Eirene Snow's Comprehensive Thoughts on 4.0 SMN

[Neela]

Can someone provide a tl:dr version of what the SMN community hates about the 4.0 rework? I'm lacking experience with SMN and I can't fully understand what a lot of people are complaining about.

Smn were known as DoT cls with the strongest overall aoe dmg in the game. SB changed that by reducing DoT skills and nerfing aoe-skills. The Cls got a 180° shift in identity and playstyle. That was the first thing people complained about but that's not the real problem...

What's even more confusing is that over the past few days of 'SMN is bad', OP suddenly pops up, announces that SMN is still a pretty fun and functional class, shows non-balance DPS scores that exceed 4k, then proceeds to explain how to actually do it.

...the real problem is that the current state of this cls need a really high effort to get on par with the avg numbers of other dds. while the punishment in messing up your rotation (which is separated in 4 parts) gives you a strong backdrop with nearly no chance to stand up and be back on track until the fight is over.

Yet a couple of smn proved that it is possible to be strong but the majority of the community isnt able to show its real power yet. F.e. if you compare the 3 caster cls on Susano Ex fflogs data: the Rdm top 50 parsed over 4000 dps, top 20 Blm as well but on Smns side its just 4 who were able to pass the 4k-line.

This is why Smn is called broken/clunky atm : /

Personally I see the problem in smns spike-dmg design - we have to build up our impact moves deathflare & ahk morn by using avg/weak filler skills compared to the constant dmg rotations of rdms/blms. If you fail in that progress your spike dmg is locked for a to long period. Yet the spikes at itself seem not strong enough to compete with their burst in a fair way.

After all if you don't mind numbers and comparisons that much it's an interesting cls to play and just summoning the dragon lord here and there makes my heart smile a lot :3

[soslinky]

I see. Still, it seems an interesting job to play. Although based on the DPS rankings it seems like playing the class to perfection would yield only 4000+ DPS. That's seems rather low for a very complicated playstyle. I do hope SE decides to buff SMN and give Bahamut his due respect.

[Neela]

jepp thats exactly what people are complaining about - the complexity / punishment isnt rewarded fair enough atm ^^
But at least for dngs and open world content its kinda fun for some people - others are bored but well everybody to their likings :3

[MoonEclipse]

Thanks for all the support guys! I have made huge changes to improve the formatting and readability of the document. The rotation section is now complete and also broken down into point form so that it's easier to follow the explanations. Do let me know if you have any comments/feedback on the changes

[babizokahh]

Hi Eirene.
I'm a main smn since i started on the game. I was never a top fflogs player, but my dps was good enough and i used to be on the same level as the other dps on my party. After 4.0, i feel like i'm so far behind on dps, and i'm having a lot of difficulty learning the new playstyle. I think part of it it's because 4.0 smn lost a lot of things that made the class interesting for me. I'm still studying your guide and training, I don't want to give up playing smn just because i hit a rock, but i'm having so much difficulty working with the new rotations that it's making me a little depressed tbh. Mainly, i think mana and new aetherflow style are my main issues. I didn't have those problems before 4.0. I seem to loose a lot of dps mid fights and its really hard to come back from it. If you have any more tips for summoner optimization i would greatly appreciate, i don't really know any main smn personally that i can talk to.

[Vincent_Mateus]

snip snip

I gave up Dragoon because they ruined it, which has been my main since I started playing. I hope you don't get discouraged the same way. Good luck

[MelvinK]

simple, buff the valley nerf the peak

[Dyvid]

Thanks for all the support guys! I have made huge changes to improve the formatting and readability of the document. The rotation section is now complete and also broken down into point form so that it's easier to follow the explanations. Do let me know if you have any comments/feedback on the changes

Odd question, do you ever use Ifrit and if not, why?

[babizokahh]

I gave up Dragoon because they ruined it, which has been my main since I started playing. I hope you don't get discouraged the same way. Good luck

Yeah, thanks for saying that, but tbh it's becoming really hard not getting discouraged at this point, so close to savage. I love summoner with all my heart, but i'm starting to feel like i'm not good enough to play as smn, i feel like i'm below average atm, and that feeling sucks.

[MoonEclipse]

Hey Rowan,

Sorry for the late reply! I was busy with progression and did not check back on the thread till now. The best way to pick up 4.0 SMN is to get familiar with the general rotation and how each job mechanic function and interact with one another. Try to understand why certain skills are used at particular timings (AF with bahamut, DWT at fixed intervals to maximize Tri-D usage, etc.). Most importantly of all, practice on the dummy! The class has a lot of timers/things going on at the same time so you have to be really really familiar with the rotation (to the point where you can do it without much thought) in order to execute it decently in a proper raid fight like Omega Savage.


If you really like SMN as a class, don't give up! It will take you a lot more effort to keep up with other DPSers, but it feels really good when you know you did a good run. Don't worry too much about the "low numbers", but rather use it to motivate yourself to improve as a player. I can assure you that SMNs are more than capable of keeping up with RDMs when played well.