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Jack of All Trades – A Guide to Red Mage






Hello! The Red Mage has been a staple job in the Final Fantasy World and it is no different in Vana'diel. Red Mages enjoy one of the most versatile skillsets in the game: able to heal, support, deal damage both physically and magically, and even tank, all at the same time. Red Mages specialize in enfeebling magic and are the go-to job when spells like Blind or Silence need to be landed consistently. Red Mages have a few unique spells that can make a big difference for a party in any circumstance. This guide is here to help Red Mages large and small see where you stand in the current world of FFXI and lead new and returning players into a successful life as a Red Mage in FFXI.





Section I. Introduction to Red Mage

Red Mages are classically a job that can cast both Black and White magic, as well as spells that are not available to other mages. RDMs are commonly seen as support mages, providing the party with buffs such as Haste and Refresh, while also being a backup healer, debuffer, and/or nuker. The beauty of being a Red Mage is that you can switch roles without missing a beat. Red Mage's spell repertoire doesn't change much based on subjob like Black or White Mages, and you don't have to wait on stances or spellset changes like Scholar or Blue Mage. Red Mages can TP, Weaponskill and Magic Burst all in the same chain, no waiting for spells to reset, no waiting on stratagems to recharge, no waiting on Job Ability timers. Red mages are amazing soloers and need far less support to solo EXP, CP, missions, quests, etc than most other jobs do. Soloers tend to focus more on Red Mage's damage dealing side and other roles, such as tanking or primary melee damage dealer, require specific and difficult to obtain gear to be effective. Red Mage's versatility is a double-edged sword though as the spells, job traits, and gear are not always as specialized in terms of damage or support as other jobs are. You are meant to be able to do multiple roles at once, not do better than another job in their specialization. However, a Red Mage can still be a top contender if used correctly and playing on its strengths rather than trying to imitate a Blue Mage or Black Mage.

It is one of the base jobs of FFXI and doesn't require a quest to unlock. Lucky you!


Job Abilities

[Level 1] Chainspell (1:00:00) - RDM's classic one hour ability. For one minute, all magic spells will have very little cast time and zero recast time. This is also known as 'Quick magic' effect seen on some pieces of gear and in the Red Mage Job Point category. Spells that were cast before Chainspell is used will NOT have their recast timers set back so keep this in mind when you are in a weakened state or casting spells while Slowed. Despite the seemingly nonexistent cast time, spells can be interrupted by normal means (attack, movement/knockback, Paralyze/Stun/Silence). Duelist's tabard +2 (or better) enhances the duration of Chainspell by 20 seconds.

[Level 40] Convert (10:00) - Switches current HP and MP at a 1:1 ratio. It's a free MP replenisher in a pinch. This is why most mages sub RDM! This ability can't be used if you have zero MP. The Mythic weapon Murgleis will change the HP to MP conversion ratio to 1:2 in the level 75 to 95 versions and 1:3 at all level 99 versions. The recast timer can be as low as 8:20 with merits.

[Level 50] Composure (5:00)- For the next two hours, all self-targeting enhancing spells that normally last less than thirty minutes will have the duration tripled, at the cost of a 25% increase on all magic spell recasts. It also gives an accuracy bonus (floor(Level ÷ 5)) for the duration (+19 at level 99). Despite its ridiculously long duration, it disappears when you zone, but the spells already cast on you will keep their increased duration as long as they didn't wear off as well. Estoqueur's Armor Set +2 (or better) bonus allows Composure to give an enhancing magic duration boost to allies, 10% per piece equip. Certain pieces like Vitiation Tabard +3 and Atrophy Gloves +3 have higher percentages, and beat out this set bonus.

[Level 83] Saboteur (3:00) - This job ability will increase the accuracy of all spells, and the potency and duration of variable potency enfeebling spells cast during it's duration by 100%, lasting for 60 seconds. This includes spells such as Distract, Frazzle, Poison, Paralyze, Dia (DoT/duration, not defense down), Slow, and Sleep. It must be an enfeebling spell so spells like Stun/Bio (Dark Magic) and Burn/Choke (Elemental Magic) will not be affected by this. Spells that don't have a potency (like Silence) will only get the duration boost. Estoqueur's Gantherots +1 and +2 boosts the effect by an additional 10% and 20% respectively, while Lethargy Gantherots and +1 boosts the effect by an additional 22% and 24% respectively. The effect is diminished on notorious monsters to around 24%, but you would be crazy not to take advantage of this. The exact magic accuracy values are not yet known.

[Level 95] Spontaneity (10:00) - This job ability will allow the target's next magic spell to have a Chainspell-like effect; almost no cast time and no recast time. This lasts only one spell but it can be cast on any party member or yourself.

[Level 96] Stymie (1:00:00) - RDM's second 1-hour ability will increase the magic accuracy of our next enfeebling spell by a large amount, almost guaranteeing it will land so long as the target is not immune to it. The effect will last for 1 minute or until an enfeeble lands.



Merits

Group 1
Convert Recast - Reduces the recast time of Convert by 2 seconds per merit.
Fire Magic Accuracy - Increases the accuracy of Fire magic spells by 3 per merit.
Ice Magic Accuracy - Increases the accuracy of Ice magic spells by 3 per merit.
Wind Magic Accuracy - Increases the accuracy of Wind magic spells by 3 per merit.
Earth Magic Accuracy - Increases the accuracy of Earth magic spells by 3 per merit.
Lightning Magic Accuracy - Increases the accuracy of Lightning magic spells by 3 per merit.
Water Magic Accuracy - Increases the accuracy of Water magic spells by 3 per merit.

Group 2
Dia III - Unlocks Dia III and increases the duration by 30 seconds per merit. Dia III gives 3 damage/tick damage over time effect and -15% defense reduction (-39/256) and overwrites all other Bio and Dia effects, except for Bio III if it has equal or more merits invested.

Slow II - Unlocks Slow II and every merit past 1 increases the effect by 1 and magic accuracy by 2. The Slow II formula is Floor (116/75)(dMND) +244 and every merit adds +10 to 244.

Paralyze II - Unlocks Paralyze II and every merit past 1 increases the effect by 1 and magic accuracy by 2.

Phalanx II - Unlocks Phalanx II and increases the duration by 30 seconds and decreases damage taken 3 per merit level. This spell can be cast on party members and is affected by Phalanx+ gear (on the receiver of the buff).

Bio III - Unlocks Bio III and increases the duration by 30 seconds per merit. Bio III has a damage over time potency based on our Dark Magic skill (floor(Dark Magic Skill+59)÷27)) which caps at 17 damage/tick. It also gives a -15% attack reduction and overwrites all other Bio and Dia effects, except for Dia III if it has more merits invested.

Blind II - Unlocks Blind II and every merit past 1 increases the effect by 1 and magic accuracy by 2. The potency of the spell decreases the target's accuracy and stacks with Flash's blind.

Group 1 is mostly based on what spells you use the most as it affects the accuracy of both enfeebles and nukes. Fire only affects Fire nukes and Addle. Ice affects Paralyze, Bind and Distract as well as Blizzard nukes. Wind affects Aero, Gravity, and Silence, Earth affects Stone, Break and Slow, Lightning only affects Thunder nukes and Stun if we sub BLM or SCH, and Water affects Water nukes and Poison. It's up to the you to decide what you need the most but Ice would be the most helpful since Blizzard nukes are used often and Paralyze and Distract are some of your most useful enfeebles. The Convert recast may be useful if you find yourself converting often but it doesn't even shave 2 full minutes off and with Refresh II/III and all the Refresh gear, you shouldn't need to rely on Convert that often to put merits into it anymore.

Group 2 is more of a headache to make a choice since many of the spells rely on potency/duration received from maxing the merit. Except for Bio III, all the spells have their uses. Dia III is worth at least 1 merit as it offers a bigger defense decrease than Dia II and lands 99.9% of the time. Investing 3 merits gives it the same duration as Dia II. Paralyze II is Red Mage's merit bread and butter and can be helpful at all content levels and many Red Mages 5/5 it to maximize the potency. Phalanx II is less potent than the self-targeting version even at 5/5, and as both of the main tank jobs in the game (and BLU) learn it naturally now, it would only be useful when being cast on a tank that isn't a PLD, RUN or BLU or on a party member that is in range of damage and needs the extra wall of support. Slow II may not be as helpful as the content level gets higher since monsters start using TP move-like attacks more often and their normal TP moves will go off regardless of Slow, especially if the monster is being fed TP from melee attackers. Blind II is less often seen but can be used in niche battles where the Blind status is necessary.

Personally I did 5/5 Ice magic accuracy and 5/5 Earth magic accuracy in Group 1, 3/5 Dia III, 5/5 Paralyze II and 2/5 Slow II in Group 2. Don't be afraid of reinvesting your merits if a fight calls for something like Blind II or Phalanx II or more accuracy in a certain element.



Job Points & Gifts

Chainspell Effect - Increases elemental magic damage while under the effects of Chainspell. Each point increase magic damage by 2.(Maximum: 20)
Stymie Effect - Increases the effect duration of enfeebling magic spells while under the effects of Stymie. Each point increases the effect duration by 1 second. (Maximum: 20)
Convert Effect - Reduces the amount of HP consumed when using Convert. Reduces the amount of HP consumed by 1 percent. (Maximum: 20)
Magic Accuracy Bonus – Increases magic accuracy. Each point increases magic accuracy by 1. (Maximum: 20)
Composure Effect – Increases physical accuracy while under the effects of Composure. Each point increases physical accuracy by 1. (Maximum: 20)
Magic Attack Bonus – Enhances Magic Atk. Bonus. Each point enhances magic attack bonus by 1. (Maximum: 20)
Saboteur Effect – Increases magic accuracy while under the effects of Saboteur. Each point increases magic accuracy by 2. (Maximum: 20)
Enfeebling Magic Duration – Increases enfeebling magic effect duration. Each point increases duration by 1. (Maximum: 20)
Quick Magic Effect – Reduces MP consumption while under the effects of Quick Magic. Each point reduces MP consumption by 2 percent. (Maximum: 20)
Enhancing Magic Duration – Increases enhancing magic effect duration. Each point increases duration by 1 second. (Maximum: 20)

Job Point allocation is permanent and cannot be done over, unlike Merits, but their effects are likewise permanent and stackable with all gear, traits and abilities. So many choices, what should I invest in first, you ask? Looking at JP categories, RDM got the short end of the stick compared to other jobs and the bonuses are very mediocre. Individual categories won't make or break you, while overall bonuses from total JP gained (Gifts) are more beneficial to the job. That being said for the love of Altana please max Magic Accuracy first. It's a no-brainer. After that, you have to do what is best for your playstyle. Enhancing Magic Duration is helpful for both parties and self-buffing, Enfeebling Magic Duration is helpful for important debuffs only RDM employ (Distract, Frazzle, etc), and Magic Attack Bonus would be helpful for Manaburn JP parties. After maxing those, Saboteur, Convert and Composure (for melee) are the next most useful. Stymie is extremely niche but in instances that you do need to use it, the JP bonus is a boon. Save Chainspell and Quick Magic for last, as RDM rarely uses Chainspell to nuke anymore and Quick Magic outside of Chainspell (or self-cast Spontaneity) is completely random and the JP bonus has such limited use that it is probably the least immediately useful category.

Gift Effect Job Points
Magic Defense Bonus Increases magic defense by 4. 5
Capacity Point Bonus Increases acquired capacity points by 5%. 5
Magic Attack Bonus Increases magic attack by 4. 10
Magic Evasion Bonus Increases magic evasion by 8. 20
Capacity Point Bonus Increases acquired capacity points by 7%. 25
Magic Accuracy Bonus Increases magic accuracy by 10. 30
Physical Accuracy Bonus Increases physical and ranged accuracy by 3. 45
Superior 1 Enables the player to equip items marked as Superior 1 (Su1). 50
Capacity Point Bonus Increases acquired capacity points by 9%. 55
Enfeebling Magic Skill Bonus Increases enfeebling magic skill by 5. 60
Enhancing Magic Skill Bonus Increases enhancing magic skill by 5. 80
Capacity Point Bonus Increases acquired capacity points by 11%. 95
Superior 2 Enables the player to equip items marked as Superior 2 (Su2). 100
New Spells Grants six new magic spells.
Fire V, Blizzard V, Aero V, Stone V, Thunder V, Water V
Deals corresponding elemental damage to an enemy.		 100
"En"spell Damage Increases the damage of "En"-type spells by 5 125
Capacity Point Bonus Increases acquired capacity points by 13%. 145
Fast Cast Effect Decreases cast time by 2% and recast time by 1%. 150
Magic Defense Bonus Increases magic defense by 6. 180
Capacity Point Bonus Increases acquired capacity points by 15%. 205
Magic Attack Bonus Increases magic attack by 6. 210
Magic Evasion Bonus Increases magic evasion by 12. 245
Capacity Point Bonus Increases acquired capacity points by 17%. 275
Magic Accuracy Bonus Increases magic accuracy by 15. 280
Physical Accuracy Bonus Increases physical and ranged accuracy by 5. 320
Capacity Point Bonus Increases acquired capacity points by 19%. 355
Enfeebling Magic Bonus Increases enfeebling magic skill by 8. 360
Enhancing Magic Bonus Increases enhancing magic skill by 8. 405
Capacity Point Bonus Increases acquired capacity points by 21%. 445
"En"spell Damage Increases the damage of "En"-type spell damage by 5. 450
Fast Cast Effect Decreases cast time by 2% and recast time by 1%. 500
Capacity Point Bonus Increases acquired capacity points by 23%. 545
New Spells Grants three new magic spells.
Addle II
Decreases an enemy's magic accuracy and increases its spellcasting time.
Distract III
Reduces target's physical evasion.
Frazzle III
Reduces target's magic evasion.		 550
Magic Defense Bonus Increases magic defense by 8. 605
Capacity Point Bonus Increases acquired capacity points by 25%. 655
Magic Attack Bonus Increases magic attack by 8. 660
Magic Evasion Bonus Increases magic evasion by 16. 720
Capacity Point Bonus Increases acquired capacity points by 27%. 775
Magic Accuracy Bonus Increases magic accuracy by 20. 780
Magic Defense Bonus Increases physical and ranged accuracy by 6. 845
Capacity Point Bonus Increases acquired capacity points by 29%. 905
Enfeebling Magic Skill Bonus Increases enfeebling magic skill by 10. 910
Enhancing Magic Skill Bonus Increases enhancing magic skill by 10. 980
Capacity Point Bonus Increases acquired capacity points by 31%. 1045
"En"spell Damage Increases the damage of "En"-type spells by 6. 1050
Fast Cast Effect Reduces casting time by 2% and recast time by 1%. 1125
Capacity Point Bonus Increases acquired capacity points by 33%. 1195
New Spells Grants two new spells.
Refresh III
Gradually restores a target's MP.
Temper II
Grants the ability to attack thrice.		 1200
Magic Defense Bonus Increases magic defense by 10. 1280
Capacity Point Bonus Increases acquired capacity points by 35%. 1355
Magic Attack Bonus Increases magic attack by 10. 1360
Magic Evasion Bonus Increases magic evasion by 20. 1445
Magic Accuracy Bonus Increases magic accuracy by 25. 1530
Physical Accuracy Bonus Increases physical and ranged accuracy by 8. 1620
Enfeebling Magic Skill Bonus Increases enfeebling magic skill by 13. 1710
Enhancing Magic Skill Bonus Increases enhancing magic skill by 13. 1805
"En"spell Damage Increases the damage of "En"-type spells by 8. 1900
Fast Cast Effect Reduces cast time by 2% and recast time by 1%. 2000
★Master! Grants the designation "Master Warlock."
Decreases the recast time of one-hour abilities by 15 minutes.		 2100


Gift Cumulative Bonus
Capacity Point Bonus +320%
Magic Defense Bonus +28
Magic Attack Bonus +28
Magic Evasion Bonus +56
Magic Accuracy Bonus +70
Physical Accuracy Bonus +22
Enfeebling Magic Skill +36
Enhancing Magic Skill +36
"En"Spell damage +24
Fast Cast Effect Cast time -8%/Recast time -4%
Superior Equipment Enables the player to equip items marked as Superior 1 (Su1) or Superior 2 (Su2).
New Spells Grants eleven new magic spells.
Fire V, Blizzard V, Aero V, Stone V, Thunder V, Water V, Addle II, Distract III, Frazzle III, Refresh III, Temper II
★Master! Grants the designation "Master Warlock."
Decreases the recast time of one-hour abilities by 15 minutes.



Section II - Traits
Red Mages have a long list of traits that mostly focus on their magical side. RDMs have a very high amount of Fast Cast, reaching 30 at level 99. Added with the fact that most of the RDM-exclusive gear has Fast Cast on it, it is very easy to reach the 80 cap. RDM traits take a little from both BLM and WHM, so you will not see new traits by subbing them. Unfortunately for melee RDMs, you will have to get physical job traits from your subjob.


Trait Effect Bonus at Level 99
Resist Petrify Gives you a slight resistance against petrification +30%
Fast cast Reduces both spell casting time and the recast time Cast time -30%, Recast time -15%
Magic Attack Bonus Improves power of magic spells +28
Magic Defense Bonus Improves defense against magic spells +14
Tranquil Heart Reduces enmity gain when casting healing magic Enmity reduction based on Healing Skill
Clear Mind Raises amount of MP recovered while resting +12 MP while healing base,+1 MP/tick cumulative
Magic Burst Bonus Improves magic burst damage +7%
Shield Mastery Grants bonus TP when blocking an attack with a shield and prevents spell interruption +20 TP



Section III - Spells
Red Mages have one of the widest selections of spells in the game. RDM not only has access to many White and Black magic spells, but you have a skill rating in every non-job exclusive magic skill. Divine and Dark are both an E, as RDM doesn't learn any Divine magic spells natively and only has access to the Bio line of Dark spells. Healing is a C-, capping at 368 at 99. This only affects the Cure line, although it affects Cursna if you sub WHM or SCH. Elemental is a C+, which is low, but since Elemental skill only affects Magic Accuracy and Spell Interruption, not damage potency, you can make up for the low skill very easily. This leaves Enhancing (B+) and Enfeebling (A+), which are the main focus for the job's spellset. RDM has access to several powerful and useful Enhancing and Enfeebling spells, many of which are exclusive to this job. Since RDM has such a high native skill in both, the potency of skill-related spells are easy to maximize. Below is a listing of each spell RDM can learn natively.

Note: The magic spell element and type are marked by the symbol next to each spell. Keep this in mind when casting spells that are affected by day/weather or Light/Dark Arts. This also dictates what skillchain they can Magic Burst from. For example, Paralyze is an ice white magic spell so it can MB from Induration, Distortion, and Darkness, gets a cast time and MP reduction from Light Arts, and gets a cast time and MP increase from Dark Arts. Know your elements! The symbols are as follows:

Element
White Magic
Black Magic
Fire
Ice
Wind
Earth
Lightning
Water
Light
Dark


Enfeebling Spell List

Enhancing Spell List
*Elemental Barspells' potency rely on Enhancing skill. For skill below 300, the formula is Resistance = 40 + floor( Enhancing Magic Skill ÷ 5) and for skill 300 and above, Resistance = 25 + floor( Enhancing Magic Skill ÷4). Potency caps at +150 or 500 Enhancing Magic Skill. Duration is also based on Enhancing skill and uses the following formula: Duration(Seconds) = 150 + 0.8×(Enhancing Magic Skill - 180). Above 330 skill, duration caps at 5 minutes.Status Barspells' potency is unknown. They probably also depend on Enhancing skill. Duration is based on Enhancing skill and uses the following formulas: Duration (seconds) = Enhancing Magic Skill × 2. The maximum duration is 8 minutes (480 seconds), which occurs at 240 Enhancing magic skill. More info: Barspells.

*All En-spells have the same damage formulas. For Enhancing skill below 150, DMG = Floor(√Enhancing)-1. For Enhancing skill above 150 but below 400, DMG = Floor(Enhancing Skill / 20) + 5. For Enhancing skill between 400-500, DMG = Floor(Skill)+20]/8. For Enhancing skill above 500, DMG = Floor[(400/3098)(Skill+3.65)]. En-spells I apply to every melee strike, including multi-attacks. They are also affected by Enhancing skill at the time of casting. Enspells II only apply to the first hit in an attack round and do not affect multi-attacks from DA, TA, etc. They are affected by Enhancing skill at the time of the attack. More info: Enspells.

*Gain spells are also based on Enhancing magic skill. The formula is Potency = floor[(Enhancing Magic Skill - 300)÷10] +5, capping at +25 with 500 Enhancing skill.

*Phalanx and Phalanx II can be enhanced by Phalanx+ gear worn at the time of cast on the target. This means a RDM wearing Phalanx+5 gear casting Phalanx II on a WAR with no Phalanx+ gear, a RUN with Phalanx+10 gear, and himself has the following effects: the WAR does not receive any additional reduction but the RUN and RDM will receive the +10 and +5 enhancement respectively.

*Enspells, Enspells II, Temper and Temper II do not have a known cap, and thus benefit from being cast in full Enhancing skill gear.

Elemental Spell List

Healing Spell List

*Cure spells follow the following formula: Base = floor( (Power - Power Floor) ÷ Rate ) + HP Floor, where Power = floor(MND÷2) + floor(VIT÷4) + Healing Magic Skill. Cure has a Power Floor max of 600 and Cure II through IV have a Power Floor max of 700. Healing skill, MND and VIT are all affected by gear and the final Cure formula is affected by Cure Potency gear, which caps at 50%. More info: Cure formula.

*Cure spells can be used offensively against Undead type monsters, in which case it is affected by dMND and Magic Attack Bonus.

Dark Spell List


Section IV - Sub Jobs
RDM makes use of their subjob to give their mediocrity in each field an extra kick in a certain direction. Since RDM is already a well-rounded job, your subjob won't have drastic changes to your overall performance. Here's a breakdown of what the common subjobs are and what benefits they provide.

SCH: The RDM's subjob of choice in most situations that require magic to be the focus. Both Light Arts and Dark Arts allows you to cut the cast time and MP cost of White and Black magic spells respectively. You'll get a bigger benefit from Light Arts as with Addendum: White, you get almost every status healing spell you would get from subbing WHM except Stona, reduced cast time and MP consumption, and with the use of Accession, you can heal/buff the entire party with spells like Stoneskin, Phalanx, Cure or a status healing spell. You also get a B+ in Healing (your other skills are already equal or greater except the useless Divine skill), which allows you to reach 500 skill with gear for Cursna. Dark Arts bolsters your Dark and Elemental skills to B+, giving you respectable skill numbers in skill you lacked before. Addendum: Black doesn't provide you with any new spells. Manifestation lets you use Area of Effect debuffs, turning Sleep II into Sleepga II for example. SCH also gives you every Storm I spell as well as Klimaform, Helices, Drain and Aspir. The only main drawback is that as a sub, the Stratagem charges are low and slow, giving you a maximum of 2 every 2 minutes. Keep this in mind if you plan to change stances or use Stratagems often.

WHM: This subjob is the healing subjob when SCH is unappealing to you. It grants all of the status removing spells, including Stona, which SCH does not do. It also provides a few Divine spells that you can put to use with your E grade skill (lol), AoE Barspells, Curaga I and II, teleportation spells, and Divine Seal which will give double potency to healing spells. Divine Seal isn't very useful because of the ridiculous recast timer on it. Use this if you NEED Stona or if you hate having to switch between Light and Dark Arts.

BLM: This is the subjob you use if you want to Stun or want a free Warp. Stunning is not a tactic seen very often anymore, and usually SMN, BLU, or SCH take that mantle. RDM can take on the role if needed though. Elemental Seal provides you with an extra tool to land enfeebles with, as you can use it with spells like Sleepga or another debuff that you need to land. Subbing BLM also lets you use Aspir, Drain, Tractor, Escape, Warp I/II, the elemental DoT spells (Burn, Frost, etc), and low level AoE nukes. Not very helpful as a nuking subjob since RDM gets all the job traits subbing BLM gives naturally.

NIN: This is your go-to subjob for melee-focused situations. Dual Wield III and Utsusemi both provide their own amazing benefits. The use of two weapons is the best way to boost melee damage if only for the stats on the second weapon. Dual Wield III reduces the delay from using two weapons more than you'd get from DNC and that can be critical as you might have to squeeze DW gear out of every orifice to make up for it. Utsusemi can be used over Blink and can dodge attacks Blink cannot. You're most likely not going to make use of the other Ninjutsu but they're there if you decide to.

DNC: This is the other melee subjob and it has a couple more solo-friendly uses than NIN. It is the only other Dual Wield subjob and also gives access to Sambas, Waltzes, Jigs, Steps and Flourishes. Haste Samba gives a limited time Job Ability Haste at the cost of some TP. Waltzes can be used to heal if you're low on MP and have some TP to spare. Spectral Jig is a free invisible/sneak for lazy people that don't feel like casting. Steps are mainly used as Dynamis procs but can be helpful in reducing enemy stats. Reverse Flourish is a great tool to get some TP back in a pinch. Accuracy, Evasion and Skillchain Bonus are all a plus.

BLU: A very uncommon subjob used for tanking. Yes, RDM can tank. BLU has a lot of very good enmity generating tools: Sheep Song, Jettatura, Geist Wall, Blank Gaze, Poison Breath, and Soporific. Cocoon will make your defense skyrocket. You can also set Attack Bonus and Defense Bonus for a little extra boost. These, along with RDM's native self buffing tools, a good shield and good DT and Enmity sets, can make RDM a pretty durable tank.

PLD: Another uncommon sub but it is another sub for tanking situations. Flash is a fast recast hate grabbing tool, while Sentinel is an enmity and defensive tool. Shield Bash also generates decent enmity. Defense Bonus II also helps a little.

Other subjobs include WAR, THF, DRK, COR, and RUN but they have extremely niche uses and are not commonly seen or are extremely outdated.



Section V - Equipment
Red Mages can fulfill almost any role in the game and has the gear range to support such. Unfortunately, that requires a lot of inventory space to optimize every possible role: a variety of weapons for melee and magic, many different armor pieces from a variety of melee, magic and support oriented sets, and unique JSE pieces such as Artifact armor. Below will list gearsets for most common situations and what the optimal gear will be for all levels of gear. So whether you are just getting out of Sparks gear or have all the HQ Abjurations, you can see where your gears stands and what you should aim for or utilize.

Artifact, Relic and Empyrean Armor Equipment Sets

Aritifact

ItemSet 346780 ItemSet 359604 ItemSet 359605


Pre Omen

Mandatory: atrophy gloves +1, atrophy tights +1

Reasoning: The gloves have the highest Enhancing Magic duration bonus available on any hand armor. Decent melee stats on it if you're just starting out. The tights are tight(slang)! No really, they are rare in that they offer cure potency AND healing skill on one piece. This can't be found on any other piece of leg armor without augmentation. Enhancing skill is icing on the cake. It's a must have on your cure potency set.

Nice to Have: atrophy chapeau +1, atrophy tabard +1

Reasoning: The hat is a great fast cast piece for cheap, even though RDM are not hurting for more fast cast. It has magic accuracy and Elemental skill to help spells land for fresh 99ers. The body piece is a decent enfeebling piece until you get something better and a good refresh option.

Unimportant: atrophy boots +1

Reasoning: The boots don't really provide any help to you as the Shield skill is wasted because RDM's native shield skill is too low to make a difference and the decent accuracy it provides can be found on other feet gear that probably offer Attack and/or other melee stats.


Post Omen

Mandatory: atrophy gloves +3, atrophy tabard +3 atrophy tights +3

Reasoning: The gloves just get better in every way. Now not only are they your best enhancing duration option, even beating lethargy gantherots +1 for composure on party members, but it is also the strongest Savage Blade piece beating jhakri cuffs +2 by a tiny margin in damage, and a significant one in Accuracy; especially when paired with the regal earring. The Tabard got a significant upgrade. It is now a Refresh Potency piece, as well as being an excellent full m.acc/enfeebling skill piece for landing Frazzle II, yet again further enhanced when paired with regal earring. The tights are still your best healing piece, and they also happen to be the highest enhancing magic skill now as well, making them excellent for Gain spells and Temper II.

Nice to Have: atrophy chapeau +3

Reasoning: It has a lot of fast cast on it if you want to swap around some other gear for DT. Getting hit in precast may be rare, but it can happen. It also has a ton of magic accuracy, if you are sporting a pretty much perfect augment on either chironic hat or merlinic hood, you can choose to pass it up, but it is best in slot for magic accuracy.

Unimportant: atrophy boots +3

Reasoning: They are good if you are sword and board tanking. Best possible option for that, only the chances are that you probably won't be outside niche situations. For advanced players that want to tank on RDM, I'd say pick these up for sure, but otherwise, don't fret about them.

Pre Dynamis Divergence

Mandatory: vitiation chapeau +1

Reasoning: It has the highest pure enfeebling skill on a head piece and also is an easier to get refresh head than DM augmenting Reisenjima armor. It also boosts Dia III and Slow II if you have those merited. And it's the coolest hat in the game.

Nice to Have: vitiation tabard +1, vitiation gloves +1, vitiation boots +1

Reasoning: The body has high amounts of enhancing (and healing) skill for enhancing skill reliant spells and a lot of Fast Cast, similar to the AF head piece. It increases Chainspell's duration as well. These are all nice, but they don't matter very much because it lacks cure potency to go along with the healing skill, the enhancing skill only helps a limited amount of spells, and again you are not hurting for Fast Cast. The gloves are used for their Enhancing skill as well and it enhances Phalanx II. The boots are a good starter enfeebling piece with both enfeebling skill and magic accuracy and it augments RDM's bread and butter merit spell, Paralyze II.

Unimportant: vitiation tights +1

Reasoning: With the addition of the ayanmo cosciales +1, the Relic legs have finally been dethroned as the go-to DT leg armor. The Spike damage does nothing to help and the augments are to spells RDM normally do not merit.

Post Dynamis Divergence

Mandatory: vitiation chapeau +3, vitiation tabard +3, vitiation gloves +3, vitiation boots +3

Reasoning: Red Mage made out like a bandit from the Dynamis-Divergence update. Not one item from this reforge set isn't best in slot for something. The Chapeau is now best in slot for Savage Blade, while doubling as your best enfeebling piece, AND your best Idle refresh piece. The Tabard, much like the hat is fantastic for Savage Blade, while also being your best enhancing magic skill and duration piece; all while being also your best fast cast piece. The gloves gained a massive +30 bonus to gain spells (20 for +2). This makes spells that were already decent, into being quite good. The gloves are worth picking up even at +2. The boots were overhauled in such a way that they completely obliterate the Uk'uxkaj boots at +3, and still beat them at +2.

Nice to have: vitiation tights +3

Reasoning: They have the highest in slot Dexterity, making them a good option for CDC (not to mention they help offset RDM's low attack). If you choose to aim for a perfect CDC set on RDM, these can be considered mandatory in your case.


Empyrean

ItemSet 346782

Mandatory: lethargy sayon +1, lethargy gantherots +1, lethargy houseaux +1

Reasoning: Firstly, all pieces contribute to the Composure bonus that the entire set offers. Outside of this, the body increases enfeebling potency by 14%. While it is not as accurate as atrophy tabard +3, They are used in different sets. The AF+3 body is used in a max skill and accuracy set for casting Frazzle II. Once you've landed Frazzle II, you swap into full-potency gear; to include lethargy sayon +1, and overwrite the level 2 spell with a much more powerful level 3 spell. The hands won't be used for Enhancing Duration (Nor will the body if you have Omen Reforge Relic Body), but they have a lot of enfeebling skill and magic accuracy, and enhance Saboteur to boot. In fact, they are the only Saboteur enhancing armor piece, and with the changes made to Saboteur (2/8/2019), their importance has been elevated. The feet are the answer to all your enhancing prayers. 25 Enhancing skill and +30 Enhancing duration on one piece is ridiculous. It is exceedingly unlikely that these will be dethroned by anything other than Reforged Empyrean Feet +3, whenever those come out.

Nice to Have: lethargy chappel +1, lethargy fuseau +1

Reasoning: The head and leg pieces both offer OK magic attack and accuracy bonus for new players, as well as increase the Composure bonus for the set. The head piece offers pretty unique Enfeebling magic cast time reducing effect, which stacks with FC! The legs increase Refresh potency by 2 per tick. The legs can be used in conjuction with Amalric Coif/+1, and AF Body +2/+3. Just to be clear, you don't need the 109 or 119 versions if you only want the set for the Composure Bonus. You can get it from the +2 pre-99 versions.

Unimportant: Nothing

Reasoning: Each piece serves a purpose.

Side Note: When reforging this set to +1, be sure you are able to get all of the ones you need to +1, as the set bonus does not stack between the 109 and the 119 versions. However, if you have not acquired any Omen/Divergence Reforge gear for duration, using 2/5 of one set and 3/5 of the other set will confer the full bonus.






--Weapons--








"DREAM" Weapons

Red Mages have 5 many ultimate weapons to choose from. This is a pretty wide variety compared to other jobs, as they are not all purely physically powerful weapons. This plays to your strengths and also gives you access to powerful weaponskills when you melee and useful Aftermaths for almost any situation you face. All of the RMEA weapons are one handed weapons. All weapons have unique features and you should consider them carefully before deciding to make one as they can take a lot of time, effort, and/or Gil to make. Remember, they can all be used differently, and they all do not fit every situation. There's no end all/be all weapon for RDM, though Crocea comes close.


Crocea Mors
Added with Dynamis Divergece, Crocea Mors is the quintessence of Red Mage. It has a healthy amount of accuracy, a very large amount of Magic Accuracy (rivaling even Murgleis), HP boost, and High base damage. If that were all, that would be neat, but hardly worth the asking price... but path C of this weapon offers 500% Enspell Damage increase (700% when combined with Composure), and +100% Elemental Weaponskill Damage. When fully augmented, either through doing Dynamis Divergence with the sword equipped, or trading Heroism crystals and aggregate to Oboro (or both), this weapon becomes one of RDM's best enfeebling and damage options simultaneously. Also it makes a surprisingly decent CDC mainhand, while lacking the AM3 from murgleis, or the raw CDC/triple damage auto attack proc of mainhand Almace, the enspell damage helps keep it in the upper rungs in the pecking order compared to other weapons.

Now, overall, this weapon is a mixed bag. It's expensive, but when you consider the price of Afterglow and Detritus, it is actually cheaper than many of RDM's other weapons. Additionally, what you normally value in an offhand is a bit different when using this weapon. Ternion Dagger isn't as attractive of an offhand using this weapon, due to it's lack of mdmg and MAB making Sanguine Blade significantly weaker, not to mention much lower magic accuracy, which is detrimental to enspell damage.

1) Tauret: Low delay, decent mdmg, good MAB, 15 INT, DEX, and MND, and very high acc and m.acc... This dagger is excellent to pair with Croc, even when using CDC lower delay meaning more enspell damage. If you are using primarily CDC, however, Almace sub still edges this out by a little bit (definitely worth full-timing in Dynamis D though).

1a) Kaja Knife: Low delay, decent mdmg, decent MAB, 10 INT, DEX, and MND, and high acc and m.acc... the younger brother of Tauret, and a little less compelling for CDC, but great for Sanguine Blade.

2) Malevolence: Low-ish delay (a bit high for a dagger actually), great MAB, good mdmg, and some INT, but suffers in the accuracy and magic accuracy departments.

3) Almace: Low delay for a sword, so doesn't affect enspell damage as negatively as some swords, and gives a much needed boost to CDC if you're using it...
Essentially Crocea/Almace is a good hybrid build for things like Dynamis Divergence, where you may have to alternate damage types
depending on zones... that means it's helpful on any content where you need to split damage types.

As for the lesser versions, Vitiation Sword and Duelist's Sword, they should generally be considered as a focused answer toward the need for magic damage or the ability to not interrupt SC's with Sanguine, or simply keeping yourself alive with Sanguine. Like Croc, they are all useful for this, but given how far RDM has come in terms of Physical DPS over the last 2 years, they don't quite justify being used over other options like Crocea in some cases (though even Vitiation Sword will be pretty strong during Bolster at max augment).

Excalibur
The Relic Sword. By far one of the easiest RMEA weapons to make, but it's also one of the least impactful. Currently, as of 03/05/2019, if you are considering making Excalibur, it's worth checking the price of the above sword, unless you have no way of doing Dynamis D for RP, as it may actually end up being more bang for your buck. Compared to a PLD, a RDM probably gets more use out of King Arthur's legendary sword. It packs a great +60 attack, something RDM needs since it is an attack-starved job. The additional effect deals 25% of your current HP as slashing damage, which takes priority over En-spells and can do a decent amount of damage if your HP is kept high. The changes made to Composure buffing enspells actually hurts this weapon in the damage stack because of this fact, however. Knights of Round is an interesting weaponskill; it is exclusive to this weapon (and gets +40% damage!) and while not very powerful, it is one of the only Fusion property weaponskill available to RDM, and the only one available without using Ullr/Kaja Bow. Keep this in mind when setting up multisteps with parties. The Aftermath at 119-III gives Regen+30 and Refresh+3, which can be helpful in situations where you are taking damage. Finally, Excalibur can do triple damage on the first swing of an attack round about 13% of the time. It doesn't proc on multi-hits, but you'll see it sometimes. Obtained through the Relic Sword quest line and involves collecting ancient currency in Dynamis.

Mandau
The Relic Dagger. Just as easy as obtaining Excalibur and although RDM have the same amount of skill in daggers, swords are more powerful and you have access to more sword weaponskills. It has also been dethroned as RDM's best evisceration option by the upgraded Ambuscade Knife line. That being said, it is your only 269 skill dagger and thus one of your best dagger/piercing options. Just like the Excalibur, it has +60 attack, gives its exclusive weaponskill a 40% damage boost, and does triple damage on the first swing about 13% of the time. The additional effect inflicts a 10 damage per tick poison, which can help with damage a little. Mercy Stroke has the Darkness skillchain property, which opens the door to a lot of fun SC shenanigans. The aftermath gives both critical hit rate and damage a 5% increase. It's a decent offhand weapon, though it's position has been significantly weakened by options like Ternion Dagger +1 and Tauret/Kaja Knife. Obtained through the Relic Dagger quest line and involves collecting ancient currency in Dynamis.

Murgleis
The RDM Mythic Sword. The dream weapon of all RDMs doesn't disappoint. It doubles as your best magic-based one-hand weapon, with magic damage and magic accuracy skill that rivals that of an endgame staff and a tremendous amount of magic accuracy when the aftermath is up. It gives Death Blossom a 30% damage increase and turns Convert into an Elixir. It is also a piercing weapon, even though all weaponskills will still be slashing. Death Blossom isn't the best weaponskill but it does lower magic evasion for 60 seconds when used so it can help all mages in the party. Maintaining AM makes this weapon shine in terms of magic accuracy, magic attack power, or melee DPS. For Murgleis to keep up in terms of DPS, however, might require also building an Almace. Worth keeping in your consideration as they are the two most expensive weapons for RDM. All this makes the Murgleis the most versatile RMEA weapon as you can use it in enfeebling, nuking, and/or melee situations very effectively. Obtained through the Mythic Weapon quest line and choosing the Vorpal Sword as the Vigil Weapon.

Almace
The Empyrean Sword. This weapon is a monster and can function wonderfully in both the main and offhand. The ridiculous +50 DEX not only provides a nice damage, accuracy and crit boost, but is the stat used on Chant Du Cygne. Chant Du Cygne is one of RDM's main weaponskills and with AM3 up, Almace can deal triple damage half the time. Almace doesn't boost CDC damage like the Mythic and Relic weapons do, but who cares right? It is a disgustingly powerful weapon and every melee RDM should work towards getting the afterglow version one day. Don't be afraid to put it in the offhand if you're mainhanding another RMEA weapon; that +50 DEX isn't going anywhere but into your stat line. Obtained through the Trial of the Magians system and completing a slew of sword trials involving Lottery Pop NMs, Voidwalker NMs, Abyssea NMs, and Voidwatch NMs.

Typical usage methods: Almace/raetic blade +1 (or raetic kris +1 which may actually be better, but I'm not certain) for short duration fights (90 seconds or less) Sequence/Almace for CDC in medium duration fights (90 seconds to 180 seconds), and Murgleis/Almace with Mythic AM3 for longer fights (longer than 180 seconds).

Sequence
The Aeonic Sword. It has the highest base damage of all swords available to us as well as a wonderful Store TP+10 and TP Bonus+500. The TP Bonus is not applied when this is offhanded, but the STP is (for now). The STP is amazing as RDM lack the STP trait completely outside of gear. Sequence's aftermath gives you access to the Ultimate Skillchains, as well as gives a skillchain and magic burst boost(!). Under the AM Requiescat has the Darkness property and has the full rank 5 strength no matter how many merits you actually have invested, even if you didn't invest any.

Savage Blade will be your primary Weaponskill for this weapon, as the TP Bonus from the sword and moonshade earring boost its TP Multiplier (fTP) to a point where it becomes worthwhile to spam it. The fantastic STR/MND and WSD gear RDM has been given in recent updates solidifies this choice even further. This is especially true under the following circumstances: If the monster takes severely reduced magic damage, debuffs prevent you from reliably closing skillchains, you can't face the mob full time (Khabanda), you don't want to skillchain (Maju, Onychophora, Glazemane), or if there are multiple melees using weaponskills, preventing reliable SC coordination.

Requiescat is helpful for NMs that become immune to physical and magical damage (like annoying Caturae). It's nice to at least not have to put points into it and just have it. Obtained from the Aeonic weapon quest line and involves defeating the NMs in all three Geas Fete areas.








Non-RMEA Swords

Red Mages have a B ranking in the Sword skill. While it isn't very high in the grand scheme of things, it is your most powerful weapon option. You have access to quite an interesting spread of swords that all vary in power and utility, as well as a few piercing options. Your most powerful and plentiful weaponskills are with swords so a sword will be your best option to bring with you to a fight that requires melee damage.


Naegling
The final step in the Ambuscade Sword upgrading lineup. It performs similarly to Kaja Sword, with a slight advangate in solo/lowman content due to an attack buff based on the number of buffs you have. In certain circumstances it can be warranted to use over Sequence (but rarely). This weapon requires Kaja Sword, as well as x5 Abdhaljs Matter, and one Pulse Weapon.

Kaja Sword
This weapon is quite strong as a main hand for Non-DREAM weapon options. It still falls behind Sequence for savage blade, but if you don't have any DREAM weapons, this weapon using savage blade will probably be your best damage option. (bear in mind savage blade gear is totally different from CDC gear, please reference the sets in this guide)
To obtain it, obtain a Ambuscade weapon voucher from Ambuscade, and Abdhaljs Nuggets, Gems, and Animas x5 each to upgrade it through it's various stages.

Raetic Blade +1
The Raetic Blade +1, and its dagger counterpart are useful in short fights, or in fights like Wildskeeper Reives, which periodically refill your MP. It's worth noting that weapons like this are also good for burning quickly through low tier monsters in Geas Fete, as each pop will fill your MP pool again, mitigating the negative aspects of this weapon. It should really only be used as an offhand weapon.

Colada
Colada is probably the sword you will be using until you get a RMEA weapon and even then, it can have niche uses or serve as a great offhand option. The base stats on these swords are already good but Coladas can be augmented with DMG, STR, DEX, Attack, Accuracy, Crit rate/damage, STP, Weaponskill Damage and/or DA to sweeten the deal. You could even make them magic based if you wanted magical swords. You will be subject to the Reisenjima stone augment system so you never know what you will get but it might be worth the effort to get a good augment. Obtained from the T2 Reisenjima NM Ironside.

Enriching Sword +1
The Enhancing Sword got a facelift. It is one of the few normal swords that can be better than a Colada, depending on the augments. With an Enspell buff on, you get a nice attack/acc/macc boost, beating out most other weapons. Since it is a craftable weapon, it is more appealing
to newer RDM. Sadly, it is currently a pretty expensive weapon and the money you use to buy it or more realistically the NQ version, could be spent on something potentially better. A Colada with similar stats (DMG+15-20, STR/DEX+5-10, Attack and Accuracy+20-25) can be better simply by having an additional trait like DA, STP, or Crit, all of which this sword lacks. Also, while it is the perfect weapon for a newer RDM, it is Superior 2, so you can only equip it once you have 100JP. If you hate the augmenting system or have had bad luck in it (and have more than 100JP), this weapon can hold you over until you get an RMEA weapon.

Deacon Saber
This is the sword for fans of Ark Angel Hume. It is definitely very cool looking and has some beneficial stats such as STR, DA and Crit. The DW+3% means it's best used as an offhand when using Reiki Yotai, This in turn means that you will probably only see this used in a Sequence/Savage Hybrid DT set. It is useful to that end, but not much else. It has Magic Damage on it but no magic stats so it's limited as a magic-based sword. A BLU would never have a use for this after obtaining Tizona, but it could have its uses on RDM for those Hybrid situations, provided you are using Sequence.

Emissary
This is Escha Ru'aun's verion of a JSE weapon for RDM. The Emissary is actually a very disappointing weapon. It has accuracy which is a good thing but the other stats will make you rub your head in confusion. It has FC+10% and PDT-3% for some reason. That is A LOT of Fast Cast on a weapon exclusive to RDM when RDMs are easily capping it in armor slots. The PDT is too low to factor into a real PDT set and it has no other defensive stats to make it a good defensive weapon. But the augments saved it right? Not exactly. Path A is the best option for pure melee, giving 15 DMG, attack and accuracy. Path B is purely for accuracy and magic accuracy. Path C is if you need a magical sword (why?) and Path D is for a refresh option. If you have absolutely nothing else, Path A Emissary is a decent weapon I guess but the lack of STR, DEX, DA/TA, or STP really hurts it. Obtained from the T2 Escha Ru'aun NM Yilan.

Nibiru Blade
Nibiru Blade is the sword you'll want if Colada is out of reach and you just got into 119. It is a good offhand weapon with STR, DEX, Accuracy and DA all on it without augmentation! Path A is for more DEX and Accuracy and Path B is for more STR and some STP. With access to Distract and the recent changes to high level monster evasion, you may get more bang for your buck with Path B. Obtained from the T2 Escha Zi'tah NM Nosoi.

Vampirism
Vampirism is probably the best option for a magic-based sword RDM has other than amazingly augmented Colada but this sword also has decent attacking stats. Fully augmented, this sword gets DMG+15, STR+10, INT+10 and Occult Acumen+10. It is the perfect weapon for Sanguine Blade! They are also piercing swords like Murgleis so you can use these against piercing-weak enemies. It also has a cool HP, MP or TP draining added effect, staying true to its name. Sadly, it is a random augment weapon so getting a perfect or two could take many attempts. Obtained from Sinister Reign and has a random chance of dropping only if Teodor is the Wave 2 NM.

Fettering Blade
The Fettering Blade is a sleek weapon modeled after Promathia himself (presumably). It's another mixed magic/melee sword, with some ranged accuracy thrown in there for CORs to enjoy. The STR and MND on it help Sanguine Blade, Vorpal Blade, Death Blossom, Requiescat and Knights of Round (offhand) and the crit rate helps CDC and Vorpal Blade. A pretty good weapon if you can get it before some of the others listed above. Obtained from the High Tier Battlefield Dawn II fight.

It also makes a reasonable offhand for Sequence Savage Blade spamming.

Claidheamh Soluis
This is a sword many RDM are familiar with as it is probably one of the easiest to obtain as well as being one of the potentially best swords they'll have for a while. With good augments in each "slot", this sword can have DMG+15-19, Attack/Accuracy+15-20, and DA+4% or STP+4. This can make it one of the better mainhand weapons we can use even as we go into Escha Weapons. If you don't mind testing your luck with yet another random augment system, you could have a great weapon as soon as you get out of Sparks gear. Obtained one of 3 ways: as a drop from the Rala Waterways Alluvion Skirmish NM Mistmaw Leraje, trading 3 Mellidopt Wings to the ??? next to the Yorcia Weald Skirmish entrance, or by obtaining the Mog Kupon W-ASRW from the Records of Eminence quest Intermediate: A. Skirmisher: Rala Waterways and trading it to a Dealer Moogle.

Buramenk'ah
This is actually a pretty solid weapon. With the STR, Attack/Accuracy and DA available on it, it is a great offhand weapon if you have already obtained another more powerful weapon. It'll be replaced pretty quickly but you'll make use of it if you are low on options. Obtained from the Morimar Basalt Fields Delve Superboss Tojil or by trading Forri-Porri 200,000 Plasm after beating Tojil.

Usonmunku
Once at the top of the sword food chain, it is still an option for RDM just getting their 119 feet wet. It can be augmented with paths. Path A is for more power and Path B is for more accuracy. It is pretty easy to obtain and augment but a lot of that effort could be put into getting a better weapon. Obtained from the Yorcia Weald Delve NM Ircinraq either inside the Delve Fracture or by using a Russet Yggrete Shard IV in the appropriate area. You can also trade Forri-Porri 150,000 Plasm after beating Ircinraq.

Arendsi Fleuret
Another sword that was once high on the list during the Seekers of Adoulin era, this weapon less than desirable now. It's a piercing sword that has a nice amount of accuracy, magic accuracy and Occult Acumen on it, but it's not really worth using as a melee sword anymore. It can be used with either Pukulatmuj or secespita for extra enhancing skill during Temper II and enspell midcast sets. Obtained from Ignor-Mnt's Coffer/Grand Coffer in Incursion.

Demersal Degen +1
This must be a blast from the past for some people. Joyeuse has made a triumphant return! Now with Fast Cast! You may be thinking this is a joke sword to relive the glory of yesteryear with. You wouldn't bring this to a serious fight, right? No accuracy? No attack? No problem! This sword is one of the best offhand options when you don't need extra accuracy to hit, especially when paired with a RMEA weapon. It has a 45% OaT proc chance, which is a separate check than DA so you will almost never have just a single swing when you pair this with Temper I/II and DA/TA gear. Keep in mind, high potency Temper II or Murgleis AM3 makes this weapon less effective. There is almost no difference between this and the NQ version. Obtained from the Unity Concord NM Bakunawa's coffer.

Pukulatmaj +1
This sword has always been better suited to a precast piece for Temper, but with the addition of Temper II, and how much further behind other swords this has continued to fall, it is now only a precast piece. It can easily be replaced by Pukulatmuj or arendsi fleuret or even secespita unless you really need the 1 skill to break a multiple of 10. Obtained from the Unity Concord NM Arke's coffer.

Anahera Saber
The Deacon Saber's little cousin. I guess it came out first so it's the older cousin? Anyway, it's all flash, no substance. It has STR, magic damage and DA on it but otherwise not very noteworthy. I remember when I first saw it, I wanted it badly but I got over it especially as Escha zones were released and had better weapons. If you somehow manage to obtain this before anything listed above (Special Gobbie Key?), I guess you'll have a very limited time use for it because almost everything else you can get is better and way easier to obtain. It's just not a very good weapon for the effort involved in getting it. Hmm, sounds like another AA Hume sword I know about... Obtained from the High Tier Battlefied Ark Angel Hume or Divine Might II fights.

Egeking
The RDM Oboro JSE weapon. At first glance it is another magic-based sword that is even more of a letdown than others are as the magic damage is extremely low compared to other magic swords, it has some En-spell damage enhancement (great...), and the other stats are defensive. Enmity-10 is a lot and Phalanx+ on a weapon is rare but these alone don't help make this a good weapon. The only saving grace for this weapon is the fact it can be augmented. Fully augmented, it has a crazy Accuracy+50, a nice Magic Accuracy+30 and a useless Fast Cast+8%. Okay so if you can't hit for the life of you or need a serious magic accuracy boost while dual wielding, this can be a great offhand weapon. It isn't necessarily cheap to make anymore but SE is always putting the materials for the JSE on the login campaign list so you can make one if you really, really need to. Obtained from trading Oboro a Cehuetzi Claw, a Schlaeger, a Anelace, and 150 of either Plutons, Beitetsu, or Riftborn Boulders. Can be augmented further by trading Oboro another 300 Plutons, Beitetsu, or Riftborn Boulders (must choose one).

Arasy Sword +1
This sword is only on this list because you can buy (or craft) it. A 119 weapon I can buy as soon as I hit 99? Sign me up right? Well, it's a Superior 1 Weapon, meaning you have to reach 50 Job Points to even equip it. For a new or returning player, this might be a little out of reach and by the time you hit 50 JP, you probably already have a better sword from completing the Records of Eminence quests or by doing pretty much any Seekers of Adoulin or later content. Save your money. You can buy the NQ version from Antonia in upper Jeuno for 100,100 Gil and the HQ version must be crafted so check the Auction House.

Eminent Scimitar
You just hit 99 and you need a weapon. This is the weapon you should get. You can actually get it without spending Sparks. You won't be using it as a main weapon for very long as SE literally gives you 119 weapons now. The latent effect is active while TP is below 1000 and during weaponskills so if you keep you TP low by using WS right at 1000, you can consider the latent effect as active at all times. Obtained from any Sparks NPC for 7000 Sparks or by trading a Kupon W-EMI to a Dealer Moogle.

Iztaasu +2
This is only being included because many new/returning players might choose this as their first weapon when they get the Kupon through Records of Eminence. First of all this is a bad weapon. I'm not going to analyze it. Trust me, it's trash. Second, you get a much better weapon, Claidheamh Soluis, just about as easy. Don't waste your time.









Daggers

Daggers have the same combat rating as Swords but RDM don't use them nearly as often in the mainhand mostly because there are so few good options to use and RDM's dagger weaponskills are extremely limited. That being said, some daggers have a few niche uses, mainly as an offhand weapon, especially considering the lower delay in comparison to offhanding a sword.




Tauret
Low delay, decent mdmg, good MAB, 15 INT, DEX, and MND, and very high acc and m.acc... This dagger is excellent to pair with Croc, even when using CDC lower delay meaning more enspell damage. If you are using primarily CDC, however, Almace sub still edges this out by a little bit (definitely worth full-timing in Dynamis D though).
To obtain it, obtain a Ambuscade weapon voucher from Ambuscade, and Abdhaljs Nuggets, Gems, and Animas x5 to upgrade it through it's various stages. For the final stage, a Pulse Weapon is also required.

Kaja Knife
This dagger is "quested" from Ambuscade. It is a good Evisceration option, and is also a great magical offhand for Dynamis D weapons. To obtain it, obtain a Ambuscade weapon voucher from Ambuscade, and Abdhaljs Nuggets, Gems, and Animas x5 each to upgrade it through it's various stages.

Raetic Kris +1
The Raetic Kris +1, and its sword counterpart are useful in short fights, or in fights like Wildskeeper Reives, which periodically refill your MP. It's worth noting that weapons like this are also good for burning quickly through low tier monsters in Geas Fete, as each pop will fill your MP pool again, mitigating the negative aspects of this weapon. It should really only be used as an offhand weapon.

Odium
It used to be the best dagger RDM could use. It might still be, other than Mandau. It's very (un)lucky in its stats: 113 DMG, 13 in all main stats, 13 Accuracy/Evasion, and +13 Death resistance. It also has a death additional effect, which could be fun on fodder mobs. It is more of a fun weapon to use on trash monsters but the +13 stats aren't easily found on daggers (that we can use). Obtained from Vagary NM Plouton or by turning in all 5 Vagary "Ward" Key Items in Leafallia.

Malevolence
A magical dagger? Yes. This dagger has a large amount of magic accuracy and MAB on it, especially when perfectly augmented (INT+10, Magic Accuracy+10, Magic Attack Bonus+10, Fast Cast +5%). In fact, dual wielding perfect Malevolences give magic power that rivals clubs or magic swords like Vampirisms. This will not only make your nukes better but also weaponskills like Aeolian Edge and Energy Drain. Keep in mind this dagger doesn't have any melee-relevant stats on it, so it is not good to TP with. If you manage to roll two of these with perfect augments, luck is on your side. Obtained from Sinister Reign and has a random chance of dropping only if Ingrid is the Wave 1 NM.

Ternion Dagger+1
Ternion Dagger is a cool dagger that is more suited as a great offhand weapon. It has a nice amount of accuracy and evasion on it, a bit of HP, and a sweet TA+4, making it easily one of RDM's best offhand options, and handedly it's the best Almace CDC offhand when MP for Raetic cannot be spared. The AGI Unity bonus is only really helpful as a modifier for Exenterator. The TA and low delay on the weapon makes it one of the better offhand weapons available to RDM. Obtained from the Unity Concord NM Mephitas's coffer.

Ipetam
The dagger counterpart to Claidheamh Soluis, this is a highly customizable weapon that RDM wasn't left off of. You can get creative with the stats you throw on this thing. DMG+10-16, Attack/Accuracy+15-20, and DA+4% for a mainhand option or Attack/Accuracy+15/20, Crit rate or damage+4-5%, and Quadruple Attack+2% for an offhand. Whether or not a RDM should be spending their time and money augmenting a dagger is up to you, but it's there if you feel the need. The QA, Crit damage, or any other stats you'd like to add on (STP, WSD, etc) are hard to come by on a weapon that can be paired with the many RMEA options we have. Obtained one of 3 ways: as a drop from the Rala Waterways Alluvion Skirmish NM Mistmaw Kroni, trading 3 Mellidopt Wings to the ??? next to the Yorcia Weald Skirmish entrance, or by obtaining the Mog Kupon W-ASRW from the Records of Eminence quest Intermediate: A. Skirmisher: Rala Waterways and trading it to a Dealer Moogle.

Eminent Dagger
Your starting dagger. If you're a fresh 99 and have no other weapons, this is probably going to be the offhand to your Eminent Scimitar. Not a bad weapon for what it is, but you'll find yourself replacing it rather quickly. It has the same latent effect as the sword. If you end up using two daggers early, you might end up using this as an offhand for a long time as RDM's dagger options are limited. Obtained from any Sparks NPC for 7000 Sparks or by trading a Kupon W-EMI to a Dealer Moogle.









Bows
RDM doesn't have many bow options at the moment, but this one is pretty cool for various reasons:

Ullr/Kaja Bow
So this bow is yet another ambuscade upgraded weapon, Like the Dagger and the Sword. It gives RDM another Fusion option besides KoR, meaning RDM can now close Light using Savage Blade without needing to use Excalibur. You would need an interesting WS set for Epyreal Arrow to make it worth using in some sense so you aren't losing damage overall, but it is quite possible, especially if you are closing Savage using sequence.

Aside from that, it is also an excellent Magic Accuracy item, beating out Regal Gem for pure accuracy things like Sleep, Silence, Bind, and the first 2 Frazzles (so you can overwrite w/ Fraz 3 using the gem).








Clubs

Clubs are the last weapon we have any usable skill in and it's not very high. You will not see a RDM sporting a club very often, as magic-based swords are quite plentiful and staves exist, but they are an option that can be more helpful than a magic sword in certain situations. The weaponskill options are severely limited as RDM was left off of Realmrazer. The only weaponskill worth using is Flash Nova, which is a magic weaponskill, but you probably will not be TPing with a club.

Nibiru Cudgel
This is probably the best club option. Typical magic stats are available: INT, MND, magic accuracy, MAB, magic damage and some Cure Potency. Path B is the best option for nuking and Path A is an option if you need more Cure Potency. As Cure Potency is something you should be capping in your armor slots, it is best to not rely on a weapon for it. It's nifty if you happen to get one before a sword of equal value or a perfect Malevolence, but I would not go out of my way to get one for RDM. Obtained from the T2 Escha Zi'tah NM Kamohoalii.

Rubicundity
Meet the Vampirism's distant relative. This club is quite unique in that it is the only option RDMs have of any 119 weapon to increase our Dark Magic skill. The stats on the weapon are catered towards increasing the potency of Drain and Aspir, with perfect augments being MAB+10, Magic Accuracy+10, Conserve MP+7, and Dark Magic Skill+10. Since Drain and Aspir Potency are directly tied into Dark Magic skill, you may want to use this club in situations where you are subbing BLM or SCH and using Aspir often (Apex party). Obtained from Sinister Reign and has a random chance of dropping only if Teodor is the Wave 2 NM.

Bolelabunga
The club with the funny name is only used for 2 reasons: Idling and Regen Potency. Regen is not a spell RDM employs very often, but when you decide to, this is one of the few ways we have to increase the potency. There's not much else to say about this one. Idle in it. Obtained from the Yorcia Weald Delve Superboss Wopket or by trading Forri-Porri 300,000 Plasm after beating Wopket.

Mafic Cudgel
This club is only listed here because it has Physical Damage Taken -10, which is a lot. It also has Enmity+6, which can be helpful if you are tanking. If you have a good Enmity set and cap PDT in your gear, this club will not do much for you. Obtained from the High Tier Battlefield Trial by Earth II fight.

Tamaxchi
Tamaxchi is only helpful because it has a ridiculously high amount of Cure Potency on it. If you just hit 99 and don't have a good Cure Potency armor set yet, you can use this if you are a healer in a party. Obtained as a drop from the Yorcia Weald Wildskeeper Reive NM Yumcax, by trading a Kupon AW-WK to a Dealer Moogle, or by trading all six Paragon Key Items to Eternal Flame and selecting it as your reward.










Staves

RDM have very limited Staff options and no native Staff skill. However, the Staves RDM was put on are good enough to beat out most sword and club options when subbing a mage job. A staff will be your weapon of choice when you are primarily nuking, as they usually have a lot of Magic Accuracy and MAB, as well as other stats that will be beneficial to casting a lot of high level magic spells in rapid succession.

Raetic Staff +1
This staff was added in recently, and honestly I'm surprised Red Mage is able to use it. It's like lathi, but Red Mage can actually equip it. When combined with the Ea Attire Sets RDM can get their Magic Bursts to hit for very respectable amounts with Idris GEO buffs. The main drawback to this staff is the 30% Increased Elemental Magic cost. With Vorseals, Refresh Idle Gear, Refresh Potency gear, and with composure and all else RDM gets access to, in addition to Convert, this isn't as much of an issue as it first seems. In return, it boasts a collossal 267 Magic Damage, 81 Magic Attack Bonus, and 62 Magic Accuracy, being beaten only by BLM's mythic, Laevateinn; and even then, only with Aftermath. We must again thank SE for not leaving RDM off the list for this staff! We finally have a reason for convert again!

Combine this with a properly geared Gain-INT and the low tier nukes hit especially hard.

Grioavolr
In some ways this is the best staff RDM has available and one of the best in the entire game. Thank you SE for not leaving us off of this one! Grioavolr is customizable, able to be a nuking staff or an enfeebling staff, depending on the augments you get. Ideally, you would want at least two different ones for both circumstances as the augments are different. Stats like INT, MND, Magic Accuracy, MAB, Enfeebling skill, Magic Burst Bonus, Magic Damage, and Magic crit are all things you want to see on the staff. Fast Cast, Enmity- and Conserve MP won't hurt either. You'll want to put time and effort into this weapon as it is extremely difficult to improve upon this as an enfeebling weapon and it's also the second best Nuking staff, and the best in situations where you need to retain some MP. Even the mighty Murgleis can't keep up with a moderately well-augmented Grioavolr unless aftermath is up and maintained. Obtained from the T2 Reisenjima NM Bashmu.

Marin Staff +1
Once the best staff a RDM could use, this is still a good staff if you cannot obtain a Grioavolr or magic-augmented Colada. Marin Staff has decent Magic Accuracy and MAB, with Fast Cast thrown in as well. It gets a MAB boost for using Wind Elemental spells and the Unity Bonus gives some INT to push damage and accuracy up for your spells. If you happen to get one early, it can serve you well until you can get a better weapon. Obtained from the Unity Concord NM Vedrfolnir's coffer.

Ngqoqwanb
This staff is definitely more of a starter staff at this point but given that Delve is not starter content, you may find yourself not getting a hold of this one until you probably don't need it anymore. It is very similar to the Marin Staff+1 but it has lower stats, no Magic Accuracy, gets a MAB boost from Ice Elemental spells, and has -3% Elemental magic recast. Nifty if you happen to get one early on, but can be skipped if you have to go out of your way to get it. Obtained from the Kamihr Drifts Delve Superboss Utkux or by trading Forri-Porri 300,000 Plasm after beating Utkux.

Arasy Staff +1
Unlike the Arasy Sword, the Arasy Staff maybe more worthwhile. It's still a Superior 1 Weapon, meaning you have to reach 50 Job Points to equip it, but it has the rare Magic Burst damage II stat on it. This is a separate cap from the 40 cap on Magic Burst damage and thus will give your bursted nukes an extra kick in damage. The staff lacks any MAB or Magic accuracy which is terrible but if you have 50 JP and no other options, I'd say grab one. You can buy the NQ version from Antonia in upper Jeuno for 100,100 Gil and the HQ version must be crafted so check the Auction House.

Lehbrailg +2
This staff is actually a decent option for new 99ers, much unlike its sword counterpart. Early on, RDM has very few staff options, not being on the Eminent Staff nor the Alluvion Skirmish staff Keraunos, and you cannot use the Arasy Staff until 50JP. Use your Kupon to obtain this staff to hold you over until you can get something better. If you have stones to augment it, go ahead but don't invest too much into it because it is easily outclassed as soon as you can do Delve or higher content.





Gear Sets

Below will list gearsets for most situations that a RDM will find themselves in. They will separated by Top tier, High tier, Mid tier, and Low tier, depending on the difficulty of the content and how hard it is to obtain the gear itself. Keep in mind, for gear that have HQ and NQ variations, the HQ will always be better and can replace the NQ version in any circumstance. You can make your own adjustments in gear if you deviate. This is just a guide. Not an end-all in terms of gear. Feel free to suggest gearsets if something is missing or incorrect.

Utility Sets


RDM Idle NQ
ItemSet 342278
Idle set for Refresh/Regen. You can use carmine cuisses +1 or Shneddick ring for movement speed. You can also swap in DT- items and Damage to MP items if you need to.
*Lengo Pants must be augmented with Refresh+1


RDM Idle HQ
ItemSet 346892
A full 119 idle set.
*Chironic pieces all have to be augmented with Refresh+2 via Dark Matter augment. Can be swapped with Merlinic pieces if you have Refresh+2 on those as well.


RDM Idle Hybrid HQ
ItemSet 359611

Set offers up to 14 Idle Refresh, while also providing 45 PDT and 49 MDT. Admittedly this would not be very easy to achieve. Omen Body can be swapped out for ayanmo corazza +2 at the cost of 3 Refresh and 4 PDT, Capping MDT by over 5. In this case assuming you also don't have stikini ring +1, you can swap that out for a PDT ring.
*Sucellos is Augmented with Resin as DT 5% in this example, but you can choose 10% PDT or MDT depending on your needs.



RDM DT NQ
ItemSet 342279
Decent starter DT set. This set caps PDT and MDT without the weapon/shield (with Shell V up) but you can use them if you need to. Dark Ring and Beatific Shield +1 can both be augmented with more PDT, MDT and/or BDT. Choosing Vocane ring as your Adoulin ring will allow you to focus more on Defense and VIT options in other pieces. Other weapon/shield options include: emissary, earth staff(not ilevel 119), Terra's staff(not ilevel 119), Evalach +1, Deliverance +1


RDM DT HQ
ItemSet 346894
A more refined set. This set can (over)cap PDT and can cap MDT with or without the shield. Vocane ring can be used if you chose it as your Adoulin Ring.
*Chironic with either PDT-4-5% or DT-4%
*Ayanmo +1 pieces can be used in place of augmented Chironic but it has a lower PDT overall


RDM Fast Cast
ItemSet 342280
RDM doesn't need everything in this set as RDM gets 30 FC from traits and up to 8 more from JP gifts. This makes capping FC extremely easy, especially since RDM gets a lot of FC in gear as well. Get what pieces you need to reach the cap.
*Sucellos' Cape augmented with FC+10
Other items to consider: voltsurge torque, swith cape +1, Weatherspoon ring, carmine mask +1, taeon tabard, lethargy chappel +1 (for Enfeebling spells), umuthi hat and Pukulatmuj +1 (for Stoneskin), and siegel sash (for Enhancing spells)


Quick MagicItemSet 346895
Items to use if you want to cap Quick Magic (caps at 10%). Keep in mind Quick Magic casts spells immediately and gearswaps will not be considered for potency. It is best used for spells that are not affected by potency.


RDM Spell Interrupt DownItemSet 346896
This set overcaps the 102% needed to ensure no spell interruptions. If using a gearswap, make two aquaveil sets, one for when Aquaveil is already up (Skill/Duration) and this one for when you don't have aquaveil buff active.
*Vanya, Kaykaus, Telchine, Merlinic and Chironic pieces can all be augmented with Spell Interruption Down.


Magic Sets

RDM HQ Free-Nuke
ItemSet 342291
Nuking set for casting elemental magic nukes. NQ Amarlic or well-augmented Merlinic can be swapped in place of what is shown.
*Amalric Body, Legs, Feet Path A and Hands Path D
*Sucellos's Cape augmented with INT, Magic Accuracy/Damage, and MAB
*Feet can be swapped for vitiation boots +3 if more magic accuracy is needed.


RDM Mid Free Nuke
ItemSet 346899
A middle-of-the-ground nuking set. Extremely well augmented Helios or Hagondes +1 items could be used but Jhakri+1 set has superior Magic Accuracy and power. Use whatever pieces you have that offer the most INT, MAB, and Magic Accuracy.
*Amalric Hands Path D


RDM Low End Free Nuke
ItemSet 346900
Starter MAB set. Augments should focus on INT, Magic Accuracy and MAB. Jhakri NQ can be used but watch your recast timer because of the low gear haste. It does offer superior MAB/MAcc compared to other starter gear. Other options might include Reforged AF and Empyrean pieces (ilevel 109 or 119), Weatherspoon +1 set (ilevel 117), Wayfarer set (ilevel 117), Hagondes set (NQ ilevel 113, HQ ilevel 119), Artsieq set (ilevel 119), and Psycloth set (ilevel 119). Use whatever you can get.


RDM NQ Magic Burst
ItemSet 342295
Magic Burst set, overcapping MB damage bonus (41 in this set with max augments on Merlinic) with MB damage bonus II pieces. Ea Pieces require you to have 500 JP and if you are below that, you may use Merlinic pieces augmented with Magic Burst Bonus but MB Damage bonus II will be lowered. HQ pieces are obviously better. Ea cuffs are slightly better than Amalric in this set but they're almost interchangeable.
*Merlinic set can have up to +10 MB damage; INT, Macc, MAB, and Magic Damage are a plus
*Amalric Hands Path D
*Sucellos's Cape augmented with INT, Magic Accuracy/Damage, and MAB


RDM Dream M.Burst
ItemSet 359612

This set can be used to have RDM more or less replace BLM in some conditions. Such as if a monster takes full damage from a certain element, and you have a SCH and an Idris Geo. Hitting capped damage is not unattainable for RDM in those circumstances.
*Amalric Hands Path D
*Sucellos's Cape augmented with INT, Magic Accuracy/Damage, and MAB
*Under weather effects, hachirin-no-obi will be used instead.


RDM Impact
ItemSet 364693


*RANGED SLOT should be Eletta Bow, but it is not currently in FFXIAH database.

Impact is a spell sorely overlooked by most RDMs, it's one of the few ways of further increasing alliance damage beyond PDIF cap, and landing it is quite difficult without the proper gear. 20% stat down goes a looooong way. You will have to complete Abyssea and kill Shinryu a fair number of times to get your hands on the cloak though.

Augs: Merlinic Shalwar with INT and M.acc, Sucellos's Cape with INT, M.acc, and Fast Cast.

Possible swaps: Grioavolr, NQ rings, Kaykaus Cuffs+1 or Aug'ed Merlinic, Gwati Earring, Erra Pendant, Regal Gem, Pemprhedo Tathlum.


RDM HQ M.Acc
ItemSet 359613

This offers an idea of some of a high Magic Accuracy set to use for spells that do not vary in potency (Sleep, Silence, Inundation, Gravity, Dispel, etc). Merlinic/Chironic can have up to +40 Magic Accuracy. NQ versions of everything listed are viable as well. Murgleis gives superior pure Magic Accuracy with AM1 up with Ammurapi shield but that may not be feasible in many fights, especially if you are backrow for a particular NM.
*Grioavolr augmented with MND, Magic Accuracy and Enfeebling Skill
*Kaykaus Path A
*Sucellos's Cape augmented with MND and Magic Accuracy/Damage
*Possible Swaps: vitiation chapeau +3, amalric coif +1 Path D, sanctity necklace, clerisy strap +1, gwati earring, sangoma ring, medium's sabots, leyline gloves, Merlinic pieces, Chironic pieces, Jhakri +2 Pieces

This set is also used to land Frazzle II, before overwriting with Frazzle III using potency gear. This can be useful if the Frazzle III doesn't immediately land.


RDM Drain/Aspir
ItemSet 342293
This is the set to use for when you are subbing BLM or SCH and need to use Drain or Aspir. While subbing SCH in Dark Arts, Dark Skill jumps to 420 with merits. The non-Dark magic/Drain/Aspir Potency pieces should focus on magic accuracy so your spell will not be resisted.
*Rubicundity with max augments (MAcc+10, MAB+10, Conserve MP+7, Dark Skill+10)
*Possible swaps: psycloth vest Path D, Helios pieces augmented with Drain/Aspir Potency


RDM Enfeebling/MND
ItemSet 359614
This set focuses on MND Enfeebling spell potency. This is used for Paralyze, Slow, and Addle mostly.
*Grioavolr augmented with MND, Magic Accuracy, and Enfeebling Skill
*Kaykaus Path A
*Chironic augmented with MND and Magic Accuracy
*Sucellos's Cape augmented with MND and Magic Accuracy/Damage



RDM Enfeebling Potency
ItemSet 364690
This set focuses on Enfeebling spell potency that relies on skill. This is used for Distract, Frazzle, Addle, and Poison.
*Grioavolr augmented with MND, Magic Accuracy, and Enfeebling Skill
*Sucellos's Cape augmented with MND and Magic Accuracy/Damage (INT for Poison)
*psycloth lappas Path B can be used (Path D for Poison) or Chironic Hose
*atrophy tabard +3 offers more Magic accuracy and Enfeebling skill in exchange for potency bonus.



RDM Self Enhancing Duration
ItemSet 359615
This is the set you wear to maximize Enhancing magic duration on yourself. With max augments, this set can make self casted buffs last multiple fights if you don't zone or are dispelled. Spells like Enspells, Haste, Temper, and Refresh can last over 15 minutes with Composure up. Other spells can last well over 20-25 minutes! The accessory pieces are to increase Enhancing skill to help you reach the 500 cap if you need to.
*Telchine must be augmented with +8-10 Enhancing duration
*Ghostfyre Cape augmented with +20 Enhancing duration (Enhancing skill is optional)
*Sucellos's Cape has the same duration without augmenting


RDM Enhancing Other
ItemSet 359616
Using the Empyrean set's Composure augment, this set maximizes Enhancing spell duration casted on others. The main pieces give a significant duration boost to allies with Composure up. The remaining pieces focus on increasing Enhancing skill, especially for spells that rely on skill, but for the most part, are optional.
*Ghostfyre Cape augmented with +20 Enhancing duration (Enhancing skill is optional)
*Sucellos's Cape has the same duration without augmenting


RDM Enhancing Skill
ItemSet 359617
Max Enhancing skill for Enspells I and Temper to be used in. This is the set you want to use at the time of spellcasting for maximum potency, as these spells are affected past the 500 skill cap. This set reaches to over 630 skill with a perfect cape and max JP/merits, allowing Temper II to give a ludicrous 33 Triple attack for well over 15 minutes. secespita or NQ Pukulatmuj may be used in place of Arendsi Fleuret.
*Ghostfyre Cape augmented with +10 Enhancing skill (Enhancing duration is optional but recommended)

ItemSet 359618
These items are used to maximize your refresh duration and potency. The rest of the set depends on whether you are casting on yourself or allies. Gishdubar Sash, Grapevine Cape, and Inspirited Boots can be used if you are using Refresh on yourself. NQ versions are acceptable as well.

ItemSet 365276
With modern gear at 99, you will reach the 350 HP stoneskin cap very easily (Assuming the BG-wiki page for stoneskin is still accurate). The above gear will allow you additional damage resistance above that cap.

ItemSet 345191
This set maximizes your self targeted Phalanx spells for more damage reduction. This will NOT reduce damage to allies you cast Phalanx II or Accession-Phalanx on. Egeking can be used to help increase the reduction as well. Chironic set pieces can be augmented with more Phalanx+ than Taeon can get but only through Dark Matter augments.
*Taeon set augmented with Snow: MEva+20 Leaf: FC+5 Dusk: Phalanx+3

ItemSet 342281
Cure Potency set that reaches the Cure Potency cap and has some Cure Potency II, Healing skill, and MND. If subbing SCH and in Light Arts, Healing skill will reach well over 500, maximizing your Cure spell power. You can use Janniston ring if that is the Adoulin ring you chose for additional Cure Potency II and Enmity-. If you have reached the Cure Power cap without the need of additional MND, you can swap in more Enmity- items.
*If you have Light Weather, use: hachirin-no-obi, Twilight cape and/or chatoyant staff
*Vanya Path B
*Kaykaus Path A (for MND) or Path B (for Cure cast time- and Enmity-)
*Sucellos' Cape augmented with MND and Enmity-

ItemSet 346237
An ugly set if you are bent on reaching Healing skill +500+, Cure Potency +50%, and Enmity -50. It has a lot of requirements to work effectively: you must sub SCH in Light Arts, Kaykaus must be Path B, Vanya must be Path B, and Chironic must have at least -4 Enmity (or you will have to get it elsewhere). And more importantly you have to sacrifice your Adoulin ring! The set changes of course if you get HQ Kaykaus or use a weapon/sub that has any of the relevant stats on it.
*Sucellos' Cape augmented with MND and Enmity-

ItemSet 346949
The goal for this set is to reach 500 Healing skill and have as many Cursna+ pieces as possible. Fill in empty slots with Healing skill items, such as any Vanya set piece Path B. This set is most effective while subbing SCH in Light Arts.


TP Sets
Note: The TP sets assume you are subbing NIN and dual wielding. Since RDM cannot change their DW numbers outside of gear, TPing will rely HEAVILY on your gear and support. More DW gear in haste capped situations (BRD/GEO/BLU support) will hurt you if you reached the required numbers with just Haste II and gear. More info: Dual Wield.


RDM HasteCap TP
ItemSet 359619
This is a set for capped magic haste. Taeon pieces must be augmented with TA.

*Taeon set pieces augmented with Snow: Atk/Acc+15-20 Leaf: TA+2 Dusk: STR/DEX+5-10
*Carmine armor set +1 augmented with Legs Path D (Acc+20, Atk+12, DW+6), Feet Path B (Acc+12, DEX+12, MND+20), Hands Path D(R.Acc 20, MAB 12, Store TP 6).
*Sucellos's Cape augmented with DEX, Atk/Acc, and DW+10

ItemSet 346419
A TP set for situations that you cannot hit to save your life. Carmine+1 gives a great accuracy bonus and you have Distract so you shouldn't have to use this entire set all at once. Jhakri +1 offers very high Atk/Acc, but at the cost of gear Haste. Don't use it unless you absolutely have to.
*Taeon set pieces augmented with Snow: Atk/Acc+15-20 Leaf: DW+5 or TA+2 Dusk: STR/DEX+5-10
*Carmine armor set +1 augmented with Legs Path D (Acc+20, Atk+12, DW+6), Feet Path B (Acc+12, DEX+12, MND+20)
*Sucellos's Cape augmented with DEX, Atk/Acc, and STP

ItemSet 346220
A TP set where accuracy is not an issue.
*Taeon set pieces augmented with Snow: Atk/Acc+15-20 Leaf: DW+5 or TA+2 Dusk: STR/DEX+5-10
*Carmine armor set +1 augmented with Legs Path D (Acc+20, Atk+12, DW+6), Feet Path B (Acc+12, DEX+12, MND+20)
*Sucellos's Cape augmented with DEX, Atk/Acc, and STP

TP/DT Hybrid to be added


Weaponskill Sets

ItemSet 344170
Although this is a CDC set, it can be used for Vorpal Blade and Evisceration as well. Focus on DEX (STR for Vorpal Blade), Attack/Accuracy, Crit rate/damage, and DA/TA for any other augmented pieces.
*Taeon set augmented with Snow: Atk/Acc+15-20, Leaf: Crit rate+3 or TA+2, Dusk: DEX+10 or Crit Dmg+3
*Sucellos' Cape augmented with DEX, Attack/Acc, and Crit Rate


Savage Blade Sets
ItemSet 344171 ItemSet 359602


This set can be used for Savage Blade, Death Blossom, Knights of Round, and Mercy Stroke. Death Blossom gets a damage bonus if Murgleis is the mainhand. KoR and Mercy Stroke can ONLY be used with their respective weapons equipped, but also get a damage bonus. Most of these WS are single hit (or have more damage on the first hit) so focusing augments on WSD>DA will probably give you more impressive results. Despair set can be used instead of Jhakri if you have lower than Jhakri+2 at the cost of accuracy loss. Karieyh ring can be used if it was your Adoulin ring choice.

Possible swaps: brutal earring, metalsinger belt, Ifrit ring +1, tati earring +1, fotia gorget, fotia belt
*Despair set pieces augmented with Path B (STR+12, VIT+7, Haste+2%), except Head which uses Path D (STR+15, Enmity+7, STP+3)
*Can use Carmine +1 (Path B) or Jhakri +1/2 pieces, especially for Death Blossom
*Sucellos' Cape augmented with STR, Attack/Acc, and Weaponskill Damage

Second Set is primarily for Savage Blade. Feet can and should be swapped out with Dark Matter WSD chironic slippers. For Dark Matter Augments, Chironic feet should be the priority. Other slots like legs and body take very compelling DM Augments (7~8% WSD+) to overtake their counterparts. This is because vitiation tabard +3 has very high MND, and jhakri slops +2 have very high strength. Meanwhile the atrophy gloves +3 and the vitiation chapeau +3 both have WSD in addition to their high STR/MND stats. Just something to keep in mind before you start spamming all your techniques at legs or body.

ItemSet 345289
Pieces that focus on MND and STR/attack/acc for whenever you use Requiescat. Keep in mind that when Sequence Aftermath is up, the WS properties of this weapon changes and you can close Radiance or Umbra with any WS. Requiescat must be used first to get the AM up if self skillchaining Ultimate skillchains.
*Can use Telchine pieces augmented with MND, Atk/Acc, and DA
*Carmine armor set +1 augmented with Path B (Acc+12, DEX+12, MND+20)
*Sucellos' Cape augmented with MND, Attack/Acc, and DA





Section VI - Conclusion

I hope this guide has been helpful and feel free to PM me suggestions, questions, etc.
Author: Rydal
Collaborators: Aerix Kiddeath99
Date Created: 2016-10-07 12:18:08
Date Last Modified: 2019-03-14 01:52:37
Updates: 114
Bytes: 154311