Merit Points

In this section, we'll take a look at how adventurers across Vana'diel are assigning their merit points.

Max HP
Max MP

	Upgrade 1		Upgrade 2		Upgrade 3		Upgrade 4		Upgrade 5
	Upgrade 6		Upgrade 7		Upgrade 8		Upgrade 9		Upgrade 10
	Upgrade 11		Upgrade 12		Upgrade 13		Upgrade 14		Upgrade 15

Both the Max HP and MP merit point categories now allow for a maximum of fifteen upgrades. In the past year, HP upgrades have outstripped MP, with a significant number of characters upgrading the former to its maximum level. It would seem that adventurers feel one can never have too many hit points when fending off the vicious attacks of high-level fiends.

STR
DEX
VIT
AGI
INT
MND
CHR

	Upgrade 1		Upgrade 2		Upgrade 3		Upgrade 4
	Upgrade 5		Upgrade 6		Upgrade 7		Upgrade 8
	Upgrade 9		Upgrade 10		Upgrade 11		Upgrade 12

Though the maximum number of attribute upgrades has been raised to twelve, the overall tendency of players to focus on STR remains unchanged from years past. AGI and MND are becoming increasingly popular, and one can also observe an overall larger ratio of players maxing out their attribute categories. Such trends can likely be attributed to the introduction of weapon skills featuring attribute-based bonuses.

Hand-to-hand
Dagger
Sword
Great Sword
Axe
Great Axe
Scythe
Polearm
Katana
Great Katana
Club
Staff
Bow
Gun
Throwing

Guarding
Evasion
Shield
Parrying

	Upgrade 1		Upgrade 2		Upgrade 3		Upgrade 4
	Upgrade 5		Upgrade 6		Upgrade 7		Upgrade 8

Players clearly are determined to max out the effectiveness of their combat skills, as demonstrated by an overwhelming majority of players who have topped out these categories. In particular, dagger skill is a favorite as always, with axe and staff growing in popularity. Axe skill is likely a popular upgrade among the beastmasters of Vana'diel.

Divine Magic
Healing Magic
Enhancing Magic
Enfeebling Magic
Elemental Magic
Dark Magic
Summoning Magic
Ninjutsu
Singing
Stringed Instrument
Wind Instrument
Blue Magic

	Upgrade 1		Upgrade 2		Upgrade 3		Upgrade 4
	Upgrade 5		Upgrade 6		Upgrade 7		Upgrade 8

Here we can see a marked increase in players upgrading enhancing magic skill. The majority of these are scholars seeking to enhance the potency of Embrava, followed by white and red mages looking to power up their Boost and Gain spells, respectively.

Enmity Increase
Enmity Decrease
Critical hit rate
Enemy critical hit rate
Spell interruption rate

Upgrade 1

Upgrade 2

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Upgrade 5

Here we see a continuation of previous trends, with a significant number of players choosing to upgrade their Critical Hit Rate.

Upgrade trends in job-specific merit point categories remained largely unchanged from last year. As the data for this census was collected almost immediately after the implementation of merit point adjustments, we suspect that we'll see greater changes next year, after these and the job-specific category revisions planned for December have had time to take hold.

Group 1 Maximum total upgrades: 10　Maximum per item: 5 Merit point cost: 1/2/3/4/5

Group 2 Maximum total upgrades: 10　Maximum per item: 5 Merit point cost: 3/4/5/5/5

[ Warrior ]

Group 1	Berserk Recast
	Defender Recast
	Warcry Recast
	Aggressor Recast
	Double Attack Rate

Group 2	Warrior's Charge
	Tomahawk
	Savagery
	Aggressive Aim

Upgrade 1

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[ Monk ]

Group 1	Focus Recast
	Dodge Recast
	Chakra Recast
	Counter Rate
	Kick Attack Rate

Group 2	Mantra
	Formless Strikes
	Invigorate
	Penance

Upgrade 1

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[ White Mage ]

Group 1	Divine Seal Recast
	Cure Cast Time
	Bar Spell Effect
	Banish Effect
	Regen Spell Effect

Group 2	Martyr
	Devotion
	Protectra V
	Shellra V

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[ Black Mage ]

Group 1	Elemental Seal Recast
	Fire Magic Potency
	Ice Magic Potency
	Wind Magic Potency
	Earth Magic Potency
	Lightning Magic Potency
	Water Magic Potency

Group 2	Flare II
	Freeze II
	Tornado II
	Quake II
	Burst II
	Flood II

Upgrade 1

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[ Red Mage ]

Group 1	Convert Recast
	Fire Magic Accuracy
	Ice Magic Accuracy
	Wind Magic Accuracy
	Earth Magic Accuracy
	Lightning Magic Accuracy
	Water Magic Accuracy

Group 2	Dia III
	Slow II
	Paralyze II
	Phalanx II
	Bio III
	Blind II

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[ Thief ]

Group 1	Flee Recast
	Hide Recast
	Sneak Attack Recast
	Trick Attack Recast
	Triple Attack Rate

Group 2	Assassin's Charge
	Feint
	Aura Steal
	Ambush

Upgrade 1

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[ Paladin ]

Group 1	Shield Bash Recast
	Holy Circle Recast
	Sentinel Recast
	Cover Effect Length
	Rampart Recast

Group 2	Fealty
	Chivalry
	Iron Will
	Guardian

Upgrade 1

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[ Dark Knight ]

Group 1	Souleater Recast
	Arcane Circle Recast
	Last Resort Recast
	Last Resort Effect
	Weapon Bash Recast

Group 2	Dark Seal
	Diabolic Eye
	Muted Soul
	Desperate Blows

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[ Beastmaster ]

Group 1	Killer Effects
	Reward Recast
	Call Beast Recast
	Sic Recast
	Tame Recast

Group 2	Feral Howl
	Killer Instinct
	Beast Affinity
	Beast Healer

Upgrade 1

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[ Bard ]

Group 1	Lullaby Recast
	Finale Recast
	Minne Effect
	Minuet Effect
	Madrigal Effect

Group 2	Nightingale
	Troubadour
	Foe Sirvente
	Adventurer's Dirge

Upgrade 1

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[ Ranger ]

Group 1	Scavenge Recast
	Camouflage Recast
	Sharpshot Recast
	Unlimited Shot Recast
	Rapid Shot Rate

Group 2	Stealth Shot
	Flashy Shot
	Snapshot
	Recycle

Upgrade 1

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[ Samurai ]

Group 1	Third Eye Recast
	Warding Circle Recast
	Store TP Effect
	Meditate Recast
	Zanshin Attack Rate

Group 2	Shikikoyo
	Blade Bash
	Ikishoten
	Overwhelm

Upgrade 1

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[ Ninja ]

Group 1	Subtle Blow Effect
	Katon Effect
	Hyoton Effect
	Huton Effect
	Doton Effect
	Raiton Effect
	Suiton Effect

Group 2	Sange
	Ninja Tool Expertise
	Katon: San
	Hyoton: San
	Huton: San
	Doton: San
	Raiton: San
	Suiton: San

Upgrade 1

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[ Dragoon ]

Group 1	Ancient Circle Recast
	Jump Recast
	High Jump Recast
	Super Jump Recast
	Spirit Link Recast

Group 2	Deep Breathing
	Angon
	Empathy
	Strafe

Upgrade 1

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[ Summoner ]

Group 1	Avatar Physical Accuracy
	Avatar Physical Attack
	Avatar Magical Accuracy
	Avatar Magical Attack
	Elemental MP Cost

Group 2	Meteor Strike
	Heavenly Strike
	Wind Blade
	Geocrush
	Thunderstorm
	Grand Fall

Upgrade 1

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[ Blue Mage ]

Group 1	Chain Affinity Recast
	Burst Affinity Recast
	Monster Correlation
	Physical Potency
	Magical Accuracy

Group 2	Convergence
	Diffusion
	Enchainment
	Assimilation

Upgrade 1

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[ Corsair ]

Group 1	Phantom Roll Recast
	Quick Draw Recast
	Quick Draw Accuracy
	Random Deal Recast
	Bust Duration

Group 2	Snake Eye
	Fold
	Winning Streak
	Loaded Deck

Upgrade 1

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[ Puppetmaster ]

Group 1	Automaton Melee Skill
	Automaton Ranged Skill
	Automaton Magic Skill
	Activate Recast
	Repair Recast

Group 2	Role Reversal
	Ventriloquy
	Fine Tuning
	Optimization

Upgrade 1

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[ Dancer ]

Group 1	Steps Accuracy
	Haste Samba Effect
	Reverse Flourish Effect
	Building Flourish Effect

Group 2	Saber Dance
	Fan Dance
	No Foot Rise
	Closed Position

Upgrade 1

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[ Scholar ]

Group 1	Grimoire Recast
	Modus Veritas Duration
	Helix Magic Acc./Atk.
	Max Sublimation

Group 2	Altruism
	Focalization
	Tranquility
	Equanimity
	Enlightenment
	Stormsurge

Upgrade 1

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Upgrade 5

To close things out, let's take a look at the data for the new merit point-based weapon skills. Most striking at first glance is the overwhelming popularity of the dagger weapon skill Exenterator. This can likely be attributed to thieves and dancers who find it a valuable damage-dealing source, as well as the ease with which it can be powered up.
In the number two position we find Ruinator, no doubt a popular choice among the growing number of beastmasters. Considering how often it seems to make the news, we were a bit surprised to find Resolution in fourth place.

Shijin Spiral
Exenterator
Requiescat
Resolution
Ruinator
Upheaval
Entropy
Stardiver
Blade: Shun
Tachi: Shoha
Realmrazer
Shattersoul
Apex Arrow
Last Stand

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