White Mage Guide by Birgitte/Merits

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=Merit Selection=
== HP/MP ==
You are allowed a max of (8) upgrades in these areas. Each upgrade will add 10 points to either your HP or your MP. As with the first few sections, all changes or merits put into them will effect all jobs that you play, not just White Mage - so a warning: think of what other jobs you want to play before you start spending. 
*Now, if you decide that you are only going to be a White Mage, the only thing left to consider is your race and what you are lacking. MP as always is very important for a White Mage, no MP, no cures, end of story. So as a White Mage, you of course will want to put some merits into MP, how much on the other hand will depend on whether or not you think your Race warrants the placement. As a Galka or Elvaan, with your massive amount of HP to begin with, it would be wise to put all of the merits into MP. But if you were a Tarutaru, the decision isn't always as clear... there will always come a time where you will be getting hit as a White Mage, and the additional HP allotted from putting merits into HP as well as MP can save a Tarus life whether in Dynamis or an HNM Fight.
== Attributes ==
Increase the basic 7 Attributes: STR, DEX, VIT, AGI, INT, MND, and CHR by 1 point each upgrade for a total of 5 points.
*Again, if you decide that you are only go to be a White Mage, there is only one option in these choices to consider upgrading. That would be Mind. The reasoning behind this of course is because mind is the stat that determines the effectiveness of all White Magic spells whether they be based in Healing Magic, Enfeebling Magic or Enhancing Magic. On top of that they aid in the Resistance of other White Magic spells such as Dia, Paralyze and Silence and decrease their overall effectiveness and base damage. For these reasons, I would see this being the most important stat to increase for a White Mage.
*If you aren't going to be just a White Mage, again you need to consider what the other jobs you will be taking up and act accordingly. I can't tell you what attributes other jobs would favor, you would have to look to other guides or common sense from playing said jobs to figure that out, but either way, I would hesitate from putting too much into mind for this reason.
*Also, if you are a White Mage that does more soloing that party/social experience, you might want to consider adding merits into other areas such as Vitality if you know you get hit often or Strength because you want to hit harder. Where you want or need to put these stat boosts relies heavily on what race you are. An Elvaan, for example, might feel their mind is high enough already and want some additional Dexterity to increase the accuracy of their hits. It all really depends on what you want to do in game. If you opinion changes, you can always remove the merits later on and re-get them to put them in another slot. Nothing is final in this game.
== Combat Skills ==
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== Magic Skills ==
You are allowed a max of (8) upgrades in this section with 2 points being allotted to each skill per upgrade. The four areas of Magic that White Mages have skill in are: Healing Magic Skill (A+), Divine Magic Skill (A-), Enhancing Magic Skill (C+),& Enfeebling Magic Skill (C). 
*If you are only going to play a WHM, I suggest putting the majority of your merits into Healing Magic to enhance your healing magic & cures with the rest going into Enhancing Magic to enhance your Bar-spells. 
*If you are a White Mage that often solos or is found to be meleeing, I would suggest that on top of putting merits into Healing Magic & Enhancing Magic, that you put some into Divine Magic seeing as a soloer, you would be benefiting from that as well as the other areas. 
*If you, like most people, aren't going to play only one job that does similar things, I would be sparing as to where I put these skills. You may want to level Black Mage or Ninja, for example, like many White Mages want to do after they get to 75. If that is the case, you don't want all your merits used up in the WHM-only magic sections, you might want to put them elsewhere in the future.
== Others ==
This section allows a max of (8) upgrades to be made. Like the other sections before this, all changes made will effect all jobs, so make sure this is what you want for all jobs you plan on leveling before you put merits into these sections. Personally, I do not view this section as the more important merits to get. I left this for last on my WHM due to its insignificance compared to the other Merits available.
==== Enmity Increase ====
:Increase your Enmity by 1 point.
==== Enmity Decrease ====
:Decrease your Enmity by 1 point.
==== Critical Hit Rate ====
:Adjust your critical hit rate by 1 percent.
==== Enemy Critical Hit Rate ====
:Adjust enemies critical hit rate by 1 percent.
==== Spell Interruption Rate ====
:Adjust your spell interruption rate by 2 percent.
== White Mage ==
=== Group 1 (Max Total ability increases = 10) ===
==== Divine Seal Recast ==== 
:Shorten recast time by 20 seconds.
:*
==== Cure Cast Time ==== 
:Shorten cast time of all Cure spells by 4 percent.
:*Full points in this highly recommended whatever situation. Getting those heals in faster is priceless.
==== Bar Spell Effect ====
:Increase potency of Bar spells and add a magic defense bonus of 2 points.
:*For endgame players this is one of the most important stats you'll want to invest in. This coupled with enhancing magic merits greatly increases the magic resistance taken from enemies such as Brulo and also spikes damage.
==== Banish Effect ====
:Increase damage of Banish by 2, and length of defense down effect by 2 seconds.
:*
====Regen Effect ====
:Increase the amount of HP recovered each interval by 1.
:*
=== Group 2 (Max Total ability increases = 6)===
==== Martyr ==== 
:Sacrifices HP to heal a party member double the amount. Recast 20 min. Shorten recast by 2 minutes 30 seconds.
:*Your heals are far more better, don't waste merits in this.
==== Devotion ==== 
:Sacrifices HP to grant a party member the same amount in MP. Recast 20 min. Shorten recast by 2 minutes 30 seconds.
:*While you're giving people MP in exchange for your HP this is invaluable for in a party situation. Say your PLD runs out of MP and can't cure himself for threat, full merits in this provides him with enough MP to almost max his bar for just a smidgen of your own HP which you're recovering quickly enough with the WHM's self regen.
:*It's also helpful for other mage classes that are low on MP, such as a BLM who needs to drop in a final nuke to finish a mob but hasn't enough MP, or an RDM who lost his refresh and hasn't enough MP to refresh himself and has convert on timer, or another WHM in the party who has no MP to be able to help cure people.
==== Protectra V ==== 
:Increases the defense of party members within area of effect. Increase bonus defense by 2.
:*Recommended to only get 1 upgrade for this as there's better things to merit, unless you do things solo and really want the extra defense.
==== Shellra V ==== 
:Increases the magic defense of party members within area of effect. Increase bonus magic defense by 1.
:*Strongly recommended to go full merits in this for endgame to enhance the partys' magic defense.
White Mage Guide by Birgitte
Races | Subjobs | Weaponry | Armor | Food | Macros | Merits