A few questions for the Veterans.

[Meth]

Ok, so last night I finally hit 41 and have begun my life as a refresh cow. I have just a few questions for you more experienced RDMs out there....

1. I am an Elvaan, so I have high MND but low MP and INT. Currently I use electrum rings, would I be better served macro'ing INT and MND rings, while swapping electrums in my Convert macro? I know that sounds obvious, and I only ask because at this point I don't get resists so I don't know if it's worth the time and gil.

2. As for refresh, currently I cast refresh on me, then mages (haven't partied with a PLD yet). Some RDM friends have told me to wait until mine wears off, then restart the cycle; others have told me to try and overwrite refresh before it wears (like I would as a bard). Which method is more realistic as I grow in level?

Thanks in advance!

[nanatsu]

Re: A few questions for the Veterans.

1. Some people like to macro in INT and MND gear in to maximize the effectiveness of their enfeebles. If you're the type that likes to get every ounce of power out of your spells then try it. The effects are more noticeble at the lower levels than they are at the higher ones, so as you get higher you might find yourself relying on it less and less. But it's always good to have gear swaps to maximize your effectiveness in my opinion.

2. Just overwrite it if you need to start a refresh cycle. Then refresh the people who need it in a set order. You need to always start with yourself first so you can keep track of everyone. Once yours wears off, by the time you cast it on yourself again you'll know it's time to cast it on the next person. There are other ways to do it, but this is the easiest way and you're less likely to get bitched at by refresh hungry mages. A typical refresh cycle is You > PLD > WHM > BLM > DRK if he needs it.

[Icemage]

Re: A few questions for the Veterans.

Ok, so last night I finally hit 41 and have begun my life as a refresh cow. I have just a few questions for you more experienced RDMs out there....

1. I am an Elvaan, so I have high MND but low MP and INT. Currently I use electrum rings, would I be better served macro'ing INT and MND rings, while swapping electrums in my Convert macro? I know that sounds obvious, and I only ask because at this point I don't get resists so I don't know if it's worth the time and gil.

Saintly Ring+1s are relatively inexpensive and quite useful. Swap two of them in when casting Slow and Stoneskin at least - they'll increase the potency of both spells. No reason to have Electrum Rings on when casting spells except right after Converting.

2. As for refresh, currently I cast refresh on me, then mages (haven't partied with a PLD yet). Some RDM friends have told me to wait until mine wears off, then restart the cycle; others have told me to try and overwrite refresh before it wears (like I would as a bard). Which method is more realistic as I grow in level?

Thanks in advance!

Every RDM has a preference. Low base MP races seem to prefer the recast-when-it-wears approach since it's most efficient (you get the full return on your investment). Some people have very good sense of time and learn how to recast right as it wears, but honestly the difference in performance is minimal either way.


Icemage

[TheGrandMom]

Re: A few questions for the Veterans.

Every RDM has a preference. Low base MP races seem to prefer the recast-when-it-wears approach since it's most efficient (you get the full return on your investment). Some people have very good sense of time and learn how to recast right as it wears, but honestly the difference in performance is minimal either way.

Icemage

I agree, you'll eventually develop a "sixth sense" for when refresh is about to wear. You're brand new at this so give it some time. Or you can get yourself a cheap kitchen timer and use that to let you know when approx. the refresh chain is going to need to be started again. But in the end, you'll use it less and less because it will just become habit.

[Aeni]

Re: A few questions for the Veterans.

Saintly Ring+1s are relatively inexpensive and quite useful. Swap two of them in when casting Slow and Stoneskin at least - they'll increase the potency of both spells. No reason to have Electrum Rings on when casting spells except right after Converting.



Every RDM has a preference. Low base MP races seem to prefer the recast-when-it-wears approach since it's most efficient (you get the full return on your investment). Some people have very good sense of time and learn how to recast right as it wears, but honestly the difference in performance is minimal either way.


Icemage

Yes, I agree with this. In some situations, you cannot actively monitor the refresh clock, so you try to "guessimate" and make sure the people that needs to really be refreshed are (Like PLD in a drawn out fight)

[Jei]

Re: A few questions for the Veterans.

I start the cycle on myself, and recast when I see the wear off effects too. Usually I am too busy casting other stuffs to time my refresh, even with a stop watch I doubt I'll get to look at it that much

When I was lower level, inventory space was quite crucial so I tried to minimize the gear I had to carry. So I didn't start carrying any MND or INT gear until much later on. up until ~60 I only tried to keep my HP : MP as close as I can with both gears and pies. Using pies will give you more equipment slots to put on MND gear without having to switch out MP gears.

[Kristine]

Re: A few questions for the Veterans.

For about 20 levels of RDM I kept one electrum/astral (after I afforded to upgrade)... and used the other ring slot for an INT ring (had a lot of MND in other slots, namely Promise Badge), since I didn't find 3 more MND in that slot necessary due to being elvaan... then used that slot for another MP ring during convert. Unless my party was super power killing (ie the days before RNG nerf), I didn't have resist issues with the setup I had.

As for my refresh cycle... I always start on myself, go to PLD>WHM>BLM>Whatever in that order every time, sometimes swapping haste as needed. I always wait till it wears off on myself so I know when it's time to recast... primarily because I can't remember when the spell will wear off (even after two years of playing the job, I just suck at that >.>.

[Taskmage]

Re: A few questions for the Veterans.

I used to go with the recast when it wears approach. That is definately the easiest to get a handle on. Not too long ago I learned that Refresh wears off almost exactly one Vana'diel hour after being cast, so I started noting the time on the in-game clock when I cast Refresh, and then I would start the next cycle just before that, so Refresh fade in the middle of my cast and then get immediately replaced. As others have said, though, the difference is very minimal, but I'm happy with my technique.

[Patchinko]

Re: A few questions for the Veterans.

I used to go with the recast when it wears approach. That is definately the easiest to get a handle on. Not too long ago I learned that Refresh wears off almost exactly one Vana'diel hour after being cast, so I started noting the time on the in-game clock when I cast Refresh, and then I would start the next cycle just before that, so Refresh fade in the middle of my cast and then get immediately replaced. As others have said, though, the difference is very minimal, but I'm happy with my technique.

Yes, this is the trick I used to use and it works very well.＾＾ Watch the clock!

[Aeni]

Re: A few questions for the Veterans.

I used to go with the recast when it wears approach. That is definately the easiest to get a handle on. Not too long ago I learned that Refresh wears off almost exactly one Vana'diel hour after being cast, so I started noting the time on the in-game clock when I cast Refresh, and then I would start the next cycle just before that, so Refresh fade in the middle of my cast and then get immediately replaced. As others have said, though, the difference is very minimal, but I'm happy with my technique.

I can do that as well, but honestly, in a sticky situation, it's almost difficult to pull this off 100% of the time. Thus, I usually try the sensible approach of who's important. Sometimes I can change the order of my cycle on the fly, depending on the situation.

I rarely start off with PLD as 2nd after myself in a cycle, unless the PLD is acting as a semi-mainhealer (In only one PT this happened and she was a damn good PLD for backing me up on healing duties so I *had* to place her 2nd in refresh cycle and priority over the BLM in the PT)

[Jei]

Re: A few questions for the Veterans.

I think refreshing the pld sooner is a good idea. They can't function without MP and can't sit whenever they want to. So whether they're using it or not, I just keep them refreshed.

[Nyru]

Re: A few questions for the Veterans.

Good suggestions here

The only thing I would want to add is about the changing of equipment mentioned. You will find as you get into different lvls with new mobs, your resist rate will change.

Please don't get rid of any old rings/earrings configurations because you are done with them. I made the mistake of selling off some older gear thinking I was "past that stage," only to re-purchase them later

I prefer to have more MP, but I carry extra enfeeb enhancing gear in case I run into trouble in that area.

[Meth]

Re: A few questions for the Veterans.

Once again thanks for the responses. I still have my INT and MND rings hady, so I'll take the advice and macro them in.

[Aeni]

Re: A few questions for the Veterans.

I think refreshing the pld sooner is a good idea. They can't function without MP and can't sit whenever they want to. So whether they're using it or not, I just keep them refreshed.

I disagree. That's what the new auto-refresh is there for. If the PLD isn't using the MP, trust me, auto-refresh more than makes up for the sometime-usage and I get to keep my 40 mp instead of having 100+ mp (potential) go to waste...

[Lilani]

Re: A few questions for the Veterans.

Ok, so last night I finally hit 41 and have begun my life as a refresh cow. I have just a few questions for you more experienced RDMs out there....

1. I am an Elvaan, so I have high MND but low MP and INT. Currently I use electrum rings, would I be better served macro'ing INT and MND rings, while swapping electrums in my Convert macro? I know that sounds obvious, and I only ask because at this point I don't get resists so I don't know if it's worth the time and gil.

2. As for refresh, currently I cast refresh on me, then mages (haven't partied with a PLD yet). Some RDM friends have told me to wait until mine wears off, then restart the cycle; others have told me to try and overwrite refresh before it wears (like I would as a bard). Which method is more realistic as I grow in level?

Thanks in advance!

1. Only problem is that if you swap in your electrums right before convert it's +40 MP right? Well, you convert, heal, and then you change them out and all of the sudden you're down 40 MP again. Unless your cure uses more than 40 MP it's really not worth the effort. I suggest that you have those electrums on all the time, so that when you level up or recover MP you have the most at all times. And for your INT and MND, get earrings or other gear that enhances your INT (and maybe MND too). Remember: Magic Chuises (sp?) level 48 leg gear, +3 INT and MND.

And melon pies will be your friend too, they boost INT and MP.

2. My refresh cycle goes me > PLD > WHM > SMN > BLM > DRK (only when they need it). BLU, however, is a special case. Put BLU wherever in the cycle they are covering for. Like today I had a party and our BLU was the healer. In the beginning I went me > PLD > BLU, but I noticed he was wearing a vermy cloak. I asked him if I could just not refresh him and he said it was ok.

As for overwriting it before it wears...just go tell them to get RDM to 50 or so and see if they can handle it. As you go up in levels and gain new responsibilities (haste and erase if you sub WHM level 64+) you simply won't be able to remember exactly when you first casted it. So just be alert and make sure you notice when yours wears and you'll be fine. I've never had a party expect me to know *exactly* when mine was going to wear and know *exactly* when to recast. And if I did I would disband+warp on the spot.