Aside from its role in FFXI, there's nothing about RDM that makes it the obvious choice for this game's first pure support job (not that a pure support job is ever likely to happen at all). FFXI was the first and only Final Fantasy game to give RDM such an emphasis on buffs and debuffs. Prior to that, the only buffs and debuffs they got were a subset of the ones available to BLM and WHM, just like their nukes and heals were subsets.

Classically, it's been a jack-of-all-trades, master of none that can nuke, but not as well as dedicated nukers, heal, but not as well as dedicated healers, and melee, but not as well as dedicated melee. That kind of diversity is pretty much suicide in a game like this one (why take a RDM in a DPS slot? We have our healing amply covered already, so all we're doing is adding a sub-par DPS), so it makes sense that the devs would tailor it into a pure DPS role. I fully anticipate it will have minor support abilities as a nod to its roots, but don't expect more than that.

Quote Originally Posted by MistyMew View Post
A pure support would be ridiculed beyond recognition in any dungeon/raid where the "race" seems to always take priority over anything else. Every run is a rush fest or constant complaining occurs.
This depends entirely on how effective the support is. BRDs were among the most sought-after party members in FFXI, in spite of the fact that they did crap damage. Why? Because their buffs were so powerful, that having one in the party was like adding two or more DPS, and adding powerful sustainment on top of that.

If something similar were present in this game, far from being excluded, the "race" would DEPEND on having this kind of support along. No rush party would ever even get off the ground without one along.