How can SE make the Redmage frontline job?

[Seriha]

Actually, we're here because WE don't like RDM's current playing style. Disliking it doesn't automatically translate into a hands in the air, "OMG WE'RE USELESS!" rant. You'll find I'm someone that doesn't just generically want Cure V to help our viability. I know RDM can handle the average abyssea fight, and I'm not above inviting another RDM or SCH for the harder things to help cure, but I'm also someone who has WHM leveled, so what's the point? I can switch and have one less mouth to feed.

Now, I know blabbing about what all I have leveled doesn't have a whole lot of meaning these days, but prior to the cap increase and Abyssea, I had 13 jobs at 75, everything else pretty much sub ready for 99 cap aside from PUP and MNK. RDM has never actually gotten a whole lot from HNMs or other endgame spheres, being absent from things like the ZNM sets, even. Even as far as Limbus' introduced, we would've liked to have been on Homam, but instead got the crap that is Nashira while BLU winds up on both sets. Nonetheless, my jobs were pretty decently geared. I did the SAM/DNC thing in campaign since it beat fully rebuffing every 2:30, easily capping EXP for fights well over a half hour if they managed to last that long. I did the BLM thing at Dynamis. I tanked on DRK for lowman stuff. Perhaps the only things I never really arsed myself to do were AV and PW, but that was a mix of the numbers game and me feeling like they were a complete waste of time to chase since, despite often being the LS RDM and all it's WHM-wannabe or Refresh whore glory, I would have NEVER been priority for things like the Sash or other useful items for the jobs that could've used them because we all know it's more efficient to not pander to a melee RDM in the game's current state. So screw them.

You're also talking to someone who didn't like the old solos. NMs should've picked up Bind resistance over time like they did Gravity. DoTs should've gradually gone shorter in duration. Zoned mobs should instantly heal to full regardless of DoTs. Take us off the Ceremonial Dagger. Actually do something about the BS that's pinning. I'd give all this "power" up in a heartbeat just so people couldn't try to dangle it over our heads, but the funny thing is a lot of it isn't exclusive to RDM. We already saw rage timers, flee speeds, outright resists, potent regens, and other counters to cripple this behavior. Of course, publicly declaring such has earned me the bile of those RDMs who only find these particular activities fun about the job. Didn't really matter they were circumventing Dev intent, they just wanted to do it, or merc themselves off to others for profit. Meanwhile, for every pro RDM who thought spending 4 hours to DoT Genbu to death was cool, I could've been in and out with my LS in 5 minutes. I have zero sympathy for those intentionally delay the play of others like that, and I'm sure we've all grumbled about similar in Abyssea... which is only worse since it's literally a time sensitive environment.

Otherwise, you talk about 2 shotting mobs with nukes. Sure, you can pump ice nukes to that level in Abyssea, but if you're going melee, odds are you'll be doing something like RR/GH/AoA. Your nukes will drop sharply then. You won't have the MP flow to sustain nuking every time the cooldown is up (Hell, we don't when we're Beyond/MM/Ultimate). You'll basically be a crappy mage if you still insist on that... which of course gets the RDM in trouble because their efficiency has dropped for whatever reason. Could be the sub, could be not swapping a staff because you wanna keep TP, could be your party members being retards, could be you're spread too thin because some nimrods out there believe that infinite MP tripe.

Put simply, people want efficiency. People want the path of least resistance that leads to the most plentiful results. RDM melee is the hardest aspect of the job to gear, and relative to nuking as a damage source, is basically inferior. Our buff side is grossly overstated. What most mean to say is Utsusemi makes us "gods" at times, which last I checked is a NIN ability. Our debuffs really aren't all that when they can land, and we all know WHM can brute force their way through a fight even without casting their T1 versions of Slow and Para (And to the Efficiency Police, enfeebling is A Bad Thing(tm) since the MNK can't counter as often!).

Back in the day, I used to say something like RDM is 1/9 WAR, 5/9 WHM, and 3/9 BLM. Nowadays, you could drop a point off WHM and add it to BLM, if only because of T4 nukes. We've obviously gotten no new cures or meaningful party buffs. Still, I'd like this ratio to eventually become more of 1/3rd each, but I'm not so dense as it to limit it purely to damage. Melee and Support aren't mutually exclusive roles. Would you let a RDM melee if it meant they could cast a 20% Haste instead of 15%? How about a 45% Slow instead of 35%? That's just the beginning kiddies, and it doesn't even demand 4k+ WS to work.

[Bigboy]

Put simply, people want efficiency. People want the path of least resistance that leads to the most plentiful results. RDM melee is the hardest aspect of the job to gear, and relative to nuking as a damage source, is basically inferior. Our buff side is grossly overstated. What most mean to say is Utsusemi makes us "gods" at times, which last I checked is a NIN ability. Our debuffs really aren't all that when they can land, and we all know WHM can brute force their way through a fight even without casting their T1 versions of Slow and Para (And to the Efficiency Police, enfeebling is A Bad Thing(tm) since the MNK can't counter as often!).

Back in the day, I used to say something like RDM is 1/9 WAR, 5/9 WHM, and 3/9 BLM. Nowadays, you could drop a point off WHM and add it to BLM, if only because of T4 nukes. We've obviously gotten no new cures or meaningful party buffs. Still, I'd like this ratio to eventually become more of 1/3rd each, but I'm not so dense as it to limit it purely to damage. Melee and Support aren't mutually exclusive roles. Would you let a RDM melee if it meant they could cast a 20% Haste instead of 15%? How about a 45% Slow instead of 35%? That's just the beginning kiddies, and it doesn't even demand 4k+ WS to work.

If your debuffs aren't impressive, you either suck, or are really hard to impress. My para II will leave a mob doing NOTHING for 10 seconds at a time, and sometimes longer. I don't have to explain maxed slow and blind as well, I assume.

As for meleeing being a component to your buffs and debuffs... The job is called Dancer. Go ahead and play that if it is the playstyle you are looking for out of your RDM.