Nerfing RDM's sword rating...

[Pounce]

At the risk of getting flamed to Mars and back, I will toss this idea here.

Would it be terribly bad if RDM's sword (and dagger) rating were to be reduced to say, C-, or even D?

I don't mind if you melee so long as you fulfill all your primary duties in the party. But it seems the only spell a lot of RDM can cast without having someone scream for it is............

Enthunder.

So what if RDM sword's rating was nerfed to a point that it no longer is feasible to use it in an exp party, but still viable for other things? Do you think that would result in an increase of better RDM?

[Brayden]

Re: Nerfing RDM's sword rating...

I dont think nerfing the rdm weapons ratings would help solve anything. Its the person's choice do bust out that weapon in battle if they want, and then its also up the the party members to discourage that if its out of place. Early on, Im all for RDMs hacking and slashing. But I would say that by the time a rdm leaves the Jungles its time to save that sword/dagger stuff for soloing.

[Jei]

Re: Nerfing RDM's sword rating...

I think as long as they can use sword, the Rdm that doesn't know their role will still use it. There are just lots of misleading guides out there too (check alla, most ppl said Rdm needs DEX woo) lowering sword rating will just make them hit less but not swing less.

Over all I've met more good Rdms than the bad one (well because I group mainly with JPs anyway) lowering sword rating will only hurt the good ones and not preventing the bad ones from doing what they're doing.

edit - more comments
Rdm sword rating is not bad but our stats prevent us from using it efficiently in exp PTs already IMO. You'll have to boost a lot of ACC gears to land hits at a decent rate as it is.

[Anaki]

Re: Nerfing RDM's sword rating...

i dont think ive ever seen them change a level of something and also i think that would be overall pretty bad cause rdms dont seem to melee anyway D: and if you do melee as a mage as long as you can melee and do your normal duties all is fine only diff is a tad bit of extra damage and some fun weapon skills every now and then

[fuz]

Re: Nerfing RDM's sword rating...

I believe it was C+ before it was changed to B+ a long time ago.

[Xyphere]

Re: Nerfing RDM's sword rating...

If a RDM melees in your PTs past level 30 and refuse to not melee, kick them. It's as simple as that; no need to lower the class as a whole's Sword/Dagger rating because of bad RDM.

[Raqua]

Re: Nerfing RDM's sword rating...

some times i try to whack the mob with my staff when i play as my blm lol

[TheGrandMom]

Re: Nerfing RDM's sword rating...

I've lvled rdm 4 times and on 3 of them I meleed but only until I went to Altepa around 30ish. After that it was easier for me to stand back and do my duties without the distraction. But I'll give people the benefit of the doubt that they can whack away until they get refresh. But after that, stay in the back my friend. Before I invite a rdm, I ask if they melee. No sense having to find a replacement when we get to camp.

The majority of rdm's that I pt'd with in my career on FFXI were bad 41+. (Plenty of bad ones before that too LOL ) The only thing spells they care about are the en- spells and nukes. I find it difficult to tolerate bad ones since I know how to play the job. If I'm not the pt leader, I will msg the leader and suggest getting a replacement if the rdm is bad enough. You know what the funny thing is? At least 99% of the time that I do this, they say no. I guess they feel sporatic refreshing, debuffing, and curing is ok.

[Kafeen]

Re: Nerfing RDM's sword rating...

If anything their sword rank needs to be increased and dagger decreased. Red Mages have traditionally been sword mages, FFXI although still keeping seemingly their main weapon as a Rapier from their AF weapon has given them a better skill with daggers.

RDM shoudl be capable of meleeing even if not as well as other totally melee classes but in FFXI it isn't really an option in a party. Even so, some people still do insist on it. 51+ all mages should really be using elemental staffs for their loverly bonuses, before that I'd say sticking with wands in a party is best.

I remember one party I had in Crawlers Nest, me and another RDM to also cover the role of a WHM since there was non available. All the other did was summon a Light Elemental to fight along side them (/SMN), haste themself, refresh themself, phalanx, blink, stoneskin, en-, and them melee the whole fight after which they'd have less MP than me who was covering everything for the party because they'd left their elemental out during the whole fight. Their tactics were probably very good for solo play but pretty useless in a party.

[Blood Red Poet]

Re: Nerfing RDM's sword rating...

;o RDMs can melee decently, as long they keep up with debuffs and buffs... maybe a few cures. I've seen them WS for 100-200 dmg ontop of the dmg over time... aint so bad.

[Deathguise]

Re: Nerfing RDM's sword rating...

I think it would be a really bad idea. After all I still want to be able to solo things reasonably fast without having to nuke them. ><

[Maxamillian]

Re: Nerfing RDM's sword rating...

I haven’t melee in a pt sense I got refresh however… if I ever get the bug to do it and feel I can handle my duties I will, That’s why its there (^-^)

[Kafeen]

Re: Nerfing RDM's sword rating...

;o RDMs can melee decently, as long they keep up with debuffs and buffs... maybe a few cures. I've seen them WS for 100-200 dmg ontop of the dmg over time... aint so bad.

The problem with that is that it means equipping a melee weapon and loosing any of the bonuses of staffs or wands, decreasing the effectivness of your main job.

[TheGrandMom]

Re: Nerfing RDM's sword rating...

Not all rdm's can melee and do their job. (Addressing post refresh rdms) I've seen it happen way too often. The minute the sword comes out the efficiency of the party plummets.

[Pounce]

Re: Nerfing RDM's sword rating...

The reason I proposed this is that nowadays it seems every other RDM I encounter is horrible, and the #1 reason why is because they make melee their priority.

If you can keep up with all your mage duties and still melee, by all means go ahead. But these guys can't, and they still make melee their #1 priority over everything else (refresh, dispel, healing, nuking, enfeebling, etc. etc.)

Just kicking the RDM doesn't exactly help either. Then you're faced with 4 other very angry party members (who, like Grandmom said - would rather have a subpar RDM casting sporadic Refresh and Dispels than extremely subpar exp/no exp at all). And even if you can find a replacement RDM or BRD (easier said than done), what's to guarantee that the new RDM isn't as sucky as the old one considering how many bad RDM there are?

On an side note, across various FFXI RDM forums, there's a lot of people who claim to be able to fulfill all their mage duties 100% and still melee without any detriment. However, so far I've found it interesting that I've encountered exactly one person who could actually do that, out of the hundreds (thousands?) of RDM I've partied with. Food for thought.