Famitsu interview confirm RDM use INT and share casting gear/SAM share striking gear!

[Reinha]

I don't think it matters much that RDM shares appearance with other casters. It's not like there are ample horn options for Summoners beyond artifact sets. Besides there's always glamour. The Songbird set might look pretty good on RDM.

[Konungarike]

Besides there's always glamour. The Songbird set might look pretty good on RDM.

Im so happy for the Songbird set, the chest piece is beautiful but I think the real show-stealer is the hat. I have a pipe dream of a dyable version of the plaguebringer set and I'll be able to use that coat + Songbird hat to recreate the rose theme RDMs have in the Bravely games. <3<3

[Unholychinchilla]

Im so happy for the Songbird set, the chest piece is beautiful but I think the real show-stealer is the hat. I have a pipe dream of a dyable version of the plaguebringer set and I'll be able to use that coat + Songbird hat to recreate the rose theme RDMs have in the Bravely games. <3<3

If they repeat the pattern of having dyable versions of 2.X dungeon gear appearing as 50-59 non-dungeon gear you'll likely get your wish.

[Fuma]

Confirmed: Water is wet.

[Underdog2204]

Confirmed: Water is wet.

This ^

I'm genuinely shocked people are suprised by this...

[Jerbob]

I'm genuinely shocked people are surprised by this...

I don't think it's surprise so much as very interesting. This decision helps to illustrate the direction that SE intends to take RDM in XIV. Given that RDM is historically almost entirely defined by using a very hybridised fighting style, I am personally looking for any indication to see how SE intends to combine that with XIV's incredibly rigid role boundaries.

SE casually placing RDM into the same category as BLM for equipment doesn't tell us much, but it implies that a lot of RDM's hybrid character is going to be stripped away. We've already seen that SE doesn't really care about maintaining the image of a historically established job beyond the most superficial aspects (look at "SMN"); this choice is an indication that RDM may be going in the same direction.

I think that's why people are making a big deal out of this. If SE announced that a dedicated back-line nuking job was going to be on INT gear, it wouldn't be very exciting - very much a "Water is wet" situation. Because it's RDM, with the disparity between its historical nature and XIV's rigidity being somewhat controversial, I personally think it's very much worth talking about.

[Vexander]

IGiven that RDM is historically almost entirely defined by using a very hybridised fighting style

I'm not entirely sure how true this statement is to be honest. Red Mage was always capable of a Hybrid playstyle, but in the turn based games at least, Red Mage was often best utilized by making it behave like a Black Make, using its strongest nuking spells, usually at a distance for combat. Certainly it could heal and that was great when the healer went down or was out of mana, but from what I know of how people played those classic Final Fantasy games, Red Mage mainly nuked.

[Stitches1974]

I'm not entirely sure how true this statement is to be honest. Red Mage was always capable of a Hybrid playstyle, but in the turn based games at least, Red Mage was often best utilized by making it behave like a Black Make, using its strongest nuking spells, usually at a distance for combat. Certainly it could heal and that was great when the healer went down or was out of mana, but from what I know of how people played those classic Final Fantasy games, Red Mage mainly nuked.

RDM has been a hybrid since the original FF. It never has been able to use the strongest blk or wht spells in the FF console series.

[Jerbob]

Red Mage mainly nuked.

I think it's really important to consider why anyone would use RDM instead of BLM, in that case. If you just want a nuker, is there really any reason to pick RDM over BLM? RDM's value lies in the fact that you have a safety net and some flexibility - as you say, if something went wrong you had the white magic, and you had the alternative attacking styles. That's what RDM's identity is. Erasing that just to cram RDM into XIV's restrictive system feels like a waste of potential.

RDM was presented as ranged DPS with a mix of melee attacks

That's certainly what the video showed, but there wasn't much of it. I am hopeful that there's more to RDM than that - which is why I'm watching for as much information as I can find. I'll be extremely disappointed if there's not more depth than we saw in the video.

[Driavna]

But there is nothing to talk about, RDM was presented as ranged DPS with a mix of melee attacks, probably with some utility skills at thats about it.

With current meta hybrids had no place outside perhaps PvP.