor is a list going to tell you what stats you will value more. Find what stats you want and wear them. Play the style you have fun with.

[VraeliaRDM]

Economizer, I love your ending post. 'Play the style you have fun with.'

To be honest, RDMs are also Melee. (Look back to Final Fantasy 1) where RDM was Melee and a caster/buffer.
Even in this game, RDMs can do everything, remember RDM is a 'Jack-of-all-Trades.'
We are not only casters, we can also melee with good melee gear.
I love meleeing as Red Mage. It is quite fun. And it helps as a stress-reliever (for some). XD

And to see more melee gear for RDM past 75, I would love for this to happen.
Square Enix knows we can do almost everything and anything. They don't need to change anything in our Mage side nor our melee side.

Some people might have forgotten that we Red Mages are the 'Jack-of-all-Trades' job.

We heal. We buff. We Enfeeb. We cast black magicks. We Melee. We can do it ALL. Some aspects of RDM can be buffed more, yes. However, people shouldn't forget that we can melee well. Not as good as other DD jobs, but we can.

[Varlan]

Okay, I might be able to help more now, since I'm not super tired. It is definitely not a complete list, but it might be able to help a little. For the most part I left out enhancing magic gear, which helps enspell damage and Magic Attack Bonus which can help certain weapon skills. Additionally, this is mostly melee focused, so if you need to tank something while hitting, this list won't be the most helpful, and if you want to cast powerful spells, this won't be the most helpful either. Keep that in mind.

Sure thing. Thanks for the information.

-


Again, this isn't a complete list, nor is a list going to tell you what stats you will value more. Find what stats you want and wear them. Play the style you have fun with.

That's an interesting list. I looked up a few of those items and I don't know if I can beat some NMs since I only have my wife and she's low level at the moment. I'm not part of a guild, I mean linkshell, so this is why I pretty much live by the AH. Still, gives me something to look forward to in the future. Though, what stats are worthwhile? I've been stacking STR, ATK, DEX with MND and INT to help round things out a bit. I understand the class is a hybrid of sorts, so I tried to gear accordingly.

I'm still level 70, though. Gotta beat Maat. :(

[Mageoholic]

GL with Maat. Make sure you have capped enfeebling and he is cake.

[Seriha]

That's an interesting list. I looked up a few of those items and I don't know if I can beat some NMs since I only have my wife and she's low level at the moment. I'm not part of a guild, I mean linkshell, so this is why I pretty much live by the AH. Still, gives me something to look forward to in the future. Though, what stats are worthwhile? I've been stacking STR, ATK, DEX with MND and INT to help round things out a bit. I understand the class is a hybrid of sorts, so I tried to gear accordingly.

It's rare STR/DEX/ATK interact directly with INT/MND/MATK, usually only as WS mods like with Death Blossom and MND, otherwise a melee-centric WS and thus a good idea to hone the physical portions first. Anyway, I'll try vaguely sum up what you should try to wear when doing what.

Phalanx/Enspell/Spikes/Barspells: Enhancing gear only affects these.

Stoneskin: Enhancing is also a mod, but MND works and there are Stoneskin-specific items out there. Eventually your natural enhancing will let you cap without other stuff, but the mentioned gear breaks those caps.

Slow/Paralyze: MND and Enfeebling skill, Magic Accuracy also an option. I'm unsure if Addle functions similarly, but couldn't hurt since it's also white magic.

Blind/Bind/Grav/Sleep: Potency isn't so much affected here by INT like with the MND enfeebles, so I'd emphasize Enfeebling and MACC with INT on the slots where 2 INT outweighs a MACC value.

Nukes: MATK, INT, MACC, and Elemental skill (Going from damage to accuracy). /SCH and Dark Arts is really our greatest buff here, as nuking harder prey usually boils down to resist issues.

Meleeing for TP: Haste gear usually wins the day, with ACC and ATK on the side. But as I mentioned earlier, a gear set that works for one mob may not work so well for another (THF types demand more ACC, for example). Get a feel for your target and adjust accordingly.

WS: For physical WS like Vorpal/Savage Blade, Evisceration, and Death Blossom, you'll want to stack up on STR/ATK/ACC and likely a WS elemental gorget. Some like DEX for Evisc since it's a mod, but it doesn't do nearly as much for us as it would a THF. For Sanguine Blade, you can pretty much use your nuking gear.

Idling: You'll want gear with Auto-Refresh, Regen, and most likely Physical Damage reduction. When you're not doing anything, it's best to slap this on so you recover more MP until you do something again and take less damage from AoEs or possible random aggro. This is probably the set you should hold off on fine tuning until you get your other ducks in a row since if you're busy in a group, you won't be wearing it much.


I didn't go into too many specifics since I didn't want to aim you toward things outside your means. You'll have a hard time getting a lot of things without an LS, though. Even the more socially inclined ones can get things done in Abyssea, and once you're past Maat, that's more than likely an environment you'll want to be spending time in.

[Economizer]

That's an interesting list. I looked up a few of those items and I don't know if I can beat some NMs since I only have my wife and she's low level at the moment. I'm not part of a guild, I mean linkshell, so this is why I pretty much live by the AH. Still, gives me something to look forward to in the future. Though, what stats are worthwhile? I've been stacking STR, ATK, DEX with MND and INT to help round things out a bit. I understand the class is a hybrid of sorts, so I tried to gear accordingly.

I'm still level 70, though. Gotta beat Maat. :(

Of course, having a good linkshell that you can ask for help, even if it is just a social shell where people talk, would help a lot. I can't help you out here however, due to server differences.

With a lot of the Abyssea stuff, you won't need a Linkshell. For the Rajas Ring, and the Suppanomimi, you might need to shout in Port Jeuno to get some help for the big fights, but you can duo if not solo through most of CoP (Chains of Promanthia) and ZM (Rise of the Zilart) now. For the add-on gear like the ACP body, you should be able to duo through all of it except the last fight (if I remember correctly) and then shout for the final fight.

For the Nyzul Isle gear and weapon skills like the Goliard Siao, you will probably need a static party, although you could do it with shouts, with a lot of work. You can probably skip the gear, but the weapon skills can be nice to have.

For all this, don't get into a group with people you don't trust, or people who are rude. These days you don't have to put up with people being jerks to get what you want in this game. If you do find a group you like, congrats, but don't feel pressured.

As for stats, what you generally want for melee is Haste > Accuracy > Attack > STR, with a bigger priority on DEX then STR if you use Daggers for extra crits. Haste caps at 25% (wear 26% visible on gear to ensure you cap). There is a lot to gearing stats, but the basic rule of thumb is that Haste is the single most important stat in the game (for melee). Maybe someone else could help explain some stats?

On beating Maat, watch videos of people doing it and read guides. Cap your skills, mainly enfeebling and elemental. My LS leader did it 1/1 on Red Mage back when it meant something, and her big thing was preparation. The other thing that can happen is your nerves - staying calm even if things go slightly wrong will win you the fight.

[saevel]

Also if your going to be meleeing on RDM, then it's wise to invest into an max enhancing magic build. Here is what I use,

body "Glamor jupon"
neck "Enhancing torque"
legs "Portent pants"
hands "Duelist's gloves"
ear1 "Augmenting earring"
feet "Estoqueur's houseaux +2"
back "Estoqueur's cape"

This plus 8/8 Enhancing merits puts me @456 enhancing magic @95. That is a godly amount of enhancing as it gives me.

27 Enspell Damage
20 Gain-STAT
33 Phalanx (Phalanx scaling sucks past 300 enhancing magic)
12~13% DA on Temper (Thanks Seriha)

And stronger accuracy on things like Ice/Fire/Shock Spikes

Only pieces I'm missing are the Olympus Sash for +5 Enhancing magic and the Hyksos Robe for another +10 (+7 over current body).

[Airyl]

Except for the part where people are trying to impose their opinions on the original poster, the replies have been pretty good thus far. Whether we think it's the way it should be or a design flaw, there just isn't much gear out there to really support someone taking a dedicated approach to redmage melee unless they go quite a ways out of their way and spend considerable gil.

@noodles355: What's wrong with thinking SE might actually fix both aspects at once? Unlikely, sure, they have kind of a bad record with these things, but it's not like they just can't.

[Ophannus]

Also if your going to be meleeing on RDM, then it's wise to invest into an max enhancing magic build. Here is what I use,

body "Glamor jupon"
neck "Enhancing torque"
legs "Portent pants"
hands "Duelist's gloves"
ear1 "Augmenting earring"
feet "Estoqueur's houseaux +2"
back "Estoqueur's cape"

This plus 8/8 Enhancing merits puts me @456 enhancing magic @95. That is a godly amount of enhancing as it gives me.

27 Enspell Damage
20 Gain-STAT
33 Phalanx (Phalanx scaling sucks past 300 enhancing magic)
12~13% DA on Temper (Thanks Seriha)

And stronger accuracy on things like Ice/Fire/Shock Spikes

Only pieces I'm missing are the Olympus Sash for +5 Enhancing magic and the Hyksos Robe for another +10 (+7 over current body).


I do the same. Can also augment Zenith Crown for some Enhancing Skill I believe. This will be awesome when we get Gain-INT as +20ish INT would rock for boosting our nukes a good amount and Gain-DEX should be sweet for CDC for those that have it.