Red Mage - The Spell Weaver

[Eloah]

okay after reading this i have to say I agree that the idea as it is now is a bit clunky, but you have the groundwork for a nice idea. Now i wouldn't say you need a major overhaul but this does need a lot more work to become a balanced job in the games current meta.

The first thing I will say that I think you did an awesome job doing is crafting the abilities in a listed and stylized manor, I can't even do that yet since I don't have the right programs... yet. Though I would suggest making the RDM symbol their iconic hat over a sword with flames, seems more fitting.

Secondly, the main thing to provide balance to the job is to keep things simple. Though, Yoshi-P said that he feels the HW rotations for each job are hard, they are quite simple to understand and execute, the only flaws are usually player error do to lag, time constraints, or controller vs Keyboard. DPS's and Tanks usually have a set rotation, or a standard one, that is flexible when the moment hits. Right now I see no "standard" rotation or excess abilities to be used as OGCD moves. Wanting the RDM to be primarily a spellweaver is fine but you have to make the skills/spells used have a main purpose. Sadly En-spells and debilitation abilities serve no purpose in this game in its current form. And, while I understand your reason for adding the En-spells the scaling with Int is usually build into a job, just look at DRK, a decent portion of their skills are spells. Also having 6 spells/skills that are basically the same thing is rather pointless, condensing them into one "En-spell" or ability, sounds like a better idea.

As for the combos you tries to create, having a "unique" branch as you currently have it seems okay, but i would recommend creating it similar to the mudra system where each finishing move has its own additional effect; adding too many effects can become confusing, especially if they are tied to main weapon skills. Plus you need to create a reason for the RDM to switch between using Magic or Melee attacks, push either a little too far in one direction and people will just spam that one set of skills, especially if they can augment them in other ways. The best suggestion I can give it is creating a job mechanic that encourages player to swap between the two like BLM does with Astral Fire and Umbral Ice. having a stacking mechanic that boosts the current arts power then allows for the use of a certain skill of the other art would encourage swapping. Start with a melee stance which increases str by 10% per stack, and once you gain, maybe 3 stacks, lets say a combo finish creates a stack, you can use a massive spell only available when you have those stacks, similar to warrior. Then once you use this spell it places you in mage stance, and the process repeats, build stacks by casting spells, then may chain or not, then once you have 3 again you use another skill and it places you in melee stance again. (this is my idea but feel free to use it in yours as well)

Hopefully everything that has been said encourages you to create the best RDM you can make, happy job-crafting, XD

[Keyah]

I tried more in the design, it was cluttered and didn't stand out.

I weep for the future if our Advanced Jobs stay as simple as they currently are.

you have to make the skills/spells used have a main purpose.

They do, weapon skills enhance spells if they are cast immediately after. Enchanting rotation, weakening enemy for more damage and longer DoTs.

Sadly En-spells and debilitation abilities serve no purpose in this game in its current form.

Look for what the game can be, not what it is.

i would recommend creating it similar to the mudra system where each finishing move has its own additional effect

Weapon skills already have unique effects.

you need to create a reason for the RDM to switch between using Magic or Melee attacks

Weapon skills enhance magic, magic enhances weapon skills.

[Eloah]

They do, weapon skills enhance spells if they are cast immediately after. Enchanting rotation, weakening enemy for more damage and longer DoTs.

while the enhancements are alright, they appear too complex, e.g. you need effect A to activate effect B, but you need to have Effect C up to use A but in order for B to work it must be used under effect D. Not saying this is your system, but it appears to come across this way. Additionally, double duration and double potency wind up being the same thing, if that was what you had for the "enhancements"

Look for what the game can be, not what it is.

it's not about what the game can be, it's about what the developers said they wouldn't add because it would create a large imbalance. There is no true elemental aspects because that would create an imbalance. So having 6 en-spells while admirable could be reduced to one skill/ability and open up 5 new skills/abilities/spells to use. as for debilitation spells, they work fine for crowd control but not on bosses since most are immune. I would recommend making them AoEs, that would make them more useful. Adding more spike skills would be better than all of the en-spells.

Weapon skills already have unique effects.

Yes they have a unique effect but you have too many. Remember that during a battle hiccups happen and you may not remember where you left off, how you started a combo, etc. While creating new and useful effects is a good thing, they shouldn't become confusing over time, remember people still confuse the mudras at times.

Weapon skills enhance magic, magic enhances weapon skills.

if this is true, you need to showcase it somehow, right now it just looks like they are ordinary spells, and similar to Healers the higher tiers will replace the older ones. The system looks clunky and not newbie friendly. Maybe give us an example of a rotation, the optimal one that players would probably find and use without end. if there is anything left over you may need to either rethink that skill or trim the fat entirely.

Also several of your spells are kinda odd if you pay attention to them.

Shell is not needed, it was added to Protect with a Conjurer trait in ARR, and made a default part of Protect with HW. Having the spell could be good but it can't be its usual iteration, since that serves no purpose in XIV.
Bar Astral & Bar Umbral, these spells could be good, but I don't know what they do, they just say they diminish astral/umbral detrimental effects, but what are these, you don't explain that.
Aquaveil, is it a permanent buff like Wanderer's Paean or Gauss Barrel to add additional damage, or is it a times buff like Enochian?
Gravity would need a name change, since AST already has the spell, maybe Demi instead. Additionally, spells, all spells, do not have "high" or "low" recasts they have high or low cast times so you might want to rethink some of your spells and their cast timers. the GCD is 2.5s and can be reduced with spell or skill speed.
Phalanx II being a spell with that high of a recast just makes no sense, if the recast is that high I'd make it an ability.

I hope none of this comes across as "mean" I am trying to help you flesh out your idea, but as of right now, and others have said it too, it appears a bit clunky and pulls too much from the XI RDM idea, which is fine, but XI played completely different and what worked there might not work in XIV.

Best of luck.

[Keyah]

Adding more spike skills would be better than all of the en-spells.

So why are you okay with different spike effects, but not a damaging rotation?
The "elemental weakness" aspect of the enchantment is purely for the en-spells.
It doesn't make other spells stronger.

The system looks clunky and not newbie friendly.

It's an advanced job, it's not supposed to be.

Shell stacks with protect providing more Magical protection, no Physical protection and enfeeble protection.
Bar Astral/Umbral are states (e.g. PLD Oath's) that act as an aura after 42 to protect against weaknesses
Aquaveil is a binary stance. Speed/Success
Gravity/Break have high cooldown because they deal AoE damage and hard CC. WAY too powerful to cast constantly.
Phalanx II is when you learn to cast it outwards to your party.

[Eloah]

So why are you okay with different spike effects, but not a damaging rotation?
The "elemental weakness" aspect of the enchantment is purely for the en-spells.
It doesn't make other spells stronger.

based on your description the spike spell you have listed, which is only the thunder element, appears to be a "buff" to a party member that adds a barrier around them that deals damage as a counter attack, similar to E4E or Vengence. more abilities like that are desirable, but adding too many could be redundant as well, so be careful.

It's an advanced job, it's not supposed to be.

An advanced job does not have to be complicated. Also, two things stand out to me now based on this statement and the statement you said in response to Xaikara PvP comments, "enfeebling masters". I cannot debate this, since I didn't play XI, and I defend the current Summoner iteration from those who claim "it's not a 'real' Summoner". But the primary aspect of a RDM is being a sturdy mage with access to both WHM and BLM spells, able to deal decent melee damage, and the main aspect, the ability to Dualcast. I'd say let these be the defining characteristics. You can still make them enfeeblers, but try not to place them on the same plain as XI's RDM.

Shell stacks with protect providing more Magical protection, no Physical protection and enfeeble protection.
Bar Astral/Umbral are states (e.g. PLD Oath's) that act as an aura after 42 to protect against weaknesses
Aquaveil is a binary stance. Speed/Success
Gravity/Break have high cooldown because they deal AoE damage and hard CC. WAY too powerful to cast constantly.
Phalanx II is when you learn to cast it outwards to your party.

If Shell is supposed to be additional magical protection then it should not be similar to Protect in from, it would work better as Stoneskin, or Manaward/Manawall (I forget which is magical at the moment)
if Bar Astral/Umbral are statuses, which is fine, what do they protect you from you still do not list that. Does Astral increase you physical defense and Umbral magical? Also if they are statuses, like SWD/SHD Oath shouldn't they be abilities?
With Aquaveil, I'm confused what you mean by "Binary Stance"
With Phalanx II, no skill/spell is like that, it's just an updated version of the previous. Why not just make both a spell then Phalanx is single target and Phalanx II is an AoE, with maybe a shorter duration but higher defense?

Thank you, I'm glad some people like the idea of a spell-weaving sword/caster.

remember that in some games RDM is either "upgraded" or given skills similar to Mystic/Rune Knight. Adding in a few of their usual/unique skills might help balance things out.

[Keyah]

I don't really care for your tone and constant nitpicking. This is the last I will be replying to you.

based on your description the spike spell you have listed, which is only the thunder element

There is no element, it's a description...

An advanced job does not have to be complicated.

It also doesn't have to be easy. High skill ceilings deserve a place as well.

"enfeebling masters". I cannot debate this, since I didn't play XI.

You can't debate it and yet you then go on to do just that. Red Mages can use white magic but they are not associated with white mages. White magic doesn't mean the spells a white mage uses necessarily.

I find everything else you said very mocking and you don't seem to understand the design. I've had to dumb it down several times for you, and with this lack of understanding you still write absurdly long posts telling me what's wrong with my design.

[Xaikara]

I'm assuming you're trying to go with an XI approach just by looking at some of the skill names though, we can use that but some stuff you could really get creative with. Protect on this game already gives magic defence too. How would your Shell work with protect would they stack? Since Shell has an extra ability.

We know elemental resistance -can- be used on this game, due to lost city hard modes second boss, if you want XI why not copy XI's Ninja but with your en-spells? En-Fire can increase auto damage by let's say 80 potency for the duration, make it a stance. make it lower Ice resistance on the target. So Red Mage is swapping through their different En stances. You could even copy some of XIV's Ninja and make different debuffs based on your current en-spell. Just like how on XI lower ice resistance made it easier to paralyze.

Also didn't see Refresh if you were going with the XI approach, which would obviously just be like Ninja's goad on this but MP not TP.