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Red Mage Guide by Feauce/Equipment
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This category, of course, being where our weapons will be placed, will be broken down into the types we can and will be expected to use over the course of our career. Also, I will try to give you a few more options than I believed we had during my time through the levels.
Swords
- Swords are what we'll use for their higher damage and comparable delay, though the weapon skills we have access to leaves something to be desired. For several levels, Rapier-type swords will be available, which have a lower delay than other swords.
Name Level Dmg Delay DPS Notes Bronze Sword 1 6 231 1.56 A good starting weapon, as it's either this or an Onion Sword... Xiphos 7 8 228 2.11 A definite upgrade from your previous weapon, especially if you're still using Onion gear. Royal Archer's Sword 10 10 228 2.63 The nice part about this weapon? It's free if you're San d'Orian. You can buy this with CP and save your gil. Brass Xiphos 13 12 228 3.16 An improvement over the Royal Archer's, though how much is up for debate. You won't go wrong with this weapon. Fire Sword 18 15 225 4.00 The first weapon that you can't purchase from an NPC in some way, this one (as its name implies) will add Fire damage randomly. Similar to our own Enfire, except that it won't activate on every hit. Good for Crabs and Pugils at these levels. Auriga Xiphos 
19 17 224 4.55 Gives Acc+2, and has amazing damage for its level. If you want to camp this one, you'll be using it for a while. Degen 20 14 224 3.75 If you didn't get a Fire Sword, I'd suggest you get this, as it's certainly a step up from the Brass Xiphos. Gladius 27 17 228 4.47 An improvement over previous weapons, unless you managed to get the Auriga Xiphos. If you're happy with your damage output, don't worry about this one too much, as in a few levels you'll have another one open up. Centurion's Sword 30 19 225 5.07 A great weapon for several jobs, as it has both Acc+3 and Atk+4. Purchased with CP from Bastok, and its Auction price may be a bit high, depending on your server. Fleuret 30 18 221 4.89 A good sword if you can't afford the Centurion's, or simply want a different style of weapon. This is one of our Rapier-class swords, and as such will deal piercing damage instead of slashing (except on weapon skills). Buzzard Tuck
40 23 224 6.16 A sort of miniature Enhancing Sword (see below), this will give you some nice bonuses in its own right. DEX+1, Enspell Damage+2, Enspell Duration+5 Fencing Degen
41 22 224 5.89 Our AF weapon, listed here for completeness. Unfortunately, you'll want to quest it and put it in storage, as you'd be better off going with the Buzzard Tuck or a Solid Wand. If this had a couple extra points worth of stats on it, it would probably be useful. As it sits, it gives us MP+10, INT+1, MND+1. Crimson Blade 49 28 231 7.27 With MP+10 and INT+5, this isn't a bad sword, and an improvement in damage. It lacks the MND bonus from the Solid Wand, but as swords go, it's not bad at all. Royal Guard's Fleuret 55 33 215 9.21 A good Rapier-class weapon, giving Acc+6 and Parry+5. Purchased with San d'Orian CP, at this level it's either this or the next item, depending on allegiance, personal style, and the size of your wallet. Wise Wizard's Anelace 55 34 226 9.03 A nice sword for us, giving Atk+14 with a rather quick delay for a sword. Purchased from Windurst with CP. Not unheard of for a Red Mage to own two of these weapons and use both with a Ninja subjob for a substantial Atk+28. Enhancing Sword
68 40 240 10.00 A weapon unique to us, this one gives us some nice buffs for our Enspells. Enspell Damage+5, and Latent Effects: Acc+8 and Atk+16. Latents are active when we have an Enspell active. Joyeuse
70 35 224 9.38 I doubt I need to explain this one, but it gets 
+14 and Usually attacks twice. Have fun camping this one.
Guespiere
73 38 226 10.09 Another unique weapon of ours, it gives STR+1, MND+6, and has Additional Effect: Weakens Defense. Excalibur
75 49 233 12.62 No, this isn't a cruel joke, I'm just giving you something to drool over. This is one of our two relic weapons, and one that we share with Paladins.
Daggers
- Daggers are fairly common weapons, and among all the several jobs that can use them, we're close to the top in skill. This is a low-damage, low-delay weapon type, and in fact offers three of the lowest delay melee weapons to date, clocking in at a delay of 150. Combine that with only our native Haste spell, dropping that to one attack every 2.1 seconds, and you'll see why Enspells with a dagger equipped are so powerful.
- We also gain several weapon skills not allowed to other jobs (including the potent Evisceration), the only exceptions being the Thief/Dancer-exclusive weapon skills Dancing Edge and Shark Bite. That being said, the weapon skills up to that point generally aren't worth a whole lot.
Name Level Dmg Delay DPS Notes Ceremonial Dagger 1 1 183 0.33 You won't actually be using this in melee unless you want to laugh your enemies to death. You'll want this instead for the MP+10 it gives you. Bronze Dagger 1 3 183 0.98 As with the swords, it's either this or an Onion Dagger. Or you could use a Rusty Dagger, if you manage to fish one up. It has identical stats, it just needs some WD-40. Beestinger
7 4 150 1.60 One of three 150-delay daggers we have access to, and comes with DEX+1 and AGI+1 to boot. Even without an Enspell to back it up, this will do some nice damage just from the attack speed alone. Brass Dagger 9 5 183 1.64 This is an upgrade only if you didn't get the Beestinger, though they're making you wait quite a while for it. Dagger 12 7 183 2.30 A more obvious weapon, there is not. Platoon Dagger 20 8 150 3.20 Our second 150-delay dagger, though this one doesn't come with any additional benefits. The damage is higher, so if you're still using daggers (especially with Enspells), this may give some nice damage. Decurion's Dagger 20 10 178 3.37 A toss-up between this and the Platoon Dagger. For a slightly higher delay and damage, this one gives Acc+2. This one can be purchased from Bastok with CP, so that may be a consideration as well. Royal Squire's Dagger 30 12 181 3.98 Another CP item, this one from San d'Oria. Like the Decurion's Dagger, this gives Acc+3, along with a nice damage upgrade. Acid Baselard 40 14 186 4.52 If you want an upgrade from the Royal Squire's Dagger, this could fit the bill, especially if you like the ability. This one (another in a series of status-inflicting daggers) has Additional Effect: Weakens Defense. Hornetneedle
48 16 150 6.40 If you didn't want to raise your Dagger skill before, you will once you get this. Like the Beestinger before it, this comes with DEX+1 and AGI+1, and is the third in our series of 150-delay daggers. Using this with an Enspell and Haste can dish out some serious damage. Triple Dagger
51 13 183 4.26 This dagger gives Triple Attack+1%, so it might be something to look into. All in all, don't expect this to be as good as something like the Hornetneedle. Kidney Dagger 56 18 183 5.90 Now we're talking. Crit Rate+5% isn't bad, whether you're offhanding it, or if you didn't get the Hornetneedle. Garuda's Dagger
65 19 183 6.23 Guess where you get this one. A nice set of buffs, this dagger gives AGI+3, Atk+7, and Additional Effect: Silence. From what I hear, Silence activates at an alarming rate, and will even stick to creatures that are almost immune to the effect, like Ahriman. Daylight Dagger
70 28 183 9.18 The only bonus on this dagger is Daytime (06:00 to 18:00): Acc+12. Not a bad boost, and also is one of the higher damage daggers we can equip. All things considered, this isn't a bad weapon at all. Palladium Dagger
70 30 201 8.96 Kind of a high delay as daggers go, but the damage is high as well, especially considering the daggers we can use. Also gives R.Atk+5, Parry+5, Counter+1, and Additional Effect: Wind damage. And while it is Exclusive, it is not Rare, so it is possible to have two of these if you are so inclined. Blau Dolch
72 26
33178 8.76
11.12Yes, that's right, we can use the Blau Dolch. Base is DMG:26, but the Latent Effect: DMG:33 activates when less than 100% TP and during weapon skills. While this latent is active, there is also a Hidden Effect of Acc+5 and Atk+16. Mandau
75 39 176 13.30 This one is a cruel joke. Our other relic weapon, this one shared with Thieves and Bards. Imagine having this thing in one hand, and Excalibur in the other. You may begin drooling, just remember to mop up when you're finished.
Staves
- This will be a very short list. The reason why? Because we have no native skill in Staff. So primarily you're going to be looking at the elemental staves, but we don't need them all. All staves of this type include an Additional Effect damage of their element, with a very good activation rate. It also is irrelevant for our purposes as Red Mages, so I will leave that off of these listings.
- What these staves are used for are the M.Acc we get when we equip them during casting of our various Enfeebling Magic and other spells. So, with these staves, I will be listing the kinds of spells you will want to pair these with, so that you can set up your macros accordingly.
Name Level Dmg Delay DPS Notes Ice Staff 51 30 366 4.92 This staff grants INT+4, 
+15, and Elemental Magic+10. So, any Elemental spells we need to cast, such as the Elemental Debuffs, could be cast with this staff, however its true use for us are our own Paralyze and (to a lesser extent) Bind spells.
Wind Staff 51 30 366 4.92 As one might expect from this staff, it gives AGI+4, 
+15, and Eva+10. It also enhances our two Wind-based spells, Gravity and Silence. Also, Invisible and Sneak are Wind-based spells as well, though whether this will enhance them in any way isn't known and would take a lot of work to figure out with any certainty.
Earth Staff 51 30 366 4.92 This will likely be one of the more expensive staves, because it is used by many people for kiting. It gives VIT+4, 
+15, and Physical Damage-20%. Our only Earth-based spell is Slow, but it is also an important spell to keep in effect, so this will be well worth the gil spent to get it.
Thunder Staff 51 30 366 4.92 Following the pattern of bonuses, this one grants DEX+4, 
+15, and Crit Rate+15%. In all honesty, you won't need this one until endgame, as the only Thunder-based spell we have is Stun, the only one on this list we don't get natively.
Water Staff 51 30 366 4.92 Seeing a pattern yet? The staves give bonuses similar to the rings at various levels. This one has MND+4, 
+15, and Divine Magic+10. The only Water-based spell we have is Poison, so it's up to you if you want to spend the money on this one or not. However, it also increases MND, so it is handy for adding a few points to Stoneskin if you wish to use it that way.
Light Staff 51 30 366 4.92 One of two staves that have odd attribute bonuses, this one gives STR+1, DEX+1, VIT+1, AGI+1, INT+1, MND+1, CHR+1, +15, and Cure Potency+10%. Of course, the last item on the list gives away what this staff is used for. Especially if you don't have a White Mage subjob for Divine Seal, make sure this staff is in your Convert macro, as well as for your Cure macros.
Dark Staff 51 30 366 4.92 Last, but certainly not least, this staff has similar bonuses to the Light Staff. STR+1, DEX+1, VIT+1, AGI+1, INT+1, MND+1, CHR+1, 
+15, and hMP+10. Again, the last item in the list gives away its purpose. Or at least, part of it. As well as being useful while resting (when we actually manage to have the time), this will be used with all our Dark-based spells. Natively, Dispel, Sleep (especially Sleep II), Blind, and (if you make a macro for it) Bio. From subjobs, we use this staff with Drain and (most importantly) Aspir.
Source entry: Red Mage Guide by Feauce/Equipment. Cached on this server on 5 November 2026.