Why Summoner Needs Help

[Gallus]

The only thing I agree about SMN is the fact that it's too hard to pull good DPS with it.

How to make it less punishing:

DWT - Change it so instead of a stance that lasts 15 seconds, it allows for the next 6 Ruin III to cost no mana. Deathflare still finishes the stance. Remove the 10% damage bonus from DWT and slightly buff the base damage of either Bio III and Miasma III or Ruin/Ruin II/Ruin III (or else this new stance could be used to spam indefinite Ruins I with 10% damage bonus). I'd really like this change because clipping your Ruins III in the middle of DWT with enkindle, rouse, aetherpact and shadow flare is clunky as hell and makes me mad every time. You have to either give up on one or two Ruins III or let those buffs sit until your DWT is over.

Bahamut - Just make it AA like the pet independently. Saving your whole arsenal for this thing (which is what you are forced to do now) turns SMN into a "Gonna summon Baha now hopefully nothing screws me over for the next 20 seconds or I'm gonna meet the very bottom of the parser at the speed of the light.

Do this and SMN is automatically on par with SAM and RDM in terms of being zero punishing (in fact, even with these changes SMN would still be slightly more punishing due to having stuff like Shadow Flare, Rouse or Bahamut which can be derp casted in a phase which is either not required or right before a downtime).