Quote Originally Posted by Axxion View Post
I can see why. With how it was prior until now its just got stripped of everything. At this point can you or anyone call it a "smn" ? to me its just a channeller. Reason being because of the how it functions. Yes you do smn Bahamut & phoenix but in between? just channel the power of dump truck titans hands to hit your foes.
My take is, in terms of style and concept, EW SMN is more a "Summoner" than the job has ever been before, and I actually like the direction of how the summons work, having carbuncle as a "caddie" of sorts, and having your rotation be a combination of grand summon attacks and channeled personal attacks. That said, I think this concept, while having considerable potential, was very poorly executed. The job is frustratingly rigid, carbuncle has no real utility that warrants having him as a support caddie, and overall feels incomplete and takes simplicity too far.

I want to see this concept really enhanced, possibly even taking inspiration from older iterations of SMN and readopting those elements in a way that fits this new gameplay feel. For example, I mentioned earlier that one possible way to loosen up the job's rigidity is to reverse the way gemstones work on the gauge. Ifrit/Titan/Garuda do not require gems; they have cooldowns and generate gems, and its Bahamut/Phoenix who require 3 different gems to be summoned (and you start instances with 3 gems). This now immediately makes it easier to delay a Bahamut/Phoenix phase in dungeons, or for when a burst window needs to be delayed, and creates room to add potentially a 4th option that can be interchangeable with I/T/G. Perhaps Phoenix gets downgraded to your 4th summon, deals slightly less damage than the other 3, but offers healing, instant rez, and utility. This allows SMN to now choose when to bring out utility if needed rather than being forced to take advantage of it at specific points in its rotation, and creates more decision-making moments for the player. Alexander could perhaps replace Phoenix as the alternative summon to Bahamut, or we could keep Phoenix as-is and have the 4th be something like Lakshmi, or maybe that 4th phase is enhancing your Carbuncle into a big Diamond Carbuncle like the one we see in Idylshire. But at this point, these are just my own ramblings of ideas.