New Merit Suggestions?

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New merit suggestions?
 Lakshmi.Deathsightt
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By Lakshmi.Deathsightt 2012-02-15 12:46:50
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With the adjustments that have come about, I'd like to ask your opinion on what would be the best to merit? As of right now I have:

5/5 Reward
5/5 Beast Affinity

I'd assume 5/5 Call beast recast and I'm not certain about the other group two..

Thank you.
 Ragnarok.Dauthi
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By Ragnarok.Dauthi 2012-02-15 13:54:03
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Group 1:

5/5 reward - obvious
5/5 killer effects - used to be call beast, but honestly they never made a difference. rather have the +2.5% damage with body+2

Group 2:

5/5 Beast Healer - get a little more out of rewards
5/5 Killer Instinct - Just because. Feral Howl isn't a terrible choice either. Just don't see any use for Beast Affinity atm with the 99 cap jug choices
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By Xilk 2012-02-16 06:56:43
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Ragnarok.Dauthi said: »
Group 1:

5/5 reward - obvious
5/5 killer effects - used to be call beast, but honestly they never made a difference. rather have the +2.5% damage with body+2

Group 2:

5/5 Beast Healer - get a little more out of rewards
5/5 Killer Instinct - Just because. Feral Howl isn't a terrible choice either. Just don't see any use for Beast Affinity atm with the 99 cap jug choices

I think I'm still waiting for an update to killer instinct to add it to my 5/5 for group 2's. I've been planning on it, but haven't moved yet. I was expecting last update to have that, but they dropped it. Now I'm worried they might skip it because they may have realized how much better killer instinct would be for bst than the other circle abilities are for other jobs. ON second thought, they are probably going to do Killer Instinct update when revamping job merits.

5/5 beast healer is a big win. Especially with monster gaiters +2 augmented, and the values known for pet food regen.

I've been using 5/5 feral howl for that extra proc in dynamis... but its been really disappointing... it still misses probably 1/2 the time even on ep's... I might hold out till I finish my monster jackcoat +2 to see if there is a notable improvment in Accuracty, and not just duration. Otherwise I do plan on switching to these same group 2 merits.

5/5 killer effects I like a lot also. Its not just a damage boost, its also 5% intimidation rate, and -2.5% damage taken, and a very bst approach.

for group 1 I"ve used 5/5 call beast, reward recast, and sic/ready recast. all are quite useful, it just might depend on how you play. Tame recast is a silly joke of course.


LOL, I should have read the SE forums first this morning:
http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxi/threads/20933-dev1088-Job-Adjustments-Beastmaster?p=281105#post281105

They are adjusting both killer instinct duration/recast as they already stated, but additional merits will effect duration, not killer effects (too bad on the killer effect).

Feral howl is getting fixed also.
Recast for feral howl will be 5 min standard, additional merits will increase the Accuracy, which is EXACTLY what the ja needs.
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By Raborn 2012-02-16 13:31:26
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Quote:
•Killer Instinct
•Recast time reduced from fifteen minutes to five.
•Additional merit points will no longer affect casting time, instead increasing duration by ten seconds per merit.

So does this mean no boost like stated before?
I'm kind of confused.
I'd heard they patched killer traits so you deal more damage and gain extra damage resistance.
But that was quite a few updates ago, so does this mean no awesome Instinct update or is it assumed that by the implication its correct?
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By Xilk 2012-02-17 14:21:49
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When SE initially posted the proposal of changing the circle effects so that they have 5 min recast and 3 min duration, it was asked if Killer instinct would be included. SE posted the following changes

5 min recast, 3 min duration
Additional merits would add +2 killer effects each.
And bst who know their business everywhere rejoiced!

The difference in this announcement is that the duration is NOT 3 minutes and the extra killer effects are NOT present, instead additional merits add 10 seconds.

So 1 minute duration + 4 merits of 10s ea = 1:40 for duration.
The Monster Helm +2 adds another 4s/merit which would be an additional 20seconds.

This means at best you could get a 2 minute duration to Killer instinct at the normal +15% damage dealt, -15% damage taken, and +15 killer effects.

The thing is, bst is able to double-dip on the damage bonuses using Ferine Gausape +1/2 and the killer effects.

Bst has a base 10 killer effect from traits alone for the 7 bst ecosystem families. Killer effects merits give another 5. Monster helm +2 gives another 5.
That is an easy 20 killer effects.
Killer Instict adds 15 for a total of 35 Killer effects.

This will equate to a 35% intimidation rate. that alone is very high.
However, Ferine Gausape also gains a 17% increase to damage and reduction to damage taken. This multiples by the 15% increase from Killer effect alone to combine to a 34.5% increase in damage dealt, and reduction to damage taken, whenever Killer instinct is in play.

If bst is wearing gausape +2 and gets bonus from a pld holy circle vs undead bst will only gain a +15 undead killer. However it will still give an additional 7% boost to the 15% boost from the circle effect by itself making a 23% boost instead of just 15% which everyone else will get.
Gausape +2 is a very cool piece of gear.

The initially proposed +8 killer effects for additional merits would have brought it to about +40% damage for 3/5 minutes... oh well.
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By mortontony1 2012-03-06 18:27:51
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5/5 reward recast
5/5 killer effects

5/5 healer
those I'm 100% on, I was probably going to do affinity just because for typical exp parties and such I would use Nazuna anyways and save falcor and yully for dynamis/nms. Instinct and howl just seem kinda meh to me. Thoughts?
 Lakshmi.Stfutaru
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By Lakshmi.Stfutaru 2012-03-07 00:11:32
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I think it really comes down to play style. What exactly do you do most of the time with your BST? Obviously, if you're the kind of BST that stands there while the pet does the work then killer effect and killer instincts won't do anything. (Yes, these BSTs still exist).

What pet do you use? - if you only find yourself using ladybird and falcor, BA won't do anything and if youre not fighting plantoids or aquans, killer instinct won't do anything as well. Sure it's nice to have but if you use it once in a blue moon, why bother?
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By mortontony1 2012-03-07 08:57:15
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Well I plan in doing the occasional exp party in abyssea and dynamis and maybe some abyssea nms. That's it. I plan on fighting with my pet. Probably would use nazuna for exp and main tanking nms after I got th on the nms. And falcor and yully for dynamis. And don't worry not a gimp full perle dynamis bst, only piece I'm using are feet.
 Lakshmi.Stfutaru
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By Lakshmi.Stfutaru 2012-03-07 14:31:37
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mortontony1 said: »
Well I plan in doing the occasional exp party in abyssea and dynamis and maybe some abyssea nms. That's it. I plan on fighting with my pet. Probably would use nazuna for exp and main tanking nms after I got th on the nms. And falcor and yully for dynamis. And don't worry not a gimp full perle dynamis bst, only piece I'm using are feet.

Then:
Merit I
Reward
Killer effects or Ready/Sic

Merit II
Beast Affinity
Feral Howl or Beast Healer - Feral Howl useful for Dynamis, Beast Healer will save you a few pet food if you're really that concerned about money. Honestly, with a solid recast set, Beast Healer is not necessary since you said you won't be doing anything too crazy now that Abyssea NMs are generally pretty straightforward.

I would leave out Killer Instincts because, as you said, you're going to use the sheep (Beast) in XP parties, how often are you going to exp on Bugards. Also, in Dynamis how likely will you be camping Aquans or Plantoids with Falcor or Yuly, respectively. If these apply to you, then do Beast Affinity and Killer Instincts.
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By Xilk 2012-03-08 23:22:47
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At the end of March they are updating Killer Instinct. I'm shifting to 5/5 Killer instinct. Probably 1/5 Feral Howl, and 4/5 Beast Healer for Group 2.

I tend to have a nice variety of jugs in my satchel to choose whatever I like for the occasion.
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 Shiva.Biglen
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By Shiva.Biglen 2012-03-10 11:06:37
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Feral Howl isn't really fun to play with I don't care if they lower down the time it doesn't seem to stick on for that long I guess in a true moment of life or death but lol your a bst when does that ever happen?
 Phoenix.Gaiarorshack
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By Phoenix.Gaiarorshack 2012-03-14 08:49:37
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Thread hostile take over

GF and me are taking beast up.

we are gonnna use it primarily for 2 things

* she uses her for dynamis ( i come thief)
* Dual pet tanking nm's

so far i've done
reward 5/5
Beast healer 5/5

but not sure on the rest. advice appreciated on the remaining merits
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By Xilk 2012-03-31 11:16:30
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grrr... guess I'm finally giving in and getting 2/5 Beast Affinity merits.
using monster gloves +2 that lets me use all post 75 jugs sans nazuna and clyvonne at level 99.

1/5 Feral Howl
5/5 Killer Instinct
2/5 Beast Affinity
2/5 Beast Healer

5/5 Killer Effects
5/5 Call Beast

Might trade some call beast for Sic/Ready Recast reduction.
Suits my playstyle.
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 Fenrir.Camiie
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By Fenrir.Camiie 2012-04-03 14:54:17
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Mine are probably woefully out of date or just wrong...

Group 1:
5/5 Killer Effects
5/5 Reward Recast

Group 2:
5/5 Beast Affinity
5/5 Beast Healer

Sometimes I'm letting the pet do all the work and sometimes I'm fighting alongside it. Even when I'm teamed up with people I'm often running off to solo... weird huh? Sadly, I rarely get to take advantage of monster correlation. I'm often using Yuly, Falcorr, Gerard, Nazuna or Lulush.

I'm not sure if I've offered any useful information, but I'd welcome any merit advice.
 Lakshmi.Zeosilot
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By Lakshmi.Zeosilot 2012-04-04 09:40:46
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My merits are similar to yours Xilk except that I have 5/5 Reward recast instead of Call Beast.

Tier 1:
5/5 Killer Effects - <3 my Killer Effects.
5/5 Reward - I like a 55 second reward timer for when s**t hits the fan.

Tier 2:
1/5 Feral Howl - Just for the extra proc in Dynamis
5/5 Killer Instinct - With 5 merits and augmented Monster Helm +2 duration increased from 3 minutes to 4 minutes. So with a 5 minute recast can have these bonuses...
Gives +15% Damage dealt, -15% Damage Taken, and 15% Intimidation Circle effect when fighting an appropriate enemy.
...80% of the time.
2/5 Beast Affinity - Nursery Nazuna isn't worth 3 merits with imo with augmented Monster Gloves +2 available and Bloodclaw Shasra is better than Crafty Clyvonne so Clyvonne doesn't even matter.
2/5 Beast Healer - Used to be fully merited but got the shaft for Killer Instinct. Still worth maxing if all you do is dynamis though.
 Bismarck.Bloodbathboy
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By Bismarck.Bloodbathboy 2012-04-04 10:14:24
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As a baby BST. I am eating this all up. Use to think BST sucked. But you can do a lot solo on it!!! Looking forward to getting it to !!!
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By Xilk 2012-04-04 11:23:32
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Fenrir.Camiie said: »
Mine are probably woefully out of date or just wrong...

Group 1:
5/5 Killer Effects
5/5 Reward Recast

Group 2:
5/5 Beast Affinity
5/5 Beast Healer

Sometimes I'm letting the pet do all the work and sometimes I'm fighting alongside it. Even when I'm teamed up with people I'm often running off to solo... weird huh? Sadly, I rarely get to take advantage of monster correlation. I'm often using Yuly, Falcorr, Gerard, Nazuna or Lulush.

I'm not sure if I've offered any useful information, but I'd welcome any merit advice.

Its a rare/blatent occasion I would say someone is 'doing it wrong'

Feral Howl I only use for an extra proc or emergency situation.. which is not much.

I use Killer Instinct all the time now since they improved the duration & recast. It is a very elegant, very cool design approach that I think is very appropriate for bst. Its also very powerful yet has appropriate, built-in limitations. (just like charm did!)

I've always disliked Beast Affinity because it seems they make you pay an upkeep on your pets this way. It feels gimmicky and irritating... however from a use standpoint:

I would say its primary use is if you want a level 99 Sheep. Nazuna is a great pet, but I've never been huge fan of nazuna (I like lulush ALOT more).
The only other reason to have 5/5 Beast Affinity merits is if you want to use some of the 75-capped pets for something. You can get them up to level 90 w/ the capped merits & augmented monster gloves +2. The only pet I think is remotely worth it to have at 90 would be Carrie, because bubble curtain is 50% magic damage reduction. That is fantastic for magical tanking. However, if you are fighting something higher level, I'd rather use Gooey or element-appropriate pet and mdt axes.

My recommendation is, that unless you love Nazuna more than other merits, don't bother w/ 5/5 Beast Affinity.

Also, unless you really want a wide variety of pets (which I do) I wouldn't use any Beast Affinity Merits. If you are like me, and want all the post 75 pets for the lowest cost 2/5 makes sense, but more are not worthwhile unless you go to 5/5.

Beast Healer is a Solid very worthwhile choice, Its also not requisite in any of the fights I've been doing.

If you are all about pet only fights, or Pet Super-tanking:
Call Beast
Reward Recast
Beast Healer

These are your priorities to maximize pet tanking/survival.

Call Beast recast reduction is not nearly so critical now as it used to be since before the reward adjustment.
You used to need to ridethat Call Beast recast timer for most NM's. We played them w/ called pets like we did NM's w/ charmed pets.
However, when you can Cure 2.5k pet HP every 50~90s w/ reward alone (let alone throwing dawn mulsums in) There is alot of room to cure your pet instead of replace it. Then add Run Wild in if you really need help letting pet last until CB is back up.

This Means reward recast and call beast recast are really not necessary. They were necessary for some time but not now.

Tame recast is a joke.
If you are into killer effects (especially combining w/ Killer Instinct and Gausape) these are great and there is plenty of room to select what you like. These won't help your pet, but they can help master significantly.

There is also plenty or room to select Sic/Ready recast if that is what you like. This all depends on Charges for your favorite Ready moves, or the ready moves you want for a specific fight. This doesn't really matter for Ready move proc in dynamis. Most pets have a 1-charge move and if you are just doing a 1 charge move, you will not get pet tp fast enough that you won't be able to use it. (you would to attempt a 4th ready move less than a minute after the first to have any trouble here).

Sic/Ready recast is all about the 2 charge and 3 charge ready moves. Wild carrot is the one that jumps to my attention most. If you main-heal a fight using Lulush, there are times when the difference between 2 min and 1:40s can make a significant difference.



tldr:
Group 1:
TAME: Complete waste

All the rest choose to your playstyle.

Group 2:
Feral howl: 1/5 if you want an emergency use. anymore doesn't seem practical

Killer instinct: Big Bst Performance boost for master and party, but eats inventory to carry jugs for situations.

Beast Affinity: 5/5 only for nazuna; 2/5 for all 75+ save nazuna & clyvonne; No sense in using differen values.

Beast Healer: Very solid, always useful.
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 Bismarck.Bloodbathboy
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By Bismarck.Bloodbathboy 2012-04-14 12:11:48
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Just got to 95. Before I take BST to 99 want to be good on merits. Quick question please. I thought BA would be the most important. Don't you want all your pets at LVL 99?? But I guess it's not to important for the LVL 96 pets. Just the 76- 83 pets correct??
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By Xilk 2012-04-15 12:20:32
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Bismarck.Bloodbathboy said: »
Just got to 95. Before I take BST to 99 want to be good on merits. Quick question please. I thought BA would be the most important. Don't you want all your pets at LVL 99?? But I guess it's not to important for the LVL 96 pets. Just the 76- 83 pets correct??

You will want to review how call beast works.
pets do not spawn only at the level which you can first use the jug.

Details in links below. Familiars page will tell you jug pet caps.

Call Beast
Jug Pets
 Valefor.Zolan
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By Valefor.Zolan 2012-04-15 12:36:48
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Xilk said: »
When SE initially posted the proposal of changing the circle effects so that they have 5 min recast and 3 min duration, it was asked if Killer instinct would be included. SE posted the following changes

5 min recast, 3 min duration
Additional merits would add +2 killer effects each.
And bst who know their business everywhere rejoiced!

The difference in this announcement is that the duration is NOT 3 minutes and the extra killer effects are NOT present, instead additional merits add 10 seconds.

So 1 minute duration + 4 merits of 10s ea = 1:40 for duration.
The Monster Helm +2 adds another 4s/merit which would be an additional 20seconds.

This means at best you could get a 2 minute duration to Killer instinct at the normal +15% damage dealt, -15% damage taken, and +15 killer effects.

The thing is, bst is able to double-dip on the damage bonuses using Ferine Gausape +1/2 and the killer effects.

Bst has a base 10 killer effect from traits alone for the 7 bst ecosystem families. Killer effects merits give another 5. Monster helm +2 gives another 5.
That is an easy 20 killer effects.
Killer Instict adds 15 for a total of 35 Killer effects.

This will equate to a 35% intimidation rate. that alone is very high.
However, Ferine Gausape also gains a 17% increase to damage and reduction to damage taken. This multiples by the 15% increase from Killer effect alone to combine to a 34.5% increase in damage dealt, and reduction to damage taken, whenever Killer instinct is in play.

If bst is wearing gausape +2 and gets bonus from a pld holy circle vs undead bst will only gain a +15 undead killer. However it will still give an additional 7% boost to the 15% boost from the circle effect by itself making a 23% boost instead of just 15% which everyone else will get.
Gausape +2 is a very cool piece of gear.

The initially proposed +8 killer effects for additional merits would have brought it to about +40% damage for 3/5 minutes... oh well.

Wow!
Just wanted to say thanks for writing all that out was informative.
 Bismarck.Bloodbathboy
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By Bismarck.Bloodbathboy 2012-04-16 12:30:57
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Xilk said: »
Bismarck.Bloodbathboy said: »
Just got to 95. Before I take BST to 99 want to be good on merits. Quick question please. I thought BA would be the most important. Don't you want all your pets at LVL 99?? But I guess it's not to important for the LVL 96 pets. Just the 76- 83 pets correct??
You will want to review how call beast works. pets do not spawn only at the level which you can first use the jug. Details in links below. Familiars page will tell you jug pet caps. Call Beast Jug Pets
This cleared up a lot for me. Thank you for your response!!
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 Asura.Hardgrave
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By Asura.Hardgrave 2012-08-19 11:16:11
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Want to know what would be best merits for someone looking mostly into using BST for doing Dynamis, and maybe some other old content like Limbus. Thoughts?
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