Gear?

[Shanuti]

Hey all..

I was just wondering...

I'm 18 Red mage, but I've no idea what sort of gear I should be aspiring to at this level. I've got a Long Sword and Yew Wand, but what sort of armour should I be getting in the next few levels?

Thanks for the help.

Shany~

[dirtyclown]

Re: Gear?

The Cotton Doublet might be a decent choice in the next few levels, along with RSE depending on race. Cotton's the set I went with at 24, but that was back in the day, no idea if there's any better sets now. Visit Somepage for all gear needs.

[Lasareth]

Re: Gear?

Get a Baron's Saio and Slops if you can afford them. Saio will last you till at least 40 in PTs unless you're a galka.

Stock up on int/mnd gear as well. Get the cheap stuff like eremite's and saintly rings till you can afford better ones, and get the +1 versions of the best INT/MND wand you can, which aren't very expensive at all.

Try to focus on mind more than int if you're looking to budget. Slow and Paralyze are your two primary MND based weapons (Blind and Gravity being the other two, but they're INT based--blind is good for NIN tanks and gravity is pretty much hit or miss) during PTs.

I used haripins till 50. The baron's hat's enmity was a complete turnoff so I never got it.

Oh, also, camp a Pilgrim's wand if you can. Its +2hMP lasts you till 51.

[Mhurron]

Re: Gear?

Depends on how you're playing. If you're already only a backline mage then robes and cloth gear is fine and you'll need INT and MND boosting gear. If you're still meleeing, then some strenght and ACC might be the way to go.
Don't sacrifice too much MND though as your most important spells are MND based, and without the Elemental Staves and Skill+ gear adding MND is the only gear based improvments you can do.
Also you might ballence gear and food effects. If you're meleeing perhaps getting MND gear and eating meat or ACC food will give you the best bonus, or you could try MND food with STR+ gear.

[Raydeus]

Re: Gear?

Before lvl 40 you need at least 3 sets of gear, MND, INT and melee stuff. After lvl 40 you need to add a MP set (if you havent already).

About wands, before level 45 or so our debuffs stick well without having to switch to wand, just need to macro all the +int/+mnd gear (which isn't much) with your spell to ensure debuffs land, but it isn't a big deal. Also at least in my opinion before lvl 41 there's no reason not to melee unless you are main healer, other than that up to lvl 40 your damage can actually help.

After lvl 41 it's another story though, specially since Refresh takes a big chunk of our MP when we first get it (even with Convert) and you gotta get used to the Refresh cycles and stuff so meleeing becomes a burden really.


Equip macros are your best friends, that's for sure, they are the difference between casting each spell with the max +INT/+MND (or Converting to max MP) instead of having to pick if you wanna use MND, INT or MP for a particular slot. But try to do the gobbie bag quests asap or you might find yourself having to pick what gear to bring to a party because you don't have enough space to carry it all.

[dirtyclown]

Re: Gear?

Um...Call me a noob, but before lvl 40 you don't need three sets of gear, that's the kind of "advice" that drives people away from the job. Ring swaps and a few miscellaneous gear swap macros will do just fine.

[Jei]

Re: Gear?

Before 40 I say just stick to MP gear. If you have gil to spare, get yourself some MND boost is good. I don't see the much need to INT gear at this point. And melee gear, you absolutely have no reason for it.

[Taskmage]

Re: Gear?

People are all over the place on the melee issue. Imo there's no reason not to do it up to level 30 or 40.

This is what I'd recommend:
Bastokan Cap (7k)
Justice Badge (2k)
Shell Earrings +1 (4k) or Bone Earrings (2k for NQ, 30k for HQ)
Priest's Robe (60k), Bone or Beetle harness if you can't afford it
Battle Gloves (20k)
Friar's Rope (15k)
Bone or Beetle Subligar (9k, 3k)
San d'Orian Boots (10k)

That's not the best equip for the level, but the better items cost so much more as to not be worth it to you if you're not already rich somehow. For rings, your priorities are mnd (Saintly/Lapis/Tranquility), int (Eremite's/Clear/Knowledge), and str (Sardonyx/Courage). Buy whatever you can afford in that order and use macros to change your rings depending on whether you're casting white magic, black magic, or meleeing. For example, in your Paralyze macro put the lines /equip L.ring "Saintly Ring" and /equip R.ring "Saintly Ring"

[Icemage]

Re: Gear?

Truth be told, the only gears that will have much of any impact on your performance pre-Convert are ones that affect MP recovery while healing (Baron's Slops, Pilgrim's Wand), add a lot of of MND (Justice Badge/Holy Phial), or those that affect Enmity (Mycophile Cuffs). MP is useful, but really is more of a psychological boost in terms of having more MP in the tank to cover for emergencies than anything special that the extra points do for you.


Icemage

[tdh]

Re: Gear?

Sadly RDM can't wear Seer's set or [http://ffxi.somepage.com/itemdb/7023]Mycophile Cuffs[/url], which really sucks.

From day one as RDM, I did everything I could to get my hands on more MP stuff, since I am Elvaan. I kept an up to date Sword, didn't much care for what shield I had on me, and then my MND and INT items for equip swaps. I had the Wand for my starting Enfeebles, and then put on the Sword and started to swing it around bit. But Taskmage's list was pretty good.

[Chveya]

Re: Gear?

I'm about to head to the dunes with my RDM11/WHM5, and I was pondering whether I should bring my Zealot's Mitts. Will the -2 INT matter at this level or not?

Here's what I have so far in the way of gear:

Weapon: Spatha and Willow Wand +1
Head: Coven Hat (the +3% HP/MP was nice for soloing, I'm considering bringing it) or Compound Eye Circlet
Neck: Justice Badge
Body: Solid Mail
Hands: Zealot's Mitts
Legs: Brais
Feet: Brass Leggings
Back: Cape (looking to get Mist Silk Cape, they are pretty cheap right now)
Earrings: Energy Earrings X2
Rings: Saintly Rings X2

With this setup (not counting attribute bonuses from wand, although I could macro in an equip switch for nukes), I have 17+10 MND and 20-2 INT. I chose the Solid Mail over a Doublet because I am a Tarutaru, and I wanted the extra DEF. I could pick up some other hand gear and INT rings if it will make a significant difference. I see myself in the role of enfeebler, and I hope to melee if pt setup allows, but perhaps I should be prepared to nuke. My main is BLM and it is just so weird to see that -INT. Thoughts, please?

[Gwynn]

Re: Gear?

I'm about to head to the dunes with my RDM11/WHM5, and I was pondering whether I should bring my Zealot's Mitts. Will the -2 INT matter at this level or not?
Here's what I have so far in the way of gear:
Weapon: Spatha and Willow Wand +1
Head: Coven Hat (the +3% HP/MP was nice for soloing, I'm considering bringing it) or Compound Eye Circlet
Neck: Justice Badge
Body: Solid Mail
Hands: Zealot's Mitts
Legs: Brais
Feet: Brass Leggings
Back: Cape (looking to get Mist Silk Cape, they are pretty cheap right now)
Earrings: Energy Earrings X2
Rings: Saintly Rings X2
With this setup (not counting attribute bonuses from wand, although I could macro in an equip switch for nukes), I have 17+10 MND and 20-2 INT. I chose the Solid Mail over a Doublet because I am a Tarutaru, and I wanted the extra DEF. I could pick up some other hand gear and INT rings if it will make a significant difference. I see myself in the role of enfeebler, and I hope to melee if pt setup allows, but perhaps I should be prepared to nuke. My main is BLM and it is just so weird to see that -INT. Thoughts, please?

You can easily avoid the -INT and still get the +MND by using a few simple /equip change macros. Just get a normal pair of gloves, Scale will do, and put /equip hands "Zealot's Mitts" for all your white magic, and /equip hands "nameofglovehere" for black magic to avoid the -INT from the Zealot's Mitts. Alternately, you can just make a +MND /equip macro with all your mind gear in it to hit before you cast white magic, and a +INT macro for black magic. Using this, you can make effective use of cheap stat boosting equipment to enhance your performance at lower levels.

[Srxjo]

Re: Gear?

use equip macro's, focuse on MND > INT > STR, you'll probably be backup healing or main healing if there no SMN or WHM looking for a party, the last thing to apect to do is melee, saying that i meleed in every pt till 41 but i mostly just fed the mob TP to attack us harder with so stick to Main Enfeebler, backup healer and backup nuker (dont nuke unless you have MP to spare in the lower lvls before Convert)

[ItazuraNhomango]

Re: Gear?

After Valkrum Dunes, you should switch focus on MP recovery and MND, like Icemage says. However, in the Dunes, it's often a trial just having enough MP to keep ill equipped tanks and party members alive through one battle in your typical random pickup groups.

Max MP is fairly important, if you ask me, should you be the main healer. While MP+ gear tend to be expensive, luckily, there are food: Rolanberry Pie adds 50 to max MP (that's two more Cure II's), and was how I survived Dunes on WHM without getting people killed too often. (Had better gear and capped healing magic by the time I was on RDM, so was able to muddle through on ginger cookies--the plague of PL'ers at the time also kinda "helped".)

That said, if you can function as sole main healer with ginger cookies instead of Rolanberry Pie, it'll be easier on your wallet and exp chains. I'd bring both to Valkrum Dunes.

If you're not the sole healer in Valkrum Dunes, ginger cookies or even INT+ pies like melon pies are better.