How Would You Design Red Mage!?

[Jinko]

Red Mage needs to do more then just barely survive devastating AOE attacks as that would just produce a extra drain on the healer, and since it is unlikely that RDM would be a powerful DD job it pretty much needs to be able to take care of itself in order to be accepted in the front lines.

Hmm I have seen this kind of thinking a lot lately why is it considered healing melee as a waste of resources ?

Isn't the point of a healer to heal whoever needs healing, yet people in this game seem to think of healer = tank only, screw everyone else.

RDM doesn't need to be self sufficient any more than the next class, healers just need to learn to heal everyone.

(and I was also annoyed at how the topic somehow meandered off to discussing Summoner...)

There was a few comments about summoners but nothing much, I mentioned green mage quite a bit mainly because I think your build above would suit that better than a RDM. (minus the close combat skills)

[Duelle]

Hmm I have seen this kind of thinking a lot lately why is it considered healing melee as a waste of resources?

Probably because MP is still a hot comodity from the looks of it. It'd be one thing if WHM and BLM were designed with MP regen after using certain abilities or refund mechanics to their spells through traits, but Matsui seems to be obsessed with having a refresh role in groups. =/

Isn't the point of a healer to heal whoever needs healing, yet people in this game seem to think of healer = tank only, screw everyone else.

This is due to differences in application. If healing was quick, easy to get off, with MP efficacy built in and easy to AoE and whatnot, then yeah there's no excuse for a healer to not heal melee aside from the tank. Usually, the more "precious" MP is, the more melee become a liability.

I didn't say that every job in melee range needs to be self sufficient. I said that Red Mage specifically should be mostly self sufficient (if it was wholly self sufficient then that would pretty much make it severely overpowered in solo situations) because of the fact that it would not be seen as a damage dealing job, and therefore the public opinion would be against having a "useless" job taking extra damage in melee range when it should just be sitting in the back lines casting refresh and haste.

The funny thing about game mechanics is that they can very well change the opinion of people when applied properly. If RDM in this current incarnation is going to be a magic fencer with enfeebles tacked on, then I expect it to be front-line worthy in DPS, with the enfeebles adding to their contribution and going from there. You or others may have a hard time wrapping their brains around the idea of a RDM being something other than support, but not all of us are like that.

[Firon]

Probably because MP is still a hot comodity from the looks of it. It'd be one thing if WHM and BLM were designed with MP regen after using certain abilities or refund mechanics to their spells through traits, but Matsui seems to be obsessed with having a refresh role in groups. =/
This is due to differences in application. If healing was quick, easy to get off, with MP efficacy built in and easy to AoE and whatnot, then yeah there's no excuse for a healer to not heal melee aside from the tank. Usually, the more "precious" MP is, the more melee become a liability.
The funny thing about game mechanics is that they can very well change the opinion of people when applied properly. If RDM in this current incarnation is going to be a magic fencer with enfeebles tacked on, then I expect it to be front-line worthy in DPS, with the enfeebles adding to their contribution and going from there. You or others may have a hard time wrapping their brains around the idea of a RDM being something other than support, but not all of us are like that.

Have to disagree about he mp issue on whm they have so much extra mp to use during fights its crazy. I have soloed healed ifrit with 1 tank 1 whm(me) the rest close range melee or blm. To simply put whm's are lazy and don't want to heal anyone else but the tank. Only mmo i ever played where a melee can sit in red hp and the whm will ignore the when the tanks hp is full.