Dear Yoship, HUGE thank you from a SMN

I can finally say, SMN has been sorted. It feels great , flows and its now flexible on whatever I want to do. No more mana issues. I left maining SMN a year ago but now it does feel like a completely new Job.

TRANCE is amazing and maybe in the future we could add some more new primal abilities into it.

Thanks for listening. SMN is what it should of been.

Just sharing.

Moar egi's doe

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Originally Posted by Mature

Thanks for listening. SMN is what it should of been.

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True story. I have always been head strong and remained a smn, but now it's just amazing. I feel like I'm on a never ending power trip. It's got really complicated with trance, but mastering it is soooooo very rewarding.

I'll have to try it, but I really doubt the wisdom of removing a pet from what was billed as a pet centric job.

I just wanted to sit back and command my pet, maybe SMN is no longer that job.. but I hope a new pet based job comes out to replace it, where the focus will remain on the pet.

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Originally Posted by Jasmine_Aurelia

I'll have to try it, but I really doubt the wisdom of removing a pet from what was billed as a pet centric job.

I just wanted to sit back and command my pet, maybe SMN is no longer that job.. but I hope a new pet based job comes out to replace it, where the focus will remain on the pet.

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SMN should've never been a simple pet job, in my opinion. It's what it should be now.

If they had taken the ffxi summon, removed mp drain from pet, so we could keep it out 24/7 I would be in heaven.

Yeah SMN got a really great overhaul.

Now go fix MCH please

The moment I used Bane and noticed that all the mobs in the huge pull got the debuffs rather than just 3-4 others my eyes lit up since I didn't read skill changes in the patch notes. Then I immediately checked the tool tip for Bane to confirm and was overjoyed!

Bane had been needing to work like this since day 1, and I am soooooo glad it does.

I can't quite comment on too many of the new skills yet since I'm only level 56. Tri-Disaster is awesome, but Ruin III on the other hand doesn't seem nearly as useful as the instant cast Ruin II, even if it does do slightly more damage and has a nifty animation. I can't, at this point see a reason to use it over Ruin II. Painflare is nice, it gives us more aoe options, but even so I find it hard to rely on it because it uses up Aetherflow stacks. Perhaps if I had more stacks of Aetherflow or the cooldown on Aetherflow was greatly reduced then I could see using this skill more often, but currently it's just one I use if I happen to feel like it and don't mind wasting an aetherflow stack that I could have used for Bane or Fester.

Maybe this will change at 58 and 60, but for now it's a little odd.

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Originally Posted by Ecks007

Painflare is nice, it gives us more aoe options, but even so I find it hard to rely on it because it uses up Aetherflow stacks.
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Maybe this will change at 58 and 60, but for now it's a little odd.

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Painflare gives you the attunement needed to use Deathflare, which is learned at level 60. The downside is you require 3 stacks of this to use Deathflare so unless you're using only using your aetherflow on painflare, you'll probably be using Deathflare less than you might want. That being said, Deathflare is a 400 potency AoE attack, which is pretty powerful. If you're fighting groups of mobs, it might work out better than Bane for those 60 seconds.

Wait....summoner doesn't have pets anymore?

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Originally Posted by Lemuria

Painflare gives you the attunement needed to use Deathflare, which is learned at level 60. The downside is you require 3 stacks of this to use Deathflare so unless you're using only using your aetherflow on painflare, you'll probably be using Deathflare less than you might want. That being said, Deathflare is a 400 potency AoE attack, which is pretty powerful. If you're fighting groups of mobs, it might work out better than Bane for those 60 seconds.

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That's not how it works at all. Don't post things you don't know about as if they were facts.

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Originally Posted by odie

Wait....summoner doesn't have pets anymore?

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We have pets, just no new ones.

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Originally Posted by Takfloyd

That's not how it works at all. Don't post things you don't know about as if they were facts.

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Oh, so you don't need 3 stacks to enter Dreadwyrm Trance, which is needed to cast Deathflare? Those stacks aren't given by Painflare? Please do enlighten me, oh gracious one. Maybe Dreadwyrm Trace doesn't vanish after Deathflare's activation?

Exactly which point was I incorrect on?

Love the new SMN, but agree with some people, the whole emphasis of the job has been placed on you, the player, and filling yourself with Bahamuts power, the egi's feel like they're.. just there, now more than ever.

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Originally Posted by Lemuria

Oh, so you don't need 3 stacks to enter Dreadwyrm Trance, which is needed to cast Deathflare? Those stacks aren't given by Painflare? Please do enlighten me, oh gracious one. Maybe Dreadwyrm Trace doesn't vanish after Deathflare's activation?

Exactly which point was I incorrect on?

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Fester, Painflare, Bane and Energy Drain all build stacks for Dreadwyrm Trance not just Painflare as you say.

Still only has one useful egi for party play though.

I still think they need to go back to the drawing board.

It's a powerful job now, but it's not even remotely a "summoner."

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Originally Posted by Tsukino

I still think they need to go back to the drawing board.

It's a powerful job now, but it's not even remotely a "summoner."

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They can't pleasing everyone, I was and still happy with ffxiv smn.

Well its pretty obvious they are pushing things slightly away from the pet and giving more to the player. I honestly feel hard pressed to even call a summoner a "pet" class now considering the dps they are bringing out with dreadwyrm stance.

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Originally Posted by Tsukino

I still think they need to go back to the drawing board.

It's a powerful job now, but it's not even remotely a "summoner."

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We don't really care. Function > aesthetics.

Summoner finally feels fantastic, and it is starting to even appeal to me.

If they provide us with solid egi glamors like bahamut and ravana I will absolutely throw myself into the frey as a summoner main.


I originally played final fantasy 14 to be a summoner, left it when I realized they just threw up DoT's, were relatively weak and blan, and were essentially nugget masters where they had various floating nuggets follow them around doing mediocre damage. Now I ... am appealed to by it. I went scholar because they felt like a viable other option (AT THE TIME THOUGH SCHOLAR WAS CONSIDERED GARBAGE TO WHM!). Now I am about to gear my summoner.... really appealed to it.

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Originally Posted by Ecks007

Ruin III on the other hand doesn't seem nearly as useful as the instant cast Ruin II, even if it does do slightly more damage and has a nifty animation. I can't, at this point see a reason to use it over Ruin II.

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When you reach 58 and can enter Dreadwyrm trance you'll see the benefit of Ruin III. I love using it ^^

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Originally Posted by Lemuria

Painflare gives you the attunement needed to use Deathflare, which is learned at level 60. The downside is you require 3 stacks of this to use Deathflare so unless you're using only using your aetherflow on painflare, you'll probably be using Deathflare less than you might want. That being said, Deathflare is a 400 potency AoE attack, which is pretty powerful. If you're fighting groups of mobs, it might work out better than Bane for those 60 seconds.

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As has been mentioned already, you get attunement from using any of the aetherflow moves. Well, technically you only get the attunement stack if you use fester when you have dots on them, so it actually has to do something to count as a stack as I have found out when I accidentally pressed fester after a failed tri-disaster :/ Similarly if you use bane without any dots on the target you won't get a stack.

In other news, DEATHFLARE IS AWESOME!

Even some of my mates gone smn too lol. Trance + ruin 3 is dps heaven xD

People can complain about lack of pets all they want, 3 pets or 30 there still will only be 1 that is THE pet to use and the others will go collect dust in the eather.

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Originally Posted by Mature

Even some of my mates gone smn too lol. Trance + ruin 3 is dps heaven xD

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I know right! I absolutely love it, and so glad I stuck with SMN. It makes it extra hard to go back and do lower level dungeons though as I just miss all my new abilities too much.

Still looking forward to pet glamours. I do miss my carbuncle!

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Originally Posted by Devils_Lawyer

People can complain about lack of pets all they want, 3 pets or 30 there still will only be 1 that is THE pet to use and the others will go collect dust in the eather.

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I for one have never really wanted new pets, mainly for that reason, that you would get them but then one would be calculated as being "the best" and that would be what everyone uses. Plus, they already have all the major pet roles covered anyway. I like the idea of the pet glamours, because then you could have it looking however you wanted (I wants me a Leviathan-egi!) but you aren't having to sacrifice from having the "best" DPS option.

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Originally Posted by Akira_Tenshi

Still only has one useful egi for party play though.

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This isn't true at all.

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Originally Posted by Able

SMN should've never been a simple pet job, in my opinion. It's what it should be now.

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yup, always two ways to do SMN. pets + stances. right now they are doing both at the same time but it could've always been Ifri mode, Garuda mode, Titan mode, Bahamut mode etc and you get different abilities.

that's how half the FF games have been, the summon "takes over" the character/party. it doesn't have to be a pet job.

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Originally Posted by SarcasmMisser

We don't really care. Function > aesthetics.

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You mean YOU don't care. I haven't leveled my summoner yet, but I for one liked that it was a pet class. Hearing that the pet becomes less and less important sounds like how my hunter in WoW started to grow increasingly bland to me. Still, different strokes for different folks and all that - just remember that you don't speak for everyone when you say 'we'.

ok guess what it is a summer in ff14- summoners in ff14 is more about caster envoking the powers of the primals - fits lore wise no way i n hell would it make sense to summon primals. summoner ff14 is not summer ff11 where u stand there and let the summon do it all.

in all ffs - all summons always worked differently- and everyone has their preference- look at ff15- their summons only comes when you are low on health....huge attack and leave.

Ive always thought summoner is the most fun job to play. No fixed rotation.
need to learn a fight well to know what to do and when to pop what cds etc.

And now with the new thingis makes it even more fun

"Hm should I pop a fester so I can burst down one of the adds with deathflare, or wait a couple of seconds and cast bane and then enter dreadwyrm"

You need to plan ahead like playing chess and it is the most fun job to play imo

Summoner now is where it should've been an ARR

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Originally Posted by Kiara1

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Agree, it's what drew me to it too. But right now I am sooo making up for lost time. Those last 2 adds that will die within seconds? Yep, they're getting death flared. :3

I apologise to any inexperienced tanks (and healers, thank you for keeping me alive btw) for ripping agro off them from throwing out so much burst AoE in such a short amount of time, but please... Let me get it out of my system. It's been too long.

I finally feel like I am summoning the power of other beings, instead of just giving the mobs a really bad cold! /Huzzah
I am greatly looking forward to Egi model swaps /Carbuncle

I've always loved SMN in this game, and when I heard we would be drawing upon Bahamut's power (Akh Morn and Dreadwyrm Trance), I was almost as excited to see it play out as I was to learn about the lore. I love the lore they added to SMN. The vocal minority always complained, "This isn't a summoner! Summoners are this way: [cites past SMN examples from other FF games]." I just love that FFXIV truly now has its own 'summoner' feel and its own summoner lore that stretches beyond the series, even if there are similarities. The storyline reason behind why we are able to draw upon Bahamut's power is directly related to the overarching story of ARR, too. I just love it. That's really all I can say without spoiling it -- but I do hope you all enjoyed it as much as I do.

I have always loved the need to truly understand fights to optimize SMN's damage. Now, we are even more pressed to balance out when we use our aethercharges, when we pop our Dreadwyrm Trance/Deathflare, and when we use Tri-Disaster. I love being challenged like this and I'm very happy with this change. If I had to choose between new egis and this, I would choose this any day. The ONLY thing I would change is... perhaps give us an 'aura' while we are in trance... but to do that, they would have to make it fair for other classes, and pretty soon everyone would want a visual effect for buffs. So... I don't want to get greedy. :)

One little thing that "might " need adjusting is how fast BIO 2 pops. When you do BIO - MIASMA -BIO 2 fester , fester sometimes doesn't hit to its top level due to BIO 2 taking a little longer to hit compare to the rest of abilities.

That's my only "complain" of it can be called like that. Apart from that everything is great

When I started this game, I was an arcanist. Friends I made in game said to me that smn will never be compared to blm. That smn were a joke doing just DOTs. I didn't listen to them and get it to 50, but the lack of power before the expansion made stopped playing it and started playing my PLD

Today, I got my smn from lvl 53 to lvl 58. When I was lvl 56 to 58 (didn't not get the new skill) I was struggling a bit to keep up with ruin 3 and 2 combo, but once I got the trance skill. I was overwhelmed with the almost infinite mp xD and power. I was very close to take aggro so I got to switch target to help the tanks xD.

It is amazing how fun is to be a smn now.

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Originally Posted by Jasmine_Aurelia

If they had taken the ffxi summon, removed mp drain from pet, so we could keep it out 24/7 I would be in heaven.

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So basically the player does nothing and the pet does everything?

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Originally Posted by Moonleg

You mean YOU don't care. I haven't leveled my summoner yet, but I for one liked that it was a pet class. Hearing that the pet becomes less and less important sounds like how my hunter in WoW started to grow increasingly bland to me. Still, different strokes for different folks and all that - just remember that you don't speak for everyone when you say 'we'.

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If it offends you that you are being looked over have you considered its because you're a minority and I, much like SE, consider that opinion one to be ignored? The day SE actually change SMN to the demands of the small group of people who actually cling to this is when you are vindicated but don't hold your breath lol.

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Originally Posted by Nestama

So basically the player does nothing and the pet does everything?

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The player 'activates' the summons abilities, only they have a full repertoire of abilities.

I do enjoy 3.0 summoner but I will always long for the real thing.

It's still taking away what the player can do for themselves (the player can run around like a headless chicken, spamming this ability and that for their pet to do). Able to dodge AoE's without spells getting interrupted and not worry about their pets taking a lot of damage due to them not being targets to mechanics, as well as reduced magic damage and immunity to persistent ground AoE's.