Can I have some advice for Red Mage?

Hi, this is my first time making a ranged character, but it seems its not entirely ranged either.

I am confused and there's so many spells. I put them all on my bars but what order do I press the buttons in?

Removed this explanation because post below explained it way better.

Slow single target spells: Veraero(III) ≡ Verthunder(III)
Fast single target spells: Verstone ≡ Verfire
I can't cast any other spell spell: Jolt

Slow AoE spell: Scatter(Impact)
Fast AoE spells: Veraero II ≡ Verthunder II

Spellcasting priorities

1. Dualcast Verfastspell → Verslowspell
2. ... (Acceleration) → Verslowspell
3. ... (Swiftcast) → Verslowspell
4. Dualcast Jolt → Verslowspell

Build your mana evenly until you have (ST) 50|50 or (AoE) 60|60 but get them at least one point apart. Then do your enchanted weaponskill combo or three Enchanted Moulinets. Follow with a Verfinisher combo: Verholy/Verflare of the lower color, Scorch, Resolution.

Use the window after your instant Verslowspells to use up to two of your oGCDs. Use Corps-a-corps, Engagement, Fleche, and Contre-sixte on cooldown. This will be easier if you make a habit of living in melee range. Keep one charge each of Corps-a-corps and Displacement for actual movement if you think you might benefit from it during a particular fight; but use them if a second charge is about to finish charging. Despite being categorized a ranged attacker, you should think of yourself as a melee DD so that you can use Engagement on cooldown and you won't be in an inconvenient place when it's time to use your melee combo. This will also make it harder to get caught in the very center of an obnoxiously large cone attack. As your level increases, you'll be doing the melee combo more and more frequently--often doing two with no more than one or two spells between them, and occasionally you might even do three melee combos in a row.

Displacement has a significantly longer animation lock than the rest of your oGCDs, so don't use other oGCDs in the same window as Displacement because it'll delay your next action. Engagement is safe to double weave.

You want to evenly increase your Black and White Mana so that you can execute the melee combo, because the following spells are your heaviest hitters.

I would highly suggest reading your tooltips in detail to make sure you understand what everything does.

While building your Black/White mana, you'll use your low cast-time spell Jolt to activate Dual Cast, which will remove the long cast time on Veraero and Verthunder. Those spells then have a chance to activate Verfire and Verstone. If those activate, then you use them in place of Jolt as they deal more damage, activate Dual Cast and raise your Black or White mana.

So an example of alternating to build Black/White mana would look something like:
Jolt > Verthunder > Verfire > Veraero > Verstone > Verthunder > Verfire > Veraero > Verstone etc etc.

If Verfire or Verstone do not activate, then you loop back to Jolt. You're only casting Veraero and Verthunder while you have the Dual Cast buff.

AoE works opposite. Your low cast-time spells are Veraero II and Verthunder II which you use to activate Dual Cast to cast Impact.

Once you're at at least 50 in both Black and White mana, you can use the Enchanted melee combo. Each hit of the 3-part combo rewards you with a red diamond on your job gauge. Once you have all 3, Veraero and Verthunder will change to Verholy and Verflare. Once you cast either of those, Jolt becomes Scorch and then finally Resolution.

So the overall direction of your rotation is:
1. Cast Spells to build mana
2. Use 3 part melee combo
3. Verholy/Verflare
4. Scorch
5. Resolution
6. Back to building mana

Of course you have utility and other abilities to weave in, but that's the core of the job mechanic.

The official job guide is here if you want something easy to read through:
https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/jobguide/redmage/

Never use LB3.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Absimiliard

Never use LB3.

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1000% this. Your party will thank you to just not put limit break on your bar at all.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by wereotter

1000% this. Your party will thank you to just not put limit break on your bar at all.

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The LB button should be on your bar for dungeon trash. Always LB on dungeon trash.