BLM Merits

[Mym]

In the same vein of this thread, I'd like to ask a similar question.

If you were only to invest, say, 10ish merit points into BLM, where would you focus them? I just got BLM to 75 and started putting my available merits into it, but since I have other jobs I'm meriting for, I want to have my BLM get the best bang for the buck when investing merits. Currently, I have Freeze II. Where to put the rest? Thanks in advance.

Seeing as how I am gonna drag you out to U. Range more often now that you are 75 you should drop a couple merits into Ice Potency

The way I like to think about BLM merits, is analogous to a car racing game. Engine upgrades sure do make you go faster, but if you don't upgrade your tires as well, you will be slipin'an'sliding all over the race track.

BLM merits work the same way, Potency upgrades (engine) will make you do more damage, but if you don't upgrade your elemental skill (tires) too, your still gonna crash (resist).

 

[shmedly]

We can't all be short fat tarus.

You can still dream can't you =P

P.S. I can't help that my diet consists of only pies and cookies. Either way, i'd rather be a plump taru than an anorexic furball :biggrin:

 

[Kerowynn]

In the same vein of this thread, I'd like to ask a similar question.

If you were only to invest, say, 10ish merit points into BLM, where would you focus them? I just got BLM to 75 and started putting my available merits into it, but since I have other jobs I'm meriting for, I want to have my BLM get the best bang for the buck when investing merits. Currently, I have Freeze II. Where to put the rest? Thanks in advance.

Elemental magic skeelz first.

You can still dream can't you =P

P.S. I can't help that my diet consists of only pies and cookies. Either way, i'd rather be a plump taru than an anorexic furball :biggrin:

Damn our mage-job diets!

 

[Omniyoji]

BLM merits work the same way, Potency upgrades (engine) will make you do more damage, but if you don't upgrade your elemental skill (tires) too, your still gonna crash (resist).

THANK YOU Mym! finally someone who understands BLM & cars

 

[Lukas]

P.S. I can't help that my diet consists of only pies and cookies. Either way, i'd rather be a plump taru than an anorexic furball :biggrin:

Hmmm, you know I really should get up and cure those people fighting over there... But they're so awfully far... and mmmmm the Wizard Cookies with the... cookies and the MP... chocolate... /droool

Just one more!


Ahem. I was planning to go Freeze3, Burst3, but as everyone has pointed out it's a highly individual choice. That's sort of the whole point of Tier II merits - to allow for a tiny bit of specialization.

 

[Myushani]

Hey Myu, this is what i'm doing for this:

~Maxing out Burst II and Freeze II.
~Max MP Merits
~Meriting Elemental, & Enfeeblings skill
~Maxing out Thunder/Ice Potency

From what I've asked other BLM's this seems to be the most effective way to Merit BLM. If you're gna make BLM you're main job, you could probably mess with meriting INT but that's alotta work and merits.

This is what what i planned, but i wasnt sure about the AMII's, ill probably just max FreezeII and BurstII

Thx for the info all

 

[Van]

I'm kinda the oddball when it comes to Black Mage merits. Currently I have:

4/4 Elemental/Enfeebling
4 Lightning Potency
Burst II
Flood II
Freeze II

My plan is this:
8/8 Elemental/Enfeebling
5 Lightning Potency
5 Water Potency
Tornado II
Flare II
Quake II



Why water potency you ask? Before I migrated I was a Fafhogg whore. Would do KS99 Wyrm all the time, camped Fafhogg religiously, and trioed Ap.NW quite a few times with some friends. Smart Black Mages know that Thunder > Water. Water lowers Thunder resistance. Elemental Seal + Flood II with +skill gear on actually does some pretty significant damage to Fafhogg, way more than Suiton:San could do even though it's the same effect. Plus, Flood II makes a giant kersplash.:crazy:

As for the other three AM2 spells, I just like having everything.

 

[Myushani]

Yeah, id like to have all 6 just in case, but i dont wanna get yelled at when im fighting the higher up mobs.

 

[Tristam Green]

I love how so many people who don't have BLM lvl'd that far are giving their opinions.

i was gonna suggest meriting singing skill so his spells would have more effect because he can enunciate more clearly, but w/e floats your boat ;-)

 

[shmedly]

Yeah, id like to have all 6 just in case, but i dont wanna get yelled at when im fighting the higher up mobs.

Don't worry about being yelled at, and do what you like for AMII's. If you are going to get serious about endgame, talk to your LS leader and ask which mobs will be the main focus. After you find that out, look them up, find their weakness, and exploit the piss out of it with your choices.

I have chosen to go with Burst II and Freeze II for now because I don't fight Kirin, but I use them all the time in Dynamis. If I were to get into a shell that fights Kirin, or other mobs with different weaknesses, I might think about going Burst II 3/3, Freeze II 2/3, and Tornado 1/3. I know when I have fought Kirin before, a good AeroIV/Aeroga III can do a good chunk of dmg and pull a ton of hate. Like other people have said though, it has a lot to do with your play style and what you plan to fight. I know you haven't been a 75 for too long and might not have really felt out what your playstyle is going to be. Try doing some Potency, E. Skill, and maybe the first upgrade into Burst or Freeze first and then go from there. You'll figure it out, it just takes a little time.

These are my current/planned merits as of right now:

Elemental Magic 4/8
Enfeebling Magic 0/8
Lightning Potency 3/5
Ice Potency 2/5
Burst II 1/3
Freeze II 1/3

I'm a taru and plan to do other jobs so INT and -ENM(like it would help rofl) will probably not be merited. I may do HP/MP, but not sure yet.

Also check out this thread, as other blm's have posted their merits.

http://www.qcdn.org/ffxi/showthread.php?t=47424

Good Luck Myu,
Shmed

 

[Lavi]

It's not necessarily the best idea to merit based just upon mobs you fight escpecially mobs like Kirin. The problem with AMII is that it's not really fully utilized unless its in a MB. Yes, it does great damage, the highest a BLM will get to see, but that's not the only factor. Kirin, unlike some HNM and especially BCNMs, ENMs, and KSNM, there is no time limit. Where you fight mobs like that, it's especially important to do fast damage with least amounts of casts(highest DoT) or in some cases, MB and then rest till next SC. However, on Kirin you have unlimited time to fight him so its probably best to do Aero IV/Aeroga III since it'll do more damage per MP and there more often than not, is no SC. Granted, it may be a toss up as to whether you kill faster or not, but on Kirin, there really isn't an issue of getting kicked because you didn't kill quick enough.

 

[Van]

The problem with AMII is that it's not really fully utilized unless its in a MB. Yes, it does great damage, the highest a BLM will get to see, but that's not the only factor.

On any of the Zilart kings with the exception of KB all the damage is done with magic bursts. For people who have tried to kill Aspidochelone without a small army of Black Mages and enough melees to make Darkness know it's near damn impossible to do so. All the damage is done with Blizzard IV/Freeze II Darkness magicbursts. Same thing with Fafhogg, Thunder IV/Burst II Light magicbursts. The only real difference with Fafhogg though is that you can actually freenuke Water IV/Flood II or even magicburst Aero IV/Tornado II for some pretty nice damage.

 

[Araelus]

Excuse me if this is wildly off-topic, but I wanted to add to these recommendations about merit points that the sea obis are a considerable potency increase - without spending limit points.

Then again, it's a balance between the time it would take to get merits and the time it would take to get drops. As a BLM, rather nicely, you can solo a lot of the organs required. Just a thought. (I don't, ah, know if you have access to sea... ^_^

 

[Van]

It would probably take just as long to farm the required organs for an Obi as it would to get a few merits into a potency. I know that it took me countless hours and nearly 30,000EXP to get a Relaxing Earring. Granted Euvhi's have crap drop rates and I was soloing them as RDM/BLM, but the time investment is a big one. The solo EXP made it worth it though. Hell, I don't have any obis yet simply because I don't feel like spending weeks in sea trying to solo Aerns to get them. The times to use them to their full potential are pretty rare though (Lightningsday/Double Thunder weather in DA /crai), but the added Magic Attack Bonus on them is pretty nice.

 

[crookedmidget]

I've been fortunate to have an Hyorin Obi (Iceday/Ice Weather Bonus) for my duo/trio sessions in Uleguerand Range. Mym and I did some duoing in Sky for exp/merits and I got almost all the organs needed that way. You might as well do it that way if you have Sea access, it's killing two birds with one stone. Looking forward to getting my Rairin Obi (Lightningday/Lightning Weather Bonus) sooner than later as well.

 

[Araelus]

Yeah, duoing for xp saved a lot of time later on with obis, but I suppose this can be extended to duoing for limit points.