New SMN is a mind-numbingly boring one-button job

[tearagion]

Hyperbole aside, if you don't like SMN, there are 19 other classes in the game for you to play.

/thread

Yeah, but I want to play a pure caster, one that casts more than SAM. Kind of weird that that immediately limits my choices to BLM and BLU (and we all know the issue with BLU even though I love it) in a Final Fantasy game with 20 jobs. I'm sure if I think really hard I can come up with where this drought of casters and a recent rework coincide.

[aveyond-dreams]

Drought of casters? Maybe on your data center but not around here that's for sure.

[tearagion]

Drought of casters? Maybe on your data center but not around here that's for sure.

Stop misconstruing what I said, If I want to play a class that actually casts it's BLM and RDM, if I don't want a melee phase in the middle it's only BLM. This is a drought of options.

[Atamis]

Stop misconstruing what I said, If I want to play a class that actually casts it's BLM and RDM, if I don't want a melee phase in the middle it's only BLM. This is a drought of options.

That covers most the basses except afk dot damage no? Melee caster? What other style are you looking for?

[Rolder50]

That covers most the basses except afk dot damage no? Melee caster? What other style are you looking for?

They are describing a caster as a class that relies primarily on actually casting spells. You know, like with a cast bar. SMN has three casts a minute, the rest are instant cast.

[Namir]

I love the new aesthetics of the job, I love that I am living the job fantasy of summoning these majestic, powerful god-like beings to fight by my side. However, I also understand the people that are disappointed (and no, unless there are statistics proving otherwise, it can’t be proven they are a minority just going by “what you see/hear”) in how the job they play was changed. If you don’t understand them or agree with them or want to bounce ideas off about how the job could be changed, and you fully enjoy the job, by all means, keep playing it and stop coming in these threads where you have nothing to contribute except: “Well, I like it and if you don’t, play something else.” It’s childish, ridiculous, and it’s almost like you’re looking for validation that your decision to keep playing and loving the job is the right one and you won’t be happy until everybody else loves it too and doesn’t differ.

Anyway, even though personally I love the new direction, I agree that the job feels so simple to the point of almost being unfinished, or more than unfinished, it feels rushed.

The three arcanums could have been made to feel very different from each other if they had expanded on their differences (their astral flows!), but instead much of the time spent in arcanums feels like pointless filler with slightly different potencies. Let me explain:

Titan’s astral flow has a clear use: mobility. Needs no explanation. It makes sense that the 4 yellow ruins are instant cast because it’s very clear the identity they were going for with Titan is big mobility. This in my opinion is the most well designed arcanum.

Ifrit’s astral flow’s use is high damage skills in return for jumping in melee range and putting yourself at higher risk, (Ifrit needs a buff but that’s beside the point)… but why do only 2 out of the 4 GCDs make use of that? Why not go all in on that identity and make all of Ifrit’s skills be melee abilities and really make the player think about when to use it? The astral flow skills feel unique, the 2 red ruins (50% of the arcanum) feel like pointless filler with slightly different potency.

Garuda’s astral flow’s use is high damage when you can stand still and cast long… but why does only 1 out of 5 GCDs make use of that? Why does the rest of that phase turn into just a lower damage Titan? Again, like Titan and Ifrit, the astral flow feels unique, the 4 green ruins (80% of the arcanum) feel like pointless filler with slightly different potency (the lower recast time is more a cheap way of letting you remain on track to summon your next Demi than a difference).

Fester… an ability that seems to exist for the only purpose of giving us something to weave during half of the Bahamut/Phoenix phase. It could have been made into something that has a different effect depending on which arcanum we use it in. Change fester during Ifrit to a higher potency single-target melee skill, during Garuda a lower potency AoE, during Titan turn it into a buff instead that’s an AoE shield similar to Magicked Barrier (balanced by the fact that unlike RDM we would lose DPS by using it) or a buff that makes Titan’s skills have a cast time and grounds you to the earth (unable to move) until you leave Titan trance but increases their damage. Again, there is sooo much they could have done to make every arcanum feel unique and truly make the player make decisions on the fly which seems like it’s what they were going for but couldn’t fully execute that. Need AoE? Use fester during Garuda. Need Single target damage and can afford to cast and be grounded to the floor? Use fester during Titan. Need single target damage but can't afford to be grounded? Use Fester during Ifrit. Know that a shield might be needed soon? Hold fester-buff til Titan (if they choose the fester-shield instead of fester-grounded buff). This could have also made it so that Fester actually feels meaningful to our current skillset.

Also, what is Ruin IV’s purpose anymore? It’s just… there. Just give me another stack of aetherflow, adjust the potencies of Fester/Painflare a bit and we have the same thing… that’s the thing, too much of the SMN rotation feels the same: like filler just with a different coat of paint over it.

Again, love the new aesthetics and direction, but PLEASE don’t make me feel like a huge part of my rotation is just different colored filler with slight potency differences. Please make all the arcanums feel different by focusing more on abilities similar to their astral flows and less on the colored ruins. Please make Fester/Ruin IV feel like they actually mesh with my skills instead of them feeling like vestigial remnants of old SMN.

Don’t let your love for the new aesthetics and job fantasy (which I share!) blind you to the very big and obvious flaws the job’s gameplay has right now and let’s not even talk about lower levels…

[OtakuSempai]

i love new Summoner as i loved the previous. people just like to find issues where arent . i heared some complaints but for me its not so bad. idk how complex was old SMN, because there is really so many differencies . it really feels like a new job and might get some update later . but for now, im completely fine with it o/

me 2 me also luv new smn cuz 1 button cast gud titan go boom

[Caduagm]

Drought of casters? Maybe on your data center but not around here that's for sure.

Hey, @ADMs. Can you do us all a favor and ban this troll account? Thank you xoxo

[aveyond-dreams]

People who disagree with you are not automatically trolls. In any case Summoner remains a caster whether you choose to acknowledge it as one or not and its numbers aren't hurting. Does it use magic? Then it's a caster. Some are more mobile than others. That's just how it is.

One point I will agree on is that it's been ages since we've had a completely brand new caster added-because Blue Mage was nothing short of a royal disaster and remains useless outside of moogle tome events. I would love to see a full new caster job added provided it is free of the issues that plagued old SMN. Otherwise, feel free to make 7.0's jobs Scouting and Ranged dps.

[tearagion]

What an asinine argument. Precious few jobs don't use magic in the FFXIV setting, RPR is maybe the only one, runners up being kind of MCH, WAR, and GNB but not really. Casters are traditionally distinguished from Physranged by virtue of their cast bars, scaling stats, and damage type, I'll give you one guess as to which of these two don't end up mattering.