Merit Party Structure

[Nataka]

The question of this thread is pretty simple I think: What's generally considered 'good' merit party classes, what aren't optimal but get invites decently, and what just don't fit? And what ways are there for these classes to get around this?

The reason I ask is because 1. I think it's good info for people to know, 2. I keep hearing merit partying is a bit of an 'exclusive club' and I kind of want to know where what falls, and 3. Since I'm raising a summoner I wanna know where I fall and what alternatives I have. i also mean this for all classes that way other people reading this thread have a general idea of what to do and where to go (which may be useful for people that want to level a class that may not fit well into merit).

When I say alternatives, I mean things like Mana burn PTs for black mages. It's pretty well known black mages are no longer 'desired' in parties outside of missions but they came up with manaburn to cope with this. Do any other classes have such opportunities?

PS. and if anyone can think of a better title for this topic, do tell haha.

[Balfree]

This is my view on things as they are right now, maybe not entirely accurate as I've been away from endgame for a while now:

Black Mages have Manaburns.

Other DD jobs (DRK, MNK, THF, DRG, WAR, BLU, RNG) have TP Burns.

Ninjas can get in any TP Burn merit party. Paladins probably have a bit of a problem.

BRD, RDM also have no problems in joining merit, be it Manaburns or TP Burns.

SMN, COR, WHM, PUP and BST are probably the black sheep of the lot, being usually the last picks to be invited to burn merit parties.

As simple as that when it comes to the "burn" trends.

You still get to play your job on a regular merit party which consists of a healer, a support job, a tank, and DDs. These are my favorite type of parties.

As a Summoner that you are, I wouldnt be too worried, you are very valuable in many situations, believe me it will be worth your time to take that job all the way. If you're into hardcore meritpoints though, I'm sad to say the Summoner probably wont be the best choice. But that isnt to say you wont be meriting as a Summoner, but dont expect to be invited at the same rate as a RDM or a WAR for meripos.

Also, consider a duo or trio for summoner at endgame, i hear its pretty fun!

[Nataka]

This is my view on things as they are right now, maybe not entirely accurate as I've been away from endgame for a while now:
Black Mages have Manaburns.
Other DD jobs (DRK, MNK, THF, DRG, WAR, BLU, RNG) have TP Burns.
Ninjas can get in any TP Burn merit party. Paladins probably have a bit of a problem.
BRD, RDM also have no problems in joining merit, be it Manaburns or TP Burns.
SMN, COR, WHM, PUP and BST are probably the black sheep of the lot, being usually the last picks to be invited to burn merit parties.
As simple as that when it comes to the "burn" trends.
You still get to play your job on a regular merit party which consists of a healer, a support job, a tank, and DDs. These are my favorite type of parties.
As a Summoner that you are, I wouldnt be too worried, you are very valuable in many situations, believe me it will be worth your time to take that job all the way. If you're into hardcore meritpoints though, I'm sad to say the Summoner probably wont be the best choice. But that isnt to say you wont be meriting as a Summoner, but dont expect to be invited at the same rate as a RDM or a WAR for meripos.
Also, consider a duo or trio for summoner at endgame, i hear its pretty fun!

Yeah I'm going to take it to 75 regardless, I just dont have friends that go merit with summoner since they have other 75 jobs, so I wanted to hear some other opinions and see what people think heh.

Glad to hear they DO get into merit. My plan originally was to get summoner to 75 and start raising a warrior or a monk and merit with that for summoner, but if they get invites I think I'll make that less of a priority.

Other opinions are welcome! I mean for this post to be a benefit for others, not just myself, so feelf ree to discuss.

[Murphie]

I'd put COR in the BRD and RDM category, actually.

[Callisto]

Murphie is correct, COR can fit most anywhere a BRD can, and might actually be even better for Manaburn than BRD due to more magic buffs.

If I really want to go for max xp/hr, I still can't top RDM BRD DDx4.

I personally prefer to XP with friends however, most of which are DRGs, DRKs, and sAMs. The last good party we put together did about 12k/hr and was DRG/SAM SAM/WAR SMN BRD RDM(me) and the 6th was either THF or WAR, I completely forget which. It was crowded so the BRD and I were both pulling, the SAM and DRG were absolutely destroying the birds.

[BurningPanther]

It's not going to ease your climb to 75, but there is indeed a place for SMN at merit level.

Competent SMNs on my server are popular for forming "Evoker burns," 4-5 SMN, with a COR and/or BRD, RDM if you can find nothing else. Like many TP burn parties, they get their kicks in Caedarva Mire, primarily utilizing Garuda and Predator Claws to take out Imps.

[Sabaron]

There are a wide variety of Meripos, this is probably one of the more common ones. It's fun, fast, and if you do it well can be very rewarding.
The Greater Colibri Meripo
While many characters can grind G. Coli, the usual setup goes like this:
1. NIN/WAR tank
2. WHM, RDM, SMN healer.
3. BRD/WHM puller.
4. 3x DD.

A Paladin can tank this too, but it sort of locks you into a RDM healer for the single-target Refresh.

This group is very flexible and depending on the defensive abilities of your DDs, the healer position can be quite interesting. SMN in this party with DDs that can take a beating is very nice with Hastega. BLU subjob is very efficient for healing on RDM--Healing Breeze and Wild Carrot are great for improving HP/MP healing ratio and you don't need -na spells for this group since G. Coli don't debuff--it's an excellent time to whip it out. Healing Breeze is self-target only, but it's not much of a problem since G. Coli don't have AoE either. Don't bother with in on WHM, just stick to the incredibly efficient Cure V and sub SMN for the extra refresh tick. SMN/WHM's Hastega is an excellent addition and is quite efficient giving usually 4 15% Hastes for 112MP and is therefore wonderfully efficient. Don't sneer at the SMN, you'll be seeing nearly-full healer mp bars in this group quite often.

It is of note that the Colibri family is weak versus piercing attacks. Therefore, this is an excellent time to call up all of those DRGs that are just begging for a PT. Colibri are also lovely for DRG since they lack AoE attacks and will never kill the wyverns. 3xDRG/THF is an awesome DD box--with their formidable enmity control, the chances of the healer having to cure anyone other than the tank are very low. Watch the Rangers though, BRDs don't like too many b/c Prelude is single-target. If you're going RNG or SAM/RNG in this group pick a COR over a BRD. Do not fail to think of the PUP in this PT. Their ranger puppets, suitably equipped and buffed by a COR can be quite deadly--they have to control themselves more than the SATA'ing DRG/THF however. RNG puppets can easily steal hate and die especially if activated with full TP too early in the fight.

I have always thought of an interesting possibility for this camp--remember that Colibri can't mime Blue Magic. If you're going with a PLD based center, using BLU DD's and COR (or two) can get you rolling well since BLU's can main heal while DDing (have the BLU who's the healeriest go /WHM) and PLDs don't whine (too much) when they don't get Haste. The only unfortunate thing about this setup is that BLU's can't use "Pointy" swords like Joyeuse. The setup here would be:

1. PLD/NIN or PLD/WAR tank
2. COR/RNG x 2. (I don't know if Utsusemi would be necessary, b/c I don't play COR, but I think BBQ would scratch me unmerciful if I suggested it).
3. BLU/WHM
4. BLU/NIN or BLU/THF x2.

[Ryoii/Nonomii]

Very helpful responses. The only thing keeping me from TP burns right now is the Haste cycle and finding a COR or BRD puller. I absolutely hate trying to keep up a Haste cycle while playing SAM too. I really enjoy healing while meleeing. Hopefully /SCH can turn Haste into Hastega.

[IfritnoItazura]

The question of this thread is pretty simple I think: What's generally considered 'good' merit party classes, what aren't optimal but get invites decently, and what just don't fit? And what ways are there for these classes to get around this?

Others have covered popular jobs and setups, so I'll touch on how to get around it: form your own parties, and make friends with players on key jobs. If you put together parties they like, and party at the time they like, odds are you'd get them to join you happily, time and time again. This is why LS party is so good; you're already friends with them. ^_-

For example, on Ifrit, there's is a least one RDM75 who doesn't care if it's a 6k/hour or 16k/hour party, as long as he's not stuck going to the same camp over and over. >_>; He's not terribly well merited, nor does he have uber gear, but he'd take invite from any job, and wouldn't pretend to d/c if there's no BRD. Oh, he likes it when there's WHM or SMN in the back line with him.

Not terribly hard to please, if you think about it. (Yes, that RDM is me. <_< )

[Callisto]

I go II's route as well, I'll do whatever for merits as long as it isn't Caederva Mire lol...I personally prefer having a WHM or SMN as a healer and me pulling as RDM/DRK or BRD/NIN. RDM is an extremely effective puller, better at crowd management than BRD is, although you do miss out on the party buffs.

COR pulling is kind of rough for TP burn parties, Peacemaker helps alot, but still there is the rare chance of a Light Shot miss, and the recast timer on QD is huge compared to Sleep or Lullaby.

Really meriting is extremely flexible as long as you don't set your standard at 15-20k xp/hr, I go for whatever setup I won't be bored in. If I can get out of main healing and pull/melee on RDM, then I'm all for that. I also enjoy DRG burns, I go out as any out of my 3, RDM/BRD/COR with 5 DRGs subbing WHM or BLU, it's pretty killer on Colibri.

Tonight I'm taking a LS meripo up to Sky, killing 3 birds with one hand grenade, COR xp, Coffinmaker breaking, and Diorite farming! :D

[Malacite]

How about 5 DRG/WHM (or RDM or BLU really) and 1 BRD or COR? (Or BRD + COR if you're freaking lucky)

Assuming heal breath can keep up with the damage being taken and the BRD is pulling and giving Ballad 2 + (Minuet 4? Not sure) this could also be killer.

Penta Thrust does an obscene amount of damage to G. Colibri.

[Sabaron]

How about 5 DRG/WHM (or RDM or BLU really) and 1 BRD or COR? (Or BRD + COR if you're freaking lucky)

Assuming heal breath can keep up with the damage being taken and the BRD is pulling and giving Ballad 2 + (Minuet 4? Not sure) this could also be killer.

Penta Thrust does an obscene amount of damage to G. Colibri.

I think I've heard of "DRG-burns" (maybe they prefer Wyvernburn? Dragonburn?), but I have no familiarity with how they work. Isn't DRG armor a bit thin versus Pecking Flurry? I've seen DRGs who take hate on Colis and the damage is not pretty when they eat PF. I suppose they could go for more defensive gear, and there's still 5 of them which is a crap-load of damage.

[Malacite]

yeah but that's really rather irrelevant when you can spend 5 MP to heal yourself for over 300.

[Karinya]

In my experience, DRG parties work better at only 2 or 3. Then you can fight toughs and still make good exp. The more people you add, the more you run out of mobs unless you shift to higher levels, and then the spike damage becomes dangerous. (Remember the downside of drg/mage healing: you have to be at 50% or less HP - with AF helm - and then cast the triggering spell *and* wait for HB to go off. A lot can happen in those couple of seconds.)

The good news is a refresher isn't really required: because there are such cheap trigger spells available, Sanction refresh is plenty, even if you also want to keep cocoon up. The /whm if there is one may have to rest briefly after reraise and if they have to raise someone.

[IfritnoItazura]

If you have two or three Dragoon Lv.50+, you might as well have one on /BRD for Ballad, and go tear up some pre-ToAU zone without competition or down time. Possible?