Samurai Meriting

[s_white62]

Would love some suggestions for how to properly merit a Samurai. Any help/builds would be appreciated.

[Phoenyx]

Traditional merit scheme:
Group 1 -
5/5 Store TP
5/5 Meditate

Group 2 -
5/5 Overwhelm
1/5 Shikikoyo
4/5 Blade Bash

With recent changes to Hasso and Zanshin, there are other merit builds that focus on capping Zanshin rate and Ikishoten. Haven't done much with it myself, but there's some info on BG and I think in some threads here.

[Nala]

with the recent addition of hassanshin (hasso induced forced zanshin attacks) ikishoten merits have some value now, currently if i land both attacks on a hassanshin proc i stand to gain around 64 tp on my masamune with ws tp return (16.9 iirc?) makes for an occasional 3 hit build.

Group 1 -
5/5 Store TP
5/5 Meditate

Group 2 -
5/5 Overwhelm
x/5 Ikishoten

not saying you should or even have to but its an interesting alternative. (x is dependent on base delay of the GKT you use) would then spend at least 1 in Shikikyo and blade bash if you have enough merits left over.

[Tsukino_Kaji]

Merit according to how you like to play.

[Tatts]

Merit according to how you play is the best to describe it seeing how it's your membership, yes.
But, if you want some tips, Store TP and Overwhelm is the best to 5/5 just for the general output.
Now for myself I did
5/5 Store TP
5/5 Zanshin
5/5 overwhelm
1/5 shikikiyo
3/5 Ikishoten
and I still haven't decided to the last into Blade Bash or 4/5 Ikis.
Now I was a SAM for a while but I didn't put much thought or merits b4 the new update, only had 5/5 store tp and 5/5 overwhelm then focused on other jobs so that's why I have it on zanshin/Ikis and I do have to say... TP comes in quick enough that a couple times I was able to self WS w/out Meditate or a premature Sekka (yes, it has happened a few times ._.).
Mind you, it was a rare lucky streak but still blew my mind away.

[Tsukino_Kaji]

5 STP.
5 Meditate.
5 Shikikiyo.
5 Blade Bash.

But I never sam to kill stuff, that's what my friend is for. There's a reason why I play around in +75eva. lol

[Dirtyfinger]

But, if you want some tips
5/5 Zanshin

I have a tip for you - Meditate is better.

[Ryozen]

Anyone who recommends 0/5 Overwhelm should be immediately ignored.

I currently have 5/5 Store TP, Meditate, Overwhelm, and 4/5 Ikishoten, 1/5 Blade Bash.

I use a five-hit build for my Masamune, and 4 Ikishoten merits are required to shave a hit off of the build with a Hassanshin proc. If I used a 6-hit build, I might drop a few Store TP merits for Zanshin rate merits. Then again I might not. It's pretty hard to say which is better at this point.

Before the SAM adjustments, I had 4/5 Blade Bash, 1/5 Shikikoyo, and no Ikishoten merits.

[Tatts]

I have a tip for you - Meditate is better.

Well well well, aren't we the little Faux news reporter. Misquotation is bad juju. Clearly what "Tips" I recommended was Store TP and Overwhelm. After that, I just simply showed what I put in and hell, it works fine for me.

Having Meditate down by 30 seconds is nice, but it wasn't for me. I get it, 30 seconds can turn the tide but w/ Iki(tab) merits I felt it was a better investment because its always active. I love always active stuff: Rapid shot, Subtle Blow, DA, Enchainment, etc.
Anyways, rambling.
Point is, I use Zanshin merits for the off chance I do miss (SAM tends to be more blind than a <insert current pop reference here>) and I get that ~50% chance of attacking again, plus with the introduction of Hassanshin, having more Zanshin coupled with DA (either through gear or /war) means that you'll be attacking twice a lot.
That's my story and i'm sticking to it.

[DarkBass]

Pre update my merits were 5/5 Store TP and 5/5 Meditate recast. They were key aspects of the job. Group two i had 5/5 Overwhelm, 3/5 Shikikoyo, 1/5 Blade Bash and 1/5 Ikishoten. I hardly ever used shikikoyo or blade bash. and i felt since i miss sometimes, why not throw a merit in ikishoten.

My merits now(post update) are 5/5 Store Store tp and 5/5 Zanshin Attack rate. Group two is 5/5 Overwhelm and 4-5/5 Ikishoten because i have to put a merit into blade bash before Voidwatch. The change in my merits is because with 5/5 Zanshin attack rate (+5% added to zanshin attack rate) along with Native Zanshin attack rate (45%) Katana Grip, Ace's Mufflers, Unkai Sugemino, Unkai Mimikazari, and Unkai Domaru +2, i have 73-74% Zanshin attack rate. Since Zanshin activates while Hasso is active, It REEEEEEEEALLY shows. I get 110 tp in two attack rounds a lot.