What to merit? AGI or DEX?

[Mirabelle]

I am in the same boat as you with COR and RNG mains and some DNC and THF on the side. I went 12 STR and 12 AGI.
1) Only JR and Evisceration benefit from DEX of my most used WS
2) Exenterator, Wildfire, Last Stand (all of which I use most) benefit more from AGI then Evis or JR benefit from DEX
3) I'm Mithra so my DEX is already pretty high

But when SE offers us more merits into that category, 12 DEX is my next plan.

[Mirage]

Ok then! I think Im going with 8STR,8DEX and 8AGI and lets see how it works.

That also costs less merit points than doing 12/12 agidex

[saevel]

I would suggest 12 STR as a minimum, especially if your doing ranged jobs. fSTR for ranged weapons is x2 the bonus of what melee's get, for WS's then ends up being the equivalent of a 60% STR WSC.

Just to give you an idea

JR (60% DEX WSC)
+10 DEX = 10 * .6 * .85 = +5.1 WSC * 5.25 (fTP) = +26.77 DMG
+10 STR = 10/2 = +5 fSTR2 * 5.25 (fTP) = +26.25 DMG

LS (100% AGI WSC)
+10 AGI = 10 * 1.0 * .85 = +8.5 WSC * 4.0 (fTP) = +34 DMG
+10 STR = 10/2 = +5 fSTR2 * 4.0 = +20 DMG

WF (60% AGI WSC, use's AGI for it's fINT term at a 2.0 multiplier)
+10 AGI = 10 * .6 * .85 = 5.1 * 5.5 (fTP) = 28.05 total base DMG.
+10 AGI = 10 * 2.0 = +20 DMG (assuming your already past the monsters INT prior to adding the 12 AGI)

fSTR also enhanced the damage on each hit, for melee jobs it's +0.25 DMG per point of extra STR and for ranged attacks it's 0.5 DMG per point of extra STR. Jobs like THF and NIN actually get more from fSTR then WARs and DRKs due to their low delay and base DMG value. Of all the attributes this is the one to max to 12 because it IS that damn good. The other 12 merits are up to you, 6 DEX / 6 AGI or just 12 AGI, your choice.

tldr;
Your gimping yourself on all melee and ranged attack jobs if you don't have 12/12 STR merited. It would be like not meriting critical hit rate. The other 12 points won't have near as big an effect, though if you like to use Exten / LS then the 12 AGI will be a decent boost to your WS's.

[Lyberty]

Thanks for your input Saevel^^ I will get 12 STR merits but still have to decide about DEX and AGI :/ things are never easy for an elvaan with dex and agi being your lowest natural stats. ;(

[saevel]

I went 12/12 STR and 12/12 DEX but I don't play RNG, COR or any job that relies on tons of AGI either. Honestly if your jobs of choice are ranged jobs then AGI >>>> DEX, especially for COR. AGI effects WF / LS and QD damage, whereas DEX would only somewhat boost JR and Evis.

[Lyberty]

Ok^^ thanks again for your input

[Spiritreaver]

Way late to the thread, but wanted to chime in.

Seconded on the 12STR/12DEX. Will go well with firmly making your JR's crazy when you get it unlocked. I can personally attest on this one.

After many talks with some COR buddies(this is super anecdotal though since i don't have WF), they have been having good results stacking in this order MAB > AGI > other stuff. But like i say, that is second-hand info. I'm a bow RNG, always have been.

And also, slightly off-topic, do not underestimate proper ammo. For JR, do not skimp and use the cheap stuff, it does make a difference. I know it doesn't matter on WF. Just something to keep in mind. I truly hate seeing otherwise decked out bow RNGs rocking the crap arrows during WSs.

[Babekeke]

There is another aspect to this. Dex still affects your crit rate on regular ranged attacks. AGI affects R Acc on regular ranged attacks, so if you easily have enough r acc for TPing, your agi merits are wasted during this phase when you could be getting extra damage from crits. Alternatively, if you take 12 agi merits, swap out a piece of gear that you previously needed for racc, and stick something else in there instead (R att, STR or DEX).

Lastly, remember that merits are so easy to come by, you can experiment^^

[Lyberty]

Im "almost" regreting the decision to make gandiva lol if it wasnt for this love I have for bows I would only stick with arma... But oh well now I see that i will have to experiment the merit swaps and see what fits me better^^ I really appreciate the inputs

[Rambus]

I would only do 12 str/12 dex if you where planning to have the emp BOW ws, and the main reason for that is because it is a crt type ws, the modifier for adding damage is just a bonus.

Otherwise 12str/12 agi would seem to go father for you.