Starting Disclaimer: Remembering the humans behind the designs
To SE / "CBU3" / Mr. Yoshida / the Job Design Team / the Community Moderators / the Unpaid Interns / or, whoever is actually reading this...
...Let me first clarify that I do understand that, ultimately, you and your designers want to create a good game that makes your audience happy. And I do understand that you devote immense amounts of time and energy into trying to do exactly-that.
Please understand, in return, that any hostility or harsh criticism that I seem to present is not intended as malice towards the actual individuals and humans working on FFXIV.
Rather, what I write stems from my own continued passion about FFXIV, and my own desire to try to make it the best experience possible for myself and my fellow players, based on my own experience and judgments.
So, please be clear — I do appreciate the reality, regardless of how much I may disagree with some of your design choices, that those choices are ultimately born from the same sort of passion and desire.
And in turn, I hope that the players and the developers can continue to maintain a productive and mutual dialogue about the future of Job decisions in FFXIV.
Understanding the Final Fantasy fan's "Summoner Fantasy".
SE, please understand — for the average Final Fantasy Summoner fan, the Job's fantasy is, if forced to choose, more about "quantity" than "quality".
For people passionate about the Final Fantasy Summoner fantasy throughout the eras of the Final Fantasy series, the fun of Summoner is — first and foremost — about finding and collecting a vast stable of exotic, mythical creatures and beings to choose-from, and call-upon aid from.
In a sense, one could say that Final Fantasy Summoner's most "core appeal" has always been something akin to "Mythological Pokémon".
Thus, denying Summoner access to a vast number of its classic Final Fantasy "Pokémon" is very frustrating to Summoner fans, and damages the enjoyment and fantasy of the FFXIV Summoner play-experience.
So please, I implore you, SE — on this point, do not let-down Summoner fans. Please find a way to provide some form of access to the "missing Summons" during this upcoming 7.x era of FFXIV.
If it's too late for anything more sophisticated, then just give us "animation swaps" for the 3 preexisting "Gem Phases".
SE, if you are explicitly planning to completely-rework Jobs in 8.0 anyway, then there is no need to become overly-concerned about ideal design philosophies for 7.0 at this point... correct?
Thus, if Summoners are forced to choose — for the duration of the upcoming 2+ years of 7.0-7.58 era — between having superficial aesthetic changes, and having no additional Summons at all...
...then, I believe that the vast majority of Summoner players would prefer to have access to the "missing Summons" in some form, even if it must occur as a very simplistic addition to the Job, mechanically.
Therefore, I argue that the most efficient and expedient solution at this moment would be to simply make 7.0 Leviathan, Ramuh, and Shiva an "aesthetic swap", which is otherwise mechanically-identical to the preexisting Ifrit, Titan, and Garuda mechanics.
Examples of how the animation-swaps could function mechanically.
Shiva (Diamond)- Mimics: Ruby Ifrit
- Hailstorm
- SMN generates a Staff of Ice in their hands
- Mechanics imitate Ifrit "Ruby Rite" as Ice Damage
- Avalanche
- SMN generates a Bow of Ice in their hands
- Shoots an Arrow of Ice at the target, then teleports to the Target's location.
- Mechanics imitate Ifrit "Crimson Cyclone" as Ice Damage
- Icebrand
- Combo action: Avalanche
- SMN generates a Sword of Ice in their hands
- Mechanics imitate Ifrit "Crimson Strike" as Ice Damage
Ramuh (Amethyst)- Mimics: Topaz Titan
- Amethyst Rite
- Mechanics imitate Titan "Topaz Rite" as Lightning Damage
- Shock Strike
- Mechanics imitate Titan "Mountain Buster" as Lightning Damage
Leviathan (Aquamarine)- Mimics: Emerald Garuda
- Body Slam and Spinning Dive
- "Body Slam" automatically changes to "Spinning Dive" after being used.
- "Spinning Dive" automatically changes back to "Body Slam" after being used.
- "Body Slam" causes a spectral Leviathan to smash horizontally across the Target.
- "Spinning Dive" causes a spectral Leviathan to shoot-out from the Summoner towards the Target.
- Mechanics otherwise imitate Garuda "Emerald Rite" as Water Damage
- Whirlpool
- Mechanics imitate Garuda "Slipstream" as Water Damage
Fitting additional Summons into the wider rotation.
In the interest maximum development expediency, one set of Gems can be granted by the new Solar Bahamut, and the other set of Gems can be granted by Demi-Bahamut and Demi-Phoenix.
Thus, on "even minutes", Summoner would summon Solar Bahamut, Leviathan, Ramuh, and Shiva.
And on "odd minutes", Summoner would summon (Allagan Bahamut / Phoenix), Ifrit, Titan, and Garuda.
This would establish a rhythm of alternating between "things that are new and exciting" during "big burst" phases, and then "things that are comfortable and familiar" during "off-burst" phases.
Of course, this is not the only possible way of working the remaining Summons into the preexisting rotation, but is just meant as an example of how it could be done "unintrusively", and without requiring extensive balancing considerations, nor late-stage rotational re-works.
Of course, I think that Summoner also still has many other issues that would, ideally, be addressed — but at this point, it no longer seems feasible to do so for the 7.x design-period.
I do think that there are myriad other issues with the Summoner design that was implemented in 6.0.
For example, I think that the 6.0 Summoner rotation has lost much of the nuance and complexity that made Summoner interesting and engaging in prior eras of FFXIV, and I can imagine many ways that I would change that — but such changes are, unfortunately, not realistic to expect to implement so closely to 7.0 release.
As well, I think that Actions such as Energy Drain, Ruin, and Fester no longer feel like they make thematic sense for the reimagined Summoner.
I also think that Carbuncle has become too passive and meaningless, and that an "Automaton Queen" or "Living Shadow" button that temporarily super-charges Carbuncle into a more powerful form would be beneficial to justifying Carbuncle's continued presence on the battlefield.
However, I personally consider all of these problems less significant than the fundamental lack of "Fantasy Satisfaction" that Summoner has been plagued-by since Heavensward, and which the 6.0 System has presented a wide-open path to remedying.
Thus, if there is no time for any more-sophisticated design changes, then I implore SE's designers to please find some way to still implement Leviathan, Ramuh, and Shiva, in some form, for 7.0 release.
If only one change can be made before 7.0 release, then I believe that granting Summoners access to their missing "classic Final Fantasy Summons" of Leviathan, Ramuh, and Shiva would alleviate disappointment — and generate excitement about the Summoner Job — for the largest and broadest selection of Summoner players.
Or, in other words... while the community of Summoner players is certainly sharply-divided on whether or not they approve or disapprove of the 6.0 Summoner mechanical design, I believe that most Summoner players are united in their frustration at not being granted access to Leviathan, Ramuh, and Shiva — especially after 6.0's redesign made it mechanically-obvious how to do so.
Thus, I argue here that, while finding a way to satisfy Summoner players "in general", mechanically, seems to be a very daunting and difficult challenge...
...the implementation of these "missing Summons" would be a "low-hanging fruit" that could generate significant good-will, and "tide players over" for another expansion's duration, until whatever SE's designers are planning to do in 8.0 or beyond.
As such — SE, I urge you to please strongly-reconsider your decision to ignore the significant volume of player-requests that have been asking for Leviathan, Ramuh, and Shiva since Heavensward, and especially since Endwalker.
To whatever Developer or Communicator has read this — thank you for your time, attention, and consideration.
