The Red Mage Video Analysis and Theorycrafting thread.

[Khalithar]

The demo showed us a total of 7 skills (three casts, Lunge, Million Stab, gap opener, nuke at the end), which is 1/4 of the skills available to a job at lv60 (28 skills, 18 regular abilities and 10 quested abilities), so there's some room for stuff. That being said, something seems to proc when the RDM used Million Stab. I don't know if it's connected with the nuke at the end, but that was the only ability that procced anything out of what that RDM used. Which would mean nothing is proccing off combos (since no combos were shown).

Based on the video we saw, my current guess is that the endgame rdm rotation will open with some DoT/debuff spells (debuffs that may or may not increase the amount of damage taken from the rdm's melee attacks) at the very beginning of it's rotation at which point they use their gap closer and get in to use their melee attacks which ends with the leap back/escape move (I think their melee moves will apply some sort of magic damage taken debuff along with the resources built up by using their melee attacks), at which point they switch to casting their big spells as a "finisher" to their combo. Then they reapply their DoTs/debuffs and go back to melee range.

[Radacci]

Based on the video we saw, my current guess is that the endgame rdm rotation will open with some DoT/debuff spells (debuffs that may or may not increase the amount of damage taken from the rdm's melee attacks) at the very beginning of it's rotation at which point they use their gap closer and get in to use their melee attacks which ends with the leap back/escape move (I think their melee moves will apply some sort of magic damage taken debuff along with the resources built up by using their melee attacks), at which point they switch to casting their big spells as a "finisher" to their combo. Then they reapply their DoTs/debuffs and go back to melee range.

i guess you're missing the fact that all RDM skills will be magic, since it's caster job (even the melee skills)
don't expect any mag vulnerability debuffs from combo, like there is with melee jobs...that would make foe req obsolete, and make casters OP as fck, since they already have the highest damage potential; imagine adding another semi-permanent 10% damage boost on top of that.
at most you'll see a bit of potency increase when using spells in order in spellchain combo. Maybe something along the line of Ruin III costing less MP in DW stance.
maybe melee skills cost TP while spells cost MP, so you can swap resources, a bit like DRK. or since apparently in SB jobs will get a new job-specific UI element, at high levels, it will be something new.
I'd say melee skills have stuff like slow/stun/knock

[Khalithar]

i guess you're missing the fact that all RDM skills will be magic, since it's caster job (even the melee skills)
don't expect any mag vulnerability debuffs from combo, like there is with melee jobs...that would make foe req obsolete, and make casters OP as fck, since they already have the highest damage potential; imagine adding another semi-permanent 10% damage boost on top of that.

Oh sorry, what I meant in my post was that the debuff applied would be increased damage taken from the individual RDM's spells/abilities or it would be some kind of personal buff like Heavy Thrust.

[LineageRazor]

don't expect any mag vulnerability debuffs from combo, like there is with melee jobs...that would make foe req obsolete,

There is precedent. NIN's Dancing Edge has reduction to slashing resistance, and it did not make WAR's Storm's Path obsolete. I see no harm in adding another potential source to the game for reduction to magic resistance, so you don't feel obligated to bring along a BRD every time you have a magic heavy party. It would open up the game a bit for MCH, who fill most of the same niches a BRD does but don't bring the magic resistance reduction.

[basketofseals]

i guess you're missing the fact that all RDM skills will be magic, since it's caster job (even the melee skills)
don't expect any mag vulnerability debuffs from combo, like there is with melee jobs...that would make foe req obsolete, and make casters OP as fck, since they already have the highest damage potential; imagine adding another semi-permanent 10% damage boost on top of that.
at most you'll see a bit of potency increase when using spells in order in spellchain combo. Maybe something along the line of Ruin III costing less MP in DW stance.
maybe melee skills cost TP while spells cost MP, so you can swap resources, a bit like DRK. or since apparently in SB jobs will get a new job-specific UI element, at high levels, it will be something new.
I'd say melee skills have stuff like slow/stun/knock

DO casters have the highest damage potential? I thought the ideal group composition was to actually just not take them.