Red Mage: Endgame Melee Equipment Guide by Tashan

---Under Construction---

A guide to the vast amount of gear avaialble for an Endgame Red Mage wishing to enhance their playing experience through meleeing. Anyone who wishes to add additional equipment is most welcome, but please keep in mind that this is a guide based on neutral opinion and a community resource.

Introduction
Whilst within parties (i.e. Experience/Merit, End Game Events) a Red Mage's best ability is to support their aliies. However, there is more to the job than spellcasting. Particularly with the introduction of systems such as Campaign, more and more Red Mages are spending time on the frontlines alongise their friends and therefore should equip themselves towards the role efficiently.

A Few Notes
Unlike other frontline jobs, finding the right personal balance in equipment choices is a big task for Red Mages. Whilst it is important to augment your Melee skills as much as possible, it is even more important to survive. This includes not neglecting your +MP, Enfeeble Stat Bonus', and Stoneskin/Phalanx items when it matters most.
 * This guide will recommend equipment for Red Mages using a variety of support jobs. This includes EX Weapon Skills, Job Abilities, Job Traits and Spells.
 * As nice as it looks, your Arifact Armor is not good for meleeing. That being said however, they are still very nice pieces of equipment and should be used effectively in macros.
 * Campaign is very forgiving on jobs with lower Combat Skill ratings, and you should be able to reach the accuracy cap quite easily. This allows you to equip other equipment, such as +Haste and +Attack Gear.
 * The biggest advantage of Red Mage melee equipment is that it is mostly available to other jobs that can benefit from it (e.g. Scorpion Harness). This is important to remember and can save you a lot time, money and Mog House space.
 * Those who truly wish to become effective at Red Mage Melee and enjoy the experience must not neglect their responsibilities. This means making specific equipment macros for each Enfeebling spell, Stoneskin, Phalanx, Nuking, Job Abilities, Support Job Spells (i.e. Utsusemi: Ni, Cocoon...), TP Building and Weapon Skills.

Weapon
The best weapon is the one that works for you. Red Mages have a B skill rating in both Dagger and Sword so feel free to use either of the two categories. A good way to look at the two is Daggers are for speed and Swords are for damage. On that note, determining what the "best" weapon is not as straightforward as with other damage dealer jobs. The options are extremley vast in terms of utility, and one weapon thats good for one situation may lack in others.

Please remember that with only a B skill rating, Red Mages are required to equip a lot more accuracy gear than other frontline jobs for fighting tougher monsters.

Sword
Royal Guard's Fleuret

Accuracy, Parrying Skill and the lowest delay sword on this list make this a great weapon for skilling up. While Red Mages only have an E in Parrying Skill, it is still important to cap as those occasional attack blocks can save your life. Combine this with your Artifact Gloves for some nice results.

Wise Wizard's Anelace

Not the greatest of swords but nonetheless popular amongst Dual-Wield fans. Having one of these in each hand grants you a substantial +28 Attack bonus. Very Nice.

Macuahuitl +1

It's no secret, Red Mages have great tools for survival. For those who wish to have attacks focused on themselves and not their friends, this sword is a great way to start. However, please be aware that Red Mage tanking is not for the faint of hearted, and is a challenge only for those of higher skill and experience.

Enhancing Sword

An amazing weapon exclusive to Red Mages. Having a dedicated enspell setup does wonderful things for melee RDM's. Unlike +Attack equipment, +Enspell damage does exactly as it says it does and is genuinely noticeable. This sword not only grants +5 to Enspell damage, but +8 Accuracy and +16 Attack through its Latent Effect. Obtained by defeating Bune or can be bought for a very expensive price at your nearest Auction House. If you have this sword, enjoy it, it's one of the best in the arsenal.

Tutelary

A weapon for those who like to use Spirits Within. Also an option for those who like to play defensive support jobs such as Blue Mage and Paladin. Obtained through the BCNM Ouryu Cometh.

Joyeuse

When it comes down to significantly increasing your damage, the Joyeuse is incredible. Popular amongst players, this sword grants a ~45% Double Attack to its user. Obtained by defeating Charybdis, the time and effort you put into getting one of these is well worth it.

Sapara of Trials

Besides being a means of getting access to Savage Blade, this sword has two notable uses. The first is the +HP bonus which is good for a Spirits Within setup. The second is the +10 bonus resistance to Fire and Wind. Elemental Resistance is undervalued amongst many players, however it is can play an important role in survival. Used in conjunction with the appropiate barspell you are able to reduce the damage from magical enemies substantially by using Elemental Resistance gear. This can mean the difference between life and death against many mobs, particularly those who like to cast high tier'd -ga spells.

Dissector

Another great way to increase your damage output is through "Increases Critical Hit Rate" equipment. Combined with other equipment found in this guide and full merits, a Red Mage can increase their Crit Hit Rate by about 16~20%. The disadvantage of this weapon is that it requires breaking the Weapon Skill latent of 500 points, and is a very weak weapon before then.

Martial Anelace

TP Bonus! Put simply, this grants an extra 100% TP modifier to your weapon skills - i.e. If you use Savage Blade at 200% this weapon will treat it as 300%. This is a great blade for Spirit's Within fans and will allow you to use the Weapon Skill effectively faster. Do be aware that this sword must be used in the main hand for the effect.

Guespiere

Another RDM exclusive weapon; +6 MND makes this the best sword for casting Paralyze, Slow and Stoneskin without having to change your weapons and losing TP. In addition, its great for getting the most damage out of the 30% STR and 50% modifiers in Savage Blade. Unfortunantly, there are no reports of how much defense the Additional Effect reduces and whether it stacks with Dia, but it doesn't seem to activate enough to be relied on anyway.

Mensur Epee

A great sword to use; this blade increases in damage in smaller parties and rests at DMG:47 when soloing making its DPS just a few points less than than the Joyeuse. The importance of this is that it increases your damage output without increasing the rate at which your opponent gains more TP. Unfortunantly, the increase in DMG is not applied to weapon skills.

Justice Sword

Obtained by defeating Jailer of Justice in Sea, this is the second double-attacking weapon a Red Mage can equip. The first advantage of this weapon over Joyeuse is the +7STR which is great for weaponskills such as Vorpal Blade and Savage Blade. The second is that it stacks with Double Attack great for even more DoT. The disadvantage of this weapon is that it requires you to give up your Ammo slot for a Virtue Stone, however the result is well worth the cost.

Dagger
Kidney Dagger

Equip this weapon purely for a Crit Hit Setup. Dual-Wielding this weapon with Dissector will give you a nice 11% increase in Critical Hit Rate and is very fun to watch. However, due to its low damage you won't get the most damage for Dagger Weapon Skilsl out of this and is better off-handed.

Garuda's Dagger

Obtained through the quest Trial by Wind. Best used on Windsday, this weapon is superb against mage type enemies and will even work on those you may have trouble enfeebling with the spell Silence. This does not stack with Enspells however.

Dagger of Trials

Just like Sapara of Trials this weapon has a HP boost beneficial in the off-hand for Spirit's Within, and Elemental Resistance. Of course, you'll want to get rid of this as soon as possible for Evisceration, your best bet at inflicting damage with a Dagger weapon skill.

Misericorde/Misericorde +1

A nice, easy to get Dagger for the purpose of damage dealing. The MP bonus will help soften the loss of MP you may find when changing from Convert to Melee macros. The extra DEX is nice for squeezing the most damage out of Evisceration, and the +2-3MND will benefit your enfeebles and Stoneskin.

Zareehkl Jambiya

A new Dagger dropped from the tier II ZNM Zareehkl the Jubilant. While under 75% HP this weapon has a latent effect of DMG:36, higher than the Blau Dolch. However, this does have a higher delay (201) and no other effects, making it unable to knock the ever popular Blau Dolch from its top spot.

Blau Dolch

As far as Daggers for damage dealing go this weapon reigns king. The Blau Dolch grants Attack+16, Accuracy+5 and DMG:33 to its wielder whilst under 100% TP. Coupled with its low delay, the Blau Dolch is very popular amongst the Red Mage community. However, it is also very expensive on most servers and is only recommended for players with other jobs that can benefit from it or perfectionists. Also obtained through the ENM Shell We Dance?

Martial Knife

Whilst the Blau Dolch is great for DoT and Evisceration, you'll want to pick up one of these for Energy Drain. As a martial weapon you recieve a 100% TP bonus to a weapon skill, allowing you to steal more MP at a faster rate.

Thanatos Baselard

Enfeebling Magic Skill +4. Need I say more?