Main Job Question (confused)

[Bluecat]

Ok, I don't know what I should do I am almost to level 9 at the moment. I have leveled a few other jobs barely speaking of course. My question to you is, well let me first start off by saying so far I love being a RDM But, there are some things that I have heard that kind of throws me off from it. The Fact that at higher levels all I will be doing is healing, then shouldn't I just be a whm if that is the case?

I also heard that I should go /SCH but, I don't have WoG yet, and I don't think I will for a long while. Anyway, sense I don't really want to be a healer, but be able to use magic, and use a sword at the same time. So my question is, when I get higher up what job should I prepare to play? BLU sound's kind of fun, never tried it but I guess it would not hurt, that and PLD seems like fun. But there are also things that I don't really like about those two jobs as well.

1) PLD - Is used as a tank, I don't want to be a tank but I still want to be able to use a sword, and magic at the same time. (not just hit everything or be a healer)

2) BLU - Is used mostly as a DD, as I stated before I don't want to pull or get hate, I want to be able to stand in the back, but also stand in the front sometimes in the party while fighting at the same time. (if that makes any sense.)

But besides those two jobs, I don't know what else I should play, and if you can help me thanks! =D

[Duncan Idaho]

There really isn't any jobs that can go back and forth from the front lines and the back lines. Red Mage can use the sword up front but isn't commonly accepted in the community to do so. You might want to give Dancer a look at when you can unlock the extra jobs at level 30. It uses it's tp to cure and infeeb so you have to stay on the front lines to keep tp going.

Blue Mage would be my first pick though for the description of what you want from a job. Any job can pull hate if they try hard enough. It's the good players that know the fine line of what they can do without pulling the hate( or keeping it as the case may be)

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Don't get settled on any one job just yet, you've got a bit of time til level 30, which is the level you'll want to start unlocking other jobs. Best advice I can give at this point would be take up WHM or WAR to 30, as both have universal uses toward mage and melee jobs respectively.

Just be sure to get a good EXP buffer before you go around unlocking jobs. After that, give all the jobs you've unlocked a spin and see which feels the best to you.

There really isn't any jobs that can go back and forth from the front lines and the back lines

Corsair, Blue Mage and Puppetmaster can. All three are better off on the frontlines, but there's nothing stopping them from going either way.

[Duncan Idaho]

I agree with bbqkitten on getting to 30 and trying out the extra jobs. Most of my favorite jobs are the extras.

Be sure to make some friends along the way to 30. Most of the extra jobs will require you to have some help to complete them. Some don't though, just some creativity on how to get it done.

[Deeke]

One thing to bear in mind is that Squeenix are considering a job update for RDM to push it up to the front lines. They haven't gone into anything more specific than that, though.

It may not happen.

It may happen, but not until next year.

It may happen next month. (Yeah, right.)

It's not something to get your hopes up about (unless you're a sucker for disappointment), but the fact that SE are at least aware of RDM's current back-line focus and are concerned by it is interesting in itself.


There will always be times where the party needs a RDM to be main heal though. They're capable and healers can be in short supply. That'll never change. That said, you won't have to main heal 24/7. RDM has too many tricks up it's sleeve to be pigeonholed like that.

And I agree with Mr Idaho, I actually think you'd like DNC. Maybe consider putting it on your jobs-to-have-a-dabble-in list?

[IfritnoItazura]

Ok, I don't know what I should do I am almost to level 9 at the moment. I have leveled a few other jobs barely speaking of course. My question to you is, well let me first start off by saying so far I love being a RDM But, there are some things that I have heard that kind of throws me off from it. The Fact that at higher levels all I will be doing is healing, then shouldn't I just be a whm if that is the case?

Let's get some misconceptions out of the way: RDM isn't about healing only, pretty much at any level. (Neither is WHM, by the way.)

Lv.50 Example: Swift Belt run: (a.k.a. "What I did last night.") In terms of time spent,
RDM: Refresh, Debuffs (Dispel, Paralyze, Slow, Dia, etc.), Haste, Cure, Curaga (from /WHM).
WHM: Cure, Erase, Haste, Regen, Curaga, Flash, plus non-Erase status removals, Protectra/Shellra

WHM and RDM definitely had some overlapping duties, but prioritized differently and spend different amount of time and MP on the overlapped portions. Both have cure duty, but WHM took on the lion's share, while PLD had the second place, with RDM mostly pitched in only as needed (e.g. When NM is Chainspell nuking the PLD, everyone cure dumps--even BRD.) And, if you look at the list of spell casted by each, you'd notice that RDM has more on its plates than WHM.

As the PLD at the Swift Belt run, I needed both the WHM and the RDM; both were indispensable for me tor perform my duty. ^_^b


In exp parties, what a RDM does depends on the party. Or, to be more precise, how much focus each area gets--Refresh, enfeebs, Haste, cures, status removal (from /WHM), and nukes--are all adjusted on the fly, based on the camp, the level, if there's another healer in party, etc.


Lv.42 Example: Exp party, NIN, SAM, SAM, SCH, SCH, RDM; on beetles.
RDM: Refresh x 3 (self, and SCHs), Dia (and some enfeebs), nuke (magic burst only), and backup curing.
SCH1: Nuking (on MB) and main curing, regen, and keep up Protect and Shell.
SCH2: Free nuking and MB, backup enfeeb on whatever NIN or RDM, regen, backup curing. (I was the SCH2.)


Lv.75 Example: Merit party, PLD, DDx4, RDM; on Greater Colibris
RDM: Haste (as many as MP allows), Refresh x2 (self and PLD), Dia II, main curing (with PLD adding substantial cures), Regen, some Sleep. (My last pickup party as RDM, from what I can recall.)


Lv.75 Example: Dyanmis.
RDM: Refresh x6 (if tank party; x2 if in DD party), Haste x1 (self), Sleepga, Sleep, Sleep II, Gravity, Silence, Paralyze, Bind, Stoneskin, Blink, plus minor curing.

This is what I do every Friday: crowd control. Sometimes in the tank party, sometimes in DD party--either way, I rarely cure other people--most of the cures I cast is on myself, since the crowd controller get beat up a lot.

I also heard that I should go /SCH but, I don't have WoG yet, and I don't think I will for a long while. Anyway, sense I don't really want to be a healer, but be able to use magic, and use a sword at the same time.

Red Mage isn't for you.

To be Red Mage, you become the healer, when needed. Or, the refresher, when needed. Or, the nuker. Or, the enfeebler Or, the kiter, the soloer, the tank, the crowd controller--whatever is needed and doable, a RDM should step up, and get the job done.

If "I don't want to be _____ " is a concern, you might as well fill in the blank with "Red Mage", and try other jobs instead.

If "I want to do _____" is on your mind, and "whatever is needed" fits the blank, then Red Mage would be for you. In that case, you'll need: /WHM, /BLM, /DRK, and maybe /NIN. In some situations (duo'ing Aura Statues for those non-existing Diorites, for example), /SCH is very helpful, but it's not quite a must-have support job at the moment.

1) PLD - Is used as a tank, I don't want to be a tank but I still want to be able to use a sword, and magic at the same time. (not just hit everything or be a healer)

Tanking is quite fun. Try a bit of it on WAR, take it to Lv.18 or so, and see if you like it.

[LadyKiKi]

Try BST. On all my jobs (except DRG) when I sub BST I tend to move everywhere.

On a more serious note, seeing how you're not even Level 20 yet, best to just mess around and perhaps watch other players do their stuff to get an idea of how it all works. Trying to think too much/plan too much now without a core understanding/knowledge of the game may prove fatal as it all overwhelms you when things don't go as expected.

As a PLD, you'll hit things AND use your magic too to heal too (mainly heal yourself). The idea is that you'll be hitting things and perhaps when needed cure other party members. I mean, what else are you looking to do? Your statement of:

1) PLD - Is used as a tank, I don't want to be a tank but I still want to be able to use a sword, and magic at the same time. (not just hit everything or be a healer)

is rather contradicting.

Extra note: PLD magic sucks. Except for Flash (extremely effective blind spell, but lasts very short) and Cure I-IV. You get a fantastic spell called Holy which costs like 100mp and you can do about 100 damage on a good day and 5 damage on most other days.

[Heartily]

Think about beast/blu. Beast is front line, but can send hate to jug pet, so no tanking. Your axe is best weapon, but a sword is possible, and can be used
by your blu. Blu magic is mostly offensive, but can be a back up healer after
mid level. Like others have posted, you have a while to make up your mind.

[Tomato_Kai]

Think about beast/blu. Beast is front line, but can send hate to jug pet, so no tanking. Your axe is best weapon, but a sword is possible, and can be used
by your blu. Blu magic is mostly offensive, but can be a back up healer after
mid level. Like others have posted, you have a while to make up your mind.

BST's by and large don't use swords. They have skill, but the number of swords they actually can wield is so small, this really shouldn't be suggested. Not to mention that they have an "E" skill rating in swords, which is as bad as it gets, next to not having any skill at all. Skill in a weapon does not improve with Subjob, /BLU will not increase your sword skill.

Just needed to say this.

[Heartily]

BST's by and large don't use swords. They have skill, but the number of swords they actually can wield is so small, this really shouldn't be suggested. Not to mention that they have an "E" skill rating in swords, which is as bad as it gets, next to not having any skill at all. Skill in a weapon does not improve with Subjob, /BLU will not increase your sword skill.

I understand, and poster will find these things out over time. He wants to use a sword, go ahead, use it. Didn't say it was the best thing to do. I use sword as 69 beast to skill up sword for blu sub. When I don't have jug pet to snarl hate to, I find that sword damage is just enough to hit without pulling hate away from pet, which happens quite often when swingin an axe.

[Pteryx]

Ok, I don't know what I should do I am almost to level 9 at the moment. I have leveled a few other jobs barely speaking of course. My question to you is, well let me first start off by saying so far I love being a RDM But, there are some things that I have heard that kind of throws me off from it. The Fact that at higher levels all I will be doing is healing, then shouldn't I just be a whm if that is the case?

No, because the party type in which RDMs do nothing but heal and Haste (which you probably won't see until 60) demands zero downtime, something WHM isn't capable of but RDM is given a competent party that maintains the right pace. (Contrary to popular belief, our MP isn't infinite.)

That being said, as others have pointed out, RDM's sword-wielding capability drops off in a hurry, potentially as early as 25. The fact is that our spells are much more important to a party, and gearing for melee and gearing for spellcasting is mutually exclusive. Further, starting at 41 you'll be concentrating on keeping up buff cycles, and starting at 51 you'll be swapping between staves in order to keep your spells effective.

I also heard that I should go /SCH but, I don't have WoG yet, and I don't think I will for a long while. Anyway, sense I don't really want to be a healer, but be able to use magic, and use a sword at the same time. So my question is, when I get higher up what job should I prepare to play? BLU sound's kind of fun, never tried it but I guess it would not hurt, that and PLD seems like fun. But there are also things that I don't really like about those two jobs as well.

1) PLD - Is used as a tank, I don't want to be a tank but I still want to be able to use a sword, and magic at the same time. (not just hit everything or be a healer)

2) BLU - Is used mostly as a DD, as I stated before I don't want to pull or get hate, I want to be able to stand in the back, but also stand in the front sometimes in the party while fighting at the same time. (if that makes any sense.)

But besides those two jobs, I don't know what else I should play, and if you can help me thanks! =D

There is no job that doesn't have auto-attack either always on or always off. That said, being in the back does not affect hate gain, if that's your concern; as long as you're close enough to the mob to do anything, you gain the same enmity from actions no matter what.

You wouldn't like PLD. It's about tanking, pure and simple; tanks are so scarce in this game that there's simply no room for negotiation. Sure, you can self-heal to survive and maintain hate, but it sounds like that's not your thing at all. Its offensive spells are pretty much a waste of MP and sword-swinging time in the majority of situations.

BLU is as close as you're going to get to your description. BLU is always on the front lines due to the range of their physical spells and the fact that they can make good use of TP (especially from level 40 on), but they get a variety of "mage-y" tricks -- they can self-buff (good for not dying if you take hate), debuff, nuke, heal, dispel (even steal buffs later), sleep, and such. And unlike RDM, BLU uses the same stats for melee and many of its spells.

Dos the size of the sword matter? If not, you could also try being a DRK. Great Sword is their second best weapon type (and the difference doesn't even start to show until later levels), and their magic is offensive in nature, which sounds like what you're after. It's still considerably less "mage-y" than BLU, though, and like BLU and PLD will always be on the front lines. It also runs risks to deal more damage, meaning that if you do take hate (likely unless your tank rocks) you'll be hurt badly.

If you can give up the sword in order to run back and forth, BRD does that -- it runs to the front lines to sing melee songs, then runs to the back line to sing mage songs (which unfortunately usually means just Ballad). It can also sleep, dispel, slow, and inflict elemental vulnerabilities. If you can deal with all the damage you do being indirect, you may like it, but given your apparent healing aversion I have my doubts you'd like buffing.

If you don't think you'd mind buffing but still want to deal damage and don't mind if it's not with a sword, there's COR as well. COR is BRD-like in that it has AoE buffs and moves around a lot to make them hit the right targets, but instead of concentrating fully on that, it throws up one buff a minute and spends the rest of its time shooting the mob with a gun. Eventually, it gets the Quick Draw ability, which lets it deal magical damage, dispel, sleep, and enhance the effectiveness of other people's debuffs. -- Pteryx

[Tomato_Kai]

...That being said...

...That said,

You sound like my boss. He uses this little conjunction about 5 times for each thought. If unimaginative grammar could be considered verbal abuse, I'd have cause for lawsuit.

...and their magic is offensive...

Yes. DRK magic is most definitely offensive.

Heh heh. Double Entendre :D

[LadyKiKi]

But BSTs can use Ridill!!!!!

Either way, Bluecat, respond please and give us some input. Otherwise we'll be way off the edge before we can get back on.

Still, I think you should take time to enjoy (and learn/understand) the game rather than plan ahead. There is the potential to your gameplay/gamestyle/job changing as you get to the end. Watch other people play, watch some videos on YouTube, read up on some posts on the forums, or better yet, ask questions in the job's respective forums.

[Bluecat]

Well I have read all of your posts, and I have figured out that I am going to get RDM to 30. 1) to see if I really like being a RDM because it is still to early to see if I am not. 2) I might try out BLU,PLD,DRK, and DRG when I get to level 30 aswell. I am almost able to go to dunes yay! =)