Third Tier

[Leonlionheart]

If you must edit the current system

Get rid of:
Defender
Aggressive Aim
Mantra
Hide
Flee
Scavenge
Minne Effect
Elemental Seal*
All Circle-type JA recasts
Elemental MP cost
Monster Correlation

[Reiterpallasch]

If you must edit the current system

Get rid of:
Defender
Aggressive Aim
Mantra
Hide
Flee
Scavenge
Minne Effect
Elemental Seal*
All Circle-type JA recasts
Elemental MP cost
Monster Correlation

Inb4 lots of butthurt THFs. I know way too many people that merited this because "well the others are useless, and I had to put them somewhere lols"

[Rya]

I skimmed and didn't see this. If I missed it shame on me!

*** Master Merits ***
(from Final Fantasy V: Job Mastery kinda!)
I played FF5 one time! It was lame. But...!
It had a system where you eventually level your job to Master:
This allowed part of the job to be carried over to your bare job.
Ex: Dragoon MASTER >>> Perform "Jump" without being DRG!

Examples:
WAR99 can merit "Mastery: Double Attack" (up to +5 DA for any lv.99 job!)
WHM99 can merit "Mastery: Cure Potency" (up to +5 CP for any lv.99 job!)
SAM99 can merit "Mastery: Store TP" (up to +5 STP for any lv.99 job!)
...and so on...

Reasoning / Limitations:
It would encourage people to level multiple jobs, which is in SE's best interest,
and it would allow greater customization of your main job! If it were limited to
10 or 20 upgrades across all jobs or something, then you wouldn't be
expected to level every single job to 99...

[azjazo]

You said FFV was lame? your argument becomes invalid.

[Lokithor]

So, if we're not getting group 3 merits, here is an easy answer for adjusting the existing ones. Just get rid of all the group (combo) limits. People have so many jobs now it makes no sense to limit a player's ability to max each job's capability. Let them max both HP and MP, all of the attributes, all of the weapon skill, all of the magic skill, all of each individual job's group merits.

That should keep people busy.

[Mirage]

FF5 is the best FF :/. I am enraged!

[Kristal]

Nightmare version of group 3 merit update:
Group 3 merits:
* Copies all merit upgrades from group 1 and 2, including ranks invested.
* Unlimited: allows capping all merits to cap

RDM would be exempt from this, otherwise they could obtain functional Bio III, Dia III AND Phalanx II which would be overpowered. WHM, BLM and SCH will gain full bonusses of RDM group 1 and 2 merits if they sub RDM as if they were main job RDM. (The reverse will obviously not be possible.)

[Nawesemo]

I didn't read all of the responses so forgive me if this came up already,

Blm.
1. make elemental seal a sub meritable catagory, that will give elemental seal a large % chance to critical, up to say 100% @ max merits? (I'd be happy with a max 50% chance but 100% would me more in line with BLACK FREAKIN MAGE! shoot make it rob me of my hp, idc, I'ma blm!! I should be able to Destroy a "hybrid", instead of just clobber his nukes, uggghhh.)
2. I lovvvve my mini manafont (MANAWELL), can this be meritable , by reducing timer by 5 min? (2.5 would be more realistic).
3. Manawall, holy moly ty ty ty ty s.e. but uh... can we reduce it's recast timer by say 2.5 mins also)?
4. If it had a 30 min recast I would still love it, but an ability achieved via merits to increase our chance of criticaling our next spell? min recast of say 20 min @ max merits?

other than that, I'm pretty stoked they put us back on top of the Nuking food chain despite, the gap being as narrow as it is, I'm pleased, but I still feel like we're being skrew'd out of that extra mab that we don't get compared to dd's job attibutes % increases in the whole "attack bonus" vs. mab thing.. but w/e ..

maybe make blm or respective dd's able to boost 1 stat by say 10? (int for blm) (enmity for sch or i'ma have a b.f.!)

edit: STUN TIMER FOR BLM.... IS .. CRUEL ... SHORTEN IT!

[Economizer]

STUN TIMER FOR BLM.... IS .. CRUEL ... SHORTEN IT!

A 45 second recast timer can seem unforgiving, but you can do your best to get around it. At best you can reduce it to 22.5 seconds, which should allow you and another person on Stun duty to block any nasty TP moves. This will require 50% recast delay, in a direct form, or in the form of Haste.

Sub Scholar for the 10% reduction from Dark Arts. Demand to have Haste cast on yourself for an additional 15% reduction. (Alternatively, when we get level 99, sub Red Mage for the 7.5% Recast reduction, and self Haste.)

Wear as much Haste gear as you can muster (Swift Belt 4% and Walahra Turban 5% are pretty easy to get a base 9% - but you can also go better with a Goading Belt 5% and Zelus Tiara 8%, in addition to other gear like the Goliard Saio 4%, or if you want to get really creative, a Rune Chopper 9% - be sure to swap it in only during Stun!). Between basic gear you can get something like 9%, and with more work, around 17% or even a full 25% if you macro in a Rune Chopper.

Since getting capped Haste on gear is a pain in the butt, you might want to get the Recast Delay reducing Indra+2 Staff (the Lightning Accuracy one) that gives -12% Recast Delay - which also lets you sub Red Mage instead of Scholar while maintaining a perfect 50% recast on Lightning element spells like Stun, if that's your goal.

[Yygdrasil]

Abyssea type atma merits, massively boost triple attack/crits/refresh etc.

Just make them require mass amounts of merits to gain.

I have an idea. What do you say we flip this idea around ask them to give us a category of merits that are only active OUTSIDE of Abyssea? I like that idea much better. It's not the first thing I would think to ask for... but it's a great reason for people to get out of Abyssea once in a while and enjoy the way THE REST of the world was designed.

I was asked by a 95 NIN today what zone I was in... it wasn't a name he recognized or had ever been to. I was headed to Bibiki Bay - Purgonogo Isle to AFK against the beautiful scenery there. I have a hard time accepting that there can be people at the level cap who have not experienced the beauty and attention to detail that SE and their design team put into this game... I just can't.

Give me merits only active out in the "Real World". I don't want to be in Abyssea forever.