Small tweak for RDM

[Archwizard]

Personally I'd prefer a complete elemental wheel to go to a new job (if not Geomancer, Elementalist or something, IDK) since I'd rather see more swordplay on Red Mage going forward,

Gonna have to stop ya right there.

Red Mages are not a melee job. We are not Rune Fencers or Mystic Knights or Spellblades. "Mage" is literally in the job title; we're primarily back-line fighters who occasionally enchant our weapons and dip into fencing, not the other way around.
I would argue the swordplay is more incidental and aesthetic.

I agree that the aetherial blade spam has visual appeal -- I've personally suggested summoning a barrier of crystal swords for a counter-based personal mitigation tool many times before, citing Noctis' Armiger and Sora's Ultima Form, "En Garde" is a perfect name -- but let's not get carried away. The Red Mage archetype has always been primarily about blending the opposing forces of White and Black magic, with a splash of better physical stats to make up for its lower potential as a caster, not about tossing out swords as a primary mechanic.

[Nalien]

I agree that the aetherial blade spam has visual appeal -- I've personally suggested summoning a barrier of crystal swords for a counter-based personal mitigation tool many times before, citing Noctis' Armiger and Sora's Ultima Form, "En Garde" is a perfect name -- but let's not get carried away. The Red Mage archetype has always been primarily about blending the opposing forces of White and Black magic, with a splash of better physical stats to make up for its lower potential as a caster, not about tossing out swords as a primary mechanic.

Am I suggesting making the aetherial blades a primary mechanic, though? I'm thinking something along the same lines of Summoners Fester, part of the rotation but the summoning rotation clearly, and rightly, takes priority. Fleche and Contre Sixte are already part of our rotation of course, I'd simply prefer them to be both a bit more visually interesting, and mechanically. Two oGCDs that you simply press on cooldown is just dull. A similar "You have X stacks of Aetherial Blades, spend them before Aether(blade)flow is off cooldown". Don't think I'd even make spending them that intrusive, I'd be more incline to simply change Fleche to give the stacks, then have existing skills (such as Engagement) supplemented by them. Takes what we already have and just makes it a tad more interesting, IMO.

Only new skills I'd actually really like with regards to any of this, would be a Meditate style charge skill to work in to lengthy phase transitions.