Teach me how -SMN-

Hello.

my name is Reeses. I have no level 50s yet. but plan to make smn/sch my first.

but for smn, which I plan to have as my main, I want to make sure I do it right. so I have a few questions.

I have read a few things, but any advice is openly welcome as I want to make sure im the best I can be at my job.

as for questions.


Garuda and Ifrit. im lvl 43 so ill have garuda soon. whats up with them. since they are both dps, is garuda just all around better? or just situational. I ask because ifrit gets his own summon button but garuda takes over emeralds summon. I want to make sure im using the proper smn for the proper situations.

also, titan, is he ever used in endgame party things? or just on my own/dungeons with fc friends that don't care?

and gear.

I hear a lot about acc. gear. whys that? I mean I know you need good acc to hit in general. but I swear I see more things about smn having good acc than most. (maybe its just me?)

that's all I can thing for now. ill probably have more later.

Titan -- solo content and low level dungeons when tank disconnects
Ifrit -- Takes out trash mobs very nicely. Use in low/high/expert dungeons where contagion would go to waste/be overkill.
Garuda -- Endgame: coil/primals. Notable for contagion (extends your dots by 15s).

You'll want Raging Strikes from ARC and Swiftcast from THM.

You need a higher accuracy cap because your pet gets a slightly diminished acc stat in comparison to yours. So for you AND your pet to hit 100% your accuracy needs to get an extra boost.

Obviously make sure to keep dots up as much as possible, but also dot as many enemies as possible (minus the ones you shouldn't attack like Spiny plume). Dotting is always better than casting ruin. When everything is dotted...cast ruin. Haha.

There's more but I don't want to write pages. =

going through a similar thought process myself atm lvl 46 smn (no garuda egi just yet b/c waited till 45 for some AF1 and DF has been letting me down), however i will share my opinion and hope its not too far off base.
My understanding is with everything said and done it does depend on mob fighting but garuda with contagion will put out more damage a lot of the time (not all) and ifrit is melee so aoe tends to hurt him more, that said if garuda is not kept under control she can be weak w/o telling her when to use what etc.
Titan will not put out nearly enough dps and will pull hate off any party situation - advise only solo use or for random group for fates (ie no tank)(or with companion)
My understanding for gear is from forums and looking at endgame gear - int>det> (crit or acc) depending on your stats if you dont hit a lot of high lvl mobs throw a bit of acc gear on or materia something you have and use

Here's my take:

- Garuda is better to use than Ifirit for more DPS. If you have it on Obey, it will do good DPS itself by spamming just the auto-attack and you can time Contagion for when you need it most (It's best to use when you have all 4 DoTs up, both Bios and both Miasmas). Don't worry about the icons that appear on your hotbar, they won't indicate what's truly better.

- Titan is useful if you are in need of a tank but dont have one. E.g. You're 3/4 in a dungeon missing the tank. Or you're soloing on a high level FATE and would die with hate.

- You may hear ACC being stressed because Pets's acc is dependant on your own, but they require a higher amount to cap than you do. It's best to look up what endgame fight you're doing and the associated pet cap for it.

- Remember to keep all your ranged DoTs up as much as possible. Most agree a good rotation to follow is Bio2 -> Miasma -> Bio 1 (and if you have Contagion available then Miasma 2 -> Contagion following that. Don't bother with Miasma 2 otherwise unless you have a group of mobs to AoE down.)

- The real magic of SMN is learning to get into a rhythm of using up all your abilities so they're not wasted. This typically makes use of what's called "weaving" which is where you use an ability off your global cool down, while waiting for the GCD timer to finish. An example would be using one of the following following your Bio/Miasma/Ruin casts:
Aetherflow, Energy Drain, Rouse, Spur, Enkindle, Fester, Contagion, Raging Strikes (learn this by levelling ARC), Swiftcast (learn this by levelling THM)

When it comes to aetherflow stacks ideally you should have used up all 3 stacks before the next aetherflow charge is ready (unless you have some major DPS check coming up perhaps). It's usually best to avoid using Energy Drain unless you are really desperate for MP (to the point where you can't even cast DoTs for example). Normally you should find that Fester is used whenever you have single targets and Bane for the introduction of an Add(s) next to a target you have DoTs up on already.

- For Ruin/Ruin2, it's best used as one of your GCD abilities once all the standard DoTs are up. You can push with Ruin2 spams when you need to take something down quickly and don't mind the extra MP loss, otherwise for long term fights where you need to keep a good supply of MP, stick with Ruin1.

- It's good to keep a good stack of HQ ether items for when you have some major MP loss (like if you are die, or you have to resurrect someone else)

Hopefully that helps. I'm no master SMN, so there may be better tips out there.

titan-egi can be used in a few trials, but their few and far between, most notable right now is moogle extreme and levi extreme

Things I had to learn the hard way:
- Don't forget to reassign your pet's target, keep obey and sic hotkeys handy. I was really annoyed by SMN at first because I couldn't burst things down when necessary...I was casting dots while my pet was still plinking on its original target.
- Use Rouse spur every time unless you're saving them to stack with enkindle.
- The only time you shouldn't use Fester every time it's ready is when you're using bane instead.
- Always be casting.
- Ruin1 should be your default spam after dots and fester unless you're trying to move or hit Fester right when it's ready.
- Use shadow flare.
- Garuda on Obey always. I've added slash to miasma2.

Saved cooldowns are wasted cooldowns.

Always use garuda, it is the only viable pet come end game, you could use ifrit for trash pull with Sic, but its makes very little difference, so stick to garuda.

Learn how to use contagion make or break a summoner. It is possibly the most overpowered CD in the game. Contagion works on every dot you have, including potent poisoning potion.

Dot potency depends on your initial application, which means Raging strikes/Int pot have to be used before dots, and contagion after.

Ruin 1 should be spammed for general dps, ruin 2 is for movement, or you need to use off-GCD abilities such as fester/bane/energy drain. Never use off-gcd ability after ruin 1, always add a ruin 2.

Mana management is important in endgame, so energy drain is just as important as fester.

SMN has raise, dont make you healers hardcast it.

for stats: iLVL>>>>>>>>>>crit/det>>>>>>>>>>spell speed. Accuracy for T5 is 450, T9 is 491.

Ifrit is a melee based egi. He deals high short term burst damage to an enemy, and is good for burning down a boss who is nearly dead or even at the very beginning of a fight to help you do immediate damage while you apply your dots.

Garuda egi, is a range dps over time summon. She is a what I call a support summon. What she lacks in damage she makes up for in resources. Her contagion adds time to your dots so you can do other things.

She is best used during the grind of a boss fight. When those damage over time dps are important to beat enrage timers. She can do some decent AOE's but really her calling is one vs one fighting.

Titan egi - Solo content, or be a OT to a group. He is good for crowed control. When the tank takes a lot of heat, Titan can elevate that damage onto himself which will help the healer.

Don't be a one egi summoner, learn to use them all at different times, and make yourself into a swiss-army knife.

Be a swiss army knife when your only job is to slice through butter and you take out the corkscrew.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Seobit

Be a swiss army knife when your only job is to slice through butter and you take out the corkscrew.

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Only if you are a dull knife.