Arcanist vs Black Mage

[DaKiddPiff]

Which class do you guys prefer, arcanist or black mage and why? I am trying out ACN now and I miss my BLM but I am hoping it get's better as i level farther. I love summoning my little Carbunkle though

Also can someone tell me what are the advantages of becoming a Summoner? Do I get to summon a variety of pets rather than just two?

[Skeith-Adeline]

Which class do you guys prefer, arcanist or black mage and why? I am trying out ACN now and I miss my BLM but I am hoping it get's better as i level farther. I love summoning my little Carbunkle though

Also can someone tell me what are the advantages of becoming a Summoner? Do I get to summon a variety of pets rather than just two?

You'll likely get a plethora of complaints about SMNs from upset SMNs here.

Right now, there is no reason to switch from BLM to SMN. BLM is supreme in 90% of scenarios.

[Eloah]

Which class do you guys prefer, arcanist or black mage and why? I am trying out ACN now and I miss my BLM but I am hoping it get's better as i level farther. I love summoning my little Carbunkle though

Also can someone tell me what are the advantages of becoming a Summoner? Do I get to summon a variety of pets rather than just two?

While I Scholar main, my main DPS is Summoner, switching between the two is easy, lol. Now while I have no " major" complaints I can see why some people, Summoners included, may not like the class as much. First off Arcanist/Summoner/Scholar are DoT attackers, mean that their damage potential isn't immediately noticable, but it is still viable. Now Scholar is a different story since they gain healing spells with their job, but Sumkoners are a bit tricky. For starters, the only major new attack Summoners get is Fester, which deals damage based on the DoTs you have on the enemy, Summoners only have 3 DoTs, where as Scholars can add Aero for a Fourth DoT. Besides a binding ability, that "should" be reworked, all of the other job abilities are pet focused. Summoners get Summon III, which summons Ifrit, Spur, which increases the pets damage output, like Rouse but "meatier",@and the final ability is Enkindle, which allows the pet to perform their signature move. Basically, as I just noticed after reading something on this forum, Summoners are just Arcanists with Fester, lol.

However, Summoners does have better damage, since their int is higher than an Arcanists. As for the pets, you do have 3 to choose from, Garuda, Titan, and Ifrit, with Garuda and Titan having basicaly the same moves as the two Carbuncles, but with higher attack power, since their attack power is based on yours, and a Summoners is higher than an Arcanists. As time goes forward you will have other pets to choose from, supposedly we will be getting Leviathan, Ramuh, and Shiva with the expansion, bringing the total to 6. The main thing about Summoner/Scholar over Arcanist is actually learning to control your pet, since that becomes more important the higher your level is.

I would say give it some time and see if you like it, they aren't as flashy as Black Mages but they are just as effective. Every class/job is slow to start, but opens up at later levels.

PS. Also, you will probably encounter people telling you Garuda is the superior pet, because of the ability Contagin, Emerald Carbuncle has a similar skill called Shining Emerald; basically the move extends your DoTs by 15s. Anyway, people say Garuda is superior to Ifrit, which isn't really the case, they both have strong points and weak points. Garuda is a caster pet meaning she stays near you and deals ranged damage, whereas, Ifrit is a melee pet and must be close to the enemy to deal damage, he is also stronger, meaning he has a higher chance of dying, since he is literally, "in the firing zone". My point is to use what ever pet you like, and what pet is better for the situation. Now why you do also have Titan he is mostly a Tank pet and used for soloing content when you don't have a tank. Personally I think that should be fixed so that we could use Titan in end game content too.

[DaKiddPiff]

You'll likely get a plethora of complaints about SMNs from upset SMNs here.

Right now, there is no reason to switch from BLM to SMN. BLM is supreme in 90% of scenarios.

Does BLM have better damage? I love the huge variety of spells BLM has. Magic stuff is fun. but summoning stuff is also very fun. I love having a pet. and the reason I am leveling ACN is because my friends just started playing and we wanted to start together at the same level. I stopped playing for months so its fun starting all over again. I cant wait to get to end game and start crafting and trying to get drops

[Eloah]

Does BLM have better damage? I love the huge variety of spells BLM has. Magic stuff is fun. but summoning stuff is also very fun. I love having a pet. and the reason I am leveling ACN is because my friends just started playing and we wanted to start together at the same level. I stopped playing for months so its fun starting all over again. I cant wait to get to end game and start crafting and trying to get drops

BLM have larger bursts of uncontrolable aoe damage, since they are dependant on being stationary. Whereas, SMN has smaller bursts of semi-controlable aoe damage, since they are more mobile than BLM.

[Kazumac]

If you like BLM, stay BLM right now. SMNs have their issues though you'll likely not notice in casual content other than hearing them being more tedious.

[Kuroyasha]

Does BLM have better damage? I love the huge variety of spells BLM has. Magic stuff is fun. but summoning stuff is also very fun. I love having a pet. and the reason I am leveling ACN is because my friends just started playing and we wanted to start together at the same level. I stopped playing for months so its fun starting all over again. I cant wait to get to end game and start crafting and trying to get drops

That one part made me chuckle.

Yep BLM is just better right now. I mean if you like smn then by all means play it. It still does well in all content b4 u hit final coil(not "bad" in final coil, just not stronger than blm). I like both casters as well.

[Nyalia]

SMN is a DoT class. They have a pet, but the pet is really just there for extra auto-attacks and to extend the DoT durations. When you reach level 30, you'll get a third summon, and your other two get upgraded at levels 35 and 45 (I think, it's been a while). So, technically you can choose between the three (tank, melee DPS, ranged DPS), but really, it's just one. The ranged DPS (emerald carbuncle -> garuda-egi) pet is better in every way than the other two. The only time you'll use one of the others is when you are soloing content and need the tank, but that's rare at endgame. Heck, when I soloed stuff at/near endgame, I still used Garuda-egi just for the extra DPS.

BLM is a very rhythmic class. I'm obviously biased as I main BLM, but I really enjoy playing BLM. The rotations are pretty simple when you can stand perfectly still and just attack, but there are all sorts of tricks you can do to maximize your damage while handling boss mechanics. End-game, BLMs have two really strong defensive skills, making them one of the tankiest non-tank classes (since most non-tank damage in dungeons/raids is magical, not physical), and they have a short-range teleport that's wonderful when you get used to it. BLMs also get a spell to make someone else take less magic damage for a little bit, which is nice utility.

For utility, SMNs get... errr... uhh... hmm. Well, Gardua-egi can do a knockback, which is nice if you micro-manage it (and really terrible if you don't as it messes up the tank, melee DPS, and DPS who are AoEing). I really wanted to like SMN, but I just found the class rather dull.

The upsides to SMN include the ability to move while doing full DPS (their attacks are mostly DoTs and instant-cast spells), and the ability to play both SMN and SCH. Leveling SMN to 50 gets you a second class at 50 for free, in a different role, that you can switch to whenever you don't feel like DPSing. That makes it an interesting choice for your first level 50, as it gives you variety right off the bat.

[Skeith-Adeline]

Does BLM have better damage? I love the huge variety of spells BLM has. Magic stuff is fun. but summoning stuff is also very fun. I love having a pet. and the reason I am leveling ACN is because my friends just started playing and we wanted to start together at the same level. I stopped playing for months so its fun starting all over again. I cant wait to get to end game and start crafting and trying to get drops

Has greater single target damage; is the undisputed king of AoE (Area of Effect) damage, and doesn't suffer /that/ much with movement. As for the variety of spells, yea lol. Most of them are fluff...

[ShinryuReishiki]

I play both BLM and SMN, but I personally find BLM to be more fun. Nothing quite like doing almost 9000 damage in the span of 2 attacks; even the boss will come to give you a "pat on the back"...

So, technically you can choose between the three (tank, melee DPS, ranged DPS), but really, it's just one. The ranged DPS (emerald carbuncle -> garuda-egi) pet is better in every way than the other two. The only time you'll use one of the others is when you are soloing content and need the tank, but that's rare at endgame. Heck, when I soloed stuff at/near endgame, I still used Garuda-egi just for the extra DPS.

Ifrit isn't safe to use for every situation, but in the numerous situations where it is safe, it is the better pet by a significant margin.