[Tzaellia]

Suljin, on 12 May 2010 - 10:20 AM, said:

Blms use bliz/thunder the most because SE was dumb and made spells in elemental tiers unequal in damage, ordering is stone < water < wind < fire < ice < thunder < stone II . . .
and it follows that pattern of dmg till thunder IV, being the most powerful magic spell compared to all elements. The only reason blms would use any other element then would be for 1) dmg from ice/thunder would be overkill and saves mps 2) slightly faster cast time 3) recast on ice/thunder not up 4) mob is weak to other element and or resistant to ice/thunder

As far as I know, all the meritable bloodpacts are = in dmg rating so there is no dmg argument for which to choose.

That is 100% correct.

And a perfect way to test Titans "stun element" would be to spam it a couple times on and Earth Elementals in Sky. If it stuns the Elemental you know for fact it's Earth based. If it doesn't then you know it's Thunder based. Even a fully pimped out BLM can't stun an Earth Elemental.

[Meian]

Many people have their personal beliefs on their playstyle which essentially will decide how you want to merit. Don't feel bad if you feel the need to drop the merit points later on down the road.
**Scroll down to see my comments on meritable BP only**

SMN was my first job from the days of CoP era I've come to notice some things pre-SMN skill and Diabolos buff:

Predator Claws and Spinning Dive were the norms based off the evasion of the enemy, such as sky gods and such. The introduction of Diabolos added him to the arsenal of the main 3 used for evasive things that didn't take direct reduction to magic and mobs that were kited (pre-tp/zerg burn).

SMN skill along with other Pet/Avatar Accuracy gear and Avatar Accuracy Merits allowed increased accuracy for Predator Claws on previously evasive mobs where Spinning Dive and Nether Blast normally took precedent.

Merit BPs gave SMN a magic attack to surpass Nether Blast on non-resistant mobs (after it was buffed).

What am I driving at? SMN has come a long way and was and still is always revered for its high damage nearly hateless physical BPs on higher end mobs/bosses (lack of better word). To keep this consistent, the most important factor, IN MY OPINION, is accuracy for the avatar's physical BP. This is especially true for Predator Claws. Missing the first hit (the main damage portion iirc) renders the enter BP to nothing.

Avatar Physical Accuracy merits seems to be no contest among most SMN to merit. It is the same reason I now tend to wear as much acc (smn skill etc) as possible as opposed to attack (sacrifice torque/afv2 boots/kagure). The increase in damage is minimal for the risk of missing any of the three hits in something like Predator Claws. I don't know many people who spent their merits on SMN skill or even use SMN skill gear during BPs. Hmm... I am curious to do some math with this now.

Avatar Magic Attack Bonus would buff Nether Blast/Merit BP further which tend to have good accuracy in general when physical BP may not cut it or in kited fights.

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tl; dr

Merit BP as said before are all the same damage as opposed to elemental magic nukes. Your choice can vary on what it is you do. However, I'd recommend getting one of each from the Light and Darkness side in case of MB'ing. Which ones you choose is up to you. I personally did 5/5 on Grand Fall (for looks but may change it later) and Thunderstorm. Most people do Thunderstorm and Heavenly Strike because most things tend to not resist both and cover both Light and Darkness. Not to mention some think that they act like elemental magic where they're the strongest XD

I have never personally done Geocrush and I think it is a preference in that case. It does stun lightning elementals but if it has an element associated with it I have no clue.