Subjob for melee SMN?

[Soranika]

A little back story first since I'm new to the forums. I've been a main SMN for 3 years now and I doubt it'll really change, even though I'm often forced to play on WHM for Abyssea related stuff. I went through most of that as WHM sub job so when level cap was still 75 so between waiting for/making exp parties, I often solo'd so my summoning magic has always been capped and staff skill very high.

I've entertained the thought of subbing SAM so I can finish the Sedikutchi +1* trials and doings things outside of a party setting. What about MNK or WAR though? Also what would be good equipment to have cause I had been using Carbuncle's Pole for a while until trial staves had released with no other equipment or accessories so you can imagine ow much of a drag that was.

*Working on the one augmented with 10% weapon skill damage until I get the emp staff.

[Karbuncle]

/SAM is your best bet. I know /WAR isn't horrible, 10%Dbl attack, but the Bonuses from Hasso will outweigh it, plus the Store TP, and Meditate, along with Sekka.

[Razushu]

/SAM is your best bet for pure damage, but if you're soloing(depending on target mob) you may want to stick with a /job that can heal you, and rely on gear /spells to boost your melee, it's all situational. I think Dallas said somewhere that /DNC is(or will be) better than /WAR or /SAM though, and I'm sure he'll be along here soon ask him about it, heck you might even be able to get a straight answer out of him

[Karbuncle]

/DNC won't be better for damage, but better for survivability i think.

[Economizer]

WAR, MNK, WHM, or PLD all provide access to more advanced weapon skills, while SAM provides better access to better TP generation, and allows you to make better chains since SE decided for some reason that the stronger physical bloodpacts shouldn't chain (ugh).

If you are specifically avoiding SAM, each of the other jobs I listed provide a mix of abilities. WAR provides double attack, MNK has counters, and PLD and WHM have more defensive capabilities. For other general survival, NIN can help, and if you get a multihitter staff, DNC can help some too.

For your staff, there are many options. Getting one of the multihitters like the one with double attack +10 (if you plan on subbing WAR), or the one with occ. attk. twice (for all else) can be very powerful for using TP moves more often. The WS damage one you are working on is also a solid choice. The Empyrean is also a solid choice. Of course, if you don't care how far you have to go to get it, the single best choice for Summoner melee still is and always will be Nirvana.

By the way, I have a question of my own for all the Summoners more experienced in melee here. Does anyone have a lot of information on the mythic WS for Summoner? And in addition to basic information (the wiki's information seems sketchy), some damage numbers would be nice to hear about too.

[Karbuncle]

Garland of Bliss? Its kinda shit. Really low damage potential, It is magical though. Lowers Enemies DEF as well. I think less than Shell Crusher though lol...

[Economizer]

/DNC won't be better for damage, but better for survivability i think.

This sortof depends on what you mean. Box Step can get up to a 13% reduction in defense on the mob, which is slightly better then Dia II (although Dia II instantly can get 10%). It can also reduce the foe's evasion, and provides Accuracy Bonus as well. These all can be very nice ways to do extra damage, although Dancer works better for jobs that rely on stuff like Dual Wield or multihit WS, like White Mage.

[Razushu]

/DNC won't be better for damage, but better for survivability i think.

Thats what I thought, but hey I'd never enterained the notion of it, but I saw it mentioned before so I figured I'd mention it and see if he can explain how it has merit for this use.

[Economizer]

Garland of Bliss? Its kinda shit. Really low damage potential, It is magical though. Lowers Enemies DEF as well. I think less than Shell Crusher though lol...

That's disappointing to hear. Shellcrusher that never misses is a gimpy thing to have for all the work that goes into a Mythic WS.

Since it is magical, I was hoping to hear at least some mid range damage numbers. Being able to go Atma of the Beyond (something that can actually be useful for SMN in Abyssea) for +30% damage would have been a nice thing to see. I'd still like to see specific damage numbers if anyone has screenshots or whatever.

[Korpg]

A little back story first since I'm new to the forums. I've been a main SMN for 3 years now and I doubt it'll really change, even though I'm often forced to play on WHM for Abyssea related stuff. I went through most of that as WHM sub job so when level cap was still 75 so between waiting for/making exp parties, I often solo'd so my summoning magic has always been capped and staff skill very high.

I've entertained the thought of subbing SAM so I can finish the Sedikutchi +1* trials and doings things outside of a party setting. What about MNK or WAR though? Also what would be good equipment to have cause I had been using Carbuncle's Pole for a while until trial staves had released with no other equipment or accessories so you can imagine ow much of a drag that was.

*Working on the one augmented with 10% weapon skill damage until I get the emp staff.

If you are in a party setting with people to heal you, then /SAM or /WAR would work, Karbuncle has stated which is better though.

But know this, in order to maximize your damage ability, you have to gear for yourself, not your avatar, so unless you are trying to spam the hell out of Spirit Taker, you won't be able to maintain your avatar while whacking on mobs. So you lose half of your damage ability right there.

Garland of Bliss is 100% accurate (although damage may be reduced, but you will always hit with it) while Shell Breaker has a stronger DEF- effect, but also has a horrible accuracy rate (in fact, all staff WSs and staff in that matter is comparably weak to other DDs). Even after you get your emp staff, don't expect to do outstanding damage at all.

Good luck with melee SMN.