RDM First Impressions (and perhaps advice) Thread

[Rongway]

But what gets me, is the randomness of the job. Verfire and Verstone are very random, but yet it's not really a punishing sort of random, or at least it doesn't look like it? Most of the time when you introduce RNG into the mix, having too much of it, or too little of it, will impact your performance.

By 70, Verfire and Verstone are actually not that random. Between Acceleration and Verflare/Verholy, you get the procs more often than not.

But not so, with Verfire and Verstone. The presence (or absence) of it will change your spellcasts so that you're not hitting the same tired combos over and over again, but yet if you don't see a Verfire or Verstone (or even see the "wrong" one), you can work around it. It doesn't feel too punishing, and it makes you think about what you're casting next (whatever you need).

Much of the optimization of RDM involves deciding when casting the "wrong" spell is actually the better choice. You'll see more of this once you get Verflare and Verholy, and it will involve not just those spells but also making judgments about which Verfastspell-Verslowspell combinations to use leading up to a melee combo.

I think I'm finally starting to get the hang of the basics (that whole use Jolt to get Dualcast thing took me awhile before the lightbulb went off in my head lol), now I just need to build muscle memory. I think I have a rather decent hotkey setup...

1 - Jolt
2 - Veraero (Shift+2 = Verstone)
3 - Verothunder (Shift+3 = Verfire)
4 - Corps-a-Corps
5 - Riposte
6 - Chant Du..... errr, that Z-whatever skill.
7 - Redouble
8 - That jump back skill

The idea is that Jolt is used often so it goes on #1... both Ver-White spells are 2 because the white gauge is on the left, both Ver-Black are on 3 because the black gauge is on the right, jump in with 4, 5+6+7 for the combo, jump back with 8.

Do you have a third row? If so, save space for Verholy and Verflare above the corresponding Verslowspells and Verfastspells. Also save space for Impact at shift+Jolt.

I don't think I'd necessarily assign jolt to 1 just because it "is used often". I'm not saying it's a bad place for it, just the reasoning gets thrown out the window later. You actually want to do everything possible to avoid casting Jolt! This includes

1) Precasting a Verslowspell if there is time before the pull. Start casting at 5s on the countdown, if available.

2) Using Swiftcast-Verslowspell when you have no Verfastspells ready. A single 300 potency GCD is better than 180+300 over two GCDs (later 240+300).

3) Using Impact if it's about to expire, even if you have Verfastspells ready. If it falls off and you get no procs from Verfastspell-Verslowspell, you're left with Jolt. If you use Impact, you have a chance to get another proc or refresh an existing proc -- in either case, you'll do more damage than with Jolt.

YOU ARE NOT A MELEE DPS, some people seem to think rdm is 50%/50% Cast and Melee However, it's more like 95%/5% in favor of casting. don't stay in melee range but don't stay far in the corner as you miss heals and buffs.

I must respectfully disagree here. Max melee range is often the best place for a RDM. It allows you to use your movement abilities independently of anything in your rotation, and is especially important if the boss has absurdly large cone attacks that will be impossible to dodge at range.

Being in melee range puts you in a better position to handle most mechanics, and PBAoEs are not a heavy burden on RDM given its high level of mobility.