2 melee 2 ranged standard

[W00by]

I don't know how RDM compares, but if it suffers in comparison, I think studying what makes PCT work and apply it to RDM might be warranted (just like I think Smudge should be the blueprint for all caster dashes). Similarly, I feel that, ideally, we'd revert BLM back to its EW state (which plays somewhat comparably to PCT).

It really depends. There are some mechanics where RDM is doing great and some mechanics where it really struggles, and of course you have the ability to manipulate it. We talk about "swapping the dualcast window" so that odd GCDs are casted and evens aren't, or vice versa, and some mechanics accommodate that well and others don't. For instance, Mountain Fire in EX1 is really punishing to a poorly placed Dualcast window, but is very easy if you set up properly. It's also worth noting that Dualcast windows are harder to swap now that Acceleration gives 2 instant casts, but slightly easier too now that Swiftcast is a short CD, so it's six on one had, half dozen on the other.) When talking about melee combos, there are fights where it's free and fights like Honey B. Lovely where getting both melee combos off during 2 minutes without griefing your melees by dropping puddles under the 3 of you is prohibitively difficult. It just depends, like any job. And you do get one filler burst combo per 2 minute, but even this filler burst combo technically should be saved for burst phases so you can triple Scorch under pot, so it's weird. I think PCT suffers a little less moving certain things out of burst windows than RDM does -- moving comet out of Burst is a lot less punishing than moving an entire melee combo out, and Hammer and the CYM combo are not as far apart in potency as Red Mage's burst and Red Mage's general filler rotation -- but the paradigm does exist for all of them.

I'd like to see double caster get played more, because I think every comp should be warranted. I just also don't think it's as suboptimal to go double caster as people think right now, since we tend to fixate on damage above all else.