Pre-50 RDM Gear-Swapping Poll

[Icemage]

Re: Pre-50 RDM Gear-Swapping Poll

Gear-swapping is always better than not gear-swapping. How much better is always a question, and at pre-51 levels, it's not such an issue because you don't generally have spell-specific swaps.

I'd say Tarutaru RDMs can pretty much get by without gear-swaps and be fine even for Convert purposes. If you're really fast at manually swapping gears, you can do the Convert thing without a macro too (but I seriously don't recommend it, as having the macro is much, much safer).


Icemage

[Coinspinner]

Re: Pre-50 RDM Gear-Swapping Poll

Even at low level, there's a lot of easy to get gear that makes gear-swapping macros worthwhile. RDM was my first job, way back in 2003, and I was already swapping at level 16 and seeing great results.

[Hyrist]

Re: Pre-50 RDM Gear-Swapping Poll

Need gear swapping pre-50, not really.

A back line RDM can deal without equipment swaps up untill that level without difficulty.

However if a RDM is front lining then I'd be more insistent on them using swaps to suit their hybrid needs better.

The earlier on you learn how to swap, the better your overall performance will be later on as the the swapping system becomes more complex. So while it's not a necessity, it is a heavily recommended practice to get into, be you front or back line.

[Mhurron]

Re: Pre-50 RDM Gear-Swapping Poll

Need gear swapping pre-50, not really.

The reason level 50 is given is because of the elemental staves. Now the staves are targeted as where you should start because you use the staves primarily to offset the increasing amount of resists. The resists happen because at level 51 the stat growth increases.

But you've probably been fighting level 51 mobs since you were 42~44. Meaning you've had increasing resists since that time. So you should have started gear swapping around 40~43 if you want to specify a minimum.

[Esoa]

Re: Pre-50 RDM Gear-Swapping Poll

Obviously it's good if you gear-swap but needed? Hardly. Plus gear-swapping is highly over-rated. I think I started doing it when I got elemental staves at 51 but even with those I didn't notice a huge difference. Perhaps someone could link to somewhere that shows the exact change in effectiveness that, for example, +2 mnd gives. If we're talking about 5% or less then honestly who cares.

Ok here's the Slow I formula:
Slow I Effect = (100 + 0.2 * fMND + 13.68) / 100
fMND = Caster's MND - Target's MND (cap = 75)

So if we assume fMND starts at 10, then +2 mnd would change slow from 15.68% slow to 16.08% slow. That's pretty negligible. To put that amount in perspective it would take the mob 289 attacks with the weaker slow before it would attack one more time than with the stronger slow.

[Malacite]

Re: Pre-50 RDM Gear-Swapping Poll

If you can do it, sure, but I'm not holding it against anyone at the lower levels.

The only gear swaps I do @ low levels is for hhp or hmp (I am atm carrying both MND and INT rings though)

I tend to just play to my strengths. Since I'm an elvaan, I absolutely whore the +MND. MND gear + Goblin Mush Pot + Elvaan MND = some sick paralyzes and slows.

Doing 40+ dmg Banishes on my lv 10 SCH was fun too (turned quite a few heads lmao)

[Hyrist]

Re: Pre-50 RDM Gear-Swapping Poll

Now the staves are targeted as where you should start because you use the staves primarily to offset the increasing amount of resists. The resists happen because at level 51 the stat growth increases.

But you've probably been fighting level 51 mobs since you were 42~44. Meaning you've had increasing resists since that time. So you should have started gear swapping around 40~43 if you want to specify a minimum.

To counter your argument:

I took that into accounut when making my baseline statment on it.

Truth be told, monsters that are 'at' levels 51 are not that difficult to debuff. It is when the monsters themselves reach the level 60 range is when the resistance levels begin to spike greatly, which factors right about after elemental staffs become available, and only then when your are reliably combating IT mobs.

Debuffs got a helluva lot easier to land in to ToAU zones when everyone started to take down VT in quick succession. I switched my primary enfeebles back to wand because of it.

Swapping as soon as 15 is a good practice, at 30 you should be refining your technique, at 51 you gotta have it down.

[WishMaster3K]

Re: Pre-50 RDM Gear-Swapping Poll

Gear swapping is essential. Assuming that you don't need to, at any given point, is ridiculous. Take a look at this post I made at least 100 weeks ago.

Back then, and even now, I loved switching gear. And yet, there were some instances where it just wasn't good enough. Now imagine a RDM that DOESN'T switch gear on spells in comparison to me.

Some RDMs might not care about their enfeebles, but I do. Anything that'll make my enfeebles better... ANYTHING, is worth doing. Even if it is a marginal increase, if it is within my means, I'll explore its feasibility.

But that's just me. But I take my job seriously.

[Lucky and Elizabeth]

Re: Pre-50 RDM Gear-Swapping Poll

I voted yes.

But I honestly have no idea what a gear swaping macro does.

[TheGrandMom]

Re: Pre-50 RDM Gear-Swapping Poll

Your BLM must be a lower level if you don't know what gear swapping is yet. Don't worry, you'll find out soon enough sorry to say. LOL Basically it is a macro that you use to put on different gear that might help boost a spell or gear that helps you get more MP a tick while healing.

/heal on
/equip R.ear "Antivenom Earring"
/equip Legs "Baron Slops"
/equip L.ear "Borroka Earring"
/equip Main "Pluto's Staff"

(Just a for instance what a healing macro with gear swapping might look like.)

[Chveya]

Re: Pre-50 RDM Gear-Swapping Poll

Personally, I started using gear swaps on my RDM at lvl 10 with Saintly and Eremite's Rings (and Pilgrim's Wand, of course). I'm an admitted gear/stat whore, and if I can get my hands on something that will potentially increase my effectiveness, then I'm going to use it.

That said, I wouldn't tell other players that gear swaps are needed. Just like food isn't needed, hMP gear isn't needed, BRD songs aren't needed, etc etc. Obviously, these things can significantly increase party effectiveness, and equip swaps can too.

I don't deny that if I was partying with a RDM in the pre-staves levels that did not use any swaps, I'd assume that 1) they are nub and don't know about equip macros, or 2) they don't really care about their job or their performance. Fine. I'll remember that next time I see their name on the lfp list.

[Esoa]

Re: Pre-50 RDM Gear-Swapping Poll

Gear swapping is essential. Assuming that you don't need to, at any given point, is ridiculous. Take a look at this post I made at least 100 weeks ago.

Back then, and even now, I loved switching gear. And yet, there were some instances where it just wasn't good enough. Now imagine a RDM that DOESN'T switch gear on spells in comparison to me.

Some RDMs might not care about their enfeebles, but I do. Anything that'll make my enfeebles better... ANYTHING, is worth doing. Even if it is a marginal increase, if it is within my means, I'll explore its feasibility.

But that's just me. But I take my job seriously.

Good for you but that doesn't mean it's essential. The effectiveness of 5-6 extra mnd/int over a balanced set is pretty small.
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I don't deny that if I was partying with a RDM in the pre-staves levels that did not use any swaps, I'd assume that 1) they are nub and don't know about equip macros, or 2) they don't really care about their job or their performance. Fine. I'll remember that next time I see their name on the lfp list.

Or maybe it doesn't matter much. RDM have many roles in a PT and debuffing is only one of them. A minor reduction in effectiveness to something that is only a minor part of their job is not a big deal. RDM don't get PT invites for the debuffs, I can tell you that much.

[TheGrandMom]

Re: Pre-50 RDM Gear-Swapping Poll

Good for you but that doesn't mean it's essential. The effectiveness of 5-6 extra mnd/int over a balanced set is pretty small.

While I can agree that pre 50 it just isn't as important as some people seem to think, I will say that post 50 you better start to learn to do it because it does become important and make you a better player. In a good end game ls, swapping benefits the event that you are attending and makes you a more efficient, better player. Thats not elitest, thats just fact.

[Murphie]

Re: Pre-50 RDM Gear-Swapping Poll

Actually, I'd say at lower levels that the effectiveness of 5-6 extra MND/INT is a pretty big deal.

[Icemage]

Re: Pre-50 RDM Gear-Swapping Poll

Actually, I'd say at lower levels that the effectiveness of 5-6 extra MND/INT is a pretty big deal.

This is true. Not in terms of the potency of spell effects like Paralyze/Slow/nukes, but rather on resist rates. While there's a point of diminishing returns above which you aren't getting much bang for your buck, it's very, very, very hard to get to that point of diminishing returns without regular gear swaps in the early levels (elemental staves at 51 are really the first time when you can breathe a bit and back off of trying to hit the resistance soft cap).


Icemage