Fresh SMN

[Mskala]

So, I am a whm. Whm will be my main until SE makes it completely unplayable. But I leveled SCH because, as a whm, I find fights that normally tax my abilities are much, much easier when a sch is around. So now I have this shiny new 50 sch (dinged into i76 gear woooooooooo), but I figured I should make my SMN not trash. My fc has a lot of healers so being able to dd in some fights would be good.

My current priority is bio>miasma~=bio2>ruin/ruin2 (depending on mana and how long the fight will last). I put up shadow flare for 2+ enemies, but tri-disaster and miasma II seem like a waste of damage compared to just spamming ruins. I obviously use fester/bane depending on the situation.

Any tips on smn?

[Ardan]

First off, your priority is backwards. It should be Bio II > Miasma > Bio. Miasma II by itself is not very useful, but it is nice when used on multiple enemies or for ST combined with Contagion. Learn how to use the pet command Obey and your other pet commands in general. You can save a lot of MP having to resummon or using Sustain with proper pet positioning.

[Madoka]

Always use Garuda on Obey
Bio 2 - Miasma - Bio (contagion near the end of the miasma cast) - Bane/fester as needed - shadow flare - ruin and fester until dots need to be replaced. Toss in some rouse and spurs when needed. It takes time to be really good at SMN but you can be passable doing this.

[Mskala]

Bio has more potency, so shouldn't it be the most important to keep up?

I do use obey and I am using the extended bar for controller for the different commands (easier than getting stuck in pet bar imo).

I plan to make smn coil ready at some point, just not right away. What is the priority on gear secondaries?

(stupid forums weren't letting me post stuff)

[Vinroke]

Bio should be your last DoT applied because of their respective timers. Any gear that raises INT is a must for SMN, how are you dealing with the split attributes between SCH/SMN?

[Ryuko]

This is going to sound really corny, but you should really think about what you were taught in the arcanist storylines when thinking about summoner.

Everything is about math, timing, and prediction. The more comfortable you are with a fight, the more effective you will be. You will know exactly when to use your cooldowns for optimal effectiveness.

As others have said, your basic rotation should be Bio II > Miasma > Bio. Use Garuda on Obey, and park her in a safe position if it's a fight that requires a lot of dodging. If you have Contagion ready, feel free to throw up a Miasma II before using Contagion (only if it is safe to be near the mob... but there are a lot of fights where you are encouraged to be near the mob anyway).

Rouse + Spur + Enkindle is good for hard DPS checks.
Level archer for Raging Strikes if you haven't. This will help hard DPS checks.
If there are no hard DPS checks in a fight, pop these on cooldown. You will be able to get off two RS Festers before the timer is up, so make sure Fester is ready to use when you pop Raging Strikes.
If there is a long wait until the hard DPS check, feel free to pop Rouse or Spur early on in the fight. You may be able to use RS too if you have time. Again, feel it out, learn the fight, get a better understanding of the timing.

Shadowflare is nice added damage, especially if there are adds. If I am confident that people know what they are doing, I'll waste a Swiftcast to throw a Shadowflare down quick.

Tri-Disaster is more about utility than anything, but it was our 'filler' AoE spell after spreading all DoTs until we were given Blizzard II. Now Blizzard II does more damage for less MP and less time -- the only downside is you need to be on top of the mobs to use it.

I'm sure, as a WHM/SCH, you already know how to use Eye for an Eye and Virus as your utilities, so I won't cover that.

Keep in mind that your 'filler' spell should be Ruin 1. Ruin 2 is great for the added effect of blind, but be careful that you aren't messing up a Paladin who may be using their Flash for the added effect of blind (before Mountain Buster in Titan Hard for example). I like to pop a Ruin 2 right before Fester because I won't have to wait on a cooldown to use Fester. It's all about timing.

Never waste Aethercharges -- make sure to use them before cooldown.

For really tough fights where you have to burst down an add quick (Titan jail or conflag), consider putting up your DoTs, waiting for the add to spawn, Baneing your DoTs, and then Festering. It's the most effective way summoners can burst down adds.

Keep in mind that Bane only spreads to three targets (four total if you count the one you started on). When preparing to bane a LOT of enemies (like the bugs in phase 1, Turn 4), it is advantageous to choose an enemy on one side of the pack, dot up, Bane, then choose an enemy on the other side of the pack, dot up, Bane. Don't forget about Miasma II when killing lots of enemies, and Shadowflare.

I hope this more 'specific' advice helps.

Also, you should start recasting your dots around 15 seconds left on Bio II -- this will maintain 100% dot uptime. If the mob is about to die, you can refresh your dots in the opposite order so zero time is wasted. Don't forget to wait a split second after you cast all dots for the first time to use Fester... wait until you can see Bio (green icon) because it takes a second for it to pop up.

Don't forget to command Garuda to attack different things with Obey, and use Contagion when it is useful. After enough practice micromanaging her, it will be second nature.

[Singularity]

The reason you want Bio last in your DoT application sequence is that it is instant-cast but initiates the GCD, meaning you can use an off-GCD ability (Bane or Fester) while your other skills are "recharging". It also lets you start moving to dodge something just as Miasma finishes casting and still get all the DoTs up. If you were to put Bio elsewhere in the sequence, you would have to wait for its GCD, then cast the remaining DoT(s), then use Bane or Fester while you could have been using an on-GCD skill and the enemies have a longer window to interrupt your DoT applications.

[Mskala]

Now that I'm doing the rotation the other way, i noticed I'm killing things much faster. Thanks guys

I keep getting mixed responses about miasma II both here and in game, I tried it in an ak run and it didn't really seem to speed up mobs that much.

I did a ct run and noticed garuda is dead more often than alive, even after i put her in places I would stand as a healer. Any recommendations on that?

EDIT: one more thought before bed. Would it be a good idea to macro obey onto ruin/one of the dots? or am i better leaving garuda on the boss during adds?

[Madoka]

M2 is only worth using on groups before you start blizz2ing or ruining in normal dungeons. It takes a lot of effort and timing to maximize dps with it and contagion on bosses and it's pretty minimal.

Garuda will move to attack something in CT and very often will fly right over poison to hit a dira or something in the first part of CT, you have to micromanage her a lot for it or just have her on steady. I usually leave her on steady during the skeleton phase of bone dragon. Aside from that she shouldn't be dying in CT

[Singularity]

Yes, I've noticed that Garuda tries extra hard in CT to make me look bad.

In CT part 1, use place to put her on a safe platform, then tell her to attack your target - if she has to move off the platform to reach it, then pull her back and put her on steady. Garuda's AI is completely oblivious to the poison and, because of her delayed response to commands, it will often kill her before you have a chance to do anything about it. Note that casters' spells and Garuda's wind blade have a shorter range than Cure/Physick/Other healing spells, therefore if you put her where you would stand as a healer, she will often move from that spot because the mobs are out of her range.

For Bone Dragon, I just park Garuda on the "DPS platform" two platforms away from the boss and leave her there the entire fight. I only tell her to attack a skeleton if it gets inside the range where she wouldn't have to move to hit it.

For Atomos, if you are on platform, put her off to the side about halfway between you and the boss, she can DPS the boss or adds from there as necessary and being off to the side should avoid her getting hit by Valefors' laser eyes. If you notice your tank pulling down the side Garuda is on, switch her to the other side.

On Acheron, when it's time to run to the platform, hit steady as well as heel. Otherwise she will get to you on the platform and then think "ooh a boss - I must go DPS it" and fly back inside the shield to get 9999d by Ancient Flare.