Was anyone else disappointed in RDM? anyone?

[Vexander]

Phalanx, definitely Phalanx. Oh and refresh, gotta have refresh! lol. I can imagine so many people snapping if part of (not even a primary part) of Red Mage was a mana battery :P

Thing is we have a Role Ability to be a Mana Battery, so I'm not sure Refresh is needed unless it was a single-target MP restoration mechanic for Red Mages. Phalanx would make sense and be a nice addition. I'm also curious if we'll see any en-element type abilities to augment their spellcasting. I remember someone suggested En-Astral and En-Umbral once, which seems to be a good way of consolidating what would be 6 En-Elemental abilities.

[Edit]: Perhaps an En-Astral/En-Umbral would affect the rate you acquire Black/White Mana, as well as the spell you use at the end of your Melee Combination attack? In the original video we saw a kind of Multi-Flare, and in the more recent we saw a pillar of darker energies. Perhaps En-Astral results in our Multi-Flare and En-Umbral would result in the darker pillars of energy?

[YokeM]

That probably won't be worth anything unless you spend a lot of time not using a sword and casting from range to build up black/white mana to empower it.

Since people are bringing up their grievances or mentioning their lack of affinity for RDM, I'll start with the most glaring problem: it's a ranged caster with a sword. Their decision to implement it as such is mind-boggling when you take into account how other MMOs have done battle-mages/melee-casters/hybrids (because FFXIV supposedly looked to its contemporaries for ideas and inspiration) in addition to 5 years of suggestions and feedback.

There's also minor nitpicks.

- Weaponry: Why a floating crystal? If you wanted to give it a casting focus, adding a jewel to the hilt of the rapier would have worked. If you were bent on trick weapons, a small scepter to go paired with the rapier would have sufficed. Bonus being that you could use the scepter on its own to cast instant-spells where fitting and use it in slightly interesting ways. If you need to cast a big spell, then you could combine scepter and rapier into a staff.

- Animations: Seeing that there's a second item involved, the stance looks silly. The Agrippa stance RDM is using is supposed to be for wielding the rapier by itself, since the offhand is behind you partly for balance, partly as a result of you turning your body sideways to give the enemy less of you for them to hit. There are dual wielding stances (for rapier and dagger) that could work, or could be modified to work with RDM.

There's also the issue of how the rapier and crystal are sheathed. The rapier should be sheathed on the left side, with the crystal being set either under the hilt or next to it (similar to how a buckler is carried with a sword/rapier). They're currently rigged like they were hand-to-hand weapons, which makes things look really weird.

To be honest, thats how I feel too. The Agrippa Stance makes little sense, if RDM is mostly ranged spells anyway. More so, that the way he holds rapier and crystals, means that they as far away from each other as possible. If he is going to smash them together for casting, wouldn`t it make more sense to have them closer? A crystal in the hilt would have made much more sense in my opinion.

But never the less, I like the concept, it`s just that the rapier feels a little bit out of place from a logical sense (I know, it`s iconic...but well).

My personal favorite would have been something like this: Only summoning his saber, when he`s actually going to use it.


One can dream.

[Blueyes]

What I really want to see now is the full range of spells and abilities Red Mage has. We saw what I presume to be its entire (or majority) Damaging set in the showcase, but I'm interested in what it will have for utility and defensives.

There is actually someone who has put together a documentation that covers every single Red Mage action. Some have tooltips that are unofficially translated while others require speculation based on factors such as the action icon and cost. In terms of utility and defense, it would seem Red Mage offers a buff that increases their magic damage while raising the physical damage of nearby party members. There are also two spells that appear to be the Red Mage equivalent of Cure and Raise.

Red Mage Analysis

[Vexander]

There is actually someone who has put together a documentation that covers every single Red Mage action. Some have tooltips that are unofficially translated while others require speculation based on factors such as the action icon and cost. In terms of utility and defense, it would seem Red Mage offers a buff that increases their magic damage while raising the physical damage of nearby party members. There are also two spells that appear to be the Red Mage equivalent of Cure and Raise.

Red Mage Analysis

Interesting! Thanks!

[DarkDedede]

I suppose my only disappointment with red mage is that I assume I can't glamour any bard gear as a red mage.

Unless, of course, red mage is so awesome that such a thing is allowed. Would be grand, I would think.

[Thunda_Cat_SMASH]

Yeah, that Chainspell stuff allowing for instant-casts and having you go into melee range to expend your Mana Bars on Spellblade abilities REALLY locks you into being just another turret. For shame, SE. =P

Would you rather it be described as 90% turret, 5% dashing, 5% lack of originality? Because I can certainly call it that.

In all seriousness, the only thing that the trailer did was make me hate the Red Mage even more. It's a complete waste of an interesting class and concept and I'm boggled people will accept such a generic lackluster design...

[Thayos]

I couldn't be more excited for red mage.

[Vexander]

Would you rather it be described as 90% turret, 5% dashing, 5% lack of originality? Because I can certainly call it that.

In all seriousness, the only thing that the trailer did was make me hate the Red Mage even more. It's a complete waste of an interesting class and concept and I'm boggled people will accept such a generic lackluster design...

How can you say 90% turret when over 50% of its abilities will be instant cast, allowing for a greater range of movement? Stand still for 2 seconds to cast a spell to proc chainspell and you then have a whole GCD to move around until you need to again, weaving in Swiftcast if you -really- need a lot more movement. RDM will be a highly mobile caster. I'm not sure how it, 'Lacks Originality,' either. Can't say I've played MMOs where a class was designed around mechanics that combine in a manner like this.

[Thunda_Cat_SMASH]

Snip.

The majority of its mechanics will revolve around sitting in one space until you actually need to move, IE Being a casting turret. You'll occasionally be able to move a small amount when your mechanics bring you into melee range and then back out as quickly as a jalapeno at taco bell, but beyond that you won't be doing much movement, so you'll just be a turret. Therefore, 90% turret is an accurate assessment, as I define a "turret" as a job wherein mechanics encourage you to stand in one place for extended periods.

Being able to move when you don't need to doesn't make you not a generic caster.

[Vexander]

The majority of its mechanics will revolve around sitting in one space until you actually need to move, IE Being a casting turret. You'll occasionally be able to move a small amount when your mechanics bring you into melee range and then back out as quickly as a jalapeno at taco bell, but beyond that you won't be doing much movement, so you'll just be a turret. Therefore, 90% turret is an accurate assessment, as I define a "turret" as a job wherein mechanics encourage you to stand in one place for extended periods.

Being able to move when you don't need to doesn't make you not a generic caster.

No offense, but your definition means every Job is pretty much a turret... There's no reason for tanks to move when they've got the boss in place except to dodge AOEs, or for melee DPS to move from behind the boss except to dodge AOEs, and no reason for ranged to move unless its to dodge AOEs...