As a Rdm

[Ciecle]

As a lvl 33 Rdm i need to know what spells i need to have?
what is the main thing a Rdm does i get so many conflicting ideas of what they do. If i back up heal people want me to debuff and if i debuff then people want me heal >.< which one am i supose to skill if i am doing all of them?

[Mhurron]

Re: As a Rdm

You need to have all your spells.

RDM does what is needed.

[Timian]

Re: As a Rdm

You're supposed to have all your spells. No exceptions really...

As for backup healing or debuffing - you're supposed to be doing both at the same time, as well as buff once you get Haste and Refresh...

[Aksannyi]

Re: As a Rdm

Most of the time you should know what you're going to be doing in a party before you even start. Chances are, if there's no WHM, you're main healing. Along with that, though, I would try to at least throw a few of your debuffs in there. Dia (I or II), Paralyze, and Slow are your most important ones but depending on what you are fighting that might change.

You should have all the spells for your level. Dispel is expensive but it's so important. You can get it cheaper in Rabao than at the AH usually.

If there is a WHM in the party, you should concentrate on your enfeebles first, but keep an eye on the HP of party members so that if one suddely dips below orange, you can help your WHM cure. There's no need for you to overwrite the WHM's ability to cure when you've got your own set of spells to use.

33 is a difficult level. I was still meleeing at that point, and a lot of parties won't mind this as long as the mob doesn't have some crazy AoE attack. I also did a bit of nuking and MB'ing along with everything else.

RDM is very situational. If you are feeling like you don't know what your role is, ask. They won't think you're a noob. I was in a party last night - and I'm 71 - where I said, "{Haste}, {Enfeebling Magic}, {Refresh} ok?" Because there was only one other healer in the party and that was a Summoner. I want to make sure they don't expect me to do all that AND main heal, BEFORE we get started. And everything went smoothly. The Summoner was the healer with a bit of Fenrir DD, and I became Refresh/Haste whore. (I kind of hate Hasting but it happens.)

You should try to keep all of your skills as high as possible, except for Divine. You won't get a chance to use it much as RDM and it's not necessary if you're a career RDM. There will be times when you are just debuffing, times when you are debuffing and buffing, times when you are healing, times when you are not the only RDM and you're the main nuker. I've done all these things. Try to keep your skills up if you can. It gets challenging, but it's fun. RDM is the most fun job I've played, and while it's the only one I've played at this level I still love it.

I hope that answered some of your questions.

[Draconi]

Re: As a Rdm

Enfeebling Magic should pretty much stay capped through normal partying.

Healing and Enhancing Magic should see some skill-up through normal partying, but will not necessarily get capped. They can be capped outside of parties by casting on yourself and/or others.

Elemental magic will see some skill-up in parties, but may not be capped. If you sub BLM, you can also use the elemental debuffs to help skill-up elemental magic. If it's not staying capped through partying, it can be capped on solo mobs.

Your parties will probably prefer Dia over Bio, so you might not see alot of Dark skill-up in parties. But you can skill up Dark Magic by casting Bio and Drain on solo mobs. Find the easiest mobs you can still get skill-up on, then Bind and Gravity them and spam Bio. You can use this same technique, using Banish to skill up Divine Magic.

Once you get to where you can take part in Beseiged, use that to quickly cap any skills that are lagging. Just be sure the mobs you are casting on have some prior damage so you don't draw the initial enmity. I never had all of my skills capped until I started doing Beseiged.

[Srxjo]

Re: As a Rdm

long answer short Enfeebling, Meleeing, Debuffing, Buffing and Nuking
there is a time and a place for all your skill cept divine do what you PT needs it's fine as a RDM at any lvl what they want you to do as we do so much it's insane and they know that you are looking to find out you basic duty for that PT

[Jei]

Re: As a Rdm

Actually, you can skip Phalanx. bar~ spells are not that important either but they're pretty cheap.
But make sure you have all other spells. Critically, all cure, all debuff, all protect and shells, and above all, dispel.

[nanatsu]

Re: As a Rdm

Honestly you're supposed to be doing whatever you can do. If someone loses HP and you don't have a main healer or your main healer is unable to handle it, toss a cure spell. if a monster does not have paralyze, slow, blind, or dia on them, then cast it. If a monster buffs itself, dispel it. If a monster is almost dead but your blm is out of mp and your melees can't seem to kill it, then nuke the hell out of it.

Don't worry about skilling up. Worry about doing your job correctly. You won't be able to cap your magic all the time, but later on it will cap naturally. You should be doing whatever is needed at any given moment while trying your best to conserve your mp so it will last. Don't worry, you'll get the hang of things. Just remember that your enfeebles are important. Your healing is important also. Your nuking power isn't as important but can be useful at times. Be prepared to use all of your magic skills during the course of an exp session.

I just wouldn't advise trying to melee. People tend to look down on meleeing rdms.

[BurningPanther]

Re: As a Rdm

/ja "Devil's Avocate" <me>

I disagree with Jei. Do not under any circumstances skip Phalanx. It has a frustratingly short duration, but it's a potent spell. Even better when paired with Stoneskin and Protect.
I used to wonder at the worth of Bar-spells, but I don't any longer. Casting the proper Bar-spell on yourself while solo before a mob attacks can be about as useful as having Phalanx and Stoneskin, and having the right Bar-spell is great when the WHM runs up to the Goblin or Pugil-fighting melees and throws out a Bar-AoE, and the other backliners end up missing it. If in the even said mob gets too close and does an AoE attack, the Bar-spell you cast against it could mean the difference between your survival and a dirt nap.
Case in point, I was in Dynamis this past Wednesday, where we were holding the SMN NM's avatar(Leviathan) while the NM was being killed. A Sleep was missed, the avatar woke up, the NM used Astral Flow, and suddenly the avatar was throwing out multiple Tidal Waves. In the end, I was one of three left standing, thanks in part to Phalanx, Stoneskin, and Barwater. I went on to Sleep the NM and help save the day with some nuke kiting with the remaining BLMS.

In short, Phalanx and Bar-spells have a well deserved place. Collect 'em all.

And I kind of disagree with Nanatsu. While it is very true that RDM melee is looked down upon(sometimes with good reason), it's also representative of a rather stagnant mindset that limits a RDM's potential. Granted, as your levels progress, you will find less and less time to draw a sword(constantly switching out staves and wands does that to you in addition to a growing casting responsibility), that doesn't mean you should simply stick to the mold. There can be proper venues for meleeing in exp parties, you just have to know them when you see them, and proceed tactfully.

It's not that "RDM shouldn't melee," it's more like "RDM should know when it's alright to melee."