SAM or RDM?

[M0rty]

I'm about to buy Stormblood(with HW. I'm finishing the Crystal Braves arc now) and I wanted to know which job to take next(I'm DRG at the moment).
Which one is better for a,relatively speaking, newcomer to the game?

And will I go to lvl 50+ even when I haven't started HW? Or do the level caps until I start the expansions?

[Shiroe]

first master Drg fully at 70, like in real (savage) raids or extreme trials in the endgame content, only after fully mastering Drg at 70, start a new Dps class

but recommend to level some crafters too and maybe a gatherer parallel early on, whlie leveling your Drg..., use Leves to level them up fast, ... crafters are good for gil and being able to repair your own gear

and as for sam or rdm, .. rdm will probably get you in more progress parties and is very flexible in all content of the game (deep dungeon, eureka etc.), rdm might be a tad boring till lv 70, but has cool aesthetics and is generly easy to play

sam is cool to play, but will have a harder time to get in parties

eitherway, stick to Drg till you reached the endgame of Stormblood and mastered it a bit

without HW, level cap is probably lv 50, not sure though...

but HW and especially SB are totally worth it..., just some fetch quests early in ARR and HW, besides some very stretched "find all the aether knots to fly" in HW can be pain, but gets better in SB..

and main Story is good later on in ARR (early ARR main story is really slow), and good from the start already in HW and SB, hold thru!^^

[Okamimaru]

If you have the SB expansion the level cap is 70 regardless of where you are msq wise... as for which is better, I'd say they are so different from each other that you can't compare them... if you decide to choose to go with one of these two I think SAM will be easier to pick up as you're already used to melee life ....

[Blueyes]

I would say that both Samurai and Red Mage have a relatively low skill floor (which means they are easy to pick up and perform fairly well even with minimal experience). Note that I'm mainly referring to how the jobs function at level 50 when talking about skill floor because that's when you begin to learn the basics of how the job operates. Basics that the jobs still revolve around at max level. Both jobs have a fairly solid foundation that is built upon at higher levels. In terms of skill ceiling (which refers the skill require to fully optimize its maximum potential) I would say that Samurai is higher than Red Mage. For that reason, excelling with Samurai may feel more rewarding. I would consider both Samurai and Red Mage to be excellent jobs for players that are new to playing as a melee DPS or a caster DPS. It is worth giving both of them a try.

[lemon_qt]

RDM is the lowest DPS and least preferred when it comes to groups. That being said, it's very easy to play and offers res utility for content, such Eureka for anemos gear.

DRG gives a lot more utility and also take into consideration that DRG gets extra lines of content in HW MSQ, due to it being the job that the expansion is based around.

[Shiroe]

RDM is the lowest DPS and least preferred when it comes to groups. That being said, it's very easy to play and offers res utility for content, such Eureka for anemos gear.

DRG gives a lot more utility and also take into consideration that DRG gets extra lines of content in HW MSQ, due to it being the job that the expansion is based around.

wut?..

other than maybe (speed) farming, Rdm IS desirable in any PF for any content as the caster roll, and especially in prog PFs (OP rez)

even if just for embolden, since other classes love to get buffed, nomatter how much, Rdm are desirable..

[RezWolf]

If you like playing Dragoon, I would suggest keep playing it (regardless if you intend to raid or not) until 70. If you're not too hyped about continuing as a Dragoon and REALLY want to either play SAM or RDM, I would suggest SAM if you're used to being in melee, RDM if you want to experience being a caster with some melee abilities. Either way getting a job to 70 first and foremost will give you an Armory bonus that will ease your leveling experience. Ultimately I would give both of them a try and see which one you enjoy more.

[Maero]

Pretty sure he means end game so Savage, if that is what he mean't then he is correct. Red Mage is weak at that point given that a Bard which has more utility also brings more damage...

The whole but they have raise is not an excuse to have it at such low dps

As for Sam it is sort of the opposite it does have higher damage but Zero support.
Looking at parse numbers for example Smn brings far more damage then Sam plus it has utility. The recent changes to Sam i guess are not enough.
Really though try both jobs and see which job you enjoy the most, do not always go off just by amount of damage a job can do.

[Tex_Mex]

Pretty sure he means end game so Savage, if that is what he mean't then he is correct. Red Mage is weak at that point given that a Bard which has more utility also brings more damage...

The whole but they have raise is not an excuse to have it at such low dps

As for Sam it is sort of the opposite it does have higher damage but Zero support.
Looking at parse numbers for example Smn brings far more damage then Sam plus it has utility. The recent changes to Sam i guess are not enough.
Really though try both jobs and see which job you enjoy the most, do not always go off just by amount of damage a job can do.

You are right about the recent SAM changes not being enough. It was only a roughly 2% DPS increase, which wasn't anywhere near enough to make it competitive with the rDPS contribution of DRG or NIN. And I agree, RDM needs a significant buff to damage. The raise utility really loses its luster at end game.

[Maero]

Exactly, well said ^
Not sure why players are so afraid of Sam and Red Mage getting buffs, it's like they are worried other jobs will loose a spot in groups which they won't, we just would have more options i think.
I would love to as Red Mage to raid but the damage is far too low and the utility, may as well say it is almost non existent for Savage content. Hence why i am playing Nin