Red Mage idea

[Ashenspire]

Ok, I guess I'm going to have to go more into depth for you to understand. You don't have to carry someone to become useful. You're thinking about it too one sided. Have you don't the BLM faction leve? While it's purely magical based, making it carry one aspect, it still kind of depicts what the capabilities of the job can do. Three flans at the start, one can only be hurt by fire, one by ice and one by lightning. In this one fight, you need 3 different aspects to complete the first section. Then after those 3, you fight the princess which changes into those 3 aspects.

For the purpose of this example, lets say BLM can only deal lightning damage, a MNK can deal fire and a DRG can deal ice damage. However Red Mage can deal both lightning, fire, and ice, yet not at the full power which BLM, MNK and DRG can. So when the fight of the 3 flans come in, the DRG, BLM, and MNK class obviously excel at it than the Red Mage. But when the princess appears, who will be the most useful? BLM can't do anything until the princess goes into her lightning-weak form. MNK can't do anything until she's in her fire-weak form. However RDM can deal damage at all times.

See what I mean? The game doesn't have to have a linear system as it does now. Take Garuda for Relic as another example. When the sisters appear, you need both physical and magical damage. However they increase the amount of damage to three-fold. In Garuda for relic, you can't have anybody die, this sudden increase in damage can become detrimental. This brings the importance of a flexible class that can not only deal both forms of damage, yet also support/heal. Yes, flexibility is a form of utility.

So who do you replace in your faction leve scenario? The BLM? The DRG? MNK? So the princess is now a bit easier because a hybrid, who isn't a pure damage dealer, can do their mediocre damage during all phases. But the first phase is tougher, as everyone has to wait for the hybrid who, again, not a pure damage dealer, has to deal with their flan while 2 people just sit there and do nothing. It's a hypothetical situation, but you bring up a good point, which is what I've been trying to make. Balance. Where do you draw that line?

And no. A hybrid should NEVER EVER EVER be able to fill a role in a party as a dedicated healer/dd as if they CAN do that, then there is never a reason to bring a dedicated healer/dd that can't also bring the utility that a hybrid can. Even if they are a dedicated healer, they have damage abilities. Even if they are a DD, they can bring healing. See the issue there?

Everyone want's RDMs to come in here dealing awesome damage with their sword, and awesome damage with their magic, all while keeping their party topped off in health, and it's just not a thing that should ever happen. A RDM, imo, should make everyone around them stronger, similar to a BRD, but in different ways. Haste, Deprotect, Imperil, these are the things I'd like to see from the RDM. These things should increase the damage/healing of the entire party to an extent that it's more beneficial for the party to bring a RDM instead of another DD that can do more damage than the RDM is doing itself + the increases they're giving to the party. Do you understand, now, what I'm saying?