[Job Adjustmentｓ Manifesto] RDM

[Ophannus]

RDMs are getting Cure 5 next patch. Keep in mind RDM learns cures before SCH does, and the level cap is only going up to 95 next patch. The SCH update notes indicated that they won't be getting Cure 5(for now), meaning not 91-94, but remember RDM learns Cure IV before 50 while PLD/SCH learns Cure 5 at lvl 55 which is above G1 level cap. So most likely we will be getting Cure 5.

[Seriha]

I feel like the hinting toward WS restrictions is probably the melee camp's biggest hope out of all of this. While another core argument remains in gear selection, I'm comfortable in saying that releasing appropriate gear shouldn't really be worthy of an update note, as such specifics have never really happened before. Just do it without locking them behind Voidwatch, WoE, or other such insufferable NMs nobody wants to fight JUST for a melee RDM and we'd be pleased.

Otherwise indifferent on our new "enspell" and would still like to see T2s fixed to be on-cast instead of on-strike. The whole enhancing/enfeebling concept still seems to be a bit of a head scratcher without more info, though, especially when you start comparing us to other jobs.

[Neisan_Quetz]

If your tank was engaged to a NM there was no point in having a Rdm tank. Unless your other tank was a bad Pld, I guess. Even then Pld still has higher skill than Rdm and access to better gear and same weapons.

[Seriha]

You know what? For the life of me, I will never understand why people like you think this is so shameful.

Maybe people should just let go of all their hang ups and stop letting other people dictate how they play their game.

Is it hard to grasp that people want to play with others, not just with other people coincidentally around? Sure, Campaign got an EXP buff recently (offensive battles still blow if no mobs are around, though), but once you're capped off on your merits, rank, and such, then what? It is unfortunately old content with little incentive going for it, and as an individual, your contributions don't really translate to much. Especially when the crux of Campaign progress tends to fall in those 10-12 hours prior to tally where a lot of people reading this are probably asleep or close to it.

I've said it before, but being shuffled aside to solo old/weak content is an insulting way of saying, "You don't matter." It's not hard to figure out why such opinions have been formed, as we've argued the cons time and again, but if you want to argue such a dismissive play style boasts a meaningful longevity to any player... well, let's just say I'll argue against it and leave it at that. Nobody likes being excluded, and the unfortunate root of that problem in FFXI tends to lie in a lack of use. Sure, some will gobble up being pure mage just so they don't feel time spent leveling wasn't wasted or use it as an easy street to other-job loot, but the importance of RDM's conceptual package can not ignore its martial side like it has up until this point. Even the "Melee fodder, magic bosses" line is a farce if all you do or are expected to do is fight "bosses" with the job (Which is basically Voidwatch since you can't interact with outside mobs during a fight). Or in Abyssea's case, the inconvenience of making others wait to shift atmas around after farming pops.

[cidbahamut]

Is it hard to grasp that people want to play with others, not just with other people coincidentally around?

Do what Hyrist did for years and run with a group who's willing to accommodate your non-standard style of play.

Sure, some will gobble up being pure mage just so they don't feel time spent leveling wasn't wasted or use it as an easy street to other-job loot

Or because they genuinely enjoyed the mage side of it. You keep leaving that part out and I wish you wouldn't.

[Ketaru]

I've said it before, but being shuffled aside to solo old/weak content is an insulting way of saying, "You don't matter."

I fail to see why anybody in this game should think their opinion matters more than anybody else's. A certain subset of people are looking at this DEV announcement and looking at it as if it's some moral failing on those for frontline and a losing battle for those of backline. In the end, this is what they have decided is to be. And so I go back to my last question? Is anybody going to quit over it? Probably not.

Wanting to play with others is all well and good, but whose approval are you looking for really? Your friends that will probably let you do whatever you want anyway so long as you can prove you're not idiotic about it? Pickup parties- the groups in this game that prove time and time again to be of questionable quality? Power players that have always systematically excluded certain jobs? Forget the last group. They're the ones that put jobs like SAM on a pedestal for years, then quickly relegated it to loluselessinabyssea status as soon as it proved to not be optimal. They're not going to stand up for any job on principal alone, which is what the melee-update-for-RDM advocates are all about.

In fact, treating RDM as any other meleer, it's really no different from what's going on right now where we've got a tank/DD on the target and nothing else. Just a bunch of DRGs and DRKs standing around because they're just another unit feeding the mob TP and another unit that needs to be healed. The fact that damage dealer jobs aren't even allowed to perform their main function in an optimal setting should tell you that the current game design has bigger problems that RDM not being allowed to melee is only a small part of.

A melee update is an improvement on the job (so long as its not a nerf...it shocks me that some of you would even ask for this) that people should just accept gracefully. Yes, even the backline-only people. It's not like that side of things has been ignored seeing as the Job Manifesto explicitly states future updates are going to be in the Enhancer/Enfeebler direction. But it's naive to even ask for a melee update so strong that people will ask RDMs to melee higher tier NMs when not even the more traditional melee jobs are not allowed to do it.

[Neisan_Quetz]

Your melee on stronger mobs doesn't matter.

[Seriha]

Sorry, but I'll see WHMs with an identity crisis when applied to most practical applications of the "mage" RDM. You can try to argue until you're blue in the face about how every RDM solos hard crap or that it's also practical, but it's not. It's a job I've seen plenty get burnt out on or outright try to avoid playing doing old endgame where all that was demanded of them were cures, refresh, haste, and maybe the occasional chainspell stun.

[Hyrist]

A melee update is an improvement on the job (so long as its not a nerf...it shocks me that some of you would even ask for this) that people should just accept gracefully. Yes, even the backline-only people. It's not like that side of things has been ignored seeing as the Job Manifesto explicitly states future updates are going to be in the Enhancer/Enfeebler direction. But it's naive to even ask for a melee update so strong that people will ask RDMs to melee higher tier NMs when not even the more traditional melee jobs are not allowed to do it.

And that's really that point right there. That other Melee Jobs do not melee on the monster.

Now if Red Mage gained a utility that would allow for this, then I'd be in support of encouraging Red Mage more in the front lines, because it would help other Melees do their job better.

However, I'm more in support of just expanding the horizons of what they can melee on acceptably, through performance increases and utility. I'm not expecting to Melee High Tier NMs, and if players are wanting to do that then they're best fitting with a group which will allow for that playstyle.

However, I'm not expecting a class-rewrite to accommodate desires of bringing Red Mage to the front lines on HNMs. As far as creating a new unique role for Red Mages for HNMs, there should be no issues really in giving Red Mage better spells that assist with this.

The "Anything That matters" Argument is really false. Because honestly, every fight matters, no matter the difficulty or 'tier'. Every battle usually has a purpose behind it, even if it is just personal enjoyment. My only request is that melee is elevated beyond the simple 'toy' phase to be more acceptable in events that contain a good deal of cannon fodder. Battlefield content like Walk of Echoes, Dynamis, or any other new or current updates they wish to add.

Through, right now. the biggest challenge in the game for me, is getting into it.

*grumblebillingwithclicktobuygrubmle*

[Seriha]

AE loses a lot of steam if you're not fighting 2+ mobs, either. Seeing how with the proper atmas I can crank Sanguine Blade up to 3k+ on mobs that won't resist, I'd rather be using that for one-on-one fights. Would just be nice if we didn't have to have a specific sub for it.