new to game, picked RDM

[jasiones]

ok im sorta new to the game...I played YEARS ago but switched to world of warcraft (no need to flame me ) but recently got back into FFXI....so i picked a taru red mage and I am on gilgamesh (tried to post in the server forum but i couldnt get into it) so anyway i've been reading and seeing a lot of BLM and WHM talk...what level do i start getting subjobs? and where do i get it? i was thinking of leveling both BLM and RDM now so when i able to get sub jobs I can quickly use BLM as the sub....anywho i've been browsing through AH and am not sure if the +int gear you folks are talking about are sold there, or if they're quest/mission (or whatever they are called in this game) items

any response will be appreciated!

[Szkol]

Re: new to game, picked RDM

Congrats on picking RDM, I love it!

You can get your sub-job at level 18.

If you're planning on subbing BLM, then you should certainly look for some + INT gear to boost the power of your nukes. However, RDM is a very versatile job, and you'll not only be nuking, but also healing, and most importantly, enfeebling. So while you're shopping for +INT gear, also keep your eye out for +MND gear, to help your healing and certain enfeebles.

What you're looking fo should be easily available in your AH. Under Armor---> Rings:

You will find Eremite's Ring (INT + 2) and Saintly Ring (MND + 2). You should get 2 of each. Also, under Neck: you should look for Justice Badge (MND +3). And, if you can afford it, have a Yew Wand+1 for when you turn level 18 (INT+4 MND +4).

[Sereveyl]

Re: new to game, picked RDM

For Justice Badge, seriously, save yourself some gil and do the quest for it. It's fascinatingly easy. Windurst, behind some warehouses. You'll see a pack of kids, talk to their ringleader (they've all got kind of a weird Fight Club vibe to them.)

[tdh]

Re: new to game, picked RDM

When you say you can't find them at the Auction House, do you mean there are none in stock, or do you mean you couldn't find where to look?

Generally speaking there's a pretty good selection of low level items in the Auction House for the three home cities. But there are times where you might not find any of those level items in stock, since everybody sells 85% of their items in Jeuno.

You may need to make the long walk to Jeuno to get them, or have a LS member get them for you.

[jasiones]

Re: new to game, picked RDM

i think your more or lesss on the spot TDH, i dont know what to look for..i know how to look up items that are current being sold in AH, but in terms of knowing what to get i dont know! well thanks for your input i will check it out when i get on!

[Aaramis]

Re: new to game, picked RDM

Szkol has good advice, but it's not entirely realistic.

+2 rings, at least on my server, are 20,000 gil each. Buying 2 of each? That's 80,000 gil right there.
Buying the +3MND necklace? That's another 15,000 gil (and silly to buy since it's easily questable).
Yew Wand +1? Is that +1 INT/MND really worth the difference in gil?
(Yew Wand - about 3000 gil. Yew Wand +1 - about 50,000 gil. <No thanks!>).

I've recently restarted the game, and here's what I can offer for tips / tricks to get started :
- always have Signet. Farm crystals. If you like, level all jobs to 5-10 range just farming crystals. Then check the AH and sell. Prices may fluxuate, and it's not a bad idea to spend the extra 1.00 per month to make a second character solely for the purpose of watching a 2nd AH. Sell at the higher one.
- spend your money on spells first, then gear. I managed to solo all the way to 10 in my starting clothes and a Wax Sword, so I'm sure you can too.

Essentially, I'd wager the most important thing you can do is to bookmark ffxi.somepage.com and educate yourself.
There's a wealth of information there on equipment, quests, zones, mobs etc. etc. so find out what you need to buy.

Also keep in mind that alot of spells, weapons, and armor are easily purchased in the starting towns. There's also usually some extra gear in whichever town is in 1st place in the Conquest race, so be aware of that too.
You can usually buy things for *alot* cheaper on merchants than at the AH, so don't waste your gil if you don't have to.

Hope that helps.

[VonDrake]

Re: new to game, picked RDM

Hmm... Im having trouble deciding RDM or War i came back from 2 yrs ago and got a warr to 28 all i did was attack and provoke. O.o What does a RDM do lvls 1-30 (in PTs) well decision is needed! and do RDM make a decent tank when no other warrs are around? Well its either warr or RDM currently i like RDM and when do they get there first spell?

[Szkol]

Re: new to game, picked RDM

Szkol has good advice, but it's not entirely realistic.

+2 rings, at least on my server, are 20,000 gil each. Buying 2 of each? That's 80,000 gil right there.
Buying the +3MND necklace? That's another 15,000 gil (and silly to buy since it's easily questable).
Yew Wand +1? Is that +1 INT/MND really worth the difference in gil?
(Yew Wand - about 3000 gil. Yew Wand +1 - about 50,000 gil. <No thanks!>).
Hope that helps.

I suppose I neglected to mention price differences bewteen then servers. On my server, I can get 2 Saintly Rings and 2 Eremite's rings for about 20K. The Justice Badge I did not know was questable, and I was able to buy mine for much much cheaper than 15K.

The Yew Wand is the priciest and probably least needed off all the equipment listed. However, RDM excels in neither MND or INT in stats, rather he has a decent amount of each. RDM is also responsible for casting both MND-focused and INT-focused spells, so I personally feel it's important to boost both stats as much as possible. And quite honestly, RDMs make better use of the Yew Wand+1 than any other class could, because RDM relies heavily on both MND and INT whereas other mage classes rely on one or the other.

[tdh]

Re: new to game, picked RDM

What does a RDM do Lv.1 to Lv.30?

Lv.1 - 10 : Sword melee, Slow, Paralyze, Dia. You can nuke if your MP holds up:
Lv.10-20 : You may be called to main heal at some point as there don't often seem to be too many WHMs in this range when you need one. Your job will be to keep mobs Paralyzed, Slowed, Dia'd, and Blinded. You ~can~ melee at this range, however a lot of people frown upon it, and there's actually some mixed emotions on this subject from the RDM Community. You may find yourself standing in the back row with the WHM and BLM.
Lv.20-30 : You're getting to the point where meleeing is going to be too much work for you, so you're going to completely abandon it if you were still doing it. Main healing, back up healing, Paralyze, Slow, Blind, Gravity, Dia, Magic Bursting if you have the MP to work with. At Lv.25 you'll become part of the crowd control team. With Sleep, you'll be taking care of links a lot of your career.

Red Mages are usually very busy. Some equate it to "Busy work." The junk your boss makes you do when there's nothing else for you to do. Others see it as multi-tasking and enjoy the challenge.

Most jobs change at certain stages due to spells, or job abilities. For RDM they fall into this stage:

RDM14 : Cure II
RDM32 : Dispel
RDM40 : Convert
RDM41 : Refresh
RDM48 : Haste & Cure IV
RDM58 : Escape (BLM Sub job)
RDM64 : Erase (WHM Sub job)

At certain stages your invites will increase because of a new spell or ability.

[VonDrake]

Re: new to game, picked RDM

Wow I dont enjoy staying at the back too much so War for me then when i get bored RDM wooohooo... cause i find melee fun but magic to be even more fun but for me RDM would be more fun whilke meleeing and magicing well thanks alot Warr for me time

[Queen Uma]

Re: new to game, picked RDM

Lv.10-20 :You ~can~ melee at this range, however a lot of people frown upon it, and there's actually some mixed emotions on this subject from the RDM Community. You may find yourself standing in the back row with the WHM and BLM.
Lv.20-30 : You're getting to the point where meleeing is going to be too much work for you, so you're going to completely abandon it if you were still doing it.

You're kidding right? Has the perspective on a rdm's meleeing ability become so skewed that they're expected to put their swords down as soon as they start to party?

A rdm can easily continue to melee into the 30s without any difficulty casting spells, just don't waste mp on pointless things (poison on crabs/fish, nuking other than MBs, unneeded barspells* etc.). I don't want to start the whole rdm meleeing in parties debate again but seriously, pre-30 there is barely any difference in melee jobs stats and a rdm can hit just as hard as most jobs. Just remember to rest when you need mp rather than saving tp.

*I'm not saying don't buy the spells just only use them if the situation requires it.

[Icemage]

Re: new to game, picked RDM

You're kidding right? Has the perspective on a rdm's meleeing ability become so skewed that they're expected to put their swords down as soon as they start to party?

A rdm can easily continue to melee into the 30s without any difficulty casting spells, just don't waste mp on pointless things (poison on crabs/fish, nuking other than MBs, unneeded barspells* etc.). I don't want to start the whole rdm meleeing in parties debate again but seriously, pre-30 there is barely any difference in melee jobs stats and a rdm can hit just as hard as most jobs. Just remember to rest when you need mp rather than saving tp.

*I'm not saying don't buy the spells just only use them if the situation requires it.

Much as I hate to perpetuate the myth that RDM melee is good at later levels, queenuma is correct in saying that RDM melee is at least "acceptable" through the early 30s (but drops off drastically after that).

That being said, RDMs generally don't ever get invited into parties because of their sword-wielding skills, even at low levels.


Icemage

[VonDrake]

Re: new to game, picked RDM

Much as I hate to perpetuate the myth that RDM melee is good at later levels, queenuma is correct in saying that RDM melee is at least "acceptable" through the early 30s (but drops off drastically after that).

That being said, RDMs generally don't ever get invited into parties because of their sword-wielding skills, even at low levels.


Icemage

well i dont want to only melee but i want to ENTER melee while casting spells i really dont care about the melee dmg but i just wana see him swing a sword my main attention though will be doing spells :-P will they not like me for even entering melee?

[Icemage]

Re: new to game, picked RDM

well i dont want to only melee but i want to ENTER melee while casting spells i really dont care about the melee dmg but i just wana see him swing a sword my main attention though will be doing spells :-P will they not like me for even entering melee?

As I said, up through maybe about level 32, red mages swinging a sword is at least materially useful IF you keep up to date on your weaponry and other gear. After that, damage output in both damage per hit and accuracy suffers dramatically.

If you're dying to play a melee character that can cast spells, switch to Blue Mage once you open advanced jobs at level 30 instead. It sounds much more like what you want to do - swing a sword, deal good damage, and be able to cast a large variety of magic (but at the cost of large amounts of MP which you can't normally regain except by resting, or getting Refresh/Ballad/Summoner's Roll).


Icemage

[VonDrake]

Re: new to game, picked RDM

Well what i raelly want is SMN or SAM but before that i wanna do RDM i mean i dont care for melee dmg i just wanna swing it... But i will od pay attention to magic and stuff.. I did get suhnned from being a rt/mo in GW for trying to be a healer while being a rt EVIL