Originally Posted by
ArcaneCarbuncle
Oh, I wasn't under the impression that you wanted Oneshot summons, that paragraph was more in reference to some other posts I've seen over the past few .. well, years.
I absolutely agree that Trances/Demis are flashy and satisfying, the issue I see is that they only get to feel that way in the first place because they are limited. Right now they are Burst Phases, which is why they get to pack as much of a punch as they do.
If you had one Demi after another you'd either have to tone them down until they all have comparatively low output or you'd have to keep Bahamut/Phoenix as they are and keep anything in between at (roughly) the same output as the current Egi... at which point you might as well keep it as it is now.
Compare to Bard Songs; when they where limited - wether by CDs, MP or negative side effects - they got to feel impactful. Now that they are part of the basic gameplay loop with one Song active at all times their effects feel almost unnoticable without a parser. Their effects on Bard Gameplay feel also pretty arbitrary.
Also compare to AST cards which in ShB took a hit in potency to account for better reliability.
I worry a similar effect would happen with the Demis; which is why I'd prefer if they focused on improving and augmenting the two we have instead of turning them into mere gameplay phases with flashy graphics, while simultaneously nudging the Egi into a direction of feeling more integral and impactful on the gameplay.
Sometimes less is more, basically.
I do agree about the dots though, those would definitely be better served elsewhere and are much easier to design a new Job around.
EDIT: Actually now that I think about it, you mention liking HW SMNs combat flow.
Something like it could incredibly easy achieved under the current specification by just shifting some mechanics around.
Imagine EAs giving you Aethertrail instead of Further Ruin with Aethertrail being used to activate Trance/Summons.
This would realistically bring back some flexibility (assuming adjustments are made to EA for reliability) and give the Egi a logical and impactful function as enabler.
Lorewise this could be played off as your Egi protecting you while you prepare your bigger Summons.
Would something like this be a working compromise?