Why are summoners so neglected?

[Zojha]

I take issue with this, because sometimes the best approach is to fully flesh out your concept/implementation first and THEN add flashy new systems.

That's implying you still want your original concept/implementation in the first place. My interpretation of the whole thing is that they saw pets in action, didn't like them and then got stuck because they couldn't just remove them outright.

And it really does make sense not to flesh out a system you don't want to have anymore in the first place. You softly phase it out.

[Duelle]

That's implying you still want your original concept/implementation in the first place. My interpretation of the whole thing is that they saw pets in action, didn't like them and then got stuck because they couldn't just remove them outright.

And it really does make sense not to flesh out a system you don't want to have anymore in the first place. You softly phase it out.

At that point your class growth looks half-assed, though. It's like building a house out of wood and then changing your mind half way and building the rest out of fiberglass. Not only would it look wrong, but it would also have structural issues. And as seen with this current situation, you get complaints on both sides.

The same lack of understanding of cohesiveness is why all leveling BRDs hit that point where they get blindsided by Wanderer's Minuet the moment they hit lv52, instead of making the design a complete experience to new players picking up the job while the old players reminisce about how it used to be.

[Zojha]

At that point your class growth looks half-assed, though.

Well yes. But the alternative is redoing the thing from scratch, which developers tend to be averse to, both in class and general content design.
Instead of retro-fitting old designs to fit with the new goals, they rather let the old stuff be the old stuff and instead build the new stuff to fit the goals. The ARR sightseeing log was never retro-fitted to be like the HW one, ARR gathering hasn't been changed to the HW system, coils aren't using the Alex loot system, hunting log was discontinued, ARR beast tribe quests weren't changed to the HW system etc etc.
They do the same with class design and for the same reasons. Instead of retrofitting the entire job, they just build the new skills on top to achieve the desired results.

Of course that can't make for a cohesive experience, I gladly agree. It's disjointed and often puzzling. It's just what it is.