What would y'all recommend for caster dps?

[Renryuu]

Heya, so for a bit of time I had managed to get myself to be a tank main for a time, but it seems that at the end of the day, I just can't escape my love of casters lol. So I'm just gonna stop fighting and embrace my casting nature (also doesn't help that because of certain circumstances, it's probably best I stay dps since I'd be easily replaced).

So, I'm just trying to figure out which caster to go for. I have them all at 70 so leveling isn't required, but I'm no good at playing well with multiple jobs, so I need one to focus on so I can play well with it instead of poorly with 3. So hopefully between all of us, I can manage to figure out which would be good for me lol. I do like all 3 equally so picking based on the one I like most is impossible lol. I guess I'll just talk about what I like and don't like about each one and we can go from there lol.

Black Mage
I love Fire 4, Thunder 3, Blizzard 3 and 4, Foul, and Triple Cast, they all look really cool. I do love the big numbers and the easy rotation, of the 3 casters I can do Blm rotation the easiest. My issue with this job is movement since I have a bad memory and can't really remember all the mechanics of a boss until the moment they happen so pre-moving to get out of aoe will be an issue for me.

Summoner
I pretty much like every spell it has as well as Demi-Bahamut and having Carbuncles for pets instead of the normal egis. I also love the mobility of it and in World of Warcraft I mostly played Warlock so the job is fairly similar to that class so I have familiarity. On the flip side, I'm bad about reapplying dots sometimes and I feel like I'm doing things wrong since by the time I finish with a Trance, I still have Aetherflow on cooldown or I end up having my dots run out before I can get into Trance to reset Tri-Disaster.

Red Mage
I have a weird relationship with Red Mage, of the 3 casters, I'd say I enjoy Rdm the most because of it's seemingly simple rotation and the change up between casting and melee. On the flip side, I constantly feel like I'm a hinderance to any group since it's dps is so low and I feel like despite the simplicity of it, I'm still not playing it effectively enough to maximize it's dps. I know casters are already tended to be looked over, with Rdm being the bottom of the casters so I feel like I would just be dead weight if I was one, even though I do gravitate towards Rdm the most. Though before Rdm I gravitated towards Smn over Blm so I don't know if it's because Rdm really does fit me better or if its just cause it's the new job on the block and it's something different.

For now, I've just been kinda in a limbo of sorts. When doing content with my new FC, I tend to be defaulted to Rdm since they seem to always have a Blm or Smn on hand, though they seem to not care about doubling up on jobs either. I would like to play Blm since it's rotation is seemingly the easiest for me, but with all the movement, I tend to get flustered. With Smn and Rdm, both I feel like I'm not doing optimally, but at the same time I do like both of them with Rdm edging out over Smn for a reason I can't really pin point. As you can see I'm quite the indecisive person (part of my anxiety disorder) so it's really hard for me to pick a job on my own and stick with it. So I could really, really use help in this matter lol.

[Dyvid]

Well remember 5.0 is right around the corner with job adjust. For now just play what you like.

[Llugen]

Since 4.0 especially, the smartest thing you can do is learn all three well and be versatile in playing them. There is usually only one "caster slot" in raid groups, so it's good to be able to play any of the three depending on what is needed most (if you're doing progression, RDM is a great option since it has raise and oh-shit vercure, if you need damage and have good knowledge of the fight, BLM is a good option, if you are trying to synergize buffs and have strong healers/other DPS jobs SMN is a good option). But that's all in raids.

Definitely the best rule of thumb for the duty finder is trust yourself over anyone else, and by that logic BLM is the strongest option, especially in 4 man content where SMN buffs apply to less people, unless you enjoy the support aspect of RDM more. I've found SMN in the DF is a bit of a mixed bag because half the time the tank will pull without a countdown which messes up your aetherflow timing which basically ruins your rotation (ha get it? Ruins? ok I'm done) for the whole fight.

Ultimately though, as there will be major changes in just over a month, don't stress too hard about it. Play whichever you enjoy the most and prepare for the new expansion!

[Jandor]

I think they sort of exist on a sliding scale of how much you know about the fight and how much you'll be expected to carry.

No fight knowledge, plus expecting a lot of deaths? Go RDM.
Decent fight knowledge, maybe need to do occasional rez? Go SMN.
Excellent fight knowledge, party has this thing down to a tee? Go BLM.

That said, I enjoy SMN most, I don't tend to ever move to BLM stage just because I'm not a huge fan of it. Still fun now and again though.

[Zerathor]

Until casters lose raise, smn. I despise it, but it's just the best caster job, unless a lot changes in 5.0
-full range mobility
-a raise
-only mildly behind blm dps despite having the two prior things
-burst dps that lines up with party buffs and around untargetable phases of fights as if the fight was designed by a smn main

BLM is the most fun to play imo if you want the 'caster' feel, but is more difficult in challenging content and not quite as rewarding as it should be for losing a raise, but still semi rewarding.

Any of the casters played efficiently are good though

Also depends on how you want to play
SMN optimal rotation will take a bit longer to memorize and optimize to the fight. Lining up your burst with party buffs is essential because most of its dps is burst.

BLM is rather straight forward and is more about slide casting, and positioning. Fully maximizing uptime is all you need to do, and learning where to weave your ogcds efficiently.

Rdm, I don't have much experience with, but generally seems to be the easiest to pick up and use in a raid from what friends tell me, as well as generally enjoyable to play.

[Kabooa]

Come and walk the path of explosions with us!

[CecMiller]

RDM is not a hinderance to the party due to their dps - I'm not sure who is perpetuating this but its sad and I hope it doesnt put you off the class if anything.

Honestly, go with what you're enjoying the most. That's what I do and continue to do and it's why I continue maining SMN and nothing else. Maybe the stuff from the media tour might change your mind about things, but it seems like you enjoy RDM more than the other 2? Honestly, don't feel bad about playing RDM cause there is nothing to feel bad about. A good RDM will always beat other average/bad players. Don't fret too much about things. If you want to know about how to play things more optimally, The Balance discord exists as a helpful resource where you can ask questions and learn about rotations.

My own personal opinion is that RDM is very simple and satisfying to play. But after a while, the simplicity gets really boring. For BLM I enjoyed the big numbers and fireworks and still do, but SMN is where I've stayed since creator. SMN isn't really complete until 70. We build up to a crescendo and summon bahamut as our big burst and its VERY satisfying to do so over and over. SMN is exceptional at all stages of the game. If you were raiding, It's excellent before and after prog/learning the fights. In dungeons, it rivals BLM in damage output (tho BLM will eclipse it but often by very little). The class really shines in a raid environment when it can build up its power and release it via summoning bahamut.

At the end of the day, play what you want. As someone else has said, 5.0 is around the corner and we'll be getting new moves. Don't feel bad for play RDM - there is nothing wrong with the class for you to feel bad about it. If its about dps then, yes it does have the lowest DPS of the 3 Casters. But it also has fast raising capabilities and a buff that melee dps covet. Further, there are 3 other dps classes down the pecking order in terms of personal dps and they are some of the stronger classes in raiding (BRD, NIN, DRG). Unless you're hardcore raiding and aiming for word prog or speed kills, your class choice will not really matter.


But lets face it SMN > ALL. PRAISE BAHAMUT.

[VictorTheed]

Go RDM or go home, RDM baby RDM RDM, rrrrrrrrddddddmmmmm.

Hope that helps u, plus when do u pick the awesomest of awesome, RDM, use your raises so healers don't have to waiste mp, smn forgot they had a raise and lots of rdms I see don't even hit the raise button.

[Pepsi_Plunge]

so I need one to focus on so I can play well with it instead of poorly with 3.

From what I read I would say Summoner.
The question is what would change if you focus more on the class? The problems you have with BLM sounds like they are fundamental (positioning) and won't change just because you play BLM more often than RDM or SMN. But your problems with the Summoner-DoTs and rotation-timing WILL (probably) get better if you play and practice more with it as you gain more and more experience with it.

[Renryuu]

Go RDM or go home, RDM baby RDM RDM, rrrrrrrrddddddmmmmm.

Hope that helps u, plus when do u pick the awesomest of awesome, RDM, use your raises so healers don't have to waiste mp, smn forgot they had a raise and lots of rdms I see don't even hit the raise button.

Oh, I'm always good about raising. I'm so used to raising, that I actually have to hold myself back when doing stuff with my current FC since they already have a couple people that raise. I even had a tank in a random DF surprised at how fast I raised him after he died lol. Both as Rdm and Smn I always raise when I notice a death, it's just noticing a death I tend to have an issue with lol.

But lets face it SMN > ALL. PRAISE BAHAMUT.

Yeah, now that I've been practicing with Smn more, I've managed to get myself back to my previous skill level with it so it is feeling a lot better. Until SB, Smn was always my go to since 2.0 and it's the job I usually always default to. With Rdm though, I do like the simplicity of it and the melee portion satisfies my small want of a sword using melee character but still have mostly magic. Now though I do like the safety of Smn and I kinda like the idea of being a crazy carbuncle fairy (like a crazy cat lady lol) and tempted to pick up the carbuncle outfit and mount for Smn. On the flip side Rdm's job armor is my favorite look in the game and I quite like how I can make my Elezen look in it compared to my other outfits since I have trouble picking a hairstyle that looks good with his beard that doesn't clip my main outfit (Scion Adventerer set). I dunno, with my new FC, one member likes to parse and after he did it in Orbonne and was saying how he and another FC member were top and I was in 3rd as Rdm, it's made me worry about my skill and I don't want to disappoint. Though my FC already has a set group for raids and stuff so the only time I actually get to do stuff with them is when they do bird runs or just run random stuff that is not raids so I guess I doubt I'd even ever to be able to raid with them to begin with. Now that I'm free of my old FC and have a bit more freedom and the chance to actually be in a static, I've been more worried about performance and job choice, though I at least have gotten better and narrowed myself down to casters since before I'd go for any and every job despite how much I would not like it.