RDM lvl 50 -- why do I need elemental staffs?

[Dahc]

Ok i think I already know the answer to this. Of course I need them, but why are they im portant? I am a lvl 50/25 RDM/WHM I have been playing for a while but I still not sure on the need for elemental staffs. I currently have two staffs light and Ice. I know I will use them when the time comes. Does it nessecarily make me a better RDM for using them or should it matter more on my style of play and ensuring all my buffs / debuffs are hitting their mark. I like playing RDM/WHM and do not mind being main healer sometimes. I am ok with the fact that I can help a pty better being in the back of the pty. Currently my int is +11 and my mnd is +10 ---- is this enough or should i have more at this lvl. I am by far not the best RDM out there but yet to have any complaints from any pty that I join. But the fact remains that I want to be effective from 50 on.

Just asking what is the best way to stay effective while playing RDM....... Please help

[Murphie]

Re: RDM lvl 50 -- why do I need elemental staffs?

It's going to help to ensure that your spells land, and are more potent. They are the single best items for that use available to you, and passing them up would be really silly. Ice and Light are a good start, but you're going to want to get your hands on Dark and Earth at least very soon, and the rest at some point.

[Necropolis]

Re: RDM lvl 50 -- why do I need elemental staffs?

All the elemental staves have hidden effects. For NQ stave you get +10% damage/accuracy from the spells of the corresponding element. Meaning you won't get resisted as much while casting enfeebles and you'll do more damage when you nuke.

Also the stats on the staves themselves are impressive. +10% cure potency, +10 hMP, -damage, et cetera.

As far and int/mnd stats; you'll start to want to maximize certain stats for different spells. Paralyze proc rate is based on mnd, so when you cast you'll equip Ice/Aquilo's staff, and all the +MND/+Enfeebling gear you can hold. Gravity I believe is INT based, so you'll use Wind/Auster's staff and +INT/Enfeebling gear.

Gear options are fairly narrow still at 50, but as you enter into AF stages and progress to 75 there will be more and more places to add in more stat enhancing gear.

[Mhurron]

Re: RDM lvl 50 -- why do I need elemental staffs?

Elemental staves add 10% MACC (wiki calls it a 10% increase) to spells of that element. For RDM that means less resists. That means more potent enfeebles. That is why you need them. You should have Dark, Light, Wind and Ice as soon as you can and if you can, with Earth as soon as you can.

should it matter more on my style of play and ensuring all my buffs / debuffs are hitting their mark

Using the elemental staves is ensuring your enfeebles land.

Currently my int is +11 and my mnd is +10

Impossible to say without knowing all the gear you're wearing.

[Dahc]

Re: RDM lvl 50 -- why do I need elemental staffs?

Ok the elemental staffs are on top on my to get gear list. Hard with no gil coming in. I will be buying dark next. the other thing is that I am really lacking in the earring and ring area. I do have some equipped but don't think I have the right ones.

My gear breakdown is:

Fencing degen for solo
Yew wand +1
Iron scale mail
Iron Cruises
Iron finger gautlelts
Iron greives
Red Cape
Mercenary capt belt
Goshinet ring
Wisdom ring
warlock earring

** please excuse spelling **

I want to get the rose wand , I know it has higher int and mnd than my yew. And as far as my ability to do RDM job I have all my cure spells on macro as well as refresh and haste.
I have my macros set up for pty play to indiviually target each pc in the pty

Example macro

/p Casting Cure III on <p1>
/wait 1
/ma "Cure III" <p1>

these seem to work exceptionally well for me and I dont have to tab to get the spell off.

my debuff macros are

/p Casting Paralyse on <t>
/wait 1
/ma "Paralyse" <t>

and I only have to tab on F8 to get these to go off.

For the most part I rarely have a prob with my macros and when I am in the back I always keep my yew wand equiped.

I never change my equip during a fight so the equip macros will be new to me. What is the best route I should take on setting these up. Like i said I deffinately have room for improvement and I plan to learn how to be more effective before I get into another pty post lvl 50. ATm I have to lvl my WHm and BLm subs to make sure I have a capped sub for my RDM.

I have noticed during ptys in the lvl 45-50 range that I have had more resist than before and Ihate when that happens. I hope that with the staffs I will be able to stick more of my debuffs.

thanks for inputs

[Mhurron]

Re: RDM lvl 50 -- why do I need elemental staffs?

My gear breakdown is:
Fencing degen for solo
Yew wand +1
Iron scale mail
Iron Cruises
Iron finger gautlelts
Iron greives

Drop the mail and get magie gear. Anything with MP+, MND and/or INT. Leave the heavy stuff for soloing.

warlock earring

This isn't doing anything for you, it's latent is only active if RDM is your subjob.

The short of it, you're going to want more MND. Well actually more of everything really. One thing that might help is using MND foods. Personally, I use Goblin Mushpots (+10 MND)

My equip macros change the gear, then cast the spell (except my Cure Macros). So for paralyze using a Ice Staff I would:
/equip Main "Ice staff"
/ma Paralyze <stnpc>

[Ellipses]

Re: RDM lvl 50 -- why do I need elemental staffs?

Everyone is different and all that, but I'd advise against having a separate cure macro for each party member. The time you save not having to hit F1-F6 or target up/down (Tab sucks, avoid it) will eventually be eaten up by not having enough free macro spots for spells you need besides Cure. Especially with gear swap factored in; you don't have, say, Sleep on a macro because you don't have room. The last spell you cast was Cure, so your Light Staff and MND gear is equipped, and suddenly there's a link that needs slept. Digging through the magic menu means you're casting that with the wrong gear on (unless you use pure gear-swap macros and don't do it with the spell macros), in addition to the time it takes you to find the spell itself.

[Raydeus]

Re: RDM lvl 50 -- why do I need elemental staffs?

At that level you should also start working on equip macros, so you can cast MND/INT based spells with the maximum +stats possible, that will ensure very little resists. It work as well with your +MP gear to maximise your Convert ratio.

Example:

/recast "MND-based spell"
/equip main "Wand or staff"
/equip ring1 "+MND ring"
/equip hands "+MND gloves"
/equip ring2 "+MND ring"
/ma "MND-based spell" <t>, <stnpc>, etc.

Depending on if you have more pieces with +stat +skill gear you may need an extra macro for general MND/INT/MP swaps and then the specific gear like elemental staves and others on the actual spell macro (if you use the windower -which I dont- you'll have a much easier time doing this).

[Necropolis]

Re: RDM lvl 50 -- why do I need elemental staffs?

Well first let me state that in general /party lines are not needed. 5 out of 6 members of the party do not care that you're casting Paralyze/Slow/Dia/Refresh/Haste. They only care that you do your job. Only /party lines I wouldn't mind are for Dispel and Sleep. So that the party doesn't feel the need to spam 'Dispel!' 'Sleep!'; though they will anyways.

Next, you're past the stage of melee for the most part. Sell of your defense/att/acc gear if you can't afford more mage like gear. The vast majority of your parties will place you in the back line support role.

Been a while since I had a mage job in the 50s, but I'm thinking Seer's gear and Baron gear is what you'll want to look into. Just peruse anygear that has +MP/MND/INT and see what you can afford.

For macros, those are a more personal thing that work different depending on the player. For equipment swap you would do something like this:

/equip main "Wind Staff"
/equip hands "Duelist Gloves"
/equip legs "Leg gear"
/equip neck "Neck gear"
/ma Silence <t> or <stnpc> or <bt>

This will swap out your weapon, hands, legs and neck piece and then cast the spell. Personally I like <stnpc> for enfeebles so that I don't have to target the mob before hitting my macro. <bt> seems flakey at best (especially when managing links).

I like <stpc> for cures so that again I don't have to target the party member before hiting the macro. You'll find you'll goof up macros at time if the melee swap gear after you target them and before you hit the macro; since you'll lose your target.

[Raydeus]

Re: RDM lvl 50 -- why do I need elemental staffs?

It is also worth noting that Mhurron is back.

[Murphie]

Re: RDM lvl 50 -- why do I need elemental staffs?

I was trying to avoid mentioning it.

[Raydeus]

Re: RDM lvl 50 -- why do I need elemental staffs?

Like trying to ignore a Tornado coming at you.

[ItazuraNhomango]

Re: RDM lvl 50 -- why do I need elemental staffs?

/equip main "Wind Staff"
/equip hands "Duelist Gloves"
/equip legs "Leg gear"
/equip neck "Neck gear"
/ma Silence <t> or <stnpc> or <bt>

This will swap out your weapon, hands, legs and neck piece and then cast the spell. Personally I like <stnpc> for enfeebles so that I don't have to target the mob before hitting my macro. <bt> seems flakey at best (especially when managing links).

Avoid <bt> in general... >_<; There's really only one macro I'd ever use it for; a targeting macro for finding the incoming monster the puller just brought in:

/target <bt>

If I can ever find the room for it--most of the time I just type it out instead.

[Omni]

Re: RDM lvl 50 -- why do I need elemental staffs?

Yea, <bt> is a bad idea for anything that can get you aggro.

I cant mention how many times someone miss provokes the wrong mob or nukes the wrong add.

[Dahc]

Re: RDM lvl 50 -- why do I need elemental staffs?

The /p line i am going to be taking out of my macros as I have noticed it does get annoying for everyone. As far as my macros for cure, I find it is so much easier at least for me to have each cure set to the specific pc that I want to target. with my macr oset like this

/ma "cure" <p1> I can target just that player without having to use tab to select the person i am tryin to cure. It really saves on time. I also have my refresh, regen and haste set up this way.

But this was mostly posted for info on using elemental staffs effectively.
I appreciate all the post I will have to take some time to setup some equip macros. THe biggest thing I worry about is getting my debuffs to stick and as I said before I have noticed between lvl 40 and 50 Ihave had alot more resist than I would like. As a RDM I think that if you can't get debuffs to stick then what are you contributing to a pty really.

thanks for all post and info