I DON'T like Stormblood RDM

[geekgirl101]

I'd be perfectly happy if they put a limit on how many verraises we can perform in a given time if it means we don't get taxed like hell for it. RDM dps right now is horrible, so horrible I've given up on it beyond anything other than soloing or doing hunts. It's not worth playing the job seriously anymore and it's very depressing for me but this is what SE wants.

[Drayos]

I'd be perfectly happy if they put a limit on how many verraises we can perform in a given time if it means we don't get taxed like hell for it. RDM dps right now is horrible, so horrible I've given up on it beyond anything other than soloing or doing hunts. It's not worth playing the job seriously anymore and it's very depressing for me but this is what SE wants.

Tbh given in SB our tax for it was 1100 and in this expansion it’s 2700, I’m not sure if we are intentionally this nerfed because of verraise or this was a oversight.

We could be just looking at awaiting 5.08 or 5.1 and while they haven’t said anything on RDM they didn’t mention anyone on buffs/nerfs only the jobs they feel they need to change gameplay wise.

[geekgirl101]

Then what other reason is RDM being so heavily hit, dualcast vercures? Make them not dualcastable then. I can't think of any other reasons why RDM is being taxed so heavily since we had a lot of utilities taken from us such as erase, mana-shift, apocatastasis, we're only left with 2 "white" abilities and we're still nerfed to oblivion in the DPS section. How BLMs are still jealous of us after we've lost so much baffles me, but I will be happy to have verraise either limited or removed altogether than see my job be thrown in the gutter as one of the worst caster DPS classes in the game whilst BLM gets all the attention. I'm struggling to hold back the tears because my most favourite job is dying out and has become worthless and SE doesn't seem to think it needs addressing and is turning a blind eye to it.

Personally I'm blaming a fair amount of this on how ShB raids are designed as well as how flawed the jobs are. They're hyper-tuned for expert players with barely any breathing space between using abilities and dodging mechanics, and as such means unless you're one of the top 4 DPS classes in the game you'll be the first one to blame if you don't beat the enrage and won't get accepted into the more difficult content. Some raid groups would be ok with taking RDM, NIN and SMN in their current state if it wasn't for the demand in needing to do x amount of DPS in x amount of time, so when raid groups fail to beat the enrage after a flawless run they're gonna turn to the RDM, NIN and SMN, blame them for being low DPS and replace them. I even see raid groups in PF with messages like "don't bring low DPS or kick" whilst only admitting BLM, MNK, DRG and SAM as DPS roles. This is exactly what SE said only a couple of years ago they were trying to avoid and why they would not add DPS parsers in the game. They have inadvertently created meta classes and discrimination against the more weaker classes.

[Gaethan_Tessula]

Personally I'm blaming a fair amount of this on how ShB raids are designed as well as how flawed the jobs are. They're hyper-tuned for expert players with barely any breathing space between using abilities and dodging mechanics, and as such means unless you're one of the top 4 DPS classes in the game you'll be the first one to blame if you don't beat the enrage and won't get accepted into the more difficult content. Some raid groups would be ok with taking RDM, NIN and SMN in their current state if it wasn't for the demand in needing to do x amount of DPS in x amount of time, so when raid groups fail to beat the enrage after a flawless run they're gonna turn to the RDM, NIN and SMN, blame them for being low DPS and replace them. I even see raid groups in PF with messages like "don't bring low DPS or kick" whilst only admitting BLM, MNK, DRG and SAM as DPS roles. This is exactly what SE said only a couple of years ago they were trying to avoid and why they would not add DPS parsers in the game. They have inadvertently created meta classes and discrimination against the more weaker classes.

So, my previous posts should make it clear that I'm not a fan of SE's encounter design or tunneled focus on DPS checks as the defacto pass-fail assessment.

But keep in mind, overall, this is one of the easier tiers in the lifespan of this game, contested only by early Delta and Alphascape. Midas Savage and Ultimate are fights designed and tuned to the elite of the playerbase; Creator Savage, and all tiers based on it including Eden's Gate by their own admission, specifically chose to make Savage more accessible. The only thing odd about Eden is that the major spike in required rDPS is between 1 and 2, and not 2 and 3 like most tiers Creator and later.

SE's intended goal with this is likely that the best groups can clear at min-ilvl, and everyone else catches up later as gear gives them a leg up. I don't think this is bad, necessarily, except that without other types of challenge being stressed in fights groups will hit Enrage early and then get stuck there. If progression were slower because fights were harder in other ways, and people thus were more geared by the time they hit a given enrage, this might be less of an issue. Of course, it's variable depending on player skill, and I'm not sure that's something SE can take into account with much granularity without making still more difficulty tiers past normal, EX, Savage, Ultimate, which I don't think is on the table. Compressing difficulty level further is not something I want to see either; if Savage were tuned to a level more akin to EX, that would leave an Ultimate fight per YEAR as the only content made with high level players in mind.

So long as DPS checks remain the principle challenge in EX+ content, this issue will only get worse. Easier fights, harder enrages. There are plenty of other ways to add challenge to fights besides tight enrages.

BLM just needs to share niches, it can't be a viable option in prog if thats RDMs only niche because SMN challenges RDM on that front. The same holds true for RDM, RDM can't be a viable option for high optimization groups because thats BLM niche and SMN already challenges it on that front. currently, RDM is playing by those rules and isn't seeing any success in high speed optimization where as BLM is being a bit greedy and dominating RDM in recorded progression runs. This is the core problem right now that BLM faced prior to their buffs in SB, and RDM faced until the same point in patch 4,4

To me, the solution there is actually make RDM effective in the prog role. Give them support abilities that actually keep the party ALIVE without tanking the RDM's own DPS, because weakness is too big a detriment to make Raise the cornerstone of their support.

Then, for optimization, put RDM's raw casting DPS significantly behind BLM as it is now, and let the gap be filled with proper timing of melee combo, giving RDM decent auto-attacks so they're rewarded for maintaining "uptime" in a similar manner to a melee, and making rDPS buffs (Embolden, maybe the Reflect type defensive I and others have recommended) better. Gives things for a RDM skill-gap, and, imo, optimally in a very good party that lines up buffs and feeds a cannon like a BLM supports should exceed selfish in rDPS. Because they can only GET there when working with the huge pDPS of a cannon. Damage raising buffs are pointless in my opinion if they don't lead to an overall increase in partywide DPS used properly.

The intended party DPS composition would become 1 Ranged, 1 Caster, 1 Melee, 1 Cannon, where 0-1 of the non-cannon slots could also be cannons depending on party composition (what are the tanks and healers?) and preference.

The problem this runs into is the "in-betweeners": SUM, BRD, maybe MNK if it stops being superior to SAM as a selfish DPS.

[Marianno]

@geekgirl101 so complaining about BLM being OP is not the way too go. It does not bring anything too the party LITERALLY NOTHING EXCEPT DAMAGE. If you have utility then there should be a tax for it. We can argue about how much but there should be a tax nonetheless. Your utility may not seem like it means anything but it does in the eyes of SE and a price has too be paid. BLM is exactly where it should be because now the performance of selfish DPS jobs have become all the more paramount. People will never be happy unless they delete selfish DPS jobs from the game and utility jobs should have the damage too outdo selfish DPS jobs plus buff the party. We have been down that road in SB...know what happened? Selfish DPS jobs were shelved.

[geekgirl101]

@geekgirl101 so complaining about BLM being OP is not the way too go. It does not bring anything too the party LITERALLY NOTHING EXCEPT DAMAGE. If you have utility then there should be a tax for it. We can argue about how much but there should be a tax nonetheless. Your utility may not seem like it means anything but it does in the eyes of SE and a price has too be paid. BLM is exactly where it should be because now the performance of selfish DPS jobs have become all the more paramount. People will never be happy unless they delete selfish DPS jobs from the game and utility jobs should have the damage too outdo selfish DPS jobs plus buff the party. We have been down that road in SB...know what happened? Selfish DPS jobs were shelved.

And now by your argument utility jobs are being shelved in favour of bringing selfish jobs just to avoid ever seeing the enrage. And yes, BLM is too OP by a huge amount and RDM has, like with NIN and SMN, literally become utter garbage!

[Marianno]

Odd because I still see people playing all the jobs even the weak ones. They even do quite well on them too. The only thing I think really needs to happen to RDM is buffs in potency. At the rate SE is going, I don’t think you’ll get anything super significant. RDM fits perfectly with melee and embolden. BLM DOES NOT. BLM is only called OP because it finally has the damage to be truly considered a selfish DPS job. HA! In SB selfish DPS jobs did not have the DPS to truly be considered selfish DPS jobs. BLM is where it should be. If you want to do big damage, play a selfish DPS job. Or better yet...give up your utility. Since the latter is likely too never happen, RDM will simply have too deal with being lower than BLM. You cannot have the best of both worlds. There must be a price somewhere and if it comes from being low in the damage totem then so be it. The fact of the matter is that RDM HAS UTILITY AND BLM HAS NOTHING. THERE ARE NO MAGICAL BUFFS IN THE GAME AND IF YOU NERF BLM, THEN WHAT GOOD IS IT? There are melee buffs galore in this game. IF BLM HAS NO UTILITY THEN IT NEEDS DAMAGE TO HAVE SOMETHING TO GIVE TOO THE party. Like it or not, RDM is not going to share it’s utility because SE is not going too let that happen. In one of the live letters, Yoshi-P laughed at the idea of being asked to give BLM a raise. Whether you want too believe it or not REZ is utility by SE standards and you are taxed accordingly for having even if it’s not used. Tearing down BLM will net you nothing.

[Wayfinder3]

Odd because I still see people playing all the jobs even the weak ones. They even do quite well on them too. The only thing I think really needs to happen to RDM is buffs in potency. At the rate SE is going, I don’t think you’ll get anything super significant. RDM fits perfectly with melee and embolden. BLM DOES NOT. BLM is only called OP because it finally has the damage to be truly considered a selfish DPS job. HA! In SB selfish DPS jobs did not have the DPS to truly be considered selfish DPS jobs. BLM is where it should be. If you want to do big damage, play a selfish DPS job. Or better yet...give up your utility. Since the latter is likely too never happen, RDM will simply have too deal with being lower than BLM. You cannot have the best of both worlds. There must be a price somewhere and if it comes from being low in the damage totem then so be it. The fact of the matter is that RDM HAS UTILITY AND BLM HAS NOTHING. THERE ARE NO MAGICAL BUFFS IN THE GAME AND IF YOU NERF BLM, THEN WHAT GOOD IS IT? There are melee buffs galore in this game. IF BLM HAS NO UTILITY THEN IT NEEDS DAMAGE TO HAVE SOMETHING TO GIVE TOO THE party. Like it or not, RDM is not going to share it’s utility because SE is not going too let that happen. In one of the live letters, Yoshi-P laughed at the idea of being asked to give BLM a raise. Whether you want too believe it or not REZ is utility by SE standards and you are taxed accordingly for having even if it’s not used. Tearing down BLM will net you nothing.

Just, go back and read all the page up to this point, they'll explain to you why what you're saying isn't true. Nobody here wants to tear down BLM, but are simply voicing our problems with RDM's performance and low contribution while disputing the onslaught of BLM that believe the caster balance is where it needs to be, even though BLM is 1600 dps higher than RDM on average in Eden gate savage. Thats twice as strong as it was in Alphascape where meta wise, BLM was still the meta pick alongside SMN. So in this instance, BLM just got way stronger than it needed to be and BLM players seem to forget that this is where they were when SMN was dominating. I suppose they're smelling their new found dominance too much to realize that the disparity between the 3 casters is ridiculous right now

[Kabooa]

Just, go back and read all the page up to this point, they'll explain to you why what you're saying isn't true. Nobody here wants to tear down BLM, but are simply voicing our problems with RDM's performance and low contribution while disputing the onslaught of BLM that believe the caster balance is where it needs to be, even though BLM is 1600 dps higher than RDM on average in Eden gate savage. Thats twice as strong as it was in Alphascape where meta wise, BLM was still the meta pick alongside SMN. So in this instance, BLM just got way stronger than it needed to be and BLM players seem to forget that this is where they were when SMN was dominating. I suppose they're smelling their new found dominance too much to realize that the disparity between the 3 casters is ridiculous right now

I have been giving this some thought.

Would fixing some of Red Mage's (and others) playability issues result in enough positive gain?

There seems to be a common thread that the jobs are facing some heavy alignment issues that prior could be justified with the fabled 120s alignment burst windows. My words, no one elses, but that's the conspiracy diagram I'm working on.

You have mentioned this for Red Mage, some have mentioned it for Bard, Ninja is a cavalcade of issues, so on and so forth.

For example, I know you mentioned that Melee windows are unreliable for the Red Mage and another has mentioned Embolden doesn't line up well. Do you think this following list would result in satisfactory positive results:

1. Mana Gauge extended to 160
2. Manafication is +50/+50 instead of 'doubles current'
3. Embolden is 10s of +10%, 60s cooldown, 2 charges. [This one being a straight numerical buff]