SMN pet not responding 100%

Question for people with long-term SMN experience!

Sometimes (when on OBEY) while Garuda-egi is already engaging the enemy and auto attacking, it just doesn't feel like responding to that AERIAL SLASH, CONTAGION and ENKINDLE command, even though I see the skill button lighting up and indicating that it is being pressed. My SMN mostly isn't performing any other skills during that time. So I just end up standing there, spamming one of them until they are actually executed.

Why is this happening? Am I timing it badly during a pet attack animation or? Anybody experienced this?

Usually pet skill execution works fine, but sometimes it seems like the pet is stubborn :/

Executing any of the above skills before Garuda-egi starts auto attacking is mostly instant, without the issue mentioned earlier.

Garuda usually won't respond if she's in the middle of a cast, she will refuse to cancel a cast. Its annoying, but you'll have to mash that Contagion key until the stubborn bird actually uses it.

You can put her on Steady to ensure she'll actually use it, but it does take her a while to wind back up again.

Effectively what this poster said^^^.

Imagine you had 3 oGCD skills to use and you want to press them all before the next GCD, we all know that's not going to happen because skills can only be used after the animation of the previous one finishes, so you end up with some dropped commands. For reference, image you hit fester the same time you hit ruin II. One of them will chock (probably the fester) and you'll have to wait for the animation of one to finish before retrying to use the other. Same thing when you (issue the command to garuda to ) used (e.g.) contagion the same time garuda uses wind blade.

The biggest problem is that there is no ability queue for pets. That would solve the unresponsiviness (ditched smn for mnk due to it's unplayable in 2.3 and haven't missed that abomination at all.

I macro contagion to make three attempts at 1 second intervals so that one of them will catch her in between casts.

/micon "Contagion" pet
/pac "Contagion" <t>
/wait
/pac "Contagion" <t>
/wait
/pac "Contagion" <t>

I wind up spamming it. As for Enkindle, I've learned that it only refuses to work if you've already set a command in and Garuda-egi is using that. Otherwise she will use the Enkindle strike right after her next wind blade.

You need the cascade badge from cerulean city. It makes all Poke... Errr pets up to 60 obey you.

That bird is especially disobediant and hard-headed. She does not do the enkindle sometimes even when I put her on steady sometimes. How do I remedy this? Sorry to take over your post OP but it makes me angry sometimes.

Mash the button for 2s. Works everytime for me ;)

Strange, there is a delay, but Garuda-Egi pretty much does what I ask her when I ask her. All that happens is she waits to finish her current action first.

Also on a side note, NEVER stop what you're doing when giving the rude bird a command. All of the pet commands can be executed even when you're casting with the exception of Enkindle. Enkindle is an oGCD skill by the summoner her/himself. Weave Enkindle between instant GCDs, and continue your rotation (your pet will use it when she finishes her current action).

Thanks everyone of sharing the pain and giving tips!

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Originally Posted by Phoenicia

Strange, there is a delay, but Garuda-Egi pretty much does what I ask her when I ask her. All that happens is she waits to finish her current action first.

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Doesn't happen always with me. As said, sometimes it works flawlessly, skill after skill execution. Other times, it executes one skill, order it to do another and... nothing! Garuda spents 10 seconds autoattacking even though I am pressing the right skill button! Very weird.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Phoenicia

Also on a side note, NEVER stop what you're doing when giving the rude bird a command. All of the pet commands can be executed even when you're casting with the exception of Enkindle. Enkindle is an oGCD skill by the summoner her/himself. Weave Enkindle between instant GCDs, and continue your rotation (your pet will use it when she finishes her current action).

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OK, but if I wanted to Contagion before doing Bane, there's no other way around it than wait. Maybe pop some Ruins in between or whatever...

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Originally Posted by Takaokami

OK, but if I wanted to Contagion before doing Bane, there's no other way around it than wait. Maybe pop some Ruins in between or whatever...

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Use that time to run in for miasma 2 and blizz 2.

Also, if you're having a problem with the ability not going off at all, its probably due to latency. WTFast fixed it for me. There IS an ability queue. Pets will finish their current casts and use whatever you ordered them to do after.

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Originally Posted by Takaokami

OK, but if I wanted to Contagion before doing Bane, there's no other way around it than wait. Maybe pop some Ruins in between or whatever...

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Yep never stop doing what you are doing

Bio 2, miasma, bio, contagion spam, swiftcast/shadow flare, bane

alternate in case it doesn't go off at first (but it will almost always does in the above set up) if you spam that contagion while doing other stuff

Bio 2, miasma, bio, contagion spam, swiftcast/shadow flare, ruin 2/3 or painflare, bane

running in for a m2/blz2 is very situational so never something to rely on, esp in an opener.

Smn is literally the only job that never really needs to not be dpsing, even when dodging you can r2

And also remember to hold that contagion til you can snapshot those buffs, like trance, whenever possible to max your dps

so in that case trance, tri-disaster, start contagion spam, ruin 3 til it goes off, bane, ruin 3 spam, deathflare

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Originally Posted by Takaokami

Question for people with long-term SMN experience!

Sometimes (when on OBEY) while Garuda-egi is already engaging the enemy and auto attacking, it just doesn't feel like responding to that AERIAL SLASH, CONTAGION and ENKINDLE command, even though I see the skill button lighting up and indicating that it is being pressed. My SMN mostly isn't performing any other skills during that time. So I just end up standing there, spamming one of them until they are actually executed.

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I know this wasn't your question but remember your pet is an extension of you. Therefore, if you are attacked your pet will attack in response, this also occurs when you are not attacked, but a fight begins (such as a boss fight/raid).

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Originally Posted by Takaokami

Why is this happening? Am I timing it badly during a pet attack animation or? Anybody experienced this?

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When your pets begins its attack rotation, there is a sort of queue that it goes through. Generally that queue is just a Wind Blade spam in the case of Obey Mode. Unlike you, the actual player, your pet CANNOT cancel out of their current attack. However it will, for the most part, execute your command when it has completed the attack. The times it does not is when the command is given the same time the system begin the attack, which is more of an issue with the system than with the pet. If you just hit the command again, it will register as it should. I get impatient myself, so I tend to spam something like Contagion while casting something else like Ruin.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Takaokami

Usually pet skill execution works fine, but sometimes it seems like the pet is stubborn :/

Executing any of the above skills before Garuda-egi starts auto attacking is mostly instant, without the issue mentioned earlier.

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Amazingly enough, it not so much that your pet is stubborn, but rather that it is stupid and cannot figure out what its master is intending. Also, considering the information above, if your pet has not started its attack rotation, there is nothing in its queue, so whatever command you give it will do immediately.

Lastly, I know OP didn't bring this up, but for others wondering Enkindle is a Summoner abiltly not a pet ability. If you cast enkindle, as long as the system reads it (like any other cast) your pet will execute it. It will do so as soon as it on GCD.

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Originally Posted by MicahZerrshia

Snipped for length

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First, if you're contagion baning, you're dealing with trash and your single target opener goes out the window. Start with shadowflare instead of popping it after bio like in your normal opener. Painflare should be used in that GCD after bio while you're waiting for contagion to go off and while you're running in for miasma 2/blizz 2. Those are NOT situational in trash; they are optimal.

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Originally Posted by JerinRycik

I macro contagion to make three attempts at 1 second intervals so that one of them will catch her in between casts.

/micon "Contagion" pet
/pac "Contagion" <t>
/wait
/pac "Contagion" <t>
/wait
/pac "Contagion" <t>

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It would be better just to have a full 14 lines of
/pac Contagion <t>

Each press effectively gives you 1/4 - 1/2 second of spamming it.

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Originally Posted by Rongway

It would be better just to have a full 14 lines of
/pac Contagion <t>

Each press effectively gives you 1/4 - 1/2 second of spamming it.

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If you really want to macro it you're better off adding Stay or Heel instead. They'll both interrupt her current cast.

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Originally Posted by SnugglesD

If you really want to macro it you're better off adding Stay or Heel instead. They'll both interrupt her current cast.

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Yup! Learn to interrrupt your pet! It will give you a ton more control if you ever play SCH too. The Healer subforum has a great guide on Faerie control including interrupt macros, which can be adjusted very easily for SMN if you don't want to do so manually. http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...ehensive-Guide

Something weird I've been noticing with Garuda:
If she's attacking target A, and I tell her to Contagion target B, she'll pretty much immediately do it where she could lag a second or two with target A.

I stopped trying to command my pet when I was still using Topaz Carbuncle, and I'd tell him to go get an enemy, and he would, and then he'd bolt off in another direction after pissing it off and dissipate because he got too far away leaving me alone with a pissed off marbol and whatever else he pulled on his run away from it. I'm basically the Tataru of in game summoners and now just let my pet do whatever it wants since it doesn't listen to me anyway.

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Originally Posted by Delta041

Something weird I've been noticing with Garuda:
If she's attacking target A, and I tell her to Contagion target B, she'll pretty much immediately do it where she could lag a second or two with target A.

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Yes; that's because changing targets interrupts her current action. Using Heel or Place will do the same. Hence the interrupt macros SCHs are so fond of. With contagion, it's not such a biggie as you'll typically be using it on DWT-buffed DOTs and you have 15s to do it, obviously with healer pets the need is often more urgent.

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Originally Posted by SnugglesD

First, if you're contagion baning, you're dealing with trash and your single target opener goes out the window. Start with shadowflare instead of popping it after bio like in your normal opener. Painflare should be used in that GCD after bio while you're waiting for contagion to go off and while you're running in for miasma 2/blizz 2. Those are NOT situational in trash; they are optimal.

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Not 100% true. You can contagion bane bosses with multiple targets if there is an instance where they are near each other for a brief moment while being pulled apart if you timing is on par. Oppressor for instance, Garuda sisters (although not really anymore, but at one time), contagion bane levi tail off an orb for that added boost to dps, among others. There are many instances where you can contagion bane non-trash, if your timing is right and you're not hurting your dps by sitting on timers.

Also Bliz2, while optimal dps is situational. If you are sitting in the middle of 10 or even 4 mobs all doing aoes that overlap and are bound to kill you or interrupt, than no, bliz2 is not optimal since a dead smn is not a contributing one.

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Originally Posted by AniCelestine

The biggest problem is that there is no ability queue for pets. That would solve the unresponsiviness (ditched smn for mnk due to it's unplayable in 2.3 and haven't missed that abomination at all.

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They fixed that a long time ago. Sometime either at or shortly after the release of Heavensward. I was the one who first spread around the macro with multiple wait lines someone else posted up here. I've ditched it and just use the regular action with no macro now. Been doing it for a while. Haven't messed with SMN a lot in 3.2 yet, so not sure if it is all working right in the current patch.

Note: technically the fix was that if your pet automatically started casting something, then you could queue an ability for afterwards. If you had manually commanded the pet to cast (e.g. Embrace spam), then the queue doesn't work. Since manual spamming of Wind Blade isn't a thing, Garuda was effectively fixed. Eos was hit and miss, so I kept my macros for her.