Why are our group 1 merits so bad?

[ManaKing]

"5 points in Convert Recast. CHECK!

....the rest of this stuff is crap...
It's like they are pointing out how gimp our magic casting is already...

Hmm I guess Ice magic because we don't even have Thunder IV yet?"

It's not even magic attack bonus, it's accuracy. There is tons magical accuracy on all the RDM sets that don't specify an element, and you can get significantly more than +15 from it.

[Supersun]

"5 points in Convert Recast. CHECK!

....the rest of this stuff is crap...
It's like they are pointing out how gimp our magic casting is already...

Hmm I guess Ice magic because we don't even have Thunder IV yet?"

It's not even magic attack bonus, it's accuracy. There is tons magical accuracy on all the RDM sets that don't specify an element, and you can get significantly more than +15 from it.

Because they were designed like 5 years ago when Magic Accuracy actually mattered lol

[ManaKing]

Because they were designed like 5 years ago when Magic Accuracy actually mattered lol

Lol I accept your answer. I would seriously like to see some of the Merits reworked. I'm unrealistically hopeful for upcoming patches.

[Neisan_Quetz]

Defender recast, enough said. We have a somewhat bad Category 1 but we don't have the worst options out there.

I did ice for blizzard/para2/bind when it mattered.

[Doombringer]

yah but warrior also gets to merit DA, wich is pretty awesome..

WAY better than convert recast. especially since i've used convert about 3 times since abyssea came out.

[Duelle]

I;ve always been for a redesign of RDM tier 1 merits. Problem is everyone else would whine and want redesigns for their classes too. I'd keep convert recast and add "Magic Accuracy" (which would basically be all the elemental magic accuracy merits rolled into one), +Enspell Damage and one more than I can't think of right now.

[ManaKing]

Enhance Composure to add more accuracy and add subtle blow to Enspells.

Saboteur recast

I don't see why SE can't rework merits right now. The just increased the caps.
It's not like they need to work on FF14. That already failed and no one is going to give it another shot.

[Supersun]

Enhance Composure to add more accuracy and add subtle blow to Enspells.

Saboteur recast

I don't see why SE can't rework merits right now. The just increased the caps.
It's not like they need to work on FF14. That already failed and no one is going to give it another shot.

Any improvements they have for merits are probably going to be added to the lvl 99 version of merits. They already confirmed that there will be new merits at 99.

[Raxiaz]

Enhance Composure to add more accuracy and add subtle blow to Enspells.

Saboteur recast

I don't see why SE can't rework merits right now. The just increased the caps.
It's not like they need to work on FF14. That already failed and no one is going to give it another shot.

Lies and slander. Yes they failed, but I know for myself that when they release the PS3 version (indicating that it is on a level of acceptable play) I'll be trying it out again. I know I'm not the only one either. It's a good game in theory, but needs a whole helluvalot more tweaking and additions to it to make it anywhere near worth $13/month.

On the subject of merits, I think they're a little bland. But I've put three points into Ice and two into earth, one into convert recast. Dunno why. But I do know that magic accuracy for Ice and Earth are the best (along with Wind for gravity and silence when needed) for landing Paralyze and Slow, respectively. So they're not useless.

"Merits" for Composure and Saboteur are probably going to be at 99. I say "merits" because SE has stated that it will be a different system at 99 than the one at 75.

[Duelle]

On the subject of merits, I think they're a little bland. But I've put three points into Ice and two into earth, one into convert recast. Dunno why. But I do know that magic accuracy for Ice and Earth are the best (along with Wind for gravity and silence when needed) for landing Paralyze and Slow, respectively. So they're not useless.

"Merits" for Composure and Saboteur are probably going to be at 99. I say "merits" because SE has stated that it will be a different system at 99 than the one at 75.We could use some of those improvements now, not much later when 99 finally makes its appearance.

[ManaKing]

As usual Supersun brings me good news. Here's hoping it turns out as good as that sounds.

[Seriha]

Hmm, if we're gonna redesign merits for shiggles...

T1:
Convert Recast: I'm gonna be bold and propose this changed to 1m per level.
Enspells: +2 damage, +5 element magic accuracy, and +3 subtle blow per merit.
Magic Accuracy: +3 per merit.
Fast Cast: +3% per merit.

T2:
Composure: +5% JA haste per level.
Slow Potency: +3% potency and +3 accuracy per level.
Paralyze Potency: Increased potency and +3 accuracy per level.
Blind Potency: +3% potency and +3 accuracy per level.
Phalanx Potency: +5 damage reduction per level.

Slow II (60), Paralyze II (62), Phalanx II (70), Bio III (75), and Dia III (75) would be changed to level learned scrolls with lowered MP costs.

T3:
Saboteur Effect: Increases the amount of enfeebling spells you can cast before Saboteaur wears by 1 per level.
Enhancing Magic Duration: Increases duration of Enhancing Magic spells by 20% per level.
Elemental Reclaim: Gain 1 MP per level when an Enspell lands.
Precision: Ignore 3% of a target's Defense with Composure active per level.


Anyway, backline RDMs would probably be more inclined to go Convert, Fast Cast, Slow, Phalanx, Sab, and Enhancing. Front-liners would go Enspell, Fast Cast, Composure, Phalanx, Precision, and either Reclaim or Enhancing. I'd imagine the T3 landscape would change if we're actually given some new things come 91-99, though. Still, I think spells/JAs locked behind merits is dumb, as it strips us of potential job diversity since you can't get 'em all, or at least well enough to use.

[Neisan_Quetz]

5% JA haste per level which nice seems excessive, 3% capping at 15% sounds reasonable.

[Seriha]

Desperate Blows disagrees, and DRKs get an ATK boost on top of that. Remember, part of our melee issues stem from the infrequency of swings alongside casting. Either way, I doubt it'll ever happen, but a girl can dream. :(

[ManaKing]

Desperate Blows disagrees, and DRKs get an ATK boost on top of that. Remember, part of our melee issues stem from the infrequency of swings alongside casting. Either way, I doubt it'll ever happen, but a girl can dream. :(

That she can! Nice list BTW, I like everything i see. I'd say shoot for 5% per level on composure and let it get adjusted later if it is actually OP.

[Daniel_Hatcher]

Hmm, if we're gonna redesign merits for shiggles...

T1:
Convert Recast: I'm gonna be bold and propose this changed to 1m per level.
Enspells: +2 damage, +5 element magic accuracy, and +3 subtle blow per merit.
Magic Accuracy: +3 per merit.
Fast Cast: +3% per merit.

T2:
Composure: +5% JA haste per level.
Slow Potency: +3% potency and +3 accuracy per level.
Paralyze Potency: Increased potency and +3 accuracy per level.
Blind Potency: +3% potency and +3 accuracy per level.
Phalanx Potency: +5 damage reduction per level.

Slow II (60), Paralyze II (62), Phalanx II (70), Bio III (75), and Dia III (75) would be changed to level learned scrolls with lowered MP costs.

T3:
Saboteur Effect: Increases the amount of enfeebling spells you can cast before Saboteaur wears by 1 per level.
Enhancing Magic Duration: Increases duration of Enhancing Magic spells by 20% per level.
Elemental Reclaim: Gain 1 MP per level when an Enspell lands.
Precision: Ignore 3% of a target's Defense with Composure active per level.


Anyway, backline RDMs would probably be more inclined to go Convert, Fast Cast, Slow, Phalanx, Sab, and Enhancing. Front-liners would go Enspell, Fast Cast, Composure, Phalanx, Precision, and either Reclaim or Enhancing. I'd imagine the T3 landscape would change if we're actually given some new things come 91-99, though. Still, I think spells/JAs locked behind merits is dumb, as it strips us of potential job diversity since you can't get 'em all, or at least well enough to use.

I would cry if those were the merits, wouldn't know what to pick.

[ManaKing]

I would cry if those were the merits, wouldn't know what to pick.

But at least you could complain that your problem is that you would have too many good choices instead of no good choices.

[Kuvo]

Hmm, if we're gonna redesign merits for shiggles...

T1:
Convert Recast: I'm gonna be bold and propose this changed to 1m per level.
Enspells: +2 damage, +5 element magic accuracy, and +3 subtle blow per merit.
Magic Accuracy: +3 per merit.
Fast Cast: +3% per merit.

T2:
Composure: +5% JA haste per level.
Slow Potency: +3% potency and +3 accuracy per level.
Paralyze Potency: Increased potency and +3 accuracy per level.
Blind Potency: +3% potency and +3 accuracy per level.
Phalanx Potency: +5 damage reduction per level.

Slow II (60), Paralyze II (62), Phalanx II (70), Bio III (75), and Dia III (75) would be changed to level learned scrolls with lowered MP costs.

T3:
Saboteur Effect: Increases the amount of enfeebling spells you can cast before Saboteaur wears by 1 per level.
Enhancing Magic Duration: Increases duration of Enhancing Magic spells by 20% per level.
Elemental Reclaim: Gain 1 MP per level when an Enspell lands.
Precision: Ignore 3% of a target's Defense with Composure active per level.


Anyway, backline RDMs would probably be more inclined to go Convert, Fast Cast, Slow, Phalanx, Sab, and Enhancing. Front-liners would go Enspell, Fast Cast, Composure, Phalanx, Precision, and either Reclaim or Enhancing. I'd imagine the T3 landscape would change if we're actually given some new things come 91-99, though. Still, I think spells/JAs locked behind merits is dumb, as it strips us of potential job diversity since you can't get 'em all, or at least well enough to use.

These are very cool ideas. I was looking at your post and just thinking which one's I would pick to cap out. Eventhough these are great ideas I highly doubt SE would add anything like these to our list. I hope they truly will rework the merit's system for all jobs and give us a lot of choices like you said. It's better to have a lot of great choices and can only pick a few then have a series of crappy ones. This way you can really have the same jobs but each one can specialize in different merits to utilize.

[Kristal]

T1 merits are generally weak, but T2 merits it utter fail. No other job has to deal with choices RDMs have to make.

The proposed changes are a bit overpowered though.

T1 merits:
* Convert Recast (-20 seconds per upgrade)
* Magic Accuracy (+3 magic accuracy per upgrade)
* Blind Potency (+2 potency per upgrade)
* Gravity Potency (+2 potency per upgrade)
* Paralyze Potency (+2 potency per upgrade)
* Silence Potency (+2 potency per upgrade)
* Slow Potency (+2 potency per upgrade)
* Sleep Potency (+2 potency per upgrade)

T2 merits:
* Dia III (fixed duration of 150 seconds, +1 effect per upgrade)
* Slow II (remains the same)
* Paralyze II (remains the same)
* Phalanx II (fixed duration of 240 seconds, damage reduction equals Phalanx, +2 reduction for each upgrade)
* Bio III (fixed duration of 150 seconds, +1 effect per upgrade)
* Blind II (remains the same)

If anything, T2 needs to change. Badly. We can live without decent T1 merits, T2 merits will prevent a RDM from taking all and boosting some. (Which every other job can do.)

[Neisan_Quetz]

Spells should never have been T2 merits in the first place imo.

[Duzell]

I wish T1 was like this:
Convert Recast
Elemental Magic Acc
Enfeebling Magic Acc
Enspell Effect (+2 damage, +1 Macc and +1 weapon acc per merit)
Magic Defense Bonus (+5 and +2 for each additional merit)

[Neisan_Quetz]

MDB really isn't that important... but I suppose that means I'd never merit it, would prefer if we gained +attack from enspells, either a revamped T2 or a new line.

[ManaKing]

MDB really isn't that important... but I suppose that means I'd never merit it, would prefer if we gained +attack from enspells, any Enspell that is better than enspell 1 for DPS.

I fixed it for you. LoL

[Duzell]

MDB really isn't that important... but I suppose that means I'd never merit it, would prefer if we gained +attack from enspells, either a revamped T2 or a new line.

I know everyone hates these 2 words but... "In abyssea" If you have a mob that spams magic attacks like that dumb fish in vunk, a rdm with atma of a future fabulous makes about the best tank there is, bairly hitting you for 100 a shot with mage gear on. MDB has its place, its more of a tanking thing though.

[Neisan_Quetz]

That fish doesn't really warrant it... the only spell I've ever found particularly dangerous was Rani's Meteor.

[Dart]

completely agree, t1 rdm merits need to be redone. (you can take my vert merits from my cold dead hand.....)

[Babygyrl]

I thought Se is planning to release at 2nd set of "merits" once we hit 99 are they not? or is that just rumor?

[Daniel_Hatcher]

I thought Se is planning to release at 2nd set of "merits" once we hit 99 are they not? or is that just rumor?

Similar to merits apparently, but not named merits, will probably only focus on the new JA's released since 75-99 though.

[Babekeke]

SE: "Congratulations! Your constant whinging has been heard! Your 74 RDM merits have been deleted and you can now go out and farm your new scrolls or buy them from a new NPC for 250k"
RDM Community: "WTF!?!"

I personally like 5/5 ice and 5/5 earth acc. It means you can concentrate on MND for slow/para, MAB for bliz, and less resists on break/bind too. Nice when soloing

[Carth]

SE: "Congratulations! Your constant whinging has been heard! Your 74 RDM merits have been deleted and you can now go out and farm your new scrolls or buy them from a new NPC for 250k"
Not seeing this as a problem.

[Supersun]

SE: "Congratulations! Your constant whinging has been heard! Your 74 RDM merits have been deleted and you can now go out and farm your new scrolls or buy them from a new NPC for 250k"
RDM Community: "WTF!?!"

You mean I would actually have the option to have all 6 spells without gimping myself!

Besides. I earned like 6 million farming Enspell IIs and you only need like 25k for those.
I'd enjoy the chance to earn 60 million this time :D

[Daniel_Hatcher]

SE: "Congratulations! Your constant whinging has been heard! Your 74 RDM merits have been deleted and you can now go out and farm your new scrolls or buy them from a new NPC for 250k"
RDM Community: "WTF!?!"

I personally like 5/5 ice and 5/5 earth acc. It means you can concentrate on MND for slow/para, MAB for bliz, and less resists on break/bind too. Nice when soloing

Not an issue, all the spells at capped potency for a small price, that's a good thing.

[Seriha]

Plus it's not like they couldn't actually go through and refund people for spent points, but really, I don't see the current system changing, so it's really just wishful thinking.

[Babekeke]

Not an issue, all the spells at capped potency for a small price, that's a good thing.

Heh you ASSUME capped potency lol

But, Seriha hit the nail on the head.

[Daniel_Hatcher]

Heh you ASSUME capped potency lol

But, Seriha hit the nail on the head.

A spell bought is always capable of being capped to full as long as you have the stats, merit spells for the most part are not.


Plus it's not like they couldn't actually go through and refund people for spent points, but really, I don't see the current system changing, so it's really just wishful thinking.

Change it to effect then, opens up other jobs getting them and maybe a tier III line then.

[ManaKing]

SE: "Congratulations! Your constant whinging has been heard! Your 74 RDM merits have been deleted and you can now go out and farm your new scrolls or buy them from a new NPC for 250k"
RDM Community: "WTF!?!"

I personally like 5/5 ice and 5/5 earth acc. It means you can concentrate on MND for slow/para, MAB for bliz, and less resists on break/bind too. Nice when soloing

I would happily pay a million a scroll for all my merit spells. It's less than I have to pay for any newer, better equipment.

And honestly you could take all my RDM category merits and I wouldn't complain. It's not that hard to merit. You could slam it out in a day.

[Duelle]

Plus it's not like they couldn't actually go through and refund people for spent points, but really, I don't see the current system changing, so it's really just wishful thinking.I wouldn't expect them to refund the points, but I wouldn't mind grinding merits again for actually worthwhile traits and boosts.

[Seriha]

I'm just looking at it from the perspective of other MMOs where if a class goes through some sweeping changes, they usually refund skill points.

[ManaKing]

I'm just looking at it from the perspective of other MMOs where if a class goes through some sweeping changes, they usually refund skill points.

I don't even care about other MMOs, I will pay for spells and re do merits. Not implying that you wouldn't Seriha. Just saying I would be more than willing to do the work to make my RDM complete even if it was more than other jobs.

[noodles355]

completely agree, t1 rdm merits need to be redone. (you can take my vert merits from my cold dead hand.....)MP is rarely enough of an issue that I'm riding my vert timer. I did Wind+Ice Accuracy for extra acc on bind and gravity.

Also I like the T2s. I like that you have to choose what sort of RDM you will be, and what spells you will be best at.

[ManaKing]

MP is rarely enough of an issue that I'm riding my vert timer. I did Wind+Ice Accuracy for extra acc on bind and gravity.

Also I like the T2s. I like that you have to choose what sort of RDM you will be, and what spells you will be best at.

I don't really disagree with that, EXCEPT, that everyone goes ice+wind. You're a RDM and you probably have a mix of phallanx 2, slow 2, and paralyze 2.

I what i mean to say is that we have 'options' but they aren't really choices. I mean, we finally have a fire and stone debuff in Addle and Break. Addle doesnt need extra accuracy to land and well break just kinda sucks. So why would you put points into it?

I roll /DRK, so i could merit for thunder acc, but I don't. I haven't had someone resist my stun in weeks. My point is you get utility out of Ice and Wind; you don't really get it out of any other element. It is the illusion of choice, but it's not actually choice.

For T2, we can completely agree btw. If they want RDM to have specifics spells based off choice that is fine. But I would want them to reward you more for fully meriting an ability.

[Babekeke]

A spell bought is always capable of being capped to full as long as you have the stats, merit spells for the most part are not.

Shell/Protect V vs WHM's merited Shellra/Protectra V

[ManaKing]

Yeah, well SE needs to get on all the spells that people have to merit. It is a complete waste of merits for any mage to have to merit for even having spells. It's not like we get amazing spells that change how our class can function, like say a bunch of really good JAs on melee. We get all of our normal jobs abilities +1....(/sarcasm) you know like refresh 2. Oh wait! since that was after 75 we got it for free with no merits! /end sarcasm

Yeah we have to wait and see what they are going to change with the new updates. That being said, i made this thread. The point of it is discussion. If the community has a legit discussion about what they dislike about merits right now, and it does anything positive down the road, then it was worth it. Would I be happy if merits were reworked? Yes. Would I also be satisfied if what they are adding will nullify my grievances over the current system? Of course!

The important part is the discussion and the feedback we are giving. If they choose to ignore it...well that would really be a disappointment. But if they were looking for feedback and we never gave it to them, that would be far worse.

[Daniel_Hatcher]

Shell/Protect V vs WHM's merited Shellra/Protectra V

Shell V and Protect V act independently from the RA V line, as proved by them not being buffed by a WHM having merits in the RA V.

[Babekeke]

Shell V and Protect V act independently from the RA V line, as proved by them not being buffed by a WHM having merits in the RA V.

Just proves that if we got the RDM Merit spells as purchasable, they would likely only have the strength of single merit spells. This would also make sense, since if we wanted, we could put 1 merit into each spell. The exception imo being bio/dia which would possibly have the same duration as the other dia/bio spells.

[ManaKing]

Or they could give us the spells and then let us merit for extra emphasis like we all seem to want. I would take all the my merit 2s, but im not going to put a merit a piece in them if it means all i get is 5/5 Phallanx and 1/5 on everything else. That means i just wasted 5 merits on just getting the spells when I could be enhancing the spells instead.

What it comes down to is, if someone wants to fully merit 2 spells, they don't get the rest of their spells. Phallanx and Paralyze 2 are both really useful when you 5/5 them.

[Babekeke]

Phallanx and Paralyze 2 are both really useful when you 5/5 them.

Good, that's what I went for.

[Daniel_Hatcher]

Phalanx II is weaker than Phalanx, so really the only good part about it is it can be cast on other people and isn't just a self buff.

[Neisan_Quetz]

5/5 Phalanx 2 at high enhancing skill as of 90 cap is the same as Phalanx 1. Also longer duration.

Dia 3 is far more useful than capped Para unless all you do is solo, which is a viable argument.

[Daniel_Hatcher]

5/5 Phalanx 2 at high enhancing skill as of 90 cap is the same as Phalanx 1. Also longer duration.

Dia 3 is far more useful than capped Para unless all you do is solo, which is a viable argument.

Nevermind, I see the format has changed since 300+ skill.

[Neisan_Quetz]

Exacta. I made a long post about it over on another FF forum showing skill levels had changed (iirc 360 and 370 skill were the same tier). Phalanx 2 is an imprvement over 1, if only due to duration and being castable on others, so it isn't bad anymore, other than locking 5 merits which is a problem but I figure the difference in less slow/para merits would be small enough to be negligible for the moment.

[Hyrist]

I would so far to say that it's more Merit II's that are a train wreck than the first tier.

Though I would like to see the entire Job based merits reworked in general, for all jobs. A lot of these abilities and spells we have on the lists realy... they would be nice if they were normal JAs but with the limits on them, they're not worth investing the merits in certain ones over others and being forced to choose did not bring about the uniqueness among classes they were attempting to do.

Convert 5/5 Ice 5/5 (loves me my enblizzard/bind/blizzard/Paralyze accuracy.)

But I there really needs to be more to it than this, especially at 99.

[noodles355]

I don't really disagree with that, EXCEPT, that everyone goes ice+wind. You're a RDM and you probably have a mix of phallanx 2, slow 2, and paralyze 2. Actually I started with 2 Bio3, 3 Slow2, 5 Para2 as I was doing more solo stuff. As my Ls started calling me to events more I swapped out Bio3 for Dia3. I kept Para at 5 though because most other rdms do 5 Slow2/3Para2 and this way for anything that matters where we had 2 rdms we could have a 5/5 potency slow and para on the mob as well as dia.

Also Break doesnt really suck, sure it doesnt work on most NMs but for regular mobs its basically a stun on a separate timer with a longer cast time, or a short duration sleep for dark-resistant mobs. I use break quite a bit.

I never really was too keen on meriting phalanx2. If it was a tough enough fight that you would need it then you'd probably be using a pld like old times and they have it anyway. If you were still using DD tanks and you dont need stun then you can accession phalanx with /sch. If you're there as a dedicated stunner and so cant be /sch then you probably have a 2nd rdm to buff the tanks anyway (a la pre level cap rise timmys)

[Babekeke]

Is slow 2 5/5 the same as hojo: Ni? I always assumed it was, so didn't bother with it.

[Seriha]

Slow II caps at a little over 39% (easier to reach with less MND with more merits invested) while Hojo: Ni is a fixed 20%. Base Slow II should always be better, though, even with MND deficiencies.

[Swords]

Just proves that if we got the RDM Merit spells as purchasable, they would likely only have the strength of single merit spells. This would also make sense, since if we wanted, we could put 1 merit into each spell. The exception imo being bio/dia which would possibly have the same duration as the other dia/bio spells.

Problem with that is level 1 Tier II Merit spells as it is, are only slightly better than their Tier I counterparts. However, I would find it acceptable if SE allowed the purchasable Tier II enfeebles to cap equal too or greater than a fully merited Tier II Merit spell through stats/gear.

I don't think it should be restricted to RDM to receive the rework for merited spells, I think WHM's, BLM's, and other spellcasters should be given the same treatment in their respective areas.

Some of the reworked and Tier III merit suggestions were a nice change of pace. I do think the main focus of the new merits should allow more selection to differentiate between a more melee oriented or mage oriented RDM, however it needs to be done carefully and done in a way that both types can find a place in a party for experience or an event setting. It's often misconceived it's our lower skill that kills us but the truth is there is two factors that kill us, the first is skill compared to dedicated magic mages like BLM or WHM or melee skill like DRK or MNK, the second is our lack of power compared to other jobs melees have greater options in powerful weaponry while BLM's and WHM's have stronger spells and both have abilities and traits to further enhance them. The problem is further compounded when a equally skilled and equipped DD/Mage can still out damage, cure, nuke due to higher Damage Weapons/ Tier Magics.

To counteract this problem and give RDM a deserving boost to at least make comparable numbers for an equally equipped and skilled mage or DD would, I came up with an idea that might be passable for a Tier III merit. The Merited ability would be similar to No Foot Rise that you would have some kind of trade-off like losing your ability to do Weaponskills, to cast certain types of magic, or even -stats in a way similar to Beserks Atk/Def tradeoff, but receive bonuses such as +5~10% Haste, Attack, Acc, R.Acc, R. Atk, and +5~10 Enspell damage for melee situations. At the same time you could have a trade-off ablity for the mage side too that could give +5~10% Potency (for all types of magic), cast and recast time down, magic accuracy, magic crit. rate, and MAB. I do stress it needs to be a percentile boost, because in order make frontline or even backline more viable we need to close the gap in one of the categories, considering it makes more sense that jobs can keep their more powerful spells and weapons, boosting our stat abilities to at least compare/outdamage those with similar gear and skill would be plausible.

[noodles355]

To be honest I would be ok if SE made it possible to reach the same potency of capped 5/5 spells with a purchased scroll + good mnd gear because to be honest I'm pissed off that my very good MND set with many HQs doesnt mean jack diddly fuck.

[Kristal]

Actually I started with 2 Bio3, 3 Slow2, 5 Para2 as I was doing more solo stuff. As my Ls started calling me to events more I swapped out Bio3 for Dia3. I kept Para at 5 though because most other rdms do 5 Slow2/3Para2 and this way for anything that matters where we had 2 rdms we could have a 5/5 potency slow and para on the mob as well as dia.

I went with Phalanx II (5/5), Slow II(2/5), Paralyze II (2/5) and Blind II(1/5), because I'm effectively the only RDM in LS.

[Hyrist]

Dia 3 3/5, Paralyze 5/5, Slow 1/5, Blind 1/5

Blind is fairly well underestimated as a Debuffs as, at it's base, it's triple the base effect of Blind. And there'res enough evasion tanking to justify having a merit in it.

However, I'd rather these be potency merits for their general spells, and receive the root spells as scrolls. This way it effects our tiers across the board and opens up windows for having new tiers of all our favorite debuffs. (Hopefully without having to invest more merits again.)

As far as Tier I's. I support the idea of a Magic Accuracy becoming a single mertiable skill. Then adding things like composure effect, enspell damage, and maybe a new JA (Hello Double/Quick cast?)

But then again, I did say the entire merit system needs some reworking. They likely won't touch it until 99, sadly.

[ManaKing]

Dia 3 3/5, Paralyze 5/5, Slow 1/5, Blind 1/5

Blind is fairly well underestimated as a Debuffs as, at it's base, it's triple the base effect of Blind. And there'res enough evasion tanking to justify having a merit in it.

However, I'd rather these be potency merits for their general spells, and receive the root spells as scrolls. This way it effects our tiers across the board and opens up windows for having new tiers of all our favorite debuffs. (Hopefully without having to invest more merits again.)

As far as Tier I's. I support the idea of a Magic Accuracy becoming a single mertiable skill. Then adding things like composure effect, enspell damage, and maybe a new JA (Hello Double/Quick cast?)

But then again, I did say the entire merit system needs some reworking. They likely won't touch it until 99, sadly.

If they do it at 99, that will be good enough. We've waited this long. It's not like a couple months is going to make a dramatic difference. The important thing, to me, is that it happens at all.

[Limar]

I normally would say lets check what we will get on 99, but as someone said before, I see a point at the spells actually.

Like someone said- we get like Refresh II and other new Spells above 75. Group 2 spells would really fit there, too. But since they were already meritable, we didnt get them there. Ideas to change the merits into potency, but give the Base-spells available to everyone (minus the potency of the first merits, which can be reaquired by putting a single meritpoint into that spell). The same would go for like AM2 or Pro/Shell-ra V. Or similar. For the same reasons.

I also wouldnt mind how it is know. But yea, since we got some levels, why dont get the spells somewhere in these levels.

[noodles355]

Eh @ Blind. Dont get me wrong, I agree it would be ncie to have the base 1/5 spells as purchasable scrolls, but I dont think Blind II is worth the merits. It may be much more potent than Blind, however most stuff that resists slow and elegy resists blind as well, and to be honest if you cant shadow tank with floored evasion with elegy and slow then you dont deserve to be tanking that monster at all. Seriously, with slow-based debuffs mobs hit slower than 2004 DRKs.

[Neisan_Quetz]

I've actually had some decent success landing Blind1 on odd mobs at 75 cap, but of course it never really mattered other than to say 'hey one of my enfeebles other than Dia landed'. Of course it never mattered since our tanks were at the evasion floor anyway.