Can someone give me an in-depth explanation why Summoner is arguably the worst DPS?

[Brianmj]

Just hang in there OP -- With all this buzz going like there was with Dragoon a while back, it will just be a few weeks probably until they buff SMN's MP problems.

You make it sound like it's a sure thing. Square isn't even at the point where they have acknowledged Summoner has a problem. How many fan festivals have gone by since Summoner's "problems" have been exposed? Two, and nothing has been said

[m3eansean]

You make it sound like it's a sure thing. Square isn't even at the point where they have acknowledged Summoner has a problem. How many fan festivals have gone by since Summoner's "problems" have been exposed? Two, and nothing has been said

Just a hunch I guess - When they buffed dragoon, they said it was because they monitored player activity and noticed that the frequency of dragoons being included had been decreasing due to the issues. If it is in fact true that people are either saying no to SMN's in their group, or switching to BLM for ease of use, then I'm pretty confident that Square will step in, as they are quite afraid of a job "dying" IMO.

I could be wrong.

[ShaolinMike]

Just a hunch I guess - When they buffed dragoon, they said it was because they monitored player activity and noticed that the frequency of dragoons being included had been decreasing due to the issues. If it is in fact true that people are either saying no to SMN's in their group, or switching to BLM for ease of use, then I'm pretty confident that Square will step in, as they are quite afraid of a job "dying" IMO.

I could be wrong.

This is what I'm REALLY hoping for, as I continue to spend time working on my Nexus. Please, SE, don't make me regret it lol.

[Tex_Mex]

It is a much simpler fix to do something like increase pet damage or reduce ability CD's or modify skills in minor ways, which is likely the direction they will go.

The other alternative is a massive gear stat overhaul, which is even less likely lol

[Tex_Mex]

Ya the issues with SS are pretty bad at the moment. Unfortunately, the fix for this issue is much more complicated due to how DoT's currently work in the game. Because DoT attacks have time lengths (18s etc.) that are unaffected by SS. Even if you allowed Spell Speed to affect the speed of DoT ticks (normally every 3 seconds) then you end up with a non linear stat gain path for SS on DoT classes.

For example:
18s DoT - Hits 6 times (every 3 seconds)
In order for the DoT to hit 7 times you would need 18/7 = 2.571 or 2.571/3 which is a massive 14.3% Spell Speed.

For a 24s DoT - you would need 11.1% Spell Speed to get an extra hit and so on for longer DoT's

Since the overall time does not change, spell speed for an 18s DoT attack sees no benefit until you reach individual marks, making the stat useless unless you reach certain milestones.

[Ardan]

It would be nice if they adjusted certain skills and traits.

- Enhanced Pet Actions
- Tri-Disaster
- Eye for an Eye
- Energy Drain

All of these should be looked at, especially Tri-Disaster and Enhanced Pet Actions, both of which are largely useless or unhelpful.

[Brianmj]

You know what is telling about this thread and all the others concerning Summoner? Game players make horrible game designers. Suggestion are just thrown out with no regard for balance, no regard to how said suggestions would affect player behavior. No regard to how job abilities are played out in other systems (pvp, levemetes, guildhiests etc) You feel Tri-disaster is useless? I use it all the time. It's a very important kiting tool. Just because you have no use for it doesn't mean someone else doesn't.

[Ardan]

You know what is telling about the thread and all the others concerning Summoner? Game players make horrible game designers. Suggestion are just thrown out with no regard for balance, no regard to how said suggestions would affect player behavior. You feel Tri-disaster is useless? I use it all the time. It's a very important kiting tool. Just because you have no use for it doesn't mean someone else doesn't.

Unless it's PVP or maps, Tri-Disaster is largely a useless skill that serves no purpose. The enemies in newer dungeons will flat-out resist sleep and bind. It's not completely useless as a skill, sure, but it doesn't change the fact that it needs to be looked at.

[Tex_Mex]

Ya there are only about 65 threads open right now about SMN balance issues. At a minimum, it has been noticed.

The other thing that really hurt SMN was the removal of pets abilities to soak damage in FCoB like it did in previous coils. That aspect alone, was enough to get people to bring SMN's into T5. It was, admittedly, insanely overpowered because you could basically remove a healer mechanic with it, but it did at least make stuff interesting. People still use the pet soak method for T5 lol.

[Tex_Mex]

@Brianmj

None of us here claim to be game designers man. Obviously SE has to take everything said in forums with a grain of salt because it will always be biased, one way or another. But that statement is true about everything ever said about everything EVER! So making a point to call it out is kind of a waste of time.

Regardless, there have been some really good ideas out of these forums. Things like summon pets party buffs, slight changes to skills or mechanics, discussion on stat weights etc. You just have to ignore all the trolls, wade through the very extreme BS, and look for the little bit of usefulness that is here. If that isn't a life lesson, i don't know what is.