How Would You Design Red Mage!?

[Ramsey]

Challenge Accepted.


As I have neither the time nor the spreadsheets to properly balance MP and TP costs, or any exact numbers for that matter, please use your imagination for the purposes of exact numbers.

In addition, given the current system requirements for a class and a job to be paired 1:1, this includes Fencer.

Fencer
魔法剣士 (lit. "Magic Swordsman")

Fencers are frontline casters who specialize in the use of mystical spellswords. Wielding magics as deftly as their blades, they posses the ability to both debilitate their enemies and bolster their allies as needed.


Abilities

Lv Ability Name
Description


1 Expose
Delivers a melee attack. Chance to decrease defense and magic defense, up to a maximum of three stacks.

2 Water Brand
Deals water damage. Fulfills the combo conditions of your next spell.
Combo Action: Manastrike
Combo Bonus: Converts your attacks into water attacks.

4 Runic
Absorbs the next magic attack and restores MP when an attack is absorbed. Effect fades upon absorption or after a certain period of time elapses.

6 Life Brand
Delivers a ranged attack and restores the HP of nearby allies.
Combo Action: Manastrike
Combo Bonus: Grants your attacks an HP restore effect.

10 Blood Price
Pay the cost of your next attack or spell with HP.

14 Manastrike
Delivers a melee attack and restores MP.

18 Thunder Brand
Deals lightning damage. Fulfills the combo conditions of your next spell.
Combo Action: Manastrike
Combo Bonus: Converts your attacks into lightning attacks.

22 Featherblow
Delivers a melee strike at high accuracy.
Combo Action: Expose
Combo Bonus: Grants a TP bonus.

26 Earth Brand
Deals earth damage. Fulfills the combo conditions of your next spell.
Combo Action: Manastrike
Combo Bonus: Converts your attacks into earth attacks.

30 Subdue
Delivers a melee attack. Chance to inflict Pacification when executed from in front of the target.
Combo Action: Expose
Combo Bonus: Removes an enhancement from the target.

34 Infuse
Converts MP into TP. TP does not diminish out of combat while effect is active.

38 Wind Brand
Deals wind damage. Fulfills the combo conditions of your next spell.
Combo Action: Manastrike
Combo Bonus: Converts your attacks into wind attacks.

42 Ice Brand
Deals ice damage. Fulfills the combo conditions of your next spell.
Combo Action: Manastrike
Combo Bonus: Converts your attacks into ice attacks.

46 Fire Brand
Deals fire damage. Fulfills the combo conditions of your next spell.
Combo Action: Manastrike
Combo Bonus: Converts your attacks into fire attacks.

50 Checkmate
Delivers an unavoidable melee attack.
Combo Action: Featherblow
Combo Bonus: Increased critical rate.



Traits

Lv Trait Name


8 Enhanced Physical Accuracy

12 Enhanced Magic Accuracy

16 Swift Runic
Halves the recast of Runic, resulting in it lasting its entire cooldown.

20 Auto-Refresh

24 Enhanced Magic Potency

28 Greater Healing

32 Enhanced Blood Price
Also reduces the cost of the attack by 50%.

36 Enhanced Parry

40 Swift Infuse
Halves the cooldown of Infuse.

44 Enhanced Physical Attack Power

48 Enhanced Manastrike
Makes Manastrike a ranged attack.




Red Mage
赤魔道士

Red Mages are powerful casters capable of wielding both offensive and restorative magic. Sacrificing physical attack power, the Red Mage gains MP and additional versatility in battle.


Abilities

Lv Ability Name
Description


30 Magic Sword
Casts level 2 magic based on the Red Mage's current spell brand.
Fire Brand ⇒ Fira
Ice Brand ⇒ Blizzara
Thunder Brand ⇒ Thundara
Water Brand ⇒ Watera
Earth Brand ⇒ Stonera
Wind Brand ⇒ Aerora
Life Brand ⇒ Cura

35 Altruism
Grants a bonus to healing magic potency. Reduces enmity generated by actions while effect is active. Effect fades over time and upon reuse. Cannot be used simultaneously with Composure or Malevolence.

40 Composure
Grants a bonus to maximum health. Increases enmity generated by actions while effect is active. Effect fades over time and upon reuse. Cannot be used simultaneously with Altruism or Malevolence.

45 Malevolence
Grants a bonus to attack magic potency and physical attack power. Effect fades over time and upon reuse. Cannot be used simultaneously with Altruism or Composure.

50 Chainspell
Removes cast time and recast time of all spells.

*Footnote #1: Weapon Type - Spellswords
Both Fencer and Red Mage are referenced as using "spellswords." This is a term that crops up frequently in Final Fantasy. In one instance, even as a job that evolves from the Red Mage which evolves from Fencer. In this case, spellswords would be a set including a sword and main gauche off hand, preventing the use of a shield. The weapons would feature varying stats, but almost always also a reasonable parry value.

*Footnote #2: Japanese Name Relevance
The Japanese name 魔法剣士 mahou kenshi lit. "Magic Swordsman", is relevant due to the fact that in the Japanese version of the game, classes are named entirely around their weapon type in the case of melee classes, with no reference to any sort of flavor or lore. In this case, I am designing Fencer to use spellblades, which allows the class's abilities to tie more closely into Red Mage's, in a way that makes sense. "Fencer" is lore that's piled on top of that, to give the class quests flavor. It also works well with the sword and main gauche as weapons.

*Footnote #3: Magic Sword
From a technical standpoint, Magic Sword would require an additional case be added to the current ability system. An ability that can branch based on the context of a buff on the player. On the upside, all the spells this ability would access are currently in the game, thus requiring no additional art assets be created.

This design of Red Mage hinges on this ability. It's a slightly unsatisfactory solution in that sense, however, I think it accomplishes the goal with the very limited number of ability slots open to a job.

*Footnote #4: Altruism, Composure, Malevolence
These effects fade over time, I.E. their potency degrades slowly until they expire. Their cooldowns would be such that the same ability could not be used twice in a row.


P.S. No one wants Red Mage for refresh. We already have Ballad. The people who want Red Mage simply either enjoyed it in Final Fantasy XI, or in most cases, seem to have (like me) always had a soft spot for Red Mage in the series history.

There are ways to make Red Mage unique, but it is true, that simply implementing it as it was in FFXI would be a waste of time and effort, and run counter to the current job system.