Connecting the DoTs: A Summoner Guide

[Vulcwen]

is that pretty much it?

At level 60 ofc, giving the basis ideas of playing SMN, also not providing an opener, as those are most discussed anyway:

Outside dreadwyrm trance (aka DWT) , assuming you don't need to move:
Do aethertrail management
Keep up DoTs, don't clip.
Use ruin 3 if high on MP
Use ruin 3 if medium on MP and buffed by things like balance, raging strikes etc.
Use ruin 1 otherwise.

Every time you use an ability that uses aetherflow (if it has effect), you get an aethertrail stack. If you have 3 aethertrail you can go in DWT.
In DWT, basic version:
DWT -> Tri-disaster -> Ruin 3 x5 -> Deathflare (meanwhile, spam contagion)
You might also want to squeeze in 1 or 2 festers.
Aethertrail (which fester gives), lasts 30s, so you need to keep it up 'till the next time you can go in DWT.
Generally you align DWT with when you can use tri-disaster with contagion. Aetherflow is also used around that time, but can be offset by some seconds.

[Jetto]

thanks.


my question is whats the best way to proc 3 stacks? fester, drain and what else? I hate to use bane on a solo boss, waste of dps move right?

[Neela]

uhm... who are u talking to?
or is this just a summary of own experience? ^^

Then came Dreadwyrm Trance...

And everything you were used to at this point is gone...

Now the trick is...

everything you were used to is gone? not rly... trick?... its just how those skills work... and ruin lll can crit more than 5k+ without RS or other buffs at the current status of gear... on the other hand bliz2 is outdated somehow... most mobs will fall fast enough with dots, bane, pain, miasma, shadow flare and areal slash -> on rly hugh masspulls you can either add enkindle or deathflare to be even faster. bliz2 is kinda mp-intensive and in times where you should use ruin lll even out of trance you should think twice if its still worth it.

uhh and there is really a "guide" out there which tells u "how to get in trance"?... ^^'

[Silverquick]

uhm... who are u talking to?
or is this just a summary of own experience? ^^



everything you were used to is gone? not rly... trick?... its just how those skills work... and ruin lll can crit more than 5k+ without RS or other buffs at the current status of gear... on the other hand bliz2 is outdated somehow... most mobs will fall fast enough with dots, bane, pain, miasma, shadow flare and areal slash -> on rly hugh masspulls you can either add enkindle or deathflare to be even faster. bliz2 is kinda mp-intensive and in times where you should use ruin lll even out of trance you should think twice if its still worth it.

uhh and there is really a "guide" out there which tells u "how to get in trance"?... ^^'

That will be ENOUGH of that... you've been nit picking me since damn near the day I got on these boards...

You want someone interested in anything you've got to say...

Take it elsewhere....

[Neela]

uhh what? o.O

[Havenchild]

Hello again all. Been away for quite some time but glad to see summoners still hard at work at keeping the craft alive. I will begin updating this thread again with the 4.0 changes as I get a chance.

All information will be updated as such as well as different changes coming in 4.0 will be documented.

[Neela]

Welcome back :3

The next weeks are going to be a huge fun nice to have you on board <3

[Fyce]

Edit: Do not use this. While the "15s" chunks are quite nice, the opener is way too slow. 2F1P is way better.
Also, it appears that staying in DWT as long as possible is a thing of the past (at least for the opener). The nerf to Ruin III and the new Ruin IV makes DWT a lot less valuable for the potency boost and Ruin III discount than what it used to be in 3.x. Contagion is also a reason why staying in DWT during the opener is a bad idea.

---

I posted that on the "Summoner and the upcoming changes" thread, but I think it's actually good enough to bump this one as more people starts to hit Lv.70 with their Bahamut lovers.
My intent is to start getting the logic behind the job before the deeper theory craft starts. I have no idea how relevant this will be in the future, or even right now. I may have made blatant mistakes. Feel free to criticize it or give your opinion on some parts. Here we go:



Q: Is this the best opener?
A: No. This doesn't have any theory crafting regarding potencies. I just tried to make sense in GCD and oGCD usage.

Q: Are you sure?
A: The above means that this isn't an optimal opener. It's just... "something". Feel free to try it, or completly ignore it, or even improve it for your own gameplay. But don't come at me saying "this rotation isn't optimal!" I already know.

Q: Does this rotation is complete? Does it loop after that?
A: Absolutly not. As you can see, the last line has a Tri-disaster right before the end of DWT. Why? Because TD comes back with DWT. So there's some DoT clipping, but at least you spend your Trance under Ruination and your DoTs won't fall.
After that last line, you have to spend 30 seconds without any Aetherflow stack, even if I took the slowest approach with Triple Festers. This is probably the point where the rotation starts to calm down and Ruin spam will probably come in play.

Q: What's the deal with Tri-Disaster being in the prepull?
A: It should be casted at 0s, followed by Ruin II and then Fester.
You can't Tri-disaster and then Fester immediatly, btw. Fester will fail because the DoTs aren't applied yet. The Ruin II acts as a buffer. Unfortunatly, I don't think that this Ruin II can benefit from the Ruination effect. I haven't tested it though, it's just from a few observations.

Q: Why is there a single Ruin II during the "NO TD Trance" line?
A: If you can have a last Bahamut Shockwave with this Ruin II, then do it. If not, replace by Ruin III or summon Ifrit sooner.

Q: Can't you place a 6th Ruin III during DWT?
A: I tried it, thinking that the 16 seconds buff was enough, but with my current casting time and ping, I can't. There's only something like 1.5 or 2 seconds left before Deathflare. Maybe with more SS, but currently it's out of reach for me.

Q: I see Lucid Dream on the third line. Is it required?
A: I haven't done much testing on the timing for Lucid Dream, but since this opener is quite agressive regarding Ruins III, I thought it was good enough there.
But yes, it's a required cross-role skill for SMN. Swiftcast probably still has the #1 priority because of the SMN raise and the fact that egi-swap is a thing, but Lucid Dream is a close #2.
Note that any Ruin IV proc will drastically reduce MP usage on Ruin III outside DWT. So if you are lucky enough, maybe Lucid Dream will have to be used later.

Q: Did you take party buffs into account?
A: Not really. But DWT's TD should hit at around 15s. So, Trick Attack is out of the question, Chain Strategem is a "maybe", and Battle Litany is a yes. Edit: I actually have no clue about Trick Attack as I have absolutly no idea of what the SB NIN opener is.

Q: Did you try that rotation?
A: My muscle memory is all over the place right now. I can't even do the first two lines properly.

Q: LOL, you can't even do what you are suggesting?
A: No, I can't. I'm a filthy casual. Also, I click on some of my skills because I'm a clicker scrub.
Maybe some day.

Q: Wait... Is this really a 120+ seconds "opener"?
A: I have no clue where to draw the line. Maybe after the "Bahamut!" line? But yes, this is really long and busy. Whoever calls SMN "boring" should try pulling this off on a training dummy.
I say on a training dummy because I can't even remember a boss which would leave you alone for that long without throwing some mechanics at you to deal with... Which makes us come back to the first questions. This chart is probably impossible to do, but should give people an idea of how to handle Stormblood's Sumonner.

Q: It's 120 seconds chart but I don't see Aetherpact being used again?
Maybe it could fit somewhere? Idk. I don't really care about that buff. Your Egi stops doing what it's doing to cast it, and you have absolutly no control over who in your party will get the buff... which is not that great to begin with. Meh.

Q: What's your opinion on the fact that Tri-disaster now applies two DoT? Shouldn't it be called Bi-disaster?
A: When you push that button, it applies Bio III, Misma III... and Ruination. I think Tri-disaster is still justified, thanks to Ruination.

[Brinzy]

^ Good followup. That confirmed a lot of what I was thinking. If I recall, it was tough/impossible to get 6 Ruin III at the very start of HW. By the time you got Alexander gear, it was tight but doable, and then after it was no problem.

[Fyce]

Please keep in mind that it's a very slow "opener". When potency calculations will be made, maybe that the double 1F1P1E to summon Bahamut asap will be better. I have no idea at this point.
Party buffs will probably have an important role to play.