[Job Adjustmentｓ Manifesto] RDM

[Ketaru]

Potential homogenization between SCH and RDM is very real come 99 without SE throwing in some major monkey wrenches. That's a problem, and one Ketaru tried to skirt around mentioning the sword thing as a diversifier like it shouldn't matter.

And the exact same people here were up in arms about it happening at level 80, then at level 85, then at level 90. Except something happened, SE actually started giving the jobs radically different spells and abilities (Libra come to mind? What about Saboteur? Or Addle? Or Adloquium?)

As for the Sword thing, no it doesn't matter as long as what we're talking about is casting here. If you want to include it as a distinction between the two jobs, go ahead. I'll even back you up on it. RDM can cap Haste. SCH cannot. RDM has access to powerful critical hit WSs. SCH does not. RDM has a job ability that improves accuracy. SCH does not. RDM has a wide variety of gear to choose.

That last point is a very important distinction between the two jobs since, as a SCH yourself apparently, you ought to be more than well aware of the glaring omissions in the gear that SCH does not have access to compared to RDM...or any other job in the game for that matter. We all know this piece right? Even BRD can use it!

Either way, while Arts/Strat limitations can be a factor, I still stand behind the fact your role should be better pegged before heading out.

The fact the playerbase limits the roles that a player can fill isn't somehow a reflection of how useful RDM or SCH can actually be. That's just for the purpose of easy categorization. Like I said, SCH is hurting right now primarily because we're actively trying to reduce the amount of people that have claim on lotting loot. That is totally different with the latest addition to the game, Voidwatch, where your chance at goodies won't be better just because you fight with less people and, in fact, alliance play is strongly encouraged.

If your alliance has a primary healer and a primary nuker and has key support covered, and you've got a spot left and aren't sure whether you want additional healing or additional nuking, there is absolutely no reason SCH cannot take up that spot and grease the wheels even further by using their spells to make the other mages more efficient, which is really the purpose of enmity and weather spells, as well as supplement healing and nuking. I don't know about anybody else, but I never really believed the best way to play SCH was to decide, ahead of time, whether you wanted to imitate WHM or BLM today.

As for the criticism that SCH cannot react as immediately to a sudden situation, I for one have never had a problem where I wasn't able to save somebody from something just because of ability spam. Enlightenment is always readily available. And if you're having more emergencies than you can handle in 3 minutes and 45 seconds, I would think that's a bigger problem with the group than with the SCH.

EDIT: On the subject of roles to fill, you want my honest opinion that I know some posters for exclusively the mage side of things may not agree on? I think RDM is perfectly serviceable as a frontline unit as it is now and any update to our melee shouldn't be looked upon as some moral failing of the community and of SE. There are situations where you would want another frontliner. You'll deal damage to be sure- whether it's worthwhile damage or not is entirely up to the group you're running with. You can be a co-tank. Maybe nuking the particular mob you're on would be highly inappropriate. And with that, you still have not suddenly lost your ability to cast your enfeebles, Haste, Refresh, Phalanx II, or Cures.

My feeling however is that, 95% of the time, we do not run into such situations where we need to fill that particular blend of roles (in fact, I'd venture to guess that, 95% of the time, we're in situations where we want to minimize the amount of people on the mob these days) And unless you know you're going into it ahead of time, you're not going to be prepared for it when it happens. And, by the time you recognize that you're in such a situation, it's probably too late; you're already subbing mage and have staffs. Maybe you ought to curse our inability to swap from /WHM to /NIN out in the field?