Red Mage Job Guide for FFXIV — Dawntrail 7.0
Red Mage is a magical ranged DPS job in Final Fantasy XIV that casts spells to generate mana that they channel into their rapier to unleash powerful melee combos with strong finisher spells. Red Mage can be unlocked in Ul'dah after reaching level 50 and owning the Stormblood expansion.
What is Red Mage's Playstyle?
Red Mage is a magical DPS that primarily does damage by casting spells to build up its Black and White Mana gauges to 50|50, and then spends that mana to use an enchanted melee combo with powerful finisher spells. Compared to other DPS jobs, Red Mage stands out for its excellent utility which includes unique party buffs and clutch recovery spells.
In its casting phase, Red Mage takes advantage of its trait Dualcast, which makes every other spell an instant cast and grants Red Mage unique mobility in between casts. Upon building enough Black and White Mana, Red Mage will spend these resources doing a melee combo comprised of three melee weaponskills followed by three strong instant-cast finisher spells. The core of Red Mage gameplay is maximizing the number of melee combos across a fight while properly utilizing various oGCDs for damage and mobility.
What Red Mage is historically known for in Final Fantasy, however, is its ability to bolster its damage with supportive abilities that help its party. Examples of this include Magick Barrier, Red Mage's raidwide party mitigation and healing buff. It can also use Verraise to assist healers with raises in relevant situations, in addition to Vercure, which Red Mage can use during downtime or in progression scenarios to help keep itself and its party alive.
Red Mage is an intuitive job that is easy to learn and great for beginners, but it also has a higher level of optimization available for people who enjoy job depth.
Red Mage Strengths and Weaknesses
- Intuitive rotation makes it simple to pick up.
- Excellent party support abilities.
- Dynamic playstyle allows for a lot of freedom to adjust around encounter design and killtime.
- Somewhat restrictive movement that requires planning for certain raid mechanics and melee combos.
- Lack of self-mitigation makes it the most fragile caster.
How do you Unlock Red Mage?
Red Mage can be unlocked once you have reached level 50 with a Disciple of War or Magic job and have access to the Stormblood expansion. Once you meet these requirements, the quest to unlock the job, "Taking the Red," can be found in Ul'dah in the Steps of Thal (x:14,2, y:11,8). Completing this quest will reward you with the Red Mage job stone, and you will begin as a level 50 Red Mage.
Red Mage Gauge
The Balance Gauge displays your current levels of Black Mana and White Mana.
During your casting phase, you take advantage of Dualcast to generate mana from spells (the sequence and priorities will be covered in the rotation section). Black Mana is generated by casting Verthunder III, Verfire, or Verthunder II. White Mana is generated by casting Veraero III, Verstone, or Veraero II. Casting Jolt III, Impact, and Grand Impact will generate both Black and White Mana. While casting these spells, you must keep the amount of Black Mana and White Mana within 30 of each other, signified by the red crystal at the top of the gauge. If your mana becomes unbalanced, the crystal will change color, and you will begin to generate the lower mana at half of the normal rate.
Once you have accumulated 50 Black Mana and 50 White Mana, you can begin your melee combo. Your melee combo for one or two targets begins with three weaponskills: Enchanted Riposte, Enchanted Zwerchhau, and Enchanted Redoublement. For three or more targets: Enchanted Moulinet, Enchanted Moulinet Deux, and Enchanted Moulinet Trois. Each of these weaponskills consume Black and White Mana and give you a Mana Stack, shown at the bottom of the job gauge. Upon gaining three Mana Stacks, you can use your finishers: Verflare or Verholy, Scorch, and Resolution. Casting Verflare generates Black Mana, and casting Verholy generates White Mana. Scorch and Resolution generate both Black and White Mana.
Red Mage Actions
Action Name |
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Effect |
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Enchanted Riposte Lv. 1 |
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Deals unaspected damage with a potency of 300. Additional Effect: Grants a Mana Stack Balance Gauge Cost: 20 Black Mana Balance Gauge Cost: 20 White Mana ※This action cannot be assigned to a hotbar. ※Riposte changes to Enchanted Riposte when requirements for execution are met. |
Riposte Lv. 1 |
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Delivers an attack with a potency of 130. Action upgraded to Enchanted Riposte if both Black Mana and White Mana are at 20 or more. |
Jolt Lv. 2 |
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MP Cost: 200.0 Deals unaspected damage with a potency of 170. Additional Effect: Increases both Black Mana and White Mana by 2 |
Verthunder Lv. 4 |
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MP Cost: 300.0 Deals lightning damage with a potency of 360. Additional Effect: Increases Black Mana by 6 Additional Effect: 50% chance of becoming Verfire Ready Duration: 30s |
Corps-a-corps Lv. 6 |
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Rushes target and delivers an attack with a potency of 130. Maximum Charges: 2 Cannot be executed while bound. |
Veraero Lv. 10 |
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MP Cost: 300.0 Deals wind damage with a potency of 360. Additional Effect: Increases White Mana by 6 Additional Effect: 50% chance of becoming Verstone Ready Duration: 30s |
Scatter Lv. 15 |
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MP Cost: 400.0 Deals unaspected damage with a potency of 120 to target and all enemies nearby it. Acceleration Potency: 170 Additional Effect: Increases both Black Mana and White Mana by 3 |
Verthunder II Lv. 18 |
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MP Cost: 400.0 Deals lightning damage with a potency of 140 to target and all enemies nearby it. Additional Effect: Increases Black Mana by 7 |
Veraero II Lv. 22 |
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MP Cost: 400.0 Deals wind damage with a potency of 140 to target and all enemies nearby it. Additional Effect: Increases White Mana by 7 |
Verfire Lv. 26 |
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MP Cost: 200.0 Deals fire damage with a potency of 380. Additional Effect: Increases Black Mana by 5 Can only be executed while Verfire Ready is active. |
Verstone Lv. 30 |
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MP Cost: 200.0 Deals earth damage with a potency of 380. Additional Effect: Increases White Mana by 5 Can only be executed while Verstone Ready is active. |
Enchanted Zwerchhau Lv. 35 |
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Deals unaspected damage with a potency of 170. Combo Action: Riposte or Enchanted Riposte Combo Potency: 360 Additional Effect: Grants a Mana Stack Balance Gauge Cost: 15 Black Mana Balance Gauge Cost: 15 White Mana ※This action cannot be assigned to a hotbar. ※Zwerchhau changes to Enchanted Zwerchhau when requirements for execution are met. |
Zwerchhau Lv. 35 |
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Delivers an attack with a potency of 100. Combo Action: Riposte or Enchanted Riposte Combo Potency: 150 Action upgraded to Enchanted Zwerchhau if both Black Mana and White Mana are at 15 or more. |
Displacement Lv. 40 |
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Delivers an attack with a potency of 180. Additional Effect: 15-yalm backstep Maximum Charges: 2 Cannot be executed while bound. Shares a recast timer with Engagement. |
Engagement Lv. 40 |
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Delivers an attack with a potency of 180. Maximum Charges: 2 Shares a recast timer with Displacement. |
Fleche Lv. 45 |
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Delivers an attack with a potency of 480. |
Acceleration Lv. 50 |
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Ensures the next Verthunder III, Veraero III, or Impact can be cast immediately. Duration: 20s Additional Effect: Increases the potency of Impact by 50 Additional Effect: Ensures Verthunder III and Veraero III trigger Verfire Ready or Verstone Ready respectively Additional Effect: Grants Grand Impact Ready Duration: 30s Maximum Charges: 2 |
Enchanted Redoublement Lv. 50 |
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Deals unaspected damage with a potency of 170. Combo Action: Enchanted Zwerchhau Combo Potency: 540 Additional Effect: Grants a Mana Stack Balance Gauge Cost: 15 Black Mana Balance Gauge Cost: 15 White Mana ※This action cannot be assigned to a hotbar. ※Redoublement changes to Enchanted Redoublement when requirements for execution are met. |
Redoublement Lv. 50 |
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Delivers an attack with a potency of 100. Combo Action: Zwerchhau or Enchanted Zwerchhau Combo Potency: 230 Action upgraded to Enchanted Redoublement if both Black Mana and White Mana are at 15 or more. |
Enchanted Moulinet Lv. 52 |
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Deals unaspected damage with a potency of 130 to all enemies in a cone before you. Additional Effect: Grants a Mana Stack Balance Gauge Cost: 20 Black Mana Balance Gauge Cost: 20 White Mana ※This action cannot be assigned to a hotbar. ※Moulinet changes to Enchanted Moulinet when requirements for execution are met. |
Enchanted Moulinet Deux Lv. 52 |
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Deals unaspected damage with a potency of 140 to all enemies in a cone before you. Combo Action: Enchanted Moulinet Additional Effect: Grants a Mana Stack Balance Gauge Cost: 15 Black Mana Balance Gauge Cost: 15 White Mana ※This action cannot be assigned to a hotbar. ※Enchanted Moulinet changes to Enchanted Moulinet Deux when requirements for execution are met. |
Enchanted Moulinet Trois Lv. 52 |
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Deals unaspected damage with a potency of 150 to all enemies in a cone before you. Combo Action: Enchanted Moulinet Deux Additional Effect: Grants a Mana Stack Balance Gauge Cost: 15 Black Mana Balance Gauge Cost: 15 White Mana ※This action cannot be assigned to a hotbar. ※Enchanted Moulinet Deux changes to Enchanted Moulinet Trois when requirements for execution are met. |
Moulinet Lv. 52 |
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Delivers an attack with a potency of 60 to all enemies in a cone before you. Action upgraded to Enchanted Moulinet if both Black Mana and White Mana are at 20 or more. |
Vercure Lv. 54 |
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MP Cost: 500.0 Restores target's HP. Cure Potency: 350 |
Contre Sixte Lv. 56 |
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Delivers an attack with a potency of 420 to target and all enemies nearby it. |
Embolden Lv. 58 |
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Increases own magic damage dealt by 5% and damage dealt by nearby party members by 5%. Duration: 20s Additional Effect: Grants Thorned Flourish Duration: 30s |
Manafication Lv. 60 |
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Grants 3 stacks of Magicked Swordplay, each stack allowing the use of Enchanted Riposte, Enchanted Zwerchhau, Enchanted Redoublement, Enchanted Moulinet, Enchanted Moulinet Deux, or Enchanted Moulinet Trois without cost. Duration: 30s Additional Effect: Grants 6 stacks of Manafication Manafication Effect: Increases magic damage dealt by 5% Duration: 30s Additional Effect: Grants Prefulgence Ready upon consuming 6 stacks of Manafication Duration: 30s All combos are canceled upon execution of Manafication. Can only be executed while in combat. |
Jolt II Lv. 62 |
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MP Cost: 200.0 Deals unaspected damage with a potency of 280. Additional Effect: Increases both Black Mana and White Mana by 2 |
Verraise Lv. 64 |
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MP Cost: 2400.0 Resurrects target to a weakened state. |
Impact Lv. 66 |
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MP Cost: 400.0 Deals unaspected damage with a potency of 210 to target and all enemies nearby it. Acceleration Potency: 260 Additional Effect: Increases both Black Mana and White Mana by 3 |
Verflare Lv. 68 |
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Deals fire damage to target and all enemies nearby it with a potency of 650 for the first enemy, and 60% less for all remaining enemies. Additional Effect: Increases Black Mana by 11 Additional Effect: 20% chance of becoming Verfire Ready Duration: 30s Chance to become Verfire Ready increases to 100% if White Mana is higher than Black Mana at time of execution. Mana Stack Cost: 3 ※This action cannot be assigned to a hotbar. ※Verthunder III and Verthunder II change to Verflare when requirements for execution are met. |
Verholy Lv. 70 |
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Deals unaspected damage to target and all enemies nearby it with a potency of 650 for the first enemy, and 60% less for all remaining enemies. Additional Effect: Increases White Mana by 11 Additional Effect: 20% chance of becoming Verstone Ready Duration: 30s Chance to become Verstone Ready increases to 100% if Black Mana is higher than White Mana at time of execution. Mana Stack Cost: 3 ※This action cannot be assigned to a hotbar. ※Veraero III and Veraero II change to Verholy when requirements for execution are met. |
Enchanted Reprise Lv. 76 |
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Deals unaspected damage with a potency of 420. Balance Gauge Cost: 5 Black Mana Balance Gauge Cost: 5 White Mana ※This action cannot be assigned to a hotbar. ※Reprise changes to Enchanted Reprise when requirements for execution are met. |
Reprise Lv. 76 |
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Delivers an attack with a potency of 100. Action upgraded to Enchanted Reprise if both Black Mana and White Mana are at 5 or more. |
Scorch Lv. 80 |
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MP Cost: 400.0 Deals unaspected damage to target and all enemies nearby it with a potency of 750 for the first enemy, and 60% less for all remaining enemies. Combo Action: Verflare or Verholy Additional Effect: Increases both Black Mana and White Mana by 4 Can only be executed after successfully landing Verflare or Verholy as a combo action. ※This action cannot be assigned to a hotbar. ※Jolt III and Impact change to Scorch when requirements for execution are met. |
Veraero III Lv. 82 |
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MP Cost: 300.0 Deals wind damage with a potency of 440. Additional Effect: Increases White Mana by 6 Additional Effect: 50% chance of becoming Verstone Ready Duration: 30s |
Verthunder III Lv. 82 |
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MP Cost: 300.0 Deals lightning damage with a potency of 440. Additional Effect: Increases Black Mana by 6 Additional Effect: 50% chance of becoming Verfire Ready Duration: 30s |
Jolt III Lv. 84 |
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MP Cost: 200.0 Deals unaspected damage with a potency of 360. Additional Effect: Increases both Black Mana and White Mana by 2 |
Magick Barrier Lv. 86 |
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Reduces magic damage taken by self and nearby party members by 10%, while increasing HP recovered by healing actions by 5%. Duration: 10s |
Resolution Lv. 90 |
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MP Cost: 400.0 Deals unaspected damage to all enemies in a straight line before you with a potency of 850 for the first enemy, and 60% less for all remaining enemies. Combo Action: Scorch Additional Effect: Increases both Black Mana and White Mana by 4 Can only be executed after successfully landing Scorch as a combo action. ※This action cannot be assigned to a hotbar. ※Scorch changes to Resolution when requirements for execution are met. |
Vice of Thorns Lv. 92 |
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Deals unaspected damage to target and all enemies nearby it with a potency of 700 for the first enemy, and 60% less for all remaining enemies. Can only be executed while under the effect of Thorned Flourish. |
Grand Impact Lv. 96 |
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MP Cost: 400.0 Deals unaspected damage to target and all enemies nearby it with a potency of 600 for the first enemy, and 60% less for all remaining enemies. Additional Effect: Increases both Black Mana and White Mana by 3 Can only be executed while under the effect of Grand Impact Ready. ※This action cannot be assigned to a hotbar. ※Jolt III and Impact change to Grand Impact when requirements for execution are met. |
Prefulgence Lv. 100 |
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Deals unaspected damage to target and all enemies nearby it with a potency of 900 for the first enemy, and 60% less for all remaining enemies. Can only be executed while under the effect of Prefulgence Ready. ※This action cannot be assigned to a hotbar. ※Manafication changes to Prefulgence when requirements for execution are met. |
Role Actions
Action Name |
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Effect |
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Addle Lv. 8 |
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Lowers target's physical damage dealt by 5% and magic damage dealt by 10%. Duration: 15s |
Sleep Lv. 10 |
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MP Cost: 800.0 Puts target and all nearby enemies to sleep. Duration: 30s Cancels auto-attack upon execution. |
Lucid Dreaming Lv. 14 |
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Gradually restores own MP. Potency: 55 Duration: 21s |
Swiftcast Lv. 18 |
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Next spell is cast immediately. Duration: 10s |
Surecast Lv. 44 |
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Spells can be cast without interruption. Additional Effect: Nullifies most knockback and draw-in effects Duration: 6s |
Red Mage Traits
Action Name | Acquired | Effect |
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Dualcast | Lv. 1 |
Grants the effect of Dualcast upon casting any spell with a cast time. While under the effect of Dualcast, your next spell will require no time to cast. Effect is canceled upon execution of any action other than an ability. Auto-attacks do not cancel effect. Duration: 15s |
Maim and Mend | Lv. 20 |
Increases base action damage and HP restoration by 10%. |
Maim and Mend II | Lv. 40 |
Increases base action damage and HP restoration by 30%. |
Enhanced Jolt | Lv. 62 |
Upgrades Jolt to Jolt II. Also increases the potency of Verthunder and Veraero to 360, and the potency of Verfire and Verstone to 300. |
Scatter Mastery | Lv. 66 |
Upgrades Scatter to Impact. |
Mana Stack | Lv. 68 |
Adds a Mana Stack to your Balance Gauge upon landing Enchanted Riposte, Enchanted Zwerchhau, Enchanted Redoublement, Enchanted Moulinet, Enchanted Moulinet Deux, or Enchanted Moulinet Trois, up to a maximum of 3. Upon gaining 3 Mana Stacks, Verthunder and Verthunder II are upgraded to Verflare. Upon learning Verholy, gaining 3 Mana Stacks also upgrades Veraero and Veraero II to Verholy. |
Enhanced Displacement | Lv. 72 |
Increases Displacement and Engagement potency to 180. |
Red Magic Mastery | Lv. 74 |
Reduces Contre Sixte recast timer to 35 seconds and increases the potency of both Verthunder II and Veraero II to 120. |
Enhanced Manafication | Lv. 78 |
Reduces Manafication recast timer to 110 seconds and adds an additional effect that increases magic damage dealt by 5%. |
Red Magic Mastery II | Lv. 82 |
Upgrades Verthunder to Verthunder III and Veraero to Veraero III. Upon gaining 3 Mana Stacks, Verthunder III is upgraded to Verflare and Veraero III is upgraded to Verholy. |
Red Magic Mastery III | Lv. 84 |
Upgrades Jolt II to Jolt III. Also increases the potency of Enchanted Riposte to 280, Verthunder II to 140, Veraero II to 140, Verfire to 340, Verstone to 340, Enchanted Zwerchhau to 150, Enchanted Redoublement to 130, Impact to 210, and Enchanted Reprise to 340. |
Enhanced Acceleration | Lv. 88 |
Allows the accumulation of charges for consecutive uses of Acceleration. Maximum Charges: 2 |
Enhanced Manafication II | Lv. 90 |
Increases maximum stacks of Manafication to 6. |
Enhanced Embolden | Lv. 92 |
Grants Thorned Flourish upon executing Embolden. Duration: 30s |
Enchanted Blade Mastery | Lv. 94 |
Increases the potency of Enchanted Riposte to 300, Verfire to 380, Verstone to 380, Enchanted Zwerchhau to 170, Fleche to 480, Enchanted Redoublement to 170, Contre Sixte to 420, Verflare to 650, Verholy to 650, Enchanted Reprise to 420, Scorch to 750, Veraero III to 440, Verthunder III to 440, and Resolution to 850. |
Enhanced Swiftcast | Lv. 94 |
Reduces Swiftcast recast time to 40 seconds. |
Enhanced Acceleration II | Lv. 96 |
Grants Grand Impact Ready upon executing Acceleration. Duration: 30s Jolt III and Impact change to Grand Impact while under the effect of Grand Impact Ready. |
Enhanced Addle | Lv. 98 |
Extends the duration of Addle to 15 seconds. |
Enhanced Manafication III | Lv. 100 |
Grants Prefulgence Ready upon consuming all stacks of Manafication. Duration: 30s Manafication changes to Prefulgence while under the effect of Prefulgence Ready. |
Red Mage Lore
On the eastern edge of Abalathia's Spine lies the mountainous region of Gyr Abania.
It is in these elevated lands that people took shelter, when a burning star guided them away from the Sixth Umbral Calamity's treacherous floodwaters. The survivors gathered from near and far, and amongst them were refugees of the sorcerous cities of Mhach and Amdapor.
These sworn enemies buried their history for the sake of the future, and cast aside their vestments of black and white. Upon the remnants of their arts a new discipline was built, and the first red mages stepped forward with rapiers in hand to fight back against the rising tides of destruction.
Changelog
- 22 Aug. 2024 (gear page): Updated for Patch 7.05.
- 04 Jul. 2024 (Leveling page): Reviewed for Patch 7.0.
- 03 Jul. 2024 (rotation page): Updated for Patch 7.0.
- 03 Jul. 2024 (this page): Updated for Patch 7.0.
- 20 May 2024 (job changes): Updated with Dawntrail trailer and live letter information.
- 22 Apr. 2024 (keybindings page): Page added.
- 20 Jan. 2024 (how to improve page): Reviewed for Patch 6.55.
- 20 Jan. 2024 (rotation page): Reviewed for Patch 6.55.
- 20 Jan. 2024 (Leveling page): Reviewed for Patch 6.55.
- 20 Jan. 2024 (melding page): Reviewed for Patch 6.55.
- 20 Jan. 2024 (this page): Reviewed for Patch 6.55.
- 19 Jan. 2024 (gear page): Updated for Patch 6.55.
- 05 Oct. 2023 (how to improve page): Updated for Patch 6.5.
- 05 Oct. 2023 (rotation page): Updated for Patch 6.5.
- 05 Oct. 2023 (Leveling page): Updated for Patch 6.5.
- 05 Oct. 2023 (gear page): Updated for Patch 6.5.
- 05 Oct. 2023 (melding page): Updated for Patch 6.5.
- 05 Oct. 2023 (this page): Updated for Patch 6.5.
- 20 Jul. 2023 (gear page): Updated for Patch 6.45.
- 20 Jul. 2023 (this page): Updated for Patch 6.45.
- 28 May 2023 (how to improve page): Updated for Patch 6.4.
- 28 May 2023 (rotation page): Updated for Patch 6.4.
- 28 May 2023 (Leveling page): Updated for Patch 6.4.
- 28 May 2023 (gear page): Updated for Patch 6.4.
- 28 May 2023 (melding page): Updated for Patch 6.4.
- 28 May 2023 (this page): Updated for Patch 6.4.
- 14 Jan. 2023 (how to improve page): Updated for Patch 6.3.
- 14 Jan. 2023 (rotation page): Updated for Patch 6.3.
- 14 Jan. 2023 (Leveling page): Updated for Patch 6.3.
- 14 Jan. 2023 (gear page): Updated for Patch 6.3.
- 14 Jan. 2023 (melding page): Updated for Patch 6.3.
- 14 Jan. 2023 (this page): Updated for Patch 6.3.
- 20 Apr. 2022 (how to improve page): Updated for Patch 6.1.
- 20 Apr. 2022 (rotation page): Updated for Patch 6.1.
- 20 Apr. 2022 (gear page): Updated for Patch 6.1.
- 20 Apr. 2022 (melding page): Updated for Patch 6.1.
- 20 Apr. 2022 (this page): Updated for Patch 6.1.
- 03 Apr. 2022 (Leveling page): Guide added.
- 15 Feb. 2022 (how to improve page): Guide added.
- 14 Feb. 2022 (rotation page): Guide added.
- 14 Feb. 2022 (gear page): Guide added.
- 14 Feb. 2022 (melding page): Guide added.
- 14 Feb. 2022 (this page): Guide added.
- 19 Dec. 2021 (job changes): Page added.
Guides from Other Classes
Argen has been playing since Alphascape, but got involved in higher-end raiding during Eden’s Verse, where he helped the community learn about Red Mage’s often overlooked optimization potential. He has been blessed by enough RNG to achieve top 10 rankings in multiple raids, become a Red Mage mentor at the Balance discord, and not get forced to play another job in any of his statics. Argen can also be found in Elemental DC party finder or on his Youtube channel.
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