Till when should you sub WAR?

[Tan'o]

I was in a PT yesterday and we had a RDM/WAR. 27/13 in Battialia by Jeuno. We weren't bad but we weren't that great either. About 2k an hour. I was RDM/WHM, same levels and because we only had a BLM/WHM 26/13, I was being the main healer but with my limited my compared to the BLM and healing spelld not being my forte it was pretty hard between the three of us to keep the rest of my PT healed at times while putting on debuffs and throwing the reandom enfeeble.

As a RDM i melee all the time and in the beginning i subbed WAr with my RDM so I could solo the first 10 levesl quickly so I'm not against it but with the spots of trouble that we ran into last night, when should a RDM stop subbing WAR because of their main role ina PT. I don't want to argue the "RDM melee" issue because I melee all the time but I ask when is it really not vaible to keep it as a sub if you're going to PT?

[Bamce Sylph]

lvl 1/1. the extra hps u would gain fromhaving a warrior sub is far outwayed by say subbing whitemage and get 15-20 hp cures being able to cure w/o /heal owns low levels

[Apple Pie]

Before answering your question, let's think about what the advantage of subbing WAR over WHM or BLM is.

Let's say I am Hume LV27 RDM.

---------------------------------------
[RDM27/WAR13]
- Provoke
- Defence Bonus I (+10 DEF)
- Red Lotus Blade

[RDM27/WHM13]
- Magic Def. Bonus I
- Barstonra
- Banish
- Poisona
- Barsleepra
- Protectra
- Paralyna
- Barwatera
- Barpoisonra
- Barparalyzra
- Baraera
---------------------------------------

Then, let's take a look at some stats.


[RDM27/WAR13]
HP432/MP176
STR29, DEX28, VIT25, AGI26, INT28, MND28, CHR27

[RDM27/WHM13]
HP412/MP206
STR27, DEX26, VIT25, AGI25, INT29, MND31, CHR28

OK now, my question is "what the advantage of subbing WAR now for our melee?" To me, it is only Red Lotus Blade (nice WS though)... Since we don't tank, Provoke and +10 DEF don't affect our ability of melee. How about +2 STR and +2 DEX? Well, no difference.

Therefore, I conclude there's no difference between subbing WAR and WHM as for our melee until our RDM become LV30 (LV15 WAR, learn Berserk).

In fact, the major reason we sub WAR is because we want Double Attack (RDM50/WAR25), Attack Bonus (RDM60/WAR30), Vorpal Blade (RDM62/WAR1+), and Warcry (RDM70/WAR35), I guess.

Finally, as for the answer to your question, I recommend you rather stop subbing WAR now and switch it to BLM or WHM for +30 or more MP. Then, come back with RDM/WAR when your RDM become LV50 if you put emphasis on your melee.

Well, I don't intend to argue "RDM melee" issue, either.

[Deodorant]

I used rdm/war a few days ago helping people with exoray item :D ... rdm62/war12 It was fun as hell, cos of vorpal blade, and it was safer than letting the 50 pld tank (of course, he wouldn't let a mage tank at first, but then silence gas killed him and so I reckon that weakened his resolve a bit).

[Malachi_Gage]

so a RDM/WAR is viable? I though that because RDM started sucking at melee damage after 40+ that you shouldn't level it over 40. I hope you guys can disprove me, because I think it'd be tight to play a RDM/WAR.

[Bamce Sylph]

no, rdm/war sucks,

[Shiia]

Not viable in Exping PT. Viable in the rest where you see fit.

[Apple Pie]

I don't have a single answer for this because it depends on:

1) the situation
2) equipments
3) PT config

However, our main job is casting and recasting enfeebling spells, Haste, Refresh and so on. From a caster's point of view, RDM/WAR has no chance to do better than any RDM/Mage. Think of how much MP Conserve MP saves, how useful Elemental Seal is in case of emergency and how Divine Seal works when we use convert. There are a lot more reasons subbing mage works cool in most cases.

I don't know who said our melee started to suck after 40+. It might do but this doesn't mean we cannot stand on the front row at all. Against easy mobs w/o AoE such as Beatles and Crawlers, we can always draw our sword and melee with en- spells while we maintain our tasks.

After LV60, we start to have hard time hitting them since they have higher evasion than 50s or below. We really need good gears like Peacock Charm and a set of Sniper's Ring if we wanna stick to melee.

Anyway, whatever you choose for you sub-job, you have to be responsible for it. If you often lose track of spells going off because you too much concentrate on melee, that will lower your reputation and probably the job RDM itself as well.

[Elusivellama]

Concentrate on your strengths, do not try to cover all the bases at once. Nowhere is this truer than when you are considering equipment and subjob. Everything is a compromise - it is up to you to decide just how important MP/INT/MIND is compared to the weak melee that a RDM gets. In my opinion, the few extra points of dex/str that you get from warrior sub is not worth losing the job abilities of WHM or BLM (Divine Seal / Elemental Seal), the unique spells of WHM or BLM, and much less the MP/INT/MIND boost.

In my view, subbing a non-spellcasting melee to your RDM is called 'trying to be half-assed on all fronts' and it makes you look ridiculous compared to the RDMs who have been around longer, and know which subjob works. I've already partied with several RDM/WARs, and their melee is not that noticeably stronger than mine, whereas I get more mp, more spells, and more useful job abilities.

[Vaiyo]

A Red Mage is, after all are said & done, a mage.

Subbing WAR for a RDM is like DRK subbing BLM. Neither combinations work well to highlight the respective jobs' strengths, and in the case of a RDM one is simply making oneself more average.

[Tulerin]

Tarutaru Drk/Blm's seem to do well at higher levels.

[Vaiyo]

Seem to do well ... maybe.
(this is off the topic but it applies to any other class in general)

Since DRKs are all about damage - compare the damage potential between a 60 DRK/30 SAM and a 60 DRK/30 BLM and one'll realize just why one should do DRK/SAM if one wants to enhance the strength of the DRK job.

I mean in this instance it's like - "... great, you can magic burst better than the average dark knight ... 70 damage instead of 50."

Same with RDM/WAR, back in the original topic - "... great, you can use Red Lotus Blade ... once every 20 minutes."