What's your favorite strategy for farming merits?

[Bengosha]

 

My tanker's progressing quite well. I have a farmer and am able to pick up attuned set enhancements as it levels. But the build calls for both ATOs and two winter sets to get still. I'd rather look to get those via merits on the tanker itself rather than endless grinding on the farmer (which still isn't done as I have one purple set to even start yet). So, tankers, what's your favorite way to gather up merits for the ATOs, winter sets, etc? Is there a particular TF you like to repeat, or just do whatever the weekly double merits ones are, etc? Or if you truly prefer to farm influence and buy them on the AH, or have some other strategy, I'd also like to hear that.

 

(P.S. I'm asking this on the Tanker forum in case there's any unique strategy / method for tanks in general as opposed to support and damage, etc.)

Edited December 9, 2019 by Bengosha

[Major_Decoy]

I just run tip missions. It's not the fastest way to get it done, but I can do it solo and quit at any time with minimal penalty when I come back.

[LaconicLemur]

Winter super packs are 60% off, and cost 10 mill right now, last I checked. Prices for both the super pack and IO's are pretty good if you're looking for those sets. Buying them now will be much cheaper time-wise than collecting merits.  

 

I (non-tanker) solo either the 12-merit Smoke & Mirrors or 55-merit Freakshow War missions in Ouro at -1/0 setting. I try to aim for 1 merit per minute or less.  Check my guide for some other tips too, if you haven't yet.  Some people also like the Signature Arc stories. For merit farming, I don't think there will be much difference for a tank on what mission is optimal; it just might take more time. 

 

I also farm inf. With a brute farmer, it's certainly much faster for me to gain influence this way than converting merits to IO's, but ymmv as a tank.  

 

 

 

 

[Troo]

Does crafting count as farming?.. craft, convert, rinse and repeat = more than I can use myself.

Otherwise merits just seem to happen playing normal. The Freakshow War missions in Ouro is a good suggestion. Doing the weeklys = 2x. ( Weekly Strike Target link )

[Redlynne]

Dr. Quaterfield ... 😎

[AWOL]

7 hours ago, Redlynne said:

Dr. Quaterfield ... 😎

Solo or in teams?

[Major_Decoy]

1 hour ago, AWOL said:

Solo or in teams?

There's no AV, it's probably faster solo.

[tidge]

17 hours ago, Bengosha said:

 So, tankers, what's your favorite way to gather up merits for the ATOs, winter sets, etc? Is there a particular TF you like to repeat, or just do whatever the weekly double merits ones are, etc? Or if you truly prefer to farm influence and buy them on the AH, or have some other strategy, I'd also like to hear that.

 

(P.S. I'm asking this on the Tanker forum in case there's any unique strategy / method for tanks in general as opposed to support and damage, etc.)

No need to run farms (in AE or elsewhere) as it is relatively painless to make INF on the market itself, especially if you have another toon with some INF to use as a seed. I have bought all ATO and Winter sets from the AH.

 

If you are just getting started in the INF-making game, and your low-level exemplared build can handle Perez Park, blue-side you can run the Matthew Hasby arc in Perez Park pretty quickly for (3? 5?) merits but pop into Perez Park mid-arc to beat up on some Hellion Bosses and Lts for inflated INF (depending on your true level).

 

Tanks (either red or blue) of level 20+ should be able to easily handle the first SSA (Skyway, Cap Au Diable) for 20 merits per week in about 10 minutes. You will probably want the P2W attacks to fill your attack chain, depending on your build.

 

[AWOL]

13 hours ago, Troo said:

Does crafting count as farming?.. craft, convert, rinse and repeat = more than I can use myself.

Otherwise merits just seem to happen playing normal. The Freakshow War missions in Ouro is a good suggestion. Doing the weeklys = 2x. ( Weekly Strike Target link )

What colour of recipe do you convert?

[Sovera]

18 hours ago, Bengosha said:

 

My tanker's progressing quite well. I have a farmer and am able to pick up attuned set enhancements as it levels. But the build calls for both ATOs and two winter sets to get still. I'd rather look to get those via merits on the tanker itself rather than endless grinding on the farmer (which still isn't done as I have one purple set to even start yet). So, tankers, what's your favorite way to gather up merits for the ATOs, winter sets, etc? Is there a particular TF you like to repeat, or just do whatever the weekly double merits ones are, etc? Or if you truly prefer to farm influence and buy them on the AH, or have some other strategy, I'd also like to hear that.

 

(P.S. I'm asking this on the Tanker forum in case there's any unique strategy / method for tanks in general as opposed to support and damage, etc.)

I just do TFs. But you really want to farm merits? Keep an eye on your LFG and join the double Hami raids that happen daily. That's 120 mertis there for 20 minutes. Join a daily Tinpex for 80 merits for 40 minutes. Do a MSR for about 60 merits for 30 minutes (though it may *take* 30 minutes to get the group together). A Yin TF is 20 merits for 30 minutes too.

 

Few things will beat pure farming. An hour can and should net you 100 million (with XP turned off, check the Farming builds in Guides for the mechanics of XP turned off), and if you can't stomach an hour of farming then do half hour here and there.

Edited December 10, 2019 by Sovera

[Yomo Kimyata]

I'd like to second some of the comments about using the AH.  It can be a LOT easier and faster, especially if you are running as a tanker, which is not generally considered to be a steam roller.

 

A really simple way to make tens or hundreds of millions (this is incredibly sub optimal method) guaranteed*.

 

1.  Craft every recipe that drops that does not require rare salvage up to level 49.

2.  Invest in some enhancement converters.  You can buy them in the AH for under 100k a pop, or you can convert merits for them at 3 converters per merit.  I recommend at least 10 per IO.

3.  If the IO is uncommon, craft by category (right button on the top, drop down menu to the second option) until it is a rare IO.

4.  If the IO is rare, move it to the AH and check the trading history.  If every trade is over 1mm, offer it at 900k.

5.  If not every trade is over 1mm, put in back in inventory and craft by rarity (right button on the top, first option).  Repeat step 4.

6.  Wait.  You should sell everything either instantly or overnight.

 

* Not an actual guarantee.

[Troo]

9 hours ago, AWOL said:

What colour of recipe do you convert?

Yellow to orange.

I'll also buy crafted cheap oranges and start from there.

[VV]

I don't know if this is considered farming or not, but I just level up using TFs and MSRs. Run the TFs on full 8-person teams, if possible. As a tanker, it's easy to put together a team for this. Usually you can arrive to 50 with at least 1000 merits fairly easily with this method.

[Myrmidon]

I join Taskforces constantly and run tips when solo, however, I only use merits for converters. Since Week 2, I’ve only ever used merits for Winter IOs, however, this past week has given me all of the Winter sets that I have wanted (and I may pick up a couple more while the getting is good). I don’t keep much ready cash, however, I do have 20 fully IO’d characters between 27-50 (anything below 50 has all of theirs either slotted or waiting for levels in trays) and 5 more in production. I no longer play a character until they possess their entire IO build complement and I really enjoy the game this way. Once the final five are ready, I’ll be able to create and fully lit any characters from the get-go from then on.

[Seigmoraig]

It's not worth it to buy purple enhancements with merits, it's actually not worth it to buy basically anything other than enhancement converters, boosters or other such consumables. If you buy these consumables and sell them on the /ah you will make a much larger return than simply buying the enhancement for 100 merits.

I usually buy Boosters because they are less annoying to deal with than converters, they are worth pretty much the same amount of inf/merit except you buy boosters with larger chunks of merit points:
1 booster = 5 merits
3 converters = 1 merit
So with converters you end up with hundreds of them in your inventory that you have to drop on the /ah 10x at a time

 

 

[Yomo Kimyata]

18 hours ago, Myrmidon said:

I join Taskforces constantly and run tips when solo, however, I only use merits for converters. Since Week 2, I’ve only ever used merits for Winter IOs, however, this past week has given me all of the Winter sets that I have wanted (and I may pick up a couple more while the getting is good). I don’t keep much ready cash, however, I do have 20 fully IO’d characters between 27-50 (anything below 50 has all of theirs either slotted or waiting for levels in trays) and 5 more in production. I no longer play a character until they possess their entire IO build complement and I really enjoy the game this way. Once the final five are ready, I’ll be able to create and fully lit any characters from the get-go from then on.

This is exactly why I want everyone to learn how to use the AH.  You should have full sets starting at lvl 7!

[Myrmidon]

4 hours ago, Yomo Kimyata said:

This is exactly why I want everyone to learn how to use the AH.  You should have full sets starting at lvl 7!

As of tomorrow morning, I will be down to four, possibly three depending on how busy the day is.

[Haijinx]

TFs or Mission Arcs => converters => sell on AH => just go ahead and buy the attuned versions (or purps) 

 

I have enough money now I can just buy whatever I want that I don't do any "farming"

[Psede]

Heather Townsend’s first DA arc can be done in 10 minutes and Mets two empyreal merits which can be converted to 20 reward merits.

 

120 an hour. Break it up win Tinpex, Hami raids, etc. but for solo nothing beats 2 merits per minute IME.

 

can also be used to get your incarnates to t4 pretty quickly by selecting random incarnate salvage instead of empyreal merit. My first 50 was all t4 in a couple days of doing it am hour here and there.l combined with the trials.

Edited December 21, 2019 by Psede

[Heraclea]

My characters on Torchbearer form a collective.  I take them on all the TFs I can and we craft recipes we have the salvage for,  We pool our salvage and crafted enhancement drops.  This also ensures a steady input of lowbie salvage and recipes too.   I have characters that are specialized for running low level TFs. 

 

I turn any 'odd' merits (i.e. anything not s multiple of 20 or 50) into converters and use those on yellow enhancements until they turn rare and then turn into something a character can use.  If there's something a character wants or needs now I buy with merits. 

Edited December 21, 2019 by Heraclea

[siolfir]

22 hours ago, Psede said:

Heather Townsend’s first DA arc can be done in 10 minutes and Mets two empyreal merits which can be converted to 20 reward merits.

 

120 an hour. Break it up win Tinpex, Hami raids, etc. but for solo nothing beats 2 merits per minute IME.

 

can also be used to get your incarnates to t4 pretty quickly by selecting random incarnate salvage instead of empyreal merit. My first 50 was all t4 in a couple days of doing it am hour here and there.l combined with the trials.

I was going to come in and say Heather Townsend's arc for the exact reason listed above, but Apex/Tin Mage are probably faster on average.