Suggestions Please, Slow II, Paralyze II?

[TheRealTaritzu]

I would like to know if these spells are worth meriting to the full potential. This is geared towards solo play only. Or is Bio III/Dia III worth it? I just dont know? Also Blind II. Our evasion isn't the best as it is, and I'm strictly speaking regular mobs. Not Gods, etc.

Please any advice from rdm's is greatly appreciated.

-Tari

 

[Whisp]

generally slow2 is the best most dependable, and helps tanking more reliably. You cant really depend on para2, though it helps. Blind2 may or may not help you, and like you said, considering rdm natural eva, likely not. Dia/bio3 dont last very long, and can drain your mp if you try to keep them on for long.

I got slow2 maxed, one in phalanx2, and the rest in para2. Idunno if its the best, but works for me

 

[JP]

Solo play as in NMs? If you mean like soloing NMs then you're going to want Bio III merited to at least 3, but 5 is even better. As for Slow II and Para II, yes merit them as well. My set up is Bio III 5/5, Slow II 3/5, Para II 2/5. Other people choose different things also though ^^.

generally slow2 is the best most dependable, and helps tanking more reliably. You cant really depend on para2, though it helps. Blind2 may or may not help you, and like you said, considering rdm natural eva, likely not. Dia/bio3 dont last very long, and can drain your mp if you try to keep them on for long.

I got slow2 maxed, one in phalanx2, and the rest in para2. Idunno if its the best, but works for me

Bio III and Dia III can last a while, but meriting it just once won't be worth it. You get 30 seconds + to it per merit.

 

[TheRealTaritzu]

Strictly Mobs, no NM's Gods, and such. I dont have the right equip for them. So not to clear on what I said, any other suggestions? Now that I've made it a little clearer?

Bio III? Is the only one i'm really heading towards since I like to melee, with as few magic nukeing as possible. Thanks people.

-Tari

 

[Zerayla]

One thing worth mentioning when it comes to Blind II vs Paralyze II, is that Blind can only block physical attacks. Paralyze can prevent a physical attack, as well as a magic or special TP move. So to me, Paralyze II sounds more appealing than Blind II.

As for my merits, i've done 5/5 Slow II and 5/5 Phalanx II. I went with the Phalanx because I find myself in more situations where I can help the members in my party who happen to be tanking (dynamis, limbus, salvage). Prior to that though, I did have a few merits in Dia 3, which was noticeable during merit ptys (especially on birds when you have melee with piercing dmg) and a couple in Bio 3, which was more for solo reasons. I ended up removing the Dia/Bio3 merits though in the end, just because I rarely did soloing after a while, and now that mostly everyone who merits has spent time gearing themselves, the kills happen quick enough that Dia II is decent enough.

 

[ds083roadkill]

i would think it would be something like

solo rdm: bio III 5/5 slow II 3/5 para II 2/5
(read somewhere the cap on slow II is reachable with enough MND gear, and further merits into slow II past 3 just lets you have to use less)

casual events rdm: slow 3/5 para 5/5 phanlax II 2/5

endgame rdm: dia III 2/5 phanlax II 5/5 slow II 3/5

 

[JP]

i would think it would be something like

solo rdm: bio III 5/5 slow II 3/5 para II 2/5
(read somewhere the cap on slow II is reachable with enough MND gear, and further merits into slow II past 3 just lets you have to use less)

casual events rdm: slow 3/5 para 5/5 phanlax II 2/5

endgame rdm: dia III 2/5 phanlax II 5/5 slow II 3/5

Strangely, a Galka pretty much got it right.

I solo a lot, so that's why I have that set up. If you are melee soloing mobs, you can pretty much go with the same thing. Even though I do enjoy using Para II in endgame, even though it doesn't stick on some mobs. But I don't see any use in meriting Dia III/Bio III any less than 3 times otherwise you'll be spamming it and wasting MP. Unless you're doing something where the mob will die under a minute.

 

[Zerayla]

i would think it would be something like

solo rdm: bio III 5/5 slow II 3/5 para II 2/5
(read somewhere the cap on slow II is reachable with enough MND gear, and further merits into slow II past 3 just lets you have to use less)

casual events rdm: slow 3/5 para 5/5 phanlax II 2/5

endgame rdm: dia III 2/5 phanlax II 5/5 slow II 3/5

Do you know what the cap is with MND? (the number?)

And what do you mean by "you have to use less"? I'm interested in knowing, because I wasn't aware that meriting Slow II beyond a certain point, was useless. Don't suppose you'd have a link to the tests that figured that out?

 

[charlo]

i would think it would be something like

solo rdm: bio III 5/5 slow II 3/5 para II 2/5
(read somewhere the cap on slow II is reachable with enough MND gear, and further merits into slow II past 3 just lets you have to use less)

casual events rdm: slow 3/5 para 5/5 phanlax II 2/5

endgame rdm: dia III 2/5 phanlax II 5/5 slow II 3/5

This is wrong information. As it is based off a check between your mnd and the mobs mind as i belive.
So anything really worth slapping a good slow 2 on your not likey to reach the cap with lvl 3 slow 2.

 

[ds083roadkill]

back when they first came out

also on dia III and bio III. bio III has the highest (possible) dot, but costs a considerable amount of MP. so extending it's duration is benifical. Dia III is only good for zergs or similar situations where mobs would live over 1 min ish

 

[Wakmidget1]

One thing worth mentioning when it comes to Blind II vs Paralyze II, is that Blind can only block physical attacks.Paralyze can prevent a physical attack, as well as a magic or special TP move. So to me, Paralyze II sounds more appealing than Blind II.

As for my merits, i've done 5/5 Slow II and 5/5 Phalanx II. I went with the Phalanx because I find myself in more situations where I can help the members in my party who happen to be tanking (dynamis, limbus, salvage). Prior to that though, I did have a few merits in Dia 3, which was noticeable during merit ptys (especially on birds when you have melee with piercing dmg) and a couple in Bio 3, which was more for solo reasons. I ended up removing the Dia/Bio3 merits though in the end, just because I rarely did soloing after a while, and now that mostly everyone who merits has spent time gearing themselves, the kills happen quick enough that Dia II is decent enough.

I would like to comment on the bold print. You are partly wrong. Yes, Paralyze can stop regular attacks and Magic Spells, but it cannot stop a TP move.

 

[Zerayla]

Ah, well I guess that's a detail I never noticed before. Thanks though for mentioning it, good to know.

And thanks for posting up the chart, though how would a person know what the mob's MND can reach (at the highest) to know that you have enough MND+ to cap out on Slow II? (Hope that makes sense)

 

[Neisan]

Dia III is useful in any situation where you hit things with sharp/blunted things (for at least one minute), which is on most things that matter that aren't merit mobs. Even there I still cast it as often as I can.

Reaching the cap with Slow II is near impossible since it's something like ~70 Mnd over the target I believe? However, max merits allow you to reach the minimum much easier. If you back solve you could probably figure out the monster's Mnd through casting banish and having it deal exactly 14 (16 with MAB1, 17 with MAB 2 I think) damage, then DMND=0.


As for Merits, I've been considering 2 in Phalanx 2 just to have it, due to meriting both Para 2 and Dia 3 max Phalanx isn't possible. 2 merits does match Refresh's duration so it's not... completely useless.

 

[Wakmidget1]

I had Dia 3 merited for awhile and I felt is was costing a bit too much MP to be spamming on mobs that need it. I eventually took them out and went back to Dia2 and my MP/time is much more comfortable.

 

[Neisan]

Can't speak for that, the only time I've had an issue with Dia 3 is on merit mobs when the DDs decide to go all out (I'm looking at YOU, he-who-must-not-be-named). Everything else I've done convert covers the loss just fine as long as I remember to not drop too low to cure myself before convert, which screws over my ratio.

EDIT: composure may/may not be the difference as well, I remember having a more trouble with mp conservation on Mamool before composure.

 

[Wakmidget1]

I like to rest most of my MP, and save Convert for when it's really needed.

As far as Composure goes, I love it when I'm solo'ing on /blu, /war, or/thf or whenever I need to pop Sneak/Invis. But I don't really like it when I'm in a PT, since it messes w/ my Haste/Rrefesh cycle too much.

 

[hellstorm]

I currently have 3 slow 3 para 1 dia 1 phx 2 bio. Slow para and bio are worth having I use them alot and see very nice results from them. phx and dia hardly ever use any more and have consider more then once to put a extra merit in slow 2 and bio3

 

[Keryan]

You should try using haste before you cast any spells if you full time composure in PT. It brings the times to a very reasonable recast. I have full timed it just fine so long as I have haste on me. If you can balance mp well you can swap in some haste gear to help with those evil timers as well.

 

[Wakmidget1]

I currently have 3 slow 3 para 1 dia 1 phx 2 bio. Slow para and bio are worth having I use them alot and see very nice results from them. phx and dia hardly ever use any more and have consider more then once to put a extra merit in slow 2 and bio3

I used to have 2 in Dia III, 5 in Paralyze II, 3 in Slow II. I also found myself using Dia III not often enough to bother with. And the times when I did use it, it end up sponging more MP than I wanted to.

Dia II works just fine for the purpose. I ended up taking my Dia III merits out and capping Slow II.

You should try using haste before you cast any spells if you full time composure in PT. It brings the times to a very reasonable recast. I have full timed it just fine so long as I have haste on me. If you can balance mp well you can swap in some haste gear to help with those evil timers as well.

My timers are just perfect w/o haste when I'm in a PT setup. I usually drop a haste on myself when I'm solo, but that's a whole different ball game.

 

[Neisan]

Bio 3 below 4 merits is hardly useful, it's never really more mp efficient (on a per cast basis) than Bio II. It does speed up solo's by dealing more damage than Bio II. Although speeding up the fight does make it mp efficient in that way I suppose.

(Not my own math, or quotes)

Dia II alone is 100/90 = 1.11, or an 11% increase in every DD's attack. Assuming an attack of 450 (average for non zerked DD's) then its 450 * .11 = 49.5 additional attack. That is a bonus Minuet III.

And if the RDM has the time/MP for Dia III then it gets even better.
100/85 = 1.176, or 17.6% increase in attack. Again 450 attack then 450 * .176 = 79.2. That is BETTER then a fully merited Minuet IV. And unlike Minuet the bonus gets higher the more attack you get and is applied after berserk. So 450 * 1.25 (zerk) = 562.5[562] * 1.176 = 660.9 [660] or +98 attack. No one in my LS believed me until I had to show them the math on what it does, its like a free extra helping of meat.

On birds for instance, which have ~300 or so defense if I remember right, Dia 3 is good until DDs have 650 attack (1H) or around 770 Attack (2H) or possibly higher as the cratio for 2H is unkown, but it's not the old cap. The bonus of applying Dia 3 increases as the mob's defense does. Dia 3 is good in any situation where you hit things with sharp/blunted things, except if they die in <30 seconds or so. Then you're just casting it in the hopes the DDs get some nice numbers.