@75 - merit or XP?

[Wise Donkey]

I just beat Maat as a SAM and I am wondering what my best course is once I hit 75. Do I just get enough Merits to break cap and charge along to 95? Or is it more beneficial to grind out some Merits while still 75? Thanks in advance for the advice!

[Raydeus]

Re: @75 - merit or XP?

I'd probably do a combination of both. I'd keep meriting until I had a good reason to go back to town, then genkai once I was there. Then go back, hit the next lvl cap, get additional merits, rinse and repeat.

That would make it seem like less of a grind to me. Not to mention it would reduce any level difference penalties you may be suffering in Aby even without capped skill.



TL;DR

I suggest you level up and then merit.

[Murphie]

Re: @75 - merit or XP?

Get enough merits to burn through your level caps and then worry about actual meriting when you hit 95. It'll go super fast. There's no sense in sitting around at 75 or any of the other caps building merits when they go so fast.

[Taskmage]

Re: @75 - merit or XP?

I don't know anything about sam merits, but if there are any particularly good JAs you can merit, I'd say get the first level in them and otherwise do what Murphie said. Being a level higher is generally going to affect you more than the bonus from any merit upgrade.

[Icemage]

Re: @75 - merit or XP?

Being a level higher is generally going to affect you more than the bonus from any merit upgrade.

Yup. A 1 level difference makes more impact than pretty much any half dozen merits might. Best course of action is to just accumulate XP until you hit cap, and only turn on merits if for some reason you haven't managed to break the next level cap by the time you hit the limit.


Icemage

[Murphie]

Re: @75 - merit or XP?

And since the level caps actually require merits...

[Icemage]

Re: @75 - merit or XP?

And since the level caps actually require merits...

Sure, but if you're at, say, 79, it makes more sense to advance to 80 than to sit around at 79 accumulating merits, because you'll earn them faster at 80 (higher party XP share, plus you're also more effective so you kill things faster). Unless you somehow find a magical XP situation where everyone's at 79 and you leveling up to 80 would reduce the party XP (but for that you could STILL just level sync).


Icemage

[Raydeus]

Re: @75 - merit or XP?

Unless he really wanted to break his chain right away he can probably get 10 merits easily before having to go back to town for the next genkai.

So merits for genkai and some merits to spend every time he went back to Jeuno. Then merit all the way after 95 @1xp tnl.

Not a bad deal if you ask me.

[Murphie]

Re: @75 - merit or XP?

Sure, but if you're at, say, 79, it makes more sense to advance to 80 than to sit around at 79 accumulating merits, because you'll earn them faster at 80 (higher party XP share, plus you're also more effective so you kill things faster). Unless you somehow find a magical XP situation where everyone's at 79 and you leveling up to 80 would reduce the party XP (but for that you could STILL just level sync).


Icemage

No, no, I meant you need to spend them to increase the cap so you don't have a choice. There is no magical level 79 exp. Anything from say, 70 on is going to be pretty much the same across the board. There is no reason to level sync, whether you are a 60 grouped with 90s or a level 90 grouped with people in their 70s.

[cidbahamut]

Re: @75 - merit or XP?

Get a full buffer and 20 merit points, then do limit break and spend leftover merits. Repeat until level 95. Then go do random events for gear and find yourself with 20 merits points you didn't even realize you were earning. Spend them and repeat.

If you do events in Abyssea you'll likely end up with more merit points than you know what to do with without even spending time specifically racking up merits.

[Murphie]

Re: @75 - merit or XP?

Seriously. I don't know how often Lago and I would be at an event, or even just duoing something, and we'd get into Abyssea, have all of our buffs, food eaten, etc, and then both of us would realize we hadn't spent any of our merits.

[Taskmage]

Re: @75 - merit or XP?

^ Never fails. Cruor buffs up and get rolling, then "Ah, crap. My merits are still capped. Eh whatever it's not like I have anything to spend them on."

[Raydeus]

Re: @75 - merit or XP?

^ Never fails.

Only wanted to point at the wrongness of this statement. It is a proven fact that Murphie fails repeatedly.




PS > So what did Wise Garent end up doing anyway? o_O

[Mhurron]

Re: @75 - merit or XP?

I spend my merits the moment I finish an Aby party, before I log off.

It's not hard people.

[Murphie]

Re: @75 - merit or XP?

When you're finishing up an event at 5am and just want to collapse into bed it is.