SMN is now the least popular caster again barely one expansion after its rework

[Kisshu]

A major problem I have with SMN is how bound it is to the two minute rotation. It's much worse than other jobs imo, at least other jobs can delay and realign with burst, but SMN is just stuck once it starts unless you want to spam Ruin 3 a lot.

Take Byakko Unreal, initial burst is no problem, 2 minute into the fight it's also ok, but after that you're screwed. around 2:30 into the fight you enter the fall phase and it takes around 90 seconds, so that would put you at the 4 minute mark and ready for burst. The problem is that you used Solar Bahamut at the 2 minute mark, didn't use Phoenix on cooldown, so now your 2 minute burst for the rest of the fight will be Bahamut/Phoenix instead of the stronger Solar Bahamut. Unless you want to spam Ruin 3 to align, you're stuck. Most/all other jobs don't have this problem as their cooldowns will be ready after the fall phase.

Or take Jeuno, unless you want to spam Ruin 3 (or AoE) on the first pack, you have to use Solar since most of the SMN kit is locked behind the Demis, and then you again drift on the boss.

The job is so railroaded on the 2 minute burst rotation that it breaks when the content doesn't align with it, especially if you're stuck on Bahamut/Phoenix and can't activate it on cooldown.

[BokoToloko]

A major problem I have with SMN is how bound it is to the two minute rotation. It's much worse than other jobs imo, at least other jobs can delay and realign with burst, but SMN is just stuck once it starts unless you want to spam Ruin 3 a lot.

Take Byakko Unreal, initial burst is no problem, 2 minute into the fight it's also ok, but after that you're screwed. around 2:30 into the fight you enter the fall phase and it takes around 90 seconds, so that would put you at the 4 minute mark and ready for burst. The problem is that you used Solar Bahamut at the 2 minute mark, didn't use Phoenix on cooldown, so now your 2 minute burst for the rest of the fight will be Bahamut/Phoenix instead of the stronger Solar Bahamut. Unless you want to spam Ruin 3 to align, you're stuck. Most/all other jobs don't have this problem as their cooldowns will be ready after the fall phase.

Or take Jeuno, unless you want to spam Ruin 3 (or AoE) on the first pack, you have to use Solar since most of the SMN kit is locked behind the Demis, and then you again drift on the boss.

The job is so railroaded on the 2 minute burst rotation that it breaks when the content doesn't align with it, especially if you're stuck on Bahamut/Phoenix and can't activate it on cooldown.

This is the actual problem with SMN and, worst of all, always has been. The one thing that was most baffling about the rework is how, of all things to be adressed, the fact SMN was a railroaded class whose rotation would grind to a halt with any downtime was the one thing they never deemed fit to fix. This is worsened taking into account the fact that they had just decided to shift to the 2-min meta for everyone (except BLM) just an expansion ago.

Why has SMN not gotten any solution? Easy. Because PCT took it with it how Motifs cooldowns work and how they're completely detached from each other. Just imagine the motifs only it's Gemstone summons instead of Creature motifs, Bahamut instead of Hammer Motif and Phoenix instead of Landscape.

For all the misgivings about PCT damage, the job was relatively well designed compared to the rest (until SE decided to do a shoddy job with the potency tweaks). Which only make one wonder... why couldn't they keep SMN to that level of quality?

[Vhel]

Thought that it was just me that felt this