Rdm Merit Spells.

[Everlasting]

Dia3 and Phalanx2 here.

Maxed Dia3 is just way way too nice for everyday activities.

[yrpaine]

I went
3: slow
2: para
1: dia

slow and para for obvious reasons, dia/phalanx2 are both decent, it's completely dependant on your normal role as rdm. I got dia3 because my previous ls was melee heavy and we tp burned most everything, (I thought was going to be nice on bugards for tp burn parties but it's useless there now). I may change to phalanx2 because I rarely use dia3 any more.

[pimpp]

When I asked this question, people told me to look at what I'm doing and what other RDMs I'll be with have. That said, almost all RDMs have Slow II. So its fairly safe to pick something else.

I personally am going for 3 Phalanx II 1 Dia III 2 Paralyze II.

i didnt read past this post.

phal2 maxed especially if ur gonna duo a lot.(and cap parry lewlz)
dia3 is nice
para2 is great so u can havta fuck w/ it on ur nin.

[Auspice]

Here's why I like Paralyze 2

[img]uber proc[/img]

It's got a nice stick rate too, works nicely on Salvage bosses, etc. I wish it'd proc more, I could probably get it to do that if i squeeze the shit out of my MND gear when casting it.

Out of curiosity, what was your gear setup for that?

[bungie]

nice zip para ^^, ive had something like that happen for me, but its cuz they weak to ice.

i think phalanx is worthless at lvl 1, i personally have lvl2 phalanx slow and para. I like phalanx lvl2 cuz the timer is the same as haste and i can fit it in between hastes. as far as group 1 merits, I think a RDM should be able to control their mp w/o running out before convert is up w/o meriting it, the magic acc merits imo is well worth it.

[Lordwafik]

Here's why I like Paralyze 2

[img]uber proc[/img]

It's got a nice stick rate too, works nicely on Salvage bosses, etc. I wish it'd proc more, I could probably get it to do that if i squeeze the shit out of my MND gear when casting it.

Out of curiosity, what was your gear setup for that?

Surprisingly it was nothing special. I had hardly any mnd gear on aside from crimson body and mahatma slops, which was weird. One rainy day when I'm more rich i'll go scavenge the AH to squeeze every peice of MND gear I can get. Maybe when I also free up my inventory of all the damned virtues and salvage cards too.

[Therin]

If your LS uses mostly NINs and PLD/NINs (shadow tanks), go Paralyze II and Slow II max.

If you use PLD/WAR, cap Phalanx II and put the rest in Slow.

[Sylphet]

If your LS uses mostly NINs and PLD/NINs (shadow tanks), go Paralyze II and Slow II max.

If you use PLD/WAR, cap Phalanx II and put the rest in Slow.

eh not necessarily

I see where you're coming from but even with Blink tanks Phalanx II can come in handy (assuming you're talking about for HNMS). However for HNMs most linkshells have more than one RDM. Tank party RDM should ideally have Phalanx II capped + either SlowII or ParaII. Another RDM should have the complimentary spell capped so both spells can be cast with maximal potency.

Neosutra also said that they would be using it mostly for duoing with his NIN. Since this takes HNMs out of the question, phalanx II becomes even more appealing because the mobs typically don't hit as hard so the damage mitigation over time makes it worth it. For that situation it might even be a good idea to go 2 Phalanx II, 2 Para II, 2 Slow II.

Have fun with the duoing though RDM + NIN is definately one of the most powerful and enjoyable combinations in the game.

[Eraphiel]

Phalanx 2 is also delightful in Salvage. Bringing damage taken down into single digits makes it much easier when you're the only mage trying to heal the entire group.

I personally went 3/3 para2 and 3/3 phalanx2. I also capped ice acc merits, so being able to trade out a decent chunk of enfeebling gear for mnd to beef it up's lovely. The other rdms in my shell and I got together and went over who had what tier2 merit spells, and which would be most beneficial for upgrading for each of us so there was minimal overlap, and allow for some specialization.

Tiamat and Jormungand annoy me with their immunity to paralyze, but Ouryu is my bitch '__'b

To the OP though, as it's been said...your best bet's pretty much para2/slow2 maxed out if you're just duoing with a nin. Mobs won't be too resistant, so you can go for pretty much pure potency on both casts.

[thestalkmore]

3 Slow II
2 Paralyze II
1 Dia III (Merit RDM FTW)

only way to fly

[theo]

1 Dia III (Merit RDM FTW)

But is that honestly worth 45 MP per fight? Depending on how fast your party kills, thats gonna add up fast...

I have maxed Para 2 and Slow 2 and I'm pretty satisfied. Maybe if I started doing Salvage I would consider re-allocating into some Phalanx II merits but for the moment I'm not too worried about it.

[Seditedi]

Dia II is 30 MP so its not that much more than Dia II, if you are a RDM that Dia II's every mob in exp it might be worth it. All else left aside, I think I'm gonna go lvl 3 slow, lvl 2 paralyze, lvl 1 phalanx II. Phalanx II is much more worthwhile than Dia III imo.

[Lordwafik]

If you unlock dia3 I hope you're using it accordingly. Like, example at colibri camps, use dia2 on colibris, dia3 on the Wivres, at mamook, dia2 on puks/normal mamools, dia3 on the more annoying mamools/wyverns, etc.

Unless of course you have MP to support constant dia3'ing.

I wish they just gave us dia3 as a spell, kinda retarded that DRK are just getting spells left and right, while we have to unlock them and then after that, aim for merit potencies, blahblah.

[Evelyn]

personally gone 2/2/2 on para slow and dia. Usually only need a handful of phalanx merit rdms to switch around in the tank party. I really like it when I go /drk and happen to get abs-mnd to land, makes para and slow the seckz. Byakko was a pussy when I got those fenagled (too bad resist rates on abs-spells are bad for me, need more dark skill gear)

[thestalkmore]

I'm a Taru with full convert merits. Never ran into a MP issue even with 20+k/hr pts.

[Neosutra]

I'm a Taru with full convert merits. Never ran into a MP issue even with 20+k/hr pts.

Ya, guess i could mention that, she is taru with billions of mp.

Anyone have a number for how much 1 upgrade of phalanx2 gives?

Since i think she will go with 3 into slow2, 3 into para2, and 1 into phalanx2.

As for the rest of her merits, she has whm 75 so she already has hp/mp maxed, enfeebling magic, cure cast time, devotion, protect and shell 5. Just needs convert recast, ice potency, and maybe mnd.

[Septimus]

I like Phalanx II and all, but it is such an MP drain for such a tiny effect. (Weee! Mine does so much more for half the cost!) Tanks will love you for it, but it will suck your MP dry if you have to Refresh, Haste, and Phalanx II 3 tanks.

Paralyze II has such a bad reputation outside of BG. Certain mobs like Fafnir and Proto-Ultima are utterly demolished when you stick Paralyze II on them, the potency over Paralyze really shines.

Slow II is amazing. There are times when we are fighting mobs with Slow II and Elegy where I sometime think that the mob has been slept because of the time between attacks.

If you are planning on mostly duoing, I would suggest max Paralyze II and Slow II. If you need Phalanx II for mobs that are properly Slowed and Paralyzed, stop fighting Monk mobs that use hundred fists.

[Kazen]

I like Phalanx II and all, but it is such an MP drain for such a tiny effect. (Weee! Mine does so much more for half the cost!) Tanks will love you for it, but it will suck your MP dry if you have to Refresh, Haste, and Phalanx II 3 tanks.

Paralyze II has such a bad reputation outside of BG. Certain mobs like Fafnir and Proto-Ultima are utterly demolished when you stick Paralyze II on them, the potency over Paralyze really shines.

Slow II is amazing. There are times when we are fighting mobs with Slow II and Elegy where I sometime think that the mob has been slept because of the time between attacks.

If you are planning on mostly duoing, I would suggest max Paralyze II and Slow II. If you need Phalanx II for mobs that are properly Slowed and Paralyzed, stop fighting Monk mobs that use hundred fists.

lol yeah, with Para 2 and Slow 2 + Elegy, Plds can almost go afk to run out and get a soda fast when 3 shadows are up (Not that I have ever done that before at a fafnir or anything...)

[Byrd]

If you unlock dia3 I hope you're using it accordingly.

There's certainly a time and a place for Dia III. One of the hidden benefits of it is that it overwrites Bio II, which BLM seem to like to cast on mobs when you've got 8-30 melee beating on them, which I never understood. It also overwrites lower tier Dia and Bio if you DoT something that doesn't want a DoT, giving you 30 seconds of kiting before it's sleepable again rather than the 2-3 min you were originally going to get. This tactic has saved lives in my linkshell a few times (not that many of those lives knew they had been saved).

For general use, Dia II is better for duration/MP. However, before a big skillchain on an HNM or just in general on an HNM once it's as debuffed as it's going to get, 5% is a big difference, especially if you have a lot of people wailing away on it.

Side note: a personal pet peeve of mine is when a BLM casts Bio II on a mob that is 1) attacking a Ninja and/or 2) being attacked by any number of melee greater than 1. "I know! Let's reduce this mob's attack as opposed to it's defense when it's attacking 1 person and getting wailed on by 10!" I realize there are certain times when it might be more useful, but generally speaking, Dia is a far superior use of DoT. Please, BLM, think before you cast Bio (II) on something.

[OmegaKnight]

If you unlock dia3 I hope you're using it accordingly.

There's certainly a time and a place for Dia III. One of the hidden benefits of it is that it overwrites Bio II, which BLM seem to like to cast on mobs when you've got 8-30 melee beating on them, which I never understood. It also overwrites lower tier Dia and Bio if you DoT something that doesn't want a DoT, giving you 30 seconds of kiting before it's sleepable again rather than the 2-3 min you were originally going to get. This tactic has saved lives in my linkshell a few times (not that many of those lives knew they had been saved).

For general use, Dia II is better for duration/MP. However, before a big skillchain on an HNM or just in general on an HNM once it's as debuffed as it's going to get, 5% is a big difference, especially if you have a lot of people wailing away on it.

Side note: a personal pet peeve of mine is when a BLM casts Bio II on a mob that is 1) attacking a Ninja and/or 2) being attacked by any number of melee greater than 1. "I know! Let's reduce this mob's attack as opposed to it's defense when it's attacking 1 person and getting wailed on by 10!" I realize there are certain times when it might be more useful, but generally speaking, Dia is a far superior use of DoT. Please, BLM, think before you cast Bio (II) on something.

We don't cast it to lower attack lol. We mostly cast it because the overall DoT dmg from the spell because of our Dark Skill is more than the DoT dmg from Dia.

Which is why I never understood why SE gave Bio III to RDM... IMO it would be better on DRK and BLM because of their Dark Skill.