RDM Merit Point Allocation

[Seditedi]

Phalanx II isn't any kind of substitute for a Fire resist build imo >.>.
The combo of Phalanx II and a fire resist build really shines though, it can take full resists down to 0.

[chapstick]

I <3 my Phalanx level 3.

[donnie]

Eva 4 (Taking to 8)

wut

Well, I am only a NIN, RDM, BRD. I do shit like pull on BRD where it would help. Tank on NIN where it would help. And constantly Duo/Solo stuff on RDM where it definitely can't hurt, especially not when I have no other need to put merits into the combat category.

I use a sword less than 10% of the time on RDM. If I am on NIN it is probably /DRK tanking where KTN skill isn't going to do much. So EVA is the only logical choice that can possibly help. That and Dagger which I might do as well, since I am thinking of THF next to 75. ;p

The "wut" wasn't directed at the decision to merit Evasion (I have 4 myself for Nin), but rather that you're planning on going to 8 when the cap for Evasion merits is 4.

slowIIx1( the curve for slow II even with only 1 minimum , is enough to give good result , and it last just as long as slow II x3 , and always lands easily)

Pretty sure the point of having more merits into Slow 2 is for the higher potency cap (in addition to the added accuracy).

i didnt say its bad , but its enough to get x1 since you have phalanx IIx3 , dia III x2 . the point of dia IIIx2 since 1x only would give u only 30sec , diaIIIx2 is for 1min which is much more logical .

also to add more , slow IIx1 with stack of MND , elegy + earth shot , u basically can cast Ichi between monster melee attacks without him attacking you mid-casting. i dont think u even need earth shot

[raevenx]

Dia III and phalanx II are really nice for tank pt...(maxed course)

I don't know why some of you consider slow II integral for tank pt, because that is not the tank pt rdm job. Damage mitigation and healing - obviously dia III isn't helpful toward that but I find there is just enough mp to keep up dia III as well. Phalanx II on tiamat is REALLY nice for air fire damage, fuck you ninja resist builds!

That's nice if you have RDM's to spare, but I'm typically the only one present (other than Cerberus obviously) - so I am the Slow II. I'm also best geared / merited so Dia III is a nice to have but not a necessary. Slow II is a necessary. I'd rather be merited in the most helpful way for my LS in case its just me. We have people that RDM as second jobs merit things like Dia III as a nice to have.

Fire resist set + phalanx II + barfira + HQ horn + Nocto shield = don't even bother stunning.

Raev

[Seditedi]

FYI Phalanx II and Noctoshield do not stack.
Dream Shroud for the MDB could work though.
I do agree with you about Dia III being less important, 5% defense down is pretty big over Dia II, but imo Dia III has to be merited to level 3 to actually make it work well, so I wouldn't sacrifice Slow II for Dia III.

[Starr]

Mine are gonna be:
Enfeebling 8/8
Convert 5/5
Ice Accuracy5/5 (I swear Para is harder to stick than Slow)
Slow 2 3/3
Para 2 3/3
MP 8/8

I'll do Elemental Magic one day if I run out of things to merit.

[Flokk_9]

8/8 MP
8/8 Enfeebling
4/4 Spell Interruption %
5/5 Ice
5/5 Wind
2/3 Paralyze II
2/3 Slow II
2/3 Phalanx II

Went with what seemed like a well-rounded setup that I could apply at end-game or for moderately difficult solo play without any hitches. In skipping Convert merits, my logic was that 5/5 Ice/Wind would save a significant amount of MP over time by means of lower resist rates - Bind, Grav, Para, Silence, etc - which has potentially life/MP-saving implications. Guess you could argue that the accuracy merits are effective all the time also, not just when MP use is massive and always at a crisis point - which, with all the ballads and devotions and dalmies flying around at end-game shouldn't happen often enough to be make life impossible without merited Convert. And then again, anytime those accuracy merits really shine, you're probably fighting something where MP could potentially be a problem...so it seems like pretty much a matter of play style. Anyway, since the other eight magic skill merits are permanently tied into wind skill, 5/5 Ice will help hugely for solo nuking. People say ParaII is unreliable at best, but I decided to give that a run for its money. Wanted DiaIII pretty badly, but decided to leave the tier 2's on an even keel. Practically everybody has DiaIII anyway, and if the front line can't hack it without the increase from II>III then I probably just need a new front line.

[sekaran]

I don't have convert merits.. never will. I don't like it messing up my DS timer.. not to mention, I can usually go 20 minutes without needing to use it in almost anything I do.

[Isiolia]

I don't have convert merits.. never will. I don't like it messing up my DS timer.. not to mention, I can usually go 20 minutes without needing to use it in almost anything I do.

Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it in that case. For non /WHM subs, or more intense situations...can be useful.

Shouldn't feel obligated to use DS with Convert anyway. It's certainly a nice use of it, but I would hope you aren't ignoring it for 20 minutes just to save MP on healing back from Convert either. The purpose of it is to save MP, and it does that whether you're using it on a Curaga/II or Cure IV after Convert or whatever.

[Seditedi]

I don't have convert merits.. never will. I don't like it messing up my DS timer.. not to mention, I can usually go 20 minutes without needing to use it in almost anything I do.

"Messing up DS timer" is hardly a valid reason to not merit convert.
Some of the reasons why people don't merit it such as they don't really need it for their playstyle is valid, but DS timer is not. Even if you don't have DS for every vert, it still generates alot more MP in the long term. You'll have DS every other vert and thats not bad, plus there are other subs besides WHM for RDM, so you aren't always gonna have DS.

[raevenx]

FYI Phalanx II and Noctoshield do not stack.
Dream Shroud for the MDB could work though.
I do agree with you about Dia III being less important, 5% defense down is pretty big over Dia II, but imo Dia III has to be merited to level 3 to actually make it work well, so I wouldn't sacrifice Slow II for Dia III.

Dream Shroud is what I am thinking of then if that's the MDB one. I'd love to have Dia III, just not in the cards unless SE allows us more merits in Tier 2.

Raev

[Demosthenes11]

Phalanx II isn't any kind of substitute for a Fire resist build imo >.>.
The combo of Phalanx II and a fire resist build really shines though, it can take full resists down to 0.

my post was kinda misleading, but we don't use nins on tiamat, we strickly use plds (sup aegis') I'd much rather them take 20-30 damage a fireball and be able to heal themselves than them taking 0 damage, but that's just me D:

[Septimus]

I don't have convert merits.. never will. I don't like it messing up my DS timer.. not to mention, I can usually go 20 minutes without needing to use it in almost anything I do.

"Messing up DS timer" is hardly a valid reason to not merit convert.
Some of the reasons why people don't merit it such as they don't really need it for their playstyle is valid, but DS timer is not. Even if you don't have DS for every vert, it still generates alot more MP in the long term. You'll have DS every other vert and thats not bad, plus there are other subs besides WHM for RDM, so you aren't always gonna have DS.

But that would be part of their playstyle.

Phalanx II isn't any kind of substitute for a Fire resist build imo >.>.
The combo of Phalanx II and a fire resist build really shines though, it can take full resists down to 0.

my post was kinda misleading, but we don't use nins on tiamat, we strickly use plds (sup aegis') I'd much rather them take 20-30 damage a fireball and be able to heal themselves than them taking 0 damage, but that's just me D:

But if they take 0 damage from the fireball then that means that they did not lose any hate. (And they can use that MP on others.)

[Churchill]

Ninja is sick for Tiamat shitty fire build or not, lol. Being able to Stun your own FiragaIII is win, though I prefer PLD+NIN tanking it, Cover for my Terror and my JA's for theirs.

[shukuffxi]

The only reason I can really imagine to NOT merit Convert, is if you don't have a Duelist's Chapeau, and are anal retentive about landing rates. Even so, full Enfeebling Merits, Torque, AF Body, and cape go a seriously long way towards reducing any resists you might ever see. Even before I received my Duelist's Chapeau, I had the above setup, and my resists were very few, all around.

From my point of view, in solo or team play, one of the foremost things for a RDM is to have as much MP as possible, as fast as possible. Our job is not just "Enfeeble stuff, cast Refresh/Haste" but to have the MP, and skill to do whatever is needed at the time (within reason), if this means extra cures, emergency Raise I, extra sleeps, picking up the slack because someone DC'd, or many other reasons, nothing beats having your Convert ready and available 1:40 earlier. I often don't need it up that early, especially when there is a BRD around, but there have been many, many times, where it has saved me, or those i'm doing whatever event with.

[Seditedi]

Depends on what enfeeble you are casting.
I hope to god you don't Slow or Paralyze a mob with a full skill set.
Earth accuracy and Ice accuracy are nice because they add a lot of magic acc to your potency setups to cast a more potent Slow/Paralyze without sacrificing anything. I do not have Earth Accuracy merits, but I could usually manage to enfeeble pretty consistently with Club/Shield and the only enfeebling skill + being torque and af2 hat.
Either way its not a very big difference but it does help a bit. I just prefer my ice acc/vert merits because thats the best combo for how I play RDM.

[Demosthenes11]

Phalanx II isn't any kind of substitute for a Fire resist build imo >.>.
The combo of Phalanx II and a fire resist build really shines though, it can take full resists down to 0.

my post was kinda misleading, but we don't use nins on tiamat, we strickly use plds (sup aegis') I'd much rather them take 20-30 damage a fireball and be able to heal themselves than them taking 0 damage, but that's just me D:

But if they take 0 damage from the fireball then that means that they did not lose any hate. (And they can use that MP on others.)

yar, but I believe getting hit a little bit and curing is more hate than just 0s (not positive, but I've noticed it). Phalanx II really nice for random ass things to apart from salvage/HNM, like when a brd is hording a lot of mobs, or nyzul no ninjitsu bullshit

[shukuffxi]

Depends on what enfeeble you are casting.
I hope to god you don't Slow or Paralyze a mob with a full skill set.
Earth accuracy and Ice accuracy are nice because they add a lot of magic acc to your potency setups to cast a more potent Slow/Paralyze without sacrificing anything. I do not have Earth Accuracy merits, but I could usually manage to enfeeble pretty consistently with Club/Shield and the only enfeebling skill + being torque and af2 hat.
Either way its not a very big difference but it does help a bit. I just prefer my ice acc/vert merits because thats the best combo for how I play RDM.

Obviously I don't cast Slow (II) Paralyze (II) in full Enfeebling+ gear >_> It's fairly easy to get hax Para on crap like Fafnir if you're meritted/AF2 hat, Club+Wand is an easy choice, even back when I did Tiamat, I could land the large majority of my Slow II's with Club+Wand instead of Terra's Staff.

The thing with Earth Acc Merits: You can reach close enough to the cap BEFORE Earth Acc merits, to the point the extra Acc is kinda useless. Ice Acc is just full of freaking win because of Bind, and allowing you to shove in extra potency on Paralyze (II), not to mention full merits is +15 M.Acc to Blizzard III, coupled with an Elemental Torque, Merciful Cape, Aquilo's Staff, making it a seriously reliable nuke on anything not resistant to ice. Wind Acc obviously is good for Gravity/Silence, but afaik, they're static effects and nothing affects their potency, and you can stick them on anything pretty much with full Enfeebling Skill+ set.

So overall for Cat. 1 merits, Convert and Ice Magic Accuracy just stick out as the best options overall for someone with at least full Enfeebling Magic Skill+ merits, in my mind at least, and for sure in the case of those lucky enough to have got their Duelist's Chapeaus.

[sekaran]

I don't have convert merits.. never will. I don't like it messing up my DS timer.. not to mention, I can usually go 20 minutes without needing to use it in almost anything I do.

Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it in that case. For non /WHM subs, or more intense situations...can be useful.

Shouldn't feel obligated to use DS with Convert anyway. It's certainly a nice use of it, but I would hope you aren't ignoring it for 20 minutes just to save MP on healing back from Convert either. The purpose of it is to save MP, and it does that whether you're using it on a Curaga/II or Cure IV after Convert or whatever.

Okay okay, I kinda said that in jest. But, I'm not gonna dump my 4wind 3ice 3earth merits for Convert recast timer. I hardly use Convert as it is. I can go through any set of floors on Nyzul without needing to touch it (Probably my main use for RDM, and gogo Duelist's Chapeau+Dalm+Balrahn+Sanction+Refresh). I use it like maybe every 20 minutes, if at all, on any king/HNM I've encountered and fought with my LS. I'm never gonna tank an HNM as RDM/NIN so I won't benefit from it there as well. If I merit as RDM (and I always have a BRD when I do so), I use Convert every 15-20 minutes.

[Priphea]

I can go through any set of floors on Nyzul without needing to touch it (Probably my main use for RDM, and gogo Duelist's Chapeau+Dalm+Balrahn+Sanction+Refresh). I use it like maybe every 20 minutes, if at all, on any king/HNM I've encountered and fought with my LS. I'm never gonna tank an HNM as RDM/NIN so I won't benefit from it there as well. If I merit as RDM (and I always have a BRD when I do so), I use Convert every 15-20 minutes.

With a fully merited down Convert timer, you can go through 4 MP pools very easily as RDM during a Nyzul run. There's always more mobs you can hit with a Blizzard III or Hastes you can dole out, especially if you get a lot of Eliminate All Enemies floors.

Nyzul is a nice rarity that you pretty much know you have 30 minutes, and want to have Convert available for bosses, so you might as well time your Converts accordingly.