Red Mage DPS Gear and Best in Slot — Dawntrail 7.1

For week 1 Savage progression on Red Mage, it is best to run full pentameld with normal raid shoes. Final BIS tome items include the headgear, gloves, pants, necklace, and one ring. The rest are Savage raid drops. If possible, it is preferable to get a tome ring the first week for an immediate DPS boost.

For this tier's Savage, we can use the same set at 2.48, 2.49, or 2.50 GCDs by simply changing our weapon melds. While it has historically been unusual to meld SPS, we are able to do so efficiently this time due to stat tiering. The set shown below is 2.48, which may the most comfortable default for people who played Red Mage in Endwalker. For 2.49, change one SPS meld on the weapon to DH. For 2.50, change both weapon melds to Det and take Moqueca as food instead of Roast Chicken. The 2.48 set is compatible with Summoner and Pictomancer's 2.48 sets, and the 2.50 set is compatible with Pictomancer's 2.50 set.

Some of this gear can only be acquired by completing the Abyssos raid tier. A guide for Abyssos content can be found in the link below. Voidmoon pieces can only be acquired in the 6.5 MSQ dungeon The Lunar Subterrane, which drops iLevel 635 gear. If you get the Voidmoon Ring of Casting, you can optionally use it in place of the Abyssos Ring (with a Det meld) for about 122 more HP and a 1-3 DPS loss. Also note that as of 6.55, Majestic Manderville and Mandervillous give the same substats when synced down, making them interchangeable.

Patch 6.3 has brought about a new dungeon, Lapis Manalis, which drops iLevel 605 gear, allowing us to maximize substats gained from the gear pieces. Patch 6.45 has further brought about a new relic weapon, which allows for further stat optimization. Also note that as of 6.55, Majestic Manderville and Mandervillous give the same substats when synced down, making them interchangeable. The recommended set below will substantially boost damage and HP, while also not requiring too many pieces to farm.

Some of this gear can only be acquired by completing the Asphodelos raid tier. A guide for the content can be found links below.

As far as gearing is concerned, The Epic of Alexander, The Weapon's Refrain, and The Unending Coil of Bahamut can be approached similarly. Gear choices make minimal difference to how much damage we do due to how gear syncs, melds are removed, and substats get capped. All we have to do is pick gear pieces with Crit and either Det or DH, while avoiding gear with built-in Spell Speed. Ideally we balance the amount of gear pieces that have Det or DH, but the difference is insignificant and the stats do not have to be perfectly balanced.

When it comes to improving your damage, the most impactful upgrade you can make is using an iLevel 535 Shadowbringers Relic weapon. This is because the way substats are allocated on these weapons allows you to utilize more of them than you would be able to on a regular weapon.

However, note that the Shadowbringers Relic weapon is not mandatory. It only serves as insurance for mistakes, and can otherwise be time consuming to grind. If you do not wish to do this, you can simply use weapons above the suggested iLevels and you will still be equipped to do more than enough damage. With that being said, stat allocation and iLevels for each Ultimate are as follows:

• The Epic of Alexander (TEA): All gear iLevel 595 or above. i535 Relic Weapon allocation: 180 Crit, and the rest into DH or Det (but do not exceed 180 of either one).
• The Weapon's Refrain (UWU): All gear iLevel 500 or above. i535 Relic Weapon allocation: 136 Crit, 136 Det, 132 DH, 63 SPS.
• The Unending Coil of Bahamut (UCOB): All gear iLevel 470 or above. i535 Relic Weapon allocation: 127 Crit, 127 Det, 123 DH, 90 SPS.

You may be wondering why the Relic weapon has Spell Speed, while we recommend not taking armor or accessories with it. The reason is because in the case of the Relic weapon, the Spell Speed comes at zero cost, making it not a damage loss. This is in contrast to other gear pieces, where it would have come at the cost of one of the other three substats.