Red Mage: Potential adjustments

[Katie_Kitty]

From limited information it doesn't seem we're getting *more* melee combos, but we'll be able to stack up enough b/w mana for two melee combos at a time and manafication now guarantees a melee combo. new-RDM seems to be more flexible with melee combo usage but we'll have to wait for the final numbers on everything.

But where's our omniembolden?

[StriderShinryu]

Well, EW RDM seems like it will be mostly RDM+ and that's fine to me. I'd love to get my hands on it and see how it works but I'm glad it's not basically an entirely new, or entirely ruined, job.

[Andy_T93]

Very impressed with these changes I already felt that RDM was in a really good place but they addressed my only annoyance of wasted/overflowing mana, can't believe they added another move after scorch but im happy about it

[Gruntler]

The ability to bank melee combos for when convenient/best burst window, the ability to ramp opener up instantly to guarantee we get to take part in the trick attack party... A raidwide damage reduction cd...

We lose a bit of skill cap in displacement-optimization but we get it back in more interesting (and immediately rewarding) ways in other places. Assuming C6 remains the same, we're going to be chucking out a TON of AoE and we already go hard in AoE as it is.

[ICountFrom0]

RDM already has one of the strongest burst phazes, this ramps it up to 11, and it's kind of awesome.

[Jirah]

EW RDM is probably the most changes it got so far. RDM base kit is mild but wild and after stagnating in SHB it finally got some color in its cheeks

Out of all of it I’m not a fan of “Scorch skills” example being a skill that only exists to follow up another. A fake rotation. Rouge Crevasion (Giant rose tabby thing) looks all fine and flashy but really a folllow up skill to scorch which was already a follow up skill to Verflare/Holy which was already a follow
Up skill to Melee finisher? This was the stupid trend this expansion but this is very blantanly skill fodder. Nothing is added and nothing is gained because that skill only matters due to the Congo-line of skills followed by it. Feels way to automatic and hope they trend dies this expansion

[Shurrikhan]

Out of all of it I’m not a fan of “Scorch skills” example being a skill that only exists to follow up another. A fake rotation. Rouge Crevasion (Giant rose tabby thing) looks all fine and flashy but really a folllow up skill to scorch which was already a follow up skill to Verflare/Holy which was already a follow
Up skill to Melee finisher? This was the stupid trend this expansion but this is very blantanly skill fodder. Nothing is added and nothing is gained because that skill only matters due to the Congo-line of skills followed by it. Feels way to automatic and hope they trend dies this expansion

At least there will be inevitably be mods by which to rein in that pointless button bloat. You know, so we can choose between having a more polished experience with intuitive and efficient control schemes or being able to actually stream our games?

[Katie_Kitty]

The ability to bank melee combos for when convenient/best burst window, the ability to ramp opener up instantly to guarantee we get to take part in the trick attack party... A raidwide damage reduction cd...

We lose a bit of skill cap in displacement-optimization but we get it back in more interesting (and immediately rewarding) ways in other places. Assuming C6 remains the same, we're going to be chucking out a TON of AoE and we already go hard in AoE as it is.

The new-found flexibility we're getting with melee combo actually reminds me a lot of machinist's automaton queen.

[Gruntler]

At least there will be inevitably be mods by which to rein in that pointless button bloat. You know, so we can choose between having a more polished experience with intuitive and efficient control schemes or being able to actually stream our games?

As far as I can tell, the only certain new button is the magic barrier. VerBLOOSH is probably going to use the same button as Jolt/Scorch. No need for mods given existing RDM design. The other thing I could predict is Veraero II and Verthunder II transmuting to Verholy and Verflare resp., and Impact transmuting to Scorch, as QoL.

I'm remaining optimistic, because the ability to pool gauge solves and addresses a lot of things about the job.

[Shurrikhan]

As far as I can tell, the only certain new button is the magic barrier.

I suppose it is decently(?) likely that they already learned their lesson from the likes of Dream Within a Dream ➝ Assassinate or Gnashing ➝ Savage ➝ Wicked and won't go out of their way to waste space this time around, but we've been a little too often burned for me to assume that at this point. I'll be... tentatively hopeful, though.

Even then, to be fair, I'm not sure why they don't make Verfire/Verstone also convert to Jolt (II) when there's no proc available, don't have Veraero II/Verthunder II turn into Impact under Dualcast/Swiftcast, or the melee combo fall under one button, etc. There's not really any point in those being separate, so long as they allow you to complete a Verstone/Verfire cast even if the proc duration ends mid-cast.

VerBLOOSH

...I will probably be hearing that over raid comms every time my group's RDM hits that button. Oof.

The other thing I could predict is Veraero II and Verthunder II transmuting to Verholy and Verflare resp., and Impact transmuting to Scorch, as QoL.

Given that Veraero and Verthunder already convert to Holy and Flare, respectively... well, now I just want to see single/AoE options of each as Verbanish/Verscourge for ST and Verholy/Verflare for AoE...

I'm remaining optimistic, because the ability to pool gauge solves and addresses a lot of things about the job.

It really does. Riposte randomly having a higher cost than the other melee spenders still weirds me out just a bit, but I do love that we actually have some banking potential now. The Manafication change, too, is really, really nice. RDMshoten, basic and dull, sure, but it's still way better than the mess that was the MP-doubling effect.