Teach me how -SMN-

[NovaUltimatum]

Here's my take:

- Garuda is better to use than Ifirit for more DPS. If you have it on Obey, it will do good DPS itself by spamming just the auto-attack and you can time Contagion for when you need it most (It's best to use when you have all 4 DoTs up, both Bios and both Miasmas). Don't worry about the icons that appear on your hotbar, they won't indicate what's truly better.

- Titan is useful if you are in need of a tank but dont have one. E.g. You're 3/4 in a dungeon missing the tank. Or you're soloing on a high level FATE and would die with hate.

- You may hear ACC being stressed because Pets's acc is dependant on your own, but they require a higher amount to cap than you do. It's best to look up what endgame fight you're doing and the associated pet cap for it.

- Remember to keep all your ranged DoTs up as much as possible. Most agree a good rotation to follow is Bio2 -> Miasma -> Bio 1 (and if you have Contagion available then Miasma 2 -> Contagion following that. Don't bother with Miasma 2 otherwise unless you have a group of mobs to AoE down.)

- The real magic of SMN is learning to get into a rhythm of using up all your abilities so they're not wasted. This typically makes use of what's called "weaving" which is where you use an ability off your global cool down, while waiting for the GCD timer to finish. An example would be using one of the following following your Bio/Miasma/Ruin casts:
Aetherflow, Energy Drain, Rouse, Spur, Enkindle, Fester, Contagion, Raging Strikes (learn this by levelling ARC), Swiftcast (learn this by levelling THM)

When it comes to aetherflow stacks ideally you should have used up all 3 stacks before the next aetherflow charge is ready (unless you have some major DPS check coming up perhaps). It's usually best to avoid using Energy Drain unless you are really desperate for MP (to the point where you can't even cast DoTs for example). Normally you should find that Fester is used whenever you have single targets and Bane for the introduction of an Add(s) next to a target you have DoTs up on already.

- For Ruin/Ruin2, it's best used as one of your GCD abilities once all the standard DoTs are up. You can push with Ruin2 spams when you need to take something down quickly and don't mind the extra MP loss, otherwise for long term fights where you need to keep a good supply of MP, stick with Ruin1.

- It's good to keep a good stack of HQ ether items for when you have some major MP loss (like if you are die, or you have to resurrect someone else)

Hopefully that helps. I'm no master SMN, so there may be better tips out there.

[Bunsen]

snip

You may not be a master SMN, but I am and what you said is on point!!! I agree with everything he said

[Zike]

- For Ruin/Ruin2, it's best used as one of your GCD abilities once all the standard DoTs are up. You can push with Ruin2 spams when you need to take something down quickly and don't mind the extra MP loss, otherwise for long term fights where you need to keep a good supply of MP, stick with Ruin1.

I think it's important to note that there is no dps difference between Ruin and Ruin 2. The only times Ruin 2 would dps something down faster is in conjunction with a fester or if you are on the move. Otherwise, the only difference is that the Ruin 2 damage comes out at the beginning of the GCD rather than the end. If you are simply spamming Ruin 2, you are only wasting MP.

[xxalucard]

I think it's important to note that there is no dps difference between Ruin and Ruin 2. The only times Ruin 2 would dps something down faster is in conjunction with a fester or if you are on the move. Otherwise, the only difference is that the Ruin 2 damage comes out at the beginning of the GCD rather than the end. If you are simply spamming Ruin 2, you are only wasting MP.

No, that's mistaken. Spamming ruin II at close range means that you get extra auto-attacks on top of the ruin damage (you auto attack while waiting on the GCD). It's not a waste of mp when you combine it with auto-attacks, because it's more damage. And if you stack on the boss anyway and mp isn't an issue for the particular fight, then that's what you should be doing.

It would be a waste of mp to spam ruin II while standing far away from the target the entire fight (Turn 7).