Merit Points are a special form of "currency" available to level 75 players in Final Fantasy XI. When a player has reached the maximum amount of Experience (43,999), they will instead gain Limit points for killing enemies. Once 10,000 Limit points are obtained, they will automatically be converted to Merit points. These points can then be exchanged for item upgrades, improved attributes, new spells/abilities, and improved skills. Merit points may only be exchanged in a Mog House or Rent-a-Room.
The Merit is one of the many full-size four-door sedans featured in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and Grand Theft Auto IV.
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The Merit is originally based on a fourth generation, 1992-1995 Mazda 929, one of a handful of vehicles in GTA San Andreas with a rounded body design.
In Grand Theft Auto IV, the Merit, assuming a Declasse badge, is redesigned with a similar look to the 2000-2005 Chevrolet Impala with the back seemingly inspired by a mid-1990s BMW E36 3-Series, the front bumper could be derived from a variety of cars, and the headlights look more reminiscent of a fourth generation Pontiac GTO than the Impala (the split grille is also Pontiac-like). This car is also the standard base for the Police Patrol car and a taxi car. After collecting all thirty cars for Stevie he agrees to purchase cars from Niko Bellic, with the Merit fetching $1,800.
This rendition of the Merit is designed as a balanced out performance, having average brake response and cornering, and good acceleration and speed. Coupled with its four-seat capacity, the Merit is a practically a good choice for drive-bys and police evasion.
The GTA IV rendition of the Merit is powered by a V6, mated to a 5 speed transmission in a RWD layout. Acceleration is good, but nothing special; in line with the Merit's vanilla, everyday sedan image. Top speed is good, but again, not impressive. Braking is very good, and ABS is standard equipment. The suspension is very firm, keeping the Merit flat through corners; and making it able to corner effectively at speed. Accident deformation is acceptable, as the Merit will survive a few frontal impacts before being rendered unusable. The Merit seems suited towards any situation, it's capable of high speeds and it seems able to survive a serious car chase, making it a perfect addition to any parking space.
The Merit can be upgraded at TransFender in many aspects including Nitro.
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Issue 13 gave us Merit Rewards, replacing the random recipe option at the end of Task Forces, Strike Forces, and Trials. Reward Merits are also given at the end of every Story Arc, whether it is major or minor, and by killing at least some Giant Monsters. Each activity has had a different reward amount assigned to it, based on datamined time required to complete it.
Merit rewards can be turned in for recipes, enhancements, salvage, badges, and more.
In the February 10 update from Synapse, the design philosophy was covered:
On February 10, 2009, how many merits per minute each activity is awarded with was altered. Task Forces were previously 12 merits per hour, Trials were 13-14 per hour, and Story Arcs were 4-5 per hour. Additionally, datamining was performed to adjust each activity's specific awarded amount according to the new formula.
The following message is given when you have received your first Merit Reward:
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You have received your first Merit Reward! These merits are awarded for completing difficult tasks and allow you to exchange them for powerful rewards such as enhancements. Merits can be spent at the various Merit Reward Vendors throughout Paragon City and the Rogue Isles. NOTE: Merits earned from completing Taskforces/Strikeforces and Trials are subject to diminishing returns if the same task is completed more than once within a 24 hour period. So try out different Taskforces, Strikeforces and Trials to maximize your rewards! |
The formula used by the developers to calculate number of merits to award a task is as follows[1]:
MedianTime / MPM * TaskModifier * TimesRunModifier * TimeModifier + ArtificialModifiers
Decimals in the result are dropped off (ie: the result is rounded down).
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What I've used this field here in the past was to round out some villain strike forces that weren't granting enough merits for a random roll.
For example: When merits were first introduced in Issue 13 beta the Temple of the Waters SF would have normally only granted 23 merits. However, I wanted players who completed this task to be able to purchase a random taskforce roll (which was then 25 merits, now it's 20) so I added a +2 bonus in this field. I've seen a number of players wonder why certain tasks (namely villain SFs) not have their merit numbers increase. This is because after the new data rolled in, I removed the bonus from this field if the task offered enough merits for the random roll. |
The Statesman Task Force has a datamined median completion time of 133 minutes.
133 / 3.7 * 1.0 * 1.0 * 1.07 + 0 = 38 merits
The following pages list the rewards for all available Merit Rewards sources:
Repeating the same Task Force/Strike Force/Trial within 24 hours will lessen the Merit Rewards by this formula: 1 / (# of attempts), rounded down. So, the first time gives the full reward (1/1), the second time gives half (1/2), the third time gives one third (1/3) and so on, to a minimum of one merit. After 24 hours without completing a particular Task Force/etc., the Merit Rewards reset to their default value for that Task Force. (Note that Synapse originally reported that Diminishing Returns was going to halve the reward each time, but that is not what went to the Live servers.) The time between when the merits are awarded is what counts, so a repeated Task Force that is started less than 24 hours from the last one may still be worth the full reward if it takes longer to complete.
Each Task Force/etc. has its own separate timer. Completing one will not diminish the returns of others.
Completing Story Arcs is not subject to diminishing returns. This includes completing multiple different Story Arcs, and flashing back repeatedly to the same Story Arc.
Completing Ouroboros Task/Strike Forces is also not subject to diminishing returns, since they are not true Task or Strike Forces. They follow the Story Arc rules.
Heroes and villains can visit Merit Vendors to turn in Reward Merits for various items.
NOTE: Not all recipes can be purchased at vendors; a list of unavailable recipes can be found here. Summed up, basically, what cannot be purchased are:
This article incorporates text from Paragon Wiki, which has been licensed by its author under the GFDL.
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