Why take a Red Mage?

[Martyr]

But it can't do all that at once. And, ultimately, it's going to have to be all meelee because the spell power falls to pieces. It simply becomes inferior to the ninja because the ninja can cast Fast AND do more damage.
What's the RM going to do? Cast Ice3 against monsters w/o weak points?

Nah. It's still a pain in the arse whichever way you look at it. And it's an insult to the use of a sword like the Defense, which can actually kill things in the hands of a Knight.

Edit: Yeah, I'm impossible.