Help me choose: RDM vs BLM

I'm new player with lv53 BLM and 50 RDM.

I wanted to know the pros and cons of these classes maximum level. i don't want be hardcore player, but I want to be easily accepted into groups and do good dps, both in group and in solo content (so, survivability and CC is important).

If you only recommend some website / blog with this type of guide, I also thank :o

If you're not into hardcore/latest ex primals/savage/ultimate raids etc, go with the job you prefer be it in terms of aesthetics or playstyle.

They can do damage as long as you learn and understand the class, I play neither of the classes but have seen them do good dps in casual contents before so its fine regardless.

depends on what you mean by softcore.
if you are still going for high-end raid, both classes are not desired, with rdm being slightly more wanted than blm. the only wanted caster class is smn. blm is a stationary turret. it does top tier dps, both aoe and single target. it excels at casual content, but sucks at high-end raid. however, u can clear any hard-core content with this class and probably still do better dps than rdm. its just that it is impossible to find a party because the class offers no party utility. rdm is mobile caster and has some party utilities, like heal and res. dps is the lowest of all dps classes tho. in the end, its which class you enjoy the most that matters. if you want to get into groups, play smn, but there are times when blm are more wanted than smn and vice versa. it all depends on the patch. caster classes are never the meta. the only meta dps class is ninja.

if you like the rdm playstyle at lv 50, rdm might be the better choice (doesnt change much..., or was it lv 60 when it doesnt change much, thought 50 already??)

as rdm you have an easier time getting in parties, and in end raids youll have an easier time learning fights (and can be the hero, when rezing dead healerd)

blm takes longer to master for endraids, and atm is not rewarding enough for its down sides, but its still fun when you can nuke things

master both if you can, but atm seems rdm is the more desirable caster of the both (and easier to learn)

but if like complex feeling endraids and up for the challenge, go blm (blm changes a lot at 60, if you stil like blm at 60 in HW extreme trials, might be for you afterall)

I'm also going to vouch for RDM being a good job to start with. It's pretty straightforward to learn, doesn't punish you much for making mistakes, has nice mobility for a caster, and good utility in the form of Verraise, Vercure, and to a lesser extent Embolden. It doesn't really have a set rotation of abilities you need to learn, rather it's more of a decision tree based on how much black/white mana you've accumulated, which makes it a bit more flexible. The one notable drawback it does have is that it's among the least damage-inflicting jobs out of all the DPS jobs, which makes sense for the added utility you gain. If you like being supportive of your party, mostly in the form of rezzing dead party members, while also dealing a bit of damage then you should definitely stick with it. If nothing else, it's great for solo content as well.

I only have limited exposure to Thaumaturge, so I can't speak much of BLM. But as far as I can ascertain, the basic plusses are nice damage output and essentially unlimited MP once you learn how to manage things between your fire and ice spells. The drawbacks, however, seem to be a lack of mobility and a lack of any kind of raid utility. You're basically taking up the role of a heavy damage turret. A lot of people believe it to be in a bad place atm, but that can always change. If you're into doing pure damage and don't want to worry about your other party members as much, and you're okay with limited mobility, then this is the route you'd want to go with.

In short, I'd actually say try both if you're interested in them. RDM is likely the easier of the two for you to start with, and it'll make the story quests go a bit more smoothly I think. But in the end it really depends on your own personal play style and which sounds like it would appeal to you, and the best way to determine that is to simply try them both for yourself. Good luck, and welcome to the game!

After getting fed up with my Dragoon one day (ok I'll be honest, I was THAT idiot who was always dying in raids), I unlocked Red Mage and have been blown away with how balanced it feels with the mix of ranged and melee damage. For doing solo content, having the ability to heal makes most quests simple to beat. In dungeons I have been able to keep a healer or tank alive, when we were for sure going to wipe.

To be honest, you can't really tell if you're going to be able to enjoy a role, without hitting 70 and doing some tougher content. Red Mage fits nicely between a pure melee DPS and full caster DPS, but the trade off is the amount of damage output (for now at least)

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Originally Posted by PuppytimusLeoroccanz

If you\\'re not into hardcore/latest ex primals/savage/ultimate raids etc, go with the job you prefer be it in terms of aesthetics or playstyle...

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Screw that, ALWAYS play what you enjoy more. People make such a big deal out of META but fail to realize that picking one "less favorable" job over a "more favorable" one WON'T make or break a raid team. I thought the DRK who did WF Ultimate made that clear??

Play what you enjoy, be good at it, and you will always shine.

Why not both? They share the same caster gear.

I have black mage and red mage leveled and run all non-dungeon content on RDM since it's more mobile. I run daily roulette dungeons with BLM since there's typically less dodging and they are really good at AOE damage.

RDM is a very forgiving class, I'd start with that and make it your main.

Why not both? They literally use 90% of the same gear save weapons. And once you reach that point on what to spend your tokens on you'll have practiced both enough to have a solid basis on which to decide which suites you best.

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Originally Posted by Transient_Shadow

Why not both? They literally use 90% of the same gear save weapons. And once you reach that point on what to spend your tokens on you'll have practiced both enough to have a solid basis on which to decide which suites you best.

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This is very true. As a counterpoint to your argument tho; not everyone (even though its easy) wants to level a second class to 70, or necessarily wants to play the same role. So, some insight is useful in helping one make that decision

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Originally Posted by RainDurell

Screw that, ALWAYS play what you enjoy more. People make such a big deal out of META but fail to realize that picking one "less favorable" job over a "more favorable" one WON'T make or break a raid team. I thought the DRK who did WF Ultimate made that clear??

Play what you enjoy, be good at it, and you will always shine.

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I did not said it was mandatory to go with meta nor did I mentioned anything about meta at all. I only told thread creator in regards to choosing one of the two classes. And I only stated that because in casual content it is easy for both of the classes to do good damage but in savage raids, blm would require a lot more work and understanding of the raids and gets punish more heavily as compared to red mage. So if the tc can get really good with either classes, by all means do go ahead with both or whichever the tc prefers.

So with all do respect, I have absolutely no idea where you are going with this.

Same gear what? BLM wants all the spell speed pieces and RDM wants every piece that doesn't have spell speed. The intersection of their desired gear sets is minimal if existent.

But as far as "which should I play?" The answer is always "the one you will enjoy," because there's no point in maining a job that makes you want to stab yourself every time you play it.

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Originally Posted by PuppytimusLeoroccanz

So with all do respect, I have absolutely no idea where you are going with this.

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You literally said "unless you plan on doing savage-level content, play anything you like", which I responded with ALWAYS play anything you like.

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Originally Posted by RainDurell

snip.

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Tc said he intends to be accepted in a group easily and do good dps, that comes from learning experience rather than class/job. If tc intends to do savage and get accepted easily amongst the 2 jobs, tc must be really good with the classes and understand the raids mechanics. What I implied with that statement is for those casual content, any and almost every classes can get accepted easily and it is easy to do good Dps and not get punished heavily as compared to savage contents.

By all means if tc loves blm and/or rdm then sure go ahead with it. I will continue this argument no further, I was just trying to let tc know in general that if the tc wishes to tackle savage content regardless of whichever class the tc decides is that a general understanding of the class and raid mechanics are of most important. I did not mention anything about meta/team composition because it was not in the question in the first place and I would mention that redmage has better mobility than black mage and could be a big difference in terms of playstyle for the tc if tc finds it difficult to Dps as blm in savage content.

With that I will take my leave and good luck with whichever route you decide to go TC.

Thanks all for the answers.

i played wow before, with demonology warlock, so i know what is "turret" caster. Can do good DPS, even in hard content, but need more knowledge about fight... And sometimes this is stressful.

i have tested samurai and i liked, like red mage with combo style. is pure dps job (like BLM). but have a good mobility, so, i believe that is good for end-game content. less stressful too, right?

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Originally Posted by CrimsonDark

i played wow before, with demonology warlock, so i know what is "turret" caster.

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Demonology Warlock is nothing like Black Mage. Black Mage is more similar to an Arcane Mage in WoW - specifically an Arcane Mage with Rune of Power.

Warlock is more comparable to Summoner in FFXIV, and pretty much any Warlock spec plays better - mechanically - than Summoner in this game.

I found out the hard way :-P

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Originally Posted by Trensharo

Demonology Warlock is nothing like Black Mage. Black Mage is more similar to an Arcane Mage in WoW - specifically an Arcane Mage with Rune of Power.

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From what I remember, it's essentially Arcane Mage + Balance Druid, with the whole Astral Fire, Umbral Ice thing.

Well Arcane mages had skills that used increasing amounts of mana, and then skills which gave them mana back... So that comparison still sort of sticks, for me :-P It's basically an immobile glass cannon with huge mana-balancing responsibilities. Outside of that, not that complicated to play.

I don't actually think there is anything that plays like a Demo Warlock in this game, right now. Plus, pure DPS classes in WoW have different play styles, depending n spec. In FFXIV, you just have to play the hand you're dealt based on the job you choose to play. There is not much inter-job variety in gameplay.

Can always just avoid Demo in WoW by going Affliction or Destruction. Black Mages in FFXIV have to basically play another class (i.e. job) altogether. You still have to level it, so the fact that you do it on the same class doesn't mean much... You just get the benefit of maybe using gear you have already farmed if you were playing a class that shared gear with BLM.

Alright let's make one thing clear,
When people refer to to ex/savage and such, they mean very first kill for the first few week. (a bit more for the ultimate).

So unless you're motivated to be in the server first competition to clear savage (the hardest) content and the upcoming Ultimate, the choice between RDM / BLM should should depend on wether or not you'll be in a static if you really want to be the most useful to your static party.

As part of a static, you'll aways play with the same people therefor any actual support you can bring to the team will have great value since every rez you do allow to see more of the fight. In that case, RDM would be a welcomed choice. And that's assuming you're grouping with a static that care about quick progression. Many don't and will bring you no matter the job you play as long as it fits the party comp.

On the other hand, if you'll mostly do raids through party finder (usually the case when you start the game or don't have time to play specific evening), then I'm sorry but wether you play RDM over BLM will have a negligeble impact because your party will change all the time and 7 players skill has more impact than your ability to raise.
Rezzing is great but spam rezzing bad players won't change the outcome since most pf break after a few wipes.
So it will mostly come down to your ability to stay alive and properly do the strat.

Finally, what I said is assuming you'll actually do any form of savage content.

If you'll limit yourself to normal stuff and, at the very most, Byakku extreme, really at this point pick the one you enjoy the most.
The content you'll do is very easy and your party should need any raise. (nothing healer can't handle)

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Originally Posted by CrimsonDark

i have tested samurai and i liked, like red mage with combo style. is pure dps job (like BLM). but have a good mobility, so, i believe that is good for end-game content. less stressful too, right?

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samurai is definitely easier to get accepted into groups. still ppl prefer classes that offer utilities and contribute to team dps, the so called meta. play the class u enjoy the most. dont worry about picking a class.100% of us end up lvling several classes.

i am a casual player who doesnt do 8-men raids. if you are as casual and as lazy as me, blm is probably better, no calculation, no button smashing. you only press a button or two occasionally every 2.5± seconds, super relaxing. yet the numbers look real nice.