Help. How to maximize dps as a SMN

First off let me say this is not a rant about SMN needs a serious look at because we flat out do need it. In this expansion we got a big ass dragon but that was to prevent us from rage quitting the game after all the stuff we lost. /coughSUSTAINcough However this will probably be a lot of typing :P
I agree we need a bit of a rework here but we have enough of those threads. My thread is asking how to "try" to do the best dmg we can with what we're stuck with now. And please don't say lvl rdm........ I'm already doing that incase SE doesn't fix smn lol
Let me explain my situation. In my static we were doing delta scape lvl 3 savage last night and we got Halicarnasus to 2% before the enrage killed us. One of our party was using a parser and posted our dmg. We have a blm, a sam, a brd and my smn. I'm doing this from memory but I think he said I was at like 3659, our brd was 3664, our sam was 3900 and our blm was almost 4200. We had a few deaths and we still got her close to death. Some facts I feel I should mention.
I don't care about what is the META. This is a game and my purpose above all is to have fun.
I'm never concerned about my DPS until after I learned the fight. I keep telling new people "Don't look at your parser. If your doing enough DPS to clear enrage but your getting yourself killed thats not progress. Get to the end of the fight without dying and if you die to enrage THEN worry about your DPS."
Some deaths. I was not one of them :) ......this time. If we could go through the whole fight with no deaths I'm sure were good enough to kill her.
I wasn't using the proper food. I broke my wallet power lvling my alc from 60-70 in like 4 hours. I was using Sohm Al tarts cause my cul is high enough to make those myself. I am using the right food now. I forget the name but it's the one that gives vit, crit and direct+
I am the only DPS "without" his tomestone weapon. We cleared Detal Scape 2 Savage 3 times and the weapons go to our dps first. I rolled the crappiest -.- I'll get mine this tuesday.
I was not using pots at the time. I got my alc to 70 and can HQ potions pretty frequently but my DoL are under lvled and have to buy the mats for now.
I am not strictly focusing on my DPS. When someone dies I take it upon myself to rez them. I toss addle to lower the dmg of dimensional wave. If someone gets clipped by an spellsword and takes a dmg taken debuff I throw apocatastasis on them to help mitigate. I mana shift the healers. All this while dealing with mechanics. I'm trying to say this is much more complex than a target dummy.
I was using Ifrit. When learning a fight I tend to use him and leave him on sic so I don't have to command him. Once a fight is learned I'll use Garuda and leave her on obey. I have wind blade and contagion hot keyed to the buttons on the side of my mouse so I use them whenever possible.
I tend to save contagion for DWT.

Now onto my questions!!!! /Kefka laugh

1: What is the opener now? I've been going with Devotion before pull, Miasma 3, Bio 3, SF+Fester, Ruin 2, Rouse+Enkindle, Ruin 2, Fester, Ruin 3, Ruin 2, Fester, Tri Diasaster then DWT so Tri is back off CD, spam Ruin 3 till like 3-2 secs, toss Ruin 2 if possible then Death Flare. I have tri off CD for quite a bit unless there's adds. Should I be opening with it to save a few seconds?

2: Should I only use Enkindle when Rouse is ready or just use it whenever because Ruin 4 procs lower the CD?

3: When I am in DWT, should I never use SF, Rouse, Enkindle until it wears off? Is it worth losing another Ruin 3?

4: I've read talk of maximizing Bahamut. I've seen certain OGCDs trigger a wyrmweave and others do not. How can I get the most out of my dragon >.>

5: In certain fights, especially this one, there are plenty of times when I need to move around and deal with a mechanic. Is it better to save my DWT/Bahamut for a better time or use it as soon as it is ready so I can use it again sooner?

6: Does it matter which pet I use now? In RR it was no comparison. Contagion was King. In HW there were some instances where Ifrit could shine but contagion with DWT and Ragining Strikes still out did him. Now Contagion has changed. My static is PLD, WAR, SAM, BRD, WHM, AST, BLM, SMN. Since we only have one melee dps is it better to go with Garuda to boost my dmg and the blm doing the most dps :P

7: What materia should I be looking for? I have a DRK at 70 strictly for fast que times. I've been farming some cracked crystals. What stats should I prioritize? Crit, Direct, Det, SS?

8: Probably no answer to this but DRK has me asking. With Aetherflow and lucid dreaming, I almost never use Ruin 1 unless I had to rez a few times. Should I be to as close to empty without being empty?

9: If we contagion then smn bahamut, contagion magically disappears. When SB first came out I could have sworn it didn't used to do that. Did SE patch that to screw with us even more or am I imagining things?

My static is offering to power lvl me through dungeons to get my rdm to 70. So I am probably going to be asked to switch to that until SMN is fixed or we are geared enough that we will clear even with lower DPS. While I don't mind having RDM to 70 and switching it out once in awhile cause the gear is mostly the same, SE, THIS IS EVERYTHING THAT IS WRONG WITH THIS GAME! I shouldn't have to bring a certain compostion to clear content shortly after it was released.

ty for listening to the ravings of a mad man >.>

For alot of your questions you will find the answer here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1...JxzqXd3LQBPy1E

Dont blame SE when you pull with Bio and Miasma :(

Quote:

Originally Posted by KarstenS

For alot of your questions you will find the answer here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1...JxzqXd3LQBPy1E

tyvm for the link. This guide has shown me I've lost touch with some of the changes since last time I got to raid. I changed jobs in RL when HW came out so I didn't get to raid with my group because of the change in work times. I was working graveyard shift so I couldn't find a stable group who could raid my hours so I skipped raid in HW. My methods were outdated and improvised without checking the forums for optimization. If I can implement these changes into my play style I believe I can push my dps higher.

(I'll still lvl rdm cause I like the hat) >.>

Incase anyone else is experiencing this problem i found the answer to my 9th question.

9: If we contagion then smn bahamut, contagion magically disappears. When SB first came out I could have sworn it didn't used to do that. Did SE patch that to screw with us even more or am I imagining things?

I have it set so I do not see other party members debuffs. Tonight we cleared OS3 and my party noticed this. I would contagion and then smn bahamut but on my screen it would look like contagion would disappear. On their screens however it was still on the boss. So I am guessing when Garuda is replaced with bahamut, the game considers her buff a party member buff. So it looks like contagion wore off but it is actually still there.