SMN's Egi Appearances ~ one final, humble request

[Parz3val]

...


I've read a ton with regards to this topic, I've read both sides.

The conclusion I've come to?

Sure, lore-wise it wouldn't be appropriate to ret-con the Egis' appearances into something more traditionally 'FF summon-like'... the aetheric manifestations need to stay.


But, in keeping with the lore explanation, I still believe their visual appearance could be a lot better delivered upon. And should be.

Not saying they have to be massive, incredibly ornate, or aetheric carbon-copies of the originals...

I am saying however that I think you can do us one better SE. You don't have to, but it would be for the fans & I believe it would make a ton of your player-base very happy.


Why? This' a Final Fantasy game & look back to Summons historically in this franchise.

The current iterations do not meet the 'come to be expected' standard of Final Fantasy.

Sure, this' a different take, a different title, and you're entitled to do with it how you please... it's your baby. But...


There is, in a sense, a precedent us FF fans have come to expect and perceive with regards to the Summoner Job.

And that precedent I feel is forsaken in favor of keeping with the lore and a bit too heavy-handledly taken seriously when it comes to readability in MMO encounters.

In other words, I know your reason for keeping them small & hard to select is so it doesn't disrupt the player's playability/readability/view.

What I mean is, you could stand to make them just a 'slight bit' larger & retain a solid foundation of readability for the player (in my opinion).

As well, I believe we wouldn't 'have' to go any larger if they were filled in with a lot more detail/interest-of-appearance in general.

Though, personally I think a tad larger would go a long way, especially in conjunction with finer details.


Additionally, you could make them leagues more detailed/interesting while still keeping with the crystalline appearance set by the lore.

Heck, you could even marginally hybridize their appearance and make it still fit lore-wise.

A Summoner could perhaps have the power and the knowledge to incarnate these Egi's with even greater aesthetics/properties akin to their avatars simply as they grow in their art for summoning.

You could explain that without a single ret-con or build upon the lore in that fashion.


So in conclusion, with all gratitude & respect for you & your company, to Yoshi-P,

I & the up-voters of this thread humbly ask you reconsider updating these models to better deliver on the informal FF precedent of what it is to be a true FF SUMMONER.

#forFFjustice

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So after posting endlessly in the Rework Summoner thread, I came to the conclusion this topic needs revisiting.

Even if you've already said no SE, I think you must change your answer somehow, for FF-Justice.

There's a reason SMN's have been & currently are such a hot debate topic on these forums & I bet if you polled the whole of the player-base you'd get very mixed reviews.

I believe one thing we can almost all agree upon is improved Egi appearances (a little more detail, a littler larger) wouldn't hurt & would in fact, be welcome.

In all my postings, I feel I hit upon the primary issue with ARR's SMN quite well... classic FF Summoners were all about SPECTACLE, there is practically none with our SMN. This is a result of 3 questionable design decisions:

1) DoT-centric sustained damage dealer.
2) lack of awesome aesthetic prowess.
3) baby booger/potato 'pets' instead of almighty, mythical beings.

The core design of SMN is mostly unlikely to change... so changing #1 is out.

Changing both #'s 2 & 3 together would go a VERY LONG way.

Now we've fought Lore like crazy, we're stuck with these marginal Pets instead of awesome Summons... I think we'll just have to deal with that.

However...

I) A slight increase in scale & level-of-detail for the Egi's would do wonders.

Also, part of the problem is how we need these Egi's to feel powerful... and numbers are less integral than animations/spell-effects.

II) Improved Enkindle/Egi Spell/Rouse/Spur Animations would do wonders also.

Give us that feeling of Awesome Power.

You don't have to blow up our screens, just do things like wrap Ifrit Egi in a swirling inferno, have him roar, have his claws rip the air in crimson stripes... Garuda Egi gusts, screams, & tornadoes... Titan Egi boulders, slams, & shouts... etc.

SE, even if you won't budge on their appearance (which you really should, at least a little)... return that SPECTACLE to the Job.

Give us the Summoner not which we deserve, but which Final Fantasy deserves.

#forFFjustice

My general takeaway upon reading all 6 pages atm - just a tad bigger would be ideal & redo Garuda Egi.

With very minor increased scale, I think very minor detail/texture improvement across the board wouldn't hurt.

Less booger/chicken/mallow jokes, more awesomeness.

Great bonus idea (imo) - ground Titan.

I personally think grounding Ifrit would be awesome too, let Levi & Ramuh Egi's float.

I love the way Ifrit Primal crawls around like a fearsome Reptile, his Egi should emulate that (again, imo).

Similar threads that echo this feeling:

http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...?highlight=egi

http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...?highlight=egi

http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...?highlight=egi

http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...?highlight=egi