Red Mage Merit Issue Please Help.

[Sylvrdragon]

I am 5 convert, 3 ice, 2 wind. I've kinda wanted to switch to 5 ice but meh...

Convert merits are the best thing ever.

3 Phalanx and 3 Slow is my category 2. Phalanx is great for salvage.

Exactly the same, except I only have 2 SlowII and 1 ParalyzeII instead of capped Slow. Breaking the 300 Enhancing Magic Tier with capped PhalanxII is -23/hit, and my PLDs love me for it. ParalyzeII seems to do some nice things for me, but it may very well be anecdotal. I almost always cast Slow and Para in full MND gear , which is around +50MND (except for HQ Staff, and Enfeebling Earring+Torque, for +10 to put me over 300 skill (302 to be exact)). I've been meaning to go 5/5 Ice for a long while now, but every time I get the merits, I always end up putting them into another job instead. I predict that switching those wind to Ice will be the second to last thing I use merits on, just before base stats.

The only reason I ever considered getting BioIII was to exact revenge on all the Beastmen that cast it on me over the years before it was available to players, but even that wasn't enough to warrant unlocking this spell IMO. Another RDM in my LS has a single level of DiaIII unlocked, and while I admit that it's a good spell, -and I'm glad he has it, and knows how to use it-, I just don't think I could give up any Tier2 slots for it.

As far as which Elemental Accuracy merits to get, I would go with 5/5 Ice. While Bind, Gravity, and Silence can all be considered "Do or Die" spells; even within that category, their are levels. Gravity can certainly be an important spell for a few select fights, but how many events do you do where you're the only one with it? While you may NEED it to land, chances are, even if you get resisted (which isn't likely in the first place if you're geared properly), then someone else will most likely nail it. Hell, BLMs in my LS usually don't have trouble landing Gravity most of the time. Now Bind on the other hand, you use while solo. If you miss a Bind while you're soloing something beefy, their isn't anyone else who's gonna pick up the slack and land it. You're very likely fucked.

Silence isn't even an issue IMO. First off, most of the stuff you WANT to silence is immune. Second, their are very few mobs in the game that you HAVE to land silence on that you can't land fresh out of the box anyway. Dynamis Pets and BLMs take enfeebles like DC mobs. No other HNMs that I can think of can be silenced reliably enough that LSes depend on it. Not to mention it has like a 3 second cool-down for a RDM.

[Alibeemac]

Rarely run out of mp on RDM and don't touch it merit wise and I never main heal on RDM as I detest exping on it and any other healer job. Enfeebling RDM only kthx for end game. 4 Earth, 3 Wind, 3 Ice here along with 3/3 Slow 2, 1/3 Para2, 1/3 Dia 3, 1/3 Phalanx 2.

[levish]

Convert -> HP/MP depending on which you need for 1:1 -> Para II -> Ice Acc

I'd also throw some Phalanx II into the mix if you want to help people skillup

[Sidanoir]

Phalanx II if you do anything end game is seriously hax when capped...

Personally:
2 Slow II
1 Para II
3 Phalanx II
Is my suggested mix for cat II <.<

[Fiofio]

100 seconds off convert is 'meh'? Try counting down 100 seconds as soon as you see your MP run low 8)

1....2....3....4....5....6....7....8....9....blah blah.... 30...omg no MP... 31...32...33... you see? :O

I have 4/5 Convert, 3 Wind Accuracy, 3 Ice Accuracy. Then I went with everyone's favourite... 3/3 Slow II, then 1 Paralyze II and 2 Phalanx II. Phalanx II is so nice in Salvage~ Throw it on the monks and the WHM barely has to heal them - a Regen is often enough to keep their HP up.

I would like to cap out Phalanx II, but I'm hoping SE will raise the limits in the future and I do occasionally use Paralyze II on stuff like the chariot bosses in Salvage.

[Medivac]

If we're talking about soloing NMs (lv80+) then the contact damage of any Bio spell is going to be full resist so it's a difference of like 8 dmg vs. 15 dmg.

10 minutes of Bio III is 1600 dmg for 320 MP
10 minutes of Bio II is 1200 dmg for 160 MP

160 MP is a ~500-600 dmg Bliz3 plus change.
Add to that the loss of Dia/Phalanx/Para/Slow and it just seems like gaining nothing at all.
I guess solo styles vary. My experience is with Ungur, Kreutzet, and various WSNMs and I would not use Bio III in those situations.

any rdm that can solo well knows how good bioIII is, if you merit it, its less amount of times you need to cast it, and that is not a waste, what is a waste is casting blizard III with bad elemental skill

[RakEx]

So many people are still in love with Convert merits. While they are good I dont think they are as valuable as more acc merits.

If you're a RDM with AF2 hat, dalm/morrigan, and maybe Seveneyes (underated item) you should really never have MP issues. Not even in merit parties when you are the only healer/haster etc.

Then I see alot of you are 3/3 or at least 2/3 Slow 2 with no Earth Acc merits... which is fine unless you are fighting Khim and Cerb alot I guess, where Slow can be difficult to land consistently. Granted these mobs are kind of a joke and you dont even really need to land it but it does help. Slow is really the only all purpose Enfeeble that can be used on every mob except for Ouryu and actually help.

I suggest Ice 5 and Earth 5 Acc merits. Even if you dont have para 2.

Or maybe 2 Ice and 3 Convert or some combo of the two.

[Fiofio]

I kinda feel that the accuracy merits are a bit of a placebo. If something is going to consistently resist my enfeebles when I have 332 Enfeebling skill/HQ gear and stack MND in other slots, then accuracy merits aren't really going to do much. Far better to have a Convert 1 min 20 sec ~ 1 min 40 sec sooner, so that I can have that much more MP to play with over a period of time. Besides, if I come to Cerberus or Khimaira and I'm not stunning, I come /BLM for Elemental Seal and cut straight through the BS magic resistance of these guys ><

[donnie]

I would go and say what i did with explination :

Convert x4 : its really good for tanking as rdm/nin , also helps todo more into merit PTs , mass cure spam situations.
ice accr x3 , earth accr3 : obviously for paralyze and slow mainly , which are the most used enfeebles .
fire accrx0 , thunder accrx0: huh who would ever merit that .
wind accx0: well its used for gravity and silence , and if the mob has natural resist on them u wont land it anyhow , if the mob can be silenced or gravitated , you can do that without needing to merit . and thier proc rate doesnt matter , its either stick them or not.
water accrx0 : i dont see why it would be valuable , its only mostly used for poison

------------

slow IIx1 : it never wear off fast , with enough MND u can get high result so adding more to slow II is meh.
paralyzeIIx0: if you have good combo of MND and skill , your paralyze 1 will do enough proc rate .
dia IIIx2 : 1min dia III is nice and fair enough , and since most of mobs rely on melee dmg right now , dia III is the way togo.
phalanxII x3 : yea without x3 , its useless , with 3 it last long , gives good result and really effects many fights. but most RDMs doesnt wanna use it cause it will add another order of spells to be used in tank PTs.
bio IIIx0: blm bio II for mobs that use bio is better then RDM .
blind IIx0: i dont wanna even explain why .

[Tricen]

Phalanx II if you do anything end game is seriously hax when capped...

Personally:
2 Slow II
1 Para II
3 Phalanx II
Is my suggested mix for cat II <.<

That's what I have. I like it

[Seditedi]

I got 3 Slow II 1 Para II 2 Phalanx II... debating on lowering the Slow II to level 2, Phalanx II is really good, lol.
Originally I had 3, 2, 1 then bumped para down to lvl 1 and Phalanx up to 2, liking that alot, but another 30 seconds on Phalanx II duration might be worth it.

[Myrna]

Phalanx II is really worth it on tanks, i'd go 3/3 if you're not soloing much. Speaking as a PLD, phalanx II + sentinel is hot.
I regret taking Para II, most likely switching to Slow II. Proc rate doesn't seem that up there.
Blind II was also a mistake. Oh well, I tired it out at least.

Group 1 i'm 5/5 vert right now, and I like it. Saves my ass during Ultima fights (all I use rdm for is Limbus these days).
Planning on getting 5/5 ice... whenever.

[Sidanoir]

Even if you are soloing mobs, Cat II merits don't determine your ability to solo.....good ole Bio II, Poison II , occasional nuke still works...
Phalanx is really game breaking lol....especially if you do salvage, HNMs with small groups, dynamis etc. etc....it really allows you to get away with less healing and shit even for meriting...when I merit on WAR vs mamools I never die to Rushing Gaymoves...with no shadows most damage i take is like 500-600 zerked...when I merit on RDM i Keep my melee haste/phalanx IIed, it really makes for less oh shit moments and less chance of breaking chain due to a lame Fang Rush or Rushing Slash...

Now if only I could get the damn cape from IX'MNK and break the 300 enhancing tier with gear >.>

Also if I am not mistaken isn't Phalanx II level 3 more potent than level 2? In addition to the duration.

[donnie]

Also if I am not mistaken isn't Phalanx II level 3 more potent than level 2? In addition to the duration.

yep

[Septimus]

Even if you are soloing mobs, Cat II merits don't determine your ability to solo.....good ole Bio II, Poison II , occasional nuke still works...
Phalanx is really game breaking lol....especially if you do salvage, HNMs with small groups, dynamis etc. etc....it really allows you to get away with less healing and shit even for meriting...when I merit on WAR vs mamools I never die to Rushing Gaymoves...with no shadows most damage i take is like 500-600 zerked...when I merit on RDM i Keep my melee haste/phalanx IIed, it really makes for less oh shit moments and less chance of breaking chain due to a lame Fang Rush or Rushing Slash...

Now if only I could get the damn cape from IX'MNK and break the 300 enhancing tier with gear >.>

Also if I am not mistaken isn't Phalanx II level 3 more potent than level 2? In addition to the duration.

One thing to remember about Phalanx II is that for it to be useful you have to be hit quite often. I did the math in an old thread, if your target doesn't get hit more than 8 times in three minutes (if you have full Phalanx II merits and over 300 skill) it is more MP efficient to use Cure III. In a merit situation, I hope each person isn't getting hit more than 8 times in three minutes.

[Sidanoir]

Even if you are soloing mobs, Cat II merits don't determine your ability to solo.....good ole Bio II, Poison II , occasional nuke still works...
Phalanx is really game breaking lol....especially if you do salvage, HNMs with small groups, dynamis etc. etc....it really allows you to get away with less healing and shit even for meriting...when I merit on WAR vs mamools I never die to Rushing Gaymoves...with no shadows most damage i take is like 500-600 zerked...when I merit on RDM i Keep my melee haste/phalanx IIed, it really makes for less oh shit moments and less chance of breaking chain due to a lame Fang Rush or Rushing Slash...

Now if only I could get the damn cape from IX'MNK and break the 300 enhancing tier with gear >.>

Also if I am not mistaken isn't Phalanx II level 3 more potent than level 2? In addition to the duration.

One thing to remember about Phalanx II is that for it to be useful you have to be hit quite often. I did the math in an old thread, if your target doesn't get hit more than 8 times in three minutes (if you have full Phalanx II merits and over 300 skill) it is more MP efficient to use Cure III. In a merit situation, I hope each person isn't getting hit more than 8 times in three minutes.

The utility in a merit party is more along the lines of not having the potential for 1000 + damage WS from a merit mob, not to save MP on cures sorry if that was not clear. Then again if you count WS (since rushing moves are 3+ hit) I am sure just about everyone gets hit more than 8 times in 3 minutes not to mention firespit which can ignore shadows etc., so while 8 melee hits may not land, there is certainly more damage dealt than a cure 3 worth typically in 3 mins, although might not be to a single individual.

[Sylphet]

Even if you are soloing mobs, Cat II merits don't determine your ability to solo.....good ole Bio II, Poison II , occasional nuke still works...
Phalanx is really game breaking lol....especially if you do salvage, HNMs with small groups, dynamis etc. etc....it really allows you to get away with less healing and shit even for meriting...when I merit on WAR vs mamools I never die to Rushing Gaymoves...with no shadows most damage i take is like 500-600 zerked...when I merit on RDM i Keep my melee haste/phalanx IIed, it really makes for less oh shit moments and less chance of breaking chain due to a lame Fang Rush or Rushing Slash...

Now if only I could get the damn cape from IX'MNK and break the 300 enhancing tier with gear >.>

Also if I am not mistaken isn't Phalanx II level 3 more potent than level 2? In addition to the duration.

One thing to remember about Phalanx II is that for it to be useful you have to be hit quite often. I did the math in an old thread, if your target doesn't get hit more than 8 times in three minutes (if you have full Phalanx II merits and over 300 skill) it is more MP efficient to use Cure III. In a merit situation, I hope each person isn't getting hit more than 8 times in three minutes.

Agreed, however, I rarely use Phalanx II in a XP/merit situation because there's usually no real tank and all the melees are zerked up anyway. What I think that many people forget though, is that for a tank party RDM in a HNM situation, the effects of using Phalanx II are 2 fold. First, there's the damage mitigation from a MP conservation standpoint. Second however is the result of that, which is tanks being able to keep solid hate. In HNMs, most tanks are geared up with -damage gear and so the effects of phalanx II compliment that. So, even if the tanks aren't getting hit very often, my personal opinion is that it's still worthwhile to give phalanx II because it helps the tanks maintain hate.

[Sidanoir]

Even if you are soloing mobs, Cat II merits don't determine your ability to solo.....good ole Bio II, Poison II , occasional nuke still works...
Phalanx is really game breaking lol....especially if you do salvage, HNMs with small groups, dynamis etc. etc....it really allows you to get away with less healing and shit even for meriting...when I merit on WAR vs mamools I never die to Rushing Gaymoves...with no shadows most damage i take is like 500-600 zerked...when I merit on RDM i Keep my melee haste/phalanx IIed, it really makes for less oh shit moments and less chance of breaking chain due to a lame Fang Rush or Rushing Slash...

Now if only I could get the damn cape from IX'MNK and break the 300 enhancing tier with gear >.>

Also if I am not mistaken isn't Phalanx II level 3 more potent than level 2? In addition to the duration.

One thing to remember about Phalanx II is that for it to be useful you have to be hit quite often. I did the math in an old thread, if your target doesn't get hit more than 8 times in three minutes (if you have full Phalanx II merits and over 300 skill) it is more MP efficient to use Cure III. In a merit situation, I hope each person isn't getting hit more than 8 times in three minutes.

Agreed, however, I rarely use Phalanx II in a XP/merit situation because there's usually no real tank and all the melees are zerked up anyway. What I think that many people forget though, is that for a tank party RDM in a HNM situation, the effects of using Phalanx II are 2 fold. First, there's the damage mitigation from a MP conservation standpoint. Second however is the result of that, which is tanks being able to keep solid hate. In HNMs, most tanks are geared up with -damage gear and so the effects of phalanx II compliment that. So, even if the tanks aren't getting hit very often, my personal opinion is that it's still worthwhile to give phalanx II because it helps the tanks maintain hate.

YUP YUP! To me the biggest and easiest places to see how helpful Phalanx II is during HNM battles (hold better hate + less damage double bonus) and in Salvage (get hit for 0 or close to it!), I was merely trying to point out that it has some utility pretty much anywhere even in merit, versus the people who want to merit say Bio 3 for solo only type stuff, beyond solo Bio 3 has much more limited use, Phalanx II is really remarkable and useful pretty much everywhere BUT solo and I wish every RDM had it capped...

[Demosthenes11]

4 convert
3 Ice acc
3 wind acc

3 dia III
3 phalanx II

Never looked back

[Sylvrdragon]

PhalanxII is nice for BRDs in Meripos if they aren't /NIN (read, not doing Colibri, or just lazy). Hell, if they gear for it (DMG%-, VIT, maybe even some DEF), they can face tank most mobs, taking 0-30/hit.