I don't understand the very common desire for Bahamut to be merged into DWT. It feels like a concession from Summoners who are just fed up with not being able to move and the clunkiness of having to clip the full duration of the current DWT just to get into the Bahamut phase outside of the opener.

If we're going to improve Bahamut, do we really just want him to be a mirror for the Phoenix phase? Where is the fun in that? A unique Bahamut and a unique Phoenix phase is going to feel a lot better than flip-flopping demi skins every so often. How about we fix the problem of Ruin IVs being required for optimal weaving by trimming some oGCDs, then we add a damage boost to summoning Bahamut that promotes pooling the Ruin IVs to maximize the burst in that window, thereby allowing BAHAMUT, the king of SUMMONS, to actually flex his might.

At the same time, perhaps we should be thinking outside the box on what DWT basically allows us to do, with a Tri-disaster reset and instant casts, wouldn't it feel much more rewarding to completely separate the DWT from this ridiculously rigid one minute cycle and use it as a means for movement and instant DoT refreshing? Perhaps we could even tie it back into Aetherflow actions to make the job have a sense of cohesion again? A Black Mage does not need to use Triplecast or Swiftcast outside of their opener unless they need to move or correct a rotational mistake, and a Red Mage has guaranteed movement between every dual cast as well as a reserve swiftcast they don't need to save for a raise, so I would argue that Summoner needs to have a back pocket movement tactic as well or else there's simply no balance on job mobility.

It's good that many people want to see some changes and improvements made to Summoner. I cannot argue against the sentiment that the job has an identity crisis and should probably move completely away from the egi pets at this point based on its trajectory and the obvious problems created by trying to keep them around in some form. I wouldn't go so far as to say that spells like Bio don't make sense on FFXIV's Summoner, as most iterations of Summoner in the history of FF have had Black and sometimes White magic abilities on top of being able to Summon, but there's definitely no need to strap the job to pets if the design philosophy is trying to make the Summons more prominent.

I hope that at some point in the near future, Summoner can break free of what is holding it back and become the true Summoner many people have wanted it to always be and a job that still feels right for the people who have made it their identity over the last six years.