Soloing Merits on RDM

[Seijurohiko]

Ok, so blue mages have been soloing chain 5's on Heraldic Imps for quite some time now, BLM's on Wamoura and Puddings in Mt. Z, and various other jobs on EM-T mobs, but I'd never heard of any RDM's soloing chain 5's. Especially melee RDM's. Typically, RDM is seen as being weak in melee output, high in survivability, and just kills stuff too slowly to be able to solo any reasonable exp/hr. That, or it's just so easy to join merit parties on RDM that there's little reason to try soloing for merits I guess.

Anyway, I thought I'd have a little fun and melee it up on my RDM/NIN in the Mire since it seems to be empty often these days on Cerberus. I was very impressed with the results, managing to make chain 5's fairly often with practically zero downtime. Without exp ring, I was getting very close to 9k/hr.

Certainly, 9k/hr is nothing compared to a good merit party, but I was having a lot more fun than the endless cycle of Haste/Refresh/Dia/Cure that merit parties usually consist of.

Here's a couple pics I took:






And a quick video I threw on YouTube: [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0UDVP5SOWc]RDM/NIN Limit Chain 5 Solo[/ame]

[Malacite]

Re: Soloing Merits on RDM

Nice! Good work dude!

Could you elaborate more on your strategy though, and which merit spells you are using? The video is sped up and it's hard to follow everything you do (I can only really tell that you are using para, silence and some form of Dia for enfeebs) and also, I wonder if Death Blossom would be better than evisceration?


What are you off-handing btw, Hornet Needle? Even with a Suppa, I can't help but think it would be better to use a shield anyway and let Joyeuse proc more.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: Soloing Merits on RDM

RDMs would want to main hand a good dagger for Eviceration, usually, offhanding Joyeuse. While DWing Joytoy increases Delay, its a viable option, I just point out that fact a lot for RDMs who like to epeen thier damage output in parties and who also happen to gloss over the amount of spells they'd have to cast, directly impacting thier DoT.

At any rate, impressive video. Horrible music, but good show otherwise.

[LadyKiKi]

Re: Soloing Merits on RDM

Gear setups please =)

(or was it already posted in the screenshots? I'm at work and all images are disabled, same with Flash)

[Icemage]

Re: Soloing Merits on RDM

My guess on the off hand would be a Blau Dolch. It's a good damage dagger that makes up for the delay with its relatively high base damage (which does good things for Evisceration, too).

9k/hr is a good clip. I'm not sure that spending that same time Campaigning isn't a more efficient use of time (even if it doesn't earn as much XP, it kills 2 birds with one stone), but if that's what turns your crank - you're solo, do whatever you want.


Icemage

[Seijurohiko]

Re: Soloing Merits on RDM

The basic strategy isn't anything too advanced. Pulling with Silence, then Slow II, then Dia II, then Paralyze 1, and just mashing away.

Sorry, I didn't get around to posting gear setups.

For TPing I was using:

Blau Dolch
Joyeuse
Tiphia Sting
Walahra Turban
Chivalrous Chain
Brutal Earring
Suppanomimi
Assault Jerkin
Dusk Gloves
Woodsman Ring x2
Amemet Mantle +1
Nashira Seraweels
Dusk Ledelsens
Life Belt

WS swaps (my ws set is pretty weak)

Same as above except
Ogre Mask
Tarasque Mitts
Vendor's Slops
Warwolf Belt

Combat merits were 5x Sword, 5x Dagger, 2x Crit.

[Celeal]

Re: Soloing Merits on RDM

This is very impressive ^^b

[Evion]

Re: Soloing Merits on RDM

You forgot to mention the advantage of getting ALL the drops as well...

[arkaine23]

Re: Soloing Merits on RDM

Here's how I do it...

TP: +36 acc, +37 attack, +10 STR/+8 DEX, +crit rate, DA, 14% (20% max) haste, enhanced DW, +5 sword skill

Blau Dolch
Joyeuse
Tiphia Sting
Walahra Turban
Chivalrous Chain
Brutal Earring ---> soon to use Hollow instead
Suppanomimi
Pln. Khazagand (Goliard Saio if I don't need acc)
Dusk Gloves
Iota/Rajas (pop on fencer's when hp low enough)
Amemet Mantle +1
Volunteer's Brais (Nashira if I don't need acc)
Dusk Ledelsens
Swift Belt

WS: (my ws set is also pretty weak) acc +31, DEX +23, attack +56, STR +12, DA, enhanced WS damage/acc, +crit rate

Same as above except
Pln Qalansuwa (or Voyager Sallet if my acc is good)
Warlock's Gloves +1
Warwolf Belt
Duelist's Tights
Brutal/Merman's (Minuet Earring if I'm in a pt with buffs)
Ogre Ledelsens +1
Soil Gorget

Combat merits are 8x Sword, 4x Dagger, 4x Crit. I tend to spam Bream sushi on xp level targets for more acc/Dex. My enspells do 20.

[Malacite]

Re: Soloing Merits on RDM

Would Heart Snatcher be a good alternative in this scenario or no? RDM only has a B I think in dagger so the extra base dmg and attack&accuracy help, but I have personally found that when WS that dagger makes Evisceration much more consistent.

And again, there's Death Blossom out now which is a fairly decent sword WS which could allow you to forgo DW and Brutal in favor of say that MAB shield and a hallow earring (I'd still use suppa for the 5 sword skill)


It's sad but RDM doesn't have much access to haste gear does it? I know you can use Turban, Swift/Speed/Velocious belts, and Dusk Gloves and I think that's it? (not counting wyvern earring...) I'm curious how /PLD might work in this scenario with an ethereal earring.

[LadyKiKi]

Re: Soloing Merits on RDM

Would Heart Snatcher be a good alternative in this scenario or no? RDM only has a B I think in dagger so the extra base dmg and attack&accuracy help, but I have personally found that when WS that dagger makes Evisceration much more consistent.

And again, there's Death Blossom out now which is a fairly decent sword WS which could allow you to forgo DW and Brutal in favor of say that MAB shield and a hallow earring (I'd still use suppa for the 5 sword skill)


It's sad but RDM doesn't have much access to haste gear does it? I know you can use Turban, Swift/Speed/Velocious belts, and Dusk Gloves and I think that's it? (not counting wyvern earring...) I'm curious how /PLD might work in this scenario with an ethereal earring.

Heart Snatcher not possible to equip for RDM

[arkaine23]

Re: Soloing Merits on RDM

RDM can cap haste with gear. That doesn't mean its a good idea to do so, because of what you'd give up in those slots. I use my 20% build in campaign because the mobs aren't evasive, but I have to trim it down for most xp mobs because I'd be giving up 16 acc for 6% haste in body/legs.

Goliard Saio 4%
Belts 4-6%
Ring 1%
Sentinel Shield 1%
Dusk Hands 3-4%
Dusk Feet 2-3%
W. Turban 5%
Nashira set 1-3% each

Heartsnatcher is fairly weak and slow for a dagger, and not for RDM. Death Blossom is not as good as Evisceration most of the time, also imps are weak to piercing, boosting Evisceration's lead even more. Enspells are not as good as usual on imps because of their magic resistance, but still worth using of course. I'm sure a heavy defense build/subjob can also do this, it just would kill slower and probably not chain as well. Besides, blinking single target dots/sleeps/nukes will save a lot of hassle.

[Callisto]

Re: Soloing Merits on RDM

This always seems like a decent idea til I remember that I have a Thanatos Baselard and cringe at using that. At any rate it's a nice way to get some XP/IS, I'll have to try it soon once I replenish my AN stock(been doing campaign for that as much as for buffer).

[Electricity Gone Human]

Re: Soloing Merits on RDM

Very Impressive! Soloing imps on BLU for me is something I'm lucky to pull off, and now I'm wanting to try this in the near future. Bookmarking this thread.

[Susurrus]

Re: Soloing Merits on RDM

Nice. ^^