Tips/Hints at how best to play RDM

Hey,

I wanted to start by stating that I'm a WAR main and going from pretty much just playing a Tank to playing a DPS Caster/Melee class is a little strange and feels super wobbly for me. I'm looking for decent tips, HUD setups on bars 1-3 as well as possible combos and ways I can flow into playing a DPS Caster/Melee from a WAR Tank.

I also play on Jenova for anyone interested.

I'd love any and all tips that would help my ability to transition to other classes.

Thanks!

HexTechBomber
Praise be the Flame.

If anyone can shed light on this for me, I'd appreciate it as I'd love to give the role a try sometime.

HUD tips??
To be compatible from WAR to Caster / Melee?
Hrm... I think we are missing a few points here so I'm not sure what to say

If its tips you want I think This Thread talks about RDM. As for HUD, its mostly personal preference.
For example I like to keep my enemy bar and personal buffs on the lower side of the screen instead of the higher as to be able to see the AoEs under my own feet while paying attention to the buffs.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Arkenne

HUD tips??
To be compatible from WAR to Caster / Melee?
Hrm... I think we are missing a few points here so I'm not sure what to say

If its tips you want I think This Thread talks about RDM. As for HUD, its mostly personal preference.
For example I like to keep my enemy bar and personal buffs on the lower side of the screen instead of the higher as to be able to see the AoEs under my own feet while paying attention to the buffs.

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Well I'm talking more like the arrangement of the abilities and such, it's hard for me to find an order that feels comfortable for button pressing. Not the whole hud, just the hud bars 1-3 that you would have up with abilities on them.

I can post my UI when I get done work in a few hours.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by HexTechBomber

more like the arrangement of the abilities.

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Oh... I don't think I can help you then, as I use a controller :/

As far as keybinds, I can tell you what works for me, no guarantee it'll work for you though. (a=Alt+key, s=Shift+key, n=NumPad side buttons on an MMO mouse)
Q: Jolt
1: Aero
2: Thunder
3: Stone
4: Fire
E: Impact
aQ: Corps-a-corps
a1: Riposte
a2: Zwerchhau
a3: Redoublement
a4: Displacement
aE: Moulinet
n1: Lucid Dreaming
n2: Fleche
n3: Contre Sixte
n4: Acceleration
n5: Manafication
n6: Embolden
an1: Addle
an2: Holy
an3: Flare
an4: Mana Shift
an5: Cure
an6: Limit Break
sQ: Swiftcast
s1: Diversion
s2: Scatter
sE: Raise
aW:Sprint

http://i.imgur.com/MdiDFpz.jpg

1-5 are the basic actions, I dash in and out with the two side buttons on my mouse, and flare/holy are shift side buttons. Alt+1 for impact, F1-4 for cooldowns/seldom used spells. Alt 2-4 are my supportive abilities. Middle mouse click and shift middle mouse click for aoe. R F V is my melee combo, I started using these due to ninjutsu. I like putting my cooldowns on Shift buttons and Q, so shift Q W E A and Q.

Main takeaway is that you only hit melee skills every 40 seconds or so, but you want them to flow easily. Cooldowns can go anywhere really, but I like to keep them on an upper bar so I can track their status easily. I made a bar above my class gauge to track impact and ready procs if my eyes are watching the fight, and so I can find my "ready" status at multiple locations.

I think the issue that I have is that my mouse I use only has two side buttons currently and I've preset one of them to Auto-Run instead of R. So what I need is a better mouse with more side buttons? :P

Well, here is mine. I don't think it will be of much help though since each person is comfortable with something else.
https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.n...F4B798E8ABDCB/

The best advice I can give is to start in Palace of the Dead at level 1, unbinding everything and rebinding it on the HUD where you feel fit. Jumping into a class with the majority of the abilities unlocked is just overwhelming. Especially jumping from a tank.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by HexTechBomber

I think the issue that I have is that my mouse I use only has two side buttons currently and I've preset one of them to Auto-Run instead of R. So what I need is a better mouse with more side buttons? :P

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I only have two side buttons. *shrug*

Quote:

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Originally Posted by skyidot

The best advice I can give is to start in Palace of the Dead at level 1, unbinding everything and rebinding it on the HUD where you feel fit. Jumping into a class with the majority of the abilities unlocked is just overwhelming. Especially jumping from a tank.

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I must respectfully disagree with this advice. Learning a rotation a few buttons at a time will promote development of habits that fit an incomplete action set, rather than a complete panoply.



Some general tips:
Corps-a-corps, Displacement, and Surecast should be near your Sprint button, as they are all movement-related abilities.

Veraero, Verstone, and Verholy are all white spells, and should be the same key, with different modifiers.
Verthunder, Verfire, and Verflare are all black spells, and should be the same key, with different modifiers.
Modifiers should apply to spells by purpose: Verstone/Verfire (the Verfastspells), Veraero/Verthunder (the Verslowspells), and Verholy/Verflare (the Verfinishers).
Ex... 3:Verstone; 4:Verfire; a3:Veraero; a4:Verthunder; s3:Verholy; s4:Verflare.

Jolt and Impact should be the key before or after your white and black spells, and should have modifiers that match Jolt with the Verfastspells, and Impact with the Verslowspells. Arguments could be made for the reverse.

If you happen to play with a mouse, you might find it helpful to macro mouseovers for Vercure, Verraise, and party-related role abilities to things like middleClick:Vercure, a.sh.MiddleClick:Verraise, sh.MiddleClick:ManaShift.


Sample bars (you'll need to make some modifications to accommodate a three bar setup)

http://i.imgur.com/yr4mT6R.png

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rongway

Some general tips:
Corps-a-corps, Displacement, and Surecast should be near your Sprint button, as they are all movement-related abilities.

Veraero, Verstone, and Verholy are all white spells, and should be the same key, with different modifiers.
Verthunder, Verfire, and Verflare are all black spells, and should be the same key, with different modifiers.
Modifiers should apply to spells by purpose: Verstone/Verfire (the Verfastspells), Veraero/Verthunder (the Verslowspells), and Verholy/Verflare (the Verfinishers).
Ex... 3:Verstone; 4:Verfire; a3:Veraero; a4:Verthunder; s3:Verholy; s4:Verflare.

Jolt and Impact should be the key before or after your white and black spells, and should have modifiers that match Jolt with the Verfastspells, and Impact with the Verslowspells. Arguments could be made for the reverse.

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Agree that you should build your keybinds around a complete action set. RDM is simple enough as it is.

I wouldn't be quite so prescriptive about keybinds however. Everyone has their own preferences, depending on what peripherals they use, reach of their fingers etc.

A couple of more general suggestions:

- Your weaponskills will only ever be used in sequence; reflect that in your binds.
- RDM has great mobility and the dualcast feature promotes stutter stepping to reposition in anticipation of mechanics. Make sure Veraero, Verthunder and your oGCDs are bound in a way that doesn't interfere with controlling movement. (If you have an mmo mouse, that could be a good place.)
- On that note, you'll be weaving oGCDs after your instants: consider finger movement across the keyboard. The sequence of Jolt -> Veraero/thunder -> Fleche -> Impact (for ex) ideally shouldn't take your fingers to China and back.

As for the HuD, same principles as for all other jobs: track what you need to know near the centre of the screen. Banish everything you don't need in combat to the sides.

FWIW here's my levelling HuD for RDM.

http://i.imgur.com/9pJezxB.jpg