Glad to see you are branching out early lots of RDM's do not and then wonder why when they try they fail. Being a DD oriented RDM is tough, because not only do you try and optimize what you can do offensively, you are always the fall back and need to know when your support becomes more efficient over a certain span of time. This is something that JA's Gear etc can not give you.
Another issue I see so freaking much it makes me sick is the RDM's who try and melee in **** like errants gear (yes it still happens even though errants is mostly replaced by teal). They tend t be the ones who so heartily try and tell us RDM melee is garbage.
Ive said it many many times before a RDM can put out 70-75%(80-85% if all you are casting is dia III) of a top DD's numbers, while at the same time increasing that DD's numbers by 35-40%(17% if all you are using is dia, haste varies depending on the amount of bonus from haste equiped and being applied.) with Haste and Dia III, and helping to keep them healed.
70-75% isn't anything to scoff at considering the other perks of having the RDM present (Crowd control, Magic kills, Magic Damage on PD and Invincible mobs).
Playing RDM in a well rounded way tends to be infinitely more useful (*currently in abyssea and any endgame outside of abyssea subject to change depending on how SE changes difficulty of upcomming content, or past conent tweaks). Then a RDM who solely focus's on one task. This is large in part due to the fact that RDM is so outclassed in specific roles it makes no sense to bring one to simply heal, or nuke, or melee, but one that combines all three is a great asset to any low to mid man sized group, for the reasons i pointed out above.
Just please promise me that if you do melee, wear melee gear and not mage gear, for the love of god don't do that, it makes you look silly, and is one of the largest factors responsibl for lol rdmmelee stigma.
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