red mage merit spells

hellstorm

RDM the taboo subject
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hellstorm
These spells have been out for awhile now just wondering what you fellow rdms think of them? I have paralyze II lvl 2 seem to work better the paralyze I though still not what i expected from it. Be intrested if lvl 3 will show increase in proc. I also have phalanx II. It is a nice spell and all but very situational. Has anyone tried Blind II and phased it with ninja blind? Also anyone know exact % on slow II lvl 1-3? Dia III seem little short and what I hear bio III is not that great either. Though was wondering if anyone has tested the diffents in atk/def between there counterparts? Also what have you rdms put your merits in?

what got so far
para II x2
phalx II x1
dia III x1
considering
para II x3
dia III x1
phalx X2 or bio III x2

i hope the bump it up to 10 in the future because id like to merit slow as well.
 
I'd merit slow2 over Phalanx unless you plan on doing alot of soloing.
 
phalanx 2 is for party members though it not all that great which why thinking of getting rid of it all together
 
There's no indication that even a fully merited Phalanx II can approach Phalanx I.

Phalanx I caps at about -29 damage, while Phalanx II (1 merit) seems to start at ~-16 damage and appears to increase at about 3 per level (according to the description).

Slow II and Paralyse II have significantly higher accuracy than Slow and Paralyse. Slow II also caps at about 33% Slow which is above Slow's 30% cap. For the same MND Slow II appears to be more potent than Slow as well.

Bio III and Dia III (1 merit) both have -15% Attack/Defense, 30 sec duration and higher dot than Dia II and Bio II. Further merits seem to add duration only... 30 sec per merit.
 
I just started meriting on RDM a few nights ago and would like to know should I merit for the new RDM spell first or level overall stats first my main job I am leveling up right now is SMN and DRK. So right now I have 3 merits on MP and I am about halfway to another one using my RDM. There is also that section above the new stuff that in the RDM section should I do anything with that or just leave it as is?
 
Bio 3 is of questionable usefulness period.

Dia 3 is mostly just for meleeburn merit parties (and if you do get it, only bother with the initial point, don't merit it further).

Phalanx 2 is good if you are regularly in a tank party for endgame events; not very useful for in non-tank parties, and thoroughly useless for solo since Phalanx is better on yourself.

Blind 2 is, I think, fairly comparable to Kurayami Ni, but I haven't actually seen detailed tests between 3x Blind 2 and Kurayami Ni.

Slow 2 and Paralyze 2 are what many RDMs choose to emphasize through multiple merits, because they cap higher than their tier 1 counterparts and they're typically better at the same MND.

My suggestions (and take them for what they're worth coming from someone who is definitely not a 75 RDM) are to either go with the general flow and emphasize Slow 2 and Paralyze 2, or to bank on the assumption that there will always be Someone Else who has those two, and instead do Phalanx 2 and Blind 2. *Maybe* scrapping one point in one thing to unlock Dia 3 for meriting, and I wouldn't touch Bio 3 with a ten foot pole.
 
The one important trait of Bio III is that it is a RDMs highest DoT spell. It's main application is DoT kite soloing.

Unfortunately, it's DoT is about the same as a BLMs Bio II (Bio DoT is variable, affected by Dark Skill). Dia is generally more useful in a group setting, and where you need to keep significant DoT on a mob, a BLM can do it equally as well without merits
 
sordm bio III does not even compare to blm bio II dmg wise?
 
Courtney said:
The one important trait of Bio III is that it is a RDMs highest DoT spell. It's main application is DoT kite soloing.

Unfortunately, it's DoT is about the same as a BLMs Bio II (Bio DoT is variable, affected by Dark Skill). Dia is generally more useful in a group setting, and where you need to keep significant DoT on a mob, a BLM can do it equally as well without merits
Bio III is completely useless for DoT kiting, unless you merit it full. Lasts shorter then Bio II, and costs more. DoT kiting is about outlasting the enemy, not killing it fast. And DoT kiting with Bio III have an increased risk of you running out of MP when Convert is ready again.

Dia III > Bio III for almost every situation. During HNM's, if you use anything, you use Dia on them, but both Dia III and Bio III are useless in these situations, as they don't last long enough to be usefull. And honestly, when was the last time you used Bio in a merit party, which is honestly the only usefull situation for any of those two spells.
 
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Para II seems like a no brainer for usefulness.

How does Slow II compare to Hojo: Ni ?

I have still yet to see anyone use Slow II.
 
I dont know about bio 3 i think blm should have gotten it or at least raise our cap on dark magic. Bio 3 is based off of it our enfeebling wont really help bio 3 like dark magic of a blm would help bio 3 of course I'm not 75 or anywhere near it but thats my thought
 
There's no indication that even a fully merited Phalanx II can approach Phalanx I.

Pretty much. That's why Phalanx I overwrites II (stronger effect) and from the first merit won't even overwrite a /RDM Phalanx I. It's for your tanks when they get the crap kicked out of them, hence the mile long cast range.

Bio is good for solo imo, and for when people use those damn Carnal Incenses and you don't have the MP to give them a Thunder III.
 
What seams to be not quite covered yet is Blind II. Anyone have any comparrison on that yet? It was only vaugly mentioned. right now I'm Parax2, Slowx2 and Phalanx1.... I have one more slot. I was considering doing Blind II for 1, up Phalanx to 2 or doing Dia III x2 (as x2 would have to be the minimum to make it even remotely usfull)
 
Zura said:
is good for solo imo, and for when people use those damn Carnal Incenses and you don't have the MP to give them a Thunder III.

If you're meleeing you mean? I don't really think it is, since it'd wear every 30 sec, and if its a NM or something, the goal is to not get hit. And if you do get hit, Bio III won't make much of a difference over Bio II. Now, if its a normal mob, it'd just be a waste of MP casting Bio III over and over and over. Same with NM's though.
 
I asked before, but no one answered. ; ;

What's the comparison between Hojo: Ni & Slow II?

Someone should know, but it isn't me. Slow II is obviously good for HNMs and such since a RDM's Enfeebling skill can get so much higher than a NIN's Ninjitsu skill. I'm curious what the difference in strength is though, and confirming what overwrites what now.
 
Javir said:
What seams to be not quite covered yet is Blind II. Anyone have any comparrison on that yet? It was only vaugly mentioned.

Thats because not many Red Mages bother to Blind the mob. Hell, I don't bother either, if you got a Paladin doing Flash, then its a mute point too. I believe of the six spells, Blind II is going to be the least merited.

As for me, I have so far got 5/6 merits used in the following: Dia III x2, Paralyxe II x2 and Phalanx II. I think for the last merit I'll get Slow II spell and then refocus on the Elemental Magic Accuracys. On that, I plan Ice, Wind and Earth Magic Accuracys.
 
Tenchi said:
Thats because not many Red Mages bother to Blind the mob. Hell, I don't bother either, if you got a Paladin doing Flash, then its a mute point too. I believe of the six spells, Blind II is going to be the least merited.

As for me, I have so far got 5/6 merits used in the following: Dia III x2, Paralyxe II x2 and Phalanx II. I think for the last merit I'll get Slow II spell and then refocus on the Elemental Magic Accuracys. On that, I plan Ice, Wind and Earth Magic Accuracys.

Blind is still "usefull" for a PLD tank, as it stacks with flash. Problem is, as most PLD's want to get hit for more hate, its usually not cast. It is, however, extremely usefull for NIN tanks. Slow and Paralyze are still more usefull, though, which is why most RDMes merit Slow and Paralyze instead of Blind.
 
Tenchi said:
I think for the last merit I'll get Slow II spell and then refocus on the Elemental Magic Accuracys. On that, I plan Ice, Wind and Earth Magic Accuracys.

yes this is something I also am replanning mentally since the norm was merits split into ice and wind equally or most on wind acc and the rest on ice(I think) now I have to figure out exactly what I want

suggestions? I appreciate it
 
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