Summoner: Energy Siphon should replace Energy Drain via a trait in 6.0

[Meta]

A simple suggestion that seemed direct enough to justify its own thread.

TLDR: Energy Siphon should replace Energy Drain when it is learned at the appropriate level. Energy Siphon should do the same single-target damage as Energy Drain with bonus AoE falloff damage.

This is a change that would already be welcome in 5.x, and it makes even more sense with Endwalker's fully-revamped Summoner. That said, it can certainly wait for a post-release patch alongside other job adjustments.

Long-winded reasoning: generally, having separate single-target and AoE abilities works well; they add flavor to each job and provide opportunities for enjoyable optimization. I'm thrilled that 6.0 SMN will have dedicated single-target and AoE Actions for each Demi-Summon and Gem-Summon. Meanwhile, Summoner's flashiest abilities like Akh Morn/Revelation, Summon Ifrit/Garuda/Titan, and Deathflare will all be single-target heavy-hitters with AoE falloff damage. This makes perfect sense for the identity and functionality of the job, and I can't wait to try it out!

With that in mind, this brings us to Energy Drain and Energy Siphon. They are not flashy, high-powered abilities. However, they also aren't key to the identity of Summoner in FFXIV or the rest of the series. As it stands, these abilities perform nearly the same functionality, they share the same somewhat long cooldown (twice as long in Endwalker!), and Energy Siphon will always be used if more than one enemy is present...so do we really need both Actions?

In the interest of reducing button bloat (especially important for controller users), making the job flow as tightly as possible, and introducing room for new Actions in future expansions, please consider "upgrading" Energy Drain into Energy Siphon at the appropriate level via a Job Trait.

Ideally, the new version of Energy Siphon would do the same single-target damage as Energy Drain, but retain 5.x's AoE utility via falloff damage. It should be noted that I'm not suggesting specific potencies or percentages for falloff damage — I realize that 200 potency damage with 50% AoE falloff does more damage than Energy Siphon's current implementation, which raises concerns regarding job balance.

Upon implementation, Summoners will only need Energy Siphon to get their two Aetherflow stacks every 60 seconds. The additional hotbar space could then be used for future Actions or even something like maintaining Ruin II's current functionality as an instant-cast spell that is separate from Ruin I/Ruin III.

(I'll also note that I have no qualms about the changes to Ruin II for Endwalker, but I imagine that there are some Summoners that are sad to see it go. Naturally, if it was brought back, its hotbar button would change to Ruin IV whenever Further Ruin is active).

[rewd]

Energy Drain and Energy Siphon, as well as Fester and Painflare, should be used in combo so we actually have oGCDs to press and make use of the many instacasts we have.

[Meta]

Energy Drain and Energy Siphon, as well as Fester and Painflare, should be used in combo so we actually have oGCDs to press and make use of the many instacasts we have.

Do you mean that these actions should literally combo into each other? If so, that could be interesting and it would definitely justify the existence of two separate Energy Drain/Siphon actions. I'm not sure how that will vibe with the existing Aetherflow system (which already seems thematically superfluous, anyway), but it's a start.

If not, it sounds like you're suggesting that things should remain as-is so that we have more oGCDs to press, which is not the case. We just have more buttons to do the same number of oGCDs. If Energy Drain/Siphon were combined, the extra hotbar slot could be used for a new oGCD: another Summoner-themed damage skill with multiple charges, an action that boosts the next Gem Summon spell or slightly reduces its cast time (great for Ifrit's hardcasts and Garuda's Astral Flow), etc. The sky's the limit.

[rewd]

Do you mean that these actions should literally combo into each other? If so, that could be interesting and it would definitely justify the existence of two separate Energy Drain/Siphon actions. I'm not sure how that will vibe with the existing Aetherflow system (which already seems thematically superfluous, anyway), but it's a start.

If not, it sounds like you're suggesting that things should remain as-is so that we have more oGCDs to press, which is not the case. We just have more buttons to do the same number of oGCDs. If Energy Drain/Siphon were combined, the extra hotbar slot could be used for a new oGCD: another Summoner-themed damage skill with multiple charges, an action that boosts the next Gem Summon spell or slightly reduces its cast time (great for Ifrit's hardcasts and Garuda's Astral Flow), etc. The sky's the limit.

Yeah, I mean they should combo into each other like Phoenix used to with FoF and BoP. Having a button for ST and an AoE variant is quite dumb, especially if it's on a system as "useless" as Aetherflow.
You would gain aetherflow stacks by using Energy Drain+Energy Siphon and you would spend stacks by using Fester+Painflare. This way, we still get 6 oGCDs per minute like current SMN and we also fix the issue of having situational buttons, as all of them would be used, regardless of ST and AoE.

[Archwizard]

Pretty much agreed. Not much point having two separate buttons for the same task, especially when the "X potency to the main target and Y% falloff to nearby enemies" has been an option for years, and the two skills are exactly the same in all other respects. It's just clutter on the bar.

Granted that SMN has just had a massive rework and now has more bar space than any other caster due to the number of skills that just got merged, so an extra button is something they can afford. I doubt we'll see such a trait in 6.0, but in future expansions when that bar starts filling up? Not out of the question.

Personally I'd also be fine to see the combination skill renamed Energy Siphon, to give it a bit more distinction from SCH's Energy Drain. Things like macros, guides and so on.

[Pallero]

I really don't get most of these "aoe spell versions" implemented, especially the new "aoe shoha" on samurai, when the game has already had the aoe falloff formula on some spells for couple of expansions already. Why would such a weak spell as energy drain need a separate aoe version, when your trance phases make your basic GCDs deal AOE damage without change in buttons?
To begin with, aetherflow has long been such an ancient and clunky classbar mechanic that i really wonder why'd they remove dots before that.

And on the subject, why isn't fester/painflare giving ruination stacks, or really anything else than a 60 second cooldown on ED/ES? That's another button just sitting there waiting for a cooldown of another button.

It's like they have a specific quota of buttons to have on the bars looking like you have a lot of them, but in reality you don't need to touch half of them most of the time. Good thing we have plugins and xivcombo nowadays to truncate some of that fake gameplay.

[Dyvid]

Honestly why have it in the game at all when you could just easily add two charges to Fester and two charges to Painflare?