A more summonery Summoner

[Higashikata]

If what you say is true, then what of this talk about Fire 4 replacing Flare?

Uneducated folk not knowing what they're talking about. The usual.

[Wizarus]

Uneducated folk not knowing what they're talking about. The usual.

...and that's why I asked a question? But please continue to troll.

[Akiza]

SE can make a traditional Summoner by removing the Egis and have them incarntae summon a primal for 30s do AoE bursts damage do its signature attack and leave.

[elemental10]

BIGGER SUMMONS

MORE FLASHING THINGS

MORE DAMAGE

SMN MASTERRACE

[Xyphon]

So you basically want ffxiv smn to be like ffxi smn? As I recall, the summons were scaled to the players race. They weren't as big as the originals, but they were larger than the player. It really didn't add clutter to the game, but then again they didn't have the same kind of particle effects.

The biggest difference in ffxi is all of the smn skills was through the summon. You couldn't do anything outside of using your summon (in terms of your main job/class...not sub job lol). Some people loved this, some people hated it. They already tried to make ffxiv like ffxi in 1.0, and it obviously failed (wasn't popular enough).

There is plenty of people who use ifrit, and can pull higher dps...if the situation allows it (dragon kick ftw). Garuda ends up winning most of the time, because she is ranged.

[Asierid]

They don't care about the actual problems that needed to be addressed for the actual job.

This. Best part about this whole thing is that there is no "classic" summoner type in the series either. Every one of the games did it different, some they didn't exist at all. All of the times, except two (X and XI), you didnt even control the summon and were a half assed black mage.
This whole " SMN is not an actual summoner" is amusing since it's just a bunch of people trying to tack XIs system on older games where they didn't exist.

Td;dr: This isn't XI. Your "system" won't be in this game. Play SMN as it is or roll something else, because it isn't changing anytime soon.

[Edellis]

More people asking to be Yuna, when will it end...

[pandabearcat]

Fun fact, FFX released almost 14 years ago. Older than many that play this game, probably.

FFVII is 18 now.

FFXI is also more than 13 years old.

This idea of just having a summon run around and punch stuff is very old, and one can say, outdated. Neither is it the only incarnation of summoners in FF games.

[Akiza]

A classic Summoner is a Black Mage that specializes in Summoning so it's a more explosive Black Mage which is what I assume people want. Looking at the direction of Summoner in 3.0 its wouldn't be suprising if SE added an Incarnate Summoning rotation and have players transform into the Primal at lvl 70. They gave Summoner's the ability to summon the power of Bahamut through Dreadwyrm trance so it's not out of the question for them give us the ability to summon primals with Incarnate Summoning.

[SoloWingMetatron]

I have a theory regarding the relentless SMN debate.

It is without question that SMN and the Summons themselves are one of the biggest icons of FF history, right up there with Chocobos and Moogles. The job itself has always been revered as a legendary job, with immense and wondrous power that always seems to shine above the rest as something "special"

However in an MMO like ARR where ALL jobs are considered equal. Is the issue just simply that the majority of the SMN player base are in someway entitled? Have we grown so used to the idea of SMN being so legendary and "special" throughout the history of FF, that we feel we should be in someway "special" even with in ARR?

There have been many discussions here that suggest that a lot of SMN's either consciously or subconsciously are entitled and want to be "special". Take this Incarnate Summon idea from Akiza for example, a SMN that can transform into a Primal....that is a power that would indeed make SMN more "special".

Even the new Bahamut Trance panders to an entitled player base. A job that can summon forth a portion of Bahamut and then be possessed by him to use his power. So for all intents and purposes the SMN essentially becomes Bahamut. A feat that no other job could ever come close to and is therefore "special". However in the case of Bahamut Trance, the elements that make it "special" are purely superficial (visuals and lore). The mechanics themselves are equal to that of any other job. So in that regard does it really matter if the job appears to be more "special" than the rest? as long as these "special" elements stay superficial.

Whether you play SMN or not, or are familiar with the history of SMN throughout the FF series or not. The fact of the matter is it's always going to be a hard task to make an OP "special" job conform to the mechanics and equality of an MMO, whilst keeping it true to what makes the job so iconic. There will always be give and take and there will always be people wanting more. But we need to realize the FFXIV SMN will never be as crazy as a SMN from a single player game, and that's ok. You want giant ass Summons that nuke the world? Then wait for FFXV! In the mean time just enjoy this SMN for what it is, not what it can't be.