New summoner is unacceptable

[Connor]

Wouldn’t it be cool if Energy Drain / Siphon reset with each Egi summon, then during the summon Fester and Painflare became aspected to the primal’s element? They could even have different effects like Ifrit’s being melee ranged or Garuda’s having some kind of DoT. Maybe Titan could have utility like stun on its aoe.

The main problem with that idea is that different Egi’s have different charges, so like for Garuda you’d have 4 gcds but still only 2 Aetherflow for the oGCD. And then in Ifrit phase you’d have to either clip the GCD to use them or Swiftcast one of the Ruby Rite casts (and you’d still have to clip the second). Although, it’d probably be a good excuse for them to redo the Aetherflow mechanic to be more fitting with new Summoner.

I still wish we had control over when Everlasting Flight and Rekindle could be used too. They’re great skills and they’re pretty strong support for the healers (I know they don’t need it right now but that’s a different story lol), but since they’re only available for a 15 second window it feels like you never get to use them when they’re actually needed. I think it’d be cool if they made Rekindle an upgrade from Physick when you reach level 70 and learn Summon Phoenix. As cool as it’d if they made it a gcd, that would obviously be ridiculously powerful lol, so they could just have it upgrade into the current version of Rekindle with like a 45/60s cool-down. Or at least give us the option of choosing to summon Phoenix or Bahamut. Making Rekindle an upgrade to Physick would free up Astral Flow for Phoenix, so they could add a new ‘Phoenix morn’ to equalise the potencies. Maybe even have Bahamut grant some kind of small damage buff to the party to compensate for lacking healing. Everlasting Might?

[seraf]

I like it more than old Summoner by far. The only thing I even have a complaint about is I wish Ifrit's moves didn't have such a long gcd to cast unlike the others. I guess it was for balancing reasons but it just makes me use Ifrit dead last now.

[Izar_Chillen]

I like it more than old Summoner by far. The only thing I even have a complaint about is I wish Ifrit's moves didn't have such a long gcd to cast unlike the others. I guess it was for balancing reasons but it just makes me use Ifrit dead last now.

You use your swiftcast for ifrit . Slow gem cast , SC , insta gem cast and by the time ifrit is available , so is SC

[DezereDawn]

You use your swiftcast for ifrit . Slow gem cast , SC , insta gem cast and by the time ifrit is available , so is SC

Actually, if you're being optimal you'll want to use SC on Garuda to ensure her slipstream DoT is snapshotted with party buffs

[Skiros]

Deceptus is one of many healer mains who have given up the healer role because of that glare/broil/malefic/dosis spam.

Even if we had the incoming damage to make use of our bloated healing kits, it would still be unacceptable because we still have do fates, hunts, solo duties, bozja, eureka etc.

Braindead is unacceptable state of affairs. The only reason sage is getting a pass right now is because its got the "newness" and is overpowered when in fact its the same 1 button spam nonsense and it plays like a mishmash of whm and sch rather than anything new.

give it a few months for the bottom of the barrel players to whinge about how they cant heal on sage and healers will be back to being in constant need.

Yeah I have zero idea how and why SE determined that SGE is an advanced healer job that will be challenging and fun for veteran players.

It is just not.

[RyuDragnier]

I've played every iteration of SMN (played since beta), and this one is my favorite. It needs a bit more complexity, but overall I enjoy the feel of it.

[ApolloGenX]

I like the summoner....

I remember when it first started many people saying all they wanted was real summons and they didn't care if the rest of the job was doing nothing.

It's good to have one easy dps class for people that don't love DPS jobs... and it helps that it is so flashy.

[Dyvid]

I"ll just let Ruby Rhod say it for me on how the new SMN is:
https://youtu.be/ay4CNqCfE2o?t=154

Seriously though, the main issues isn't the changes made to the overall design. Even though who like the change all but admit it's lacking.
Its the amount of the removed.
It's the lack of any real mechanical design.
It's the lack of respect paid to players who enjoyed the old design.

This redesign was an insult to the player base and the dev team should be embarrassed and ashamed of themselves to push out before it was truly ready. This version of Summoner is befitting FFXIV 1.0.

[Jayps]

I have mixed feelings about new SMN. I've been a SMN since I started playing XIV in 2019 and loved it. Acquiring Tri-disaster and Bane made it really fun to poison mobs; by the time tanks gathered mobs, some enemies would already be at 1/2 HP. Trances reset the cooldown for Tri-Disaster. I never had issues managing dots. They didn't seem consistent with SMN lore to me but they were fun. Maybe the job needed simplification but a re-work!?

I agree 100 % with OP; 6.0 SMN just feels unfinished - as if they didn't playtest it. The Primals don't add anything in the way of unique choices, or combos. They play like visual gimmicks and quick ones at that. They appear in little sparklefart clouds, obscuring floor mechanics, and disappear. Needing a target to summon them is clunky too and doesn't make sense. Trances didn't need a target before 6.0 meaning you could prep; they had more flexibility.

Aetherflow is still here but it's just extra busy work when Energy Drain comes out of cooldown. It does proc Ruin IV ... for a VERY brief timer - more restricting than the stack mech it used to have - another loss of flexibility. Primals' timers also restrict the rotation. Although, flexibility would hardly matter since the Primals are barely unique from one another. SMN players don't have choices anymore. The rotation is now just summon, cast procced spell, use skills before timers expire. Repeat. Clunky and stale gameplay.

Worst of all - Carbuncle. It's now our little lost puppy doing nothing for us except we need it to use 90 % of skills. It puts this job at a HUGE disadvantage compared to other casters. I was initially drawn to the job for the pet and now the pet is just an obstacle to gameplay!

Changes I hope for:
Remove Aetherflow; it's unnecessary clutter on the HUD and with the current mechanics, the player does not need to pay any attention to it whatsoever. Or, at least tie Aetherflow to the Primals or Carbuncle somehow. I'd rather have dots than Aetherflow.
Change/remove timers on Primals and Ruin IV. The job DESPERATELY needs more flexibility.
Make the Primals more unique. Maybe unique buffs ? Maybe Geruda is better for mobs, Ifrit for bosses like before? Titan for solo play? Something - ANYTHING to make it worth choosing them.
MAKE CARBUNCLE A PET AGAIN. Right now, the pet is just an annoying requirement and NOT an advantage. The pet has to offer its own auto-attacks or buffs, or SOMETHING, or you might as well play a DPS w/o the pet requirement.

The concept of having Primals in the rotation is cool and brings SMN closer to its own job lore - and makes it very unique from other jobs. But as far as gameplay, there's just no reason to choose SMN over another caster.

[Skiros]

I"ll just let Ruby Rhod say it for me on how the new SMN is:
https://youtu.be/ay4CNqCfE2o?t=154

Seriously though, the main issues isn't the changes made to the overall design. Even though who like the change all but admit it's lacking.
Its the amount of the removed.
It's the lack of any real mechanical design.
It's the lack of respect paid to players who enjoyed the old design.

This redesign was an insult to the player base and the dev team should be embarrassed and ashamed of themselves to push out before it was truly ready. This version of Summoner is befitting FFXIV 1.0.

Exactly, it was rushed 100%.