Red Mage is Range Combat? (Discussion)

[Gemina]

A bit off topic...
to jump back.

Back on topic...

Well looking at it this way the most effective way to handle Red Mage once they get their melee skills would certainly be to keep the Red Mage Melee Range so it does not need to waste time running back and forth between melee and range combat. This way the Red Mage can get strait to their melee attacks and chainspell attacks much faster and only need to "Repelling shot" if things are safe to jump back.

It's interesting to find out exactly how RDM positionals will come into play, should they exist. Part of me wants to say there should be a penalty to dmg if casting in melee range, because something needs to force the rdm to retreat back into a ranged stance, otherwise what is the point. The other part of me though doesn't see a big issue with not having a penalty because it is generally bad practice for ranged fighters to remain in melee range. A future vision I have of bad rdms, and complaints about rdms are those who refuse to move out of melee range to cast.

The penalty for remaining in melee range while casting will likely be around the same as it is for our current positional fighters, and certain mechanics and bosses take away optimal positioning. That is just how it is and part of how difficulty is engaged. The difference here though is taking a penalty on something with a cast time.

In any case, the video suggests that optimizing rdm requires tactful positionining, and I am quite sure that in the end, a big challenge with playing rdm will be using these draw/retreat methods of positioning along with proper timing and coordination of their abilities. It would be crazy boring if a set rotation forces you to use the draw/retreat instead of giving that flexibility to the rdm to choose when it is the best time to.

Not going to lie but if that "Repelling shot" skill is a required combo skill for Red Mage just to get into proper distance I will be laughing like crazy when a bunch of Red Mages "jump" off to their death on Primal Fights or any Dungeon Boss Fights that have dangerous zones that made the stage too small

Back flipping to their doom? I'd honestly laugh so hard whether I see it, or do it myself. Enjoy those derps while they can be laughed off! "p

[myahele]

From the RDM preview, it looks like the RDM will have a gap-closing melee ability. Maybe the end/ finishing move of their 1-2-3 rotation?

[Duelle]

You don't see that in any other FF game, and I think it makes for a very interesting mechanic.

There's something to be said for rejecting difference for its own sake. It does look a bit weird because the alternative would have been the RDM using their free hand to cast spells (which IMO would have been just fine). I'm not too bothered by it since I instantly thought to myself that someone on the dev team has played Bloodborne; the RDM weapon is basically the Rakuyo but with a jewel instead of a dagger off-hand.

Personally, I wouldn't have gone with the Agrippa-style stance. Partly because I'm not a fan of floating weaponry, as they look very impractical in combat. I'd have gone with a stance derived from Capo Ferro (tucking the off-hand to the chest while holding the jewel, or preferably a short scepter), especially since Capo Ferro involved use of the free hand (sometimes to grapple, sometimes to knock the enemy's blade out of the way) so it'd be fitting to cast weak melee-range spells using the offhand, combine both to cast the bigger spells, and so on.

As for the limit break...

[EdwinLi]

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In my opinion I don't think they may go with the positioning mechanic but instead go for a Stack Buff mechanic with one providing a boost to melee skills by building it through using range skills then a seperate for the range skills by using melee skills to stack the buff. However, this could get a bit iffy on fights with heavy AoE and constant movement since most fights currently expect players to stick with Melee or Range but never both thus the push on Heavy AoE mechanic bosses in 3.X.

Or they could go with.....


a type of stance switch mechanic where players set up their stance by casting it then certain skills will change the stance for a certain combat style. For example using what we see in the Red Mage Trailer as visual image, the Red Mage cast itself into a Range stance and during that stance they get a boost in faster cast time along with chainspell effect and a damage boost to their range skills. Then they use their Charge skill to go into melee range for battle which then the skill will automatically switch the Red Mage Stance into its Melee Combat Stace thus they get a increase to their Melee Damage and a melee chainspell. Then they use their "Repelling Shot" skill and jump back which then their stance is switched back to Range combat Stance.

[FeliAiko]

From the RDM preview, it looks like the RDM will have a gap-closing melee ability. Maybe the end/ finishing move of their 1-2-3 rotation?

The gap closer was an oGCD, not a GCD. Same thing with the Repel Shot-like move. You can tell because of the blue flash/aura that appears around the user shortly before the skill animation (indicative of oGCDs; GCDs meanwhile generate a yellow aura flash, which you see with the multistab move).

[AlphaFox]

So one thing that comes to mind, what about the limit break? Would it be like what we saw in the story quest battle or something else all together?

[AlexionSkylark]

I'm going to be very pissed if RDM doesn't have support healing skills.


RDMS ARE MEANT TO BE HYBRIDS

[myahele]

I'm going to be very pissed if RDM doesn't have support healing skills.


RDMS ARE MEANT TO BE HYBRIDS

They might be able to cross class cure or physic

[Thunda_Cat_SMASH]

I'm going to be very pissed if RDM doesn't have support healing skills.


RDMS ARE MEANT TO BE HYBRIDS

They've shown that their happy to neglect the physical 'attacker' portion of the job, I don't believe that they're gonna have much heal support.

[AlphaFox]

They've shown that their happy to neglect the physical 'attacker' portion of the job, I don't believe that they're gonna have much heal support.

You take that from a 30sec clip that shows like 3 attacks. Calm down there :P