Not sure if this topic is worthy for Advanced Player Discussion so I put it here.
A couple WHMs and I just finished a long debate about what a good HNM WHM should choose to merit for HNM fights. Obviously Cure cast is a very important one, but what else?
Now obviously before I get into discussing my argument I'll assume that we all know Regen is extremely useful for EXP parties and merits, as well as small-man sea and sky runs where you're running around and want to cure people over time. It's also very useful for healing DDs since it's more MP efficient than actually curing them, assuming it lasts for the entire duration without them hitting 100% HP before it wears off.
Anyway, my argument (and another LS WHM of mine) is that with the onset of PLD/NIN and RDM/NIN tanks for a lot of HNMs, the usefulness of Regen in general has dwindled significantly. The reason I say this is because, as a tank, I know I almost NEVER leave myself below 100% HP. As long as I'm below 100% HP and I have MP to spare, I'll be dropping small cures or even Cure IV's (depending upon my HP%) on myself to keep myself capped. It's part of the main hate generation process.
So, because of this, Regen III seems like it wouldn't do nearly as much for a tank. For 62 MP it lasts 60 seconds, and recovers 20 HP per tick (23 with C. Briault and 28 with max merits), which means a total recovery of 400-560 HP depending upon the strength of your Regen setup. However, when a tank sits at 100% HP for well above half of the duration of the spell, it's usefulness is halved, making it actually less MP efficient than simply curing said tank with Cure spells.
So it seems to me this makes Regen only useful outside of tank party. Most mages in my shell disagreed, however, and laughed at the idea of meriting bar-spells for the +MDB and +resist over Regen. What do you think?
*EDIT* I forgot to add Divine Seal to the merits because I figured it wasn't even worth mentioning, but I guess some people might like to merit it. Oh well. >_>