Help with my Rotation for Summoner when using Fester

So i've made Macros to make life a lot easier. But I can't seem to keep a high dps when using Fester.

I have 2 marcos

First one goes: Bio>Bio II> Miasma> Fester

this will mainly give me a damage of 679 and sometimes 900

Then my second Macro is Bio>Bio II> Miasma> Ruin II

then i would use Fester and i get the same results sometimes higher. I Use Virus before i use my macros.

My problem is i can't seem to always get 900 damage points or higher.

Am i doing something wrong can someone please help me :(

First of all, stop using Macros, they'll only slow you down, unless they're for off GCD abilities, like Spur, Rouse, etc

Second, use Bio 2 > Miasma > Bio 1 to start with, this is so you ensure you get the most out of the duration of the DoTs. You'll need to wait a second for Bio to stick to the mob so don't blast Fester right after Bio 1.

If you so choose try to use Ruin II before Fester to force the GCD, and for using Virus, don't waste it, if the boss is about to do Raid wide damage and they have the antibody buff, you could be making your healers work more then they need to

This is what I use as a starting rotation (Again, don't use macros for GCD abilities):
(Obey + Spur/Rouse macro) Raging Strikes(same macro) > Bio 2 > Miasma > Bio 1 (Fester when debuff is applied) > Shadow Flare hardcast (Contagion) > Ruin 1 > Ruin 2 (Fester, at this point you should still have Raging Strikes active), then after this is priority based, if I don't need to do anything, I keep weaving Ruin 1 and Fester and reapply debuffs Bio 1 > Miasma > Bio 2. After your second Fester with raging strikes, it's all priority based

Finally for the damage you're looking for, as an i86 with a crit build, I'm seeing my Festers constantly crit for 1.1-1.3k, or ~800-900 with no crit with the stats I have now, get more gear and you'll see the numbers slowly rise. Just remember your stat priority should be Weapon Damage > INT > Crit (Or accuracy before crit if you plan on running Binding Coil)

[QUOTE=NintenPyjak64;2009215]snipQUOTE]

Crap that's a lot to remember thanks for the help by the way.

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Originally Posted by Blackcanary

Crap that's a lot to remember thanks for the help by the way.

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I'm not gonna lie, it can be complicated from the start, but keep playing Summoner and it'll be second nature. But the complicatedness of the class is why I don't play BLM anymore

I've gotten to the point where the only macros I use are swiftcast related ones, or <tt> with /p tells on virus and E4E. It's good to get into a habit of not needing them at all, since you can use abilities faster than the macros would allow without chancing the game skipping part of one

Skill macros are bad for summoner because what skill you use is completely changed depending on the situation.
My opener for big groups. 3+ mobs.
RS B2,M,B Contagion. Swift Shadowflare, Bane. Miasma II Blizz II spam using Fester on mobs with the highest HP so your DoTs can wear down the others.

You can weave your AOE pet skills in there at the start if they are mostly grouped. Otherwise just wait until you have your DoTs up.

Single Target is pretty much the same for me other than I use Fester right away and don't use Miasma II or Blizz II. I use Ruin II to weave in CDs and pet skills but otherwise Ruin spam.

when you say Rage Strike do you mean Wind Blade cause i don't have an attack called Raging strikes.

Raging Strikes is a cross class skill that comes from Archer. And it is a must have.

Just like everyone else has said, stop using macros, and your dot order should be Bio2>Miasma>Bio. I would also recommend waiting until Bio actually lands on the target before using Fester, sometimes your Fester will go off before Bio is on the target, which causes the lower numbers to happen.

My usual order, to avoid Fester landing before Bio, is Bio2>Miasma>Bio>Swiftcast>Fester>Shadow Flare> Contagion>Run spam, while weaving my other Off GC abilities in between spells.

Raging strikes is a very low level Archer ability, so there's no excuse to not have it as a SMN. It increases your damage by 20% for 20 seconds. That's a massive boost to dps for that time frame, and is a must in burst situations. SMN is already lacking in those situations, so it's really a must have.


Edit: Tricksta said it better, but I hope you get the point!

Also when you use a skill like raging strikes you have to apply your dots during its duration for them to gain the effect. Then the effect of RS is up for the full duration of the dots, which you can extend with contagion.

Super stupid question but, here gos anyway. I asume Fester only works on one target? So for trash mobs (currently 35 with 2 charges) keeping the charges for Bane would probaly be better? All depending on how many ofcourse, but in general?

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Originally Posted by Hecky

Super stupid question but, here gos anyway. I asume Fester only works on one target? So for trash mobs (currently 35 with 2 charges) keeping the charges for Bane would probaly be better? All depending on how many ofcourse, but in general?

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When it comes to trash mobs you'll want to contagion if it is availble then bane, then use your festers on mobs that your other DPS isn't focusing on if they aren't AoEing in order to try and get all the mobs down around the same time. I usually fester the mobs with the highest HP first. As you learn the dungeons you'll get better at knowing what part of the run to spend aether stacks, if you're pulling weaker trash mobs and you know a tougher pull is coming up and you just used your Aetherflow save your stacks to make sure you will be able to bane and fester at least once during the pull. One mob currently I can think of is the tiny drakes in SVHM. They go down pretty easily so it would be a waste to spend too much aether on them when a miasma 2, shadowflare, and a couple ruins will make quick work of them. The thing about SMN is playing it by ear is usually your best bet. Don't try to rely on a hard guide other than the boss opener. That one is pretty much set in stone at this point.