Future Summoner Summonings

[Mansion]

Although we have lost job quests, I'm kinda intrigued by the lore explanation being level 90 SMN in a way. I remember it being impossible for us to summon Ramuh because I don't know, so we transitioned towards trances which are more efficient. Are the new Garuda and co trances ? If so, then there is no lore preventing us to virtually summon any primal (we just have to have met them and felt their aether, right?)

[ty_taurus]

Just sayin' but Shiva should be Diamond :P

Now yeah... actually six gemstones would perfectly represent the Elemental Wheel! with Astral or Umbral polarities. Though, I could see the combinations matched to have a Light/Dark/Unaspected finishing summons... I.E. Astral + Astral = Light / Umbral + Umbral = Dark / Astral + Umbral = Unaspected.

I really like this concept of matching gemstones for a finisher... Can't wait to see the SMN gameplay to actually gauge where the system would go in 7.0.

Actually, the reason why I say Opal is because that's how it was in FFIX, though thinking about it more critically, the existing summons don't necessarily match that theming.

In FFIX, where abilities both active and passive were learned by wearing equipment, gems could be equipped as accessories and would teach summons to Garnet and Eiko. These were how the gems were laid out:

Princess Garnet's Summons
Opal: Shiva
Peridot: Ramuh
Topaz: Ifrit
Amethyst: Atomos
Dark Matter: Odin
Aquamarine: Leviathan
Garnet: Bahamut
Pumice: Ark

Eiko's Summons
Ruby: Carbuncle
Lapis Lazuli: Fenrir (And Titan)
Phoenix Pinion: Phoenix
Ribbon: Madeen (aka Maduin)

Emerald, Pearl, and Diamond had no summon associated with them but would change which buff Carbuncle gave to the party.

[Shikiseki]

It would be ideal to find a way to integrate Ramuh, Leviathan, and Shiva into the main kit rather than as glamours as the first six are thematically linked, but as others have said, it becomes very difficult to imagine how to do that without returning the summoner to punishing DPS. One way that I see it being done could be with making them OGCD phases that are worked in simultaneously with your GCD phases.

How it works would be Opal Shiva, Aquamarine Leviathan, and Amethyst Ramuh would replace Energy Drain/Syphon and then upgrade and change your Fester and Painflare. It's simple, yet I think it could work given the direction Summoner is now going in. I also think there's a lot of build-ability for the future after that too. Imagine an Aetherflow finisher that summons something else based on whether you summoned Shiva, Leviathan, or Ramuh, and during which phase you were in for Ifirt, Titan, or Garuda.

Ifrit + Ramuh = Ravana finisher
Titan + Shiva = Thordan finisher
Garuda + Leviathan = Bismarck finisher

It's all very long term concepts, but I think there is room to grow, and I believe that was intentional.

I think combination attacks of elements can be built in the warring triad if you think about it:

Sephirot is Earth + Water
Sophia is Lightning + Wind
Zurvan is Fire + Ice

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The only thing I hope to see is Summoner losing their "base" animations through summoning styled animations later on (if BLU can get those animations why can't SMN )