Red Mage DPS Gear and Best in Slot — Dawntrail 7.55

With the relic weapon now out, this is Best in Slot for this expansion. As previously, 2.49 and 2.48 can be used if preferred with some meld swaps (specifically, either 1x or 2x SPS melds on the tome ring in place of DH).

For this tier's Savage raids and Ultimate, we can use a similar set at 2.48, 2.49, or 2.50 GCDs with a few meld swaps. This would be the bare minimum required to enter Dancing Mad (Ultimate). The actual damage difference between them is negligible and mostly comes down to comfort. The default set shown below is 2.48, which has the most compatibility with other casters (both Summoner and Pictomancer).

For 2.49 BiS: Swap 1x SPS meld on tome ring to DH.

For 2.50 BiS: Swap both SPS melds on tome ring to 2x DH.

For Futures Rewritten (Ultimate), there are a wide range of sets that can be used depending on equipment available from the i735 dungeon, the previous raid tier, and weapon availability. But all else equal, for additional mechanic alignment in P1, 2.48 may be a slightly more comfortable GCD to default to first. In general, the priority is relic weapon, followed by FRU weapon, and lastly the Dark Horse weapon. Between Mistic Memory dungeon and Dark Horse savage armor pieces, dungeon gear has the edge due to item level. For accessories, Dark Horse savage has the edge due to the additional meld slot. But in both cases, it is also subject to substats. Max item level gear like the Grand Champion's body piece can win out at times like in the listed Best in Slot, but that is the exception and not the norm.

As far as gearing is concerned, The Omega Protocol, Dragonsong's Reprise, 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.

• The Omega Protocol (TOP): All gear iLevel 755 or above (available as of patch 7.2).
• Dragonsong's Reprise (DSR): All gear iLevel 725 or above.
• The Epic of Alexander (TEA): All gear iLevel 595 or above.
• The Weapon's Refrain (UWU): All gear iLevel 500 or above.
• The Unending Coil of Bahamut (UCOB): All gear iLevel 470 or above.

For weapons, it is advisable to use Relic Weapons due to substats being directly on the weapon and not melded. Dawntrail and Endwalker Relic Weapons are a DPS gain for TOP and DSR, and can also be used for TEA, UWU, and UCOB (in all cases, prioritize Crit + either Det or DH). The Shadowbringers Relic Weapon can also be used for TEA, UWU, and UCOB with even more precision, though optimal substat distribution will be subject to other gear you have.