Wind accuracy?

[Icemage]

Re: Wind accuracy?

I actually disagree with some of Avesta's analysis:

SOLO

Dia III : C
More defense down is good, don't get me wrong, but RDM's style is to outlast enemies when soloing, not by overwhelming them with our amazing sword power.

Slow II: A
Reliable, solid Slow effect that isn't as dependent on MND (which means you don't have to emphasize MND any more and can tack on better defensive gears). Also has the nice perk of zapping any Haste effect on the target, which saves you a Dispel in those cases.

Bio III: B+
Damage over time, and lowered ATK rating makes Stoneskin and Phalanx even better. Also does appreciable damage all on its own. I totally agree with Avesta's choice here over Dia III, though I rate it higher. It would earn an A rating if it didn't cost so much MP.

Paralyze II: C
Way too costly for what it does in solo, even if it procs more often at level 3 than Paralyze I.

Blind II: D
RDM have weak evasion. Blinding enemies helps slightly, but not enough to spend limited merit levels on. especially at this MP cost.

Phalanx II: E
Totally useless solo, since it provides even less protection than Phalanx I.

PARTY/ALLIANCE

Dia III : B
Hefty MP cost, but because the Def Down effect can benefit many people in the party/alliance, and you're more likely to have more MP from a Bard or Corsair (or a WHM with Devotion), this is a more viable spell to use.

Slow II: A-
Just as good in party play, though with the current state of TP-burn parties, you won't be using this spell in those. For BCNMs, HNMs and other end-game activities that require extended fights, this spell still owns.

Bio III: C
Expensive, and not nearly as useful in party play as it is in solo since you're rarely going to be tanking (so the lowered ATK isn't of much use unless an NM that you can't sleep or otherwise stop pulls out Hundred Fists or something equally painful).

Paralyze II: B
MP cost of this is more justified in a party, where the increased proc rate can mean hundreds of damage avoided on your tank.

Blind II: C
Only really useful if you're doing support for a THF who is tanking. Ninjas have their own version of this.

Phalanx II: B
Great if you have a PLD/WAR tank. Also good against flying Wyrms who are bombarding your tanks with attacks that bypass shadows.


Icemage

[Raydeus]

Re: Wind accuracy?

Paralyze II: C
Way too costly for what it does in solo, even if it procs more often at level 3 than Paralyze I.

I'd give this one a E for soloing, if you really want or worst if you need to Paralize the mob then Ice Spikes is 10x more reliable, kicks in more often and lasts much longer.

I would trade Paralize II for the chance to merit spikes.

[Icemage]

Re: Wind accuracy?

I'd give this one a E for soloing, if you really want or worst if you need to Paralize the mob then Ice Spikes is 10x more reliable, kicks in more often and lasts much longer.
I would trade Paralize II for the chance to merit spikes.

Not always true. There are times when you want to preemptively tack on a Paralyze effect without getting hit.

If you're RDM/NIN, you're not triggering spikes much, and you'll want more Paralyze procs to reduce the rate at which you lose shadows. Ice Spikes is also useless when you're Sleep-nuking or Kite-nuking.

Under standard Phalanx/Stoneskin defensive solo conditions I agree Ice Spikes is vastly superior.


Icemage

[WishMaster3K]

Re: Wind accuracy?

I changed my merit plan slightly. Here are the aspects:
-Took out meriting a stat until I make a solid decision (I removed STR)
-Added meriting HP, because hands-down, there is nothing more ideal for a Taru, in ANY situation on ANY job.
-Thought about changing Critical Damage I give out to Critical Damage I receive.
-Changed Group 2 merits to Paralyze II and Slow II

The HP, and Critical damage merits should be self-explanatory, but I changed my group 2 merits on the basis that Slow II can overwrite Haste w/o the need for a Dispel, and it's a strong spell in it's own right. In addition, I kept Paralyze II simply because only RDM get it.

I'm skipping Dia and Bio, because I'll rock with the Tier II versions.

The details are in my blog, I didn't want to flood the board.

[WishMaster3K]

Re: Wind accuracy?

Oh yeah, to supplement IceMage:

And random plug for Slow II. @ lvl 3 it has a max slow% of 37% with your MND being at most 40 below that of the targers. Comparied to Slow I which has max slow% of 30% with your MND having to be at least 30 above the targets. Quick draw does NOT boost Slow II, although it does boost Slow I to 34%-35%. (Also works with the BLU slow spells, all of which cap at 12%-15% slow pre Quick draw).

[Taskmage]

Re: Wind accuracy?

I read that, but this data posted in the same thread doesn't seem to support it. The test seems a little screwy ... some samples were done against a ninja and some against a rdm, so I think magic defense bonus may be altering the results. However, it seems to show level 1 Slow II capping at at 33.33% with 64 more mnd than the nin target, and level 3 Slow II reaching 31.48% with 46 more mnd than the rdm target. Based on those two results, I find it hard to believe that level 3 Slow II will cap at 37% with the caster's mnd 40 below a target with no magic defense bonus. I think that must've been a typo.

[WishMaster3K]

Re: Wind accuracy?

RDM also have 3 Native Fast Cast traits. Even w/o AF head, we finish at 75% as early as 55, if I recall... They need to redo that test, or only keep in mind the results with the NIN.

Edit: OR we could simply so quick calculations based on the rate at which Fast Cast lvl 3 affects our recasting.

Fun Fact: RDM recast with Waluhra Turban and AF Head is the same. So I'm guessing that in addition to giving us finished spells at 65%, the AF hat has an off product of giving spells a 5% Haste. I did these quick tests with both utsusemi Ichi and Ni and I had the Haste spell active.

With Fast Cast and Haste, I think RDM experience an effective 17% "Haste Effect" on our spells. Or, that's if I recall my self-tests from like two years ago ^_^;;

[Taskmage]

Re: Wind accuracy?

They used the recast time as the check rather than the casting time, which is harder to nail down. They recorded the recast time for Gravity as being 54 second before level 3 Slow II and 71 seconds after, so I trust the result of 31.48% slow.

[WishMaster3K]

Re: Wind accuracy?

LoL. . . That's what I'm saying. I think I probably confused you. But to reiterate, my point was that Fast Cast affects our spell casting, but it seems you answered my question regardless.

I'll take Slow II to level 3, because it's unlikely that it'll be weaker than Slow I. And I'll do some testing.

[Kirsteena]

Re: Wind accuracy?

Atm, I am thinking a similar way - slow and para II to level 3 each. I'm not really sold on any of the others if I am being honest.

Doing those, and full mp - then decide on what I want for group 1 merits.

[Jei]

Re: Wind accuracy?

wmk. I just know you're a taru...

Just got 1 into Slow II. But my LS again wants my blm for their events so haven't got a chance to test it out.

[Aeni]

Re: Wind accuracy?

I kinda agree with Icemage post analysis on Avesta's meriting, but then we have to take into account that he's doing it because of a specific need. I mean, for all we know, he might have a certain number of BCs on "farming" status and those might be his main income. He also might be farming KS and BS for those BCs, so again, we don't know exactly what he does.

I want to say, however, there's no such thing as a "cookie cutter build" with meriting and AFAIC, it's always based on what the player is doing for most of his/her career. Build your meriting on the way you play, not how others are playing their RDM.

And while we're on the discussion, I want SE to add, to the next merit update, spell cost reduction. increments of 2% each and all the way to 10% with full 5 points. Anyone with me on this?

[Jei]

Re: Wind accuracy?

hmm I don't think the mp reduction is a good idea. Right now at least out side of HNM events I hardly ever run out of MP already with just refresh+vermi. Plus we can get conserve MP traits to help that too with items and /blm.

I'd love to have 3 more available points for merit 2 tho. I play a lot with my LS and I want to max out phalanx II for them. And I want both slow II and paralyze II for my own personal use.

[WishMaster3K]

Re: Wind accuracy?

Well Jei, I'm not sure what you mean by that. Are you implying that I should raise MND to make up for my shortcomings, or INT to be ubersauce?

With SlowII and ParaII under my belt, I very well might raise MND. Or I could be off-base and you were refering to something else.

[Jei]

Re: Wind accuracy?

I didn't mention anything about INT/MND :O But MND would be my choice if you ask me. I want at least 4 mnd merit.