Is RDM the most popular DPS job?

[Lium]

This is purely anecdotal, but when doing NM trains in Eureka and duty roulettes, I feel like I'm a dime a dozen. There are RDMs everywhere. I was just in a full party tonight in Eureka Anemos and three out of the four DPS, including me, were red mages.

Is this because of the aesthetic? I mean, it's a very stylish class with some of the best combat animations in the game. It can't be because of the damage. I don't raid or do extreme trials or anything, but I've read that BLMs and SMNs do more damage than RDMs.

Is it the ease of use? It's a pretty straightforward and basic rotation. Even if you mess up it's not as punishing as, say, missing your aetherflow window as a summoner. You also have a rez, a heal, and a nice group buff with Embolden. And the damage seems moderate to good. I'm only in 365 gear but my DPS isn't too shabby. More than enough for normal dungeons and trials.

So, I'm just curious if the job is as popular as it seems, or is it just because I notice it more being an RDM.

The FFXIV census site had red mages as one of the least played classes in the game as of December 2018. Not sure how accurate that is, though.

[Duskane]

red mage is just super handy in Eureka for its raise
Bard is definitely the most popular by far though

red mages simplicity attracts alot of players though

[KokonoeAiyoko]

1. It's easy to play
2. It's fun to play
3. It's really good
4. It's stylish

So yes.

[Laphael]

RDM is easy and fun to play.
Especially in Eureka its really good for chill and raise.

[Kalise]

For Eureka, RDM is very popular. Instant raise is very useful when everyone dies all the time. While Vercure is nice to keep yourself alive.

Duty Roulettes... I don't know, I don't see that many RDM when I'm doing roulettes, I mostly see BRD and SAM, though it wouldn't surprise me if RDM were popular just because people levelled them to farm Eureka and then just used them to do their Roulettes.

[Palladiamors]

1. It's easy to play
2. It's fun to play
3. It's really good
4. It's stylish

So yes.

That more or less sums it up. Just got mine a weapon on par with my Summoner and while yes, my Summoner outdamages my Red Mage, my Red Mage is just plain easier to play, and has more utility to boot. It actually kinda irritates me that summoner has a two minute turn around time on their damage phases start to finish while my red mages is around thirty seconds or so on a bad day. Not to mention its a lot easier for a red mage to recover after death then a summoner.

[HyoMinPark]

In Eureka, RDM is usually the go-to for a lot of players because it can on-demand Raise players that die during NMs. So you're likely to see more RDMs than any other DPS in there.

That being said, in terms of the overall game, I believe BRD is the most popular: because of its bow and arrow aesthetic, and it also has a really low skill floor, so new players or those who want to try their hand at a DPS job can pick it up fairly easy. It helps that the Stormblood rework was really good for the job in terms of gameplay and flow.

[Seraphor]

In Eureka, you can be sure its entirely for the quick and easy Verraise.

Same is true for Raids tbh, since I switched from Black mage to Rez mage I've never felt so useful and in control in a 24 man.
Half the party died? Not a problem, healer grabs one, i get the other three.

[Sunako]

Depends on content. In eureka it is the most popular, but in savage not anywhere close. Bard and dragoon easily lead savage statistics.

[Emeke]

Personally I see a ton of rdm, brds and sams.