Jobs: hard to decide

[Atoreis]

Ok I made that question in wrong thread and I should probably just made new so I'm sorry.

The problem I have is I like to play to many melee jobs and can't decide which I should pimp and now I ended on having few partialy good equiped but none is even close to very well equipped. I also canclled like 280 merits in Combat just becouse i was doing 8/8 for almost every main weapon on most melee jobs.
I can't realy decide which one i realy like the most. I need to finally focus on few of them and take them more serious. I need to choose from DRG MNK SAM BLU RNG ( Ofc i can gear all of them but there is only 20 merits in combat). For now i'm thinking of DRG SAM BLU (8/8 polearm, 8/8 sword, 4/8 sword).

MNK: I love MNK and only reason I didn't include it in choice is cuz it so not useful. Even on Salvage I think it will lose to SAM with both polearm + gkt
Significant gear I have for it are BB, 4/5 Usu (lacking 35 body), forti neck(yes i care about chakra set), af+1 5/5, Kusha's Lava's rings, virtuoso belt ( I think on MNK I need least equip to be very good equipped)

SAM: I don't love it so much as I love MNK but still I enjoy it very much. It's natural choice since it's so useful in most things you can do in this game.
Significant gear Usu 4/5, Ace, Askar, Tomoe. Only problem I see here with items I need is V belt.

DRG: I like to play it solo and on merit and it shares polearm merits with SAM
Significant gear Askar, Ares legs,feet(3/3 body I will probably make if I decide to focus on this job), Heca 4/5 -legs, astrolabe

RNG: My rng is 66 but I realy enjoy it and was playing with many RNGs at many events so I know what to expect from 75.
Significant gear Vali's bow, 35 skadi hands, W hands ( I can get skadi legs, feet and all the best adds-on items Mirke 10att/snapshot, WS anwig, barrage legs)

BLU: My blu is 65 but I dont think i can pass on this job. I like how versatile and complecated he is.
I have already most of BLU items for 75
Only problem is... I'm Galka...( but i hope all the refresh and very strong hMP set should be enough on the other hand I have good stats (str,dex,vit,mnd) for most spells)

I want to make all possible sets for jobs I will decide to focus on (tp haste/acc, ws potent/crit/acc, jump, pdt, mdt, chakra, cannonball, macc, headbutt, magic hammer etc. etc. etc.)
I can probably get most of the items beside r/e from HNMs (but I will probably join some HNMLS soon also)
Events I do are all beside HNMs for now (but I will probably start at least VNMs soon)
So let's say I can get most equip for my jobs which I should focus on?

ah I will also have BLM soon that probably metter also.

Ps. Sorry for my english, I'm from Poland and even in polish I make many mistakes

[Tsuko_Asura]

SAM or RNG, IMO.

Monk is arguably better for a few things, but I'd say SAM's overall utility makes it the better decision.

Dragoon would just be a less useful version of SAM.

Ranger is good for quite a few things, be it prolonged fights or zergs. Personally I'd go with SAM regardless, but you won't be disappointed with RNG.

Anything a blue mage can do, some other job can do better.

[azagarth]

Sam seems like your obvious choice by reading your post. Its one of the few DDS that people let you use on endgame stuff that matters, and its kind of king in xp too so cant go wrong. However I would go 8/8 polearm, 8/8 h2h, and toss the other 4 into w/e. ;D

[Yugl]

Biased Yugl says if you're going to choose from three and not level anything else except BLM, then do this combination:
DRG: Because it's DRG
SAM: Bandwagon
BLU: Because of regurgitation!

Pragmatic Yugl says:
SAM
RNG
BLU

SAM is obviously both to have a melee DD and a melee tank. RNG provides you with a form of ranged damage in the off chance that future events require it. Your BLM offer magic DMG. What's missing then is a healing class and a support class. BLU, unlike the others, fills the former to some degree (DRG does too, but it requires very little AOEs that will kill your pet). That of course, is assuming you don't plan on leveling any other class.

Edit: However! SAM does not get much utility out of GKT merits, so you will be meriting polearm regardless of whether you lvl DRG. If you LV BLU, you'll need to get Homam anyways, and that in accordance with your Hecatomb should set up your DRG very nicely! So, it's still an option.

[Atoreis]

Well passing on BLU will be hard but it has a lot sense cuz:
1. dont need mp merits
2. I'm Galka my mp on 75 blu is 295 w/o merits
3. Enfeelibing magic in addicion for elemental for better BLM and possibly make a room for RDM (tho getting duelist chapeu will be a pain..)

DRG is there mostly cuz of solo and I would have polearm for SAM anyway (polearm on Salvage and exp rapes)

If i pass on BLU there is 2 real choice here I think:

1. 8 polearm 8 archery 4 gkt
2. 8 h2h 8 archery 4 gkt

I wonder what would be better for salvage then if I would go for option 2, SAM w/o merited polearm or MNK (probably depend on the zone).

Significant notice: I have capped guard and probably I will make PUP for fun if I leave h2h merits.

EDIT: Well Yugl if I pass on BLU I will definietly make RDM for support job.

[Yugl]

The game changes if you're leveling RDM in accordance with BLM merits.

SAM, RNG, RDM, and BLM should set you up for anything unless you want BRD or COR for extra kicks. With these in mind, Elemental + Enfeebling is an obvious choice for magic. Polearm 8 and Archery 8. Perhaps you can save the last 4 for future classes.

[Teorem]

It depends largely what activities you are or intend to become involved with.

If you are looking to be appealing to a HNM linkshell (and seeing as support jobs aren't really an option for you right now), I agree that SAM and RNG probably give you the best "flexibility" to be dropped into a particular spot in a party for whatever NM is being fought.

If you like or spend a lot of time soloing or doing low-man farming, DRG and BLU are great options, although one would have to weigh how much you really want to build up a job that may or may not be used a significant portion of your time.

Ultimately, if you actually enjoy playing all of those jobs, combat merits should not be something that stops you from considering whether or not you should build them up. Just go as far as you can and enjoy playing them.

However, I disagree with:

Anything a blue mage can do, some other job can do better.

BLU has a couple of roles in both solo and group play where it simply performs better than other jobs. It can't really be just hand-waved away.

Edit: When those roles aren't strictly limited to "deal more damage than job X", with the exception of soloing for experience.

[Tsuko_Asura]

Example?

[Gippo]

blu has and forever will be one of the most underrated jobs in the game.

I had a blu tank my acp fight, all my einherjars, and a blu tanks all our proto omegas.

[Tsuko_Asura]

And? BLM/NIN could tank most of the shit in this game with proper support, that doesn't make it or BLU anything close to optimal.

[Byrthnoth]

In the end, FFXI is a game and the "Which job should I pimp?" question really comes down to which job you like the best and why. No one on the boards knows which job you like better than you do, so no one has the authority to make the decision for you.

For instance, Gippo enjoys doing things with his BLU. Bully for him. Tsuko enjoys being optimally efficient and cares more about how well his group is doing something than what job he's on, that's another way to play. Right now I'm pimping my WAR even though I've only used it twice in the last year. Good for me. Do what makes playing the game the most fun for you.

[Tsuko_Asura]

In the end, FFXI is a game and the "Which job should I pimp?" question really comes down to which job you like the best and why. No one on the boards knows which job you like better than you do, so no one has the authority to make the decision for you.

For instance, Gippo enjoys doing things with his BLU. Bully for him. Tsuko enjoys being optimally efficient and cares more about how well his group is doing something than what job he's on, that's another way to play. Right now I'm pimping my WAR even though I've only used it twice in the last year. Good for me. Do what makes playing the game the most fun for you.

This^

[Isiolia]

Example?

As mentioned above, Regurgitation can be quite a nifty trick to pull out of the bag on occasion. What other damage spell can you spam literally every time the timer is up hate-free? 69MP, 400-600+ damage, depending (unresisted).

I've parsed at/above what our BLMs parsed on Tinnin without ever getting drawn in/etc using it, and unlike melee, I stand outside of AoE range.
Also has potential for lowmanning if you have one person kite a mob in a circle, use that spell every pass, that sort of thing.

'course, part of that may come down to the fight and group strategy. It'd be pretty friggin' useless in a zerg or the like.

[Atoreis]

Belive me if i would be able to choose by which i like more i would't make this post. Like i say i canclelled 280 merits in combat and that's not becouse ppl where saying you should lvl that. I did it cuz everytime i decided on some jobs i was very missing the others ( for example 8/8 h2h i did twice, after i deleted 8/8 and 4/8...) Also I like to be useful. I'm doing other char on other account from 0 cuz i wanna try support jobs (Taru this time )
If you think SMA can go completly w/o merits on gkt there is a way to have 4 of this 5 jobs.

8 archery 4 sword and 8 h2h or 8 polearm.

Or maybe BLU can go w/o merits in sword and just with 8/8 blue magic ( If i think about this BLU aside from sneak attack wont do much on harder staff and on stuff that is weaker acc with sole sushi and blue magci 8/8 could not be a problem ?)I dont liek to gimp myself tho

So maybe 8 archery 8 h2h 4 polearm? God im in the circle once again :/

[Teorem]

For the purpose of gaining exp in the shortest time, soloing in general is better on BLU than with DRG or BLM, in my experience. Not to mention that the targets you would be selective with (since every job would be selective) are much more likely to be available compared to what you'd go for on DRG or BLM.

In a group situation: consistent Stun (especially if incidental damage is not an issue) and bind. Decent (but not amazing) magic damage with pretty good range for marginal hate gain, but not a particularly strong point if hate is not an issue in general. DEF Down possibilities are pretty close to Acid Bolts if you can't have Angon on 100% of the time.

Damage-wise, I definitely agree that other jobs can and will perform better. I'm not advocating dropping a BLU into a BLM spot for Ouryu or saying you're going to out damage a RNG on Bahamut, for example.

[Atoreis]

As mentioned above, Regurgitation can be quite a nifty trick to pull out of the bag on occasion. What other damage spell can you spam literally every time the timer is up hate-free? 69MP, 400-600+ damage, depending (unresisted).

I've parsed at/above what our BLMs parsed on Tinnin without ever getting drawn in/etc using it, and unlike melee, I stand outside of AoE range.
Also has potential for lowmanning if you have one person kite a mob in a circle, use that spell every pass, that sort of thing.

'course, part of that may come down to the fight and group strategy. It'd be pretty friggin' useless in a zerg or the like.

Regurgitation not req sword merits tho and like i said i can gear all 5 jobs cuz i like them all only problem is melee.

[Tsuko_Asura]

As mentioned above, Regurgitation can be quite a nifty trick to pull out of the bag on occasion. What other damage spell can you spam literally every time the timer is up hate-free? 69MP, 400-600+ damage, depending (unresisted).

I've parsed at/above what our BLMs parsed on Tinnin without ever getting drawn in/etc using it, and unlike melee, I stand outside of AoE range.
Also has potential for lowmanning if you have one person kite a mob in a circle, use that spell every pass, that sort of thing.

'course, part of that may come down to the fight and group strategy. It'd be pretty friggin' useless in a zerg or the like.

I know how Regurgitation works(and I'm not being facetious), I'd rather you give me more examples of where BLU would shine over BLM in situation where magic damage is the best choice.

[Tsuko_Asura]

For the purpose of gaining exp in the shortest time, soloing in general is better on BLU than with DRG or BLM, in my experience. Not to mention that the targets you would be selective with (since every job would be selective) are much more likely to be available compared to what you'd go for on DRG or BLM.

In a group situation: consistent Stun (especially if incidental damage is not an issue) and bind. Decent (but not amazing) magic damage with pretty good range for marginal hate gain, but not a particularly strong point if hate is not an issue in general. DEF Down possibilities are pretty close to Acid Bolts if you can't have Angon on 100% of the time.

Damage-wise, I definitely agree that other jobs can and will perform better. I'm not advocating dropping a BLU into a BLM spot for Ouryu or saying you're going to out damage a RNG on Bahamut, for example.

I think you're misunderstanding me. I realize that BLU works in pretty much all situations, what I don't understand is why you would use one when there are widely available better options.

[Atoreis]

For the purpose of gaining exp in the shortest time, soloing in general is better on BLU than with DRG or BLM

Blu can do better then chain 4-5 on greater colibri which i did on drg? (chain#5 525 exp w/o ring) then again im not searching for solo job for exp more for be able to kill something harder solo.

[Teorem]

If anything, I don't understand your response.

Better at...soloing? BLU is better than BLM and DRG.
Better at...stun? BLU is more consistent (in terms of frequency and sources) than BLM and DRK.
Better at...bind? Regurgitation has higher accuracy than Bind (at least, in my experience)
Better at...low-hate consistent magic damage? If you can get by with BLM/NIN (and the requisite kiting after you pull hate), then that's better, but otherwise Regurgitation is better.
Better at...DEF Down? DRG is better, but Angon is once every 3 minutes.

Blu can do better then chain 4-5 on greater colibri which i did on drg? (chain#5 525 exp w/o ring) then again im not searching for solo job for exp more for be able to kill something harder solo.

BLU is comparable, but, at least on Phoenix, good luck finding Greater Colibri to solo on (as opposed to finding Heraldic Imps).

What specifically do you mean "something harder?" Depending on what those targets are (and also, what you intend to get involved with later), other jobs can and will shine brighter.

I still think you should actively work to improve all of the jobs you enjoy playing, but to at least answer one of your questions earlier, you do not need to merit sword for BLU. It doesn't hurt, but you'll benefit from other combat merits more with the jobs you have (e.g., polearm).