Runic, (Can I have it?)

[ManaKing]

There was some loose talk about Celes' ability from FFVI in a thread about quick magic. (http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxi/th...ck-Magic/page2)

I think the idea is neat and I figured I would give it some attention. I would personally want it as a job ability on a lower cooldown.

History:
Celes original job ability Runic, enabled Celes to nullify the next magic spell cast and absorb the MP used to cast it. The ability canceled any magic, offensive or defensive, and from any source, ally or enemy. It required her to wield a sword that was capable of using Runic. It also required that she not do any other actions. There were some spells that Celes couldn't Runic such as Meteor or Meltdown, because they hit every character in battle.

I like most of the idea Duelle already came up with for it and I'm happy to give credit to him/her.


Runic - Job Ability - 3 minute cooldown
Instant - RDM stops all actions. The next offensive spell used by the enemy against anyone in your party is redirected towards the RDM. All status effects are nullified and all damage spells hit for 1/2 of the total value of the spell. The RDM gains 1/2 of the MP used to cast the spell.

Runic would be a buff that could be canceled so that RDM could resume actions.


Pro's - You gain MP for doing it successfully. You can shield your team from harmful effects that would potentially wipe your party. You can shield pets and shadow users from AOEs that disrupt their ability to function.

Con's - You can't do anything while in Runic. You take damage from damage spells. In the case of AOEs, you will be taking 1/2 of the total damage your entire party would have taken.
Big AOE = You Died.


Much like everything in FFXI, timing and discretion are key. Do you use Runic for the first spell cast or wait for a big one? What is more important, nullifying status effects or damage? Can you even take the full brunt of the next big AOE or is it going to kill you?

I wouldn't be against other classes getting it instead. A magic tank would be a nifty thing to have. I only put it in RDM because we already get magic defense bonus, phallanx, shell, stone skin, and bar spells that could be utilized to soften the blow against us.

[Ophannus]

I'd sooner see this as a PLD ability than RDM to be honest.

[Duelle]

I'd sooner see this as a PLD ability than RDM to be honest.

Seeing that Red Mage is more of a magic swordsman than Paladin, I beg to differ.

[Supersun]

Would it be nice to get, sure.

Does it fill any purpose we are currently lacking in? Not really.

You have to keep in mind that the devs have a limited amount of time and effort they have to split between everything so while ultimately it would be nice if we were to receive every spell and ability on the wishlist topic that just isn't feasible. Given that they have limited time and resources, changes that don't really serve a purpose besides being a situational new toy are better off yielding to changes that significantly add to the job. This is partly why Shield Mastery pisses me off. Sure, getting something is better then getting nothing (unless that something subtracts :P), but compared to all the potential changes they could of made that would meaningfully change the job for the better it just felt more like a waste of time (at least in it's current form).

So yeah, would it be nice to get Runic? Sure. Would it be nice to get Double Cast? Absolutely.

But compared to the thousands of other changes that they could make to the job that have significant meaning especially when some of those changes could very well fix current problems with the job I can't say that adding Runic would be a very efficient use of their time.

[Septimus]

Red Mages have been asking for Runic for as long as I have been playing this game. (NA release.) For as much as I would love to get it, I just never see it happening.

I remember when the ToAU expansion came out, one of the terms added to the Auto Translate dictionary was "Runic Seal". All of the Red Mages got so happy when they heard this, only for their hopes to be dashed when they found out about Assault.

[Vraelia]

I'd personally would love it if RDMs got this Ability. It would make us more important, and more necessary. And, more valuable.

[Seriha]

Put me in the "It'd be nice to have, but other things have priorities." camp. Can't really see how it'd make us more important or needed unless you start stacking multiple RDMs on NMs with frequent -agas. The concept of doing anything with more than six people is pretty much blasphemy these days, though.

[ManaKing]

I can't disagree with anyone saying that this isn't as important as X, but I still want it. If they aren't going to give us anything that we deem important, we might as well get something nice.

[Limar]

Red Mages have been asking for Runic for as long as I have been playing this game. (NA release.) For as much as I would love to get it, I just never see it happening.

But now we have this board we can hope Square actually looks at sometimes.

[Merton9999]

I had written up one here playing around a bit ago:

http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxi/th...unic#post91016

I'll summarize that one a bit below since this is the thread for it. The way you have it sounds OK, but I'd see that version for PLD more than RDM. In fact, I hesitate to talk about this at all since my fear is no matter how it's implemented it would probably go in the pile with Occult Acumen, Fencer, Enlight, Endark, enfeebling weapon strikes, and spell + WS = SC, that all made sense for RDM for years and were handed to other jobs. Anyway, I'd like this for RDM:

Runic
1 minute cooldown
1. Absorbs the next elemental magic spell cast by the RDM, a party member or the mob to which the RDM is engaged.
2. The absorbed spell element must match the RDM's current enspell element
3. Damage from the spell is stored for delivery as added enspell damage.
4. The damage amount is proportional to damage of the spell, and the attack power of the main hand weapon.
5. The goal with the added enspell damage is to use an equation that would potentially double the original nuke power, if you have enough haste, accuracy, attack power and dedicated melee time to pull off the ideal
6. An additional ability, "Runic Seal" would allow the remaining absorbed power to be channeled into your next WS. The purpose here is to allow you to unleash the remaining power if you've decided that it's time to stop and cure/buff/enfeeble so you don't lose the enspell damage for the missed swings, and allows the extra damage to gain hate if you want. If unleashed in this way, the additional damage to the WS should be about half what the perfect enspell DOT would have been.

Benefits:
1. Promotes melee a bit
2. Gives enspells another dynamic
3. Introduces a new teamwork concept - by absorbing another player's nuke, you can have a more potent Runic charge via BLM, SCH, and SMN higher tier spells.
4. Can be used defensively, but the requirement to match the current enspell limits what you can absorb so we don't have a full additional stun here. The matching enspell requirement also implies you won't be using Runic both offensively and defensively simultaneously because chances are you won't be meleeing with an enspell matching an element the mob is fond of casting. For mobs that don't have that strict absorption/ resistance to their favorite spells, you get that extra concept of being able to turn a mob's spell back on it. With that in mind, I'll take Endark at 99 so we can turn back Meteor.
5. Can take the hate that would be generated by your nuke or another player's and cancel it by channeling it into the enspell damage
6. I like the concept of the spell coming from anyone because you have to pay attention and time it right.