Babysitting a Rdm is hardwork

Vahn

Vahn

Treasure Hunter
Adventurer
Joined
Jul 9, 2005
Messages
159
Age
39
Location
Crossville TN
Lets start this off by saying its been TOO long since I've played this game. Growing close to 8 monthes now. But when a friend of mine from Ifrit server asked if I would "babysit" her Rdm for a couple weeks while she was on vacation I jumped at the offer. So I went out and got a copy of ToAU and reinstalled the game with the new expansion. After hours of waiting, I told my friend that I could handle babysitting and she should have a very nice vacation. A conversation occured shortly before she left that went a little like this:

Her- Static is on Tuesday night.
Me- Wait, I didn't think I was going to have to level. Little crafting and a little farming maybe, but I didn't think I was going to have to level. I've never had Rdm passed 18...
Her- Thats fine, They're all my friends and people you know so just give it a try. If it doesn't work out that's fine, I'm already a level ahead of them all anyway. Plus, you only have to do it once. Next Tuesday is an LS event.
Me- Fine, I'll at least give it a try.

So needless to say I'm a bit hmmm scared. I played FFXI for a long time, but never got a job passed 40. I just didn't like to level. Socialize, craft, little things sure but I wasn't a big fan of leveling. So my question is, What are my big priorities? (For future reference pty setup is: Nin, Thf, Blu, Whm, Rdm, Blm. And I have no clue where we'll be leveling.) I know refresh is one, but who the heck do I refresh and in what order? My first thought is Whm, Me, Blu, Blm but I'm really not sure. Also when should I worry about convert? And which enfeebles should I worry about? Edit: Whm sub is fully leveled and available to me if needed.

I'm sortof at a loss here, I'd imagine I could wing the static but I'd rather not screw it up for everyone. So I turn to the QCDNers for help. Any advice is good advice. Thanks in advance guys.
 
Last edited:
Make sure to haste the nin. You can refresh yourself first, then the whm, blu. and blm. Remember convert can only be used every 10 mins so try not to use up too much mp. You'll be back up healer since you have a whm.

What lvl is this static pty range btw? Around 55-70? You can use convert when you get a bit below 100 mp if it seems fine to use it. You may want to keep stoneskin on yourself at all times if possible too. When you convert you can use job ability divine seal and Cure IV or whatever highest cure you have to pretty much fully cure yourself.

Since you have a nin you shouldn't really have to worry about paralyze, slow, and blind so much, but you can cast them just in case the nin's tools resist.

Gravity, dia II or bio II are helpful too. Rdm isn't too hard once you get the hang of it and get a setup going nonstop. Mind you, at higher lvls, especially in the static and I'm sure the static your friend is in, the ptys pull faster and it's almost non-stop, and it can last for hours sometimes, and take so much more longer to get a lvl.

Like you said though, it's close people so it should be alright, you can even ask them if you have questions or concerns and they can probably help you out with advice as you go along.
 
Refreshing yourself first is good, cause that refresh icon disappearing off your screen is a big hint that it's time to start the next cycle. Your refresh order seems fine otherwise.

Enfeebles - Gravity and Dia II speed fights up, Blind, Paralyse and Slow mean mobs do less damage. As many as possible is good, and particularly keep slow on with a NIN tank.

Converting, try to plan on making your MP go at least 10 minutes, and convert with your tank off your radar when you run out of MP after that.

If you go /WHM ask your WHM which status effects the mobs will give (chances are they'll know) and ask the WHM who they'd like you to haste (WHMs like that).

Dispel anything the mob buffs itself with, backup cure, and balance a few plates on your nose, and you should be fine ^^
 
Refresh - Yourself, Whm, Blu, Blm/Or whm first though I always get myself before anyone else. I tend to refresh myself before the pull, whm or tank when puller announced they've pulled, then anyone else when refresh is up.

Enfeebles - Dia, Paralyze, Gravity, Slow, Poison, Blind, Silence on spell casting mobs. Think that might be it though I may be missing some haven't leveled rdm in a while.

Haste - Nin first then Thf. ALWAYS keep the nin hasted it cuts back on utsu spell timers. Though the whm might cover this but it's always good to know incase you need to haste one or both of them.

Have sleep 2 macroed in case of links, /ma "Sleep II" <stnpc> This will let you move target around to all none player characters around you.

Do NOT put Dia or any other DoT spells as <bt> Incase you have a slept mob it will hit that not the mob you're fighting and you don't want to wake a link.

Have a cure or two macroed always to help in back up healing if needed. Try to keep everyone refreshed and hasted for every fight.

When you're doing your refreshes, hastes, and enfeebles, switch between spells while waiting for timers. I tend to refresh, haste, dia, paralyze, refresh haste, slow, blind, refresh, etc. Instead of doing all your enfeebles at once. Do the one most beneficial to your party first and keep your refresh order and haste order going. Watch for when they wear off and recast them.

Dispel all mob buffs.

Convert when your timer is up if you need to. Make sure to keep an eye on your mp and make it last 10 minutes. I don't tend to run out of range when I convert, as the places I camp if I do that I'll get aggro, so I convert after a fight is over. If you have whm sub, convert + Divine Seal Cure IV should nearly fully heal you.

That's about all I can think of. I'm tired atm so I hope this helps some. It's not too hard to learn but can seem like it if you've never done it.
 
Last edited:
Vahn said:
I know refresh is one, but who the heck do I refresh and in what order? My first thought is Whm, Me, Blu, Blm but I'm really not sure. Also when should I worry about convert? And which enfeebles should I worry about? Edit: Whm sub is fully leveled and available to me if needed.
Click to expand...

You seem to understand that your Refresh Cycle is basically your very heartbeat, your pulse, as a Red Mage. That's good. To clear up confusion:


1) First of all, in terms of Refresh order, YOU are always the first. The reason for this is two-fold: One, it serves as an excellent timer for the remainder of your Refresh cycle. When it wears off on you, you'll know exactly when the next one is due to start, and won't have to deal with a lot of scrolling text in order to find out when it wore off on someone else.

Second, especially in a party as refresh-heavy as the one you're entering, casting the damned thing four times is actually going to be quite an MP investment. You want to start regenerating it ASAP.

Once you get that down, you're 25% there.

If you're still troubled about order, I can give you a general list of priorities as the majority of Red Mages see it:

PEOPLE THAT NEED TO BE REFRESHED EVERY CYCLE, IN ORDER --

a. You (Always, always, ALWAYS).
b. Paladins, if you have one.
c. White Mages (or the main healer).
d. Summoners.
e. Black Mages. (Yes, EVERY cycle. Some RDMs fight this one, but it is needed).
f. Blue Mages.

PEOPLE THAT NEED TO BE REFRESHED ONCE EVERY CYCLE, OR LESS --

a. Dark Knights.
b. Bards (all the competent ones sub white mage).



2) You're going to be hasting, as well, but try to make the white mage understand that you expect him/her to split that particular duty with you. I static with a white mage myself who understands this very well, but before that static was arranged, I encounted many GOOD white mages who would take care of all hasting themselves, without even asking me if I wanted to share ... and many BAD white mages who wouldn't even be bothered with the thought of casting Haste even if someone else was the spell wasn't in the party at all. If it's a static, though, I'm betting you'll have a very competent one.

The Ninja, Thief, and Blue Mage are the ones that will be getting haste, primarily. The blue mage may or may not need it, depending on which spells they've equipped themselves with. As always, the tank comes first. The others, well, the order is up to you.



3) Your third tier of main duties would be your enfeebling. Depending on the style of the Ninja that you're going to static with, they may take quite a few of the debuffs that you may want to cast, or almost none. Regardless, two things you're always going to be casting are Dia and Gravity (only rarely are you going to want to go with Bio). Watch (or ask) the Ninja to learn what Ninjutsus he/she is going to do, and decide what else needs to be cast from there.

It's important to note that enfeebling doesn't just include a set order of spells at the beginning of every fight, but also encompasses dispelling enemy buffs AS SOON AS POSSIBLE after they use them, and doing what you can (sleep and stoneskin, primarily) to control adds.


4) Expect to back-up heal for the white mage. You should already know how to do that; watch for orange or reds, watch his/her MP, fill in where needed, but don't step on his/her toes.


5) Finally, you'll need to get your timing down. Particularly in the middle of a Refresh cycle, an intimate knowledge of the cast time of your spells is probably going to develop. The standard estimate given for activity in the middle of your cyle is as follows:

a. Refresh
b. One debuff, heal, nuke, or haste
c. One debuff, heal, nuke, or haste
d. Refresh

That is to say, you'll generally have time for two spells on average in between castings of Refresh. Don't just sit idly while waiting for the timer to come back up. Here's an example of a standard beginning of a fight, for me:


1) Refresh me.
2) Cast Haste on tank.
3) Cast Dia II on pulled mob.
4) Refresh paladin.
5) Cast Haste on first DD.
6) Cast Gravity on pulled mob.
7) Refresh White Mage.
8 ) Cast Slow on pulled mob.


And so forth. You've got a Ninja, and your situation may vary, but that's just to give you a vague idea of the kind of rhythm to shoot for. It's important to note that you'll be expected to begin a refresh cycle whenever it wears off ... don't wait for a fight ... be prepared for it. I used the above example merely as convenience.

Once you get your timing down, you'll be able to balance everything at once, while making magic bursts, back-up healing, and crowd-controlling left and right.


Finally, Convert as needed ... when you run out of MP. That's the most basic answer I can give.




Hope I helped. ^_^
 
Last edited:
at this point the OP person thinking "what the hell did I get myself into"

It really not as hard as they make it out to be. First off they already got a decent static going so all you have to do is ask what there tatics are.

Ask the whm which people does she/he haste and which does rdm normally haste. Also dia and gravity are 2 enfev that are a must. Most likely paralyze as well, because most ninja use slow and blind (there stronger then rdms.)

watch out for mobs that cast def up and evasion up bettles and crabs are the biggies, make sure to dispell there buffs.

that all you will have to know and should get you though a one night exp party
 
coming from a "NON" red mage player, this actually sounds like fun and not as grueling as i imagined RM to be, i only got mine to 18, some years ago lol. i imagine RM is in demand as far as parties go, is this job very expensive? what are the harder spells to get a hold of? what are the end game benefits? is it a good solo job for taru? sorry but inquiring minds wanna know.
 
I found RDM very cheap to lvl and no spell is really hard to get hold of since most are sold from NPC's or easy drops from popular BCNMs.

I only have my RDM to lvl 54 so far and the most expencive things i've needed are the lvl 51 element staffs.

I can't really give good advice on soloing as a RDM but a good friend of mine solo'd a few prime avatars as RDM/NIN (Taru).
 
mysticalone said:
coming from a "NON" red mage player, this actually sounds like fun and not as grueling as i imagined RM to be, i only got mine to 18, some years ago lol. i imagine RM is in demand as far as parties go, is this job very expensive? what are the harder spells to get a hold of? what are the end game benefits? is it a good solo job for taru? sorry but inquiring minds wanna know.
Click to expand...

Q: is the job expensive?
A: It not very expensive. It depends how you want to play. You have very little expences till about 60ish.

Q: what spells hard to get ahold of?
A: None of them. There all cheap. Might have a weee bit of trouble finding a dispel scroll but that about it.

Q: Are they in demand?
A: Very. Play many diffent type of parties to. Cannons, mana burns, pld or nin partys.

Q:what are the end game benifits?
A: Well red mages are in the top 3 jobs most needed for endgame. In dynamis you are primary sleeper and backup healer.
In Sky/hnms/sea you are a healer, refresher, A sleeper, A gravityer, and even a stun gunner(need drk sub)

Q:Is it good solo job for taru.
A: Only the best solo job in the game. Not in exp but when it come to nm, and at surviving rdm are the best.


RDM is fun job though around 50-65 it become a very grueling job then around 70+ it become a blast agian.
 
Redx said:
I found RDM very cheap to lvl and no spell is really hard to get hold of since most are sold from NPC's or easy drops from popular BCNMs.

I only have my RDM to lvl 54 so far and the most expencive things i've needed are the lvl 51 element staffs.

I can't really give good advice on soloing as a RDM but a good friend of mine solo'd a few prime avatars as RDM/NIN (Taru).
Click to expand...

Yeah, rdm isn't expensive. I solo'd all Prime avatars one or a few times as tarutaru rdm/nin (Except fenrir of course) It's a little longer, 15-20 mins for me since I'm not a very strong DD, but it can be done. >.<

I forgot to mention dispel in my first post here :P lol, silly me, but everyone else pretty much covered the same thing I did, except some in more detail. It isn't really hard at all, I'm sure in the first half an hour or hour you'll get the hang of it. It'll be a lot easier on you too since you have a rdm too, but you'll just have to keep yourself busy keeping refresh and haste up.

RDM can be a busy job, I know while I was getting rdm up to 75, almost all the time I'd be busy doing something in the pty. Oh, and if you really want to, you can throw in a nuke MB here and there to a SC if you get a chance. Just ask which element SC it is, and cast the highest tier of that element after watching the second WS in the SC go off, but it's the blm's job to MB either way.
 
well ???? all the good advice is given=/

keep multiple types of food on you

1 for mp recovery(cookies)
2 int(pies)
3mp(roast mushroom)

everyone pretty much covered it
 
-Pull your sword out as soon as possible
-make sure you get into the mobs face as soon as possible and melee the hell out of it, with the appropriate en-spell
-Use your largest nukes whenever possible, you want to do the maximum amount of damage because you are the badass redmage
-Don't waste time with enfeebles
-use the largest cure spell you have available, rather than wasting time casting the smaller spells
-refresh yourself and only refresh others if you have the time, or if they grovel and beg at your feet.
-EAt a mithkabob
-If you fuck up blame everybody else then warp out
-CAst slow and paralyze once, don't waste time casting stupid stuff like this when you can nuke
-Use -ga spells whenever possible because they do more damage
-cast phalanx and stoneskin on yourself every chance you get
-Use convert as soon as the timer is up so that your timer will reset sooner
-Don't waste time with stuff like haste when you could be nuking
 
Darkdante said:
-Pull your sword out as soon as possible
-make sure you get into the mobs face as soon as possible and melee the hell out of it, with the appropriate en-spell
-Use your largest nukes whenever possible, you want to do the maximum amount of damage because you are the badass redmage
-Don't waste time with enfeebles
-use the largest cure spell you have available, rather than wasting time casting the smaller spells
-refresh yourself and only refresh others if you have the time, or if they grovel and beg at your feet.
-EAt a mithkabob
-If you fuck up blame everybody else then warp out
-CAst slow and paralyze once, don't waste time casting stupid stuff like this when you can nuke
-Use -ga spells whenever possible because they do more damage
-cast phalanx and stoneskin on yourself every chance you get
-Use convert as soon as the timer is up so that your timer will reset sooner
-Don't waste time with stuff like haste when you could be nuking
Click to expand...
my kind of rdm:spiteful: jk o btw only aoe spell rdm has is diaga
 
Considering you are 43, disreguard all posts reguarding haste. Otherwise, do what most of the other people said. Ask the static which sub she usually uses, if there is even an option. Nothing amazing at the particular level range you are at. You'll probably fight crawlers, beetles, antica, or gobs. I don't think you'll even have to buy any spells. I can't recall if anything pops up in the next level or so for RDM besides one of your teir 2 nukes.

Your friend didn't leave you in a horrible possition, this wont be hard. I would get yourself> WHM> BLU > BLM in that order at these levels since the BLU is going to be more important and deal more damage while contributing stuns. If the BLM is staying at pretty full MP, don't feel bad dropping him from the cycle every other time.
 
I disagree with Wink on the refresh order (thought just my opinion) =/

While yes, I think Refresh on yourself is a good way to see when to restart the cycle (by the telltale "blahblah effect on yourself wears off"), I personally think refresh order should go RDM, PLD (if there is one), WHM/SMN, BLU, DRK, BLM.

Why do I think that order? RDM/PLD explanation aside, WHM/SMN tend to be the ones that cover healing and are entirely useless if they're out of MP. BLU needs MP direly because without it, hafto say, they're just very meh DD. DRK since Stun/Absorbs are incredibly useful.

Why BLM least priority? Well, unlike PLD/BLU/DRK, BLM don't rely on TP so kneeling doesn't cause any important loss to them...and out of BLM/WHM/SMN, BLM seems to have the least repurcussions from running out of MP; if a BLM runs out of MP you might get a slower kill, but if a mainheal runs out of MP you might get a couple deaths. Just my opinion though.

Main thing I disagreed with was BLU < BLM on Refresh priority. ^^;
 
Mishaela said:
I disagree with Wink on the refresh order (thought just my opinion) =/

While yes, I think Refresh on yourself is a good way to see when to restart the cycle (by the telltale "blahblah effect on yourself wears off"), I personally think refresh order should go RDM, PLD (if there is one), WHM/SMN, BLU, DRK, BLM.

Why do I think that order? RDM/PLD explanation aside, WHM/SMN tend to be the ones that cover healing and are entirely useless if they're out of MP. BLU needs MP direly because without it, hafto say, they're just very meh DD. DRK since Stun/Absorbs are incredibly useful.

Why BLM least priority? Well, unlike PLD/BLU/DRK, BLM don't rely on TP so kneeling doesn't cause any important loss to them...and out of BLM/WHM/SMN, BLM seems to have the least repurcussions from running out of MP; if a BLM runs out of MP you might get a slower kill, but if a mainheal runs out of MP you might get a couple deaths. Just my opinion though.

Main thing I disagreed with was BLU < BLM on Refresh priority. ^^;
Click to expand...
chances are that drk wont be using much mp anyway. Blm on other hand will normaly drop large % of his/her mp. Even more so when he get AM. Which in your(op person) case dont seem you will get that far. so id say self>pld>whm>blu>blm>drk

might switch if the drk is using more mp then blm
 
Last edited:
Small dissagreement with refresh order.
That PT setup I'd go RDM, BLU, WHM, BLM

Reason BLU before WHM and BLM is due to the fact out of those 3 jobs BLU is the only one that really doesnt have the option to rest between casting spells since it uses melee attacks to suppliment it's dmg and also has the smallest MP pool out of mage jobs.

Also this pt has a NIN tank and the RDM to assist with healing if need be.
 
hi Vahn!
So far some great advice from others. I know you are a smart guy and will probably figure this out soon enough.
Make a few macros! The party does not need to see these so use /echo Some ideas:
-A refresh macro (whether you want a recast pop up (Refresh Ready!) in /echo is up to you) Also you can make a separate one to refresh yourself if you like as well.
-Regen macro
-Dispel /ma "Dispel" < t > or < bt > More than likely use < t >
-Some Enfeebles (for those who do not like doing these manually but not necessary to do well)
-Gravity
-Sleep or Sleep II (forget when rdm gets Sleep II) Every once in a while the blm may not be able to sleep the link/mob at first.

Refresh order- basic rule is yourself, tank/whm

It really is situational who to refresh second:

When you would want to refresh the tank(pld) second: When the tank uses mp constantly and they seem to run out of mp faster than the whm. Or if the whm/healer does not do anything but high tier cure every so often (not a smart thing to do but it happens).

When you would want to refresh the whm second: Played with a fun rdm in a semi static with my whm and we always seemed to get these tanks that sat on their mp. So after we noticed this, she said that if she did not refresh the whm, we had more trouble than it was worth. If the tank tends to not be mp consistent or seems to have trouble getting their own cure spells off, go with the whm.

After that I would watch the party because it really is dependent on mp consumption. As a red mage, observation of stats is critical.

What I have noticed about BLUs: If played right, they can manage their mp pool pretty well so they are not dry after one battle. Can probably refresh them between battles or wherever you see fit.

If the mob TP moves or attacks seem to get lost in the battle spam, color the appropriate tags so you will notice when to dispel/enfeeble better. Filter out unecessary additional battle spam from other parties because that can be confusing. The consistent 0's are an obvious sign it might be a good time to dispel but the party may spam (dispel) in the log way before seeing that.

Happy Rdm hunting!
 
Speaking as a BLM75, BLM should almost always fall to last priority, Any good BLM knows how to conserve his/her mp, and as someone stated earlier, BLM is never concerned with tp, so when they arent nuking (or sometimes casting elemental debuffs) they should be resting. If the BLM is only using aoe's during MB's (AM's once the static hits 50's), and using normal nukes the rest of the time, then he should always be fine on MP. I've told RDM's before to not even worry about refreshing me, because, unless the RDM has extra time, it's rarely ever needed.
 
Larger Appreciation Reply when I have time ^^

I cannot say how much I appreciate the help from everyone! Everyone's tips were exceptionally useful! Thank you all so very much. Don't be surprised if I specificly PM all of you guys with thank yous for your info! I really can't tell you guys how smoothly my first night as a Refreashing-RDM went thanks to everyone.

Note- Refreash order: Me, Whm, Blu, Blm.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top