smn hotbar set up/rotaion and lvling

[Havenchild]

Leveling: The best solution to quickly leveling up a SMN, is unlocking SCH and queing for dungeons as a healer. Since ACN shares level ups with both of them this will give you access to a DPS and a Healer essentially both at level 50. The slower alternative is trying to get into whatever Duty Finder gives you and spam leve quests/ FATEs of current level.

Rotation: Your DPS for any encounter is all about your Opener. Your goal is to burst really high in the opener then retain as much as possible. Your opener does NOT end until you use Aetherflow again at which point priority order takes over. (Make sure pet is always on Obey, before batttle begins)

Single Target Traditional Opener (Garuda): Raging Strikes -> Int Pot (If using) -> Bio 2 (Setup Auto Attack, X button by Default when mob is highlighted) -> Miasma (Start moving towards mob when this is about 75-80% complete)-> Bio -> Fester -> Miasma 2 -> Potent Poisoning Potion (If using) -> Contagion / Swiftcast (Press at same time, Contagion first) -> Shadowflare -> Rouse -> Ruin 2 -> Spur -> Ruin 2 -> Enkindle -> Fester -> Ruin 2 (Raging Strikes falls off) -> Ruin 2 -> Ruin 2 -> Ruin 2 -> Fester -> Ruin 2 -> Aetherflow -> Priority system application

Single Target Traditional Opener (Ifrit): Raging Strikes -> Int Pot (If using) -> Bio 2 (Setup Auto Attack)-> Miasma (Movement)-> Bio -> Fester -> Ruin 2 -> Potent Poisoning Potion (If using) -> Swiftcast -> Shadowflare -> Rouse -> Ruin 2 -> Spur -> Ruin 2 -> Enkindle -> Fester -> Ruin 2 (Raging Falls off) -> Ruin 2 -> Bio -> Miasma -> Ruin 2 -> Fester -> Aetherflow -> Bio 2 -> Ruin I -> Shadowflare -> Bio -> Fester -> Priority system application

Multiple Targets: Same opener except you will want to use Bane after Miasma 2 (Garuda) or the first Ruin 2 if using Ifrit (Miasma 2 instead of first Ruin 2 if 3 or more targets. You will have to use Aetherflow after Ruin 2 when Raging Strikes falls off.


What I changed slightly is when Rouse and Spur are used.

My opener till the end of Raging Strikes (Garuda / Ifrit ): Raging Strikes -> Int Pot (If using) -> Bio 2 (Setup AA) -> Miasma (Movement) -> Bio -> Rouse ->Fester -> Miasma 2 -> Potent Poisoning Potion (If using) -> Contagion / Swiftcast (Press at same time, Contagion first) -> Shadowflare -> Spur -> Ruin 2 -> Enkindle -> Ruin 2 -> Fester -> Ruin 2 (Raging Strikes falls off)

The reason I made this adjustment is as follows, DPS between openers essentially the same:

1) After casting Bio, you are forced to wait at least until the debuff becomes present on the mob before you cast Fester, otherwise if you press Fester immediately, you have a high chance of not getting the full potency of Fester as it will only register 2 DoT on the mob instead of 3. By adding Rouse immediately after Bio right before you Fester, you alleviate this issue all together because animation will delay you just enough that if you press Fester right after Rouse you are guaranteed to always register 3 DoTs.

2) Animation plays a bigger part in your opener when you decide to use both a Int Pot AND a Potent Poisoning Pot. You want to make sure you are able to get that last Ruin 2 off before Raging Strikes falls off. At 371 SS, this is just barely possible with my rotation. However the traditional opener will potentially lead you to not getting the last Ruin II in time, if you even slightly delay the Fester longer then what is needed, slowing your entire opener down.

Layout: As for controller setup, it is imperative imo, that you setup Expanded Hold Controls. This allows you to hold L2 then R2 or R2 then L2, to refocus another bar altogether and gives you 8 - 16 additional hotkeys without having to toggle hotbars.
This option is location in Character Confirguration -> Hotbar Settings -> Cross Tab.

Recommendation: While having access to 16 hotkeys on the fly is cool, it is easy to mess up in battle do to sometimes your fingers may not push R2 before L2 and vice versa. What I recommend in this situation is forgoing the 8 additional expanded hotkeys, and simply set it up to have pressing L2 -> R2 and R2 -> L2 to focus the exact same bar. This way regardless of which you press first you will always get the same abilities. Then hop over to the hotbar you selected and setup the keys as you like.

Currently I play with a Controller and Keyboard setup on PC.

I open with this setup:


I switch soon after to this:


Expanded Hotkey setup:


Emergency Default Bar (Mainly for Ress / Resummon):



Setup your skills how you like but essentially some personal recommendations you may want to apply to your hotkey setup are as follows:

1) Swiftcast / Contagion (Garuda) / Shadowflare should all be on roughly the same side close to each other. When placing Resurrection, make a none combat hotbar to switch into if it's ever needed. Align Resurrection with Shadowflare hotkey, since you are likely to Swiftcast Raise people when you do actually choose to raise people.

2) Rouse and Spur also close together since those are pressed soon after each other.

3) Ruin I and Ruin II near each other to switch on the fly.

4) Bio II, Bio I and Miasma I near each other.

5) A familiar key to your fingers to Bane and Fester.

That's about all the recommendations I can make on everything you asked.