Red Mage Meritpo Builds

[FFXIFlux]

I'm currently 63 RDM and I'm wondering why everyone insits on Ice and Wind Acc ALWAYS. I understand why they say wind with Silence but I'm thinking about meriting Slow2(3/3) and Para2(3/3) along with Ice(5/5) and Stone(5/5). Do you think this is an OK idea or is Silence just too important not to merit wind?

Why merit stone? If slow doesn't land, you recast it. If silence or gravity doesn't land, well, you're fucked, hope you had reraise.

Speaking as a tank, when I see support casting Slow II and Paralyze II, I sport wood.

When a RDM does that in a spam party we do the linkshell equivalent of rolling our eyes. Why spend 6x the MP to get a relativly minor benefit over Slow/Para I? Spending 90ish MP per mob instead of 20ish just runs a RDM's MP into the ground if you're killing at a reasonable rate.

[Miruka]

For meriting on RDM (because that's basically all you will be allowed to merit with after you get it to 75, sorry) get Convert 5.

Other than that I'd just save the points and figure out where you're usually situated or want to be situated for HNM/endgame activities. Phalanx II for example is useless if you're never in the tank party, for example, and having Slow II 5 isn't that great when 4 other RDMs have the same thing I would think.

MND all the way if you like being a career RDM. Scary, scary things happen with heavy MND builds and skill/accuracy merits.

[Chupunpupun]

Anyone ever merit BIND 2? Might be good for solo since it runs on a different timer than BIND 1?

fully meritted bind 2 lasts an hour if no one does any damage to it

Does thou speakth the truth?

[JoOeetheplatypuS]

Anyone ever merit BIND 2? Might be good for solo since it runs on a different timer than BIND 1?

fully meritted bind 2 lasts an hour if no one does any damage to it

Does thou speakth the truth?

The pope is infallable.

[phirien]

your decision should laregely depend on your role within your LS. it would make sense to do something like max out Para2 along with Ice Mgc. Acc, and have have another RDM in your LS max out Slow2 along with Earth Mgc. Acc. whoever is typically in the tank party should grab phalanx2 merits.

however, its generally a better idea to merit wind accuracy (assuming you're not going for convert recast) seeing as how the effect spells' recast are significantly longer than ice/earth based spells.

maxxing out enfeebling skill obviously, should be a #1 priority. this will also allow you to wear things like mahatma legs ober nashira legs, or prism cape over altruistic cape, mistelelin/numinous shield+1 over staves etc.

depending on how good your gear is, and if you can afford MND gear or not should dictate whether or not you're putting merits into INT and MND. as an elvaan with a ton of MND gear, and enough gil to never worry about not being able to buy INT, it makes more sense for me to merit INT. this allows me to potentially equip items like zenith mitts in place of af2 or yigit hands, or magic attack earrings.

[divisortheory]

Speaking as a tank, when I see support casting Slow II and Paralyze II, I sport wood.

It's even better when you have a second RDM casting Blind II. If/when my RDM ever gets to 75, I'd probably do Dia III x1, Blind 2 x3, and Phalanx II x2, on the grounds that every other RDM in your shell probably has Slow and Paralyze covered.

[Omalika]

your decision should laregely depend on your role within your LS. it would make sense to do something like max out Para2 along with Ice Mgc. Acc, and have have another RDM in your LS max out Slow2 along with Earth Mgc. Acc. whoever is typically in the tank party should grab phalanx2 merits.

however, its generally a better idea to merit wind accuracy (assuming you're not going for convert recast) seeing as how the effect spells' recast are significantly longer than ice/earth based spells.

maxxing out enfeebling skill obviously, should be a #1 priority. this will also allow you to wear things like mahatma legs ober nashira legs, or prism cape over altruistic cape, mistelelin/numinous shield+1 over staves etc.

depending on how good your gear is, and if you can afford MND gear or not should dictate whether or not you're putting merits into INT and MND. as an elvaan with a ton of MND gear, and enough gil to never worry about not being able to buy INT, it makes more sense for me to merit INT. this allows me to potentially equip items like zenith mitts in place of af2 or yigit hands, or magic attack earrings.

people actually do this?

are mists actually that common on your server?

[Sylvrdragon]

IMO Ice Acc > Wind Acc. Once you're LS starts to straight tank everything, then Gravity becomes next to useless for HNM, and you can't silence most HNMs anyway. Until that point though, Wind merits are wonderful. Ice however is not only Bind and Paralyze, but in those very rare cases where you actually need to nuke, BlizzardIII is already our most reliable spell do to the 10 skill on staff (and 5INT woot). It may just save the day.

Aggree 100% with 5/5 Vert. For tierIIs, I'm at ParaIIX1, SlowIIX1, PhalanxIIX2 so far. I'm putting at least one more into SlowII for the M.Acc and a bit more Potency. The last point I'm going to cap either Phalanx or Slow. Not sure yet (we use PLDs for a lot of stuff).

Other than those, the basics are pretty obvious. MP, Enfeebling Magic, Whatever the hell you want from the Other Category, and MND > all.

[nekoshoonen]

INT merits on RDM? <.<

I don't pretend to know anything about the job but at last check that's a dumb idea.

I think he was taking the OP's BLM75 into consideration. If you're meriting Slow II and Paralyze II you should definitely merit MND instead, though.

especcially since Tarutarus have such awful MND base.

[phirien]

your decision should laregely depend on your role within your LS. it would make sense to do something like max out Para2 along with Ice Mgc. Acc, and have have another RDM in your LS max out Slow2 along with Earth Mgc. Acc. whoever is typically in the tank party should grab phalanx2 merits.

however, its generally a better idea to merit wind accuracy (assuming you're not going for convert recast) seeing as how the effect spells' recast are significantly longer than ice/earth based spells.

maxxing out enfeebling skill obviously, should be a #1 priority. this will also allow you to wear things like mahatma legs ober nashira legs, or prism cape over altruistic cape, mistelelin/numinous shield+1 over staves etc.

depending on how good your gear is, and if you can afford MND gear or not should dictate whether or not you're putting merits into INT and MND. as an elvaan with a ton of MND gear, and enough gil to never worry about not being able to buy INT, it makes more sense for me to merit INT. this allows me to potentially equip items like zenith mitts in place of af2 or yigit hands, or magic attack earrings.

people actually do this?

are mists actually that common on your server?

one was in battalia like 2 weeks ago for 5mil. i don't have one, though. but yeah, as long as you have enough enfeebling skill its smart to drop the staves in favor for some more MND. i know of a few people who do.

[Kimiko]

I wouldn't say the mind difference is that bad. On rdm/whm, it's a mere 6 point difference @ 73.

[Miruka]

I hate it when people say that as a reason to or not to merit stats. Worse MND than an Elvaan doesn't mean you have to merit MND to make it up, because guess what, said Elvaan can merit MND too and you'll be in the same position. And 6 points is a lot when you can't ever get those 6 points. It basically means your Slow IIs will always be 2%ish worse than an Elvaans with identical merits and equip; there's zero reason to let that be 4%ish instead if you want to go all out, as any attempt to merit RDM to that level implies.

(But then, 200ish extra natural MP is also nice, perhaps nice-er.)

The decision should lie solely on whether or not it'll actually be useful for your character (or your LS by extention, whatever). An appropiately placed 5 points won't redefine your jobs obviously, but it'll definitely make them better.

[Tyche]

This thread needs more wrish. He knows how to distribute RDM merits >.>

[aurik]

lol

[Miruka]

This thread needs more wrish. He knows how to distribute RDM merits >.>

That's the guy who was like "RDM/NIN can out-DD MNK/WAR if the MNK is naked, unhasted, unbuffed, AFK, turned around, and dead" or something to that effect?

(I would have added like "blinded and paralyzed" but the quip was getting a little long.)

[Tyche]

More along the lines of

"A RDM with capped enhancing merits, capped dagger skill, capped crit merits, a speed belt, a SH+1, kraken club, speed belt, suppo, hollow earring, sniper +1, dusk gloves, peacock, foragers mantle, etc etc can outdamage a naked MNK using destroyers if the party pulled mobs a minute apart to give the RDM time to debuff the mob and the MNK waited during that period." Which turned out to still not be true after i found a RDM with most of that and tested it.

twas a long thread and makes the readers completely ignorant after they finish reading it.

[Grad]

Everyone talks about merriting convert but idk... i havent converted in like a year. I think you can spend your merrits better in other places. The convert timer is fine (if you even need it)

[Kandykanez]

I don't see the hype behind capped Ice merits, Paralyze & Bind are nothing but -chance- spells that you can't rely upon. I chose to cap wind and earth, and have capped Slow2, working on Blind2.
Slow is the one spell you can always rely upon & work with once it's landed, as it's a static effect.

[Mr.City]

A setup that's worked for me is 5/5 wind with 3/5 slow with 2/5 ice along with 3/3 para2 and 3/3 slow2. I've pretty much don't get on rdm unless it's needed for HNMs, so I really decided to focus on being able to land enfeebs more then anything else.

Seeing as how you're a taru rdm with almost 900 mp, you may want to consider investing some time in meriting your hp, so you'll actually be able to tap into all that mp when you convert.

As far as mnd/int merits, I say go whatever. 5 int or mnd won't break you. However, since you are a blm, you may just want to merit int anyways.

[Delekii]

Soloing many noteworthy mobs on RDM requires extensive use of Bind, and it isnt that random - especially once your accuracy is up. Like someone earlier in the thread said, if slow and blind dont land you just recast them. If gravity and bind dont land, hope you had reraise, because you're going to need it.