low level redmage tips/advice please?

[Effedup]

I've been playing RDM lately in my static, got it up to 26 a couple days ago and will be taking it out again tonight for a while, and I've got some questions concerning playing rdm...

First of all, I'm finding I'm main healing most of the time, due mainly to the fact that there is hardly any whm's out there lfg when I'm on. Now, I know that this isn't really RDM's "job", but realistically speaking, should I just assume I'm going to be main healing for a while? Of course, I have no problem picking up the slack as far as that goes even if there IS a whm in the party (be kinda dick-headed to just watch a whm struggle when things get ugly), but it does kinda suck to not be able to use my mp for things other than cure2.

As far as gear goes, what would y'all suggest? I've been pretty much splitting it down the middle, wearing some Beetle +1 stuff for the def and a few pieces here and there for MP, like Zealot's mitts, energy earrings and such. Is it better to just carry 2 complete sets of gear (mp gear and attack gear), or to mix and match like I've been doing?

Been fighting Mandy's in the jungles lately, and is it just me, or is barsleepra completely useless? I waste mp casting it over and over and it seems like we all just get slept anyways. My enhancing magic is in the 60's (can't remember exact level), so it's not terribly gimped or anything...

As for food, I've been eating Melon Pies +1 for the max MP boost; is there something out there that would better suit me as a rdm at these levels?

Thanks for any suggestions! ^^

[Kailea]

Re: low level redmage tips/advice please?

I would go all mage gear, and there is a RDM forum btw, you would get better responses in there.

[Mhurron]

Re: low level redmage tips/advice please?

If you're primarily healing, go /whm and wear what would be considered straight mage gear, you can use the MP.

Barsleepra does not prevent sleep from landing, it shortens it's duration.

And ya, this is going to get moved to the RDM forum.

[Murphie]

Re: low level redmage tips/advice please?

First of all, I'm finding I'm main healing most of the time, due mainly to the fact that there is hardly any whm's out there lfg when I'm on. Now, I know that this isn't really RDM's "job", but realistically speaking, should I just assume I'm going to be main healing for a while? Of course, I have no problem picking up the slack as far as that goes even if there IS a whm in the party (be kinda dick-headed to just watch a whm struggle when things get ugly), but it does kinda suck to not be able to use my mp for things other than cure2.

You're going to receive mixed advice here. Personally, I feel that whatever niche the party needs you to fill is one you should be prepared for. But some RDM prefer not to main heal, or prefer to only main heal, or prefer to melee, etc. It's ultimately your call to make.

As far as gear goes, what would y'all suggest? I've been pretty much splitting it down the middle, wearing some Beetle +1 stuff for the def and a few pieces here and there for MP, like Zealot's mitts, energy earrings and such. Is it better to just carry 2 complete sets of gear (mp gear and attack gear), or to mix and match like I've been doing?

I wore straight mage gear from 20 on, since I was pretty much always in a party at that point. If I was doing a bit of soloing, I had a set of melee gear waiting in my moghouse, but room was already sparse in my inventory due to my attempt to squeeze as much MND and INT into each individual cast (not to mention MP gear for resting and the start of fights). But some people carry melee gear all the time. Play around with things, and see what feels best for you.

Been fighting Mandy's in the jungles lately, and is it just me, or is barsleepra completely useless? I waste mp casting it over and over and it seems like we all just get slept anyways. My enhancing magic is in the 60's (can't remember exact level), so it's not terribly gimped or anything...

Mhurron already answered this.

As for food, I've been eating Melon Pies +1 for the max MP boost; is there something out there that would better suit me as a rdm at these levels?

What is your race? Personally, I ate Sweet Rice Cakes or Cookies almost exclusively most of my RDM career. You may prefer to stick to cookies for HMP, or use pie for the bonus MP and boost to INT, or heck, even mushrooms for the boost to MND. A lot of that is dependent upon your race, and what stats you're trying to boost with food. But Sweet Rice Cakes are a nice all around RDM food.

[Callisto]

Re: low level redmage tips/advice please?

You're going to received mixed advice here. Personally, I feel that whatever niche the party needs you to fill is one you should be prepared for. But some RDM prefer not to main heal, or prefer to only main heal, or prefer to melee, etc. It's ultimately your call to make.

Probably the best line to take away from all of this.

As far as gear goes, what would y'all suggest? I've been pretty much splitting it down the middle, wearing some Beetle +1 stuff for the def and a few pieces here and there for MP, like Zealot's mitts, energy earrings and such. Is it better to just carry 2 complete sets of gear (mp gear and attack gear), or to mix and match like I've been doing?

If you're already comfortable making equipment swap macros, then yes I'd recommend carrying around 2 sets of gear, 1 for casting and one for melee. If you want to get really fancy you could make separate INT and MND sets for the spells that they affect, but that's slightly overkilling it at this level. Especially with the newer Signet bonus you won't lose TP while resting, so it won't hurt to much to get in a few hacks here and there for skillups as long as you put your primary duties of healing and enfeebling first.

As for food, I've been eating Melon Pies +1 for the max MP boost; is there something out there that would better suit me as a rdm at these levels?

As Murphie said, this can depend on race. If you're Elvaan or Galka, I have to say go with Rolanberry Pies, they're nice and cheap, and offer a larger MP boost than melon+1, and still a slight INT boost. Hume or Mithra the Sweet Rice Cakes he mentioned are great, and for Tarus I usually recomend witchkabobs or other mushroom foods for the MND boost.

[DakAttack]

Re: low level redmage tips/advice please?

Do not stand directly behind the enemy. An awesome Thief might TA you.

[Effedup]

Re: low level redmage tips/advice please?

Thanks for all the advice everyone. I'm digging the whole meleeing mage thing, which is funny, because when I started playing I honestly thought I'd hate the job and never touched it until recently, but it's starting to grow on me. Guess I shouldn't judge a job by it's description...

I figured that there is a lot of opinions about RDM's actual role in a party, since it's such a versatile job, but no one in my ls has done anything with it really. I think I now have the highest RDM in the shell at 26 so I'll prolly be posting more questions here in the future ^^

there is a RDM forum btw, you would get better responses in there.

Yeah, sorry, I posted this right after I woke up this morning and honestly my eyes were like half open at the time. If anyone wants to move, be my guest ^^

[Aksannyi]

Re: low level redmage tips/advice please?

I was a melee RDM from 1-51 (when those damn staves took over my inventory) and I also was slow on the uptake as far as gear swapping went. I really didn't start any of that until the staves came in. RDM was my first job though and I didn't really know about the usefulness of it all.

I was wearing melee gear - including the Brigandine in the mid 40's - 58 when my Tabard came into play - almost always, with mage rings, earrings, headgear, etc. I used swords, and I never swapped them out. I found that my enfeebling didn't start taking a nosedive until right around the levels before I got that +15 from my Tabard.

Ultimately, how you play RDM is your own choice to make, but at least use a mage sub (unlike me) even from early levels. If I were to do it again (oh snap, I am! on Kujata!), I'd start the equip changing macros sooner and bring more versatile gear so that I really *could* fill any role.

Your food choice sounds fine, but if you want to upgrade and get something slightly more expensive for a bit more of a MP boost, that'd be good, too. You'll find when you get Refresh and you get really good at managing your MP that you won't really even need that extra MP boost from food.

[Effedup]

Re: low level redmage tips/advice please?

I was a melee RDM from 1-51 (when those damn staves took over my inventory) and I also was slow on the uptake as far as gear swapping went. I really didn't start any of that until the staves came in. RDM was my first job though and I didn't really know about the usefulness of it all.

I was wearing melee gear - including the Brigandine in the mid 40's - 58 when my Tabard came into play - almost always, with mage rings, earrings, headgear, etc. I used swords, and I never swapped them out. I found that my enfeebling didn't start taking a nosedive until right around the levels before I got that +15 from my Tabard.

Ultimately, how you play RDM is your own choice to make, but at least use a mage sub (unlike me) even from early levels. If I were to do it again (oh snap, I am! on Kujata!), I'd start the equip changing macros sooner and bring more versatile gear so that I really *could* fill any role.

Your food choice sounds fine, but if you want to upgrade and get something slightly more expensive for a bit more of a MP boost, that'd be good, too. You'll find when you get Refresh and you get really good at managing your MP that you won't really even need that extra MP boost from food.

I've had some equip macros set up in the past for mnk (swapping in +hp while healing gear, for instance) but honestly never thought about gear swaps for spells and such. I'll have to take a look and see what I could do there. I usually bring a staff with me for +mp in case I AM main healing, but normally I'm out with my sword and shield. I'm really really digging the En- spells, I dunno, it's just cool to hit something with a sword and electrocute it ^^

Side question...is there an easy way to skill up light and dark magic skills? I got my enhancing skill up by protecting people outside of my mog house for hours, but the offensive based skills are hard for me, because I usually end up spamming Cure2 all night ^^

[Aksannyi]

Re: low level redmage tips/advice please?

Take it from me, skilling up is a pain in the ass. You will have no trouble with Enhancing once you get Refresh and Haste, and Enfeebling should never be a problem.

For Dark, my advice is sub blm, and spam Drain and Aspir when you can. I like to use Drain after I Convert.

For Divine, I just go to Besieged and spam Banish and Banish II. Slow and painful but it's working.

For Elemental, MB when you can, and nuke when you've got the MP to (safely) do so, it will help. They will cap over time.

[ItazuraNhomango]

Re: low level redmage tips/advice please?

Now, I know that this isn't really RDM's "job", but realistically speaking, should I just assume I'm going to be main healing for a while?

I wouldn't assume "main healing only", but a RDM should always have /WHM available when needed. ^_^b

but it does kinda suck to not be able to use my mp for things other than cure2.

Nah. No matter what, you should be tossing out Dia if no one else does it. (And, make other people stop using Bio!) Paralyze and Slow, too, both help to save you from casting as many Cures. Regen is very good, especially if you are main healing.

Sounds a bit harsh, but if you're only casting Cure II, you are not being an effective main healer as RDM.

As far as gear goes, what would y'all suggest? I've been pretty much splitting it down the middle, wearing some Beetle +1 stuff for the def and a few pieces here and there for MP, like Zealot's mitts, energy earrings and such. Is it better to just carry 2 complete sets of gear (mp gear and attack gear), or to mix and match like I've been doing?

MND and hMP, should be your main focus. You should have MND+ wand, rings, and neck piece.

Highly recommend Pilgrim's Wand and Mohbwa Sash +1 (if you can afford it; NQ version if you can't) to macro in for resting, for hMP. Macro in a Yew Wand +1 instead when you cast any debuff or nuke spell.

Been fighting Mandy's in the jungles lately, and is it just me, or is barsleepra completely useless?

Don't melee mandies; you should be way in the back, waking people, and not getting slept yourself. ^_-

As for food, I've been eating Melon Pies +1 for the max MP boost; is there something out there that would better suit me as a rdm at these levels?

Ginger Cookie, Sweet Rice Cake, or Goblin Mushpot. Use Ginger Cookie if you don't have hMP gears, and Goblin Mushpot if you have all the hMP you can get and landed in a good party. Sweet Rice Cake is for everything else.

[Murphie]

Re: low level redmage tips/advice please?

I'm not sure why "Focus on MND" would be stressed over "Focus on a healthy balance of stats so that you can do all of the things that a RDM does well."

The great thing about FFXI (and RDM especially) is that if you gear yourself properly, you can focus on both.

[Mhurron]

Re: low level redmage tips/advice please?

I'm not sure why "Focus on MND" would be stressed over "Focus on a healthy balance of stats so that you can do all of the things that a RDM does well."
The great thing about FFXI (and RDM especially) is that if you gear yourself properly, you can focus on both.

Because most of RDM important spells are MND based, though through the miracle of gear swaps you can focus on all your important stats when you need them. If you find yourself mostly being invited to main heal then starting with pumping up your MND first can go a long way.

A good slow and paralyze make a healers job easier.
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Just noticed this hasn't been moved yet, mods have been slacking

[Murphie]

Re: low level redmage tips/advice please?

Because most of RDM important spells are MND based, though through the miracle of gear swaps you can focus on all your important stats when you need them. If you find yourself mostly being invited to main heal then starting with pumping up your MND first can go a long way.

A good slow and paralyze make a healers job easier.

Well, yes. I'm sure you realize that I already know this. But, as I pointed out in my first post in this thread, and you just reiterated, you can swap in gear as needed.

I'm hardly advocating skimping on the MND gear. I just think it's preferable to advise being prepared for all situations (or at least as many as possible).

[Aksannyi]

Re: low level redmage tips/advice please?

Yeah, that's about the long and short of it. I'm an INT whore myself, as I really do enjoy impressing people with my "lolrdmnukes" from time to time. But I do know when to use MND effectively, I just generally set myself up with INT for the sheer fun of it. And soloing.