New LvL 7 RDM With a Battle Tactics Question

[Zanion]

Hey everyone on the RDM Board. I just have to say a few things first. I've been wanting FFXI since b4 it's Japan release. When it came 2 the U.S.A., I was estactic. But, I'm a 15 year from the low side of a middle income family and wasn't able 2 afford the game until just recently. I spent my 2 hours installing the game at around 2a.m in the morning a few days ago, and seeing as how I was so tired, I didn't play until later that morning. I get up, and start the game. All I have 2 say is... It's been the best 2 days of my life. FFXI is my favorite game and I'll continue 2 enjoy it.

Anyways, I knew from the jump I wanted 2 be a RDM. So I chose Hume and started as a Warrior to get the Onion Sword so I could melee a lil better than the rest of the mages in Windurst. I learned the games basics in one day and now I'm pretty good. 2 get 2 my questions now:

I'm LvL 7 with a Bronze Sword and my skills are: Dia, Cure, Stone, Paralyze, Barsleep, and Protect.

And I was wondering if my battle tactics are off.

Normally, I party with a Warrior, BLM, and Myself (RDM). From the start, I back up from the monster at the farthest casting distance possible and cast paralyze. Before the monster can get 2 me, the WAR has cast provoke on the monster 2 get its aggro, I then go forth with Dia. If its a pretty easy monster, it's usually dead by now. But when we're fighting bigger opponents, the monster is normally at 1/4 health by now due 2 the BLM and WAR. I then rush in and start 2 melee. The WAR keeps fighting and the BLM continues 2 cast Stone, Water and the like. Keep in mind I cast protect on the party before we even begin. While I melee, I effectively throw in a Stone here or there and keep the WAR healed pretty well. We have yet 2 die once and we normally pull in 76 exp per monster. It's working well in the lower lvls so I was wondering if my strategy would work well in the higher lvls. My list of spells will increase so I know this will change. I just wanted 2 know is this a good strategy. It's working so it should be. What do u guys think?

[LinkinFate]

I suppsoe around the first 10 levels you can use like just one or two spells on a monster, but msot of the time you dont need it.. but when you start partying thats when your enfeebling spells will really come into play. I can't say too much, considering im still a lowly lvl 10 still...

[Zempten]

No this won't work in the higher levels.

This is how I see it

#1: Your meele begins to suck once you hit 30. Possibly before. You will be hitting the mob for 20 or less and with a lot of misses (even when your sword skill is maxed). While the others are dealing the real damage.

#2: You will start you enfeebling with Silence if it is a caster. If not then you can cast Gravity so that the mob will slow down, which will allow you to land Slow and Paralyze before it hits the warrior. While you are casting these spells your BLM friend should be sharing the enfeebling with blind/shock/frost/bio ......etc. Then you should add in a regen to your tank, 15 MP for about 135 HP is a good deal. Then you can actually sit down a bit.

It will work for now but you will find there are a few things that you will adept to at the higher levels. Oh and always keep your armor and spells updated.

Hope this help

[SuLang]

And dont forget to keep your sword upgraded...cause by the way i see it, you seem to like to get up close and personal with the mob so you need the damage.
And don't forget to use macros for all your spells and weapon skills cause the few extra seconds that it takes for you to cast cure could be the death of the tank.
And one more thing...once you hit 11 you should get Bind right away. It will help you escape form mobs that you have underestimated. Plus here is another tactic for all of you to use:
1. As the fight starts you (the red mage) binds the mob in place and let the blm or ranger pound on it from afar right but you ahve to have the warrior voke it too or it will be useless later. (you bind it so that the blm doesnt have to use mp to bind and it can pound on it with pure damage spells)
2. As the mob comes un-bound try to bind it again...if it works great if not well then you just fight it up close.
3. After the second bind attempt you poison and dia and any other health sucking spells you may have and then go up and fight it. (if the mob is bound it can only hit you and the warrior and the blm is safe...and trust me if you want blm friends this is how you get them)

like zempten said you should also be sure to use regen once you get it and when you get refresh cast it on all your mages when ever possible to maximize spells cast and minimize down time for the most exp possible.
And try not to sit down to heal in a battle unless you dont have mp for even one heal cause when you are up fighting it you are still doing damage to the mob and trust me...in the later levels every little bit counts.

[SuLang]

oh and zempten...the only reason y your melee sucks is cause your sub is blm....trust me...if you sub war or thf or even nin (very good choice in later lvls) you melee for bunches.

[Zanion]

Thx guys this is very helpful. Now, I got one more question. I do like 2 melee right now. I enfeeble and if the monster still has half of its help after I'm done enfeebling (I made a typo when I said 1/4. I meant 2 say 3/4), I rush in and start to help the tank of the party. I may sound stupid, but I haven't mastered macro's yet. I honestly don't use 'em, but from what I've heard for months, macro's for mages are a must. But for me, I'm using auto-attack so I can manage to watch my main tank's hp. So when It starts 2 drop, I usually just heal. It's not really hard or a slow process for me to just go across the menus. I'm fast with typing so I use my keyboard to access the menus. And I do it fairly quickly. So while I'm fighting, I just hit cure and f2(Or whatever position the person I'm healing is) to cure. It'll take about 3 secs outta my fight time to cast. But I'm not at my home right now so when I get back Sat., I'll make it my buissness to learn Macro's.

I got one more question. What lvl does a RDM learn Regen?

Last Question: Windurst is full of mages. Finding a good balanced party is hard. So I was wondering would it be a good idea to travel 2 a different Continent to find better party members?
And Is it possible 2 become a member of another Country? At my lvl is it possible? And are there sufficent magic shops in other countries? Thx for ur time guys.

[Gman]

I think regen is around level 21, not 100% sure though.

IMO, you should be trying to get used to macros. You may not need them now, but you will at higher levels when your tank is taking hits for 80-100 damage at level 40. You need to be on top of those heals, although often times your party will have a WHM taking care of that. Still, you should have a de-buff macro later on that has something like Dia (or) Bio, Blind, Paralyze.

Macros are great for everything. I used them for pets as a BST, and THF's need them for their sneak attack/viper bite combos. They will become as common as breathing as you gain levels.

[Zempten]

Yes, macros are a big big must!

You get Refresh at level 41.

There are magic shops thru out Vana'diel

At your levle you could not afford to change allegiance.

As far as subbing a meele into your RDM - I still dont' see why. I have party with rdm/thr , rdm/nin, and rdm/war. And when we were ready to do our skillchin the rdm never had enough TP to go with us and by the time he/she was ready the monster was dead. Also, when we pulled the next monster the rdm was already sitting down and lost some of his TP.

Perhaps it's just me but I don't like seeing a RDM who thinks he can meele just as well as true meele damagers (thf/nin/drg...etc). I'm not going to start an argument about what is better. We'll just leave it to Zanion to decide what he want's as a sub.

EDIT: Sorry thought you were asking for Refresh - yes Regen is a level 21 spell.

[Zempten]

BTW, just stay in Windurst till around 12 or 13. THen you can take a ship and head to Valkurm Dunes by taking a ship at Mhaura to Selbina - 200 gil a ride. Be careful of monsters that might board the ship. The captains room is a safe place t obe

[Zanion]

Thx a lot for the info guys. It's really appreciated. Tell me this though, are macros hard 2 learn? And will my Red Mage take me far? It seems like the ultimate class and I'm REALLY enjoying it. Can anyone tell me their favorite experience with their Red Mage or whatever character they were using? I'm loving this game so much. I can't stop talking about it. I haven't played since 4 o'clock Wens. cuz I'm out of town. I don't know how I left my computer!!! I miss it so much... So I survive by talking about it and researching it. I've been playing so much I haven't had time 2 read up on it. So I survive this way... Please help me last by talking 2 me... Ur like my nicotine patch... Help...

[Gman]

Well, it took me a long time to decide on RDM. I played as an Elvaan RDM during the beta test, and I liked it, but I though I might want to switch to melee (more my roots) After a long time, I decided I was going to dedicate my FFXI character to the magical side, so not only am I becoming a mage, but a Taru mage so I can take full advantage. So many NA players are melee that you simply can't go wrong being a mage. You will never have trouble finding a party.

As for if a RDM can take you far, yes. They can solo quite effectively until later levels (15+), then they need to party until around level 41, and some of the really good spells at this level will allow you to solo again with the right stategy. It is not really worth it because it will take so long to kill anything, but still fun.

At even higher levels (60+) you will be well rounded, and much needed in any serious party because of superior enfeeblement and refresh ability (RDM most important bonus)

When you get the chance to use a subjob, I would recommend either WHM or BLM depending on if you want to be more of a healer in battle or a nuker. You can sub melee jobs for solo, but they aren't very effective for party play past level 25.

Have fun.

[SuLang]

zempten has a point when it comes to melee sub jobs in that in the earlier lvls the red mage ahs trouble with tp gain but when you get higher you really see the difference.
when i use my red mage with the ninja subjob and equipt 2 wicked swords i do more damage than my warriors and my samurai and even some dark knights. and at the later lvls where i am now you dont have a problem when you use ninja as a subclass because of the two hits os you gain tp twice as fast as normal.
the only thing is you have to be very careful to use your magic like dia AND bio and every other staple debuff spell you have b4 you melee and if you do this you should be able to still get enough tp to keep up with your tanks and the renkai powers of all normal fighter s and you can even do a magic burst too cause rdm has the awesome fast cast ablility.
and as for your macros...right now you need to have a macro for all your debuff spells and your weapon skills (fast blade or wasp sting) and you should start to learn how to use a cure macro cause it is the hardest to do when you are a melee fighter.
and for all those hight lvl red mages that are also reading this...when you get convert you really must use it alot so make a macro for that too on a seperate page so tha tyou dont hit it on mistake and do some thing like:
/ja "Convert" <me>
/wait 7
/ma "Cure 3" <me>

and that will get you up and running again real fast

and yes regen is at level 21 so it is a ways off for you

and as for the partys, when you get to level 10 or 12, you should start looking for a party to go to the Maze of Shakarahami and hunt the gobs and the Maze Makers...if you have a really good and balanced party you can go there at lvl 9 and stay there till 16 and get that many lvls in 6-7 hours playtime...youd be amazed at how fast that place levels any character.

[Zempten]

SuLang, I won't argue with you on the meele part. You have more experience with it then I do. So I'll just leave it at that. ^^

Cure Macros:

/ma "Cure" <p1>
/p <what ever message you want to put here if you want to put one>

Keep doing this from <p1> to <p5>

Weaponskill Macro:

/ws "Fast Blade" <t>

or put whatever name you want to put in the between the " ". I don't think you really need to make more then one. Chaning it doesn't take that long.

TP Macro:

/p <weaponskill your told to do> <tp>

example: If your told to do fast blade

/p Fast Blade <tp>

Enfeebling Macro:

Here is an example...

/ma "Bio" <t>

Put whatever spell name around the " "

Keep in mind that everything is case sensative.

Here is some general commands

/ws = weapon skill
/ma = magic
/ja = job ability (example: Chainspell, Convert, )
<me> = targets yourself
<p1> = party member 1
<p2> = party member 2
<p3> = party member 3
<p4> = party member 4
<p5> = party member 5
( P1 is the person right below you in the party window and goes on down)
<t> = whatever you have targeted

Oh and please, control yourself. You don't want to forget that you have family, friends, and other stuff in Real Life

[Arli]

Originally posted by SuLang
zempten has a point when it comes to melee sub jobs in that in the earlier lvls the red mage ahs trouble with tp gain but when you get higher you really see the difference.
when i use my red mage with the ninja subjob and equipt 2 wicked swords i do more damage than my warriors and my samurai and even some dark knights. and at the later lvls where i am now you dont have a problem when you use ninja as a subclass because of the two hits os you gain tp twice as fast as normal.

SuLang, I don't know what version of FFXI you're playing, but last I checked, RDM melee skills cannot compete with that of a DRK or a SAM. Also, NIN SJ does NOT allow you to swing 2 swords at single speed. As a level 56 RDM , alot of your information seems incorrect as well as most of your tactics. :confused:

People come to these forums for genuine informed assistance, please have the decency to not masquerade as an experienced player giving amateur advice. All you do is promote a disservice to those in need and make yourself look bad to those players who have actually spent the time to gain their levels.

[SuLang]

im not trying yo get into an arguement here about melee skills cause rdm cant keep up in the later lvls with the other focused classes and maybe i worded my statement wrong :sweat: but my profile needs to be fixed cause i just got double weild 2 and swing about the same speed as a warior using a spear or a dark knight using a scythe so i get more tp then them and if i have 2 of the best swords that i can possible use then yes i do do about the same damage (with all the weapon skill usage) but i try to play my role as a mage first and melee fighter later as all mages should...im sorry if you think im out of line but i know wat im talking about...

Mage first then melee second...always. And just so you know i do take more damage than i should cause i spend more money on swords then i do on armor (which is bad) so dont knock my ways unless u have tried them...if you get nin and get it to lvl 30 and 40 then start meleeing with a rdm and you still think im out of line then ok but till then lets keep the bashing to a minimum