Thread: What Red Mage may be in 4.0

Originally Posted by Dyvid

Cool video but nothing in it screams Red Mage.

Nothing in it screams Ramza, either. He was nothing like that in the game or cutscenes.

Originally Posted by Cherie

Side note, SE, please make a Ramza costume as a veteran's reward. You'd get me to sub 6months in advance again lol.

If they do this, I would love for them to give us all three outfits from the game.

Originally Posted by dinnertime

Honestly if they're going to make Red Mage a Mystic Knight then it would make more sense if they made Mystic Knight instead of Red Mage.

They've added some elements of Mystic Knight to Red Mage in the past (like elemental weapon attacks). I suspect they'd do something similar in FFXIV, too, if only because there's probably only room for one "magical swordsman" in the game's class space (though I suppose that didn't stop them in FFXI with both Red Mage and Rune Fencer).

Originally Posted by dinnertime

Honestly if they're going to make Red Mage a Mystic Knight then it would make more sense if they made Mystic Knight instead of Red Mage.

The line between the two Jobs has always been blurry from an aesthetic point of view. While mechanically, they are very different, with Red Mage being more of a caster that happens to also be a swordsman, while Mystic Knight is a swordsman who happens to also be a caster (not unlike Dark Knight). However, the blurred lines between the two Jobs lends credence to the idea of a combined Red Mage/Mystic Knight Job just under the moniker of "Red Mage." Much like how Astrologian takes two rather shallow Jobs mechanically, Time Mage and Gambler, and combines them into a functioning whole in FFXIV's environment.

Over the last few days, it kind of donned on me that Red Mage in FFXIV might be a bit different from the typical Red Mage of Final Fantasy lore. It could be a hybrid DPS with a small amount of support that harnesses the power of runes to cast magic and enhance their sword skills. Players who prefer up close and personal, or casting safely far away will find a nice fit as a Red Mage.

If the dev team reads these forums, maybe I can toss my floppy red hat into the ring with an idea. Keep Red Mage a hybrid job, but a hybrid DPS that focuses on casting and melee.


This could be the first job that allows two distinct playstyles, be it ranged caster or up close melee. Weapon of choice would be rapier. (dual rapiers or shield would be also good.)

Melee stance (Fencer)
This is your melee, all your cooldowns switch to sword weaponskills. Similar to monk, as a fencer you must strike your opponent on the flank and rear for critical hit bonuses. You could gain a stack of "Swashbuckler's Might" that increases critical hit rate and must be maintained like monk's "Greased Lightning".

Enfire - allows your melee to do additional fire damage for 15s

Caster Stance (Rune)
Red Mage harnesses the power of runes to cast magic. Consumes MP.

Ignis(fire) > Gelus(ice) > Flabra(wind) ... as simple 1-2-3 combo. Or just Ignis and Gelus similar to how Black Mage does it's rotation.

Tellus(earth) AoE earth damage)


Abilities that don't require stance:
Sulpor(thunder based DoT) / Unda(poison DoT)
Lux(AoE mini cure)/ Tenebre (MP Drain)

Refresh - Restores MP over time on chosen player target. 15s (It's MP Goad for mages.)
Regen - Self cast, restores HP over time for the whole party for 10s

This took a few hours to conjure in my head, and hopefully it's within balance so the job isn't broken.