What to level next?

Not really sure what I want to do now, as far as which job to play.
Just typing it out / thinking it out.

Tough decision really:
1) Just stay on RDM and continue to build it?

• Trials Sword (+11 DMG +9 Store TP)
• Cap lvl 80 off for XP
• Work on merits
• Finish Zilart (and get CoP + Zilart rewards)
• VNMs and ZNMs
• Fight NMs for drops such as Joyeuse/Enhancing Sword
• Nyzul Isle
• Campaign
• Agmented weapon from fights given by the pixie in the past
• Take up WHM (39), DRK (38), BLM (27) up to subjob lvl for RDM/
• Sky/Sea/Dynamas/Limbus/A Shantotto Ascension, so on and so on.

2) Have recently dropped a good amount of gil into PUP, and am looking forward to kicking back and playing it solo/duo. Seems relaxing and fun. Want to try something a little different. Maybe even do a bit more fishing lol. Possibly comparable to a MNK in later lvls as far as being a DD? (Or so I've heard) Not really sure what a 75~80 PUP gets invited to or does really (Used in endgame?). Is this even a benefit to me/others to take it up, or just for fun? Could it be considered my DD since I don't have SAM, DRG, WAR, ect...?

3) Since I'm wanting to have a healer/buffer, a tank, and a DD, I really should continue to take NIN up, which is at 58. I've dumped a good amount of gil into this job too, and need to get back to it. May be interested in doing this soon, but not just yet. Would like to at least play PUP up to around level 30 or so first since I haven't gotten to put any time into it really.

4) SCH is at 61, and if I took it to 80, I think it would be pretty hot. A pain in the ass, but hot. Not really looking forward to it though.

5) SMN is at 70, and it's actually pretty fun to play, but I don't know that I can stick with it for another 5~10 levels. Feels so limited to what it can do compared to playing RDM, which is never a dull moment. Would be pretty awesome to have a SMN at 80 though, definitely has some strengths. Kind of a waste to not finish it out too.

6) DDs? Mmmm don't really have any. DRK is at 38. The rest are around lvl 16. Don't have WAR (29?) up high enough for NIN to sub anymore, and don't have DNC (16) up high enough for other jobs to sub for long. So if I want a melee DD (or even level NIN), I'm going to have to level the subjob first. Blah!

7) BLM (27) could be a lot of fun, and easier for me to accomplish taking it up compared to a melee DD since I have the other mage jobs leveled, and have a lot of the gear for it as well. But I dunno, haven't really thought about it much.

Review

After writing all of this up, I think that I've come to the conclusion that I'll probably not take a melee DD up at all, or at least not for a long long time. Since lots of others have DDs anyways, and I'll most often be able to be the mage in the party. And since that's the case, I should end up taking BLM up at some point, for nuking in some situations, compared to physical damage. SMN as well for the same thing, except for Astral Flow instead of nuking of course. Not too big of a priority yet though. Also not a bad idea to keep taking NIN up since at times there's usually a lack of having a healer or a tank. Not as often for finding DDs. For now I think that I had better stick with RDM, and get some missions/goals completed, and then just switch over to PUP when there's not a whole lot going on. And then hopefully get NIN into some MMMs.

80RDM / 40???

Ding! Hit lvl 80 on RDM!

Got some sweet XP from multiple MMM runs last night. Getting between 5k-6k each time. Leaving me with just 13 XP tnl (level 80). And then .. Comcast began performing maintenance in my area to "provide the best possible service." So I had to call it a night at that point, since I couldn't log back in.

Jumped on today just long enough to go kill a lizard in Vollbow, and finally got it!! Should be interesting to see what can be done now. Hopefully get access to some nice subjob abilities that I couldn't before.

/40NIN
Most likely I'll still use NIN for my sub. Nothing new really, no new job abilities using /40NIN, just nice to have the shadows and dual wield. Simple enough.

/40SCH
I've had high hopes of subbing Scholar, thinking that some of RDM's better buffs or debuffs could be used to AoE. But no.. we can't, that's BS. Can't AoE Haste, Refresh, tier 2 EN-Spells, or even high level Cures. That blows.. Can AoE Stoneskin though, and I believe Phalanx, as well as teir 1 EN-Spells. So that's still pretty decent. Also, it brings up some of our lower magic skills to a B+. Which could make things like nuking a little more fun since they'll do more damage. Still .. I'm disappointed in not being able to AoE something more interesting. I can understand Haste and Refresh really, but why not teir 2 EN-Spells? I suppose a full party doing additional damage per hit would make killing mobs a little too easy. Another reason /SCH is nice is because of Sublimation, which isn't better than Refresh, but it's nice because it constantly does damage to my HP, making it so I can't be slept. Situational, but nice to have that in my pocket in case it's needed.
Edit: Forgot to mention, SCH also provides Resist Silence as a job trait which is hot, and when using the Light or Dark arts, spells cost is less and are cast faster. Lots of advantages to using /40SCH.

/40WHM
The standard useful subjob for healing of course. Not sure what new I'll have access to with /40WHM. Haven't really looked into it that much. I've heard that /40WHM also doesn't grant any new job abilities, and not a whole lot of new spells either. Stona will be handy that's for sure though. That might be about it. Probably still going with /SCH over /WHM though.

/40BLM
/40SCH seems a little more likely to be used really since it actually raises our magic skill caps. But /40BLM has some interest too. Mostly for Elemental Seal + Sleepga II, but that's been available since before the update. (And /40SCH can AoE Sleep II, just without having Elemental Seal) Think that Warp II becomes available at subjob level now as well. /SCH will beat out /BLM unless there's another reason to use it that I'm not seeing yet.

/40DRK
I like to play with DRK subbed, drain, aspir, more melee damage, access to Vorpal Blade WS, Absorb spells, and of course Stun. I haven't done it myself, but I've heard of Absorb-MND being incredible, but not sure how / what it was used for. That's a tactic I want to check into more. +20 or so MND to make spells more potent? Sounds killer, that's a lot of MND to be adding. For a RDM though, it looks to be yet another situational job. Mostly for Chainspell + Stun.
Edit: Hmmm .. /39DRK can use Absorb-INT. That might be nasty!

/40DNC
I pretty much laugh at the thought of this. Mainly since I am casting .. so .. incredibly .. much. That I don't really get a chance to build a whole lot of TP, especially if I'm in a PT. Solo isn't so bad since it's just me to cure & buff. I suppose I get a decent enough amount though to at least give it a try. Would be nice to be able to remove silence from myself when needed. And Aspir Samba would be nice at times. Too bad EN-Spells can't be used at the same time as Sambas though. Sounds some what interesting, mostly being a situational subjob to remove silence.
Edit: Since I'm planning on using a dagger in my main hand and doing the Trial of Magians to get an off-hand sword with +9 Store TP, /DNC might have a little more appeal. Dancer is awesome, but I'm not sure if this subjob would do that much for a RDM though.


/40BLU & /40PLD
I've read that some people like to sub these jobs on RDM, but I don't really see the reasoning yet. Will have to look into that more to see what the benefits are.


Review:
Looks like /NIN will still be the subjob of choice the majority of the time, /SCH for most parties, the rest being situational. Sooooo kind of the same as being lvl 75 almost, no major improvments or changes in abilities for RDM it seems. (Except /DRK might have some potential with Absorb-INT, and of course SCH's AoEs) Maybe something new next update.

Any job that sub's RDM however, now gets Convert. And that's going to be interesting to see how that works out for parties. Not too fond of other mages being able to use it really, but ahhh well. (Expecting to possibly see mages dying after converting and casting cure on themselves lol)

Solo Evisceration WSNM

Target: Baronial Bat
Location: Gustav Tunnel: J-8 on map 2
Mob Level: 82
Reason: : Learn "Evisceration" Dagger WS
Me: 79RDM/39NIN
Preparation: Close to none
Outcome: Epic Fail (Well not too epic, but was a fail none the less)

Zoned into Gustav Tunnel, and got goblin aggro right away, which wasn't a good sign already. Killed it and then moved onto J-8. Had about 3-4 decent challenge skeletons and a Robber Crab near the ??? location. Buffed up and killed the crab since I planned to pull the NM to there. Put sneak up and positioned myself at the ???. When skeletons looked to be out of aggro range, popped Baronial Bat and pulled him to where the crab was. Baronial Bat hit hard and fast though.. taking shadows down extremely quick. Then one shotting my Stoneskin. And then dealing multiple critical hits on me in a row. Only took off about 5% of his life due to the amount of time spent recasting shadows and SS .. wasn't looking good at all. Luckily Ice Spikes paralyzed him pretty well, his next three attacks failed due to him being paralyzed. Activated a warp scroll and said "peice out!"

Failing to plan is planning to fail I suppose.

79RDM vs 79-81 Heraldic Imps

Target: Heraldic Imp
Location: Caedarva Mire (Right outside of Runic Portal)
Mob level range: 79-81
Check as: EM++ to Tough
Reason: EXP / Merits
Me: 79RDM/39NIN


Run #1
Amount of Time: 9:25 - 9:46 (21 min..)
Amount of EXP: 991
Amount of resting: none
Starting XP: 15,724 / 46,000
Ending XP: 16,715 / 46,000


Imp #1: 150
Imp #2: 180 (Chain 1)
Imp #3: 187 (Chain 2)
Imp #4: 240 (none..)
Imp #5: 234 (Chain 1)


Review: Wasn't impressive.. 991 XP in 20 minutes. Went and did two back to back books in Vollbow for about 1700 each. (3400 xp).
Will try it out again, but may also need to try Campaign instead.
Mobs levels no longer support good enough XP returns it seems, and sometimes wasn't able to find a mob to keep the chain going due to competing with a party.



Equipment:
My equipment setup isn't as good as it could be.
Not using daggers yet due to not having evisceration.
Don't have joytoy.
Don't have some other popular / relied on peices.





Resources:
http://www.ffxionline.com/forums/red-mage/73319-soloing-merits-rdm.html (Written before June 2010 update)

RDM Merits

(I've quickly thrown this together, but will refine it more, updates to come)

Lots to consider here ... to have DD/melee or kiter/caster RDM build?

Well, think I'm going more with the DD/Melee build since I plan to straight tank, solo kill for XP and merits. And since we'll be going to LVL 99 at some point, that seems like the way to go (let alone A LOT more fun).

Green = Highly expecting to merit.
Orange = Decision needed, caught between multiple choices.
Red = Not expected to merit.


HP/MP
[1→2→3→4→5→5→5→5]
Max combo: 8
Max per item: 8

• Max HP (+10 per upgrade)
• Max MP (+10 per upgrade) (6/8) - Going 8/8

MP all the way.

Attributes
[3→6→9→9→9]
Max combo: 5
Max per item: 5

• STR (+1 per upgrade) (0/5) - Effects DD/Melee capabilities. Has a chance to go 5/5, bind is great and all, but damage is needed for all tank/DD fights I do solo, will be used constantly. Bind may only be used on occasion, or just when kiting or bind/nuke bind/nuke bind/nuke.
• DEX (+1 per upgrade) (0/5) - Have read guides saying that DEX isn't as good to choose, which sounds right actually, but I may be focusing on using daggers over swords, so, still considering it an option. Does DEX effect daggers more than STR would? INT or STR will most likely get the merits over DEX.
• INT (+1 per upgrade) (0/5) - Effects vital enfeebles such as bind and paralyze. Elemental DMG. Will most likely 5/5. Bind, paralyze, and Elemental damage are pretty nice, and can have a need to stick/be strong at times...

Whatever is picked, it should go 5/5. Not .. really .. sure ... which

Weapon Skills
[1→2→3→3→3→3→3→3]
Max Combo: 20 (includes Defensive Skills)
Max per item: 8

• Sword Skill (+2 per upgrade) (0/8) - Not likely. Daggers are more DPS at the moment.
• Dagger Skill (+2 per upgrade) (0/8) - Blau/Joy is a high DPS setup. /Epee and /Trial may also = high DPS. Going 5/5

Daggers!

Defensive Skills

[1→2→3→3]
Max Combo: 20 (includes Weapon Skills)
Max per item: 4

• Guarding Skill (+2 per upgrade)
• Evasion Skill (+2 per upgrade) (1/4)
• Shield Skill (+2 per upgrade)
• Parrying Skill (+2 per upgrade)(0/4)

Magic Skills

Only skills that the current (level 75) job possesses can be adjusted.
[1→2→3→3→3→3→3→3]
Max combo: 16
Max per item: 8

• Enfeebling Magic (+2 per upgrade) (0/8) - 8/8 without a doubt.
• Enhancing Magic (+2 per upgrade) (0/8) - Battle between Enhancing or Elemental. More DPS for EN-Spells, stronger Stoneskin! Better for soloing? 50% chance to go 8/8
• Elemental Magic (+2 per upgrade) (0/8) - Battle between Enhancing or Elemental. May be the stronger choice for soloing, or Chainspell nukes for quick kills. Heavier hitting Nukes! 50% chance to go 8/8

Enfeebling is our strong suit, making it stronger. A no brainer. Enhancing v/s Elemental Magic, tough choice. Especially if going /SCH. Dark Arts takes us up to a B+ in Elemental Magic, which would make it better to go with Enhancing. AOE EN-Spells may be a new hit used often. As well as AOE SS, so on. BUT, Elemental Nukes hitting harder with B+ rating is nice too... Thinking Enhancing might take the lead, but still 50/50.

Others

[1→2→3→4]
Max combo: 8
Max per item: 4

• Enmity Increase (+1 per upgrade) (0/4)
• Enmity Decrease (-1 per upgrade) (0/4)
• Critical Hit Rate (+1% per upgrade) (0/4)
• Enemy Critical Hit Rate (-1% per upgrade) (0/4)
• Spell Interruption Rate (-2% per upgrade) (1/4) - Useful for NIN, or any job really.

Group 1 RDM Merits

[1→2→3→4→5]
Max combo: 10 (for each job)
Max per item: 5

• Convert Recast (-20 seconds per upgrade) (0/5) - Already at 5/5. Convert is just too handy to not take advantage of.
• Fire Magic Accuracy (+3 magic accuracy per upgrade) - No
• Ice Magic Accuracy (+3 magic accuracy per upgrade) (0/5) - Bind, paralyze, stronger elemental damage. So far don't see why any other element accuracy would get merits. Bind is said to be RDM's bread and butter. Ice Magic Accuracy, as stated, .. used to increase the chances of vital spells like bind sticking. Increased Elemental damage output.
• Wind Magic Accuracy (+3 magic accuracy per upgrade) - No, but could effect silence sticking better.
• Earth Magic Accuracy (+3 magic accuracy per upgrade) - No
• Lightning Magic Accuracy (+3 magic accuracy per upgrade) - No
• Water Magic Accuracy (+3 magic accuracy per upgrade) - No

Group 2 RDM Merits
[3→4→5→5→5]
Max combo: 10 (for each job)
Max per item: 5

• Dia III (+30 seconds duration per upgrade : 30/60/90/120/150 seconds) (0/5) - While I'd love to merit this for the -15% defence of the mob, even for solo, to take em out straight tank/DDing them, think it's going to have to go to Bio III instead. "Dia III is extremely good for zergs and melee-dependent events. Not to mention, it increases your damage as well if you happen to be meleeing. Dia III is a 15% -DEF to any mob, and unlike it's previous versions, the difference in damage is actually heavily noticeable. " ..... if I plan to solo ... and we're eventually going to get to lvl 99 ... I'm thinking that I may actually take this over Bio III, since I'm not really planning on kiting much.
• Slow II (+1 effect and +2 Magic Accuracy per upgrade) (0/5) - Looks to be one of the two to go 5/5.
• Phalanx II (+1 effect and +2 Magic Accuracy per upgrade) (1/5) - Seems to be, kind of weak/un-noticable? Not likely, but there is still testing on this by the community. ( I have a merit in this, but will most likely be removing it)
• Bio III (+30 seconds duration and +3 damage reduction per upgrade) (0/5) - Looks to be one of the two to go 5/5. If this gets merited, it needs to go 5/5 to be effective.
• Blind II (+1 effect and +2 Magic Accuracy per upgrade) (0/5) - No way

Getting mixed results from different sites / people's opinions. So far seems like Slow II and Bio III are the way to go. Dia III could be effective for straight tanking as well. Hmmmm... now I'm thinking Dia III

Resources:
http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/forum.html?fjob=2&mid=1275191571313971950&page=1

http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/RDM

http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/wiki/Merit_Points