Summoner: if summoner is the first new class to be released what would you expect?

[Zantetsuken]

Summoner is perhaps my favorite job -- and I hated the FFXI (pet) version of it.

Some ways to make it better:

Control Change: The summoner must maintain the summoning spell to keep the avatar out. Avatar appears and then player gains full control of it and can move around and pull special moves that deplete the SMN's MP (as opposed to TP) - no perpetuation cost, if the SMN sustains any damage, the avatar dissapears and the player regains control of SMN.

One Shot - Classic Style: Avatars appear in the same way they did from FFIII - FFIX. That is, they appear. pull off a super attack, and leave. This makes SMN more of a super mage than a pet job and it better reflects the way summoning worked traditionally. Every Avatar would have an assortment of abilities that expands as you level up. You select an ability, the Avatar appears, uses the ability, and is gone. Much more straight forward, and allows for greater variety of things for the SMN to do during a battle.

[Ryans]

Summoner is perhaps my favorite job -- and I hated the FFXI (pet) version of it.

Some ways to make it better:

Control Change: The summoner must maintain the summoning spell to keep the avatar out. Avatar appears and then player gains full control of it and can move around and pull special moves that deplete the SMN's MP (as opposed to TP) - no perpetuation cost, if the SMN sustains any damage, the avatar dissapears and the player regains control of SMN.

One Shot - Classic Style: Avatars appear in the same way they did from FFIII - FFIX. That is, they appear. pull off a super attack, and leave. This makes SMN more of a super mage than a pet job and it better reflects the way summoning worked traditionally. Every Avatar would have an assortment of abilities that expands as you level up. You select an ability, the Avatar appears, uses the ability, and is gone. Much more straight forward, and allows for greater variety of things for the SMN to do during a battle.

As fun as the control system would be, this game has too many positional elements for the summoner to worry about its avatar and himself to be an effective member.

The one shot system would be too boring in my opinion. Maybe if each avatar had a combo and they'd stay out as long as the combo was active.

I'd prefer to have summoner be able to fulfill any of the party slots depending on what avatar they have out. Maybe they get a unique spell depending on their current pet on top of what the combo the avatar itself can do. When they have a light type avatar out, a small cure type of spell that the summoner uses and the pet does regens, curagas, and esunas. When you have an earth avatar out, the summoner can use something like stone throw and the pet has stoneskin, en-stone, slow, and some fist weaponskills.

[Shurrikhan]

Summoner is perhaps my favorite job -- and I hated the FFXI (pet) version of it.

Some ways to make it better:

Control Change: The summoner must maintain the summoning spell to keep the avatar out. Avatar appears and then player gains full control of it and can move around and pull special moves that deplete the SMN's MP (as opposed to TP) - no perpetuation cost, if the SMN sustains any damage, the avatar dissapears and the player regains control of SMN.

One Shot - Classic Style: Avatars appear in the same way they did from FFIII - FFIX. That is, they appear. pull off a super attack, and leave. This makes SMN more of a super mage than a pet job and it better reflects the way summoning worked traditionally. Every Avatar would have an assortment of abilities that expands as you level up. You select an ability, the Avatar appears, uses the ability, and is gone. Much more straight forward, and allows for greater variety of things for the SMN to do during a battle.

I'd rather see Summoner as summoning and being able to control his/her pets both directly and indirectly at his/her own choosing. Leave Bahamut nukes for some sort of aggregate battle regimen reform, centered through the summoner.