Egistential Crisis - SMN PVP

I have been getting more into PVP a lot more recently. Before this point I only ever played a few matches, before Frontlines was a thing.

As I am still rather green on the PVP front, I have been experimenting with abilities/rotations. However the one thing I have found to be somewhat of a learning curve is keeping the Egi alive for an extended period of time.

I have tried experimenting with different Egi during each match (I'm mostly running Seal Rock) and so far Garuda seems to be the best option. However even then she does seem to perish rather quickly during a conflict.

So I was wondering for you more experienced PVP'ers out there. What are the best tactics when it comes to Egi management in PVP?

A lot of that may not be your Egi dying but rather just losing track of it / having it wander off too far from you as you'll likely get separated during retreats which would likely despawn it.

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Originally Posted by NovaLevossida

A lot of that may not be your Egi dying but rather just losing track of it / having it wander off too far from you as you'll likely get separated during retreats which would likely despawn it.

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This is true I have noticed sometimes Garuda will be dismissed during a retreat. However in those instances I always try to Heel her. During battle I also keep her on Place so that she will not advance too far into the field. However if the target she is attacking retreats and does not die she will chase it incessantly. Even if she is Heeled she will continue to pursue the perpetrator! In those instances I generally have to Heel and then Stay.

Nevertheless the Egi are far too squishy in PVP. I believe SMN would benefit from having their PVP exclusive abilities/traits overhauled. For example a Swiftcast Summon ability that does not use up the standard Swiftcast would be very useful, as it is a waste to use the standard Swiftcast on a re-summon, and a hard cast Summon is rather impractical due to the cast time.

Another useful trait would be something that boosts up the Egi's VIT/DEF so they can actually withstand being knocked about for a bit when in battle, instead of dying relatively quickly. They need to be more robust for PVP.

If you summon your pet with VIT gear equipped, if I'm remembering right, it will have a higher HP pool. Might be worth experimenting with.

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Originally Posted by Gooner_iBluAirJGR

If you summon your pet with VIT gear equipped, if I'm remembering right, it will have a higher HP pool. Might be worth experimenting with.

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yes, but if you have to resummon or use rouse it resets it

You do need to control pets more in PvP because of the reasons you mentioned. The biggest issue I think you are seeing is pets getting dismissed because they chase or get hit with AoE. Generally most people ignore pets or just use a CC ability to stop them. As far as the Egi themselves I use Ifrit on mages because auto-attack stops spell casting and garuda to push people off cliffs.

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Originally Posted by Dyvid

You do need to control pets more in PvP because of the reasons you mentioned. The biggest issue I think you are seeing is pets getting dismissed because they chase or get hit with AoE. Generally most people ignore pets or just use a CC ability to stop them. As far as the Egi themselves I use Ifrit on mages because auto-attack stops spell casting and garuda to push people off cliffs.

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Yeah I played a few more Seal Rock's today, and for the most part my Egi "deaths" were due to them being dismissed. Even though I tried my utmost to keep them close by. I think what this shows is how badly the Egi A.I needs to be improved. It would be fine if after they reached a set amount of yalms away from you they returned and stopped the chase.

I do like using Ifrit for his stun and Radiant Shield. I didn't think about the auto-attack on mages though, that's a good idea. Though often during large conflicts I find it harder to keep tabs on Ifrit, so generally use Garuda as she can stay at a distance from the crowd where I can see her, allowing me to just focus on getting out that Deathflare. Lol and of course, pushing people off cliffs is rather satisfying :P

As a SMN in pvp, I put Steady on my main bar along with Obey. Soon as I am done fighting, I put Garuda on Steady. Then when i begin fighting I Obey my target, and spam Obey on whomever I'm fighting.

Try to get use to Obey and Steady spam, so Garuda can stop being a blond.

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Originally Posted by Houston009

As a SMN in pvp, I put Steady on my main bar along with Obey. Soon as I am done fighting, I put Garuda on Steady. Then when i begin fighting I Obey my target, and spam Obey on whomever I'm fighting.

Try to get use to Obey and Steady spam, so Garuda can stop being a blond.

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Yeah I find that when battles get hectic it is easy to forget about the Egi, as you are often too busy worrying about yourself lol. I think it is in those situations that the Egi gets easily dismissed. I usually spam Heel to try and keep them close by, but perhaps as you suggest it would be better to utilize Steady more often. I shall try that out in my next PvP matches and see how I get on. I guess it is inevitable that the Egi will perish for one reason or another in a PvP battle. But it would be good to at least minimize the amount of times it occurs.

I have no advice to offer but would like to applaud the creative thread name.