My 6.0 SMN Rework

Rework Goals

• Give each Egi a unique flavor so they feel different from other summons.
• Eliminate the ghosting problem by having actions source from the Summoner.
• Reduce button bloat by simplifying the rotation.
• Make Trance mechanics consistent; they follow Firebird Trance's behavior.

Gameplay Loop

• Summon an Egi.
  (Garuda = ae dps; Titan = defensive dps; Ifrit = single-target dps)
• Summoning an Egi transforms Ruin, Outburst, Egi Strike, Egi Assault, and Enkindle into Egi magic.
• Fill your Trance Gauge with Egi magic and OGCDs.
  Spend all your Aetherflow on Outburst and Enkindle before entering a Trance.
• Enter a Trance and use powerful, Trance-specific abilities until the Trance ends.
  At 70 and 80 you summon a Demi-primal which enables more abilities during that Trance.
• Rebuild Trance Gauge.

Actions and [Traits]
1 - Ruin -> Wind Blade, Rock Buster, Burning Strike
2 - Summon
4 - Egi Strike -> Miasma, Earthen Armor, Scorch
8 - Fester
12 - Resurrection
15 - Summon II
18 - Energy Drain, Outburst -> Aerial Slash, Cairn, Crimson Cyclone
24 - [Improved Carbuncle]
30 - Egi Assault -> Slipstream, Razed Earth, Embers

30 - Summon III
35 - [Aethersurge]
40 - Energy Siphon, [Aetherdam]
45 - [Improved Egi Strike]
50 - Enkindle

52 - Painflare
54 - [Improved Egi]
56 - Tri-disaster
58 - Dreadwyrm Trance -> Wyrmwave, Deathflare
60 - [Improved Deathflare]

62 - [Enhanced Enkindle]
64 - Aetherpact
66 - [Aethersurge II]
68 - [Improved Egi Strike II]
70 - [Enhanced Dreadwyrm Trance]

72 - Firebird Trance -> Scarlet Flame, Fountain of Fire
74 - [Improved Egi Assault]
76 - [Enhanced Outburst]
78 - [Aethersurge III]
80 - [Enhanced Firebird Trance]


Action Tooltips

Fester (OGCD)
Deals unaspected damage with a medium potency.
Additional Effect: Increases the Trance Gauge by 1.
Shares a recast timer with Painflare.


Outburst
Deals unaspected damage with a medium potency to target and all enemies nearby it.
Additional Effect: Increases the Trance Gauge by 2.
* Action changes to Egi magic when a pet is summoned.
Aetherflow Cost: 1


Enkindle
Unleash your Egi's most powerful magic.
Can only be executed while in combat.
Additional Effect: Increases the Trance Gauge by 5.
Aetherflow Cost: 3



Dreadwyrm Trance
Invokes Bahamut's power, changing your Ruin spell into Wyrmwave and Outburst into Deathflare.
Additional Effect: Grants a full stack of Aetherflow.
Current Egi leaves the battlefield while within a Trance and will return when the Trance ends.
Can only be executed when the Trance Gauge is full.


Trait Tooltips

[Improved Carbuncle]
Increases the potency of Gust.
Increases the potency of Gouge.


[Improved Egi]
Increases the potency of Wind Blade.
Increases the potency of Rock Buster.
Increases the potency of Burning Strike.


[Improved Egi Strike I / II]
Increases the damage over time potency of Miasma.
Increases the barrier potency of Earthen Armor.
Increases the damage over time potency of Scorch.


[Enhanced Outburst]
Increases the potency of Aerial Slash.
Increases the potency of Cairn.
Increases the potency of Crimson Cyclone.


[Aetherdam]
Increases the Aetherflow gauge to a maximum of 5 charges.


[Aethersurge I / II / III]
You have a 30% / 40% / 50% chance to gain Aetherflow from casting Wind Blade, Mountain Buster, Burning Strike, Wyrmwave, and Scarlet Flame.


[Improved Deathflare]
Deathflare consumes only 1 charge of Aetherflow.


[Enhanced Enkindle]
Increases the potency of Aerial Blast.
Increases the barrier potency of Earthen Fury.
Increases the potency of Inferno.
Increases the potency of Inferno's damage over time.


Egi Magic Tooltips

Miasma
Deals wind damage with a low potency to target and nearby enemies.
Additional Effect: Wind damage over time
Potency: Medium / Medium / High
Duration: 15s


Earthen Armor
Deals earth damage with a medium potency.
Additional Effect: Shields a nearby party member, absorbing incoming damage.
Barrier Potency: Medium / Medium / High
Duration: 30s


Scorch
Deals fire damage with a medium potency.
Additional Effect: Fire damage over time
Potency: High / High / Very High
Duration: 15s


Cairn
Deals earth damage with a medium-high potency.


Razed Earth
Creates a pool of molten earth, dealing damage to any enemies who enter.
Potency: 50 / 60
Duration: 9s
Additional Effect: Reduces damage dealt by enemies by 10%.


Embers
Deals fire damage over time.
Potency: Medium
Duration: 30s


Demi-Primal Actions (Sample)

Bahamut's Favor
Deals unaspected damage with a medium potency.
Additional Effect: Increases damage dealt by a random party member by 15%.
Duration: 15s


Brand of Purgatory
Marks the target with Brand of Purgatory. When the duration expires, deals fire damage with a high potency.
Duration: 5s

The gameplay loop sounds interesting, I like the idea of egis changing your abilities. My main concern is that it may become too bland (I like how SMN plays currently, I know some do not). Would the different egis give you different rotations or is their changing of your abilities just flavor (and to prevent ghosting)? I'm not sure what Aetherflow is doing here, is it meant to be used in a similar way to how it's currently used but with different abilities and more of it? Is Trance all-or-nothing or can it be canceled/toggled? The former seems like the better flavor choice but being able to cancel it would be good for QoL.