SMN - Why it is not a very interesting job and not a good upgrade from ACN

[Hawklaser]

You are unable to accept the fact that, hey, Summoner changes.

It has changed.

And the change in FFXIV is something you don't like.

However, say you don't like it. Don't say it isn't a Summoner.

I have no issue with changes, however I also understand the importance of how something should feel when playing it. If it doesn't feel and look right, a major disconnect happens. Names go a long way in establishing expectations. I rather enjoy ACN, the problem here is SCH feels more like a SMN than SMN does. Summoner is not the only job this happens to in XIV either, Bard has the same issue but to a much lesser degree.

To add to this, why didn't you, or any other person, complain in FFXI? Summoner's were abysmally weak, except every 2 hours. I can take a guess. I'm guessing people dealt with it because the Summons just looked like carbon-copies of the actual beings. I mean, after all, you are complaining about "feel"(power, from your post), and arguably the Summons in FFXI were weaker in comparison(except every 2 hours).

Guess what, plenty of people complained about the state Summoner was in for XI for balance reasons, not because of a disconnect with the over-arching theme that people like playing a Final Fantasy Summoner for. And I was all for Summoner getting adjustments it sorely needed.

I mean, Ifrit boosting the power of everyone in the party, not himself, is certainly Ifrit, right?
Shiva and Ramuh giving Ice/Thunder Spikes is what they should be doing, right? What about Shiva KICKING/Slapping the enemy? Certainly, THAT is Shiva?
Leviathan healing/dispelling the party is what it should be doing, right? Or Leviathan lowering the enemies attack?


Please. None of that is what a "Summoner" or "Pimal" embodies, if we go by what you say, but no one complained. Even so, I'm fine with it. I'm fine with what XI did with Summoner's. I'm fine with what XIV did with Summoner's.

Want to know why? I accept that it changes. I accept that there is no single definition of a Summoner. I accept that, over the course of the games, a Summoner has not always focused on Summoning. I accept each "Summoner" within its own universe.

For FFXIV, Summoner fits. It's fine the way it is.

This whole thing is not about the Final Fantasy Summoner archetype being changed slightly, but the fact that this iteration of Summoner does not fit that archetype for many. Which makes it a thematic problem, not a gameplay problem. They could of called XIV's Summoner a number of different things and avoided this all together, but they called it a Summoner which comes with certain thematic expectations. Everyone's ideal Summoner is going to be different, but one key thing people that play Summoner don't want is an insignificant feeling and totally forgettable pet.

Unfortunately, there is no easy way to fix a thematic problem like there is with balance problems. The fact that few have an issue with ACN, but only with SMN illustrates that it is a thematic problem quite well. Consider any other job or class within any ongoing base setting, the name alone is tied very closely to the general expectations of how it will play in the future, just consider the difference in play styles the names Warrior, Berzerker, and Barbarian bring to mind. Mechanically they could be identical, however they are always thematically different. And there are people out there that pick classes just for that thematic feel.