Red Mage Help

[MarkM.]

There was a thread about this a while back, but I like to talk about RDM (my first 75 job) so I will post here. I have 4/5 wind and ice 2/5 earth for cat 1. For cat 2 I went 2/3 Slow II Phalanx II and Para II. I know that's not the best set up for any specific situation, tank party, solo etc... but in my opinions it puts you into a position to be a good utility RDM. I am in an end-game ls and with the way I have my merits set up, I can be but in any party and do just as well as any other rdm merited differently. Well getting off work now gl.

[Tomiko]

I can be but in any party and do just as well as any other rdm merited differently.

While your Para 2 will be better than mine (I didn't merit it), your Phalanx 2 and Slow 2 won't be as good as mine (3/3 each) which I think was the point people were making about going 3/3 in Tier 2 (Meaning that if you don't, chances are there will be someone who can cast said spell with better results than you.)

Just my opinion, but out of the ones you listed, the only one that's party dependant is Phalanx 2. And even then it still can have it's uses. Another thing to consider about Phalanx 2: If someone has it capped, they're more likely to be in the tank party as opposed to someone with only 1-2 merits in it. While it's true the difference in damage reduced isn't that much, but it adds up and I find the duration to be the main advantage of having it fully meritted.

[Seditedi]

Some RDM believe that if you got a refresh body/AF2 hat, you don't need convert merits, this belief is very shallow and stupid imo. Sure you get 40MP per minute in just standing gear, but in all honestly if you need wind acc to land silence or gravity/earth acc to land Slow II, then you fail as a RDM. I went 5ice/5vert, and I can't really see any other option to that selection for group 1. 1:40 off your convert time is a huge huge gain over a minor increase in accuracy to wind or earth.

Group II is where u can decide based on your playstyle, but I feel Slow II lvl 3 is the universal choice, then merit another 1 to cap based on what you generally do on RDM most often.

[Septimus]

Some RDM believe that if you got a refresh body/AF2 hat, you don't need convert merits, this belief is very shallow and stupid imo. Sure you get 40MP per minute in just standing gear, but in all honestly if you need wind acc to land silence or gravity/earth acc to land Slow II, then you fail as a RDM. I went 5ice/5vert, and I can't really see any other option to that selection for group 1. 1:40 off your convert time is a huge huge gain over a minor increase in accuracy to wind or earth.

Group II is where u can decide based on your playstyle, but I feel Slow II lvl 3 is the universal choice, then merit another 1 to cap based on what you generally do on RDM most often.

We really need to put up a huge banner in this forum that announces to the whole world "???? ?? ???????????".

I only play RDM for things like Proto-Ultima, Fafnir, and Ouryu. Being able to land a Paralyze II that lets the mob know that I, in fact, will not respect it in the morning is more important than 1:40 off of Convert which I try to save for dire circumstances anyway. If you primarily use your RDM for Dynamis and XPing, then Convert merits are slightly more appealing.

But then again, I have never been a fan of using Convert willy-nilly in the first place.

[Zoot]

If we still did Wyrms/Kings and other HNM frequently, and if I wasn't one of the few TH4 in the Linkshell, and also if I did not do as much soloing and duoing as I do now (I actually have the time now that we DON'T do those things) I would not regret putting merits into earth acc.

I like to cast slow in full MND with a wand, when I can and on what mobs it would make a difference, shit is situational.

I do not regret meriting convert for the fact that it's very, very useful when soloing and meriting.

[Seditedi]

Same with me Zoot, don't really have any issues landing Slow II @ lvl 3 with my potency setup on almost anything(unless its khim or cerb). 314 skill 120MND ish.. missing some stuff though.

[Kyreth]

sometimes i macro duelist's tights in for thunder III, vs mahatma slops for blizzard III, to make up a bit for the difference in resists. this does sacrafice some of thunder's potential damage, but if i am trying to kill something with a lot of HP having several resisted/half resisted nukes will slow me down a lot more then loosing approximately 20-30 damamge off the top of each unresisted one. (sorry, early in the morning, my brain is not awake enough to pull out the actual damage formula for the difference)

I'm of the belief that it's better to keep landing the spell accurately over attempting to max it's potency when it comes to damage- but I tend to toss Slow II's with a wand + num. shield for the extra potency, as Slow II x3 is pretty damn accurate on anything short of HNM's. And those I'd burn the MP to keep casting till it stuck. And Blizzard III/Aero III for me, unless it's literally weak to Thunder. I hate half-damage nukes.

[Ambir]

Some RDM believe that if you got a refresh body/AF2 hat, you don't need convert merits, this belief is very shallow and stupid imo. Sure you get 40MP per minute in just standing gear, but in all honestly if you need wind acc to land silence or gravity/earth acc to land Slow II, then you fail as a RDM. I went 5ice/5vert, and I can't really see any other option to that selection for group 1. 1:40 off your convert time is a huge huge gain over a minor increase in accuracy to wind or earth.

Convert merits are completely useless if you aren't spending all of your MP in less than 10 minutes. With a BRD in the party, that often means spending 2800MP every 10 minutes. There are high MP usage requirements for RDM, but the more in control of fights your LS/group is, the less these seem to come up.

The other option is to use magic accuracy merits to boost the naked accuracy of your variable enfeebles. Landing enfeebles such as Slow and Paralyze isn't the issue. Landing them for the highest possible effect is. Magic Accuracy merits lets you stack a lot more MND, and still land the spell, for a lot stronger effect over someone with no merits.

[Seditedi]

Like I said, you won't need convert merits for every situation, but its worthwhile to have it merited. I don't really have any enfeebling problems with wand/shield w/o merits in earth accuracy.. @ lvl 3 Slow II, which is a pretty accurate spell you can usually land it in a full potency setup unless its khim or cerb.

[Gaborn]

We really need to put up a huge banner in this forum that announces to the whole world "???? ?? ???????????".

Just wanted to jump in real quick and let everyone know that I've been really pleased with the posts coming in. I love the debates being brought up, the the "Situations" in which you use the "shit" in is EXACTLY what I had asked(or tried to ask) in my OP. Starting from nothing, I'm interested to hear what gear is used in which situation. As long as people don't start bashing each other this is really helping me out. Post your reply, post reasons why. I'm really impressed with this communities outreach. I was skeptical about using these Newbie forums, but this has been a pleasant surprise.

[Epical]

Question that'll most likely be overlooked in the RQT and is probably better suited here:

Lets say both Slow II and Paralyze II have two merits in each and you have one more point to spend on either one, which would you pick?

The way I look at it is that the slow effect gained from one merit would be less efficient than possibly having another para proc and stopping a spell/attack/WS/whatever.

[Aurinq]

Personally I would put the last one into Slow II, just because of the reliability. Paralyze II has procs and not %. But to each is own.

After reading this stuff I might change up some merits on my Red Mage. (that is if i ever manage to get off my ass to merit).

Might go 3 ice 3 earth just because even with capped enfeebling skill I hate watching my Slow IIs getting resisted. ; ;

[Septimus]

We really need to put up a huge banner in this forum that announces to the whole world "???? ?? ???????????".

Just wanted to jump in real quick and let everyone know that I've been really pleased with the posts coming in. I love the debates being brought up, the the "Situations" in which you use the "shit" in is EXACTLY what I had asked(or tried to ask) in my OP. Starting from nothing, I'm interested to hear what gear is used in which situation. As long as people don't start bashing each other this is really helping me out. Post your reply, post reasons why. I'm really impressed with this communities outreach. I was skeptical about using these Newbie forums, but this has been a pleasant surprise.

The purpose of the newbie section is to give people solid advice and to be as nice about it as possible. The one thing that people have to understand is that there are very few "absolute bests" in this game, which is why the phrase "shit is situational" is important.

There are many kinds of Red Mages that you can be. You can be a solo Red Mage, a merit-party Red Mage, a Dynamis/Limbus Red Mage, a HNM Red Mage, a tank party Red Mage, etc.

In my opinion, for someone to be considered as a "main job" Red Mage he/she must have 8 Enfeebling Skill merits. From there you can differentiate.

Solo Red Mage (melee): Sword Skill x 8, Critical Hit up x 4, Slow II at least 1

Solo Red Mage (nuke): Elemental Skill x8, Ice Potency x 5, Convert Recast x5

Merit-party Red Mage: Convert Recast x 5, Dia III at least 1, MP x8

Dynamis/Limbus Red Mage: Lots of patience, ability to not go insane from endless Dynamis runs

HNM Red Mage: Slow II x 3, Paralyze II x 3, Ice/Wind/Earth Accuracy total 10

Tank party Red Mage: Enhancing skill x ? (varies on amount of enhancing gear to break 300 skill cap), Phalanx II x 3

I have 8 Enfeebling, 2 Enhancing (getting close to breaking 300), 3 earth, 3 wind, 4 ice, Paralyze II x 2, Slow II x 2, Phalanx II x 2, Sword x8, Critical Hit x 4. You have to figure out what kind of events you are taking your Red Mage to and figure out what will help your linkshell the most. There are no absolutes for Red Mage merits (except for Enfeebling skill), so figure out what you want to do with you Red Mage before you plan a course of action for your merits.

[Seditedi]

Do you happen to have the Phalanx II damage reduction formula on hand? Mainly just asking @ 300 enhancing skill what benefits does phalanx II give? Didn't think you needed any enhancing merits to actually hit 300, not so sure though. Let's see...
Base 256+AF2Hand(15 skill)+AF1 leg(15 skill)+Merciful Cape(5 skill)+Enhancing Torque(7 skill)+Augmenting Earring(3 skill)=301 skill.

[Eraphiel]

Do you happen to have the Phalanx II damage reduction formula on hand? Mainly just asking @ 300 enhancing skill what benefits does phalanx II give? Didn't think you needed any enhancing merits to actually hit 300, not so sure though. Let's see...
Base 256+AF2Hand(15 skill)+AF1 leg(15 skill)+Merciful Cape(5 skill)+Enhancing Torque(7 skill)+Augmenting Earring(3 skill)=301 skill.

I forget the formula offhand, but capped phalanx2 (3 merits) is -23dmg w/ a 3min duration. I personally went with the 2 merits road, as enough blms still want Merciful Capes, and I'm not too fussed just yet. Also, instead of Augmenting Earring, I use the Glamor Jupon (lv50 JSE body), which serves as a multipurpose for the +dark skill.

[Ambir]

Question that'll most likely be overlooked in the RQT and is probably better suited here:

Lets say both Slow II and Paralyze II have two merits in each and you have one more point to spend on either one, which would you pick?

The way I look at it is that the slow effect gained from one merit would be less efficient than possibly having another para proc and stopping a spell/attack/WS/whatever.

The boost is Para proc rate is very likely no more than the boost in Slow rate anyway. I like Slow II better because it's fixed duration (barring resists) its base duration is longer than Para II's (176 sec vs maybe 120sec?) and it's effect is constant (Para just doesn't seem to proc on some mobs, even when it is on for a long duration). Choosing any spell or effect in the hope you get a lucky proc just when you need it is going to just disappoint you...

[Tomiko]

Being able to land a Paralyze II that lets the mob know that I, in fact, will not respect it in the morning is more important than 1:40 off of Convert which I try to save for dire circumstances anyway. If you primarily use your RDM for Dynamis and XPing, then Convert merits are slightly more appealing.

But then again, I have never been a fan of using Convert willy-nilly in the first place.

My hero =D>

[Septimus]

Do you happen to have the Phalanx II damage reduction formula on hand? Mainly just asking @ 300 enhancing skill what benefits does phalanx II give? Didn't think you needed any enhancing merits to actually hit 300, not so sure though. Let's see...
Base 256+AF2Hand(15 skill)+AF1 leg(15 skill)+Merciful Cape(5 skill)+Enhancing Torque(7 skill)+Augmenting Earring(3 skill)=301 skill.

Math.floor(Enhancing skill/25) + 1 + (3 * merit level)

You don't need merits to reach 300, but it will let you get there with less gear. With 7 Enhancing Merits, you don't need to carry Augmenting Earring, Enhancing Torque, or Merciful Cape- Warlock's Tights and Duelist's Gloves will put you at 300.

And the current max Phalanx II will reduce is 22 with 3 merits in it, 256 base skill, 48 in equipment skill (Augmenting Earring, Glamor Jupon, Warlock's Tights, Enhancing Torque, Merciful Cape and Duelist's Gloves), and 16 skill from merits will put you at 320 skill, just 5 skill shy of 23.

Phalanx is Math.floor(Enhancing Skill/10) -2. That same 320 skill would give you a beefy 30 damage reduction per hit. Also a super-hot 21 damage en-spell and a very nice 104 bar-spell.

[rrynn]

i take some exception to the comment about "converting willy nilly". i convert nearly every time my 8:40 timer is up, timing my mp usage to be almost out of mp when it rolls around (making sure i maintain at least 88 emergency mp for a clutch cure IV if needed). if my convert timer is up and i have extra mp, i refresh someone's prot/shell a bit early, or nuke, or get everyone to 100% hp, etc...

to me, in 99% of situations, sitting on an unused convert is wasting potential mp. there are occational situations where i'll save it, like if i know i'll be chainstunning somewhere in a fight and want to be sure i'll have extra mp for that if i need it, or if our tanking situation is iffy and i may need to heavily curebomb and/or emergency tank. for bigger fights, if you are sitting on an unused convert, a whm could be taking a knee while you cover for them with your nice shiny full mp pool. and that whm can a) cure more for less hate then you and b) cannot themselves convert in an emergency to fill their mp pool, so buying them kneeling time can be a very good thing.

in a merit party, or in dynamis, or limbus, or salvage, etc etc holding convert "for an emergency" is just a waste of mp. sitting on convert while soloing just means your solo is going to take that much longer. and in a timed solo situation, like the gesso fight in toua missions, or an enm, not burning through as many mp pools as you possibly can in that 30 mins is the diference between a win and a timeout with the mob half dead.

(edit typos)

[Tomiko]

Based on the way I chose to level, I learned to maximize my MP pool by using every free moment I have to rest mp. This method helped while leveling Summoner when I had retarded Rdms who didn't know how to keep Refresh up when I had to main heal a Pld. But that's another can of worms.

So with that in mind, I fail to see how not using Convert right away is a waste of mp. It would be like me saying you're wasting MP by not resting during cycle downtime*. All it is is a different play style. Nothing really wrong with either as long as you get the job done effeciently.


*This is assuming you don't rest during downtime. But I would assume you do.