Summoner Group 2 merit

[Akyrey90]

What do u think would be good merits in group 2?
i was thinking of capping 2 of them

[Skylark]

In my opinion, I don't think any, but if I had to recommend 2 to cap.
I would most likely do
Heavenly Strike and Thunderstrike
Both mainly because this way if you are looking to deal magical damage on HNMs/Event mobs (Bahum/Proto or w/e) you can magic burst with Heavenly Strike off a distortion/darkness SC for what I would assume to be decent damage if it's capped.
Thunderstorm just because it looks really cool :D

[Arthars]

yea if you wanna cap 2, that 2 is your best bet

useful in any situation either one of them

[Akyrey90]

okok tyvm ^^

[Karbuncle]

Titans Geocrush Stuns if i remember correctly. Should put just 1 Merit in it, even though i can't imagine a major use for it, its nice to have.

But Yah, Heavonly/Thunderstrike are golden =0

[Seraph]

Titans Geocrush Stuns if i remember correctly. Should put just 1 Merit in it, even though i can't imagine a major use for it, its nice to have.

But Yah, Heavonly/Thunderstrike are golden =0

HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATe getting hit by Geocrush.

[Shalafi]

Ya, should put a point in Geocrush as it is the only one with added effect (stun).

Also, iirc SMN spell dmg does not scale with TP, i.e. dmg @ 100 TP is same as with 300; therefore, more than 3 points would be a waste.

I see lots with Windblade simply because Garuda is out mostly anyway, but in the end, to each their own.

[Karbuncle]

Actually Spell damage -does- Scale with TP, Its really the only reason to build Avatar TP.

So a 300% TP SMN Nuke will be Better than a 100%, Much better, probably 3~400 dmg.


However if your using Astral pot things get wierd >_>

[Seraph]

Ya, should put a point in Geocrush as it is the only one with added effect (stun).

Also, iirc SMN spell dmg does not scale with TP, i.e. dmg @ 100 TP is same as with 300; therefore, more than 3 points would be a waste.

I see lots with Windblade simply because Garuda is out mostly anyway, but in the end, to each their own.

Many of the SMNs I know wither went 5/5 for Shiva and Ramuh, or went 1/5 for all six avatars for completion sake (and Geocrush), and then went 3/5 for Shiva and Ramuh.

[Kairos]

You can go 5/5 in those two if you want, but honestly in my experience it doesn't really matter too much. Avatar nukes are different from blm nukes in that they all have the exact same base damage, so you don't need to be worried about one element being weaker than the other. They all do the same damage as long as the mob isn't resistant to that element. Choose elements that are common weaknesses of things you fight often. Blms use thunder and ice because those are their two highest damage spells. As a summoner you don't have to stick to that rule, but I would recommend whatever you do capping one to burst with light and another to burst with darkness.


I personally went 5/5 grand fall and 5/5 thunderstorm
Before that i had 5/5 windblade and 5/5 meteor strike

I used to use wind blade a lot back when a group i was in used to do a lot of kited kirins so I would magic burst that all day long, but of course hardly anyone who's been playing as long as I have still fights kirin more than twice a year now, so that was my reason for switching out of wind blade. Meteor Strike, well I used to fight a ton of undead.

Not just the element either. You might want to think of it in terms of avatar. Leviathan is a good avatar to have already in use in case you need to use spring water. So is shiva for tossing out a sleepga following a heavenly strike. Ramuh is almost never able to be stunned. I forgot exactly what I was fighting, but I ended up defaulting to ramuh because he could get hit by a stun move and his pacts will still go off. There's just no simple answer with these pacts, they are highly personalized merits.

[Acturus]

If you go 5/5 in two, you have a few options:

1. Grand Fall - In and of itself, this one doesn't stand out, but it pairs with Spring Water in case you find yourself in situations where you're trying to support AND deal damage. Although, you'll want to use Grand Fall first since Spring Water will use up any extra TP your avatar might have gained.

2. Geocrush - It has a Stun effect without being Thunder based. That means you can stun mobs that resist Thunder, but don't necessary resist Stun.

3. Heavenly Strike/Thunderstorm - for when you find yourself trying to MB with the BLMs.

4. Wind Blade - Just because Garuda is insanely cheap now with the headband, and Wind Blade allows you to hit mobs from a distance greater than Predator Claws can.

I would recommend 5/5 Geocrush and Heavenly Strike. This would bring up two more Avatars that don't see much Rage action on their own (Ramuh has Chaotic Strike, with a compound Stun effect on each hit). That way you have Predator Claws, Chaotic Strike, Geocrush, and Heavenly Strike to assist with MB'ing.

And yes, all T2 Merit 'pacts are the same base damage, similar to Ancient Magic II. And yes, Damage scales with TP. Tests on lolAlla show it to be 1.6 damage per TP. Ickywiki also states that Avatar Magic Attack merits add ~16.6 damage per merit.

The tough part about justifying Merit Pacts is that you have to really dive into them for them to be effective. Strong Smn. Skill to allow for low resist rates, and 5/5 upgrades for 240 TP as well as 5/5 Avatar Magic Attack merits for the extra 80-odd damage unresisted. And, even then, it's hard to match them to the consistancy and spike potency of Predator Claws.

[Not Kuno]

What do you recommend to people who already put one merit into each spell?

[Ultimagi]

I would put 1 into each and max out the one you use the most.

[jimbobsonofgod]

1 into each pick the one you think you'll use the most @ 5.


Or be lazy and put 2 into 4 and be done with it.

[Falisa]

My suggestion is to definitely get Geocrush. Its really a wonderful BP for kited fights because of the magic range of the BP and it stuns for whoever is kiting it currently. Its pretty much a good overall BP to use in situations where you don't want to use the physical BPs because it does more damage than what you'll get from nether blast and of course that stun. I suggest 5/5 in this as the damage increase was noticeable.

As for the last 5 points, it up to you. I decided to get grand fall a long time ago now because I wanted something with higher damage than Diabolos for Water weak monsters, like Tiamat in the air. It hasn't disappointed, I always use this in kiting or just situations where I cant get my avatar in range for a physical BP instead of Nether blast because I haven't personally put merit points into geocrush yet.

[nitsuj]

1 in each and then 5/5 Thunderstorm seems good to me

[Shalafi]

Good info, thanks... I guess it's just the T2 & T4 spells that don't change with TP, however, it has been years since I used let alone tested those.

[Shin Volcano]

I personaly put 1 in each then STARTED to do 4/5 heavenly strike and what ever was left in thunderstorm, i didn't see a point in finishing them simply because my smn is being negelcted latetly untill SE decides to make them more community useful, that and i don't get to merit much, shiva dosn't really hit any harder then the other avatars as far as physical BPs so i thought heavenly strike would be a good choice to give her some use outside of sleepga and ice spikes, i think if anything 1st hers is the best bet. geocrush has helped out tons, espcially during kited fights to where a random stun on the mob works to stop them dead in there tracks, alot of people call the group 2 merits useless but i'v also noticed that most of them are 1 BP only smns...so to each his own.

[Jeryhn]

Good info, thanks... I guess it's just the T2 & T4 spells that don't change with TP, however, it has been years since I used let alone tested those.

All Magical Bloodpacts scale up in damage with Avatar TP with the exception of Nether Blast.

[Tonberrry]

glad i read this, been smn burning since 60 (2days ago) and im getting close to 75!