Quote Originally Posted by Vallhallix View Post
This is only in drawn out fights. A BLM will dispatch an enemy before a SMN has everything set up. This coming from someone who tested it. Both classes equally geared both with Animus. SMN does well in long fights, not so much dispatching enemies swiftly which is very necessary for dps checks. If you have both a SMN and BLM attacking a single enemy both starting at the exact same time the BLM would have either killed or have the enemy at 25% health by the time it takes a SMN to get all dots up, shadow flare and fester. Even in drawn out fights i'd still give it to BLM for being able to dispatch enemies faster. A SMN is sort of horrible getting rid of adds in dps checks. They have to do much more work just to do equal dmg output as others at base. I think SMN only advantage is when there's heavy mechanics involved that require constant moving but even then a BLM is able to pop manward/wall and eat the damage. Thats why BLM has those skills it was meant to sit and eat some damage while getting some good burst dmg in. There's also the chance of that you'll get procs. Ive gotten them while running many times and they're instant so moving is a non issue. SMN is a good class but ultimately I prefer having other DPS with me as many don't know how to play a SMN at its maximum potential.
When talking about being optimal in end-game, the difficulty of the class is irrelevant. Summoners will have a harder time dealing with adds that die in less than 10 seconds but if anything lasts more than 10 seconds, Summoners will be just as good as Black Mages.