Some random idea about the SMN core gameplay...

[LastDream]

Hello boards. I just started recently to rush my Summoner to level 70 and my best friend is a main Summoner so we have lots of talk around the job daily especially since the controversy of 4.0 etc...


Today i just had a really stupid thought that was probably suggested lots of times and denied lots of times also but i really felt like sharing it to see and understand the community's thoughts about it.


Some people wish and believe that the SMN and SCH get separated one day for a better balance of the two jobs (we saw what happened to Bane) and i'm one of the (few?) people that agree with it. So my thought process here is, if SMN ever came to divorce the SCH, what would happen to it?

The gameplay could stay "mostly" the same but i strongly believe the current dps skills such as "Bio" or "Miasma" or "Bane" should be removed and left only on the SCH (which makes more sense since the job works around war medecine). Replace them with elemental skills using the primals (not the egis). Temporary "summon" a primal to attack for him, like just half the primal spawning above the SMN for an attack and whoosh (again, similar to DWT animation).

Exemple : No bane anymore? Use Ifrit to inflict a fire dot, use Garuda to spread the dot with her winds (and i'm not talking about the egis here, i'm talking about real abilities from you). You could still keep the egis perhaps, but that way lore wise the SMN would actually USE the primals as he should be.


The original artwork of the SMN made me think about this a lot because it really looks like the Egi is coming/spreading out of the SMN.


Anyway, that was just a random thought, i'm just hyped about it but still like the current SMN (when it will be fixed for the most parts) and just wanted to chit chat a bit, cheers.

[NovaLevossida]

At this point, they should really rework SCH. Then rename SMN to necromancer, give it undead pets, change the animations a bit. Then make a new summoner job that somewhat resembles what it's supposed to be based on. Either your suggestions above, or a much more pet-focused class with the pets out full time and you commanding them. They still need to address the action delay when ordering pets because it's still clunky. Heck, it's clunky for any job right now when you finish a spell / ability and try to do a duty action (Emanation, V 2.0, etc.) and it doesn't fire off immediately.

[Cherub]

This might sound like an odd Idea but it's probably the most realistic one there is.
You can keep SMN play the same, the absolute same, all it needs is visual rework. And well, name changes for attacks.
But the Lore is set I guess. Doing this would mean a lot of work.

[Rongway]

It would be beneficial for one of the two ACN jobs to become a separate classless job unlocked at 30 and progressing on its own, even if for the time being it retained all the ACN abilities as job abilities.

Decoupling SCH from SMN like this would allow each to be evaluated and adjusted with no side effects to the other, which ultimately is what they need.

[Angry_Evil]

Interesting how I pretty much thought about SMN revamp almost exactly among the same lines. Tho sadly it seems like SE has no budget to make SMN more fun to play... Especially after how the designed it in 4.0 and their inability to fix pet clunkiness and unresponsiveness. To rework job like that will probably take a lot of work and resources they rather spend on other content.

[Neela]

Exemple : No bane anymore? Use Ifrit to inflict a fire dot, use Garuda to spread the dot with her winds (and i'm not talking about the egis here, i'm talking about real abilities from you). You could still keep the egis perhaps, but that way lore wise the SMN would actually USE the primals as he should be.

That would be pretty cool yeah :3

That also would fix the demand for the missing base egis like Ramuh, Shiva, Levi... if every skill would become one of the primals visualized animation noone would ask for "new egis" anymore. While using Bahamut in the trance mechanic would still prove that he's above the others ones in power and lore.

Me myself just thought about other trances with other finisher like Alexanders Divine Judgment or Odins Zantetsuken - but starting at the lore mechanics/visualization is way better ya – now you got me with your idea very straight, I would love this kind of restructuring our cls :3