Rapiers

[Iscah]

To be somewhat fair, it's also a magic wand that you sometimes use to directly hit things with charged magic power. It does rather pathetic damage in its unenchanted state.

[Corvus_V]

To be somewhat fair, it's also a magic wand that you sometimes use to directly hit things with charged magic power. It does rather pathetic damage in its unenchanted state.

SE definitely has a sub-set of RDM weapons that are supposed to look more like canes or staves you are holding in a horribly wrong way. Not really my cup of tea but soneone must like those... Right?

it feels like more than a subset to me

i know, i acknowledged that its a half sword, half staff, but you only hold it like a staff when youre casting with it basically; its kind of weird for the combat idle to be a fencing stance where youre holding a completely different weapon improperly lol
this is a little bit of an exaggeration but its almost like if the samurai's sword only appeared during the iai attacks, like regardless of how often you cast, you always return to a combat idle in-between GCDs, why would the weapon not look like it fit that, rather than the sword being the most important part until you cast, and after that point the focus is what makes it look like a staff?

Like to be super clear, im absolutely complaining about the way the sword half of it looks, not the part that attaches to the focus lol
like im totally cool with the existence of gimmicky weapons, like the Zantetsuken that only pops out when you take it out, or the WAR weapons that are hammers; infact I think some classes should get more of them (like samurai, which has afaik never once deviated from the standard katana, there's no longsword variants or anything akin to a joke weapon) but Red Mage has ALOT of canes and things that look absolutely nothing like swords

[Gemina]

To be somewhat fair, it's also a magic wand that you sometimes use to directly hit things with charged magic power. It does rather pathetic damage in its unenchanted state.

Not only fair, but also accurate. RDM weapons are wands/staves first, and melee weapons second. Whether the weapon would cause slashing or blunt damage doesn't matter at all due to the enchanted versions of their skills, which are also magically based.

RDM is weird in the sense that how they draw and ready their weapon is totally impractical. They spend the majority of their time casting, yet their base stance has their rapier and the focus detached; so they are constantly attaching and removing it during combat. It would make WAY more sense to just keep the focus attached and stance similar to a BLM or WHM, then remove the focus when engaging enemies in close quarters.

Ahhhh. I've been needing to get that off my chest for like the last three to four years!

[Corvus_V]

Not only fair, but also accurate. RDM weapons are wands/staves first, and melee weapons second. Whether the weapon would cause slashing or blunt damage doesn't matter at all due to the enchanted versions of their skills, which are also magically based.

RDM is weird in the sense that how they draw and ready their weapon is totally impractical. They spend the majority of their time casting, yet their base stance has their rapier and the focus detached; so they are constantly attaching and removing it during combat. It would make WAY more sense to just keep the focus attached and stance similar to a BLM or WHM, then remove the focus when engaging enemies in close quarters.

Ahhhh. I've been needing to get that off my chest for like the last three to four years!

Despite doing very little damage the autos are sword strikes as well though (though most are melee attacks) which is probably why the combat idle is the way it is as well
again, i get that they are casters, most of their attacks are magic based but it is still very clearly supposed to be used as a rapier lol; even objectively that's essentially their entire aesthetic apart from their weapon; their class clothing is indicative of that as well

from a stylistic standpoint what doesnt make sense is to make almost every animation other than the ones where you are casting return to the sword stance, including autos, and then have all of the "melee" attacks look like youre using it as a rapier when it doesnt look like that at all (it's not totally fair to say that theyre supposed to just look magic based when nearly half of them are sword oriented, you just spend alot more time building up mana)

i dont really feel like thats a great excuse for them to look the way they do, they'd have to reanimate the hell out of everything to make it look normal; what would probably be simpler is to make the half of the weapon used like a sword look like a sword instead of a metal stick going forward lol

even by a different standard its completely square, the "sword part" doesnt even look like a staff with the focus attached; it doesnt look anything like BLM or WHM weapons; so i dont think its fair to pretend that that's what theyre supposed to be; i think theyre just kind of not really great looking rather than what they are being a deliberate choice

[Gemina]

Despite doing very little damage the autos are sword strikes as well though (though most are melee attacks) which is probably why the combat idle is the way it is as well

Yeah, that makes enough sense when in melee range. Less so when out of it. It is kind of a give and take here.

again, i get that they are casters, most of their attacks are magic based but it is still very clearly supposed to be used as a rapier lol; even objectively that's essentially their entire aesthetic apart from their weapon; their class clothing is indicative of that as well

It's also clearly supposed to be used as a magical weapon such as wand or staff. I am aware that RDM arms serve a dual function. My point is that from a practical standpoint, it makes more sense for RDMs to keep their weapon in a casting stance. Especially considering that they need to build mana before that can enchant their weaponskills.

i dont really feel like thats a great excuse for them to look the way they do, they'd have to reanimate the hell out of everything to make it look normal; what would probably be simpler is to make the half of the weapon used like a sword look like a sword instead of a metal stick going forward lol

Oh don't get me wrong. I am just talking in a fantasy world where either you or I could practice red magic. It would definitely be better to always have your focus locked and loaded in a battle situation. I am also aware that RDMs tend to favor style over just about everything else. xD

[Corvus_V]

They’re basically big wands, which is fine.

thats more or less what i was saying, everything else is indicative of like a musketeer's outfit, which i believe would be more likely to be running around with a rapier as opposed to a wand; so despite them basically being that, everything else is pointing at them supposed to be being swords. like to an extent, a lot of them LOOK like swords, which is what i said in the OP, but they look like poorly modeled swords; like they're fat, or they have no cutting edge; as if someone modeled them without looking at it from every angle and said "this is fine because its straight"

Yeah, that makes enough sense when in melee range. Less so when out of it. It is kind of a give and take here.

well naturally, theres no auto for out of range casters and melees; just ranged; but there is still a return to combat idle (where you point your "sword" at the enemy) inbetween every GCD, or when you're running assuming youre not sliding along the floor from using reprise or slidecasting lmao

It's also clearly supposed to be used as a magical weapon such as wand or staff. I am aware that RDM arms serve a dual function. My point is that from a practical standpoint, it makes more sense for RDMs to keep their weapon in a casting stance. Especially considering that they need to build mana before that can enchant their weaponskills.

i'm considering the "fantasy" practicality of it less because its a fantasy world, basically
im aware that red mage is a caster and is all magic damage, im more or less pointing at the fact that's that what its pretty clearly supposed to be, going back to me quoting the first guy im actually much more inclined to believe that it's actually just a really not a spectacular modeling job as opposed to a deliberate choice to make it "look like a staff or wand"; since i havent seen anyone ask or confront them about it in an interview or anything im totally unaware of there being a source for that; im just assuming the people who pick red mage who like it partly because of the way it looks would probably appreciate the fact that the sword matches the outfit lol

i mean we still have that TV antenna cryptlurker rapier that you holster uncomfortably in your left kidney everytime you put it away; it definitely isn't a stretch to say that its probably supposed to be a sword and someones not doing a famously good job at it somehow

edit: woops! at some point during a hiatus they mustve fixed it lmao it no longer stabs you in the waist when you put it away
it was still broken when endwalker came out iirc

[Gemina]

im just assuming the people who pick red mage who like it partly because of the way it looks would probably appreciate the fact that the sword matches the outfit lol

Well, and traditionally they've always used a sword. The types of swords have always changed throughout the years, but they always had a pointy end. I am strictly going by their weapon design in FFXIV, which is rather unique. It would actually be pretty awesome if they changed stance depending on if they are in melee range or not, or just have the ability to change the pose yourself.

i mean we still have that TV antenna cryptlurker rapier that you holster uncomfortably in your left kidney everytime you put it away; it definitely isn't a stretch to say that its probably supposed to be a sword and someones not doing a famously good job at it somehow

A lot of RDM weapons are horrendous. I actually lost a bet where I had to use the friggin Dwarven Mythril Rapier for a month. There was never a more satisfying desynth, let me tell ya. But the same can be said for all jobs. I never really noticed a lack of bladed weapons for RDM, but also was never actively looking for them either. I'm currently using the Wild Rose, which is an interesting design, but I don't plan on parting with my egg anytime soon.

[hagare]

RDMs tend to favor style over just about everything else. xD

Which is why a RDM with bad glamour is no RDM at all