Shadowbringer: Summoner Changes Discussion

[Vallhallix]

I loved Summoner in Stormblood and love it even more now! The fast pace feels soooo good. Definitely will be my main caster for this expansion.

Same, SMN has always felt awkward especially in low lvl when it came to dealing with trash, with the changes of bane, the way aetherflow work etc no longer is low lvl annoying with SMN, and no longer are you super concerned about dealing with the trash in high lvl, or worried about the next big pull because a tank made you waste a bane LOL, love it. Having more fun with it than I did in Stormblood. I also know where everything is, and when it's active. I don't need to look at the hotbar at all to be able to move around freely. I've been used to multitasking this class since ARR. Might be harder for people on keyboard i can see that. It is an ABSOLUTE breeze for me however with the DS4. No issues here.

[Elgeron]

So far I really like it. The pet feels more important. The great focus on rotating summons is surprisingly enough quite loyal to the way the summons have worked in older FF (summon for a single attack, being able to summon different ones through combat). The focus on controlling pet makes wonders for the job identity while offering more control over Ruin IV and making the player plan their rotation more carefully. Dreadwyrm trance and Phoenix Trance are similar enough not to feel confused, but work differently enough to felt as different phases of the same rotation. Having to plan around your opening in dungeon depending on which phase you are is great. While Titan could still be better, having each Egi have different roles and uses is, IMO, a good idea and give you access to more skills without being filling the skill bar too much.The class is hectic and intense, there is always something to do and feels so fast compared to the other casters. Is really its own beast. I think it may be hard but is not bad to be so, it really differentiates from the other two and caters to a different play style. While there may be some issues, like Dreadwyrm trance being locked by Summon Bahamut, which can be a bit clunky, I'll definitively maining it this expansion, really liked it in SB, but ShB so far is really great.

[Valmarus]

I'm finding that low level SMN ability to solo mobs in the field has been utterly destroyed by the pet changes. At level 38 with healing focused chocobo companion I'm constantly finding that mobs as low as lvl 31* (depending on the mob) are quite capable of bringing you to the edge of death. I've got fairly good gear for my level also but taking the brunt of all attacks, well, we're just far too squishy for that. Without the pet between us and the mob they're just tearing through my HP. It makes doing fates certain other activities problematic. I've said it before but it seems like this patch has been completely balanced around lvl 60+ with little regard for getting there.

*Just thought I'd add this note that this was a malboro type mob which granted are more difficult than other mobs comparatively just so I don't look too incompetent. But a 7 level advantage on my part should make it a walkover.

[ShariusTC]

Lv 78 and i love the changing of SMN so far, we lost some skill but our oGCD go up instead, so it's feel our new rotaion more busy than the old one, also the phoenix phase make me feel like i am a walking nuke in big pull, lol

[yillin]

I've been enjoying SMN changes so farrl. I just hit 80 last night. I agree at first I felt like I was watching all my cooldowns heavily and felt like I was missing boss mechanics in dungeons but as my hand gets more comfortable and I begin to realize what cooldowns are necessary to watch it is getting easier.

I find doubling down on EG1 and 2 with Ifrit in a weave is more consistent than Garuda. However if I try to accomplish it before Ifrit is in melee range it will throw the ability error. I do see the second assault go off eventually but it takes practically a GCD longer. I find that the only time I need to hard cast my dots is during the last 5 seconds of Bahamut. Any other time tri-disaster always seems to be ready. I get 1 at the opening, one with DWT refresh, then hard cast dots during Bahamut, then one right before entering Phoenix trance, then one outside of Phoenix trance just as dots are falling off. Doing that means that as the dots fall off, DWT is ready to go and I get to start all over again.

[ChaoticCrimson]

I'm only at LV74 at present, so my opinion may change in time once I get to 80. At this point, I have a lot of mixed feelings. For one, the Trance timing seems so wonky now. I have no idea how to pace out my rotations yet to line things up in the best way. To be fair, the old setup did have a fair amount of "downtime" between the second DWT and Bahamut, then a bit more after Bahamut left. Despite the OGCDs not counting toward Wyrmwave anymore I still feel like weaving them in is intended during that phase, as I often find Energy Drain lining up usually as I begin it. On the other hand, I do really like the Firebird Trance, and it's also nice that Ruin IV procs don't fall off during that phase. Speaking of Ruin IV, it seems like it's a lot less frequent than it was before, now that you have to rely mainly on Egi Assaults to proc them. I'm also still getting used to Lucid coming back off cooldown so much sooner, and the changes to MP. Before it was rare when I needed to worry about MP, even factoring Mana Shifts and the occasional rez. Now it seems like MP management is much more relevant, and that's not necessarily a bad thing but it does feel very different than I'm used to. Overall, it seems like a bit of a jumble so far, but as I said before, my thoughts may change once I'm at 80 and maybe have a better sense of how the rhythm of the new setup is supposed to work. In short, I do like it but it's going to take some work to figure out how I should be making the most of it.

[yillin]

With the fact that Enkindle Bahamut/Phoenix has a 10s recast now do you think we can stack enough spell speed to fit a third enkindle in per summon?

[Nemekh]

Speed does not affect abilities. The recast is fixed, you can only achieve 2 real enkindles per Demi summon window.

[ErzaScarlet77]

give me back 4.x SMN

the new one is too much and we'll probably get out dpsed by blm that doesnt have to move anyway and their rotation is like 6 buttons

[Shurrikhan]

give me back 4.x SMN

the new one is too much and [we'll probably get out dpsed by blm that doesnt have to move anyway and their rotation is like 6 buttons

Isn't that kind of the point of a zero-utility / pure-DPS turret job?