Mithran RDM FTW?

[Aeni]

Re: Mithran RDM FTW?

I think you should split your spells (slow/para), especially if they aren't sticking and need recasts. I tried stacking them, and it's just too much hassle to recast the second spell. You also have left two macro spaces empty, perfect to use for this. Also, I thought you needed a /wait between the two spells..

No... <stnpc> freezes the command and thus you need to hit enter to progress through the rest of the macro. It cuts out the need for a /wait line, which allows you to squeeze in swap macros or condense things further.

The only reason why I don't like a separate swap macro for convert is that it becomes excessive for me and requires 3 total macros (One to swap in +mp, one to do the actual convert and the last to swap out the +mp) That to me is redundant, when you could do it cleanly in two macros. <st>s are your friends in those convert macro and with practice, you can get the timing down so that you're must faster at casting stacked spells instead of letting /wait do it for you ... not that great when you're really tired and want things done automatically, but if I was that tired, I wouldn't go out to exp in the first place...

[FortMan]

Re: Mithran RDM FTW?

A little macro trick I use is to put /recast line at the beginning, then use <stpc> or <stnpc> instead of just <t>. This way, you can

(1) See the name of the spell you will cast.

(2) See if the spell is ready or not. And if it's not ready, just hit ESC and the rest of that macro will not be executed, saving a little of time from "You are not ready to cast XXX" and unnecessary blink-out from switching gear.

[WishMaster3K]

Re: Mithran RDM FTW?

I do the same as FortMan, but not with every spell. My Refresh Macro looks like this:

/recast Refresh
/recast Convert
/ma "Refresh" <stnpc>
/equip head "Warlock's Chapeau"
/wait 17
/echo Refresh Ready

I juggle between JSE and AF in my macros, and I rarely use rings. Normal enfeeble macro is:

/ma Enfeeble <stnpc>
/equip main Stave
/equip head JSE (Mag Acc+ is better than AF Hat and other reasons i don't care to elab on)
/equip neck Enfeebling torque
/equip body AF
/equip l.ring INT or MND depending on spell

For Converting, i hit the macro I hit when I /h. That gear has my +MP and +hMP gear on it, so it' dual purpose. Then I have a convert Macro seperately, and I threw in Electrums in there just in case I don't need to hit my Rest macro.

No need to transfer gear AFTER Convert, just let your spell macros handle that. After much deliberation, I found there is no EFFECTIVE way to streamline your macro list, per se.

How I have it set up is:

List#1 - BLM Related Macros (nukes, elemental debuffs, drain, aspir)
List#2 - RDM exp Macros
List#3 -WHM Related Macros (Cures, status heals, Barspell combos, etc)

[Note: I haven't play FF11 in so long, I've forgotten my macros, so I'm just going move onto a concept I've come up with to mastering Refresh]

Refresh is a very predictable tool, and when you can effectively cast it without worrying about anything else, it makes RDM 200% easier.

Without going into technical jargon, I cast Refresh on [x]:58 (x being the time), it finishes casting on [x+1]:00, and the next Refresh can be cast around [x+1]:06. No matter what, even if we are resting cause someone is afk and I'm still around, or other circumstances, I keep up that cycle.

I do this, because looking at the clock, I can easily expect when I'll refresh next. For reference, if you u se th e above algorithm, Refresh will wear off about [x+2]:10 or something like that. But it's a few seconds I don't mind overlapping.

I found that waiting for someone's to wear before recasting was bad, because often, I'd have to choose between healing someone, dubuffing, scing or Refreshing. And depending on the situation. . . you see where this is headed. . .

Now that I can predict Refresh (so to speak), I never get caught off guard, you don't lose track of who to refresh in the midst of a hectic happening and you can divide up tasks to other things. Even if I'm refreshing 4 ppl, I can debuff and buff, and be done before the clock hits [x+1]:30, giving my 3-4 ticks of healing.

Using /clock has changed my life \(^.^)/

[locus]

Re: Mithran RDM FTW?

RDM/WHM:
I would drop #14 Curaga. It's not often that you need to cast it - just cast it off the menu. #10 Ditto for Divine Seal (can be incorporated into your Convert macro if you like using it that way).

I beg to differ. Curaga is only your "emergency wake up everybody" spell, grossly mp efficient AE cure and waking everyone from a bad AE sleep is well worth one macro slot, considering that you're actually seriously suggesting nixing it for...... Poison 2. Really, Icemage! I expected better from you. *insert frowny emoticon*

[Icemage]

Re: Mithran RDM FTW?

I should explain the Curaga thing. I keep Cure, Cure IV and Curaga at the top of my Magic list since I don't keep always macros for them, but they're always available at hand if I need to pull them out.

In XP situations, there usually aren't many cases where you're going to need Curaga for waking everyone up; since Curaga is a level 16 spell, you don't get it until level 32/16, which puts it slightly out of range of Yuhtunga/Yhoator Mandragora. That leaves what? Antican Signifers in Quicksand Caves, Korrigans in the Boyahda Tree... maybe Magic Jugs in Delkfut's Tower. I can't recall anything else that you might XP on that would cast Sleepga or use an AoE sleep attack.

As for Poison II, I'm not a huge personal fan of it, but there are a lot of people who are. Mostly I use it to burn off extra MP in a Convert cycle if I've got spare time at the start of a fight without resorting to enmity-producing nukes, and even in those cases I'll often get lazy and just throw a Blizzard II or something. I agree it's not the most amazing spell in the universe, but most any other spell you'd put in that slot will be equally situational (though I could see a case being made for using Stoneskin in that slot, come to think of it - but that could just as easily be put into the Convert macro panel too).


Icemage

[locus]

Re: Mithran RDM FTW?

The problem is you're too focused on the "wake me up" aspect of Curaga. Not many monsters do silence, petrify or paralyze, yet the corresponding naspells are important enough to occupy my macro slots.

Curaga can be a very important cure in sky merit parties or any party involving killing enemies that do large amounts of AE attacks. This includes but is not limited to:
-Weapons
-Skeletons (Scythe ones cast sleep)
-Ghosts in ranps (sleep alert)
-Flies
-Beastmen (esp. goblins)
-Taurii (Taurus demons)
-Big Birds
-Crabs etc...
The old consensus used to be that Curaga produced incredible amounts of hate, usually resulting in your death, but the advent of -enmity gear (and getting a reasonably good tank) has made this view somewhat obsolete after crow gear at level 50. As it is, it's a spell that can potentially cast a 24 mp cure 2 on 6 people for only 60 mp and only fails to be useful if it hits 2 people or fewer.

It also has the longest potential range of any of your cure spells in the event that you're fighting X monster that does annoying AE (level 5 petrify, Dread Shriek, Riddle) and you're in no mood to rangedance, or if you're bound slightly out of curing range for the main tank. (This has happened before. Hello crystal rain)

[crowly]

Re: Mithran RDM FTW?

Curaga also has a nack for being almost completely useless until end game for RDM unless you can't seem to find some bar scrolls or your silence macro.

Two big reasons are because...

A. Bards are so rare low and mid levels you'll almost always get a WHM or SMN.
B. Most low and mid level xp mobs don't have strong AoE's if any.

Goblins and flies are the only ones you'll go after often, goblins should have a PLD tank anyways, and a PLD should have a WHM. And flies...two or three small level ranges don't deserve a full time slot.(unless you have a JA besides convert macro'd)

[locus]

Re: Mithran RDM FTW?

Curaga also has a nack for being almost completely useless until end game for RDM unless you can't seem to find some bar scrolls or your silence macro.

Two big reasons are because...

A. Bards are so rare low and mid levels you'll almost always get a WHM or SMN.
B. Most low and mid level xp mobs don't have strong AoE's if any.

Goblins and flies are the only ones you'll go after often, goblins should have a PLD tank anyways, and a PLD should have a WHM. And flies...two or three small level ranges don't deserve a full time slot.(unless you have a JA besides convert macro'd)

It's not useless. Completely useless is barvirus.

You make a lot of assumptions, let me make some in return:
A:
-2/5 times, the WHM or SMN you get will suck. Also, don't expect the summoner to be able to heal everyone perfectly when their best single target heal is cure 3.
-3/5 times, parties will end up getting a BLM instead of a WHM and SMN and 4/5
of the time, this BLM will have no idea what the cure spell is.
-2/5 times, NA parties will go "ooh, let's 4 melee and 2 mage this - and btw, the other mage is a BLM"

B: Very few, huh? Starting from level 32 and ending at 65:
-Sauro/Rolan/Batallia Evil weapons
-Gustav/Zi'Tah/Bohyada Flies
-Eldieme/Gustav Skeletons
-Gustav/Kuftal/Yhoator/Terrigan/Bibiki Goblins
-VallSorrow Big Birds
-Bohyada Crabs. Heck, even Kuftal can hurt.

All these can easily do more than 90 damage with their AEs even with the appropriate barspell on. Secondly, That's more than 50% of the enemies I see when levelling to 65.

You'll want curaga for the following enemies too:
-Quicksand Caves Anticans
-Yhoator/Bohyada Mandragora

[Aeni]

Re: Mithran RDM FTW?

It's not useless. Completely useless is barvirus.

Ever leveled off of beach bunnies? OMFG I believe that has to be THE joke mob of the game. AoE that's more evil than the appropriate spell -ga for those levels and a seeming penchant for critical hits (double ... triple ... I've seen quadruples before that would lay out a Galkan PLD flat on his back in a matter of seconds in the time it takes the party to realize that the PLD is hurting)

I agree, curaga is nice, but at higher levels, you're not going to get much mileage with just *that*. Maybe DS it ... or hope the WHM got stoneskin on and full crow gear swapped in before taking the plunge with Curaga II (III = Benediction, screw that)

[nazlfrag]

Re: Mithran RDM FTW?

Thanks Icemage for the tips, and Aeni for the <stpc> tip. I've bought a pair of electrums and changed the seal macros to convert. Found a use for the fencing degen - that extra 10 mp! I'm going to put stoneskin in, found out how amazing it can be soloing the dragoon quest. The elemental enfeebles aren't all needed, but poison II is well, eh. Aspir or drain will take one of those slots. I just change my dia macro to bio if that is needed. I've ditched the sneak/invis for bar-element and bar-status. Chainspell I guess doesn't need its own slot, I'll just keep it in the solo section, aspir/drain will replace it.

Thanks WishMaster for the recast tip - I now have /recast "Convert" in my refresh. The /clock is a godsend - my refresh cycles were getting messy with 3 mages + pld. I'll probably keep Curaga - I might only use it once or twice in a session but when I do, I want it now. I think I'll put eseal in my sleep macro and dseal in the curaga one.

After much deliberation, I found there is no EFFECTIVE way to streamline your macro list, per se.

This isn't what I wanted to hear from a 75 rdm ; ; but I suppose we are so versatile, 20 macros won't ever cut it. Thanks everyone for the tips, they will definately help things run more smoothly.

[WishMaster3K]

Re: Mithran RDM FTW?

Glad at least ONE person is using my recast tip ._.

Anyway, you're fairly low in your True RDM Career, so knowing that tip this early will make the game a breeze. I started using it at like 65, and i went from 65-75 in less than a month compared to the 1+ years it took me to get to lvl 65...

And I just have a bunch of empty spaces open based on pt configuration. No need to adapt "on the fly." It's best to be prepared for what you're expected to do. Cure3, 4 and Curaga are in my list when I'm /WHM, but as /BLM I only use Cure3. Stuff like that.

[FortMan]

Re: Mithran RDM FTW?

Thanks WishMaster for the recast tip

No thanks for me? (;.; )

[WishMaster3K]

Re: Mithran RDM FTW?

lol Fort, I thank you for reminding me, which made me post, and that gave him a good suggestion

[Balfree]

Re: Mithran RDM FTW?

just adding a little nifty trick i like:

on my refresh macro:

/recast "Refresh"
/ma "Refresh" <st>
/wait 5
/echo »»»»»»» Refreshing <lastst>

What this does is let me know who i refreshed last, you know, sometimes between refreshes, you may need to dispel/haste/cure/sleep/whatever, in a pinch you might need to do many things, it's helpfull knowing who i refreshed last.
What i do is scroll up and locate the last "»»»»»»»»»" because it stands out well, and that way i never lose my track. I do the same with haste. So if your attention span is as dim as mine, there's a little tip for ya

[WishMaster3K]

Re: Mithran RDM FTW?

I changed the color of spells so that I can see when I give someone a buff, but the ">>>>>" idea is pretty good, it would make it easier to see when I've refreshed someone.