Help choosing caster base range class ?

Yet struggling with bard leveling at 60 due to to many buttons wondering would be blm be better choice and easier playstyle if so any advice for leveling one from 1-70 ?

RDM is extremely easy and forgiving of mistakes. It has significantly higher mobility, survivability, and a lower entry point to perform well.

BLM does higher damage in dummy-perfect combat conditions, but minimally so, and the slightest bit of movement cancels that advantage.

It depends why you are struggling with bard, but BLM certainly isn't easier than bard. They have significantly less buttons to press, but the punishment for screwing up or not knowing mechanics is very high.

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Originally Posted by Drakeos

Yet struggling with bard leveling at 60 due to to many buttons wondering would be blm be better choice and easier playstyle if so any advice for leveling one from 1-70 ?

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I can't vouch for BLM, but if you are looking for less button bloat and ease of rotation the RDM might be worth trying. Either job though I would either recommend PvP or PoTD for leveling. I leveled RDM from 50, level you start at, to 60 using PoTD. Queue times were quick.

BLM is simple on the surface, but realizing it's potential requires good knowledge of fights, proper planning, and precise buff management. I, personally, find the playstyle to be tedious. RDM is pretty simple once you get the basic concepts, is not punished by mechanics, and has zero buffs/debuffs to maintain. It's also very fun, but does have a lot of buttons.

Yet i JUST don't like to jump on hype train as RDM and yet do not like playstyle of it just big no for me :(

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Originally Posted by Drakeos

Yet i JUST don't like to jump on hype train as RDM and yet do not like playstyle of it just big no for me :(

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Sounds like you already have your mind set on what you want as RDM is already out and SMN is most likely too seeing as it was not mentioned.

Yet worried about once hit 50-70 gonna be harder for me to level :(

Blm is easy to learn but one of the hardest classes to master. Even a slight mistake will result in a huge dps loss, Stormblood made it even more punishing than before. Blm rotation only looks Easton paper, but we're extremely punished by movement, which requires us to know the fights better than any other class.
Rdm on the other hand is very easy and very forgiving of mistakes.
If you're unsure, why not go to palace of the dead and try them both out? At least you get to see the rotation til 60.

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Originally Posted by Drakeos

Yet i JUST don't like to jump on hype train as RDM and yet do not like playstyle of it just big no for me :(

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I'm not sure the point of the thread if you don't want feedback, but to answer your question at its base, don't change from bard to black mage if you want an easier time.

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Originally Posted by Furious

BLM does higher damage in dummy-perfect combat conditions, but minimally so, and the slightest bit of movement cancels that advantage. .

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Not quite right as long as 80% of the spell is done BLM can move and still cast it off. I prefer BLM for the DMG out put. IF you you can balance taking risk and know patterns it can be fun and challenging. RDM I hear is fun for people who have little patience to stand still or don't like to move while casting. It has it's ups and down and from what I see the only draw back is some tend to be too flashy and jump into aoes or lack timing for it. Their great for a quick back up in the healing department , if they can handle a balance, yet over all I would stick with BLM. I love moving and sprinting as a BLM and can keep somewhat in par or survive more that the RDM's I've played with. Just keep your critical and spell speed up, have decent gear, and you should be fine.

A little fun detail about RDM is that it is surprisingly more lag-unfriendly than even NIN.

RDM's dualcast is ultimately a buff that applies after your cast from an answer from the server. If your button press beats this answer you will start hardcasting your second spell instead of insta-shooting it.

BLM on the other hand is much less affected by lag on its core gameplay. At most you'll be unable to slide-cast at the 80% cast bar completion.

Ultimately its just a factor that matters only if you tend to be lagging.

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Originally Posted by Arkenne

A little fun detail about RDM is that it is surprisingly more lag-unfriendly than even NIN.

RDM's dualcast is ultimately a buff that applies after your cast from an answer from the server. If your button press beats this answer you will start hardcasting your second spell instead of insta-shooting it.

BLM on the other hand is much less affected by lag on its core gameplay. At most you'll be unable to slide-cast at the 80% cast bar completion.

Ultimately its just a factor that matters only if you tend to be lagging.

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With some of the lag lately I have seen in some instances due to ddos attacks or other factors I can vouch for this. But, it has only happened to me personally by something effecting everyone else as well.

If you don't like RDM your other two choices are SMN and BLM. If you found BRD overwhelming you'll probably commite suicide with SMN, so your only choice is BLM. Even though BLM isn't a lot of buttons, be warned it's very punishing for screwing up, and has very little mobility (but it's still a very good job if you can manage).

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Originally Posted by Arkenne

A little fun detail about RDM is that it is surprisingly more lag-unfriendly than even NIN.

RDM's dualcast is ultimately a buff that applies after your cast from an answer from the server. If your button press beats this answer you will start hardcasting your second spell instead of insta-shooting it.

BLM on the other hand is much less affected by lag on its core gameplay. At most you'll be unable to slide-cast at the 80% cast bar completion.

Ultimately its just a factor that matters only if you tend to be lagging.

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Ive never accidentally hard-casted a spell that should have been instant playing from Australia with a ping in the mid-100s (around 150-170). I haven't played rdm a lot but that's after probably 40-50 minutes on a dummy.

I'm not sure what sort of ping you'd need for that to become a problem; I'm sure it happens, but if it does it's not a ping I'd enjoy playing FFXIV at.

I don't think there's a real easy ranged class at the moment. Each has challenges unique to its setup that make things difficult. Perhaps it may boil down to you trying them all out, and seeing which "challenge" suits you best?

Example: I've tried all of them personally, and so far I enjoy the Bard the most with it's needs to keep an eye on procs and manage multiple oGCD's. I like BLM the least with it's need to manage casts with movement, SMN somewhere in the middle, and RDM is interesting but haven't gotten to it yet (I fall victim to the anti-uniformist bug as well).

I suggest try them all, and see which one stands out the most for you. Even RDM...you may end up liking it more then you would think! or not...but again, I don't see the decision being one made with just other peoples opinions on what's "challenging" or not, because at the end of the day, vanilla, chocolate, strawberry and rocky road are all different flavors, but they are all still ice cream.

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Originally Posted by Draxxion

I can't vouch for BLM, but if you are looking for less button bloat and ease of rotation the RDM might be worth trying. Either job though I would either recommend PvP or PoTD for leveling. I leveled RDM from 50, level you start at, to 60 using PoTD. Queue times were quick.

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RDM actually has quite a hefty amount of rotational buttons (in single target), but it's not a complex job so you don't really think about it.

Jolt/Veraero/Verthunder/Verstone/Verfire/Impact/Fleche/Contra Sixte/Riposte/Zwerchhau/Redoublement/Verflare/Verholy (technically Corps A Corps and Displacement).

Compared to BLM which has (single target)

Fire/Fire 3/Blizzard 3/Thunder 3/Fire 4/Blizzard 4/Foul/Scathe/Enochian/triplecast (Blizzard 1 if you screw up that bad)

Only difference is while BLM has less, they're much more complex

Yeah i do like blm currently 32 and likin it :)

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Originally Posted by Drakeos

Yeah i do like blm currently 32 and likin it :)

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Keep in mind the rotation changes quite a lot, first on 60 when you get Fire4 and again on 70 when you unlock Foul.