[SMN] Garuda on O9S

[KDSilver]

Hello,

My question is simple. I see a lot of logs using Garuda on O9S.
Can someone explain me how is she good/better than Ifrit and why ?
Is this only for O9S or did the Radiant Shield slight nerf made her better?

If any raider could explain, I'd be grateful.

[Lastelli]

Ifrit-egi was nerfed in 4.4: radiant shield no longer reflects damage. This made garuda slightly better. However, keep in mind that garuda is better only if you are able to make the most out of contagion and your healers do dps.
Garuda is slightly better payoff for more effort, that's all. Ifrit is still great for progression because it's almost as good as garuda but doesn't rely as much on optimal play.

[Sunako]

PLD can benefit like 80 dps, ninja 40 dps, and healers 100 - 130 dps. Contagions is lot stronger raid dps utility than radiant shield if your party is well optimized. For random pf groups I would still use ifrit. Except if you have second caster.

[Neela]

Actually it’s a blessing that Sicfrit finally died the nerf-way - the choice of egi finally matters to grp comps... at least a lil bit more than before.

[lulunami]

If you can get Contagion, Demi-Bahamut, and Ahk Morn lined up properly with Trick Attack, Garuda-Egi can be better. There is slightly more pet AI micro you have to do with Garuda-Egi compared to Ifrit-Egi but the DPS reward can be worth it. If you have high damage healers, it can be advantageous, especially with dual casters (i.e. SMN and BLM).


If you are more concerned about mechanics, Ifrit-Egi is still good enough to use and will not hold back your group.