Dusting off the Tome: Summoner Feedback for 4.1

[Ariomi]

Gated on its own mechanics in which sense? Theey become locked to be used or you need to use them to do something else later?

Aetherflow is gated behind dreadwyrm trance. (it originally wasn't)

So let me give you an example. You start a pull and have full aetherflow. If you play the way the class was designed, you burn all three charges of aetherflow on fester. (15 seconds) You cannot use aetherflow even if you spent all your aetherflow charges. Gate #1 If you use aetherflow after you burned all your charges you don't get any aetherflow stacks refilled. Then you enter dreadwyrm trance. Dreadwyrm lasts 16 seconds. Gate #2. Aetherflow is locked (unusable in dreadwyrm) Aetherflow is Summoner's most important cooldown, and you are holding it for half of it's cooldown. Holding aetherflow for a total of 31 seconds. Aetherflow has a 60 second cooldown.) It takes two full sets of aetherflow to summon bahamut. So every high end summoner parse out there, Burns aetherflow as fast as possible, then ends dreadwyrm almost immediately, so they use can use aetherflow sooner.

The reason is really simple. Its SE's way of bringing the average player closer to the top players by not letting the good players use mechanics in unorthodox ways that would provide them a huge advantage.

And here is where you are mistaken. The gap between the average summoner and the top players has only gotten larger. The "optimal usage" of summoner goes against what most players assume. Dreadwyrm trance is a 10% damage increase for summoners. You would assume you would want to get as much of that damage increase as possible, but if you don't end the first dreadwyrm as quickly as possible, you set back your other skills. It's not worth waiting that extra 31 seconds just to get every drop out of dreadwyrm trance.

Summoner isn't being played as it was intended. You aren't intended to end the first dreadwyrm trance as soon as possible. It's as unorthodox as it's ever been. You use addle, during demi-bahamut as a dps increase. It's never been more unorthodox. (Addle does no damage, but contributes to dps as summoner.)

Really, I feel like this right here perfectly shows just how broken Summoner has become. Using your abilities the way the were designed is significantly worse than just vomiting them out as fast as possible just to get the job going. It's broken to the core, as sad as that is.

If they removed the gating on fester, Smn would be closer to Heavensward, and would make the gap smaller between the top smns and the average person. (Unless the average person knows not to play the class like it was intended.)