Warrior Merits

[hiko]

My math isn't wrong, it's incomplete.[...]

So the average attack you receive is the same over any number of cycles. If you're zerging, you obviously want to stack them regardless, since it likely won't even exceed the three minutes of Berserk. Otherwise you receive the same average Attack boost either way. However, as I mentioned before, if you stack them, your WS will increase more in numbers, especially if you stack them with more abilities. Here's the simple example I gave before, 400 damage vs 600 damage receiving a 20% boost:

400*1.2 = 480 (80 extra damage)
600*1.2 = 720 (120 extra damage)

but in situation where stacking put you over pdiff cap not stacking is better

[Retsujo]

Personally for group 2 I did 5/5 WC and 5/5 Tomahawk. In my own opinion, the boosts gotten from Savagery compare pretty evenly with the benefits of meriting Protectra V for whm. That is to say, while it does give you some beneficially higher grade percentages, it's not really that marginally different from having 0 merits, and I would personally like to have a longer defense down effect on monsters it can apply towards than boost my attack ever so slightly.

But that's my own player preference. Shiny big numbers are great, but I would rather feel more useful towards my party in those ever so few cases where Tomahawk is useful.

[Babekeke]

If anything, you'll strive to do most WS during a highly buffed phase (as in, you'll try to get as many WS in during the Mighty Strikes phase as possible), which would count in favor of synchronised abilities, and hence against meriting Berserk.

Surely by this statement, what you're saying is that we should try to get berserk timer as close as possible to meditate timer?

Let's face it, there is no 1 best way to do this. If you stack all of your war 5 min timers up, you lose out on meditate, either using it during the non-buffed phase, or by waiting the extra 50s until next buffed phase so you can use it.

I personally went 5/5 aggressor, but that's ONLY because I levelled war as a skill up job, so reducing eva to let EP mandies hit me easier so I can retalliate them means I get more skill ups

Other factors for deciding are... if you're in a zerg/battlefield that might last 5 mins, surely it's better to get the extra 50s of berserk before you finish?

It's all situational for what you're doing and where you are. I always find myself in a situation where I wish I had merited differently (on all my jobs) and for now, we just live with it.

[Leonlionheart]

No matter what anyone says, there is no point to ever using aggressor in the first place in terms of DD output in abyssea, because if you don't have capped accuracy it simply means you have poor skills, or crappy gear.

Let's say you have 75 dex. 40 from furtherance, giving leeway to those who don't have the last one. 50 from RR. that's 165 DEX, or 123.7 accuracy. Just from dex. Without GA merits you should have 361 GA skill. That's 468 accuracy which is already capped on anything that cons up to Even Match. Add in merits, dex from gear, and accuracy from gear (+2 body hands and feet are most common tp pieces, and together have +39 accuracy on them) You're capped accuracy probably on everything other than maybe the lady bug NM in A altepa, and other niche NMs that have particularly high evasion.

I've personally fought every big NM in Abyssea as WAR and I've never needed Aggressor, I'm considering taking it off of macros completely. Only time I ever do use it is with Scythe GS or Club, and those are starting to get higher up in skill now anyway.

Now in the case of Warcry recast, don't be silly. It's practically useless.

5/5 DA 5/5 Berserk is the way to go, hands down.

Group 2, I'm not so sure about.
I do 5/5 Warrior's Charge 5/5 Savagery because Tomahawk seems stupid. Not enough mobs that have a special defense that really warrants the use of Tomahawk. Ovni, Raja, and Rani are the only things in Abyssea that comes to mind. Maybe some of the Ironclads. I have a Caladbolg DRK that I play with often, so the +25 TP bonus he gets from my Warcry is pretty nice.

[Arcon]

No matter what anyone says, there is no point to ever using aggressor in the first place in terms of DD output in abyssea, because if you don't have capped accuracy it simply means you have poor skills, or crappy gear.

Not only are you wrong about Accuracy, you also misread what Babekeke just said.

[Leonlionheart]

Not only are you wrong about Accuracy, you also misread what Babekeke just said.

Except I'm not wrong about accuracy.

Like I said, I've fought everything in Abyssea and always had capped accuracy, without food, except on the Ladybug NM in Altep and a handful of other seal NMs that have particularly high evasion.

And in the case of babekeke, that's a different story. If all you do is skill up weapons on war, then you don't really need real damage output anyway.

[Leonlionheart]

Or if you really believe I am wrong, then go ahead and tell me how.

[Byrth]

He's actually right about accuracy. Aggressor lowers your damage output in Abyssea because it takes 1-2 seconds to activate and doesn't improve your damage at all on 99% of the monsters in Abyssea. Flame Skimmer and Vadlaney are the two THF type monsters I can think of where it probably helps.

I replaced my Aggressor macro with Blood Rage, which is how it'll stay until we start fighting stuff that's mildly evasive again.

[Arcon]

Or if you really believe I am wrong, then go ahead and tell me how.

Why should I tell you, when you already told yourself:

No matter what anyone says, there is no point to ever using aggressor in the first place [..]

Like I said, I've fought everything in Abyssea and always had capped accuracy [..] except on the Ladybug NM in Altep and a handful of other seal NMs that have particularly high evasion.

And Byrth told you as well:

[..] Aggressor [..] doesn't improve your damage at all on 99% of the monsters in Abyssea. [..] I can think of [monsters] where it probably helps.

Also, Babekeke told you before you even replied:

I personally went 5/5 aggressor, [..] reducing eva to let EP mandies hit me easier so I can retalliate them

[Leonlionheart]

@ Arcon:

So I should merit Aggressor for the 3 situations that it helps? Rather than merit Berserk for the EVERY situation that it helps?

Now you just sound silly.