Help needed...i think my Hume might have to die

[EMOlite]

Thanks, I'm gonna stay a hume then

And advice on how to get lots of gil fast at level 12 with no crafting skills leveled as of yet(hey, i'm poor, wat u want:sweat: )

[ifandbut]

If your from bastok then maybe you should try to mine or get going on quest. For some reason I really never had money proublems till now...lev 31 and still saving for despell...34k left to go:mad:

[bonovoxpsu]

people who say rdm is the "jack of all trades, master of none" need to get their freakin head out of whatever guide they're reading.

and before i continue my rant, i say this - play whatever character you want with whatever race/job combo you want. just know your handicap and know that some races are going to be better then you at that job, plain and simple.

also note, that this rant is mostly looking at PT configs taking on VT-IT.

that being said, an rdm is the enhancing/enfeeble master. melee sucks. i'm not talking the damage itself, i'm talking just connecting. at later levels, your B rating on sword/dagger really shines. you're LUCKY to connect against an IT once or twice a fight - IF you melee. which you won't (at high lvls).

at later lvls, the game takes you completely away from melee. no other job changes as much as the rdm does. you're going to want to focus everything you have on getting that 1:1 convert ratio - otherwise, its just MP wasted and lost.

then you're also going to want to jack up BOTH mnd and int. mnd = paralyze, slow. int = blind, gravity. those 4 enfeebles are almost always cast (the exception being blind with paladins getting flash). coupled with the fact that, yes, you CAN nuke fairly well (KNOW THE ENEMY'S WEAKNESS and magic bursts), mnd and int are equally important and much more important then melee equipment.

so to those who try to offer help about rdm's - its nice that you're trying to help, but it doesn't quite work out as "jack of all trades". at low lvls (pre lvl 41), yes, you can melee and cast magic. but post 41,

1) you're going to be SO busy that you just don't have time to get in and melee (so its a waste),
2) because of your low sword skill, your damage AND ACCURACY will absolutely suck,
3) your one swing for 10 damage just gave the mob that much more TP,
4) and being in AOE range just isn't worth the risk.

post 41, you are pure support and you are VERY good at it. enjoy.

[Altruist]

Hume rdm isn't bad at all, in a PT I have about 760mp. Not so bad, most of your enfeebles that are difficult to stick are mind based so you have an edge over taru there. Elemental skill is the same regardless of race, and that is the biggest determinant of resist rate. So for nuking, taru get a few more damage, not more than 50 though off of a level 3 elem on level 3 reneki.

The mp gap also isn't very big, you have access to rse that adds mp, and your rse stone/rope adds a lot more than a taru's. This mp gap in reallity is more like 100-120, most taru rdm don't bother with +mp gear and get +mnd gear anyway. As a hume your going to have to invest in int, mnd, and mp gear so it may be a little more expensive later on.

[Elusivellama]

One of the most important things for a RDM is the subjob. You will want a fully levelled WHM subjob to level 34, and fully levelled BLM subjob after that. No melee subjob...it makes you look like a n00b and screws your mp pool over.

You won't find yourself struggling like Elvaans, but there are times when you will wish for more mp. Don't go Taru just because you want the uber mage stats...later on in your vanadiel life, you will probably want to try another job, say a non-mage job, and you WILL regret being a Taru.

Everything will change at level 40...you get Electrum Rings, which boost your MP by 20 each, and Convert. Your convert ratio is not as efficient as a Taru's, but it doesn't need to be. With Convert, Refresh and Conserve MP from BLM subjob, I actually have a much larger MP pool than the numbers suggest, which is plenty to allow me to do my support role in a party.

Now, if you were talking about WHM or BLM, then yes, a Taru is the best, hands-down. But this concerns RDM, so race isn't really as big an issue as for WHM and BLM (except Galka, which have no business being mages unless they have millions in gil to buy uber equipment).

[AtraposBLM]

Originally posted by Elusivellama
One of the most important things for a RDM is the subjob. You will want a fully levelled WHM subjob to level 34, and fully levelled BLM subjob after that. No melee subjob...it makes you look like a n00b and screws your mp pool over.

You won't find yourself struggling like Elvaans, but there are times when you will wish for more mp. Don't go Taru just because you want the uber mage stats...later on in your vanadiel life, you will probably want to try another job, say a non-mage job, and you WILL regret being a Taru.

Everything will change at level 40...you get Electrum Rings, which boost your MP by 20 each, and Convert. Your convert ratio is not as efficient as a Taru's, but it doesn't need to be. With Convert, Refresh and Conserve MP from BLM subjob, I actually have a much larger MP pool than the numbers suggest, which is plenty to allow me to do my support role in a party.

Now, if you were talking about WHM or BLM, then yes, a Taru is the best, hands-down. But this concerns RDM, so race isn't really as big an issue as for WHM and BLM (except Galka, which have no business being mages unless they have millions in gil to buy uber equipment).

Are you kidding? lol. Rdm's burn through more MP per battle than just about any caster save blm. You have, refresh, enfeebles, and heals to worry about. Every bit of MP is important.

And your RSE may be a benefit to you in your late 20's to 30's, but a taru will STILL have a significant amount of MP over you. After 40, taru's will simply have an increasingly larger amount of mp. Why? Well, it's simple - every point of MP they have over you is in effect TWO points of mp over you, because they get that much more back from Convert. What would you rather have:

800 hp and 400 mp
or
600 hp and 600 mp.
Keep in mind that with convert, that 200 mp difference is actually *400*. That means taru's basically have YOUR ENTIRE MP POOL EXTRA, in addition to the MP that's equal to yours.

Let's put it this way:
With convert, a taru's MP pool is ~1200
with convert, your MP pool is ~800
Keep in mind that anything you do to increase your MP, a taru could do as well.


Is rdm playable as other races? Of course. Do taru's make the best rdm's? Absolutely. It's hands down in the favor of a taru. If you don't believe it...wait until you get in the upper levels and the MP difference gets wider and wider. When you get your AF, the gap will suddenly jump, because all of a sudden, taru's will be wearing just as much +mp gear as you.

As a blm, I know that when I hit 60 and all other blm's are also in full AF, my MP is somewhere close to 300 more than similiarly equipped hume/mithra.

[Discordian]

The only challenge you will have with rdm when it comes to race is galka. The rest of the challenge is decision making on how you want to go about your casting structure and how you want ot be equiped to handle your prey. Lately I'm in a situation I havn't been in for awhile... I'm getting resisted O.o, that hasn't happened much for about 60k xp.

Processioners resist Paralyze and Slow a lot, probably because they are strong against both earth and water but Gravity sticks like industrial tar.

I think most races have the early level mp woes for awhile. I noticed that I finally started feeling good about MP at about level 27 or so. The big thing is that redmage doesn't have a lot of mp compaired to other jobs so subing a melee is only crippling yourself even further. If you are only level 12 you don't have a subjob. Level blm or whm a little and when you get level 18 and unlock that sub. WHAM you will feel a HUGE difference in your character in HP, MP, and stats.

[DM337]

I'm a Hume, and I've never had a problem with my MP. I have about 560 MP with my gear and food at Lv. 52. (and I'm currently saving up for a Holy Phial and that RSE belt, so that's 50 more MP I can get) I can easily stretch that MP out over the 10 minutes until Convert Refreshes. The only time I had MP problems is when I had to keep refresh on five people and haste on two people. (that party was stressfull...)

But Tarus just make better RDMs than any other race. Right now I have a lot of item slots taken up by +MP gear. a Taru could use those slots to boost his/her MND and INT even further, giving the Taru the MP and enfeebling advantage.

Be whatever you want to be. I've gotten up to 52 as a Hume with no problem, so there's no need to change to Taru when you've already put some time into your Hume character.

[ifandbut]

Ummm......AtraposBLM....your sig says that your only a lev 8 rdm......:confused:
What exactly would you know about higher level RDMs?

Any way.......
I have found that being a elf RDM I can actualy take some dammage before I have to heal my self....when leving my whm in the dunes I would use Benadition and in 3 hits I would be dead. But at a simular level when I would use cure 2 and instantly grab arggo I could take several hits before I would get worried.

A RDM's strength lies not only in its enfeabling spells but also in its ability to cast supporitive/dammaging spells, depending on sub, while taking a few hits after pulling arggo.

[Discordian]

AtraposBLM has this pretty much on the money. He may not have played this job to a high level but he has watched others play and analyzed how it works.

Taru, Hume, Mithra, Elvaan all of these work its how you do it.

Galka works too but has a lot of hardships ahead of it. Probably good to do this with an advanced player that has both time and money already invested in Astral Rings and good equipment.

No need to get into a race vs race grudge match, those are all up at the top of the forum laid out for everyone to see. I will say my hume nature lets me solo in some places easier because I have a high amount of HP before I warp. In other times durring a frantic xp party I feel the need for more mp but then again having more mp and gaining it back are two different things. MP fills at a constant rate, your maximum MP does not change this, only your Clear Mind trait from /whm or /blm.

[Aurege]

Originally posted by ifandbut
Ummm......AtraposBLM....your sig says that your only a lev 8 rdm......:confused:
What exactly would you know about higher level RDMs?

dur. he can pt with them...

[AtraposBLM]

Do you think I somehow managed (as a blm, mind you) to go from lv41 to lv64 without partying with rdm's and noticing how they work?

Sheesh. You don't *need* first-hand experience to know how a job works. Just don't be an idiot, ask questions, and pay attention. 23 levels...Come on. Give me some credit.

[Sketch]

Play whatever you want, but if you are really concerned about being the best possible RDM, then yes, Tarus are the best. I am always able to keep my HP and MP about equal for a perfect 1:1 convert ratio. At the rate RDMs need to spend MP, keeping yourself going for the 10 minutes Convert reuse timer is the challenge. Melee is not an issue.

[Elusivellama]

Are you kidding? lol. Rdm's burn through more MP per battle than just about any caster save blm. You have, refresh, enfeebles, and heals to worry about. Every bit of MP is important.

When I can do all my duties as a RDM and convert every 10 mins to get it all back, why should I have to be a Taru? This is..

- refresh cycle
- haste on one or two melee
- backup cures
- enfeebles
- nuke on MB

With Conserve MP and frequent refreshes + constant resting, my mp bar does not deplete so quickly. It does go down faster than other mages' but I meter it out such that I'm ready to convert when I get very low on MP. My playstyle helps to compensate. If I were playing a Taru, yes, I'd do a super bang up job with all the imbalanced magic stats that they get.

But I refuse to play a munchkin just for the mage stats. Tarus appeal to some people, but not to me. I will party with them, but I won't be one.

My point is, if you're a WHM or BLM, mana is very, very important. So if you're a fulltime dedicated mage, you go Taru and live with being a low hp, low vit munchkin with a big brain.

But if you're a RDM, your mana can be very quickly replenished every 10 minutes, which reduces the importance of mana to Red Mages who squeeze every last bit of use out of their mana every 10 mins (like me). It is still important, but not as much as mana to a WHM or BLM.

Give *me* credit, I didn't play RDM to high levels without learning a thing or two about them and how to play them.

[ifandbut]

AtraposBLM, my idea of someone knowing how a job works is someone actualy playing the job for several levels. I dont claim to know how a BLM works because my BLM is only lev 4, and it was leveled by a frend who wanted to try FFXI. The same goed for WAR, BST, THF, and some what WHM even tho it is my sub.