[CrosisReturns]

Now i've been a level 75 white mage for a very long time but as of late i've been scratching my head deciding which group 1 merits i should have maxed out. I Currently have Regen and Cure Cast......So my question is: Is it worth sacrificing capped regen or cure cast time and end up capping out Bar-Spell effect?

[Fredjan]

Barspells are worth meriting especially if you do any end-game events related to wyrms, or anything else you know that people develop elemental resist sets for. I have this merited to 5/5. If you don't do any of this, they're still nice to have, and you notice a difference when elemental attacks do next to nothing.
Regen is nice, not by any means required to be fully merited, but I throughly enjoy my 5/5 regen.

Yes, you're reading a post by someone who has no cure cast time merits. I don't feel the need for them. I ALWAYS use cure clogs (no, I don't fulltime them) and I rarely sub anything but SCH. I almost never have any problems keeping people alive unless I'm out of MP.

But for what I use my WHM for, the merits work fine.

Really it comes to preference and what you do I'd have to say.

[pathwriter]

I've honestly never seen the benefit to Cure cast time. In situations where I'm the only healer, if someone drops so fast that I can't get a Cure off in time to save them, having gotten that Cure off would only delay the inevitable death three seconds later (I'm thinking of Monks in Dynamis pounding on something other than a Sentinel'd Paladin). If I'm in a situation where more than one healer is going to be paying attention to my target, overheal is almost always a guarantee so I tend to be stingier with casting and prefer to be able to cancel if necessary.

Regen merits are nice, but it really depends on how much you use the spell. Fully merited with Cleric's Briault makes for a very potent and efficient heal, but it does rely on being in a situation where someone isn't going to immediately top off the person taking damage. As such, it tends to shine in low-man and merit situations but can feel like a waste elsewhere (it's nice for Brainjack, though).

Barspell merits seem to be the most obvious choice. If you're in any situation where you can predict the incoming element, which is more often than you might realize, just having the Magic Defense Bonus is substantially helpful, regardless of whether a resist occurs.

[Wakmidget]

I did 5/5 Bar Spell and 5/5 Regen as well, and I like it a lot. At one point I took out my Regen merits for 5/5 Cure Cast to play with it since some people seem to swear by it. I was not impressed by any means, biggest mistake I ever made.

I eventually took them back out and put back my 5/5 Regen. IMHO Cure Cast merits are a waste. I never really have trouble getting a cure off. /sch or /rdm is more than enough Fast Cast.

[Tykkaru]

I did 5/5 Cure Cast time and 5/5 Barspell

[Banggugyangu]

Barspell merits are a given. The rest are up to the WHM. I personally did 5/5 banish, because when I was meriting my WHM, KRT bones were the primary target. Whether I was in a MNK PT, a WHM PT, or soloing, I got the most benefit out of banish merits. I've since considered swapping them to regen, but haven't ever taken the time, as I still solo a lot and bones are still the majority of my targets.