Summoner crippled by fundamental issues

Hello, I recently hit 50 SMN and am concerned with a number of issues that I feel are crippling the class. I'm sure many of these have been brought up already but I didn't see any specific topics on the first few pages, so here goes. Listed are the core issues as well as suggestions to fix them:

-Difficult/impossible to keep track of dots in full party, difficult/impossible to keep track of dots on multiple targets
Simple interface issues. Sort player debuffs first, make them larger than the others. Show player debuffs on enemy unit frames.

-30 debuff cap
I'm sure this one has been done to death already. Get rid of it.

-Pet cannot be controlled independently of player
It acts independently of player, yet cannot be controlled as such. Impedes optimal use of pet. Allow petbar commands to be issued independently of player actions, e.g. while casting.

[continued]

-Dots do not scale from spellspeed, pets do not scale from anything
Not a big deal at the moment, but Summoners will fall behind other classes in future content if this is not changed. Also not very satisfying to get that new piece of gear with +30 spellspeed on it knowing you hardly benefit it. Spellspeed = dots tick faster, adds more ticks at breakpoints, pet damage scales from a % of your intellect/possibly other stats.

Pet deaths from unavoidable damage/debuffs
Aurum Vale first boss is a great example. They need better protection from this sort of thing.


And some quality of life issues...

-Make Obey a stance rather than a command
-Have Spur function as an upgrade to Rouse rather than two separate abilities
-Remember pet's previous stance when summoning new pet
-Pet behaves as Steady when player is mounted

I really like this class but it is tedious to play because of these things...

I like your ideas a lot. Something else that bothers me about the summoner class is that as a DoT-based class, the 2.5 second GCD feels incredibly awkward. I think it would make sense, and it wouldn't be OP or that much of a buff really, for our DoTs to have a reduced GCD. Our AoE isn't that great, so a reduced GCD on our DoTs would allow for much faster multidotting. Also, Ruin and Ruin II are rather underwhelming for the amount of mana they cost to cast. I think lowering the mana cost or increasing the potency would make sense.

edit- Thinking about it again, reducing the GCD of our DoTs won't really matter because of the cast time. So what if spell speed not only decreases cast time, but also decreases the GCD of DoTs? I know it seems a bit complicated, but it would make spell speed useful for us.

Well the dot issue is global though. All dots dot on the global timer, not on a specific timer. I'd take "dots actually can crit" over "faste dot speed", as the faster dot speed would affect everyone, not just us. Fuck others, give us critting dots so we might actually gain something from crit, other than fester usage..

All DoTs are capable of critting. I see this a lot and I don't know why this rumor persists.

That's nice. And how do you plan to change the other classes to prevent Summoner from becoming overpowered in comparison? Or did you not bother with that because you want Summoner to be the "be-all-end-all" DPS class?

When suggesting changes, think of how it effects balance as a whole. Don't be narrow-minded and only see the one point of view. Connect the dots (I don't mean damage over time) and make it work in a team.

Some things I agree with, the DoTs being easier to track would definitely be nice. Also can see the pet commands being issued separately a nice thing. But some I think are a bad idea. Like removing the 30 cap on the amount of DoTs. If it was removed, it would be easy to just stack a ton of DoTs and kite any enemy in existence. Or DoTs scaling based on Spell speed while still lasting just as long. That's no different then making the DoTs potency stronger. No need for this.

Extending the debuff cap is a must if it remains how it is summoners will have no place in 24 man raids.

Oh and Zareth? Summoner needs these quality of life improvements.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Zareth

That's nice. And how do you plan to change the other classes to prevent Summoner from becoming overpowered in comparison? Or did you not bother with that because you want Summoner to be the "be-all-end-all" DPS class?

When suggesting changes, think of how it effects balance as a whole. Don't be narrow-minded and only see the one point of view. Connect the dots (I don't mean damage over time) and make it work in a team.

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What? All that drama for a little tweaks on the job? omg...