Let's discuss Red Mage

[AlexionSkylark]

I've said it a few times but I'll add it here for posterity. What I'd like to see from Red Mage is pretty specific:

A stance-dancing dps with-
Melee physical damage Stance. All skills obviously work within 5y of the enemy. They consume TP and restore MP.

Ranged caster damage Stance. All skills work only when 10y or further from the enemy. They consume MP and restore TP.

There should be a Shoulder Tackle-esque skill to gapclose into Melee Stance and a Repelling Shot-esque skill to put distance between you and the enemy to go into Caster Stance.

That would also be AWESOME. However, where's the WHM part of it? Before everything, a RDM is a WHM/BLM hybrid. how would you fit this concept there?

[Tanat]

I've just been so far underwhelmed by the lack of a sword dps in this game. I know some people will say it's too cliche or w/e, but personally I've always felt most comfortable with sword DPS classes.

The fact that Red Mage will/might scratch that itch is enough for me to be hyped for the class. Also whenever a game allows it, I tend to lean towards spell sword or battle mage type classes anyway, which is essentially what a RDM is.

[Tanat]

However, I do doubt that it'll be a jack-of-all-trades type of class, as I don't think that type of class would ever work in a game that's so focused on the holy-trinity job system. It's just counter intuitive to the entire system.

I can see the RDM working as a sort of over-all support (similar to the AST with their card buffs), while still holding its own as a DPS. They could make it so that it has multiple skills (or combos, i.e. storm's eye/path) that each apply a specific debuff (slashing/blunt/piercing/magic/etc.) or healing enhanced buffs so that it works well with whatever party composition you might have, effectively filling the role of any job that the party demands.

[Tanat]

They could even implement it in such a way that forcing the RDM to apply all of its debuffs/buffs would severely cripple its own DPS, so as much as possible you wouldn't make the RDM do all the work. They could even go so far as to give it skills that allow people to tackle content with unorthodox party make ups, such as single tank/single heal parties; for example skills that reset the CDs of specific party members, like resetting tank CDs so that the tank can live without a tank swap, or resetting healer CDs so they can gain MP faster/use swiftcast twice in succession, etc etc.

[TheCurls]

That would also be AWESOME. However, where's the WHM part of it? Before everything, a RDM is a WHM/BLM hybrid. how would you fit this concept there?

It would either take some artistic liberty with the traditional role of the job, or it could add the Enfire etc. skills as white magic.

[Tanat]

oh, important clarification: THEY SHOULDN'T BE ABLE TO REPLACE HEALERS/TANKS, but they should be able to help the current healers/tanks do better. No sub-healer/OT nonsense. Holy trinity, remember? (duh)

although to be perfectly honest, after typing that out, the amount of communication between party members necessary, and the requisite understanding of how all the other classes work (such as when they're likely to use specific CDs) seems like too much of a skill ceiling to be expected from a majority of the player base to be able to cope with. So it's veeery unlikely that the actual job will be this engaging/complex/OP/whateveryouwannacallit, but this would make it so that it manages to embody that jack-of-all-trades trait but still being primarily a DPS by augmenting/supporting all of the members of the party while not breaking the holy trinity mold.

TL;DR
Over-All Support DPS. I have a highly improbable idea of how RDM might work in game. HIGHLY. IMPROBABLE.
my 2 cents~

[AlexionSkylark]

It would either take some artistic liberty with the traditional role of the job, or it could add the Enfire etc. skills as white magic.

take OUT the healing part of the RDM? that's ANATHEMA to Final Fantasy, you heretic (/sarcasm)

[The_Last_Dragoon]

The one downside with Red Mage being spoiled is that it kind of ruins what I was hoping for with the Samurai Job. Unless Red Mage turns out to be the healer slot (which is incredibly unlikely), more than likely it seems like the Red Mage will be a DPS job Rapier wielding caster that uses spells to reinforce their attacks. This means that Samurai either isn't coming to FFXIV in this expansion or it's coming to the game as a tank, wasting the potential for it to be a 2-handed sword DPS job that deals damage to itself to buff it's own damage. Unfortunately, the alternative for Red Mage to be a healer is pretty bleak as well since that would make it way too similar to WHM and BLM.

Who knows what they're actually going to reveal at the next fan festival, but here's hoping that they can pull it off and make all of the jobs they release look super awesome.

[Thunda_Cat_SMASH]

RDM has always been the tankiest of the mage jobs in my mind. It's the only role that truly fits in the jack of all trades realm as well. An RDM support dps would be amazing too, but for the love of god... Don't make it a healer. That would kill everything about the job for me. :c We already have a dps focused healer in SCH, having RDM be an exact clone would be redundant.

[OliviaJ]

I don't see how they can properly implement RDM without changing the trinity. If they wanted to change it and introduce RDM and DNC as a 4th class, that being support, then I could see it. I mained RDM in XI and loved it. The job kept you busy and you felt appreciated if you were doing it right. Never played DNC so I can't comment on that. It would be tough to change the trinity though because I'm not so sure how older content would work. Imagine even something like a potent Paralyze was landed on some of the bosses and how the mechanics of the fight would be screwed.