Red Mage is Range Combat? (Discussion)

[NorthernLadMSP]

They showed a lot more than just three moves. There were at least 9 different moves used within the video, only two of which actually involved the RDM being in melee range. It's not a seamless blend of spell and steel like a classic true RDM is, it's a range heavy job with a one-off gimmick, as far as I can tell.

All I can realistically hope for now is it has some sort of worthwhile support skills.

No, there were not at least 9 different moves. At most 5. The video was literally 0:49 seconds long, more than half of which was battle stance and victory pose. So, effectively, you are basing your entire disappointment of the whole expansion on maybe 20 seconds of game play. Sorry, but that's an extremely over-dramatic and negative way of thinking.

[Duelle]

No, there were not at least 9 different moves. At most 5.

0:31-0:36 - Three spells. Already worrying that the first thing the job does is start casting spells from range.
0:37-0:42 - Gap closer, followed by multi-hit WS, followed by Repelling Shot.
0:43 - not-Flare.

I counted 7 skills. So 1/4 of available skills assuming the lv60 cap. That's still quite a bit, even if we assume that skills automatically switch RDM from ranged to melee.

The video was literally 0:49 seconds long, more than half of which was battle stance and victory pose. So, effectively, you are basing your entire disappointment of the whole expansion on maybe 20 seconds of game play. Sorry, but that's an extremely over-dramatic and negative way of thinking.

It's not unfounded disappointment. RDM is a melee mage. They not only classified it as ranged caster, but started the demo at range instead of melee range (which to me is a red flag). That they classified it a caster tells me we'll get some AoE attack that we'll almost never get to use as our LB, which is a pity because I wanted to see us get something like Chant du Cygne as our melee LB.

Considering that almost every job preview has given us an idea of what the involved jobs do in combat, that short vid so far is saying RDM will be staying out of melee range for most of combat, dashing in at set intervals before going back to ranged. Which means they ignored all the "RDM belong on the front line" threads, not to mention the suggestions provided on these forums. The only upside is that it wasn't shown acting like a buffbot.

I'm reserving judgement until I see the full ability list and all the involved mechanics, but so far I'm not impressed.

[Hyrist]

I'm reserving judgement until I see the full ability list and all the involved mechanics, but so far I'm not impressed.

Sorry to nail you on semantics but... you are rendering judgement, even if it's tentative.

Strange as I actually had a better take away from you, and am rather impressed that both Melee and Caster were utilized in a seamless manner. Yes, it seems to lean more heavily on casting - but that's not dynamically opposed to what Red Mage is

As much of a front-line proponent as I am, the one thing that seems to divide us here is that you feel as if 'front line' was the sole argument for Red Mage. That seems to snuff in the face of those who prefer the caster aspects of the class. It also kinda pushes away from what your own quote in the signature says - both casts and has regular melee attacks. What I saw displayed in front of me was something who utilizes both cast and melee to benefit one another - which is honestly more than what Red Mage ever was in any of it's previous incarnations. (Previously it was always one way, casting improving physical presence and Physical just being on its own.)

Anyways, it does not matter how the job was displayed this early on. We're still six months out and adjustments will be made - and there will also be discussions on how the class will be played in Meta. For example - Auto Attacks - depending on their overall impact on DPS performance verses other casters playing "At a range" may not be optimal in spite of initial design display. We'll see.

But thematically, I don't see anything wrong with what was displayed - I just see, yet again, Red Mages refusing to agree on what the class 'should be'. And I'm getting too old for that kind of nonsense. If playing it is fun, that's all that matters, and honestly, this is looking fun for me.

[NorthernLadMSP]

I'm reserving judgement until I see the full ability list and all the involved mechanics, but so far I'm not impressed.

Good job on reserving judgement.