Summoner Job needs a drastic change.

I already sent a suggestion about this to S-E via suggestions option in the game.
However I wish to share this with the community and eventually see the feedback and how you receive this idea.

We can't forget that the Summoner Job is very unique in it's original mechanic, often considered an overpowered class in older FF games.

To use it openly in the field as it is in an MMO would probably not only destabilize the game but also give it a giant lag if you get several Summoners use a single powerful spell to wipe the area of the face of Eorzea. To prevent abuse of this class it was downgraded to having a small minion do the work and that's pretty much it. Quite boring if you ask me. The abilities that make it different than Sage is the ability to have a Efreet, Garuda and Titan as Minions. And that is not satisfactory at all.

I Uploaded a complete design here:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...%20changes.txt

Please constructive feedback only.

just edit your comment and post us whole suggestion, this way u can bypass 1k restriction :) sorry not gonna download nothing :)

Okay I hope this doesnt sound mean, but why do you want to change Summoner, just so it's more "traditional", not everything would work the way it did in a single player game when it's transfered to an MMO; this topic has been brought up numerous times by a lot of people.

Additionally, you mentioned in your post that summoner feels like arcanist mark 2 or 2.0, you do realize that that is every job, right? Jobs are just an extenstion of the base class, so that is why it feels like mark 2 or 2.0, because it is.

I'm amazed by the number of people who aren't understanding what FFxiv's summoner is and why the job is on point on what it is supposed to do, even though it isn't what it was in previous FFs (and even more so since the extension, with the bahamut transe).


What you want is the traditional summoner which is an evoker. You summon big things that do the work in your place and suck your MPs dry in no time.

What we have now is an invoker, using the summons's power to enhance his own capabilities and unleash hell on his enemies. The summons we have aren't summons in the traditional FF way but a physical manifestation of tainted aether you have within your body (acquired when you fought the corresponding primals) They also fall under the invoking branch of summoning. They are an extension of the summoner's power, not a borrowed power like evoker's power.

Personally I think Summoner is in a very good place. If you let go and embrace SMN as it is designed, it's actually pretty awesome.

Anyway, a couple things:

First, you listed Carbuncle as a Summoner ability, but Arcanist already has it. Are you looking for a complete redesign of Arcanist as well to accommodate Summoner?

Second, there's no reason a Summoner should be able to summon Gilgamesh as you suggested. He's not a Primal, there is no aetheric Gilgamesh energy to form a construct from. The same applies to Siren. She's not a primal.

While I can understand wanting Summoner to be designed with a bigger focus on summoning actual creatures rather than simply harnessing their power, that's just how it is in FFXIV. Summoning doesn't work the same as it did in previous titles. Primals don't willingly share their power or come to our aid when we call them. Summoners draw and utilize what power they are able to control. The lore and gameplay support how XIV's Summoner has been implemented and I wouldnt expect any sort of overhaul in the way that you suggested.

It would be cool if they were an instant summon that you could cast and then when they did their attack, retreat. Course for the bigger primal ones, that would be best to put a longer recast time on them so people don't spam them and lag the game like they do with holy. ( Heck when they're in sanctuarys, that summoning should be nullified at all times.) I feel we should at least keep carbuncle as a tank and caster though.

Well 3.1 should (better, lol) bring the summon glamour system, I want my Shiva dammit, lol?

*coughs* Male Eos and Selene too *coughs*

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Rawrz

*coughs* Male Eos and Selene too *coughs*

---

So maybe Helios, Apollo, or Tsukiyomi? Lol

The way SMN can use Ahk Morn now is how the job should've been designed from the start. Instead of Egi's you get spells based on signature Primal abilities (whether for attack, defense, support). Carbuncles would carry over from ACN (with potency boost of their skills), with the glamour option given to them.