Samurai
The damage increase from Overwhelm is amazing!
Overwhelm stands out for greatly increasing Samurai's abilities as a damage dealer. After that, it seems to be a choice between Ikishoten and Shikikoyo.
Ikishoten
With a Great Katana and proper gear, it takes about 6 hits to exceed TP100. However, with Store TP adding an additional 8 TP, it's possible to reach TP100 in just 5 hits using a polearm. If Pentathrust can normally be expected to do damage to a particular enemy, then it's worthwhile for Samurais to reconsider what weapon to use. Ikishoten allows you to gain a lot of TP from Zanshin attacks, +15 if fully capped. If there is even one Zanshin attack, it's possible to reach TP100 in only 4 hits. Samurais who use polearms should strongly consider fully meriting Ikishoten.
Overwhelm
Levels 4 and 5 only give an additional 2% making a fully merited Overwhelm add 19% to your damage. That's still really powerful. For Samurais, who give off more damage from weaponskills than regular attacks, getting the additional benefit from Overwhelm should be considered a priority. However, it only works when attacking with a weaponskill straight-on. You'll need to be careful about where you stand in battle. This also means you'll need to be careful using this on NMs and other boss-type monsters. You'll be wanting to put out damage but there are risks to be considered when you stand directly in front of the enemy. There is also the possiblity of gaining a lot of hate when you make your attack and causing the target to start hitting you as well. Basically, there are lots of things that could happen. You could become more of a burden to your party than a benefit if you end up K.O.'d.
Shikikoyo
This ability lets you share your TP with other party members. If you fully merit it, the recast timer shrinks to 5 minutes. However, most people put the other Group 2 options first.
Blade Bash
The additional effects from Blade Bash don't kick in very often so if you want, you can put one merit into it or nothing at all. The ability's range is about the same as a close-range attack.
Dark Knight
An outlaw knight needs Desperate Blows!
Once you exceed the upper limits of your abilities, the practicial usability of job abilities and the job's special qualities increases. Out of all the options, many adventurers put merits into Desperate Blows for its notable benefits. After that, people have a little bit more trouble deciding but the stability provided by Diabolic Eye probably makes it the predominant choice.
