how smn now, compare with others caster...???

[ShariusTC]

.... off for a few months and now i want to get back inthe game, i play alot of smn back then in HW, but in 4.0 they are heavy nerf and feel so clumsy to play so i change to a PLD, after month or 2 of playing, i was almost done with 4.0 patch so i took sometime off

i want to replay smn again, i ask my guildmate about their opinion on smn in current patch, and they said that job is a-okay now, so what extractly, can you enlight me please? anything happen that change smn from 4.0 to 4.15? and if you don't min then can you give me a quick compare with other 2 caster?

[Rufalus]

I'm not a SMN main but I know a few things. They changed some stuff to make it fluid, like Ruin 1>3 and 2>4 mastery. No cast time on Ruin 3 in Dreadwyrm. Higher potency on tri bind in Dreadwyrm. I think they raised dot dmg back up a bit since 4.0 too. I hear SMN can be top dps job depending on the fight, like if there are adds. Still got some perks over blm like less punished by movement mechanics and able to res people. Higher dmg than rdm. Oh and they changed the pet devotion buff to aoe - previously only buffed person nearest pet.

[Sevenino]

you got pets

/thread

[MahoSenshi]

Compared to other casters, SMN is OP atm. Not an easy job, but versatile and powerful af.

[Karshan]

It was made easier :
- DOTs buffed to 50 instead of 40 in patch 4.05 (back to a dot job, BRD having 100 pot dots and SMN 80 made no sense)
- Ruin 3 got from 150 to 130 BUT it costs almost no MP now and entirely replaces Ruin I. Plus, it's instant cast in Trance so you can weave stuff and more importantly, increases your mobility (also the potency reduction means less punishment outside of trance if you go back to Ruin II to weave / move)
- Ruin IV now replaces Ruin II and is also instant cast, allowing you to weave (so you don't sit on it until you're able to cast, so you can benefit 2-3 more on a fight)
- Devotion reduced from 5 to 2% BUT it's battle littany style now, whole party (as it should've been from the start)
- MP are no more an issue.


Stuff still annoying :
- AF still locked from transe so be sure to transe no later than 20 seconds before AF comes back (boss jump : deal with it).
- As for Bahamut, he moves a little less and seems to try and put wyrmwaves before moving, but still not what it should be. They were able to make Garuda completely still, why couldn't they for him ?
- Still a bit clunky in his "flow" (rather see a succesion of gates than a flow but, oh well), but you can use Ifrit on sic to help you track better the things you need to keep an eye out for.

About other casters : it is completely OP and trumps BLM and RDM in personnal damage AND utility (radiant shield + devotion + raise), it's even top DPS before SAM on some fights, so something's a bit off here.

[Fjaere]

Second highest DPS after SAM according to fflogs, its a lot smoother to play too (except bahamut being dumb)

[ShariusTC]

Second highest DPS after SAM according to fflogs, its a lot smoother to play too (except bahamut being dumb)

What do you mean "being dumb"?

[Dualgunner]

Second highest DPS after SAM according to fflogs, its a lot smoother to play too (except bahamut being dumb)

It's higher than Samurai in most fights, actually.

[Claviusnex]

What do you mean "being dumb"?

Bahamut has issues with movement that can affect his DPS output. His Ekindle in particular. He follows you and if you have to move he might or might not get off a shot before he follows or after he arrives. His Wyrmwave is also tied to SMN actions some of which have no relevance to DPS and waste their mitigation effects. One school of thought is Bahamut should be placeable by the Summoner as he has a huge range. Another thought is Wyrmwave should just be automatic or failing that remove its ties to defensive actions like Addle.

I can't compare SMN to other casters but I will say that the clunky play and button bloat on steroids has been fixed for the most part where it feels comfortable to play. I like the way they make Ruin II upgrade to Ruin IV when it procs and Ruin I to Ruin III when you are at lvl 54 or above. They also made Tri-bind usable again for AOE when under Dreadwyrm Trance. I was ready to quit summoner when SB came out but the changes made it pretty decent to play. There is still a high death penalty depending upon where you are in the rotation when you die but even here the 4.1 patch made them bearable by greatly reducing the summon time for egi's and lowering MP costs for some of the actions. I would like to see oGCD and Aetherflow allowed while under Dreadwyrm Trance as they did in HW as well. All in all I think Summoner is in a pretty decent spot as far as play style and with a few more tweaks could be in a great position.

[Neela]

What do you mean "being dumb"?

as for the topic Kharshan & Calvius pretty much summed it very well imo.

Smn is in a good (maybe a bit to well) position atm - its always hard to balance dot/burst/pet/utility on this cls...
...most of his history bottom line, currently above the line, enjoy as long as its possible ;3