Connecting the DoTs: A Summoner Guide

[Jikillia]

i prefer to use bio first going bio - bio 2 - miasma.
this way i can cast bio twice within the time limit of rs, making opening looking something like this

RS - BIO - BIO 2 - MIASMA - RUIN 2 - FESTER - SWIFTCAST - SHADOWFLARE - BIO - CONTAGON

this way fester can be casted straight after miasma or bane in case of aoe and have bio put on for extra 18 seconds

[Minorinz]

i prefer to use bio first going bio - bio 2 - miasma.
this way i can cast bio twice within the time limit of rs, making opening looking something like this
RS - BIO - BIO 2 - MIASMA - RUIN 2 - FESTER - SWIFTCAST - SHADOWFLARE - BIO - CONTAGON

I do that too depending on the boss's movements or I have to move back and forth then use a poison pot with miasma on the second bio :'D

[pandabearcat]

Please remember that "snapshotting dots" is not in and of itself anything 'special'. There is nothing that "snapshotting" dots does that is different from any other attack during RS and other CDs.

With that said, simply treat dots as an upfront nuke when determining the value of cooldowns.

So now bio is simply a "nuke" with 240 potency. With RS, it becomes 298 potency. Simple as that. You'll note it gains 48 potency - this is slightly more than 1 tick's worth, so we'll take that into consideration in just a second.

The big deal with Bio first is that you delay your first fester, meaning its harder to fit fester into the rotation. So if we consider this, with 0 spell speed, it will take you

[Bio II] > [Miasma] > [Bio|Swiftcast|Fester] is the first rotation, so it takes you roughly 6.5 seconds to get a fester out. This gives you 16.5 seconds for the second fester, or if you think about it, 3.5 seconds of leeway.

If you bio first, it turns into

[Bio] > [Bio II] > [Miasma] > [Ruin II|Swiftcast|Fester] so it will take you ~9 seconds for first fester.

This gives you only 1 second of leeway. Now, in an ideal scenario, this will work, but...you're playing with fire here. This is my primary motivator in not Bio first. Now, if you remember our potency discussion, you gain 48 potency for Bio during RS. Since fester is 300 potency, you gain 60 potency for doing it during RS. Needless to say, if you miss out on the second fester, you will lose more dps, and Bio is not worth it.

We also consider whether or not it is worthwhile to clip Bio prior to end of RS, for the Bio II > Miasma > Bio opener. In this opener, Bio comes out roughly around 5 seconds, with lets say .5 second delay from RS animation and Bio delay. So with 5.5 seconds, we have ~14.5 seconds before end of RS, meaning we can fit at most 5 more GCDs (6 total including first Bio GCD). This is almost exactly 3 seconds left on the tick, which means we lose on average 1 tick. Since 1 lost tick is 40 pot and RS is 48 potency, this is tentatively good. However, this comes at the cost of losing a RS II instead, which gains 16 potency, so is a loss overall. Thus, do not preemptively refresh your Bio if you do the "standard" opener.

Back to the opener you proposed, again the sticking point is whether or not you can put in that second fester. Another note to point out is, if you did not precast shadowflare, this delays your sflare for another GCD. So, again, not optimal. Loss of an sflare tick + RuinII bonus will cost you any benefit.

[Jikillia]

snip

I suppose it really comes down to the type of encounter and how comfortable you are. I do recall my opener didn't allow second fester to land due to boss becoming invuernerable or simply untargettable and if I can save that 2~3 seconds on first fester it will help me land on it.

Just a food for thought though :3 I always find alternative opening on different opening handy.

[Minorinz]

Please remember that "snapshotting dots"...

Well technically it's all about the packet loss, so squeezing the second fester is very much doable. I have already been able to squeeze it in multiple times especially when you are festering upon your third dot instantly. Although I still have this bad habit of not going for the third fester and energy draining instead, simply because I cannot bear the sight of AF not being on CD for 10 more seconds.

[Judge_Xero]

Great points Pandabearcat.

The big thing that sold me on going back to the Classic Opener was the Pre-Cast of Bio 2. If you practice timing it so your cast goes off just as the boss is pulled you are essentially 1 cast ahead of having opened with Bio. That 1 cast will translate to an extra Ruin @ 80 Potency. So right off the bat you are further ahead. (before having to worry about clipping, fitting in that 2nd Fester before RS falls off etc)

The reason this never occurred to me while comparing the two initially on a training dummy was due to me opening with Shadow Flare and then going into RS Bio etc, and after so much practice I could edge slightly ahead of the Classic Opener. But on a practical fight with SF placed and pre-cast Bio2, the Classic is just too good.

[Sanguisio]

Yup good points panda

Tbh the classic opener is the best way to go at the moment until new dots etc are added

[Judge_Xero]

Yup good points panda

Tbh the classic opener is the best way to go at the moment until new dots etc are added

New Classic Opener - RS - X-POT - Tri-Disaster

<3 <3 <3

[Havenchild]

New Classic Opener - RS - X-POT - Tri-Disaster

<3 <3 <3

Well see here is what I've been thinking.
I'm not sure Tri - Disaster yet is actually worth using in the opener because it takes an AF stack.

At current, starting with Bio II, means that for the first global tick, you will have solely Bio II, while the second global tick, you would have Bio II, Miasma and Bio.

So essentially what you gain from the opener would be 75 potency, + 2 GCDs that no longer are used to cast Miasma and Bio so lets say 2 Ruins for a total of 235 Potency.

That's still less damage then a Fester at 300 potency. This is assuming the skill is on GCD.

Now if it's off GCD, you possibly gain an additional Ruin which would then be...315 Potency. So it would have to be a skill that's not on the GCD to be possibly worth it assuming you can gain a third Ruin. The skill animation looks fairly instant though which means it would have to be used when the tank pulls and cant be pre-casted. Throw in another part like the fact that, If the skill (Tri-Disaster) doesn't do damage on application which it didn't seem to, the potency you get from casting Miasma (20), instantly beats it with a 320 vs 315 spread.

If it is on the GCD (perhaps even oGCD), then determining if it's worth using Tri-Disaster vs a third Fester will depend on how this Bahamut Trance works and how much DPS you can gain in the 10 seconds you shifted Aetherflow to get into this stance asap.

[Sunako]

New Classic Opener - RS - X-POT - Tri-Disaster

<3 <3 <3

It is also not sure it is worth use rs in the opener if you can do loads of damage with Bahamut trance. It is probably better use rs after you get full stack of Bahamut Aether then shoot your akh morns to your target with rs up.