When we get useful

[Lamedeer]

Well, just a couple of questions for all the rdms out there.
First of all, at what level do you think we get really useful?
I'm level 19, finally almost out of the dunes, and I found rdm kind of annoying to play.
Granted this could just be the dunes making it annoying to play.
Should I push through these hard, a.k.a noob, levels or do you think if I don't like rdm now I will never like it?
Well thank you for reading, if you did, and thanks in advanced for your help.
-Lame

[Lightseeker]

Our absolute best RDM-only spells/abilities are Gravity (forgot the level) Convert (40 ability) and Refresh (41 spell). The job changes completely at that level.

The main thing to ask yourself before you continue the job is how much you like to melee. If you like meleeing, go level WAR or DRK or something. If you don't mind the idea of being a caster and standing back with the whm and the blm, then by all means keep going RDM. Post dunes, your melee as RDM starts to suck, and post 41 you will hardly EVER get a chance to do it in an exp party.

Edit: Doh! I forgot Dispel. This is why I shouldn't reply to threads before I'm caffeinated! XD

[alpha1471]

Don't forget that at level 32 you learn Dispel, which is very useful.

[Patchinko]

I think Dispel at 32 is really the level where RDM starts being unique and "useful." Up to that point, you're more invited to nuke a little and cure a little, but after that you're actually invited because of Dispel. Melee-heavy PTs will actually search for a RDM with Dispel when they intend to fight Beetles, etc.

[Zempten]

This was my path. It's a bit odd by it was how mine went.

0 - 10
Soloing

10-18
PTing in the dunes with crazy warriors who didn't know provoke.

18-20
Leveled a WAR just for the sole purpose of tanking. Yes, I was a RDM/WAR up until 20 because every single tank I had would lose aggro, provoked the wrong target or didn't provoke at all. Pathetic isn't it? I actually did a good job too. I thought of myself as a mini-PLD ^^

20-32
Back up healer, enfeebler, MBing oh and at 32 I was using dispel on Crawlers in Crawler's Nest

32-41
Backup Healer, somtimes main healer with assistant of another healer and of course a BRD. Enfeebliner. MBing. Refreshing. Converting

41-65
Backup/ Main Healer (Only with BRD), Enfeebler, MBing, Hasting, Refreshing, Sleeping adds, Escaping if needed, Converting

So that's how my life as a RDM pretty much went. If that sounds fun to you go ahead. My job became more busy after 41 if you ask me and I think at 48 ( I THINK *do not quote me on it* is when I got Haste) when I got Haste it became even busier since WHM usually didn't feel like hasting so I would do it for him/her.

[Zempten]

Forgot to mention, the above post is only the PT aspect of RDM. The soloing part of the RDM is all together different, and much more fun to me ^^

[tdh]

I dunno, I felt useful by Lv.20. I got party invites quickly, and found a lot of kick ass parties.

The Dunes is just hell. Dunes is like the Training Center. People go there to learn how to party. A lot of people from Sandy and Bastok head there right at Lv.10. They started out killing lizards and didn't really learn the hate system, or how to really build a good party. Hell, at Lv.15 a lot of people seem to think WAR are a damage dealer, and a party with 4 WARs is going to rock.

Things seem to change once you hit Qufim. Sometimes for the good, sometimes for the bad. I think I may have been fortunate that my trips through Qufim were pretty painless. Usually blasting throught the 5 levels of EXP in 3-4 hours.

You run into more problems in Kazham built parties, but by this time I was already usefull, and found parties pretty easy to find.

But Lv.32 is when I couldn't beat invites off with a stick. Some WHMs say they'll join if there's a BLM, some say they'll join if there's a RDM. At Lv.30+ WHMs seem to prefer RDMs more.

[Hopkins]

The other gripe people usually have about playing RDM is the cost. Buying armour, weapons AND spells can be costly.

I'm not saying RDM are the most expensive class etc, i dont want to get into that. But it IS more expensive than most.

Skipping over the expensive spells like Dispell etc is a bad solution too since some PT's won't touch you without it.

[Ithaqua]

not necissarily hopkins. Most melees who don't gimp thimselves are already worth more than the Red Mage. A samurai would has two snipers with almost every other melee, but it also has ochidous kote at most times. They also have the application to buy Jujitsu Gi and Haubergeon. I would list more, but with over one million gil spent they pretty much blow RDM 60 and below away. Unless you have a serket ring you can't compare. Spells arent as bad as it looks. Ive spent a little over 300k in spells, but at this Time Refresh isn't beyond expensive.

[Xaanadu]

Ive spent a little over 300k in spells

Wow. I spent almost 300k just on Dispel and Phalanx. >.>

[Sepukku]

When do we get useful, eh? Most people say 32 when we get our first RDM-exclusive "neccesity" spell, but a lot of the people on Shiva are stupid and lets RDMs melee and never cure/enfeeble....But we become an absolute neccesity at 41, so neccesary youll have enough invites to "pick and choose" which party you want to join. I dont even need a LFP flag anymore, I get 6-8 invites a day without LFPing just running around Vanadiel. Keep this as a search comment:

"[Food] [Ready!] - [<foodnamehere>]
[Signet] + [Warp] [Ready!] @ <insert-TNL>
[Dispel] [Altepa Gate Crystal] [Ready!]"

Works for me, get loads of invites, and then of course theres the "Melee-only, spells are only worth using to cure myself" RDMs who are LFPing in Rolanberry at the entrance of Crawlers Nest for hours on end because they have a bad rep (and likely an underleveled sub-and a bad sub [ex: DRK, THF] in most cases)

I got in an arguement with a 38RDM/11THF in Rolanberry at the Crawlers Nest zone. He was wearing Lizard Armor still, had no earrings, one ring (a Bastokan Ring), had no DIspel, no food, and was using the Level 19 Small Sword...

Anyways, as for costs of RDM, if you want to be good at your job, it will be a tad good bit expensive, HQ wands, a Full set of INT gear, a whole fulll different set of MND gear, an optional set of +Evasion gear for when handling adds, MP bonus gears (Astrals ><; ), the 70k Dispel, the 110k Phalanax, We have about 4-5 10k+ pre-level-42 spells (not counting Dispel and Phalanax), My food is 7k a stack and they only last 30 minutes....On good news, other than Oztroja AF1-Body, we have nice semi-easy AFs compared to other jobs ^^

[Ithaqua]

O. ok 500k . forgot about trusty phalanx

[Altruist]

O.o it's a syia... lol (you leave port jeuno? hehe)

Right now this is what I have and the costs associated
2x 54 +3int rings (my blm uses them) 120k
2x 72 +4mnd rings 120k
2x electrum rings (woot) 20k
Errant slops 10k?
Errant feet 20k?
Errant Gloves 90k?
Zenith Mitts 350k (abj cost)
Devotee's Mitts 10k
Mythic Wand 10k
Ice Staff 80k (mine 210 ;
Dark Staff 180k (mine 320 ;
Elemental Torque 300k (got for 100 ^^)
Ocean Rope 500k (got for 250 ^^)
Gold Hairpin 50k?
Crimson Mask 400k (abj cost)
Crimson Greaves 400k (abj cost)

All together spell wise I think it was about 1mil gil.

So by end game you will probably go through about 3mil gil, still cheaper than a well equipped melee, well I think samurai though would be the same since almost all end-game swords are rare/ex so it's just haubergeon + snipers + earrings etc. My gear isn't the greatest but I do have a 1:1 convert ratio with a melon pie +1, and if I sub whm I have well over 100mnd ^^.

[tdh]

Yeah, I think I counted one night, just for the hell of it... Between RDM spells, BLM spells, Ninjitsu, and DRK spells, I have like 135 spells.

And I'm missing a number of RDM Bar- spells. I think it's 10, I just haven't bought them to save gil for something else I need. But I spent 72k on Dispel, 12k for DiaII. Phalanx was 190k last I checked. Almost a month ago. (Been outta town, so haven't been able to play.)

And of course there is food. The only food I really ever buy are Pumpkin pies. I can make all the food I need for all my other jobs. Mithkabobs, Juice, and Boiled Crab. Me having leveled so many jobs, taking Cooking to almost Lv.60 was very smart and has saved me a lot of gil.

[Ithaqua]

Originally posted by Altruist
O.o it's a syia... lol (you leave port jeuno? hehe)

Right now this is what I have and the costs associated
2x 54 +3int rings (my blm uses them) 120k
2x 72 +4mnd rings 120k
2x electrum rings (woot) 20k
Errant slops 10k?
Errant feet 20k?
Errant Gloves 90k?
Zenith Mitts 350k (abj cost)
Devotee's Mitts 10k
Mythic Wand 10k
Ice Staff 80k (mine 210 ;
Dark Staff 180k (mine 320 ;
Elemental Torque 300k (got for 100 ^^)
Ocean Rope 500k (got for 250 ^^)
Gold Hairpin 50k?
Crimson Mask 400k (abj cost)
Crimson Greaves 400k (abj cost)

All together spell wise I think it was about 1mil gil.

So by end game you will probably go through about 3mil gil, still cheaper than a well equipped melee, well I think samurai though would be the same since almost all end-game swords are rare/ex so it's just haubergeon + snipers + earrings etc. My gear isn't the greatest but I do have a 1:1 convert ratio with a melon pie +1, and if I sub whm I have well over 100mnd ^^.

Of course, i had to stalk you into ffxionline.com. 2mil in equip and 1 mil in spells, eh? Lets see it this way. Haubergeon + 1 snipers amemit + 1. Oh, wait. Lets compare with Zaide. Adaman haubark ? i wonder how much that alone was. Add snipers and all those other accesorys.