Solo leveling red mage.

[animeprimeresh]

I’ve about got my beastmaster up to 75 but I started out as a red mage and got her up to level 30 before switching. I’ve always wanted to level her up enough to wear the AF armor and awesome hat so I’m thinking of changing back to her for a while. My time is somewhat limited now so I doubt I would be able to wait for a group and then stay with them long enough without being rude, so it would mostly be soloing for an hour or two each day. I just got back into the game a few months ago so a lot of the information I’ve looked up is out of date and had a few things to confirm.
What is the best way to solo level GoV/FoV or solo mobs in general? Is it to use nuke spells or completely focus on melee or a mix of both? I’d assume it would be nuking unless you have some awesome melee gear to help with Enspells and such. If you go the nuking route which stats besides INT would be useful?
Is it worth using enfeebles while soloing? I’d bet Paralyze is good and maybe Blind for melee enemies and silence for casters. But the mana cost on some of the enfeebles is pretty high and would increase down time.
What is the best subjob for leveling now? I used white and black mage several years ago but a few guides say Scholar is great at higher levels and Blue is good if you’ve learned certain spells. I have a 30 ninja and dancer for my BST sub right now and DNC has been great for cutting out resting.
My typical strategy has been going to a GoV tome and picking an easy page, then staying in that zone so the bonus EXP keeps building up. Its probably slower than getting a group but my time is kind of funky. I don’t suppose there is a better way to

[Demon6324236]

Well 2 helpful tips, 1, if meleeing use /NIN and shadows, its very effective for RDM, just get 2 good swords and you will be fine. The other tip is that once you are level 33, try to get Phalanx. Its expensive but very worth it if you can cap your enhancing magic, at level 33 thats about -10 damage per hit the mob hits you which is amazing for keeping you alive in the end.

[ManaKing]

at level 30 it's a toss up between magic or melee. If your fights last longer than your buffs do, then I would advise nuking. After you get Composure, I'd say melee is easier, or at least more engaged. Resting between mobs has a tendency to make me wander off.

Ice Spikes are very potent and useful when you get them. Most enfeebles are worth casting so long as you are fighting anything that is worth softening up, which is most things when you solo.

[animeprimeresh]

Thanks, I guess I'll try nuking till I get composure and then try melee. I worked on getting my Enhancing skill pretty high. Besides the direct damage nukes, are the DOT spells like Bio and Poison worth casting?

[Aethon]

Since i went solo/duo until 65 on my rdm... i can help some. Melee all the way. Nuke method just really takes too long due to having to rest and kite/ bind enemies.
Main sub should be /nin or /dnc. dual wield is huge in making kills faster. get 2 Centurion's swords and go to town.
http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Centurion%27s_Sword
just look at that! Way low delay for a sword, ACC and ATK bonus all in one neat package. You can ride those swrods for a good many levels.
Use /dnc with drain samba to help keep your hp up or roll with an enspell on all the time to help with a little more damage each round.
Stick to GoV areas if you can. FoV helps too. I soloed before either of them and can tell you it was boring. the faster you move up the sooner you get to the fun stuff.
Debuffs: Stick with paralyze, poison, blind, and dia. Dia/poison always, para/blind for tougher.
Have fun and happy hunting on your RDM!

[Demon6324236]

^I agree with that, better put than I could have said.

[animeprimeresh]

Thanks alot Aethon! I've got some old melee gear still so I'll try that route first.

[Babekeke]

Look for the old BLM solo guides (http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Black_Mage_Solo_Guide). I levelled RDM to ~50 on pets. /NIN and 2 INT Clubs.

[Aethon]

I'm on bismark too so if you ever have questions just shoot me a tell. I'd offer my old melee gear that i had on my mule but i just went on a huge cleaning spree >.<

A few more points to help. For armor roll with the Centurion's set. Good solo stat bonuses on that. I always rolled with stat bonuses over a few def points anyway. Waist go with a Mercenary captain's belt. Back should be Night cape or sarcenet Cape. The added eva helps. Neck should be Tiger's stole. It's tempting to do spike collar but the mnd - 6 hurts a lot of the spells you will need to cast. Ears go for dodge x2. Lastly rings, rock two Courage rings. STR all the way.

All this assumes money to burn. No money, roll with whatever is cheap. Crappy armor will do just fine, weapons are much more important. I remember not having money while soloing and having meh gear. As long as stuff isnt killing you faster than you kill it, all is good. Have fun!

[Rustic]

/NIN is effective, and honestly on the mobs you're fighting, you don't need to be using wands. Swords are best. You don't have to really boost MND/INT here, but don't take anything that reduces it, either.

Alternatively, you can go the other route as soon as you get Silence- hunting worms. I used to go /BLM and just shut the things off at range then nuke them to death, but /NIN works too. (LOL, dual wands). With field MP refresh buffs, you can start in the Maze at 18 blowing up Maze Makers/Korroloka Tunnel Land Worms, move up to Qufim shortly afterwards, and can go into Gusgen/deeper in the Maze if you feel like going further that path. Back in the day, it was kinda hilarious being able to exp chain yourself solo. If that's the case, you're just suiting up as a caster instead. This has the advantage of burning a lot less money- truth is, you may not even need so much as a single use of shadows the entire time. You're also often fighting even-con worms this way, so your casting skills sharpen up and stay topnotch fast.

[Babekeke]

(LOL, dual wands)

When each wand gives you a couple of INT for your nukes, and -25% interrupt rate down (stacking with aquaveil for -75% interrupt rate, -83% with an Obi) it's definately worth dual-wielding wands.

Edit: this is for nuking only, of course. I'm not suggesting you melee with them, in case there was confusion.

[Rustic]

When each wand gives you a couple of INT for your nukes, and -25% interrupt rate down (stacking with aquaveil for -75% interrupt rate, -83% with an Obi) it's definately worth dual-wielding wands.

Edit: this is for nuking only, of course. I'm not suggesting you melee with them, in case there was confusion.

That's where the "LOL" comes in. Dual wands if you're nuking is great. Watching some my oldschool solo brethern not bother to switch when something aggroed them....not so great. Pack a pair of melee weapons for when the occasional bad luck happens, but if you're /NIN and nuking, a pair of wands is pretty darn good- though elemental staves tend to take the cake after that.