Red Mage – Unnecessary Actions and Suggested Adjustments
Section One – Unnecessary Red Mage Actions
TLDR: These are the actions that do not need to exist on Red Mage with their current function.
http://img.finalfantasyxiv.com/lds/p...K6BDEa5riU.png Tether
I'm going to be blunt about this one. Tether simply should not exist as a Red Mage action. Moreover, I believe the same should be said about Freeze for Black Mage and Tri-bind for Summoner. In the case of Freeze and Tri-bind, those spells deal damage which grants the potential for niche usefulness beyond the primary function of those spells, but let's take a moment to recognize that those spells could be replaced with something better.
All three jobs are in possession of a spell designed to bind a group of targets within a designated radium. Since their value in a PvP setting has been made irrelevant, the times when there is a need to bind even a single target in a PvE setting are highly situational. When all three jobs possess spells with identical functions that happen to also be extremely niche, that is exactly the kind of spell that belongs in the category of a Role Action.
Now I understand what SE is probably thinking. They can't simply put Tether as a Role Action when casters already have ten actions, like every other role. Quite frankly, I don't think there would be an issue if certain roles had more Role Action options available when compared to other roles because ultimately only five are able to be set during combat. It isn't necessary to take away something that already exists as a caster Role action in order to make room for Tether.
http://img.finalfantasyxiv.com/lds/p...er6w1IGIm4.png Manafication
This one may come as a surprise. Manafication is an ability that will be used at every available opportunity assuming optimal gain is ensured. However, there is a reason why I dislike this ability.
I'm going to use a broad example, but let's say that over the course of a five minute encounter, a Red Mage using Manafication will execute the melee combo five times. Now let's imagine that Manafication didn't exist, but all spells increased white and black Mana by a larger amount. In this scenario, over the course of a five minute fight, a Red Mage will execute the melee combo five times.
There's no denying that Manafication is useful, but ultimately all it does is allow for Enchanted weaponskills to be used with a greater frequency which can also be accomplished by simply increasing the natural rate at which Mana accumulates upon the casting of spells. I can only foresee that being a potential issue for level 50 content because the Red Mage would gain Mana at a faster rate, but that is something that can be address by keeping the default Mana acquired from spells the same as it is now, but then simply create a trait at level 60 that increases those values to a proportional degree to what Manafication would generate over a given duration.
http://img.finalfantasyxiv.com/lds/p...kO6cKlc2Mo.png Impact
I'm going to be brief with this one. Put simply, all it would take is a single trait to make Impact completely unnecessary. The trait would be acquired at level 66 which then adds the additional effect of "Enhanced Jolt II" to Jolt II, much like what we see on Scatter, but with a guaranteed proc. An Enhanced Jolt II would have its potency and Mana gain increased to be equal to that of Impact. At that point, Enhanced Jolt II will have completely replaced the function of Impact.
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Section Two – What to do About Unnecessary Actions
TLDR: I would like to see Tether replaced by a completely new action, Manafication given a new function that adds depth to Red Mage, and for Impact to potentially have a use as an AoE spell.
What Could Replace Tether?
Tether is the only action I would like to see completely removed from Red Mage, however I would want it to still exist as a caster Role Action. The removal of Tether would then open up space for a new action which could be anything. A new spell, a new ability, or even a new weaponskill.
The creation of a replacement action that is completely new in both function and animation would require significant development. For that reason I don't expect anything on that level prior to 5.0, but personally I lean towards waiting on the prospect of something potentially innovative rather than shoehorn Tether into a function that doesn't fit what it was designed to be. And I'm mainly talking about the meek spell animation when I say that.
What Could Replace Manafication?
I would like for Manafication to still exist as a Red Mage ability, but there is still vast potential in terms of what it could do.
Prior to the release of Red Mage, during a time when all we could do was speculate on video footage, I had some hope that Mana would not be automatically consumed upon the execution of a weaponskill and that Manafication was actually a component that enabled Mana to be spent. However, while the automatic consumption of Mana can be a minor annoyance at times, I feel that limiting Manafication to such a small function dwarfs its potential. Aside from hoping for an improbably rework or waiting on the addition of new actions in 5.0, this would be the place to integrate a mechanic with a deeper level of complexity.
What Could Replace Impact?
Impact is a beautiful spell and should absolutely remain as part of Red Mage, however it could receive a new purpose. Retaining Impact as a single target spell that doesn't overlap with Jolt is a difficult proposition. For example, if Impact was given a five-second cast time it would no longer be used in the same manner as Jolt, but that creates in issue in that the interaction would be backwards. You could end up in a situation in which there is a proc for Impact available, but without a proc for Verfire or Verstone you would be forced to cast Jolt which would then lead to a wasted proc.
An alternative that has been suggested previously is to change Impact to deal AoE damage. The radius of the spell animation is already impressive with no need for visual adjustments to represent a wider affected area. An option would be to remove the proc requirement while giving it a five-second cast time with the intent for it to be Dualcast after casting Scatter. Admittedly, this suggestion may be a bit redundant since I stated the issue with Impact was that it could easily be replaced by a trait that affects Jolt II. A similar trait for Scatter would then make an AoE Impact unnecessary. Perhaps there is another way to integrate Impact that wouldn't be made redundant by the inclusion of a trait.
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Section Three – Suggested Adjustments to Other Actions
TLDR: I believe it would be better if Verflare and Verholy were not limited to use immediately following Enchanted Redoublement, instead given a 30-second proc window similar to Verfire Ready/Verstone Ready.
Verflare and Verholy Availability
I am a bit bothered by Red Mage's the lack of flexibility in terms of saving power for moments when burst damage is needed. To give a couple examples of what I'm referring to, a Summoner has a sixty-second window to use Aetherflow how they choose, such as using it early with Fester against a boss or waiting for when adds show up to use Painflare. When a Black Mage gains the ability to cast Foul, it isn't something that needs to be used right away. There is a thirty-second window to wait for an opportune moment. Note that I'm not referring to holding back on ability usage, such as not using Raging Strikes immediately, but rather actions that provide windows of opportunity for when to use them.
Red Mage doesn't really have options like that. Not every job does, but with Red Mage having such a low skill ceiling I feel like there should be opportunities to strategically optimize output in such a fashion. The most Red Mage can hope to do is delay its melee burst, but the time between when the minimum Mana has been accumulated and when the casting of another spell would exceed the allowed limit... that's a very tight window.
Suggestion: I would like to see Verflare and Verholy not treated like the fourth step of a weaponskill combo. Rather, Enchanted Redoublement would grant a proc that is similar to Verfire Ready/Verstone Ready, thus allowing for either Verflare or Verholy to be cast at any point over the course of a thirty-second period.
It would also provide a more reliable means to force a proc for Verfire or Verstone. There are times when white Mana may be lower than black Mana, but you opt to cast Verflare because you already have a Verstone proc ready to go, leaving you at the mercy of a 50/50 chance to proc Verfire. Being able to cast Verflare or Verholy at a moment of your choosing would provide greater control for forcing a proc.